A Mirror for the Preacher

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Once in a while we will come across something from the morning news that has nothing in the world to do with preachers or Christians or the church, but which is as good a mirror as one could ever find for us to find our own reflection.

So this morning.

Mackie Shilstone is described in the (New Orleans) Times-Picayune as a “noted sports trainer (who) has been working with tennis star Serena Williams the past 18 months.”

Anyone who has anything to do with professional sports knows his name. He’s a New Orleanian, is often on TV and radio, and is evidently the answer to the prayers of a lot of athletes regarding their conditioning.

Over the last week or so, while the U.S.Open tennis championship has been being played out in New York City, Shilstone has been sending a “postcard” to our newspaper. At least, that’s what the paper calls it. Today’s was the first column of his I’ve seen.

It’s evidently the last one, too, since Serena Williams lost in the semifinals against Kim Clijsters in a profanity-laced tirade that got her fined and provoked an investigation into the possibility of additional penalties.

Okay, enough background. I want you to see a portion of Mackie Shilstone’s column in which he is supposed to be talking about the tennis star, the championship, and the competition. Today would have been a great time for him to give us his take on what Serena did. But nope. She’s paying him the big bucks.

Here’s something of what he said….

“Over my last 27 years of working with more than 3,000 pro athletes, and in every pro sports venue from being in the dugout of the San Francisco Giants in the World Series, the sideline of the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl IX, to working the corner of championship boxing matches, I must say that being part of Team Serena will go down as a cherished memory.”

One wonders how much Shilstone paid the Times-Picayune for that self-promoting ad?

Mostly I wonder, can we preachers read that and see ourselves in its reflection?

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The Best Thing in the Bible?

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Everyone has his own contender for that honor–the “best thing in the Bible”–and here’s mine.

“Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

“And might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” (Hebrews 2:14-15)

Those two loaded verses tell us why the incarnation (the act by which Jesus became human) and why the crucifixion (His death on the cross). It all pointed to the same purpose.

Jesus defeated the one holding the power of death, the devil, and delivered those in bondage to the fear of death. (That would be “us.”) He accomplished this by His death.

Eugene Peterson restates that in The Message:

“Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it’s logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by His death. By embracing death, taking it into Himself, He destroyed the devil’s hold on death and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death.”

Think of that: “scared to death of death.”

It describes our generation to a T.

Now, a wonderful little glimpse of something. Fast forward over to the first chapter of Revelation. In John’s vision of the ascended/glorified Jesus, there is a detail you may have missed.

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Leadership Development 3

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We’re not in the dark as to how the Lord prefers to train leaders. Take a gander at His favorite leaders in the Scriptures….

In Genesis, Joseph. In Exodus, Moses. Later, Joshua. In I Samuel, David. In the New Testament, it’s clearly Paul.

What one thing do all these leaders have in common?

They all suffered a great deal before the Lord decided they were ready to be used by Him. (And often continued to suffer while serving Him.)

Joseph spent the best years of his youth as a slave in Egypt, then was mistreated by his master and thrown in prison where he seemed to have been forgotten for a number of years.

Moses spent 40 years in remote areas keeping sheep before God decided that at the age of 80, this man was ready to face Pharaoh and lead the Israelites.

Joshua served as Moses’ servant for more years than he could count and endured the entire 40 years of wilderness wandering before Moses left the scene and gave him the keys to the car.

David was anointed as the new king sometime around his 17th year, we think. Soon, he fought Goliath and became a national champion, then a hero acclaimed by the masses. A jealous King Saul put a price on his head, turning David into an outlaw for a number of years.

Want to be a leader greatly used of God? Get ready to suffer first.

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Anyone for Three Sermon Illustrations?

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The newspaper column by Andy Rooney, resident curmudgeon of CBS television, does not appear in the New Orleans paper but I found it today in the Baton Rouge Advocate. Rooney thought we’d like to see what he shared Wednesday at the memorial service for Walter Cronkite at the Avery Fisher Hall in the Lincoln Center.

Two stories from that have special meaning for us.

The first illustration…

Rooney says he and his wife were often invited to go sailing with Walter and Betsy Cronkite. “Once while we were sailing in Maine several years ago, we tied up near a little village and Walter and Betsy went into a country store.”

“This strange-looking character comes up to Walter and asks him a question. Walter was always polite to his fans and, with Betsy standing there, Walter said, “Oh sure. We’ve met several times . We’re not really close friends. I talk to him once in a while.”

Outside, Betsy said, “Walter, did you hear who he asked you about?” And Walter, who was hard of hearing answered,”No, I didn’t.” She said, “Well, he asked if you knew Jesus Christ.”

