Advice for Pastors from T.C. Melton after 60 years of Ministry - Part 3

Part 3 of 3

20.  YOU, PROBABLY, HAVE A LOT OF OLDER FOLK IN YOUR CHURCH.   You need to remember that these older folk will be your greatest supporters  if you will let them know that you love them and find ways to spend some time with them.    You need to remember that if you ignore them or have a negative attitude toward  them, they can become your worst critics.  By-the-way, in all likelihood these folk pay a good percent of your salary.   Encourage your   Music Minister  to remember these folk when he plans  the song service.                      

21.  PASTORS,  REMEMBER THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A GOOD, WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR DEACONS.  The Apostle Paul had great respect for deacons.   He makes special mention of “deacons” in the opening remarks of many of his letters to the churches.  Bro. Pastor, respect your deacons.  Never tell “deacon jokes.”  Never criticize your deacons from the pulpit.   You can have a “team” ministry with them.     Getting regular,  personal time with each of your deacons (coffee time, hamburger time, etc.)  will go a long ways in  helping you to have good working relationship with these men.  You can “handle” a problem deacon (or any other member) much better over a cup of coffee at the DQ than you can in a Wednesday evening business conference.   If it is true that a fellow does not become the pastor of a church until he has been there four or five years, then countless churches have only had “preachers,” not “pastors.”  It is likely “short term” pastorates  have  resulted in deacons becoming the “power structure” in countless churches.  It is true, not just with “difficult”  deacons, but with some  other church members.  People don’t “become” our enemies.   We usually “make” them our enemies.   A well known pastor said to a group of young ministers, when asked “How do you handle your enemies?”  He said, “Make them your friends.” 

22.  YOU WILL BECOME A GREATER AND MORE LOVED PASTOR IF YOU WILL BE FAITHFUL IN DOING  THE TWO THINGS THAT PAUL MENTIONS IN ROMANS 15:12,   “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”  Be there when people are having their happiest times...the wedding, the birth of the baby, the retirement party, etc.  And, “be there” when your people are going through their most difficult and darkest hours....a death in the family, when other kinds of tragedy and troubles come to a family, etc.  There are some things a pastor would do well to not delegate to others.  His presence is, often,  both needed and greatly appreciated. If you are not “THERE” you are not likely to be the pastor regardless of how you excel in the pulpit.

23. PASTOR, DON’T UNDER OR OVER ESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF  DRESS.   There is an appropriate way to dress that is acceptable to both your younger and older church folk.   The office you hold is one of great dignity.  Your dress should always reflect this, “in” and “out” of the pulpit.   It is not good for the people to leave church talking more about the pastor’s manner of dress than his message.   

24. PASTOR, REMEMBER THE IMPORTANCE OF RECREATION AND RELAXATION, INCLUDING GETTING  REGULAR PHYSICAL EXERCISE   The form these take will differ from pastor to pastor.  As much as possible, try to  eat right.  Watch your weight.  Good health is a plus for the pastor.  Use the stairs   more often than the  elevator.    Park on the back-side of the parking lot instead of trying to find a parking space nearest the entrance to the building.  Be determined to be like Caleb when you are 85 years of age.

25. PASTOR, REMEMBER TO  FOLLOW PAUL’S EXAMPLE  (PHILIPPIANS 1;3), FILL YOUR MEMORY BANK WITH GOOD MEMORIES.   You can be assured that you are going to have both good and bad things  happen to you in pastoral ministry.  If you want to have a miserable ministry and grow old being “sour” and “negative,” all you have to do  is daily review and relive all of those bad things that come you way.   Too many pastors forget what they ought to remember and remember what they ought to forget.

26. PASTOR, REMEMBER THE IMPORTANCE OF  “BURYING YOUR HEART” SOME PLACE.    It is true that our Lord moves some pastors every few years, but it seems that the greatest churches (and not just in size)  are those who have had pastors to come and “stay.”  Remember to not only have a growing love for your church, but also for the community where your church is located.  You have probably heard the story told about what happened to David Livingston before his body was brought back to London from Africa.  Part of his body is buried in Westminster Abby.  He died in Chitambo’s village (in modern Zambia) in April, 1873.  Before the natives took his body to Zanzibar on the east coast of Africa to be put on a ship for England, Livingstone’s  followers  cut out  his  heart and buried it at the foot of the tree under which he died.  It has been said that  his followers declared to those who put his body on the ship bound for England that “You can take Dr. Livingstone to England, but his heart will always be in Africa.”   Need more be said?

27.  PASTOR, IF YOU LIVE LONG ENOUGH, YOU WILL GET OLDER.   Remember, when God called you to ministry, it was, and is, a life-long call.  If you want to do great harm to your church people  and have a dismal ministry in your post 55 years, all you have to do is start  looking forward to retiring at age 65.  A deacon, when asked when his pastor retired, said,   “He retired four years ago.  He resigned two weeks ago.”   As you get older, if you can keep reasonably good health, you should never start thinking about retiring.  Your last years can be your best and, in some ways, the most productive.    Rather than thinking “retiring,” think “retooling.”  You, probably, “started well,”  Be determined to “end well.”

