Time Management

I’ve been convicted lately of my poor habits in the realm of time management. I find it incredibly easy to waste many hours reading blogs, watching television, movies, etc. and so very hard to discipline myself to spend considerable time in study, prayer, and meditation. I think the value of time is paradoxical in this microwave generation. We are too impatient to wait a few minutes for our food at a restaurant, we get bent out of shape if we’re stuck behind a slow driver, we expect web pages to load in nano-seconds, and the list could go on and on. And yet, in spite of this apparent understanding of the preciousness of time, we are content to waste hours upon hours “surfing” the web or sitting in front of the television. What if we got a proper understanding of the preciousness of time and actually began “redeeming” it? Listen to these words from Charles Bridges’ Christian Ministry:

“The secret of this efficiency seems to have much consisted in a deep sense of the value of that most precious of all talents—time; and of an economical distribution of the minutest particles for specific purposes. Mr. Alleine would often say, ‘Give me a Christian, that counts his time more precious than gold.’ Mr. Cotton would express his regret after the departure of a visitor—‘I had rather have given this man a handful of money, than have been kept thus long out of my study.’ … But here we should be, like the miser with his money—saving it with care, and spending it with caution. It is well to have a book for every spare hour, to improve what Boyle calls the ‘parenthesis or interludes of time: which, coming between more important engagements, are wont to be lost by most men for want of a value for them: and even by good men, for want of skill to preserve them. And since goldsmiths and refiners are wont all year long to save the very sweepings of their shops, because they may contain in them some filings or dust of those richer metals, gold and silver; I see not, why a Christian may not be as careful, not to lose the fragments and lesser intervals of a thing incomparably more precious than any metal—time…’”
This section really made me ask, “Am I treasuring my time? Am I using it wisely? Am I focusing on things that have eternal value?”

How does one focus on things that have eternal value? Well, it means that you spend more time reading Scripture than you do watching television! It means you spend more time reading books on Theology or Apologetics, or at least Pastoral Ministry than you do watching movies! I’m not saying that we can’t spend any time being entertained or relaxing with our families and friends. But, I don’t think many Americans have any trouble budgeting in time for entertainment. So what will you sacrifice? Well, you probably won’t be up to speed on the latest news. You probably won’t be as knowledgeable about your favorite sport team as you could be. You won’t be able to follow the storyline of the latest season of your favorite television program. But, you will gain eternal rewards in heaven! You will have a deeper understanding of Scripture and God. You will be better able to give an account when someone asks of you. You will be better able to shepherd the flock of your family. You will be better equipped to minister to the saints in your local church. Sure you may give up some “Social Currency,” but I submit that it is worth it, and you won’t regret it.

"Mean" Thoughts of God

I read a sermon by Jonathan Edwards last night entitled, "The Sole Consideration, That God is God, Sufficient to Still All Objections to His Sovereignty." In it Edwards critiques many of the misunderstandings and sinful attitudes that cause men to doubt the sovereignty of God. Of the many great portions of this sermon, I found one quote to be particularly noteworthy:

"If you had not mean thoughts of God, you would not find fault with him for not setting his love on you who never exercised any love to him. You would not think it unjust in God not to seek your interest and eternal welfare, who never would be persuaded at all to seek his glory; you would not think it unjust in him to slight and disregard you, who have so often and so long made light of God. If you had not mean thoughts of God, you never would think him obliged to bestow eternal salvation upon you, who have never been truly thankful for one mercy which you have already received of him.--What do you think of yourselves? what great ideas have you of yourselves? and what thoughts have you of God, that you think he is obliged to do so much for you though you treat him ever so ungratefully for the kindness which he hath already bestowed upon you all the days of your lives? It must be from little thoughts of God, that you think it unjust in him not to regard you when you call upon him; when he hath earnestly called to you, so long and so often, and you would not be persuaded to hearken to him. What thoughts have you of God, that you think he is more obliged to hear what you say to him, than you are to regard what he says to you?
It is from diminutive thoughts of God, that you think he is obliged to show mercy to you when you seek it, though you have been for a long time willfully sinning against him, provoking him to anger, and presuming that he would show you mercy when you should seek it. What kind of thoughts have you of God, that you think he is obliged, as it were, to yield himself up to be abused by men, so that when they have done, his mercy and pardoning grace shall not be in his power, but he must be obliged to dispense them at their call?"

Calling?

The following is a short position paper I had to write for an elder training program I am a part of at my church. The question being addressed is, "What is your role and the church's role in calling/sending?" I think that the issue of "discerning one's call to ministry" is fairly common, especially in the seminary environment, and therefore I believe this short article might get some people thinking, or perhaps get further discussions started.
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The question, “What is the individual’s role and the church’s role in calling and sending?” is difficult to answer due to the sheer multifaceted nature of the topic. When one begins asking such questions, more immediately arise, such as the legitimacy of various models of church polity, the role of the Spirit in subjective experience vs. the role of Scripture in objective instruction, the very hermeneutical quandary of “descriptive” versus “prescriptive,” and scores more. Therefore, I will only endeavor to present my convictions on the subject while openly admitting that they will be narrowly presented, largely out of context, and grossly underdeveloped. Throughout this paper, I will be assuming my roles in calling/sending in the description of the responsibilities of both a man desirous of ministry and of a member of a congregation.

