Ray Fowler .org

Who wouldn’t take twenty minutes to change his marriage for the better? Mike Seaver points out the 20 crucial minutes in a man’s day that can really bless his wife and improve his marriage. “If a man would think through these specific times and ask his wife what blessed her during these times, he would be setting a trajectory for a successful marriage. Here are the specific times.”

• The first 5 minutes when you wake up in the morning
• The last 5 minutes before you say goodbye for work
• The first 5 minutes when you walk in the door from work
• The last 5 minutes before you say good night

      –from a Davis Carman seminar

Let’s hear from the women on this one. What are some things we husbands could do during these twenty minutes that would be a blessing to you? Husbands, remember these are other wives’ ideas. You will need to ask your own wife what would be most helpful to her.

(This week and next I am sharing my Personal Theology of Ministry. Click here for more posts from the Personal Theology of Ministry series.)

The pastor is called to equip the church for ministry:

Therefore I will equip those under my care for ministry through relevant preaching, teaching and discipleship. The church is the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-31) and a loving family of believers (1 Peter 1:22). I will prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up, and so that we may all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of Christ and become mature (Ephesians 4:11-13). I will help people to discover and use their gifts for ministry. As pastor I will guard the purity and the unity of the church through Biblical teaching and loving discipline (Matthew 18:15-17; Ephesians 4:1-16).

Back to Table of Contents | Next section: Serving the Church in Love (PTOM 3)

Related post: Church Search

Question: If President Obama’s policies are supposed to reduce abortions (as my pro-life Democrat friends keep telling me), then why is NARAL Pro-Choice America celebrating Obama’s first 100 days in office?

Related:
President Obama’s Statement on the 36th Anniversary of Roe v Wade
See also Kevin DeYoung: Does Rhetoric Reduce the Number of Abortions?

Yep, that’s me just beating the throw into home at church softball last week. Why didn’t I slide? Because I’m a wimp.

(This week and next I am sharing my Personal Theology of Ministry. Click here for more posts from the Personal Theology of Ministry series.)

When God calls, God enables:

Therefore I will trust God to enable me to fulfill his calling. An assurance of God’s calling is essential to effective pastoral ministry. Just as Old Testament priests did not take the honor of spiritual leadership upon themselves (Hebrews 5:4), so also the pastor must be called by God. This call contains both inward and outward aspects. Inwardly the pastor must have a sense of God’s call to the ministry. The apostle Paul experienced this as an inner compulsion to preach the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:16). Outwardly the pastor must demonstrate the giftedness and ability to perform the work of the ministry. The pastor should also demonstrate the leadership qualifications for ministry specifically listed in Scripture (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:6-9). The inward and outward calls come together at the point when a church calls and the pastor accepts a specific call to ministry within the church. This assurance of God’s calling both initiates and sustains the pastor in ministry. The knowledge that God enables those whom he calls gives the pastor great confidence in difficult ministry situations (Exodus 4:10-12; Jeremiah 4:1-10).

Back to Table of Contents | Next section: Equipping the Church (PTOM 2)

Related post: Church Search

This week and next I will be sharing my Personal Theology of Ministry. A theology of ministry is a great way to capture what is most important to you about ministry and communicate it to others. Some people call it a “Philosophy of Ministry,” but I prefer the word “Theology.” It reminds me that these should not simply be my own thoughts about ministry, but rather my thoughts filtered through Scripture.

I have put my theology of ministry together in nine sections. Although I tweak it from time to time, it remains similar to what I first wrote down in seminary. Here are the links to the series. Each link will become active as I post that particular section.

Personal Theology of Ministry:
    • When God calls, God enables
    • The pastor is called to equip the church for ministry
    • The pastor is called to serve the church in love
    • The church is called to serve the world in love
    • Apart from God nothing of lasting value can be accomplished
    • God’s Word is central to all effective ministry
    • Grace is the hallmark of true Christian ministry
    • The pastor is responsible to God and the church
    • The pastor must care for his family and personal self

Related post: Church Search

Here is another great cartoon from Dave Walker:

In case you were wondering, there really is such a thing as Atheist Sunday School — see News and Notes 11/29/2007

Related posts:
    • The Dullest Blog in the World
    • After-Service Coffee

Yesterday’s message in the Gospel of Mark series was called Lord of the Sabbath, taken from Mark 2:23-3:6. Here is a brief outline of the message:

I. God’s laws are made for our benefit (2:23-28)
    A. The Pharisees accuse Jesus’ disciples (23-24)
    B. Jesus responds to the Pharisees (25-28)
        1) David and his friends ate the consecrated bread.
        2) The Sabbath was made for man.
        3) Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath.

II. It is always lawful to do good (3:1-5)
    A. The Pharisees look for a reason to accuse Jesus (1-2)
    B. Jesus confronts the Pharisees (3-5)
        1) “Which is lawful: to do good or to do evil?”
        2) Jesus heals on the Sabbath.