28.  PASTOR, REMEMBER TO ALWAYS HAVE A HEART OF HUMILITY TOWARD YOUR CALLING...ALWAYS SEEING YOURSELF AS NOTHING MORE THAN A SERVANT.  REMEMBER TO ALWAYS BE GRACIOUS,  ALWAYS HAVE A SPIRIT OF THANKSGIVING, AND EXPRESS THANKS OFTEN, BOTH TO GOD AND PEOPLE. 

Advice for Pastors from T.C. Melton after 60 years of Ministry

Part 2 of 3:

11.  REMEMBER TO BE AS PROMPT AS POSSIBLE IN RETURNING CALLS AND ANSWERING PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE   Even though you may not be aware of it, some of these may involve urgent matters.  

12. WE NEED TO REMEMBER THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING OUR WORK.  An elementary school teacher, before leaving school on Friday, has lessons plans made for the coming week. Most ministers  who neglect their families do so because they fail to plan their ministry work.

13. REMEMBER  THE FIRST PART OF THE GREAT COMMISSION IS TO WIN PEOPLE TO JESUS.    There is no “magic bullet” for doing this.  Fish have not changed much in 2000 years.  A fisherman may have the most updated boat and equipment on the lake.  He may  play CD fish music and even dress and smell like a fish.   But, like it was  during the days of Jesus, rarely ever will a fish jump into the boat.    Pastor, we need to remember that the vast majority of the unsaved folk are never going to come to us, whatever we do or don’t do  in our church services.  We have got to go to them.  Find as many ways as possible to “get more hooks in the water.”  Use “trotline fishing.”   By personal example, teach and show your people how to win souls. 

14. PASTORS  NEED TO REMEMBER THE IMPORTANCE OF LETTING PEOPLE SHARE IN MINISTRY.    It is the rare person in your church who will say “No” if you will do four things.   One “put it on a shelf he/she can reach.”  Two, make your appeal to him/her personally, making what you are asking them to do sound important,  Three, make clear what you are asking them to do and help them, if needed, learn how to do it.  Four, let them do it.

15. WE NEED TO REMEMBER THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING OUT IN THE COMMUNITY.....senior citizens’ centers, the local DQ where the coffee drinkers assemble, the school events, the nursing homes, out knocking doors in the community nearest your church, etc.  In just one afternoon, it is easy to have a quick, “Just dropped by to meet you,” kind of visit with dozens of folk.   And, when you are out, it is important to remember “WHO YOU ARE”  

16. PASTORS  NEED TO REMEMBER THE IMPORTANCE OF CHANGE AND HOW TO LEAD PEOPLE TO MAKE CHANGES.    Some aspects of ministry never change, but many things have to be continually changing if the church  remains vibrant.  Remember, don’t “change” just for the sake of “changing.”  If a pastor can give a good answer to “Why the change?” and, then, start  communicating this with,  maybe, just one “key”  leader, working patiently to get  other ” folk “on board,” most things that need to be changed can be changed.  We need to remember that a full meeting of the deacon body or the monthly business conference is not the best place to introduce your request for a change.    A  pastor can get himself into trouble if he tries to make too many changes too quickly.  It is very important to remember that for the first three or four years you are at a church, you are the “preacher.”  You start becoming the pastor when you gain the confidence of the people.  This takes time.  There is not a “verse” that says this, but it is still true....people follow “pastors,” not “preachers.”  Changes that can get a pastor fired the first year will, likely be widely accepted  in his 4^th or 5^th year at a church.

17. PASTORS  NEED TO REMEMBER  THE WAY  VISITATION CAN BE DONE REQUIRES CHANGING.   Being invited into the homes of people, who do not know you, is almost a thing of the past.  Because of the suspicions and accusations that are so prevalent in today’s society, we have to be careful in how we make contact with people. We must not cease visiting; we just have to change some of the ways we do it.  

18.  PASTOR, REMEMBER THE IMPORTANCE OF LETTING YOUR WIFE KNOW THAT YOU ARE IN LOVE WITH YOUR CHURCH BUT THAT YOU ARE MORE IN LOVE WITH HER.   Pastors might do well to read, often, Proverbs 5:18-20.  And, the same is true with your children.  If you are in love with your church people and when  with your family, you speak positive about your church, it will help them to feel likewise.   This will go a long ways toward them never feeling that you are choosing church above them.  If you will plan your work well, you will be at home about as many evenings each week  as are your active lay-people.  There are occasions when your wife will be your best “visitation partner.”  And, if you have children (including teens) still at home, on occasions let each of them be your “visitation partner.”  They will never forget these kind of experiences.  Your wife and children  can be, and should be,  your  greatest encouragers.

  

19. PASTORS NEED TO REMEMBER TO HAVE A BIBLICAL ATTITUDE TOWARD THE OLDER AND YOUNGER MEN IN THE CHURCH, AS WELL AS THE OLDER AND YOUNDER WOMEN.  Paul gave young Pastor Timothy some good advice about this in I Timothy 5:1-2.   Remembering to do this will save the pastor a lot of trouble and will certainly gain him love and respect.

