By A. Clay Worrell, Executive Director of CGN

Ten years ago, on October 3, 2013, Pastor Chuck Smith finished his earthly race and entered into glory with Jesus. Through the life of this ordinary man, our extraordinary God did a supernatural work of renewal that genuinely changed the world. This renewal started in a small church in Orange County called Calvary Chapel over five decades ago, the fruit of which continues today across six continents through thousands of churches that share the name and/or DNA of Calvary Chapel.

Anybody who has listened to Pastor Chuck’s teachings or read his books, and especially those who had the privilege of knowing him personally, know that the last thing Chuck would have ever wanted is for his life to be memorialized in a way that would bring glory to anyone other than Jesus Christ.

In fact, I distinctly remember a famous Chuck sermon where he said:

“And after I go, if I find that there’s some hall or gymnasium and it’s got the Chuck Smith Memorial plaque on it … If I’m still alive, I’ll dynamite it. But if I’m with the Lord, I’ll ask Him to send an earthquake. Keep centered around the person of Jesus; He’s the One that brings us life and a relationship with our God!”

With that exhortation in mind, and out of fear of an earthquake of judgement, our heart here at CalvaryChapel.com and Calvary Global Network—during this month that marks the ten year anniversary of Chuck’s passing—is to honor and remember Pastor Chuck in a way that brings glory to the God whom Chuck dedicated his life to serve.

This month on CalvaryChapel.com and across our social media feeds, you will see articles and videos from a variety of people whom God has touched and influenced through the life and ministry of Pastor Chuck Smith. Our prayer is that these personal stories, testimonies, and lessons learned will be an encouragement and a blessing to you, our readers, and that we would all be reminded that God is still at work in this world and he is not done with Calvary Chapel.

Thank you, Jesus, for Pastor Chuck.

To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Welcome to episode 1 of the Cultivate Church Planting podcast, where we believe that the gospel is the hope of the world and that the world needs more gospel-centered churches. I’m your host Brian Kelly, and in today’s episode, I’m joined by Clay Worrel, executive director of CGN, as we talk with Pastor Wayne Taylor about the need for revival in church planting.

Pastor Wayne is a church planter and pastor in Seattle, Washington, who was a part of the Jesus movement revival of the 1960s, where he helped to plant what has become a movement of over 1500 churches with Calvary Chapel.

In this episode, we discuss the importance of revival in church planting and explore whether or not it is possible for a revival to happen again today. We also delve into the key factors that could help to bring about another revival, as well as the role of church planters in sparking a new wave of gospel-centered churches.

Don’t miss this insightful conversation as we explore the important topic of revival in church planting with two experienced church leaders. Join us now on the Cultivate Church Planting podcast.

Think back with me to the elementary schoolyard. Any time there was a conflict when I was a kid, the “go-to” self-defense was: “You can’t tell me what to do; this is a free country!” Here in the US, we take pride in our freedom, our constitutional rights that no one can take away from us (Apologies to our international readers for the “Ameri-centric” post, but the principles we will consider transcend national identity). Our rights-entitlement is something that is woven into our psyche from the very foundation of our nation. The second line of the Declaration of Independence is said to be one of the best-known sentences in the English language:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

When we read those words, there is something deep within us that sparks up in affirmation, and rightfully so; God-given freedom is something to rejoice over. However, in this article, I would like to pose a question for consideration:

Is standing up for our rights always the right thing to do as a Christ-follower?

In an attempt to answer this question, I would like to first look to our Lord, Jesus Christ. If we as God’s creation have unalienable rights, the God of creation Himself has infinitely more. Jesus, as the eternal Son of God, is rightfully due honor, glory and praise. He has inherent rights to the throne over all creation; He rightfully owns all things. It is His right to execute justice and to demand righteousness. However, the incarnation of Christ is the most radical example of the laying down of rights that the world has ever seen. Jesus laid aside His glory in exchange for humility; He laid aside His honor in exchange for humiliation. He stepped off His throne to be placed in a manger. He sacrificed His heavenly home to dwell in a tent of flesh in the dark and messy world we inhabit. As Paul puts it to the Corinthians:

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

As if it was not enough that Christ laid down His rights as God to become a Man, He then went on to lay down His rights as a Man for our sake. Jesus lived His life on this earth, fully Man, yet without sin. He was the only Man that ever walked this earth in complete innocence, yet at the end of His life, He was betrayed by His friend, falsely accused, put to an unfair trial and condemned to death. He was mocked, tortured and publicly executed despite His absolute innocence. In all of this, you will not once see Jesus defend Himself or demand His right to a fair trial, rather, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).

