God gave us a mind to use

In yesterday's post I discussed a little about my recent Church Relations Council meeting at Campbellsville University.  Our guest speaker for this event was Dr.Charles T. Carter from Beeson Divinity School at Samford University.  He is a powerful preacher who delivered a great message on both days.  His first message had to do with our minds and our responsibility to nourish them and use them.

Some people believe that Christians are mindless sheep who are willing to accept anything their leaders tell them.  While that is far from the truth, it's easy to see why some would believe that.  It is embarrassing to read some of the posts on Facebook and other social media from Christians who continue to repeat wild accusations that were proven false years ago.  It is even more embarrassing to read some of the replies that Christians make to people who disagree with them.  Some people find it easier to yell louder than to present facts that might prove their point.

Although it has always been true, we now live in a time where it is more important than ever that we can not only tell people what we believe but why we believe it.  I've met too many Christians who cannot do that.  Some of their theology may be sound, but they would struggle to defend it, and some of their beliefs are simply not biblical but they hold them because it is what they've always been taught.  We need to be like the Bereans who Luke said, "received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17: 11)"   In Paul's final message to young Timothy he wrote, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (2 Tim. 2: 15)"  Do you see the connection?  God's approval was linked to Timothy's proper handling of Scripture.  That required study on Timothy's part, and on us as well.

In 2001 I resigned as a pastor to accept a ministry in our judicatory.  For the last few years I served as pastor I was very concerned with the Sunday school material we used.  I felt it had been "dumbed down" to the point that it had very little content.  I taught the Young Adult class in our small church and decided to develop my own Sunday school material for our class.  I wanted our young adults to be exposed to something that would be more challenging than I was seeing in our material.  We cannot expect to raise up Christian leaders who are growing in their faith if we do not expose them to sound doctrine and encourage them to think about what they are learning.

One of the things that often bothers me when I visit the offices of bivocational pastors, and even some fully-funded pastors, is their libraries.  It is difficult to do sermon preparation well week after week, and without a well-stocked library it is even more difficult.  I realize that some pastors today use Bible study software on their computers, but I know that many of the ones I visit do not.  I have to say that I worry about the quality of their messages and what they are feeding their people based upon what I see on their bookshelves.

In Dr. Carter's message he noted his belief that the reason many pastors leave their churches every 2-3 years is because that is all the sermons they have, and they are too lazy to study and prepare new ones.  They take their sermon barrel to the next church and start over again.  If you are a long time reader of this blog you will recognize that as a statement I have made here a few times as well.  Timothy was challenged to study and handle the Scriptures well if he wanted God's approval on his ministry, and you and I have the same challenge if we have been called to the ministry.

I want to encourage you to develop a reading program that will expose you to some of the great Christian thinkers and writers, both new and old.  Right now for my devotional reading I am re-reading The Sermon on the Mount: An Exposition by James Montgomery Boice.  Some years for my devotional reading I have read through several commentaries on one book of the Bible such as Romans.  There is a big difference between reading these books in order to prepare a sermon and reading them for your own personal enrichment and growth.  One year much of my devotional reading focused on apologetics.

God gave you a mind to develop and use.  If he called you to a place of leadership within the church he also gave you the responsibility to help others develop their minds as well.  Let's use our minds for the glory of God and always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us.