Why would we go to serve at a rural church

On September 2nd, Eagle Springs Baptist Church of Eagle Springs, NC voted and extended a call to me to become their new pastor. Lindsey and I have prayed over this and have been praying for years about where the Lord would lead us. We thought he would lead us to France or another European setting. We thought God may keep us in Raleigh. We had sent out hundreds of resumes all over the United States and World. Lindsey is a city girl at heart. I am a very odd mixture of urban and want-to-be country. We thought an urban setting or maybe sub-urban would be a good fit. God, faithful to make better plans and to know what we need, chose to lead us to a town of 2,100 and we are thankful for His guidance. The people of this church could not be more friendly and welcoming. I begin to pastor there full-time Oct. 27th. We move into the parsonage on the 26th of October. I feel humbled, honored, a little nervous, and very excited. Honestly, also a bit overwhelmed by it all. I feel the weight of the role and the responsibility to make disciples, not just a paycheck. I also want to lead my family well through the many changes that the Lord has provided for us. New Church. New Town. New Friends. New House. New Baby. New Job. New Lives. He is faithful and I am trusting Him to perfectly lead me as I seek to imperfectly lead them.

Recently I have been asked by some why we would go to serve at a rural church. Some have made the assumption that we are going there to get experience, that this is a good "first church", and that we will not be there long. Some have looked on this ministry in the rural area with disdain and have questioned we would not go to the urban centers or international setting. I have heard it stated: "The soul of a plow boy is not worth as much as the soul of a delivery boy." Can I tell you that this is abundantly wrong? Here are 4 quick reasons why this idea is wrong.

1. The churches in the urban and rural south (particularly the states within the "Bible Belt") are dying faster than new ones are being planted.Some claim that this is due to pastors feeling "too creative" or "gifted" for rural ministry. Time magazine notes that many churches are closing their doors because they can't support a pastor financially or pastors are unwilling to come. Many pastors are frustrated with historically unchanging churches that are culturally religious, yet spiritually dead. If pastors do not go to these churches, they will die. If there are no churches in an area that was once flooded with them, it is likely that the spiritual heritage of churches like Eagle Springs Baptist Church (111 years old) will die within one generation.

2. The rural southern churches have long held the ropes for the IMB and NAMB. While rural churches are typically not able to give large amounts of money in support, with the average size of SBC churches being around 180, the collection of them make for a hefty portion of the annual contributions to the cooperative program. The SBC was founded by small churches deciding to band together to pool their resources in support of missions. We would do well not forget where we came from.

3. Rural Ministry is Not Second Rate. Jared C. Wilson, along with excellent quotes from Tim Keller truly hits at the heart of this. I particularly loved this quote: "Do not treat these mission fields like training wheels for "real" ministry. If that's the case then you shouldn't be in ministry anywhere." One of the better, convicting, and more encouraging articles I have ever read. I'm thankful for it as I go into my new pastoral role.

4. Most importantly, God doesn't care about accents, but about the salvation of all peoples. God cares about the heart and the heavenly tune lifted from every believer's heart in a time of worship doesn't differentiate accent, but pure love for the Lord. The man in the field is just as important to the Lord as the man with the large purse strings. That is just one of many reasons that he used both in his illustrations on earth. a town without a Starbucks still sells coffee and men and women can listen to the Gospel proclaimed in mud huts, under shady trees, in 111 year old churches as well as large auditoriums. God faithfully leads us where we are to go. It is up to us to be faithful to go where he leads.

We are not perfect in our response to the Lord in this, but we feel within ourselves a desire to be faithful to what the Lord has called us to. We find rest and peace in that. Please pray for us as we endeavor to be faithful and thank Him for His continued provision for our family.

I asked a question

As I prepare for ministry, I have been avidly reading articles, books, and blogs trying to learn from the great men in ministry who have gone before me. After 4 degrees from the seminary, I have been blessed to learn quite a bit, but Aristotle (in Apology) said it best: "I am called wise, for my hearers always imagine that I myself possess wisdom which I find wanting in others; but the truth is, O men of Athens, that God only is wise; and in this oracle he means to say that the wisdom of men is little or nothing." After 8 years of wonderful seminary training, I continue to be blessed by and thankful for men of God who are willing to share their wisdom with others.

