Today’s Thought “Promotion, Soon to Come…” G. Ward

 

“Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.” 1 Peter 5:1-3

 

In the old traditional church you could always tell who had aspirations in becoming a minister. They practiced all the liturgical behaviors of the church and would always be eager to announce anything. Moreover it was the deacon who also made this obvious. His prayers became more intense than ever, his chants of supplication (from ordinary moments) now introduced authoritative statements synonymous with what a pastor would say. Foolishly and frivolously, they never calculated the cost of ministry. Their aim was notoriety from men vs. a calling to fulfill from Holy God. They more rehearsed Kevin Costner’s starring role in the movie “Field of Dreams” (i.e. Build them and they’ll come!), than observe an undesired phenomenon depicted in Alex Haley’s “Roots”, as a slave to Christ (cf. Phil.1:17).

If the pursuit is money and fame, the self-imposed clergyman will soon be forced to identify the days of frequenting worship facilities is slowly becoming something of the past. We now allow social networking to become our church. The sincere however, don’t need prompting. They’ll remain faithful to the eternal perspective found in God’s word: 1. “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. ² Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; ³ and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep” (2 Pe. 2:1-3). 2. “Not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Heb. 10:25).

Happy Wednesday!