Advice for Pastors from T.C. Melton after 60 years in Ministry

Part 1 of 3 - I am sharing this because T.C. Melton has such great wisdom through 60 years of experience and he has been and continues to be tremendously helpful in churches throughout Texas.  These are his notes not mine, I sit at his feet and learn.  Be blessed!

Even though the material is addressed, primarily, to pastors,  some of  it is very applicable to staff people and others  in places of church leadership.  This list of “reminders”  is  not  complete, nor necessarily in order of importance,  but perhaps will cause you to “remember” other things that are also important    My “reminders” do not come from a fellow who “knows it all,” but from one who is still learning what it means to be a good pastor.   

l.  PASTOR, REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE,   I Peter 1:1-2

   A. Elder.  B. Shepherd.   C. Overseer

In these passages Simon Peter is, probably, not talking about three different offices in the church, but uses these terms to describe the one office that  we most often refer to as “pastor.”   Paul makes  a similar use  of these words  in Acts 20:28.

The word “elder” calls us to remember the wisdom, maturity and dignity that should characterize our lives as ministers.

The word “shepherd” calls us to remember that we are to nurture, care for and feed our people.   Much of Psalm 23 is a good pattern for the pastor.  We need to continually remind ourselves that we are not cattle “herders” or “horse wranglers.”  We are “shepherds.”

The word “overseer” calls us to remember the dangerous world our church people live in.  We are to be prepared to stand guard over them.  What Peter wrote about Satan in chapter 5, verse 8 is still true of him today.

I Peter 5:4 teaches us that the “Chief Shepherd” is to be our example as we serve our people.  You can’t pick and choose between being an elder, shepherd or overseer.

If you try to be an elder without being a shepherd and overseer, you are likely to come across as cold and sanctimonious.  If you try to be a shepherd without being an elder and overseer, you will likely be seen as a hireling, interested in what you can get, not in what you can give.  If you try to be an overseer without having the wisdom and maturity of an elder and the “heart”  of a shepherd, you will likely regard yourself as the CEO or the “boss” of the church.  

2. PASTORS,  REMEMER THE IMPORTANCE OF CHARACTER, I Peter 5: 3 (examples to the flock).  We need to continually  remember that when Paul gives the qualifications for ministers in I Timothy 3:1-7 and  Titus  1:6-9, probably all but one of these deal with character, not preaching.    We need to remember that our  effectiveness as a leader will be determined more by our character than by our   preaching.     

3. WE PASTORS  NEED TO REMEMBER THAT OUR SERMONS SHOULD NOT ONLY GROW OUT OF OUR TIME WITH GOD AND TIME IN WORD OF GOD, BUT TIME SPENT OUT AMONG THE SHEEP.    Unless you have a very unusual church, you will have the following kind of people present for your next Sunday morning church service:  people who may have lost their jobs; parents who have wayward children; marriages that are in trouble; teens struggling with moral or addiction problems; families  that have financial problems; people who have gone through the hurt of divorce;  one or two who got that “cancer” word from the doctor; one who has come to church one last time to try to find a word of hope, etc.     If you don’t spend quality  time with the sheep the other days of the week, you will not be prepared to preach on Sunday.  

4. THE  PASTOR  NEEDS TO REMEMBER THAT WHEN HE PREPARES  HIS MESSAGES, HE MUST PREPARE FOR ALL KINDS AND ALL AGES OF SHEEP.  Remembering this  will  help you to   

     A. Keep in clear.  When preparing your message, keep in mind the “ONE” thing you want your people to know and the “ONE” thing you want them to do.  You don’t want any of your people leaving a service asking, “I am not for sure what the pastor was trying to get across to us today.”

     B. Keep it simple.  A candidate for a D-Min degree was given an assignment to write  a sermon on the “Second Coming Of Christ,” then let three people read it, each underscoring anything that was not clear.   First, a college graduate...then  a high school graduate...and, last, a 5^th grader. .  When the 5^th grader had finished, the sermon was again rewritten.  Then, the D-Min professor told the candidate, “ Your sermon is now ready to be delivered to the people.”  

     C. Be brief.  More good sermons are ruined by being too long rather than being too brief.

     D. Be Christlike in your delivery of the sermon.  It is well to remember that you should never preach to your people on a Sunday morning in a way that you would not talk to them, individually, in the  living room of their homes.

  

5. REMEMBER YOU ARE PASTOR OF ALL THE PEOPLE.   No pastor should ever be heard saying that he  can’t relate to a certain age group in the church.  The church may employ other staff people, but you are the pastor of ALL the people.     

6. REMEMBER TO KEEP A JOYFUL AND POSITIVE ATTITUDE TOWARD YOUR CHURCH PEOPLE AND YOUR CALLING AS PASTOR.  .  Remember to always speak well about your church people, whether you are talking to them or talking to others about them.  Tell your people, often, that you love them.  Having this kind of attitude toward your church people will make it less likely that you will get out of bed every Monday morning with  the thought of “getting your resume out.”