(What if it turned out that that accidental answer was the real one? Let’s hope he knew Jesus well and is in His presence at this very moment.)

And then the second Cronkite story.

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Rhapsody on Jeremiah 9:23-24

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“Thus says the Lord, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;

“But let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for I delight in these things,’ declares the Lord.” (Jer. 9:23-24)

Remember those words. They will be on the test.

The word “rhapsody,” we’re told, comes to us from the Greek “rhapsodia.” That word is made from “rhapso” meaning “to sew” and “ode,” a song. Literally, a rhapsody is a patchwork composition, parts of various songs stitched together into one.

I have my needle and thread this morning. I’m ready to pull together some thoughts on this fascinating declaration from our Heavenly Father for our benefit. In time, with continued reflection and study, my composition will be seamless. But not today, I’m afraid.

Last week, on Facebook–where “friends” try to compress large thoughts and long paragraphs of meaning into two or three pithy sentences–I urged pastors to begin their worship services by walking up to the pulpit and quoting these two verses from Jeremiah 9.

I suggested that the worship leader (the pastor should always be the opening and primary worship leader) should look his people in the eye and with a clear, almost dramatic voice, call out from memory–most definitely not reading–the words of this text. Do it slowly, forcefully, authoritatively.

This is in contrast to the trite manner in which so many worship services begin. “How y’all doing this morning?” “Well, aren’t we having a pretty day?” “Is everyone happy today? I said, ‘Is EVERYONE happy today?’ Maybe you didn’t hear me–IS EVERYONE HAPPY TODAY?”

Oh please. Spare us.

You can do better than this, pastor. Instead of beginning the worship service berating us for not answering your silly question forcefully enough, why not direct us toward the Lord. Lift us toward Heaven. See if you can actually help us worship.

After posting the suggestion about Jeremiah 9:23-24 on Facebook, the next day I made a comment regarding Galatians 2:20. That drew a response from Philip Price.

Price is the new director of missions for the Jackson County Baptist Association, headquartered in Pascagoula, having just left the First Baptist Church of Leakesville, MS (where I’ll be leading in revival in a few weeks). Philip said, “Interesting you would pick those two scriptures.”

The Galatians verse is his favorite and the Jeremiah passage was his text a few days ago when he addressed the state-wide meeting of directors of missions, his new peer group.

Until Philip said that, I was “past” Jeremiah 9:23-24. But that drew me back.

I’ve since memorized it and am attempting to retain it by lying in bed reflecting on its content and quoting it back from time to time.

Let’s take it apart and sew it back together. With me now?

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The Game’s Not Over Til It’s Over

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Thinking of my years in the ministry as a football field, let’s suppose I’m in the red zone now. The final twenty yards before arriving in the end zone.

A lot of great friends have blocked for me, some have shoved me forward, and I’ve been thrown for losses a few times. Couple of times I tripped over my own feet. Sometimes, a friend gave me a hand up and each time I stood back up and groggily re-entered the game.

Now, when you’re in the red zone is no time to be looking back and counting your accomplishments. You still have a job to do. So, you’ll get none of that here.

After all–ask any football player–my assignment is not to take out a notebook after each play and count up the yards I’ve gained and jot them down. Someone above is watching and recording it, is counting and taking notes.

When the game ends there will be plenty of time for looking back, for interviews, for regrets and back-slapping, for celebrating in the locker room.

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God’s Leadership Development Plan 2

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There must be as many ways to develop leadership abilities in others as there are stars in the sky, but most programs will come down to a few basics.

One of the most important and absolutely crucial elements in nurturing young leaders is exposure.

Expose the individual to the various tasks and jobs and careers open to him/her. Let the person try them on, work alongside a master craftsman for a few days, see how it feels.

Not everyone is called to every kind of work. Not everyone is called to be a leader of people, for that matter. But all in the Kingdom of God are called to work in the Lord’s vineyard and are gifted by the Holy Spirit with a talent/ability/enablement for that kind of work. (See I Corinthians 12, especially verse 7.)

Finding it is the fun part. Matching the person up with the right assignment is one of the pleasurable aspects of leadership.

Exposure: show them what they could be doing.

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God’s Leadership Development Plan I

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Who wants to be the leader?

Ask that in any classroom on the planet and two-thirds of the hands will go up. Every child in the class wants to be the leader.

The leader determines the direction. The leader walks out front. The leader becomes the role model for everyone else. The leader issues orders to the rest of the troops. The leader is well-known and highly visible. The leader gets interviewed by the media, shown on television and quoted by the paper. The leader receives the accolades when it’s all over. The leader takes home the choice rewards.