The most important question to answer before any others can begin to be addressed is, “What is meant by the term ‘calling?’” I submit that this term is largely used in an unbiblical manner. The idea of “calling” to a vocational ministry smacks of Old Testament patterns and practices, in which the Levitical Priesthood, Davidic Monarchy, and the Prophets were Divinely called out from among their brethren to mediate, rule, and speak God’s Words to the people.

In the New Testament, the word “call,” from the Greek kaleo rarely refers to God “calling” a man to do ministry on His behalf. The word, when used of God calling men, almost always refers to the call to salvation (Rom. 8.30ff). Paul speaks of himself as being “called to be an apostle” (note that Paul’s call to apostleship was simultaneous with his call to salvation) (Rom 1.1; 1 Cor. 1.1; Acts 9.3ff; 1 Cor 15.8) and of his readers as “called to belong to Jesus Christ,” and “called as Saints,” or more simply just as the “called.” (Rom 1.6, 7; et. al.) Thus, it is my conviction that the term “call” ought to be only used to refer to the call to salvation and that we ought to dismiss with the terminology “call to ministry.”

The closest thing we see in the New Testament to the idea of an inward, subjective “call to ministry” is seen in 1 Tim 3.1, “The saying is trustworthy: if anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” I feel that much of what young men talk about today as “God’s call on my life” would be better described as “what I want to do.” I am in no way seeking to undercut the role of God’s sovereignty in influencing circumstances and situations in order to produce such desires. I am simply saying that there is a great deal of mysticism and not a great deal of biblical wisdom present today. What is Paul’s assessment of a man’s desire of the office of overseer? He states plainly, “He desires a noble task.” How then does Paul instruct those who feel such desires? He immediately lists certain character qualifications they must possess if they are to make their desire a reality. Therefore, the best course of action would be to begin cultivating the character traits listed in 1 Tim 3.2ff.

As an aspiring man begins to develop the necessary character traits, those in the local church to which he has joined himself will begin to take notice. As he matures in Christ, he will naturally begin to exercise his gifting for the edification of the body, which will also be noticed. It then becomes the local church’s responsibility to recognize him as one who may possess the character traits and the gifting required of an overseer or deacon. If the church congregation is so large that they cannot get to know him in the course of regular body life and pastors must step in to make the identification, so be it. However, I believe this necessity speaks more to the need for smaller congregations than it does for elder oversight during the identification process. In the selection of the proto-deacons in Acts 6, the congregation was exhorted to pick men “of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom.” These men must have been well known to the congregation in Jerusalem, else they would have been breaking the Apostle’s instructions by appointing men of questionable (that is, unknown) character.

Once the man has been recognized as a potential leader, a time of testing must then ensue. The length ought not be set in stone, as no passage of Scripture mentions this time, though practicality demands it. During this time of testing, the congregation ought to examine the man’s life more carefully than they did before. Simultaneous to the time of testing, the potential elder should begin (or hopefully continue) his theological training. It is the church’s responsibility to train its upcoming elders well (Acts 18.26; 2 Ti 2.2). It is unfortunate that this responsibility has been passed on to para-church organizations such as seminaries and Bible colleges. After the time of testing is completed, if he is found to be without any disqualifying character defects and if he is still desirous of the task, he ought to be appointed officially by the leaders of his local church. Robert Reymond notes an interesting nuance in the Greek of Acts 14:23, “they had appointed cheirotoneo) elders for them in every church…” cheirotoneo literally means “choose, elect by raising hands,” thus implying that though Paul and Barnabas appointed the elders, they did not do so without the input (show of hands) of the congregation. Thus, it is up to the man to seek to qualify himself through character development, and it is the responsibility of the church to recognize him as a potential elder.

Once the man is appointed as an elder, he and his fellow elders must determine whether he will stay at the local church or whether he will be sent out to do national or international church planting. The congregation ought to be involved in this process as well, still identifying gifting and making recommendations, though this is not as essential as before. If it is determined that the brother should be sent out, the main role of the congregation during this time is “fasting and praying” for the work, and then sending him off (Acts 13.3).

If the elder does go, the local church should partner with him by committing to pray for him and his family, the new church plant, and to support him financially and administratively (Phil 4.16; Acts 8.14ff, 11.22ff, 15.1-35). This partnering may continue indefinitely, and should not be shunned as infringing upon the autonomy of the local church.

I have not dealt with the issue of “calling” and “sending” of missionaries specifically because I believe that missionaries, unless they are joining a church that has already been established, will in effect be church planters, and thus ought to be sent out as elders; in which case, the above process applies to them as well.