One of the blogs of respected authors and pastors that I follow is Practical Shepherding written by pastor Brian Croft. I decided that it couldn't hurt to email and ask Brian what life in ministry should look like in the first year. Here is his response. I was blessed by it and pray that you will be too. I am thankful for godly men who make time for younger, much less experienced brothers in the faith. Thank you Brian Croft for your ministry and answer!

A Response to the Chick-Fil-A Controversy

Recently, I was pointed to this blog: http://oddmanout.net/post/28484026012/chick-fil-activism  which is self described as "a blog about being Christian and gay by brent bailey."

I was challenged by what this man said. I read through Brent’s article, as well as his follow-up response to some criticism. I have been following the various articles, blogs, and news coverage of the Chick-fil-A controversy as well. I do not feel like I am an expert on these things, but I do have some thoughts. For what they are worth, here they are.

I took note of some particular quotes by Brent, but the first one to really capture my eye was this one:

"The problem is much bigger than chicken sandwiches and gay marriage, though; the growing trend I mentioned earlier is an unwillingness to suffer with the world in order to empower others to maintain the difficult, counter-cultural values certain Christians profess.  It’s much easier to vote against legalized abortions than it is to help a pregnant, impoverished teenager raise a child.  It’s less work to enforce stricter penalties on drug users than it is to walk with a friend through the torment of detoxing.  And it’s much easier to eat a chicken sandwich in support of traditional marriage than it is to navigate difficult questions about sexual identity and God’s will with actual human beings who experience nontraditional sexuality.  When we succeed in forcing Christian morality standards on others, regardless of their faith convictions, we can assign them all the blame for failing to meet those standards, and we can rest assured of our own impeccable righteousness when we do manage to play by those strict rules.  We don’t have to suffer with others because their suffering is their fault."

I think Brent misses that the Christian responsibility would likely be a both/and not an either/or type of situation. Christians should still vote their consciences, the same way that every other voter will given the chance, however, Brent does hit at a very important issue. Many Christians would rather outsource the issues that we do not want to address rather than hitting them head on in love. I’m not silly enough to think that everyone views confrontation of sin as loving, but I am assuming that there is a mutual understanding that we as conservative, evangelical Christians can hold to. The Bible calls it unloving to let others unknowingly continue in sin.  

Brent’s point seems much akin to the Pharisees dragging the woman from her adulteress bed (leaving the man with whom she was having the affair with in that same bed to escape condemnation) and throwing her at Jesus's feet. They wanted law, but a law applicable to everyone else’s folly. Jesus makes the statement, "He who is without sin cast the first stone.", but I have often wondered if the translation doesn't imply something bigger; something along the lines of "Any of you who hasn't also been adulterous, go ahead and kill her." The reality is that Jesus did get his hands dirty with sinners, tarnishing his reputation for the sake of offering reconciliation (see Zacchaeus, Samaritan woman at the Well, calling Matthew as a disciple, etc.). He didn't deny their sin, but he didn't put off the purposeful actions required in loving his neighbor either. In order to share Christ with others, we must interact with them. The concern would be that legislating morality would just ask the government to do what we are unwilling to plead with the Holy Spirit to do and what we as believers are unwilling to say to sinful neighbors. It's almost as if we are attempting to get unbelievers to a point of righteousness that we feel comfortable with inviting into our churches and engaging with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Obviously, that statement may seem extreme, but I have trouble of thinking of many other reasonable explanations to ascribe to our behavior. A potential response would be that we must preserve morality and Christian marriage for posterity. Saying that we must do these things to preserve a sense of morality for our children denies the very nature of the law written on our hearts in Romans 1-2. We are born with the deep knowledge that we are broken and wrong and in need of God. The argument of preservation of morality then can only go so far. I think there is something else entirely at play here.   

Brent goes on to say:   

"I would suggest, though, that those who are going to advocate loudly for a traditional view of marriage ought to go to great lengths to insure—not necessarily for the sake of reputation, but for the sake of integrity—they’ve submitted themselves to the full implications of the traditional view they’re espousing, because a traditional view of marriage certainly encompasses more than the “one man, one woman” definition to which current conversations have minimized it. "

In the wake of the amendment vote, I heard almost no preaching, teaching, or discipleship occurring regarding divorce in the Christian community, nor sexual deviancy, pornography, or adultery within the life of the Christian. Each of these events invites and celebrates a perversion of the Biblical view of marriage. Where has the response been? I think that the homosexual community, from the few that I have talked to (ashamedly not enough), have viewed our outcry of biblical marriage between one man-one woman as lacking with regard to biblical marriage. I fear that many of the protests are less about freedom of speech, less about God's definition of marriage, and more about an unspoken truth: homosexuality is "gross" and offensive to us and is viewed as a worse sin than others. 

