Daily devotion: After 25 Years - Proverbs 9 v 16

Proverbs 9:16             "Let all who are simple come in here!" she says to those who lack judgment.

After almost 25 years in pastoral ministry, I’ve reached several conclusions and one of them is this: sometimes theology and theologians are full of bunk!

I’ve watched more than a few of my peers, both here and in Scotland, get so isolated in their theological ivory towers that they become too heavenly to be of any earthly use. They immerse themselves in theological obscurities and wallow in weird causes. They become armchair pastors, seeking the secluded safety of their studies and end up idolizing their own ideas. They make no difference in the world and add nothing to their parishes. They are deified drones who live off the resources, contributions and hard work of the parishioners.

They want to be respected for their profession, but have no idea how to lead. They want to write theological tomes instead of reading people’s faces. They want their name to be recognized instead of remembering the names of people at church. They would rather be teaching at a seminary instead of a small church group. They are ambitious and dangerous. They lack true judgment and usually end up losing their faith.

The Church suffers because we allow these selfish seekers into our parishes and presbyteries, our structures and our systems. They are like locusts who devour the people and who lead the simple-minded astray. They don’t believe that Jesus is the Only Savior of the World and they deride grass roots parishioners for being narrow-minded. They have a pre-Copernican attitude about their academic understanding: everything revolves around their ideas – even God must circle their theological globes.

As Presbyterians, we pride ourselves into being deep thinkers about our faith. Lately, though, we have allowed priestly parasites to feed upon the faith of our people. We need to be more circumspect about what churches we belong to and what leaders we choose – at any level. We would do well to seek out places of worship by what Calvin referred to as the marks of the True church – a church where the Gospel is truly preached and the sacraments are carefully administered.

Maybe this wasn’t the devotion you needed today, but sometimes we all need to read and hear things we don’t like in order to grow spiritually. Our broken world needs a healthy church, not a broken one. In order to bring healing to this suffering planet, we need to begin to seriously heal ourselves from within. Wishful thinking and good intentions will only lead us to hell; true believing and faithful living will help us to attract more people to Christ and Heaven.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, these are trying times for the Church and it gets harder to distinguish between true leaders and false prophets. It’s easier to keep our heads down in order to maintain  the peace, but evil triumphs when good people do or say nothing. Grant us the courage to stay faithful to Your words and ways. Raise up strong committed Christian leaders who live according to Your truth and abide by Your words. Forgive us of this generation, who have been led astray by our own understanding and who have failed to keep Your commands and faith. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is currently the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org. Your feedback means a lot to him.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest Spring drawings. It’s called “Tulips and Daffodils.” You can view a larger version of the drawing at http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5293/5572859545_c40a716a9c_b.jpg

Signed limited edition 8x10 prints are available from John. Contact him by email for more information.

Daily Devotions: Thinking Theologically

1 Corinthians 2:6       We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

Most pastors think differently from other people. Whether it’s because of our seminary teaching or the specialty of our calling, we think about things theologically rather than socially, politically, psychologically or scientifically. Some people believe that being spiritual is all that it takes to be a pastor, but a pastor’s theological thinking goes way beyond that. Spirituality is about our personal relationship and individual journey to God. Theology is about what God thinks, what is important to Him, and how He relates to us.

Spiritual people sometimes make the mistake of trying to fit God into their lives. God becomes a convenient spiritual companion whose main task is to diminish our anxieties, see to our needs, and answer our prayers. Theological people see things differently: we are called to fit our lives in God’s Kingdom, so we seek to serve Him, doing what He wants, and answering His call. It’s a tough way to live life because it makes you think and act differently. The world patronizes and feasts upon spirituality in different forms, but it finds it difficult to swallow theological thinking and God’s wisdom.

When Paul writes about the wisdom and rulers of his age amounting to nothing, he’s expressing his opinion theologically. Worldly concerns and spiritual shallowness were just as prevalent then as they are now. Socially, politically, and economically they might have been relevant and important to the Romans of his day, but as far as eternally and theologically, they were of no consequence. Each age has its own culture, fashion, and trends but within a couple of decades, they are dead and forgotten. God’s words, works, and ways are eternally relevant, so no matter how much the world tries to diminish the divine and terminate theology, His thoughts, deeds, and acts will never disappear.

So the challenge for all of us today is this: are we going to be content with being spiritually light, or will we dare to begin thinking theologically?

Prayer:                        Lord God, Your ways are not our ways, and Your thoughts are not our thoughts, yet we dare to seek Your wisdom, read Your words, and apply Your ways. Keep us from becoming spiritually shallow and self-serving. Help us to give weight to Your thoughts by making our lives fit Your Kingdom and calling. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.