Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Dean of Students at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson
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At the outset of a difficult topic – pastoral laziness – I want to be clear that my purpose is to encourage both pastors and their congregations. Where conflict arises over the minister’s work ethic, I believe most of the time there is a path forward to strengthen the bonds of affection that should exist between a pastor and his congregation. That said, here are some hard words: Apart from heretical doctrine or immorality, one of the most serious charges that can be levelled against a pastor is sloth. In the judgment of his congregation, he fails to take his cues from the “hard-working farmer,” one of Paul’s models for pastoral ministry (2 Timothy 2:6), and seems unfamiliar with Solomon’s…
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Look closely at the photograph to the right of this WWII veteran – a carrier-based Helldiver torpedo bomber manned by a 20-year-old pilot and 17-year-old tail gunner, Joe Neves. Now 92, he is the last surviving WWII veteran to serve with the Navy’s famed Tophatters squadron. Mr. Neves found out about the bombing of Pearl Harbor as he exited a movie theatre in New York City on December 7, 1941. Determined to fight for his country, he had to wait three years until he was 17 and old enough to enlist. I was honored to meet and speak with him last week. He gave me a signed copy of an artist’s rendering of his plane. He told me to…
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Albert N. Martin, The Man of God: His Calling and Godly Life. Trinity Pulpit Press, 2018. More than a century ago James Stalker warned: I believe the question, what is to be the type and the tone of the ministry in any generation, is decided in the theological seminaries. What the students are there, the ministers of the country will be by-and-by. . . The state of feeling in a theological seminary ought to be such, that any man living a life inconsistent with his future profession should feel thoroughly uncomfortable, and have the conviction driven in upon his conscience every day, that the ministry is no place for him. (Yale Preaching Lectures, 1891) If theological students are to live…
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