In a world that tells us freedom is found in standing up for your rights, the Gospel tells us that Jesus Christ laid down His rights in order to give us true and everlasting freedom.

So, for you and I, brethren, as we face a political climate where many are very fearful that their rights are being increasingly stripped away, how should we respond as Christians? My simple answer would be to let us seek to be like Jesus. That is, after all, what it means to be a Christian isn’t it? We are seeking by the grace of God to follow Christ and to be conformed daily to His image.

When Christ calls a follower, He says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians about the rights that he has as an Apostle and as a minister of the Gospel. He shows that he was more than willing to lay down his rights for the sake of the Gospel and for the glory of God saying: “Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:12).

My encouragement is this: May we focus less on our rights and more on showing the radical gospel of grace to an unbelieving world.

Sounds good in theory, but how does this work out practically? Am I saying that we as Christians should compromise our principles? Should we be apathetic in an increasingly godless political and moral climate? If we don’t make a stand for righteousness, what kind of world are we going to leave for our children?

Again, let’s consider Christ Himself. Jesus was far from morally apathetic; He did not for a second compromise righteousness. From His birth, there were many who expected Him to take a political stand against the godless oppression of the Roman Empire, to stand up for the rights of the nation of Israel. But Christ rejected the political path, choosing rather the path of sacrifice and grace. His message was not moralistic or political in nature, rather, He called sinners to come as they are to meet with the God of Mercy to be forgiven and freed from the path of sin that leads to death.

As for the world we will leave our children, as Christ prepared to return to heaven, He spoke of the world He would be leaving the children of God in. He said, “If they hated me they will hate you… If they persecuted me they will persecute you” (John 15:18 and 20b). Biblically, the world will become more godless as the return of Christ draws nearer; and historically, the church has thrived under persecution and has struggled in comfort. Though I completely understand and share in the concern for our children, when we step back and look through the lenses of scripture with the scope of eternity in mind, the words of Christ bring great comfort.

So, practically, I would simply ask that we consider what our primary message is.

What are we preaching on social media, in our conversations with friends and coworkers, from our pulpits and in our community groups at church? Are we standing up for our constitutional rights at the expense of the gospel of grace? Are we so busy boycotting a godless corporation that we forget that the unbelieving world doesn’t need political reform so much as the transforming work of God, through the unconditional forgiveness and love that is found in the Gospel? My dear brothers and sisters, this is not compromise. The Gospel is the power of God and the only message that can bring any lasting change in an individual’s life and in the life of a nation.

Will you allow me to encourage you, next time you feel your rights are being threatened, to seek to be more like Jesus rather than our founding fathers? Don’t let your politics overshadow your gospel witness. Please let your tone be love and your message be grace. In this world of darkness, let’s shine Christ.

_{This piece was originally posted on June 16, 2016}

Recently, I was honored to take part in the Expositors Collective, a seminar designed to train and mentor young preachers in the skill of expository Bible teaching. My dear friend Mike Neglia taught a session on Christ-centered preaching, which he opened by highlighting the difference between a moralistic sermon and a Christ-centered sermon by first teaching a sample moralistic sermonette on Matthew 26:6-16, followed by me giving a sample Christocentric sermon on the same text. What follows is the transcript of my 10-minute Christ-centered sermon; perhaps it will be helpful for our Bible-teaching readers.

…

Matthew 26:6-16:

Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.

The Text

I would like to invite you to jump in to this story with me. We find ourselves with Jesus on His way to Jerusalem, almost there in Bethany. He is having dinner in the home of Simon the Leper.