Now, using words like "traditional" in describing a particular view of anything (let alone marriage) immediately brings to mind connotations of old-fashioned and archaic. In fact, C.S. Lewis stated it best when he said that we were prone to "chronological snobbery" when viewing the ways of the past. Just recently a friend of mine was describing why he felt that homosexual unions were okay despite the fact that the Bible clearly states otherwise. His answer: they didn't know what we do now. We are a silly and shallow people and we tend towards these types of statements as it protects us from responding to Biblical truth. I know that my idolatrous heart does the same thing about other issues. We cannot proclaim one truth boldly and then ignore other related truths in the same Bible. It send mixed messages when we have those who would proudly say that they waited for hours on end and then ate Christian chicken three times on an appreciation day, yet would not seek out a homosexual brother to dialogue about the Gospel.   

I was struck on the day of the appreciation at the tweet I saw from a respected friend, stating: "We should be fasting, not feasting." Indeed, that is what scripture commands us to do along with praying and engaging with love when we disagree with others (see Matt 5:38-48). I do not think the lost community is in a better position to understand what Christians believe. If they knew what we believed and what the Bible taught, it would come as no surprise that we vote and support the way that we do. I believe what baffles them is the way in which we disagree and the way we shout down those who disagree and persecute our beliefs. 

I support free speech or else I wouldn't have a blog and various other social media outlets. I think that Dan Cathy was right to say what he did. I support a company issuing a statement clarifying their particular beliefs and, obviously, I support one making statements grounded and backed by Biblical truth. I support the Biblical mandate for marriage and believe all sinners should be called to repentance and reconciliation. Myself at the top of that list. That being said, the appreciation day seemed less about reconciliation and repentance and more about flaunting an ideal, biblical or not. Ironically, it is the flaunting of things of this nature that often brought people to a place of boasting and idolatry that led to entire nations falling. Many a king in Israel has claimed to love God and then married a pagan foreigner or himself worshiped a false God (even the religion itself instead of the Father). My worry is not that we won't take a stand as believers, it is that we will stand for the wrong thing in the wrong way.  (1 Corinthians 10:12 "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall"). 

I appreciate your dialogue on this. I am in need of God's grace and I fear my heart is bent towards a cynical look towards the church that I all too often ascribe to "realistic" views. I desire to rest in hope that Christ can and will bring about glorious renewal in all of this world and that we as believers have been privileged to be allowed to be a part of that.

  

Am I afraid of the dark?

As I have been going through this year, I have decided to read a daily devotional. I chose the classic "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers and have not been disappointed (although i have been challenged). A devotion from 2 days ago has me wondering, am I afraid of the dark? I suppose I should stop and state for the record that I am a planner. I'm not quite to the point of scheduling breathing into my daily activity list or having a "clipboard of fun," but I do enjoy knowing what will come of each day and where I am headed. I try to pray, desire to search out the Scriptures, seek wise counsel and reason through each decision. Most of the time I do it in that order. Most of the time.

So here's the problem I ran into as I went through my devotion. Chambers began discussing Abraham and when he did, he began to speak to me personally. (yes, I know that he never met me and that hundreds of thousands of people have read this book with great applications being made to their lives as well). Chambers states that:

"Whenever God gives a vision to a saint, He puts him, as it were, in the shadow of His hand, and the saint’s duty is to be still and listen. There is a darkness which comes from excess of light, and then is the time to listen. Genesis 16 is an illustration of listening to good advice when it is dark instead of waiting for God to send the light. When God gives a vision and darkness follows, wait. God will make you in accordance with the vision He has given if you will wait His time. Never try and help God fulfill His word. Abraham went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all self-sufficiency was destroyed; there was no possibility left of relying on commonsense ways. Those years of silence were a time of discipline, not of displeasure. Never pump up joy and confidence, but stay upon God (cf. Isaiah 50:10, 11).