7. REMEMBER THE IMPORTANCE OF GETTING PERSONAL TIME WITH INDIVIDUAL CHURCH PEOPLE...coffee & hamburger time...a birthday phone call, etc.  It could be that as many as 90% of the men in our churches have never had this kind of personal time with their pastor.   One 78 year old fellow got a birthday call from his pastor.  He said, “I have been a church members since I was a little boy and that is the first time I ever had such a call.”   Have a list of the birthdays of your people, including the children.  It will only take a few minutes each day to give each one of these a “happy birthday” call.....guarantees an annual contact with each member.  Try to get your church to put some DQ  money in the budget.   Set a goal to get “coffee” or a hamburger with at least one man each week.   That fellow will, likely, say, “This is a first for me.”   

8. REMEMBER THE IMPORTANCE OF HOME VISITATION WITH MEMBERS.   Most of these can be brief, front door visits.  It is very  easy to make a dozen of these kinds of visits in a couple of hours.   Keep a list of visits and dates of visit.  If you don’t, you will find your visitation can easily revolve around just a few of the members.  This kind of visitation should characterize the regular, not the occasional,  work schedule of not just the pastor, but  all church staff people.

9. REMEMBER TO GUARD AGAINST SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME ON THE COMPUTER.  A recent  president of the Southern Baptist Convention, while speaking to our SBTC staff people, talked about the danger of  “electronic addiction”  (talking about computers, cell phones, etc.).  Not only is this a great time waster, it  can lead to all kinds of problems, including  pornography and having moral failure.  One fellow,  in explaining why he thought Mormons were exploding with growth and Baptists are in decline, went on to say that  we Baptist ministers  have computers...the Mormon preachers have bicycles.

 Remember to very careful about how you express opinions by  use  of  “Twitter”  and  “Facebook.”  The wrong use of these can be both harmful and embarrassing, not only for you, but your church people.  

10. REMEMBER THAT MINISTRY IS HARD WORK, INVOLVING  LONG HOURS..  How many hours should a minister  work each week?  A good pattern might be found in studying the work habits of your finest lay-people.  Most of them work 40 hours a week, with an hour or two thrown in getting to and from work.  If you add the time they spend in church ministry...attendance, various kind of meetings,  preparation for teaching, visitation,  choir, etc., you come up with about 55  hours a week.  It is doubtful if a pastor (or a staff minister)  can do his work is less time than this.   Once a pastor gets the  reputation for being lazy,  this is very hard to overcome.

Prayers for Tharaka

As has been my joy the past several years I will be departing for another trip to east Africa for the sake of sharing the gospel of Jesus with precious souls and helping the national Baptist leaders to start new churches.  We will be working among the Tharaka people group in the Tharaka region of Kenya.  This area is about 3 1/2 hours northeast of Nairobi near Mount Kenya consisting of about 200,000 people.  They are considered an unreached people group and although certain missiological data claims there is a 43% presence of Christianity (22% Evangelical), I have traveled throughout the area and have not found those numbers to be very accurate.  Our team for this trip consists of 18 wonderfully committed American Christians from 4 different churches in Texas who all have a heart for being the hands and feet of Jesus.  This trip will include a medical team to provide services in a very desolate area that has no medical care.
Our strategy has been very intentional for Gateway East Africa Ministries (gatewayeastafrica.net).  We work for the national leaders to reach the unreached and equip indigenous church leaders to reach the nations.  We lead teams into areas where sound Bible churches are needed and we do evangelism.  The Africans have pastors ready to lead these new congregations that are formed as a result of these evangelistic efforts.  There are times that a new church will have a core group of 20 and other times 200.  I personally work with the African leaders in the follow up efforts as veteran pastors go back into the areas and help the new pastors baptize and begin discipleship with these new believers.  The new pastors and some of the church leaders become students in our Busia Baptist Bible College where they receive a biblical education to do the works of ministry.  I return later in the year with other pastors/professors from the States to teach these eager learners.  The Bible College rotates locations throughout the year in order to be accessible to as many as possible and is led by Pastor David Gitau.  There are 3-4 other highly qualified east Africans who also teach throughout Kenya and we are working with others in Rwanda and Burundi as well.  Pastor Samson Kisia has been the primary leader for this work for many years.
I would greatly appreciate your prayer support as we enter once again into this door that God has opened.  The "harvest is plentiful" as we see so clearly in east Africa.  People are so responsive to the gospel but the "laborers are few".  Please pray with me that God will send more laborers.  If you would like more information go to:    gatewayeastafrica.net

Must Beliefs Be Verified To Be Meaningful?

Verificationism is the belief that any meaningful statement must be empirically falsifiable or verifiable.  

