Reflections From An Old Pastor

Welcome to Legacy Ministry Chapel. For those of you who do not know me, I am a Legacy Ministry College board member and have served on the Legacy Ministry faculty. I have been a pastor for over 40 years and am currently teaching doctoral students at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.

The title of my message today is: Reflections from an Old Pastor. Rather than preaching a sermon to you, I want to talk with you about my pastoral ministry experience. As Legacy Ministry students, you are already engaged in ministry, and most of you have many years of ministry ahead. I want to do all I can to make those years effective and fruitful.

In recent years, we have seen many prominent ministers scandalized. Even people we highly esteemed have been exposed for behavior unbecoming to the ministry. How does a man build a 100,000-person following while hiding the secret of molesting a 12-year-old girl? If you’re going to be in the ministry, you need some kind of answer to that question. The goal of ministry is not numbers and outward success. It is nice when God grants that kind of external fruitfulness. And when the external signs of success are simply a fruit of dedicated service to God, then it is something to be celebrated. But New Testament ministry must begin and end in the heart of the minister. Proverbs 4:23 counsels us: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (NIV) .

Paul instructed Timothy (1 Tim. 4:16 NIV), “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” The best thing you can do for those you serve is to keep your heart pure before God. Diligently guard your motives. Ruthlessly reject pride and self-promotion. Stay in the Word of God.

In Timothy 4, Paul told this young minister to do four things:

(1) Don’t be intimidated by your youthfulness and inexperience. David was young when he slew Goliath. There were many more seasoned soldiers in the camp. David’s older brothers were more seasoned. King Saul was more seasoned. Why David and not them? David’s heart was pure, and his reliance was on God, not his own ability. I say to you today: Don’t be intimidated by your inexperience. Obey God, and you will get experience. And you will see the glory of God in your life.

(2) Be an example “in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” Notice the emphasis on personal purity and conduct. The emphasis is not on the external fruit that will follow that. The first order of business is to get close to God yourself and simply do what He tells you to do.

(3) “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.” Devote yourself to the Word of God, for if you take heed to it, it will guide you, correct you, and keep you on track.

(4) “Do not neglect your gift.” God has uniquely gifted you to accomplish his purposes through you. Embrace his calling on YOUR life and don’t try to be somebody else. You can take inspiration from their lives. You can learn through their example. But as you obey God, you will discover who you are created to be and the gifts God has placed in you. It’s very easy to see someone who is admired by many, someone who operates in spectacular gifts, someone with a large following, and say in your heart, I want to be that. Again, you can be inspired by that person, but develop the gifts God has put in you. They may or may not be spectacular in the eyes of man. That does not matter. What matters is that you humbly follow God’s calling on your life. “Do not neglect your gift.”

All of that precedes the text in 1 Tim. 4:16: “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them.” What you believe is important. In the last days, there will be a great falling away—many will turn from the truth and believe a lie. The revelation in Scripture is an anchor to protect you from that. You must diligently give yourself to the word in order to discern deception and reject it. The development of ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE is like any other technology. It can be used for good, and it can be used for evil. In the days ahead, it will advance so remarkably that there will be the temptation to over use it. Even now it can give you a quick sermon that sounds pretty good. Sermon preparation is not about producing a slick manuscript. Sermon preparation is about God working His word in your heart so that it becomes flesh in you. The struggle to get the sermon is a necessary process. In that struggle, you find answers to life’s issues in the inspired Scripture. And you learn to hear the voice of God and follow His leading. What does God want to say in your life? What does God want to say to that congregation at that time? Watch your life (your lifestyle) and your doctrine.