It’s fun being the leader.

Because he’s the most visible, the leader also gets shot at first and most often. The leader gets criticized by outsiders and insiders alike. The leader is the first to be arrested and executed if the movement fails. The leader bears the blame. The leader was at fault. The leader has to keep up appearances even when he is hopelessly discouraged or lost at sea. It all falls on the shoulders of the leader.

You sure you want to be the leader?

At this very moment, a future president of the United States of America is in high school. He/she may know very well that this is their destiny or, more likely, not have a clue. Some future president is a toddler in diapers.

It’s possible and even likely that the pastor-after-next who will be coming to lead your church is in middle school right now, without the slightest idea what lies ahead.

You hope someone is training these young people well. You hope they don’t have things too easy, that they learn the lessons only hard work can teach. You want them to know the positive values of struggle, of overcoming obstacles, of reaching deep down inside and summoning inner strength.

You want them smart and strong and solid.

The question is: where do we get such leaders? And how do they get that way?

Here’s how God did it.

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Drawing the Line in Advance

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The line defining what is moral, ethical, and biblical–and just as important, what isn’t–is almost impossible to discern close up. Only from a distance can that border be seen clearly.

That’s why the time to make those moral, ethical, and biblical choices is when you’re not involved in a crisis, not when the devil is banging your door down, and before you are beset by excruciating temptation.

If you haven’t settled these matters in advance, once the temptation arrives, you are sunk before you start.

The news this week told of a young pastor who was shot to death by the cops in a drug crackdown. From all reports, he was not buying or selling the stuff. So how did he get involved and how in the world did it lead to his death?

Everyone wants to know; every pastor needs to know and to learn from this guy’s mistakes.

Cops say they were monitoring the behavior of a few suspicious characters who were indeed dealing dope. They spotted a young man with a woman in his car nearby. Recognizing the woman as a druggie, they approached the car with guns drawn. Now, bear in mind, these are undercover cops and not wearing police uniforms. So, in a panic, the car speeds away and almost hits one of the narcs. The law enforcers interpret that as assault with a deadly weapon, we’re told constantly by police departments. It’s like handing them a license to kill. So, they did. They shot the young man who turned out to be a pastor. He died in the hospital later.

Preliminary reports, as I recall–I couldn’t find the article in my newspaper or on the internet this morning, so I’m going by memory here–indicate that no drugs were found with the man of God or in his system. The woman in his car tested positive.

The pastor’s sister was quick to defend him. “He would never ever touch drugs or alcohol. He had to have been there to try to save that woman’s soul. I’ll believe that to my dying day.”

Personally, with no information otherwise, I have no trouble accepting that. What I do have trouble with, however, is this: what in the sam hill was he doing there with a woman in his car in the first place?

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This Preacher’s Dilemma

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Every pastor I know is held by two scriptures at opposite poles–and also torn between them.

On the one hand, “The laborer is worthy of his hire.” That word from I Timothy 5:18 is a quotation of several Old Testament references. The New Testament will not let the super-spiritual among us dismiss the idea of compensating the minister with something like, “The Bible teaches that the ministers should get out and hold jobs like everyone else; there’s nothing in there about paying the preacher.”

Bad wrong. Read your Bible.

But on the other hand, the other reality that Scripture nails down as a line the minister must not cross says, “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (I Timothy 6:10).

On one side, the minister must never put a price on the work he does. He must look to the Lord as the Source for his needs.

On the other side, he should be adequately compensated. The church must do the faithful and responsible thing in providing for these the Lord has called, equipped, and sent into His fields to labor.

He has a hard time saying this. So, I’m saying it for him.

Some thirty years ago, Dr. Bill Prout was a professor of religion on the faculty of Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, MS, where I served the First Baptist Church. I was Bill’s pastor, but he himself was a former pastor of Southern Baptist churches. He often supplied pulpits in the area for absent ministers and took interims when churches were between pastors.

I wrote an article for the old Baptist Program (the wonderful Leonard Hill was editor) based on a conversation Dr. Prout and I had. Fifteen years earlier, when he arrived in the community and began to fill the pulpits, he told me the average check to the visiting minister was 50 dollars.

“It’s still 50 dollars,” he laughed.

A friend who worked at a local bank ran the numbers and informed us that 50 dollars in, say, 1960, would have to be about 125 dollars fifteen years later, in order to have the same buying power. I quoted him in the article and urged churches to be more generous and faithful in taking care of their visiting ministers.

And now, that truth has come full circle for me.

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