Have I any confidence in the flesh? Or have I got beyond all confidence in myself and in men and women of God, in books and prayers and ecstasies; and is my confidence placed now in God Himself, not in His blessings? “I am the Almighty God”—El-Shaddai, the Father-Mother God. The one thing for which we are all being disciplined is to know that God is real. As soon as God becomes real, other people become shadows. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever perturb the one who is built on God."

We are waiting right now for the place that God would have us to go to serve. For 15 years I have sought to force God's hand in the understanding of the application of His calling on my life for ministry. With each new possibility I have been tempted to weigh the words of man (especially my own) against the word of the Lord. It has played out in different ways. I have fervently sought Him alongside my wife for times. I have served faithfully alongside my wife at times in various ministries. I have ran with rebellious intent at times. He has opened and closed doors. He has brought clarity and darkness. He has faithfully remained present and never taken away the calling He seared into my soul so long ago. I still love to plan, but I'm seeing how it must shift within me. Now I must plan to be patient. May my plan be to "Wait for the Lord" always. 

Prayers from Hauerwas

Years ago, I was wandering through the clearance books and I stumbled upon Stanley Hauerwas's Prayers Plainly Spoken at Lifeway on SEBTS' campus.** I picked it up and opened to the a prayer that struck me. As a believer we are often taught that prayer is an essential spiritual discipline. We are taught that good prayers often include such aspects as thanksgiving, supplication, intercession and so on, however, I was struck that day by the way that Hauerwas spoke poetically, but casually with God. God seemed less like own to fear as a angry demigod and more like a Father to be conversed with.


I was brought back to that prayer yesterday. My shortcomings were before me. My sin was before me. I stood and listened as accusations were laid before me. Knowing that I was remade, renewed and restored by God, I still felt made wholly unworthy by the accusations of those who claimed to "know" me so well. My wife has since reminded me that God knows me better than all others and it is He that will tune my heart to sing His praise. I do desire to sing His praise, even if my desire to carry a proper tune is often marred by selfish desires. When these things happen, as they tend to do, I desire to seek harbor in the things that I think might bring refuge, but everywhere I turn, God is confronting me with the truth that I cannot go back, I must go forward. I cannot seek safety in the past or find strength in hiding behind anything. To be with the Lord, I must obediently follow where He leads. I must be unafraid and get out of the boat, not fearing water that no longer can threaten or those that are drowning in it. I can't lead others to dry ground if I'm afraid to touch it myself.


Here is the prayer:


Reborn and Unafraid
"Lord of the Flood, wash us with your Spirit that we may be your ark of life, your peace in the sea of violence. Water is life; water cleans, water kills. Frightened, we are temped to make a permanent
home on the ark. But you force us to seek dry ground. We can do so only because you have 
taught us to cling to our baptisms, where we are drowned and reborn by the water and fire of your Spirit.
So reborn, make us unafraid. Amen."



**Dr. Hauerwas is a brilliant man, but we theologically break on some major issues, however, his teachings and writings out of Duke Divinity School are highly acclaimed.

Thankful

Well, now that a full year has passed since I last posted, I look back at this blog I am thankful for it. My intentions in starting the blog for me to give random musings about a variety of subjects, but the reality is that it quickly became a launching point for me to read the blogs of others that I had placed in my blog roll while i sought to further understand the mysteries of God. Having passed through a year without posting, I wanted to stop and say thank you to a few who deserved praise (in a very non-comprehensive list).

