Let No One Despise You For Your…Lack Of Fame

Note: This is a guest post since presently I am overseas.  This is by  Patrick of Cave to the Cross Apologetics. His site be found here.  It is a treasure trove of book discussions on sound biblical theology and apologetics.

1,518,207,412.

That is the number of websites existed at the beginning of this year.

32.8 million.

That is the number of books you can buy from Amazon.

Today we are able to gorge ourselves in a feast of information that would have made the scholars in the Library of Alexandria faint from overload. We are more connected to different people. We are able to interact with different ideas and groups. We are able to access news from the other side of the world as it’s happening. We are able to access all that information while doing the most mundane activities from a small handheld device that would have been science fiction 30 years ago. We are gluttons for information.

 

As Christians, we are able to access 5,000 commentaries at the same time using a simple Bible program. We can access 350 different types of Bibles. We have access to people sermons from the start of Christianity through this very Sunday morning. And in that we can pick our roster for our favorite teachers.

Maybe you go go old school and enjoy some Chuck Swindoll. Maybe you enjoy the verse-by-verse teaching of John MacArthur. Maybe you like some gut wrenching Christian living challenges from Voddie Bauckham. You want to dig deep into salvation, Paul Washer is there to give you some good gut punches. Maybe you are a classics person and read the sermons of Whitfield, Calvin, and Edwards. Or you enjoy those combatting the liberalism in the early 20th century like B.B. Warfield. And who couldn’t love some Charles Spurgeon to round out your line up.

Not seeing your favorite in there? I’m sure you could add to the list. In fact, put five Christians from the same church in a room with a new convert and the newbie asks for five people to listen to about Christianity you’ll most likely get 25 different suggestions. I’m sure you could do it to. Just real quick, pick your top five.

Now that you have your list, here’s my question. What position does your pastor rank?

In the charge to Timothy before he’s put to death, Paul has these words for young, shy Timothy:

“Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Timothy 4:11-16, ESV)

Does your pastor devote himself to the public reading of Scripture? Does he teach the Word and teach you how to apply it? Does he conduct himself in a good manor fitting for his position and also with love, faith, and purity? If he continues to do those things he is aiding you in your salvation.

We understand that our salvation isn’t just a one time event where we’ve said a prayer and were given a new heart and that was that. Our salvation is how we continually look upon God’s Word for guidance so that we may conform our lives on a daily basis to be more like Christ, our Savior. Your pastor, along with the elders of your local church, have way more influence over your Christian walk than anyone on a screen or in the pages of books or a part of any ministry.

This is not to demean you for seeking godly teaching throughout your life. It is definitely not a calling out of those famous and/or popular teachers/theologians/pastors. This is a challenge, to you, Christian, to remember the one who is closest to you who pours into you on a daily basis.

He’s the one spending 40 hours a week on a least one, maybe two, new messages. He’s working on the slides and the notes, and the words that will help you understand God’s Word the best way you can. And not just you, but all the other people who learn differently than you or who are interested in other things. Other things than the Greek delineation of a word or the historical context of the Middle Ages where the teaching was disputed in the small part of Belgium you know about or just the application of the passage that you can apply at your job tomorrow. On top of that, he’s leading committee meetings, elder meetings, small group Bible studies.

He’s working with 13 different couples whose marriages are on the brink of falling apart due to no communication, infidelity, a claim that he’s not the man I married, or she’s trying to change me and she should have known what she was getting into when she said “I do”. He’s speaking at retreats and conferences. There’s the Wednesday night group he’s leading on a book of gossip – an issue that is infecting the church. Ut oh, there is not enough children’s leader volunteers and there might be some age groups that can’t happen this Sunday and he’s finding out about this at 4:45pm on a Friday and he needs about four more hours to work on his message.

Then he’s got his wife and three, four, eight kids to pour into a spend time and lead them. And believe it or not, his family is just as full of sinners as yours is. He’s also finishing up responding to six emails that are about three pages in length each from those “theologians” who want to inform him that he may be a false teacher because he mispronounced a word eight Sundays ago or didn’t condemn this year’s Anti-Christ nominee. One from a couple considering leaving the church because they just don’t feel “spiritually fed” in the church anymore. And there’s one

considering becoming a Roman Catholic because of a book they read that claims the RCC is responsible for the Bible being in our hands. Here’s a phone call, now, from someone (how did they get the number?) wanting to ask about Twitter post from a famous teacher the pastor knows and how he believes that teacher is actually an apostate. And now you’ve just sent him a text message asking if you’re still going to be in the book of Philemon this Sunday and you might not be there because you have a family outing later that day.

This isn’t a guilt trip. It’s not. This is a reminder, Christian, that our pastors are those who do so much for us that we should include them on our list of our favorite theologians. He is working to save both you and his hearers. Don’t stop listening to your top five. Your pastor might not be as verbally verbose of they are. Neither was Pastor/Apostle Paul, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5, ESV)

Here’s my challenge to you. Write your pastor a handwritten note. Nothing outlandish or gushy or long. If you’re handwriting is horrible, like mine, shoot an email. But make it something physical for your pastor. Talk about a specific teaching he has taught that really struck a cord with you. Not just, “That was a good message on John 2, Pastor; good job.” Talk about the teaching and talk about how you are working on applying it to your life or how you did apply it or how it changed you or how it convicted you of your sin or how it started a conversation in your family on a random Thursday and that you were still talking about his message that you actually remembered. Maybe even consider volunteering for child care for one Sunday every three months. Whatever it is that you do, make it a form of worship to the Spirit who indwelt Paul and indwelt Timothy in leading the early church who faced the same type of struggles and distractions and competition from the world and other avenues of attention. Thank your pastor for not neglecting his gift and helping in your salvation.

When someone asks who are five people they should check out, you can add a sixth one.

Now, I must leave you, because I have a note to write.

Submitted with respect,

Patrick from Cave To The Cross Apologetics