Pause for a moment. It is so important as we read through scripture that we do not allow familiarity to rob us of the shock factor. A meal in the home of a leper! Do you remember the Levitical law about lepers? They were unclean; they could not live among anyone other than other lepers, if someone came near them, they would have to shout, “UNCLEAN!”

They were more marginalized than just about anyone in our society. Lepers did not have dinner parties. Yet Jesus and His followers were there at his house, reclining at the table, enjoying dinner. The only way this was possible was if Jesus had already healed Simon and made him clean. Jesus had not only healed Simon, but had brought him from isolation to community once again.

The opening scene of this story is one of redemption! Then we are introduced to an unnamed woman, who we know from John 12 is Mary, sister of Lazarus and Martha. Mary comes out while everyone is still at the table holding an alabaster jar. It would have been recognized by those present as the vessel to hold expensive perfume. She walks up to Jesus and the suspicions are confirmed as the overpowering scent of pure nard fills the room when she pours every drop of the oil over Christ’s head.

There is a gasp! That much nard was unfathomably valuable. (Estimated at almost $20K). The response in the room was from shock to outrage with some turning to her in rebuke. “Imagine the poor that could be fed with that much money!” Then Jesus speaks up: “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Jesus affirms her actions, all the while pointing forward to the cross and the Gospel. Then our focus is brought to Judas. Undoubtably, as the treasurer of the group (who we are told was scraping off the top of the purse), Judas was the most offended by the financial foolishness. For him this was the last straw; he had lost faith in this Jesus that he had dedicated the last few years of his life to. He would cut his losses and turn Him over for thirty pieces of silver.

The Application

This is a dramatic story, but what does it teach us? Many things, but today I would like to focus on just three things it shows us about Jesus.

1) Jesus is in the business of redeeming, healing, cleansing and restoring.

As I mentioned, our opening scene sets the tone already for who Jesus is and what HE does. Simon the Leper was brought from isolation to community, from being unclean to being clean, from sick to well, marginalized to accepted. Why? Because He was with Jesus.

This is what Jesus does. We see it in His very mission statement quoting Isaiah 61 in Luke 4:18-19, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” This is what He has done in many of our lives, and this is what He will do for many more as they turn to Him.

2) Jesus is more valuable than any earthy thing, and Jesus is worthy of our worship.

It is worth noting that Jesus did not rebuke Mary for pouring out her life savings and her financial security on Him in a moment. He did not rebuke her for this act of worshipful adornment. Rather He affirmed her! Why? Because He is the God of creation that is worthy of all honor and glory and praise. Also, because trusting Him is more valuable than anything that this world has to offer!

As He said back in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

3) And finally, though Mary’s sacrifice and offering to Jesus was great, Jesus’ sacrifice and offering for each of us is infinitely greater!

Mary may have poured out her oil for Jesus, but Jesus poured out His very blood for Mary, and for you, and for me. Jesus, instituting the Lord’s supper, took the cup and said, “For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28). Mary may have surrendered her earthly riches for Jesus, but Jesus surrendered His heavenly riches for Mary, and for you, and for me.

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Mary may have been shamed and rebuked for her apparent foolishness for Jesus, but Jesus was scorned and rejected, mocked, tortured and killed for Mary, for you, and for me. “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

So what should our response to this be?

Should we be like Mary? Yes. But how and why? Because of who Jesus is, and what He has done for you. If Jesus was willing to sacrifice and give so much for you and I, to bring us forgiveness, liberty and hope, it is a small thing to lay down our temporal comfort, possessions or agenda. We love Him because He first loved us.

It is an interesting time that we live in. People are more connected than they have ever been yet more isolated than ever as well. We literally have thousands of “friends” in our pockets whom many of us interact with on a daily basis. Yet the depth of our relationships are exceedingly shallow. As I was thinking through this, I had a visual of social media as an ocean vast as the Pacific but an inch deep. It may look impressive from a distance, but no matter how far you wade in, you will not find depth of any kind.

I recently read a couple articles about the correlation between social media and isolation, one was by NPR and the other from Psychology Today. Both articles were pointing out the vicious cycle of isolation and anxiety, saying isolation produces anxiety and depression, then anxiety and depression cause people to isolate farther. This is a destructive circle we can get in, and contrary to what one might think, these articles showed that social media not only does not help, but fuels this cycle.

The article in Psychology Today said this:

“The relatively modern phenomenon of social media and its associated technology adds a new dimension to loneliness and anxiety by offering the young person a way of directly quantifying friendships, viewing the friendship networks of others for comparison, and providing immediate information about social events. You can compare your own popularity with that of your peers, and manage that adolescent ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO) by continually monitoring what’s going on socially. So it’s easy to see how technology use can take the place of more traditional social interaction and provide a yardstick for one’s popularity – or more significantly, one’s feelings of loneliness and alienation.”

The NPR article references a study from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine that showed that people who visited social media outlets more frequently (58 or more times per week) had more than three times the odds of perceived social isolation than those who visited less than nine times per week. They hypothesize the cause as follows: “You might watch all these interactions where it seems like everyone else is connecting…That could lead to feeling excluded. The images of other people’s seemingly perfect vacations, homes and lives, even though those are not likely to represent reality, can make you feel like you’re missing out.”

So, we are living in the middle of this tech era, ruled and governed by social media outlets of various descriptions, who are all promising friendship and community, but are bearing the bad fruit of isolation, anxiety and depression.

However the reality is, social media is not ultimately at fault, and social media is not evil. The true problem is so much deeper, and it is not new; I would like to make the case that you can trace it all the way back to the beginning of humanity, and then I want to show that Jesus is the only solution!

So I have five points that I hope will provide some clarity on this subject of our need for and struggle with community.

1. Community is in God’s very nature.
2. We were created FOR community.
3. Sin broke (and breaks) community.
4. Jesus redeems us TO community.
5. The Church IS community.

1. Community is in God’s very nature.

The God of the Bible is a Triune God. He reveals Himself as such from the start. Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…'” As The New City Catechism so eloquently states in questions two & three:

“Q: What is God? A: God is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in his power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth. Nothing happens except through him and by his will. Q: How many persons are there in God? A: There are three persons in the one true and living God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are the same in substance, equal in power and glory.”

The implications of God’s Triune nature are vast, one of the most significant of which is that it means God Himself not only is in community, but that He Himself IS community. God, in His very nature is a loving community from eternity past. And from that communal nature, He created us, His image bearers, as communal beings. Which brings us to our next point.

2. We were created FOR community.

God is a community of love, and He created us to live in loving community. In Genesis 2:18 we see a glimpse into the mind of God as He was creating humanity: “Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.'” This is why isolation is damaging, as the studies I referenced show, isolation produce anxiety and depression, because it is not good that man should be alone! Community is our created intent, so when we are not living in it, we do not thrive. The nature of the community God created us for is twofold. It is 1) Loving (as I mentioned) and 2) Shares purpose or mission.

God’s design for community is that we would live in loving harmony with Him and with one another. Serving and obeying God, while preferring and complementing (completing) one another. Additionally, God’s community has, from the start, always revolved around shared purpose or mission. In Genesis 1 we see that God called our first parents not just to be fruitful and multiply, but also to subdue the earth, have dominion over the creatures and tend to the garden. If our first parents would have walked in this, humanity would live in paradise and harmony! But you know the story. Genesis 3 comes along and everything starts to fall apart. Our first parents sinned against God and against one another. Hence point number three.

3. Sin broke (and breaks) community.

In Genesis 3, the account of the fall, we see a systematic deconstruction of our created intent: The Serpent arrived and called the command of God into question, and our first parents began to doubt, or disbelieve, God’s word, which led them to betray their mission. Rather than caring for creation, they abused it, using it for their own selfish gain (eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil).

Their disbelief and their rejection of their purpose caused the community they were created for to begin to break down. They rebelled against God, which broke communion with Him. Rather than walking with Him, they hid themselves from Him out of shame. Then rather than loving and preferring one another, they turned on one another! The man blaming the woman for their rebellion (shocking, I know).

From that point on, as we read through the grand narrative of scripture, and of history for that matter, we see this pattern over and over: Community broken by sin. Sin breaks community because, as I mentioned, in order for community to work, its foundation must be love.

But sin, at it’s core, is selfish, and selfishness is the antithesis of love. We could talk about this on a large scale, in reference to nations waring against nations, or political parties, or social and racial conflict. All of which are examples of community that is broken by sin.

But let’s bring it a bit closer to our personal lives. Returning to what I mentioned in the start of this article. In this age we live in, we are increasingly isolated because the spirit of our culture is individualism, independence and success, where the end of all is being successful, wealthy, powerful and glamorous. The narrative we are fed is watch out for “#1.” Do whatever it takes to succeed, love yourself, work yourself to the bone to advance your career because it’s a dog-eat-dog world. It is this godless philosophy that drives us away from true community. We are so “busy” with our own lives that we do not make time for real community. But we have this pseudo community that is social media, which gives us the illusion of friendship but with no real personal investment, no sacrifice and no love. And as I said in the start, we are beginning to see the fruit of this broken system.

This is the great tragedy of our existence, the struggle between our God-given need for community and our inherited sin nature that rules us apart from Christ. So what is the answer? JESUS.

4. Jesus redeems us TO community.

If the problem goes all the way back to creation, sin breaking communion with God and community with one another, then the solution needs to resolve the root of the problem, not just the symptoms. Queue Jesus.

Romans 5:12-16 shows us that Jesus came to this earth to undo the work of Adam, our first father. Jesus, as He walked on this earth, was the first man who ever fully and perfectly lived out our created intent. He had unbroken communion with the Father; He did not rebel against Him. He selflessly loved those around Him. He fulfilled the mission and purpose of God without wavering. And finally, Jesus gave Himself up freely to the cross to pay the penalty for our sin; He went to the grave and was raised by the power of God, victorious over sin and death once and for all. So now, as you and I place our faith in Him, we share His identity and are freed from the power of sin in our lives. Through the work of Jesus, God restored our communion with Him by breaking down the barrier of sin, freeing us from the prison of our destructive selfishness, so we can love Him. And consequently, He saved us TO a redeemed community as He adopted us into the family of God. See Romans 8:14-17.

In short, by the grace of Jesus we are set free to walk in our created intent. Though we will not do it perfectly, in Christ we are able to live in communion with God, community with one another, fulfilling the mission and purpose of God in our lives. This is what it means to be part of the Church.

5. Church IS community.

When we understand the Gospel in this light, it changes the way we see church. Church is not something we do on Sundays; it is certainly not a building. Church is the community of God’s people who commune with God together and share HIS mission.

We see this lived out in the snapshot of the early church in Acts 2:42-47. For them church was not a once or twice a week thing, it was day by day meeting in the temple and in one another’s homes. They were receiving teaching. They were fellowshipping. They broke bread. They prayed. They had all things in common, sacrificially giving to one another. They praised God and had favor with all the people, and God added to their number day by day those who were being saved. This type of community is hard; it takes sacrifice and time. It takes a shifting of priorities. But this is what it means to be a part of Christ’s church. This is the very thing Jesus commands us to do.

” A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

Clay Worrell will be leading a workshop at the 2017 CCCM Pastors & Leaders Conference happening June 26-29!

I received news that yet another pastor friend of mine failed morally and was removed from ministry. I am grieved. I am grieved by the sin; I am grieved for my friend. I am grieved for the church, and I am grieved by the fact that I was not shocked by the news. My lack of shock was not because I suspected anything like this from my friend; in fact, he was one of the last people I would have suspected. My lack of shock was simply because this kind of news has become way to familiar. I’m not sure if moral failure has become more common in recent years, or if I am just aware of it more because my network has become rather wide, but either way, this is unacceptable.

This has caused me to ask the question, why? Why are pastors being unfaithful to their wives? Why are pastors becoming verbally abusive to their staffs and families? Why are pastors embezzling money from the church? Why are so many of my peers and spiritual fathers turning from Jesus to the very sin they preach against?

I’m not sure I have the answer to these questions, but here are a few of my thoughts:

1. Humanity is desperately and totally depraved, and pastors are no exception.

Maybe it sounds silly, but it was a big revelation to me when I realized pastors are regular people too. I remember when I was preparing to head to Ireland for my first church plant. I was doing an internship under Rod Thompson at CCBC in Murrieta, back when he was over the missions department. Rod taught me so many things in that short season that will always stick with me. But one of the most valuable things that he did for me was he brought me into his life, his real life, and he let me see his strengths and his weaknesses. He was honest with me about his struggles and his temptations. He let me see that he is a man, desperately in need of the grace of Jesus, just like me. Now, I have been a pastor for about a decade, and I know, more than ever, from my own life and struggles, that pastors are just regular people that have been given a heavy calling by God.

We are no more immune to grievous sin than anyone else; in fact, in some ways, we are in more danger than the typical church member. Paul Tripp addresses this topic powerfully in his book, Dangerous Calling. If you are in ministry in any capacity, I highly recommend reading that book. If a pastor ever forgets that he is a sheep before he is a shepherd, he is drifting into treacherous waters. If you are a Pastor reading this, brother please, don’t forget that we need Jesus’ grace every moment of the day, no matter how long we have been believers or in ministry. God help us to not let down our guard; we are totally depraved sinners whose only righteousness is Christ’s alone.

2. The church culture we are subject to often does not allow sufficient accountability and soul care for pastors.

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard that pastoral ministry is a lonely calling. The sentiment that was passed down to me by some was that a pastor has to keep a bit of distance between himself and the members of his church; that you cannot be friends with your flock. I think the reasoning behind this thinking is that this is necessary in order to maintain the respect of the people that we are called to minister to. If we allow our sin or struggles to be seen, the church will not be able to receive teaching or counseling from us. However, the problem with this thinking is that it allows us to be placed on a pedestal, one that is indeed lonely, and more so, one that is incredibly unstable. This is setting the pastor up as an unrealistic standard of piety and perfection that no man can truly live up to.

Pastors are only allowed to struggle with the “safe sins” like mild road rage or breaking the speed limit. I am not saying that we need to air our dirty laundry from the pulpit every Sunday, but when we preach the Gospel to our churches, we need to make sure that they know that we are just as in need of it as they are. Moreover, we are just as in need of community as the rest of the members of our churches. We are just as in need of encouragement, accountability, counseling and friendship. The only way any of this is possible is if we are not just the shepherds of our flocks but also active members in the life of our churches. This takes vulnerability, but I truly believe that there is safety in community. I would rather be hurt by fellow sheep than devoured by the prowling lion.

3. Pastors need better friends.

I mentioned friendship, and I think that this is worth more than a passing comment. The lonely calling narrative is not unfounded; it is difficult for a pastor to make and maintain deep friendships. Even when we are living in community with our churches, I admit there is an added complexity to our relationships with the people we minister to. I do not think that this means we cannot be friends with people in our church, on the contrary, it is important that we are building meaningful friendships with the people that we are discipling and equipping for the work of the ministry. Jesus was the perfect example of holding the tension of teacher and friend with his disciples. But I also think that there is an essential need in the life of a pastor for a small circle of friends, perhaps fellow pastors that are closer than brothers, with whom we can be completely and totally transparent and honest. The type of friends who ask the hardest and most awkward questions frequently. Friends who know us well enough to discern when something is not right because they can pick up on the subtle queues that would be undetectable by almost anyone else. I can honestly say I have some friends like this, and I do not know where I would be today without them.

In conclusion, this article’s written with pastors in mind, but if you are not a pastor, and you are reading this, can I encourage you to pray hard for your pastor? Show him grace and love, and remember he is a sinner saved by grace just like you. You can help him and honor him by looking through him to Jesus. And to my fellow pastors, I hope this will be a gentle warning and reminder for us to stay on guard. I don’t have this all figured out, not by a long shot, but I know that, ultimately, our hope is in Jesus. Let’s keep our eyes on Him, the author and finisher of our faith. We have need of endurance.

“Good morning America! What are we offended by today?!”, read a meme that came through my social media feed a couple of weeks ago. It is funny because it is a caricature of the American psyche as a whole nowadays. It seems every time we turn around someone is offended, and in a culture where political correctness is king, this can be quite challenging. We, as Christians, are no exception to this.

The Christian community is known to be some of the most easily offended people around.

I would like to make a suggestion with this post; might God call us to be the opposite of this? To be people who are almost impossible to offend? Please allow me to explain.

What does it mean to be offended in this day and age? If I was to give a working definition of being offended, it would be as follows, “To feel hurt, angry or upset by something that is said or done that contradicts, challenges or confronts what one believes or feels to be right or true.” In this political climate, with the mediums of social media, blogs and biased media outlets, there is a lot out there that contradicts, challenges and confronts the Biblical worldview. There is a lot that we, as Christians, can be offended by. However, just because we can be offended, does not mean we should be offended.

“Why not,” you ask? For a couple of reasons:

Being offended is not productive for the kingdom of God.

How could being offended by sinners draw them to Jesus? I don’t think it will, in fact, I think it will just push them away. It is easy to reject a community and a message that you perceive to have first rejected you. Jesus does not call us to be moral police, but rather to love our neighbors; and not just our neighbors but also our enemies! This means we are called to show love that covers a multitude of sins to those who are sinning in ways that really irk us. We are called to that 1 Corinthians 13 type of love:

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

There is not much room for being offended when we are showing love in this way.

What about taking a stand for righteousness? Well, like always, Jesus is the perfect example here. He walked in perfect righteousness; He never sinned or approved of sin, but He consistently extended grace to sinners, to the worst kind of sinners. He was not offended by the prostitutes, the tax collectors or the drunkards! He was kind to them, and His kindness lead them to repentance. I think it is safe to be like Jesus in this. God does not need us to defend Him; He will do a fine job of that when the time is right. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Second, if we get in to the habit of being offended easily, we might just find ourselves being offended by God.

When messengers came to Jesus from John the Baptist in Luke 7, asking if he was the Messiah or if they were to look for another, Jesus sent a message back to John testifying of His works. Then He said something striking in verse 23, “And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” You see John was the forerunner to Jesus, proclaiming the coming of the Messiah. He witnessed the heavens open as the Father affirmed the Son. But now he doubted, why? Perhaps it was because he, like so many in Israel at the time, was expecting a more immediate and political Messiah. Perhaps he assumed Jesus was going to liberate Israel from Roman oppression and restore the throne of David there and then.

But it didn’t happen that way. Jesus was not turning over the Roman Empire; He was healing the sick, casting out demons and calling sinners to follow Him. Meanwhile, John was arrested, imprisoned and was awaiting his execution. John thought he knew what God was up to, and Jesus did something completely different. Jesus called His dear cousin to not be offended by Him while He was contradicting what John thought and felt was right and true.

Here is my point: If we get used to being offended by things that contradict what we think or feel are right, we might just get offended when God Himself does things that contradict what we think or feel are right.

Because the reality is, God is in the business of confronting us, contradicting us and doing and allowing things that we don’t like or understand, all for the sake of our sanctification. This is why James, Paul, Peter and the author of Hebrews all speak of trials and/or chastisement as a tool of the Lord’s in our spiritual maturing.

So, there’s my encouragement for you and I as we live in these interesting days. May we, by the grace of God, not be people who are easily offended. Rather, let us stand in Christ’s righteousness while reaching out in love to those who are lost in their sin just as we once were. And may we welcome the confronting truth of God’s Word and endure through the trials we do not understand, knowing that God’s ways are so much better than ours.

“Being able to always be looking for guys who God has called to lead and invest in them.”

Clay Worrell provides an approach on pastoral transitions through his own experience.

Also, watch other 10 Minute Seminary episodes with David Guzik, Phil Metzger and Mike Neglia.