{"id":21677,"date":"2021-01-02T08:59:23","date_gmt":"2021-01-02T13:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/?p=21677"},"modified":"2021-01-02T09:00:30","modified_gmt":"2021-01-02T14:00:30","slug":"mudhen-in-a-peacock-parade-some-thoughts-on-preacher-arrogance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/mudhen-in-a-peacock-parade-some-thoughts-on-preacher-arrogance\/","title":{"rendered":"Mudhen in a peacock parade: Some thoughts on preacher arrogance"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus\u2026.(who) made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.\u00a0 Wherefore, God has highly exalted Him\u2026. (Philippians 2:5-9)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Browsing through Books-A-Million, I came across a book written by a preacher who is enamored with himself.<\/p>\n

The cover was a full shot of the preacher.\u00a0 And, in the lower right hand corner were these words: Not your typical preacher<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I was offended.<\/p>\n

At breakfast the next morning, I asked my wife, \u201cWhy did that offend me?\u201d\u00a0 She didn\u2019t hesitate. \u201cBecause it was so arrogant of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

My thought exactly.<\/p>\n

I wonder if that preacher’s office is filled with stacks of these books.\u00a0 A hundred photos of his face stare back at him.<\/p>\n

The man clearly does not want to be identified with \u201ctypical\u201d preachers.\u00a0 He is \u201ca cut above,\u201d in his thinking at least.<\/p>\n

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Well, on second thought, maybe we preachers take small comfort that he is not typical.\u00a0 Most pastors are humble, hard-working, and dedicated to doing the work of Christ.\u00a0 They are not prideful or self-exalting.\u00a0 They do not write books and plaster their photos across the cover.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot your typical preacher?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The last two preachers I met who prided themselves on being “different” turned out to be hypocrites.\u00a0 One was a serial adulterer and the other a gambler and alcoholic.<\/p>\n

No doubt some men enter the ministry because of the attention they receive.\u00a0 They love the idea of hundreds\u2013thousands, even!\u2013sitting before them, eagerly taking in their every word.\u00a0 They preen and prance and practice their movements in order to impress and enchant.<\/p>\n

Egotists love the idea of their sermons being telecast, their thoughts being published in magazines and books, their facial image being recognized across America.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a new thing.\u00a0 You find them in Scripture.<\/p>\n

Peacocks on parade in Holy Writ<\/strong><\/p>\n

–When Jesus ministered in Galilee, they were the Pharisees.\u00a0 He said of them, \u201cThey love the best seats at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men \u2018Rabbi, Rabbi.\u2019 \u201d\u00a0 (Matthew 23:6-7).\u00a0 He added, \u201cWhoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted\u201d (23:12).<\/p>\n

–Those Corinthians preachers strutting their stuff were calling themselves \u201csuper-apostles.\u201d\u00a0 Evidently, they were not content to lump themselves with the original twelve.\u00a0 They were (ahem) \u201cnot your typical apostles.\u201d\u00a0 (See 2 Corinthians 11 and 12 where Paul tells us about them.)<\/p>\n

They were superior in knowledge to Paul, they said, and better in the pulpit. Doubtless, many of the most gullible in the pews were swallowing that slander.\u00a0 But instead of being true apostles, Paul says, these men were \u201cfalse apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ\u201d (2 Corinthians 11:13).<\/p>\n

Interestingly\u2013and we (ahem) typical preachers love this\u2013Paul decides to play their little game.\u00a0 \u201cSeeing that many boast according to the flesh, I also will boast\u201d (2 Corinthians 11:18).\u00a0 And he does this in the most remarkable way, completely different from what was expected, but totally consistent with the true child of God.<\/p>\n

Paul showed them his scars.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.\u00a0 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.\u00a0 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep\u2026.\u201d (2 Corinthians 11:23ff)<\/p>\n

So, Paul is saying, you might ask these self-promoting peacocks what scars they bear as a result of their faithful service.<\/p>\n

Humility is not just a suggestion of Scripture.\u00a0 It is not just a good idea.\u00a0 Humility is an unfailing evidence of Christlikeness, a requirement for usefulness to the Lord, a rebuke to the carnal nature which insists on pre-eminence.<\/em><\/p>\n

Scripture says we are to humble ourselves (I Peter 5:6).\u00a0 And daily, we might add.\u00a0 The ego does not go away easily, but will recover from today\u2019s humiliation and show up tomorrow morning insisting on a place at the head table.<\/p>\n

\u201cI die daily,\u201d said the great apostle (I Corinthians 15:31).<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the only way to keep the ego in check.<\/p>\n

Dan Crawford, retired professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, remembers when he was a new campus minister at the University of Texas.\u00a0 Dan was advised that in the upcoming graduation, it was \u201cthe Baptist\u2019s turn\u201d to handle the invocation and benediction.\u00a0 So, that day, this young student minister, fresh from seminary, donned his plain black robe and took his place toward the head of the processional in between the president of the institution and the speaker of the day, who was the head of a great university in the state.\u00a0 The long processional of professors was an impressive thing, each one robed in reds and blacks and blues, with their colorful hoods indicating his\/her specialty.<\/p>\n

Later, noting how out of place he looked in that group, a friend said, “Dan, you looked like a mud hen in a peacocks\u2019 parade.\u201d<\/p>\n

That wonderful line became the title of a book of humorous reminiscences from Dan Crawford\u2019s career.<\/p>\n

To stay with the metaphor, it occurs to us that pastors are to be mudhens.\u00a0 \u201cHe must increase, I must decrease,\u201d said John the Baptist, thus providing a mantra for God\u2019s servants ever since (John 3:30).<\/p>\n

I\u2019m remembering the words of Frank Pollard, now in Heaven but for a quarter century the highly esteemed pastor of our First Baptist Church of Jackson, MS (and preacher for the world-wide broadcast of \u201cThe Baptist Hour\u201d).\u00a0 Asked how he wanted to be remembered after he was gone, Frank answered, \u201cI don\u2019t want to be remembered;\u00a0 I\u2019m just the messenger.\u201d<\/p>\n

But many are not content to be the humble, non-entities.\u00a0 They want to be known, to be acclaimed, to be recognized, followed, and adored.<\/p>\n

These are the peacocks in the parade of mudhens.<\/p>\n

God help us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus\u2026.(who) made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,5,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-leadership","category-pastors","category-pastors-wives"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21677"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21680,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21677\/revisions\/21680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}