I have this fear. Well, several fears. But we will connect the dots in a second.
I have been considering the church, and what is often glorified in the church. And I may be wrong, but I believe that often times, we glorify the Lecrae's, Piper's, and Chan's. We glorify the platform. As if becoming a pastor or preacher is to have "made it" in the Christian world. Is this not true?
We praise the pulpit, and the sermon, and especially the messenger. Don't mistake me, I love all three men mentioned before. They have impacted me more than you will ever know. And I am grateful for them and their work. But we glorify the positions they hold far too often. We aspire to reach those platforms not because we want to build up believers, or that we are called, rather we chase after it out of ego.
We envy them. This is not good.
I heard a quote, and I don't remember who by, but it said something along the lines of "It is an interesting thing to find that, Christ taught more about servant-hood then He did leadership."
Read the gospels, read His teachings. The constant call to decrease, as God increases. To serve. To consider ourselves less important than everyone around us. The example Christ gave when He washed the disciples feet.
But, we don't like to do those things. And when we glorify the pulpit, and we make it a position to "acquire", we breed pride and hurt our churches. This causes the older and "more mature" believers to become puffed up in their knowledge and position. It also causes the newer believers to want that same position, so overtime they begin to think they have outgrown discipleship and discipline. Which grows more pride.
I have been considering the church, and what is often glorified in the church. And I may be wrong, but I believe that often times, we glorify the Lecrae's, Piper's, and Chan's. We glorify the platform. As if becoming a pastor or preacher is to have "made it" in the Christian world. Is this not true?
We praise the pulpit, and the sermon, and especially the messenger. Don't mistake me, I love all three men mentioned before. They have impacted me more than you will ever know. And I am grateful for them and their work. But we glorify the positions they hold far too often. We aspire to reach those platforms not because we want to build up believers, or that we are called, rather we chase after it out of ego.
We envy them. This is not good.
I heard a quote, and I don't remember who by, but it said something along the lines of "It is an interesting thing to find that, Christ taught more about servant-hood then He did leadership."
Read the gospels, read His teachings. The constant call to decrease, as God increases. To serve. To consider ourselves less important than everyone around us. The example Christ gave when He washed the disciples feet.
But, we don't like to do those things. And when we glorify the pulpit, and we make it a position to "acquire", we breed pride and hurt our churches. This causes the older and "more mature" believers to become puffed up in their knowledge and position. It also causes the newer believers to want that same position, so overtime they begin to think they have outgrown discipleship and discipline. Which grows more pride.
In Matthew 23 Christ warns the pharisees because they "travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are."
When we make these positions glorious, and we esteem them, we are perverting our converts. We are leaving an example of pride and self establishment, and not a pattern of service.
I see it again in missions. We glorify young people going to World Changers, and other good mission trips. Beyond that, we celebrate and cheer on when someone wants to be a foreign missionary. And we scream and shout when people want to go to a city like ATL, LA, NYC, the Chi, to become "church planters." We glorify those mission fields. But we often neglect the local area. The small towns.
Don't get me wrong, it is not a bad thing to be a pastor. Or to wish to teach. Or to desire to go over seas, or to a city for missions. But we have got to stop glorifying the pulpit, and start encouraging the kitchen sink.
Thanks for reading,
John Mark,
When we make these positions glorious, and we esteem them, we are perverting our converts. We are leaving an example of pride and self establishment, and not a pattern of service.
I see it again in missions. We glorify young people going to World Changers, and other good mission trips. Beyond that, we celebrate and cheer on when someone wants to be a foreign missionary. And we scream and shout when people want to go to a city like ATL, LA, NYC, the Chi, to become "church planters." We glorify those mission fields. But we often neglect the local area. The small towns.
Don't get me wrong, it is not a bad thing to be a pastor. Or to wish to teach. Or to desire to go over seas, or to a city for missions. But we have got to stop glorifying the pulpit, and start encouraging the kitchen sink.
Thanks for reading,
John Mark,
John Mark,
ReplyDeleteYou have a habit of over generalizing the Church when you address different topics, and this one is same. This is a bad error on your part and one that you should strive to avoid.
With that being said, while I agree that becoming a pastor is not the goal that all should strive for, I must disagree with the down playing of the importance of the pastor. In 1 Timothy 5:17-18, Paul commands Timothy saying,
"Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward."
Since he commands that the elders (i.e. pastors) who labor in the Word and doctrine are to be given double honor, the pulpit is to be treasured and valued by each of us. This is not to say that we should all pursue pastoral ministry. This is evident by Paul's very words in 1 Corinthians 12. Rather, that the pulpit should be treasured because from the pulpit is where we are instructed each Lord's Day regarding what God requires of us.
Should we "stop glorifying the pulpit"? No, we should respect and honor that position while at the same time recognizing that God has called EVERYONE to one job or another. For some that job is a pastor, for others it is a mother, and for others it is a manager at Chick-Fil-A. Regardless of our calling we are to do our best with the way God has made us and seek to glorify Him through our work.
Thanks for your opinion!
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