     Antony Flew (b. 1923) offered his contribution to the falsification debate by arguing that religious statements must be empirically falsifiable in order to be cognitively meaningful.  He illustrated this view with a story of two explorers who found a beautiful flower garden in the middle of a clearing in a jungle.  One explorer believed that the tended garden was a clear indication that there must be a gardner tending to it, but the other explorer disagreed and stated that there was no gardner.  They began to empirically observe the garden and never found any evidence (other than the existence of the garden and its beauty) of the gardner’s existence.  The two explorers never saw him nor heard him in spite of various tests that were implemented to do so.  Flew’s conclusion was that since the gardner’s existence was not empirically verified then any claim of his existence must be considered cognitively meaningless and totally void of conceptual content.  My first response to Flew’s argument would kindly be to ask, “by what authority do you become the one to determine what is cognitively meaningful?”  Why should Flew get to be the one who regulates for everyone else what concepts provide meaning.  The response might be that he is merely applying a universal standard of meaning according to what is falsifiable.  To which one should respond by asking, “by what standard do you verify the falsifiability of your proposition?”  The falsificationist is offering a rule by which meaningful statements are to be measured which is itself not a falsifiable idea.  Flew concluded his article with this question, “What would have to occur or to have occurred to constitute for you a disproof of the love of, or the existence of, God?”  But the question should also be considered by the one asking in this manner, “What would have to occur or to have occurred to constitute for you a disproof of your proposition that meaningful statements must be empirically falsifiable?”  There is no way to empirically falsify such a statement and is therefore by its own definition a meaningless statement.  The argument which requires falsification in order to determine meaning is therefore a self-refuting argument.  

The self-refuting nature of falsificationism is interesting enough but that’s not really my point.  I wish to point out that each of the explorers in the story were making decisions of faith.  The believer chose to believe that the best conclusion of the data presented was to affirm the presence of the gardner or better yet, maybe he just believed in the existence of the gardner and therefore interpreted the maintenance of the garden as further proof of the gardner’s existence.  He believed it to be so.  The unbeliever also chose to believe that there was no gardner.  He believed that the lack of verification during his empirical observations indicated that there was no gardner, or possibly he believed already that there was no gardner and found no reason to adjust his belief based upon a lack of verifiable evidence (in spite of the curiously obvious planting and maintenance of the garden).  He believed it to be so.  Both made decisions based on faith.  The role of faith in the metaphysical presupposition underlying falsificationism is that one’s ability to falsify is reliable.  It is an assertion of faith to presume that one’s ability to process data empirically is a dependable exercise.  My intent is not necessarily to criticize processing data empirically, but merely to point out that it ultimately involves assertions of faith.

Another example of falsification has been offered by A.J. Ayer who wrote, “A sentence is factually significant to any given person, if and only if, he knows how to verify the proposition which it purports to express.”  The key phrase is “knows how to verify” which indicates the meaningfulness of a proposition depends upon the ability of the given person’s ability to verify such a statement.  The subjectivity of such a statement reveals its inconsistency.  A small child knows not how to verify the provision of her mother but she certainly finds tremendous meaning in that provision.  The reply may be that this is too simplistic and childlike of an objection, but that would miss Ayer’s point.  Ayer’s point is exactly that the significance of a statement depends upon the person knowing how to verify its propositional expression.  The inconsistency may not matter to Ayer considering his other views that “psychological states are irreducibly mental and the self is just a bundle at a time and a series through time of discrete, otherwise ownerless mental states (feelings of pain, thoughts of lunch, desires for love).”

  These “ownerless mental states” involving such significant events as the feeling of pain and the desire for love may not have created trouble for Ayer but for most of the rest of us these are meaningful and not “ownerless” states.  Again this expression of falsification is self-refuting but in another fashion.  If the significance of a statement is found only in the ability of a person to verify the statement then what happens when two or more people offer contradictory statements that they each consider to be meaningfully verified.  Who determines which person gets to be the referee of such a contest?  Why should Ayer’s statement that it is meaningless to say that God does or does not exist be any more or less significant than my statement that God does exist?  His quest for falsification cannot be falsified and is therefore an expression of faith developed from certain metaphysical presuppositions.  It is an expression of faith in man’s ability to build rational arguments upon empirically observed data but also an expression of faith in man’s ability to falsify statements according to what is not even falsifiable.

The Advantage of a Local Baptist Association - Doing More Together

In many ways local Baptist associations are struggling and even denominational life as it was known in previous generations is passing.  Some predict that we live in a “post-denominational” age and others don’t seem to care much about even having the conversation.  I personally still believe that we can do more together than we can individually.  I believe in the power of cooperative efforts internationally, nationally, throughout the state, and most personally through local associations of likeminded churches.  I offer these four primary benefits regarding the usefulness of a local Baptist association with the hope of seeing this most important cooperative relationship restored and enjoyed.

A local Baptist association should be...

RELATIONAL -  We need each other.  There is strength in numbers.  The sheep who tries to run alone will be eaten by the wolves.  These are truisms we preachers preach to our congregations but too often do not live ourselves.  Jesus called His disciples to follow Him and He taught them to love one another as a group.  They were not just known individually but also as “The Apostles”.  Paul was supported by Barnabas, worked with Silas, traveled with Luke, depended upon Timothy.  He dared not think that he could do ministry without accountability and support.  The relationships that need to be built for lasting power in ministry most naturally occur locally.  Paul was glad about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus because “they refreshed my spirit and yours.” (1 Cor. 16:17)  I know we have social media, phones, Skype and other modes of communication but there will always be something especially refreshing about sitting face to face with brothers to pray and encourage.  They need you and you need them.  We all need each other.

