We are coming to a close in our series 'Categorizing the Cults'. Why did I do such a Bible study?
It is much better to teach and equip people about falsehoods before they encounter them and have a chance to be deceived. If you were expecting to be attacked by a bear at some time, would you wait until the bear attacked before you learnt a bit more about bears? Or would you want to learn beforehand about the best way to avoid bear attacks?
The truth is this world is crawling with false religions, cults and the 'traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world'. Your people will run into them at some point, and often this will be as they are trying to win them - as a Jehovah's Witness knocks on their door or a Muslim hands them a booklet attempting to undermine the Bible.
Also, once they are equipped with a little knowledge about the cult (an organisation that has a peculiar personality, book and extra-biblical claims) they can then go on the offensive themselves and witness. Just last Saturday we were on the offensive with two young Muslims who approached us while we were witnessing, and they found their arguments falling flat in the face of truth.
Friday 9 May 2014
Friday 20 December 2013
Monday 16 December 2013
Feeding The Sheep
I recently took a young man from our church to a garden center to buy a fish for his fish tank. This garden center in particular has a great aquarium section, with a plethora of interesting water creatures to decorate your home with; From fighting fish to living coral, I was as wide-eyed as him at the amazing display of fish, crustaceans and plants on sale.
At the counter we saw a small refrigeration unit that contained all sorts of food for the animals on sale. There were more usual items, but also worms and live shrimp to make a tasty snack for your purchase. I marveled at just how complicated and expensive it was too feed some of these creatures.
If you pastor for very long you realize just how accurate Christ was when describing His followers (and those that we lead - Acts 20:28) as sheep. Before I get lambasted, hey, I am a sheep as well as a shepherd! One thing we can say with sheep is that they are very simple to feed - they eat grass. Where some fancy tropical fish will die if it isn't kept in the most monitored of conditions, sheep will be pretty happy if they just have some decent grass to munch on.
So surely it can't be that hard to minister to God's people? Well obviously preaching is a little more complex than feeding our woolly friends, but essentially we need the same elements that real sheep need - the grass has to be lush, long and green if the sheep are going to be as strong as possible. It also has to be free of inedible or potentially poisonous weeds.
The point is that our people do not need fancy, theological gymnastics as their regular food, but something simple. Yet it can't be just simple, it has to be as lush and and as appetizing as possible. The best preachers are those that preach lushly illustrated, engaging and informative, yet essentially simple messages.
We must also endeavor to discipline our selves in study so that weeds don't end up in the grass - a biblical inaccuracy popping up in a sermon can be real distraction at best, and poisonous at worst. Recently an otherwise good preacher made a statement about Adam possibly being in the garden for a million years, which is nothing more than a capitulation to evolution theory.
An excellent book to read that fleshes out the method of communicating simple principles in profound and memorable ways is Made to Stick, which is highly recommended for all those in ministry or who feel the call to preach.
At the counter we saw a small refrigeration unit that contained all sorts of food for the animals on sale. There were more usual items, but also worms and live shrimp to make a tasty snack for your purchase. I marveled at just how complicated and expensive it was too feed some of these creatures.
If you pastor for very long you realize just how accurate Christ was when describing His followers (and those that we lead - Acts 20:28) as sheep. Before I get lambasted, hey, I am a sheep as well as a shepherd! One thing we can say with sheep is that they are very simple to feed - they eat grass. Where some fancy tropical fish will die if it isn't kept in the most monitored of conditions, sheep will be pretty happy if they just have some decent grass to munch on.
So surely it can't be that hard to minister to God's people? Well obviously preaching is a little more complex than feeding our woolly friends, but essentially we need the same elements that real sheep need - the grass has to be lush, long and green if the sheep are going to be as strong as possible. It also has to be free of inedible or potentially poisonous weeds.
The point is that our people do not need fancy, theological gymnastics as their regular food, but something simple. Yet it can't be just simple, it has to be as lush and and as appetizing as possible. The best preachers are those that preach lushly illustrated, engaging and informative, yet essentially simple messages.
We must also endeavor to discipline our selves in study so that weeds don't end up in the grass - a biblical inaccuracy popping up in a sermon can be real distraction at best, and poisonous at worst. Recently an otherwise good preacher made a statement about Adam possibly being in the garden for a million years, which is nothing more than a capitulation to evolution theory.
An excellent book to read that fleshes out the method of communicating simple principles in profound and memorable ways is Made to Stick, which is highly recommended for all those in ministry or who feel the call to preach.
Wednesday 11 December 2013
New Blog
I have started a new blog aside from the usual church posts to share my thoughts on all things related to the ministry. While I have not been long on the harvest field, maybe a thought or an insight I share may bless you; I certainly thank God for all the inspiration and input I have received thus far!
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