God’s Missionary to Our Family

Mike Leake

Tomorrow I will conduct the funeral service of a 93 year old saint who has gone on to be with the Lord. While she’s a member of our congregation, she’s been gone several years now as her health declined and she moved out of state to live with a daughter.  I really did not know her family since they live so far away and was pleased to have the opportunity to sit down to talk about the funeral service and to hear of her vitality and joy of living in her ‘younger’ years.

She lived through the tumultuous changes of the 20th century, but was very much a product of her generation   who endured the Great Depression.  A hard working woman who learned to make-do with whatever was on hand and find joy in life, in family, and in the community of believers.

I was touched deeply by the family’s testimony of her walk with the Lord.  It’s not just that she was a believer, active ni the

Quick Review of Heart of the Matter

Mike Leake 2 Comments

I am a big fan of CCEF, the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation.  Several of the books published by those affiliated with CCEF have been life changing. One of the most instrumental books in my walk with Christ has been How People Change by Timothy Lane and Paul Tripp. But CCEF’s impact on my life does not stop with that book. I have also received marital help, assistance in dealing with issues of shame and abuse, training in counseling others, and much more. 

All of the writers affiliated with CCEF are very good at exposing our sinful tendencies. Reading these books will rip you open and expose you.  But it never stops there. In as much as they tear they also heal with gospel balm. They never leave you on your own to deal with your problems. Change is always found in a person; namely Jesus Christ. The folks at CCEF are very faithful in pointing to Jesus.

With my love for CCEF it will be no surprise for you to hear that I was excited about Heart of the Matter. This book is a compilation of sections from other CCEF books put into a daily devotional format. Each day the reader is given a Bible verse and a brief devotional related to that passage.

Everything You Need

One of my favorite things about CCEF is that they believe that God has given us everything that we need for life and godliness in the person of Jesus Christ as revealed in His Word. That is essentially what this book is about. Every day the reader is given a devotional that relates to various life situations. I believe that a year in this book would convince the reader that they have in Christ everything they need for the situations that life throws at them. In fact, they’ll probably come to discover that it is not merely “life” that is throwing things at them but the God of grace. 

There are a variety of topics included in this book: love, hope, grace, redemption, faith, contentment, conflict, relationships, prayer, fear, patience, humility, and anger. Not everything is covered but the reader is given a framework for relating the gospel to everyday life.

Should You Buy It?

I plan to use this as a daily devotional in January. I would not suggest only using this book, though. It does not have in depth study of the various texts. This book is valuable in application. I would suggest taking the passage at the top of each day, studying it a little, chewing on it, thinking and praying through it, and then reading the devotional that goes along with the text to drive home gospel application. 

The book is retailing at $19.99 which is not a bad price.  I imagine that it will go down as the book becomes more readily available at online stores like Amazon. Yet, even if it does not 20 bucks is not a horrible price for a book that you will use all year. 

I believe you would benefit from reading this book. 

Today in Blogworld 11.08.12

Mike Leake

7 Things a Pastor’s Kid Needs From a Father

Barnabas Piper, one of the more famous PK’s, reflects on seven things that PK’s need to know from their father. Great advice.

The Loyal Opposition

Denny Burk reflects on the election results and the Christian’s responsibility to be both loyal and to stand for truth. 

The Two Articles Christians Should Read the Day After the Election

What about two days after the election? I think these articles that JT points to are still very important to read. One from Dr. Moore and the other from Collin Hansen. 

Visual Theology

Tim Challies has explored an interesting idea concerning infographics. Can infographics be used to teach theology? Check out Tim’s visual theology series and I think you will see that he does a wonderful job of visually teaching theology. 

Wow, it’s amazing what Google technologies can do these days:

Giving Badges to Guys With a Bushy Mustache

Mike Leake

    For a man will take hold of his brother
        in the house of his father, saying:
    “You have a cloak;
        you shall be our leader,
    and this heap of ruins
        shall be under your rule”;
    in that day he will speak out, saying:
    “I will not be a healer;
        in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
    you shall not make me
        leader of the people.”
(Isaiah 3:6-7 ESV)

In other words leadership is so scarce in the land that if a guy even looks like he could pose as a leader he is called for the job.  That’s like giving some dude a badge, a gun, and a nightstick just because he has a bushy mustache.  Paper leaders are often a sign of God’s judgment.  Specifically judgment for trusting in indispensable leaders instead of the God that creates these leaders. 

I sure am glad that we live in the New Testament era and we would never struggle with something similar.  You probably picked up on my sarcasm there didn’t you?  If you did, it is because you have been in a church that has crowned a guy youth pastor just because he seems to relate to students and has a couple Bible verses memorized.  Or you have witnessed the church call a man to be a deacon (or elder) simply because he is vocal at a few business meetings. 

Within many churches, service and leadership is so scarce that if someone even shows a faint resemblance of a leader they are immediately propelled into a position of authority.  Often, even foundational offices are selected more by what sucker will volunteer than any semblance of calling. 

Pastoral Idolatry and Discipleship

Is it possible that just as in the days of Isaiah God is displeased with our churches?  Specifically, that he is displeased with our leadership idolatry and so he has stripped us of leaders.  And perhaps He has done so in His grace, knowing that if we had a church filled with solid leaders that we would trust in their wisdom instead of trusting in the Lord Himself.

Is it possible that one of the reasons why churches look eerily similar to Isaiah 3:6-7 is because we have placed idolatrous trust in a CEO model of pastoral leadership?  Is it possible that we’ve somehow convinced ourselves that the church has two heads.  One of course, being our head nod to the Lord Jesus and then secondly our real leader the CEO pastor?  I think Paul Tripp is right, “if Christ is the head of his body, then everything else is just body, including the pastor…” 

Maybe our lack of leaders is a direct result of the unbiblical pedestal that we have placed pastors upon.  Maybe pastors become spent on being CEO of an organization and are never afforded the time or energy to actually do the work of pastoring and equipping saints for the work of ministry.  Yet, we know that we have to have somebody in these positions.  We rightly tell ourselves that the pastor and his staff cannot do everything.  So, we look around and find a few people that carry their Bible and make them Sunday school teachers.  Yet, we continue to have our pastor as CEO and give him only a scant amount of time to actually be about the work of ministry.

When your pastor is predominately a fireman don’t be surprised if people are not being discipled.  At its most basic form discipling someone is teaching them to obey Jesus while you obey Jesus with your life in front of them.  When the pastor is only putting out fires what do you think his “disciples” will be learning?  They certainly will not be learning how to go disciple someone else or how to become a fisher of men.  They’ll learn how to serve church problems.  Not how to draw deeply from the well of Jesus. 

Let’s not make our pastors so indispensable that they become idols.  It’s dangerous for them and for us.* 

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*As an associate pastor I’m part of the the “them” and the “us” in that sentence.