CONFESSIONAL -  Amos 3:3 says, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?”  The answer is obvious and its implication clear.  We need likemindedness to be most effective.  It should be clear to all that confessional agreement does not mandate rigid conformity on every minute doctrinal matter but provides parameters which define who we are as Christians and distinctively as Baptists.  There is the “no-creed-but-the-bible-crowd” who decries confessional accountability but they still offer explanations for what they believe, which is some sort of confession.  Confessions of Christian belief are found in the New Testament, the Apostle’s Creed, Nicene Creed, and on down through the ages.  The early Anabaptists unanimously endorsed the Schleithem Confession (1527).  English Baptists made their contribution to confessional testimony (17th-18th centuries) and then in America our early Philadelphian brethren, the New Hampshire Confession (1833) and our own Southern Baptist statements (1925, 1963, 2000).  It is only reasonable to expect confessional agreement in our cooperative relationships.  It seems strange to me that anyone would expect this confessional agreement for extended ministry relationships but be willing to ignore it on the most intimate level of local association.  B.H. Carroll once said, “The modern cry: "Less creed and more liberty," is a degeneration from the vertebrate to the jellyfish, and means less unity and less morality, and it means more heresy.  Definitive truth does not create heresy it only exposes and corrects.  Shut off the creed and the Christian world would fill up with heresy unsuspected and uncorrected, but none the less deadly.” 

RESOURCEFUL -  As churches work together to reach their communities for Christ they should be able to network together and share resources with one another.  1 Cor. 16:1 mentions “the collection of the saints” that was collected for Paul’s journey to Jerusalem and the missionary efforts in which they shared.  They also seem to prayerfully share with him in the “great and effective door” which has opened and has “many adversaries”.  It may be something as simple as sharing some tables and chairs with a sister church for an outreach event or sending evangelism teams to help saturate a community or joining together in prayer, but we have more resources together than we do individually.  In the day of mega and super sized churches (which do a great work) larger churches may not need to depend on others for ministry capital but they certainly have much to offer smaller churches.  Smaller to medium size churches can harmoniously unite their gospel shining brightness for a more intense illumination.  This opportunity to share with others in their efforts to lead people to Jesus most naturally takes place through local relationships and can effectively be coordinated by an association.  

MISSIONAL - The Great Commission was not given to an individual or even a group individually.  Jesus commissioned a group of disciples collectively to “go and make disciples”.  They understood the urgency of their hour and once the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost they wasted no time in taking the gospel of Jesus to the ends of the earth.  We also are motivated by a great evangelistic emphasis.  We want people to know Jesus, it drives much of what we do.  But the disciples realized an interdependence among the churches that is mysteriously scant today.  New churches were birthed out of missionary efforts that were supported by other churches and when there was conflict they depended upon each other for help.  Local church autonomy was preserved but independent operation was not even a thought.  They shared in sufferings and rejoiced in victories.  1 Cor. 16 describes Paul coordinating efforts of multiple churches and the strategic maneuvering of Timothy, Apollos, Stephanas, Fortunatus, Achaicus, Aquila, and Priscilla for maximum gospel effectiveness.  The DFW metroplex welcomed over 375,000 new residents in 2013.  There are now over 300 languages spoken in our local area and the most ethnically diverse zip code in America is in west Irving.  We need each other to start new churches and reach those who are lost.  I recently read that David Uth said the only thing worse than being lost is to be lost and have nobody looking for you.  Brothers, let us not be guilty of such tragedy.  “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you (2nd person plural) you all.” (John 20:21)

Of Course Heaven is for Real: A Biblical Response to Extra-Biblical Claims

Of course Heaven is for real.  The Bible says so.  In the recently released and wildly popular book “Heaven is for Real” by Todd Burpo the author gives his eyewitness account of what he presents to be his son’s eyewitness account of Heaven.  After a near death experience due to a severe case of appendicitis little 3 year old Colton Burpo claims to have gone to Heaven and returned.  The book seeks to affirm the reality of Heaven based on the eyewitness testimony of what the elder Burpo experienced as his son began reporting visions of Heaven to him after his son’s death-type experience.

I have a few concerns about the book and its influence upon Christians.  These are not angry postulations, but concerns.  Disagreement does not need to equal defensiveness nor anger.  Please realize that the propositions set forth in the book have serious and eternal theological implications and therefore deserve a thorough and lucid examination.

