This post from a pastor in Ohio quotes Spurgeon (and here are a couple great thoughts).
As ministers we are very far from being perfect, but many of us are doing our best, and we are grieved that the minds of our people should be more directed to our personal imperfections than to our divine message….
Judge the preacher if you like, but do remember that there is something better to be done than that, namely, to get all the good you can out of him, and pray his Master to put more good into him."
- from Eccentric Preachers by C.H. Spurgeon via Mark Driscoll
This post from one of my favorite dudes, Gary Lamb, examines the heart of what we really want to be doing (now, quoting Lamb).
I have learned that most church planters REALLY don't want to reach those far from God, they really want to do church in a cool way. There is a difference. Just because you have great video, loud music, dress casual, and use movie clips doesn't mean you are reaching those far from God...
I'll be honest and tell you that there are times when pastoring Revolution freaks me out. There are times when I think it would be easier to do what most guys do and plant a church that really is a place for other Christians to come hang out and talk about how we are reaching unchurched people instead of doing it. I think that would be easier, but we would not be charging the gates of hell with that mindset. There are enough guys around doing that and doing it well...
BUT, if they do understand the cost, they will realize it is nothing compared to the reward of seeing lives changed with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is worth whatever cost there is. I would put everything on the line to continue to do what we do because the payoff is so huge.
Honestly, we need some time to sing the song and pray the prayer...."Change My Heart, O God". If we don't focus big time on where we are headed and what we are doing, we will end up in the direction and doing the wrong thing or not reaching anybody at all. What do you think?
Wrong moves lead to hard times:
Jonah 1:3 (nlt) --- But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.
Right moves lead us to making serious impact for our God:
Psalm 119:1 (nlt) --- Joyful are people of integrity,who follow the instructions of the Lord.
Galatians 6:2-3 (nlt) --- Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
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