Emerging Pastor

I want to share with you this Scripture from 2 Timothy 2:1-7. This Scripture is the text I'm required to base my message on for my subject on advanced preaching subject techniques.

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

When I read this I see Paul profiling the life of an emerging pastor. So lets dissect it!

This semester at college I'm studying an advanced preaching subject, it's all about preaching to the post-modern world and understanding what that means as far as traditional preaching styles and their assumptions go.

One thing I have heard in church meetings has been complaints that the people aren't coming in because we're not preaching 'em like we used to. To that they mean either some real fire and brimstone or some Billy Graham style evangelical message. I've started to see the same thinking begin to creep into my church because one of the services is faltering.

It seems to me that when a church finds itself in a state of decline it does what every other organization does, tries to recapture the past. It remembers the good old days when people were stacked to the rafters and the tithes were bountiful. They look back and say, well we used to sing hymns and preach the Word of God (usually a complaint about the style of preaching not the content) and the people flocked in.

Thinking like this is both right and wrong! It's right thinking because it recognizes that people have changed, they have moved address and we need to change along with them. It's wrong thinking to then say, well we'll just move back into the past and people will follow.

An emerging pastor has the responsibility to track down their post-modern sheep and understand their thinking to reach them in a way that both honours God and listens to people.

Interested in that kind of job?

One of my favorite college subjects is one called "Personal Formation". It is 3 years long and works to grow the individual in themselves. It's run as a small group (typically about 8 people) who get together over regular periods during the year to reflect on themselves, life and ministry and how God is forming them. I had my third session this year on Monday and we were introduced to the term, Missionalism. This is the tipping point from being a sucessful leader and drawing yourself into a cult of personality and sucess. And I'm prone for it!

I'm currently working feverously to complete my four assignment on biblical ethics. As I'm completing the reference list for my major assignment about the doctrine of Just War (which I'll post soon) I realize that two of my primary sources are Osama Bin Laden and the CIA.

Never did I expect theological training would take me there :)

I've reached way back into the archives, May 2002, almost before the interwebs were born in a cosmic collision between a rouge datacenter and the sun to bring you this article on the book of Romans.

It explores the reasons for Paul writing the letter as well as Paul's gospel. It was the first article I ever wrote so be nice :)

In my travels around the interwebs I found this cool blog post with a list of biblical Greek terms. Like the author I thought there are some potentially great ministry names in there. I had to give Greek a miss this year although I am busting to learn it properly, there is just too much else going on to add "learn a new language" to the list.

My favorites from the site are probably:

• Ta Tou Theou -  the things of God
• En Kairo Therismou - in time of harvest
• Mathetas Autou - his disciples

Take a look for yourself... http://sphodra.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/whats-in-a-name/

I've been studying one subject for nearly a whole year now. It's called the ministers personal growth and it's about understanding the psychological issues facing pastors as well as their congregations. The culmination of the subject is a thesis length report on your own personal growth as a pastor, the challenges your facing and developing strategies to combat issues like burn out, fatigue and moral failure.

It has been perhaps the best subject I have every studied and I'd commend it to anyone in ministry.

I've been reading and re-reading as well as tweeking the last parts of my thesis to make it as full possible and as I re-read it I'm reminded of the lessons I have learned and have taken on board which have made a huge difference in my life and ministry.

While I'm not going to publish it online, over the next few weeks I'm going to share some of the insights I've learned along the way starting with Triangulation. Bet you can't wait :)