I graduated from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in December with a Master of Divinity degree specializing in Christian Ministry. That degree had been a long time coming, for more reasons than I care to name, but I will try to name a few. First, I should have finished that degree when I completed my Master of Arts as was recommended by so many professors, family and friends. In my arrogance, I didn't. I was running from God in the way that many of that age do: passively. I didn't shake my fists at the heavens, I simply stopped talking to and listening to my heavenly father and determined to go my own way. I can list reasons why I did this, but the reality is, I was pridefully, selfishly not ready to be a man of God; still content to be one without care or responsibility (all while married to a patient woman of God). Second, I was terrified of failing in ministry. I had seen others fail morally and thought them to be of much greater character and moral fiber than myself. I had often been complimented on my work ethic, but work ethic alone would not be enough to shepherd God's people. If they could fall and disgrace God and drag down an entire congregation, then my role was clearly not to fill their shoes. I became afraid and wanted to "teach" in an academic setting so that I would not be forced to dwell among those who dealt with the real issues of life. Working at a hospital has taught me that in times of intense suffering and grief, no one asks if you would debate with them the finer points of trinitarian theology. They want to know "Why" and they want to know "Who." I was terrified I could answer neither. After the running and fears subsided, I was back at SEBTS. It was here that I learned that a total reliance on the Holy Spirit to change me and everyone that I proclaimed Jesus to as I sought to see others reconciled to God was not only vital, it was the only way to do ministry well. I am thankful for the many professors who put trust where it should not be placed and invested time, prayer, and energy into me. Since coming back to SEBTS, I have been blessed to learn more in the past two years than I ever did in first 6 1/2 and I don't credit that to them getting better faculty. I credit that to a radical change that God has been working in my heart through their teaching and a through a relationship with the Father, the likes of which I had not known before. I'm thankful for SEBTS.

I am thankful for patient, loving parents. My parents, Rose and Bud Brogli, have faithfully supported me through what must now seem like endless educational endeavors, at least 15 different jobs, and they have done so with great love. I am thankful that they have offered wise counsel (even when I thought I didn't want it). I am thankful that they provided a place for me to live while I was in college and let me rent from them while I was finishing up my masters. It is a blessing to be surrounded by parents who care for your well-being so much that they support you even when they think you have lost your ever-loving mind. Whenever possible, they have come to hear me preach, offered countless hours of babysitting my two little ones, given gifts of time and money to bring joy and ease stress, and celebrated and cried with Lindsey and I through many good and bad times. I am thankful for parents who know the Gospel of Jesus Christ and show the grace of God to their son and his family. I am thankful for my parents.

I am thankful for my bride, Lindsey. Lindsey has followed me through addictions to video games, followed me while I lead us into debt while I wrongly chased material pleasures, she has followed me to a variety of jobs, followed me while I was struck by cars, followed me through health uncertainties, followed me into parenthood, and has now followed me into full-time ministry. We have been married for 7 years and I cannot imagine my life without her. She sees all of my flaws, yet still supports and listens when I preach. She takes notes and encourages me (even gives helpful criticisms to honestly, lovingly point me towards declaring the Word of God better). Linds has stuck by me when others have abandoned me, threatened me, did not believe in me, questioned my motives and heart, and even when I was the one who did all of the above to myself. She has not just been a helper, she has been a beaming beacon of hope pointing me back to my Savior in so many subtle ways. Having her in my life is a testimony to God's grace to me and she has made every love story or poem I have ever read and romantic movie I have ever watched come alive. She is the standard of beauty, virtue, and kindness by which all other women are judged in my mind and she loves Jesus. I am thankful for a wife that loves Jesus and yet still loves me too. I am so indebted to the Lord for creating and allowing me to know my Lindsey and I am eternally grateful for Lindsey.

Finally, I am thankful for my God and that in His word (Isaiah 30:18), He reminds me that He is waiting to be gracious to me and has placed Himself in a position to be merciful to me. I am thankful that He never gives up on those that He loves. I am thankful that He is a forgiving and gracious God. As I am now a father, I see how desperately I desire for my children to walk in the right way and also how proud I am of them when they make even the slightest accomplishment. On days when I am found foolishly, pridefully pounding my chest and exclaiming to the world that I am no longer a slave to this kind of sin or that, I do not see Him shaking His head wondering why I ever submitted to sin to begin with. Instead, I see Him in the scriptures as a proud father longing to wipe the dirt off my knees after the last fall and help me walk worthy of the one who had called me to begin with. He has waited patiently on me until my thoughts each morning are those found in Isaiah 33:2: "O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you. be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble." I know now that without Him, I can never be the man I desire to be and more importantly, without Him, I will never become who He has made me to be. I cannot love my wife and children well without His grace. I cannot be a good employee or employer without His grace. His grace is not only sufficient, it is essential to eevry goal and dream I have. I am thankful because in His graciousness, I am able to know God and be known by Him, despite all of my failures. Salvation is an indescribable, barely believable gift. Thankful is wholly inadequate to describe how I feel, but I am grateful to be called a "child of God," despite my wandering heart.

Thank you for investing in me and I pray that the return on your investment will be seen in eternity.