III. Legalism is the enemy of grace (6)
    A. The Pharisees team up with the Herodians.
    B. Together they plot to kill Jesus.

Application:
    1) Think good thoughts of God.
    2) Receive the Sabbath as a gift from God.
    3) Be people of grace.

Related: Remember the Sabbath (from the Ten Commandments series)

Note: Click on the Sermons tab at the top of the blog for this and other messages.

Justin Taylor points out some helpful distinctions to make when discussing the issue of civil obedience. “Someone might ask you if you believe in ‘civil disobedience,’ but it helps to know what form of injustice requires disobedience — is it when the government prescribes evil, promotes evil, permits evil, or prohibits the good?”

John Calvin explains why Jesus was condemned as a criminal. “If [Christ] had been murdered by thieves or slain in an insurrection by a raging mob, in such a death there would have been no evidence of satisfaction. But when he was arraigned before the judgment seat as a criminal, accused and pressed by testimony, and condemned by the mouth of the judge to die—we know by these proofs that he took the role of a guilty man and evildoer.” (Institutes, 2.16.5)

Ligon Duncan reflects on the ultimate difference between heaven and hell. “Hell is eternity in the presence of God without a mediator. Heaven is eternity in the presence of God, with a mediator. Hell is eternity in the presence of God, being fully conscious of the just, holy, righteous, good, kind, and loving Father’s disapproval of your rebellion and wickedness. Heaven, on the other hand, is dwelling in the conscious awareness of your holy and righteous Father, but doing so through a mediator who died in your place.”

It was the 1970’s, and I was a teenager with long, shaggy hair. My mom was driving me someplace when I spotted the sign in the barber shop window — “Ask for Wildroot!”  I thought, “How cool is that? A barber named Wildroot!”

For weeks I couldn’t get this Wildroot character out of my mind. What was he like? Why did he have such a crazy name? I figured he must be the mad scientist of all barbers. I imagined he looked like Albert Einstein, but with a crazed look in his eye, holding a comb in one hand with a straight razor in the other. Finally, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I made a decision. I was going to get my hair cut by this madman of a barber named Wildroot.

The barber shop was a couple towns over, so I jumped on my trusty bike and headed out for my haircut adventure. I parked my bike outside the barber shop and walked right in the front door. The shop was empty so I called out in a loud voice, “Hey, is Wildroot in?” An older man walked out from the back. He wore glasses and had a moustache. I asked him, “Are you Wildroot?” He said, “I don’t know. What do you mean?” I told him, “I saw your sign a couple weeks ago, and it said to ask for Wildroot. I want to get my hair cut by a barber named Wildroot, so I’m asking for Wildroot.” He didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, I’m Wildroot. Go ahead, hop up in the chair.” “All right!” I said.

“Yeah, I’m Wildroot,” he said, as he tied the apron around my neck. “How do you want your hair cut?” Wildroot was a spry old man. He jumped back and forth and danced around as he gave me the haircut of my life. Every few minutes he would stop and say, “Yeah, I’m Wildroot!” as he clipped some more hair off the top of my head. When he was done, I counted off the money for him, and said, “Thanks, Wildroot! Great haircut!” He said, “No problem, son. Come back anytime, and remember … always ask for Wildroot!” I biked home feeling strangely pleased and got home just in time for supper.

We sat down at the table, and my mom commented, “You got a haircut!” “I sure did,” I said. “Remember that barber shop we passed a couple weeks ago, the one that had the sign in it that said, ‘Ask for Wildroot?’ Well, I really wanted to get my hair cut by a barber named Wildroot, so I biked over there today and asked for Wildroot. He was there all right, and he gave me the best haircut I’ve ever had!” I practically beamed with pride.

My parents exchanged glances, and then my mom said, “Raymond, I’m not sure how to tell you this, but Wildroot isn’t the name of a barber. It’s a hair tonic. That’s what the sign means. It means to ask for a certain brand of hair tonic when you get your hair cut.” I was floored! I couldn’t believe it! The old man wasn’t Wildroot after all. He had just picked up on my mistake and played along for the fun of it.

Needless to say, I was very embarrassed and never did go back to that particular barbershop. But I will always remember that haircut; and the lively old man with the glasses and moustache will always be Wildroot to me.

We put our house up for sale this week. Click here for some pictures.

Earlier this week I shared a quote from Kevin DeYoung’s book, Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will. Here is another good quote to ponder:

Of the five reasons for our obsession with finding God’s will, this may be the most crucial: We have too many choices. I’m convinced that previous generations did not struggle like we do trying to discover God’s will because they didn’t have as many choices. In many ways, our preoccupation with the will of God is a Western, middle-class phenomenon of the last fifty years … My hunch is that most of our obsession with knowing the will of God is due to the fact that we are overburdened with choice. (Just Do Something, p. 16)

What do you think?

Related post: Just Do Something