FOR HE IS GOOD

At this time of year, we tend put a lot of emphasis on Christmas. That is because merchants are pushing us in that direction, wanting us to believe that Christmas is all about trimming the tree, buying presents, and so on. In the process of all this, we can very easily forget the beautiful holiday called Thanksgiving.

Originally established as a holiday by President George Washington in 1789, Thanksgiving was initially a religious holiday and, more to the point, a Christian holiday. The first Thanksgiving was different than ours today. It lasted three days, during which the pilgrims feasted with their Indian guests.

Of course, our Thanksgiving is also about gathering with friends and family and having a feast. But sometimes at this particular time of year, we can forget about how thankful we ought to be. We need to never forget that God has blessed us to live in the United States of America, which is, in my opinion, the greatest country on the face of this earth. We have so many privileges here.

We have a lot to give thanks for, and certainly the Bible urges us to give thanks to the Lord. We are told in Psalm 106:1, "Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."

Sometimes worship and thanksgiving can be a sacrifice, because we are down or depressed or things aren't going all that well for us. Maybe hardship or tragedy has hit our lives in some way and we don't want to thank God. But the Bible doesn't say, "Give thanks to the Lord, because you feel good." It says, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!"

THE REAL MEANING

Judging from the trends in most popular preaching today, the question of what Scripture means has taken a back seat to the question of what it means “to me.” The difference may seem insignificant at first. However, the obsession with the applicability of Scripture reflects a fundamental flaw—many Christians have adopted practicality as the ultimate judge of the worth of God’s Word. Many preachers find themselves pressured to be buried with passages that overtly relate to daily living, and ignore those that don’t.

Early in my ministry, I made a conscious, basic commitment to biblical preaching. My first priority has always been to answer the question, “What does this passage mean?” After I’ve explained as clearly and accurately as possible the meaning of a passage, then I call people to obedience through application in their own lives. I’ve often said, “It doesn’t make any difference what it means to you or to me—all that counts is what it means to God.” The Bible speaks for itself to the human heart; it is not my role as a preacher to try to tailor the message.

The heart of all that is really practical is bound up in the teaching of the Bible. We don’t make the Bible relevant; it is inherently so, simply because it is God’s Word. And after all, how can anything God says be irrelevant?

MONDAY MORNING THINKING

I feel completely inadequate to be a pastor. Maybe you can relate.

As pastors, many of us expend great effort covering our insecurities. I do. It may look like I have it together (or not.) Leading a church, I must possess talent, creativity, and spiritual energy, right? People sometimes compliment my leadership, my wisdom, and my preaching. They don't know I combat a feeling that failure's just one bad decision away – constantly.

I've always battled insecurity, especially as a pastor. My first church business meeting…disaster. The chairman of the pastor search committee was also the chairman of the deacon body. He brought a recommendation to the church that was very unpopular, and frankly, I didn’t think much of it either. Before I knew it, I had sided with the people. I will never get the expression on his face out of my mind. He was crushed and hurt. He obviously felt betrayed. After several years, I now realize that his recommendation was right on target—it would have saved our church from a lot of troubled moments (ultimately we represented his resolution and it passed.) Unfortunately, it was after he had moved to another city.

Did I mention I feel completely inadequate?

Why do I feel this way? First, I don't feel I know enough. I wasn't a Christian until college. I had never read the Bible. In a college Bible class, I was asked to name Pilate's wife. I responded with, "I think it was CO-Pilate." He didn't laugh. Humiliating.

Didn't you learn anything in seminary, Tom? Nope. Didn’t go until well into my forties and graduated after I turned fifty.

I also don't feel I'm good enough. Respectable pastors are righteous. No bad words, bad thoughts, anger, jealousy – just faith, peace, and Christ-likeness. The pastors I admire have everything together. They're eloquent, proper, and spiritually mature.

Then there's me.

I'll ashamedly admit I've used a bad word. Not just any bad word – a really, really bad word. We came home to discover that our roof was leaking and water was saturating our brand new carpet. Frantically, I began grabbing waste baskets trying to catch the stream. Just as I thought I had it solved, I discovered two more leaks in our bedroom, in the closet, clothes and carpet were dripping this time.

Before I realized it, a word formed mentally – and rapidly escaped. My whole person participated. Pastors never say that word. How could God's love – and such filth – flow from the same mouth?

I've also made too many mistakes. The things I don't want to do, I do. Jealous, proud, doubtful, critical, gossipy, competitive – and there's more. And before I know it, I've forgotten that God's grace and power can forgive every mistake, correct every flaw.

I was discussing my feelings with a pastor/mentor of mine. Out of his sage wisdom he said, “Holland, there are 2 things you need to remember;

• First, don't believe everything your fans say about you. Some believe their pastor can do no wrong. Sure, they love you, but they can't help you improve. They may even tempt you in the wrong direction. Don't believe your positive press because you’re not that good.

• Second, don't believe your critics. The more you accomplish, the more you'll attract harsh criticism. Wisdom involves contemplating constructive criticism, but focusing exclusively on negative press eventually makes you defensive. Other people's opinions about you don't matter. It’s only what God thinks about you that really matters. Don't listen exclusively to your fans or to your critics.

And finally, he said, “The best piece of advice I can offer is this—spend time with Jesus. He’ll tell you what you need to hear.”

Great wisdom, don’t you think?