Continuing with Paul's closing thoughts from 1 Cor 1:26-31, Paul goes on in Chapter 2 to remind the church that he had not come to them practicing those things that were respected by the world (oratory skills, stage presence, etc.), but focused on the power of the gospel message. Paul said that he did not come with a dynamic, logical presentation on powerpoint (1 Cor 2:1-2), but came preaching a message of Christ cruicified...which was foolish by the world's standards. This makes me "grin" on the inside. Paul was intentionally simple in his preaching. Sometimes we make the "Christian journey" pretty complicated. "Come follow Me (Matthew 4:19)" becomes "dress this way, say these things, act in this manner...hold to these 23 points of confessional (creed) identity." Perhaps our "presentation" (our attempt to make the Christ-life) palatable and culturally relevant is actually making it so complicated that one cannot receive it in its fullness of power? [These are the philosophical ramblings of a man writing at 3:30 AM who has already been up for an hour and a half.]
Paul was intentionally simple and focused on what he said and how he said it when he preached to this church at Corinth (1 Cor 2:6-8)...because he desired for their faith to be in God and His wisdom, rather than the wisdom of men. Wow! What can be done when we aren't in a hurry to get the credit!
Paul said that he intentionally relied on the Holy Spirit to be the lead instructor since no one knew the heart of God better than the Spirit of God (1 Cor 2:10-11). In other words, He preached the truth and allowed the Spirit to apply the Truth as He saw fit. To some, this made Paul seem like a less than capable leader or communicator. They used the wisdom of the world when discerning Paul's message (1 Cor 2:12-14). Paul knew his message would not be received by all...but was okay with that since he trusted the Holy Spirit to apply what was true to the hearts of those who heard him and were open to really understanding the truth of God.
As a pastor, this is a tough balance for me. On one hand...I am a communicator. I do this for a living. I have the responsibility to convey truth in a way that makes it understandable to everyone. In some measure, my competence as a communicator is measured by how well people "get it" when I teach. On the other hand, I am a spiritual leader...meaning I am responsible to create the environment for people to discover the truths of God as the Holy Spirit applies them. The balance is knowing when to let people wrestle with tough things so they can learn in the midst of the journey. Certainly the "Christian" life is not always easy...nor did God intend for it to be. He designed it to be such that we would always be dependent on Him for how to survive and thrive.
Proverbs 17:10 is the takeaway today. We all have met people who were teachable and those who were "not-so-much." The key to growing in Christ is to be intentionally humble and teachable. Someone gave me an article recently on how to handle criticism. One of the "keys" in considering criticism was to PRESUME that there was merit and validity (in some measure) to the critic's observations. In other words to be teachable. A word of correction to a teachable person is more powerful than 100 "licks" with a rod of correction for one who is stubborn and refuses to be taught. Perhaps...we should look daily for what God is teaching us through the people around us and through His word. The great key to gaining is to begin with being teachable.
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3 comments:
God has been speaking to me lately but I try to stay busy working for God and tend to not listen very well. I don't typically think about things being difficult because God wants us to learn to lean on Him. But I can completely agree with you on this. God is telling me to slow down and wait. He is saying, you are right where I want you now be paitent and wait for my call. It is the most awesome feeling, one I don't remember feeling most of my adult married life. It feels good to be at Calavary, I can't explain it but God has surrounded us with an amazing family. I am so amazed by God's provisions. I don't really know why this came to mind for this scripture, I guess like Paul you don't have to have big words or have read lots of big books in order to know God's plans. Just be still and be in His word and speak to Him and He will show us. I like Paul a lot. :)
I think we have gone a LONG way in making church and the Christian life complex. It is not to be easy but should be simple--- follow Jesus. I would argue that pastors are not communicators nor are they responsible to create an "environment" per se. Pastors are shepherds leading the "flock" which means you love them, are with them and you challenge them to the areas that are best for them. You are to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry. I think pastors today try to be too many things-- CEO's, managers, administrators, evangelist, teachers, etc. God has given the church the gifts that are needed and it does not come in the form of one person. The teaching pastor should equip the members for their daily lives in the "real world" so that they can be effective witness of Jesus.
Amanda,
I think you are onto something.... Keep growing and persevering.
thinkingoutloud: we are not speaking on different subjects (I don't think)...just using a different way of saying it (which makes me think I know who this is-- grin).
Anyway, when I use the word "environment, I am talking about putting people in a place where they can move forward. When I speak of communicating, I am speaking of giving them what they need to yield to God in moving forward. Both of these seem clearly to be in a shepherd's job description (clearly a Jesus model here). The other things that a pastor "tries to do" ( to use your thought) are often times from necessity rather tham some narcissistic dysfunction. I admittedly don't have all of the answers. I just try to do the best I can with what I know. Thanks for the post.
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