Bright Wings

Because the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm breast and with Ah! Bright Wings.

June 17, 2009

Three Reasons I Stay in the Local Church

Upon inquiring about the recent change in their church’s name and logo, I was told by the pastor of a church here in town that it was all part of an effort in his life and ministry to ‘go global’. I responded in my usual dimwitted fashion, “Four Oaks went global a few years back. You can access our website all over the world.” Hey, I’ve been to Minsk! Talk about global impact.

As we march through Luke’s gospel together I noted this past Sunday how striking it was that Jesus had a ministry that covered only 75-100 square miles over three years. Yet, if ever there was a ministry that went global, it is the ministry of Jesus Christ.  Why? Because of God’s sovereign purpose and Jesus’ faithfulness to His Father’s will. John MacArthur said at the beginning of his pastoral ministry, “I will attend to the depth of my ministry, and God will take care of the breadth of it.”  So many pastors and leaders get this backwards. They spend their time striving for wide impact, broad influence, ocean spanning ministry that touches thousands- millions, even!  It is not hard to see that much of this striving very quickly becomes about personal gain and ego building rather than the cause of Christ and the spread of the gospel.

So, Jesus zeroed in on the cities and villages in Galilee and Palestine and poured his life into twelve men and a small company of disciples. Jesus went deep and God spread the ministry wide.  He went local, God took it global. 
I’ve been asked by folks (often in jest)  when I’m going to write my first book and become a travelling evangelical guru. I’m flattered a bit, but can also hear the longing in such jest. Not necessarily a longing for me to finally leave, but a longing for an important pastor.  This longing is reflected in my vain heart.  “When will I do something meaningful and important?” I wonder as I work on Sunday’s sermon between meetings.  Hmmm. 

Here are three (of many) reasons I became a pastor. These reasons keep me a pastor. These reasons are why most of my heroes are local church preaching pastors (Augustine, Calvin, Edwards, Spurgeon, Piper, MacArthur, Dad).  This is why I will continue to go deep in a local area, deep into the Word, deep into discipleship with a few,  deep week after week, and day after day.

1. The centrality of the local church in the Christian’s life, health, and growth.  I unashamedly uphold the local church as that unique, unrivaled, and unassailable creation of God to build his Kingdom and spread his glory (Matthew 16:18; Matthew 18:15-18; Ephesians 3:10; 1 Timothy 3:15).  A faithful commitment to the health and growth of the believer is a faithful commitment to serving and building the local church.  A faithful commitment to the Kingdom of God and the spread of His glory through Christ is a commitment to preaching and teaching in the local church.

2. The calling of God upon my life.  God has uniquely equipped and resourced me (with all my warts and flaws) for ministry in the local church. He has providentially placed me where I am for the sake of building the church- not for the sake of building my name and influence. It is not my prerogative to manufacture, construct, or change this calling and ordination.  When I was in my last year of seminary one of the common questions between the students was, “Where do you think you’ll get a job?” A natural question in some sense, but entirely out of sync with the ethos of pastoral vocation in the Scriptures. If I wanted ‘a job’- this would not be the course I would have taken. I would have gone to law school, business school, or to the classifieds.  I had been called by God to pastoral ministry. My calling had been tested and affirmed by my pastors and elders. I went to seminary for training and equipping toward the prophetic office of preacher and pastor. This is no ‘job’- it is a burden, a responsibility, and calling.  The ‘professionalization’ of pastoral ministry is robbing the church of godly leadership and turning shepherds into showmen, celebrities, and mercenaries.

3. The normal context of healthy and vibrant Christian ministry is the local church. Many believers have replaced the normal pattern of their pastor’s preaching and the authority of church leaders for their favorite author, conference speaker, or evangelical celebrity.  Many pastors view the local church as an entrée into some other realm of influence or existence. The local church provides the normal biblical pattern of accountability and authority for pastoral teaching and preaching.  The local church is the best context to receive, interpret, and apply the whole counsel of God to the whole of life.  It seems that Christians- including preachers and teachers will go far and wide
seeking surrogate ministry structures in order to circumnavigate the island of refuge and shelter designed by God through the local church.

posted by Erik Braun