Stuff to be thankful for

1. My friend, mentor, and brother in Christ, Bill Hitt. He went to be with the Lord Tuesday November 15th, 2011.
2. My awesome wife. She is a daily reminder of the beauty and love of Jesus Christ.
3. Seminary, where I learned Greek and Hebrew and gained a deeper love of the inspired writ.
4. Windsor Park Baptist Church. They are a wonderful outpost of God's kingdom and a beautiful instance of the bride of Christ on this earth. The people there are peaceable, loving, and prayerful, but to the enemy they are terrible, as an army with banners.
5. My family, immediate and extended. They are interesting, eccentric, and helpful. I love them all.
6. My job. I teach math, bible, and rhetoric at a private school.
7. My students, I love them more than the actual job.
8. Science, testing hypotheses is fun.

Wesley's Address to Clergy a review and recommendation

To read Wesley's own words, click here.

The field of pastoral ministry/care/theology is interesting as it currently stands. To risk significant over-simplification of the issues I will aim to summarize them quickly. The conservative wing is filled with simplistic appropriations of a simplified understanding of Richard Baxter (get people to know right doctrine) and simplistic applications of modern leadership theory to the church (the church needs a pastor who leads!). The more liberal wing is so enamored of a non-exegetical dismissal of the Bible on the grounds of an uncritical use of feminist criticism that most liberal pastoral theologies are intentionally unbiblical. The mainline writers (like Purves) recommend looking back to the classical tradition of pastoral theology, which while being awesome misses the point of the classical tradition: it is radically exegetical. The pastors cited by Purves were all exegetes and theologians, so to imitate their example is not just to learn from their theology or try their methods, but to imitate them in their love of the Bible. In current seminaries, the focus appears to be upon academic achievement or the soft sciences, not necessarily upon exegesis and application of the Scriptures (see http://fredputnam.org/?q=node/54). Youth ministry manuals typically end up being related to contextualizing or church structure (to remove students from church life or to keep them around). Music ministry manuals are usually about music choice, intentions, or some other such thing. Wesley calls all clergy back to knowledge of the Bible, skillful application thereof, as well as a burning zeal for God, his church, and those who yet reject or remain ignorant of the gospel.
            Wesley offers numerous gems of advice in this one address. I recommend it to ministers of all kinds: pastors, assistant pastors, education ministers, youth pastors, seminary professors, music ministers, etc. All of his prescriptions will not be possible for all, but he demonstrates our shortcomings with facility and grace. He writes that the Christian minister must quick minded, studious, affectionate towards God and man, and an exemplar of the content of the gospel message. He recommends that those who seek the Christian ministry train their minds using every available means so that they might defend and explain the gospel for the church that was purchased with the blood of Christ. He writes, “And as to acquired endowments, can he take one step aright, without first a competent share of knowledge a knowledge, First, of his own office; of the high trust in which he stands, the important work to which he is called Is there any hope that a man should discharge his office well, if he knows not what it is that he should acquit himself faithfully of a trust, the very nature whereof he does not understand Nay, if he knows not the work God has given him to do, he cannot finish it.” He then lists the species of knowledge that a preacher should aim to attain, the Bible (in Greek and Hebrew), the Fathers, science, history, rhetoric, logic, and even some geometry to aid in thinking more clearly!
            As to the intentions, Wesley is clear, “ought it not to be singly this, to glorify God, and to save souls from death?” This is the sum total of the life of a Christian elder/overseer (and of any Christian), but the “professional” especially must not live for his name, the size of his congregation, or the sales of his books. He must not live to be right, to do things his own way, but must constantly turn to the teachings of Jesus Christ and make them his daily practice. Wesley wrote to male clergy, but the same is true of female clergy. To my readers who do not think that women should preacher/lead in churches, the fact remains that if they do, they should do so for God’s glory if they believe that they are called.
            Wesley’s thoughts about the specifics of a preacher’s knowledge of the Bible is awesome and unattained by the present author. I here reproduce it in full:

Let us each seriously examine himself. Have I, (1.) Such a knowledge of Scripture, as becomes him who undertakes so to explain it to others, that it may be a light in all their paths? Have I a full and clear view of the analogy of faith, which is the clue to guide me through the whole? Am I acquainted with the several parts of Scripture; with all parts of the Old Testament and the New Upon the mention of any text, do I know the context, and the parallel places? Have I that point at least of a good Divine, the being a good textuary? Do I know the grammatical construction of the four Gospels; of the Acts; of the Epistles; and am I a master of the spiritual sense (as well as the literal) of what I read? Do I understand the scope of each book, and how every part of it tends thereto? Have I skill to draw the natural inferences deducible from each text? Do I know the objections raised to them or from them by Jews, Deists, Papists, Arians, Socinians, and all other sectaries, who more or less corrupt or caponize the word of God? Am I ready to give a satisfactory answer to each of these objections? And have I learned to apply every part of the sacred writings, as the various states of my hearers require?

(2.) Do I understand Greek and Hebrew? Otherwise, how can I undertake, (as every Minister does,) not only to explain books which are written therein, but to defend them against all opponents? Am I not at the mercy of every one who does understand, or even pretends to understand, the original? For which way can I confute his pretence? Do I understand the language of the Old Testament critically at all? Can I read into English one of David's Psalms; or even the first chapter of Genesis? Do I understand the language of the New Testament? Am I a critical master of it? Have I enough of it even to read into English the first chapter of St. Luke? If not, how many years did I spend at school? How many at the University? And what was I doing all those years? Ought not shame to cover my face?

Wesley's address might bring us to turn off the television, get off the facebook, and pick up a grammar. They may lead us away from the blogs and towards the Bible. They may even lead us to pray for instead of complain about members in our churches. If any of these effects occur, then I will be happy.