Motivate him by reminding him of his God-given potential.

“Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.” 2 Timothy 1:6

Nothing appeals to me any more on a cold wintry day than the prospect of some delicious, homemade beef stew! You know, the kind full of potatoes, carrots, beans, and especially meat, all bathed in a savory broth. Mmmmm. Mmmmm. Good! Of course, the secret to getting the good stuff is to stir up the pot, because all of the best food tends to sink to the bottom.

So it is in our lives that the good stuff tends to become sedentary. Unless we “stir it up,” our lives can become little more than a savory broth lacking the substance others need. Despite Timothy’s doubts to the contrary, God had supernaturally equipped him for the task to which He had called him. Always we must remember that “wherever God guides, He provides.” Or, as the songwriter remarked, “God will never lead me where His grace cannot keep me.”

For years Timothy and Paul had labored together. With an intrepid spirit they had forged the Gospel trail from city to city. Perhaps, with Paul at his side, Timothy felt a camaraderie that provided a sense of boldness. Now in his absence it seems that Timothy had resorted to a character trait reminiscent of his life before his calling–the trait of timidity. Let’s face it: we all have besetting sins. For Timothy it just happened to be a lack of boldness.

With the leaders of the church at Lystra, Paul had laid hands upon Timothy to ordain him to the ministry. The ordination council simply recognized and affirmed that God was at work in young Timothy’s life. It could be that the gift about which Paul speaks in this verse is simply the gift of being called into God’s service. Probably though it refers to the fact that God provided a special, gracious enablement for an otherwise timid young man to be a mighty proponent of the Gospel and an indefatigable worker in the ministry of church planting. Read more…

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“Ministry Expectations” is a teaching series comprising principles from the book of 1 Timothy. In discovering the expectations God had for Timothy and the church at Ephesus, we uncover the expectations He has placed upon us as well.

For what purpose had Paul instructed Timothy to abide at Ephesus? It’s true, Paul had challenged him to faithfulness, but faithfulness to what?

“As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.” 1 Timothy 1:3-4

I’m so glad that Harvest Baptist Church is a busy church. Admittedly, a danger does exist in busyness, but properly prioritized, any God-honoring church will inevitably be busy. If, however, in all of our busyness, we see the need to pare down the number of activities we conduct at our church, which activities would go and which would stay? Tough question, huh?

It is my contention that the most important ministry and exercise of any local church—one that simply cannot be shunned or shortchanged–is that of preaching and teaching the Word of God. