This week Michael observed that the gospel is the ONLY hope for humanity and yet we do have leaders who exploit Believers for their own gain….
Guess those leaders don’t really believe the Bible or the words, “depart from me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you.” would scare them to death. ….
worth a ponder… or two… or three
JI Packer:
The Centrality of Knowing God
“What is the best thing in life,” asks Packer, “bringing more joy, delight and contentment than anything else? Knowledge of God.”1 This should come as no surprise to those familiar with Packer. Knowing God is of central importance in living a life that is both productive for oneself and pleasing to God. This is simply one expression of the emphasis Packer places on the intellectual grasp of doctrinal truth. One cannot authentically love and enjoy or even obey a God of whom one knows little or nothing, or a God about whom one entertains false and distorted beliefs. Thus a cognitive grasp of the truths about God as revealed in Scripture is the sine qua non of all genuine Christian living. Whatever emotional “heat” may be generated in the heart must be the fruit of biblical “light” imparted to the mind. Indeed,
“we are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it. The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul.”
God keep
I’m wondering today…how many of us are passively or actively “kept” from certain actions by our employment/boss?
I’m sure all of us are on SOME level…
Pondering fellow ministers who resign or are fired, and many of them…felt “restrained” in their actions to do certain things, and/or felt “restrained” in their actions to NOT do certain things (beyond just what Scripture dictates.
For examples, do ministers dress modestly simply because they are ministers? Do they attend prayer meetings because their boss/their job description/the gossipy ladies in the church expect them to?
Pondering all the implications this has for the scores of ministers we’ve talked about here over the years.
For contrast, when I was in a professional club in college, our initiation required going to one philanthropy and attending 1/2 of all “fellowship events.”
That doesn’t seem onerous, but when a church requires that of employees, is it?
Compare and contrast phone scripts, hours worked, dress codes and vacation policies of ministries to the secular world and some people have a problem.
I wonder how many of us (ministers and laity) “go along to get along” or “keep up appearances” and how they may affect issues with ministers..
I’ve always been an outlier in this regard.
I was very upfront with my church over 30 years ago about what I would and would not do and I’m very transparent about how I live my life.
I’ve never had an issue…but I’ve never depended on the church for primary income.
It’s all yours today…
This week Michael observed that the gospel is the ONLY hope for humanity and yet we do have leaders who exploit Believers for their own gain….
Guess those leaders don’t really believe the Bible or the words, “depart from me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you.” would scare them to death. ….
worth a ponder… or two… or three
JI Packer:
The Centrality of Knowing God
“What is the best thing in life,” asks Packer, “bringing more joy, delight and contentment than anything else? Knowledge of God.”1 This should come as no surprise to those familiar with Packer. Knowing God is of central importance in living a life that is both productive for oneself and pleasing to God. This is simply one expression of the emphasis Packer places on the intellectual grasp of doctrinal truth. One cannot authentically love and enjoy or even obey a God of whom one knows little or nothing, or a God about whom one entertains false and distorted beliefs. Thus a cognitive grasp of the truths about God as revealed in Scripture is the sine qua non of all genuine Christian living. Whatever emotional “heat” may be generated in the heart must be the fruit of biblical “light” imparted to the mind. Indeed,
“we are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it. The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul.”
God keep
I’m wondering today…how many of us are passively or actively “kept” from certain actions by our employment/boss?
I’m sure all of us are on SOME level…
Pondering fellow ministers who resign or are fired, and many of them…felt “restrained” in their actions to do certain things, and/or felt “restrained” in their actions to NOT do certain things (beyond just what Scripture dictates.
For examples, do ministers dress modestly simply because they are ministers? Do they attend prayer meetings because their boss/their job description/the gossipy ladies in the church expect them to?
Pondering all the implications this has for the scores of ministers we’ve talked about here over the years.
I’d really appreciate any feedback…
For contrast, when I was in a professional club in college, our initiation required going to one philanthropy and attending 1/2 of all “fellowship events.”
That doesn’t seem onerous, but when a church requires that of employees, is it?
Compare and contrast phone scripts, hours worked, dress codes and vacation policies of ministries to the secular world and some people have a problem.
I wonder how many of us (ministers and laity) “go along to get along” or “keep up appearances” and how they may affect issues with ministers..
jtk,
I’ve always been an outlier in this regard.
I was very upfront with my church over 30 years ago about what I would and would not do and I’m very transparent about how I live my life.
I’ve never had an issue…but I’ve never depended on the church for primary income.