Of course Heaven is real.  Unfortunately this book never tells the reader how to get there.  There are three times that Pastor Burpo offers a few hints about how one might receive Heaven in the next life.  On pg. 57 Colton expresses concern for a man that has died by stating that he could not go to Heaven unless he had “Jesus in his heart.”  Of course the Bible never uses this language specifically to describe salvation and the eternal life that accompanies.  Romans 8:9 does say that anyone who belongs to Christ has the “Spirit of Christ” but the way to Heaven certainly needs more explanation.  As Todd describes Colton’s visit with “Pop” in the afterlife he admits that his grandfather was “a guy who went to church only once in a while” and that even his mother had persistent doubts about Pop’s salvation.  He does share a story on pg. 90 about a preaching event in which “Uncle Hubert” asked if “anyone wanted to give his life to Christ” and Uncle Hubert “saw Pop raise his hand.”  Let me be clear, I hope to see Todd’s Pop when I get to Heaven, but even here this does not tell someone how to arrive at the heavenly place.  My hopes were high on pg. 111 when Todd reports a discussion he had with Colton about the meaning of Good Friday.  The father asked, “Colton, do you know why Jesus died on the cross?”  Colton responded, “Well, Jesus told me he died on the cross so we could go see his Dad.”  This is a tender way in childlike terms of describing some sort of fellowship with God but still there is not direction to the reader on how this may become a reality in one’s life.  The Bible states the importance of repentance from sin (Psalm 51:8-13; Jer. 3:22; Ezek. 33:5; Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 9:13; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20; 2 Tim. 2:25) and trusting in Christ as Savior (John 1:12; 3:15-16; 3:36; 5:24; 6:47; 11:25-26; 14:6; 20:28-31; Acts 4:12; 10:43; 13:38-39; 16:31; Rom. 5:1-2; 10:9-10; Gal. 3:26; Eph. 2:8-9) in order to be saved from sin and be reconciled to God.  All of this is missing from Burpo’s book about Heaven, but God’s book is explicitly clear.  Although this book had a great opportunity to share the gospel with a large audience and explain to people how they may receive the work of God’s grace through faith in Christ it simply does not do so.  Todd’s testimony about Colton’s experience is preeminent in the book rather than Christ and the Heaven He provides for all who repent and believe in Him.

No More Contradictions and Additions Please.  God is particularly clear about the importance of not subtracting from nor adding to His revealed word.  Deuteronomy 4:2 says, “you shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it.”  Proverbs 30:6 states, “do not add to His words” and Revelation 22:18 offers this warning, “If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book.”  God commands at the beginning, middle, and end of His Word, “do not add to it.”  Christians have historically understood that the Bible is God’s Word and that we are not intended to add to this special revelation.  When someone claims to have gone to Heaven or received some type of direct vision from God they are actually claiming to have direct revelation from God Himself.  The problem is that now the report of the revelation they claim to have experienced is an authoritative claim, placing their credibility on the same level as the Bible.  Moreover, so many of these revelatory claims are contradictory not only with the Bible but also with each other.  My concern here is not to compare Burpo’s testimony with others who claim similar experiences (a multitudinous and profitable literary genre) but to address the multiple extra-biblical claims in his book.

Here is a list of the multiple experiential claims which offer revelation that is way beyond the Bible.  On pg. 63 Colton says that Jesus rides a “rainbow horse” and that the boy “got to pet him.”  A culturally popular and non-biblical idea is mentioned on pgs. 72-73 as Todd says that Colton knows that “everybody’s got wings” in Heaven and “everyone kind of looks like angels.”  This motif continues in Colton’s description of Pop on pg. 87 as he is said to have “really big wings.”  Again on pg. 90 Jesus is described as riding a “rainbow horse” which is of course completely foreign to the biblical record.  As Colton describes God’s heavenly throne on pg. 101 he says that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God which is something any preacher’s son will know but then problematically says that the left seat beside God’s throne is occupied by “the angel Gabriel.”  Pastor Burpo then attempts justification for this extra-biblical assertion by referring to Gabriel’s appearance to Zechariah before John the Baptist’s birth.  There is nothing in the Bible that refers to Gabriel sitting at the left hand of God.  The description provided of the Holy Spirit on pg. 103 is somewhat alarming as the young Burpo says, “he’s kind of blue.”  Although he admits “that’s kind of a hard one” we must be extremely concerned about descriptions of the third person of the Trinity which go beyond the Biblical revelation which He Himself superintended.  Todd continues his testimony of Colton’s experience about Heaven and the need for swords for all who dwell there.  He says, “angels carry swords so they can keep Satan out of heaven!” (pg. 133)  Burpo then mentions the spiritual warfare that takes place in Daniel 10, but the biblical account speaks of battle in the spiritual realm not some desperate heavenly need to prevent Satan from entering Heaven.  As he goes on, “the women and children got to stand back and watch...but the men had to fight.” (pg. 136)  What are they fighting in Heaven you might ask.  According to Burpo, “we’re fighting monsters...like dragons and stuff.”  He tries to connect this vision to Revelation 9 and 20 but this requires a great deal of creative hermeneutical maneuvering.  In response to many Catholic inquisitors Colton says that he saw Mary, the mother of Jesus, “kneeling before the throne of God and at other times standing beside Jesus.”  That may coincide with Catholic beliefs but is not a part of the Bible.  

The amount of extra-biblical claims should be alarming for Christians who believe in the sufficiency of Scripture for our faith and practice.  Those of us who believe the Bible is God’s inspired word will be cautious about embracing claims of anyone who adds to the revelation that God has so carefully preserved for us.  Heaven is real and we already have reliable eyewitnesses.  The Holy Spirit inspired them to write the Scripture.  The Old Testament prophets, New Testament apostles and prophets, and of course Jesus are sufficient eyewitnesses.

The Question of Motives.  I cannot fairly respond to the motives of Todd Burpo in the writing of this book.  I assume he has the best intentions.  He certainly gives every indication of being a wonderful father.  I was profoundly encouraged throughout the book as a preacher-father myself when I found many of the descriptions Colton gave about things he heard his father preach and teach him both nightly and weekly.  Our children hear much more than we many times think and Colton provides great encouragement to any preacher wondering if children are hearing the ideas he is communicating.  It was heartwarming to read about a father who in spite of a very hectic life, which required the juggling of bi-vocational ministry, still made nightly Bible reading and prayer a priority in his family life.  I was bi-vocational for 10 years and I found myself relating to Todd in many ways.  He provides a great example of a pastor-worker-father-husband-community servant and I am thankful for men who sacrifice so much of themselves for the sake of others.  

I cannot interpret all of the reports of Colton Burpo.  He was 3 years old at the time of his special event and 4 years old at the time his father began recording his reports.  It is evident throughout the book that Colton was a wonderfully imaginative boy and that he has a father who has loved him and taught him the Bible.  There are certainly many possibilities which could explain any of the descriptions in this book.  I know from my own experience as a parent that there have been conversations which my wife and I assumed were private but later found out the kids heard more than we thought.  Some people presume that since Colton was a little boy there could not have been any deception in his reports.  This is not an accurate logical presumption because nowhere is it proven that youth equals lack of guile.  Actually human experience has shown us just the opposite.  Children are capable of deception from even their earliest days and any parent knows this.  I am certainly not saying that Colton was deceptive, I do not know, but just because he was a child does not mean that he was not.

I should also say to those other multiplied authors who offer books in the genre of “gone-to-afterlife-and-write-book-about-it” that there is one way to help clarify your motives.  Don’t write for profit.  There are many things that are different about the biblical authors and contemporary authors about heavenly claims.  Isaiah, Ezekiel, John, and Paul each claimed to have had heavenly visions.  These occurred for the purpose of prophetic vision for the writing of scripture.  They were not on some near death journey to heaven and back.  Each time the men were terrified concerning what they saw as they were confronted with the mighty holiness of the glory of God.  They were not concerned about trite details such as wings and halos but they were humbled by the magnificence of the Almighty.  Each of these biblical authors were so impacted by what they experienced that they were also afraid to speak much about it.  They certainly did not profit from anything that they wrote.  And another thing, they were all willing to die for the truth they experienced.  

The Evidence is Concrete.  I have wondered why so many people have been so intrigued with these stories about people seeing Heaven.  A good friend offered the  suggestion that many people are seeking what they consider “concrete” evidence about the reality and content of Heaven.  Possibly seekers are thinking that an eyewitness in this generation will provide them with more certainty than the biblical accounts, or at least that it might subsidize their faith.  This should be carefully thought through, for what is at stake is exchanging faith in the concrete evidence of prophetic eyewitness accounts which make up the Bible for the eyewitness account of a father about what his 3 year old son claims to have witnessed.  One may not see the distinction so I will remind you that Burpo offers multiple testimonies of details that do not exist in the Bible.  These details are at best imaginative additions or at worst blatant contradictions.  The Bible is sufficient for all we need to now know about Heaven.  If God wanted us to know more in this life about the life to come He would have included it in His perfect revelation to us.  Since He didn’t do that we must now keep our faith founded upon the firm foundation of His Word rather than contemporary claims of heavenly experiences.  “We walk by faith and not by sight.”  (2 Cor. 5:7)  One day we will know more, for to be “absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8) but for now...God’s Word is enough.  Of course Heaven is for real, the Bible says so.

Further Recommended Reading:

Luke 16:24   “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
Luke 16:27   “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, “No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”

BIBLICAL REFERENCES ABOUT HEAVEN:

No less than 530 times Heaven is mentioned in the Bible.  Here are some of them:

Genesis 1:1; Revelation 10:6; Psalm 89:29; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Jeremiah 31:37; Psalm 103:11; Isaiah 57:15; Deuteronomy 26:15; Psalm 20:6; Isaiah 57:15; 1 Kings 8:30; Matthew 6:9; Isaiah 66:1; Acts 7:49; Daniel 5:23; Matthew 11:25; Psalm 11:4; 135:6; Daniel 4:35; 1 Kings 8:27; Jeremiah 23:24; 1 Chronicles 21:26; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Nehemiah 9:27; Psalm 20:6; Genesis 19:24; 1 Samuel 2:10; Daniel 4:13, 14; Romans 1:18; Acts 3:21; Hebrews 6:20; 9:12, 24; Matthew 28:18; 1 Peter 3:22; Matthew 18:10; 24:36; Luke 10:20; Hebrews 12:23; Matthew 5:12; 1 Peter 1:4; Luke 15:7; Matthew 6:20; Luke 12:33; 1 Corinthians 15:50; Revelation 7:16, 17; Ephesians 5:5; John 14:2; Hebrews 11:16; Hebrews 4:9; 2 Corinthians 12:2, 4; Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 5:5; Hebrews 11:5; 2 Kings 2:11; Revelation 4-5; 7:9-17; 14; 21-22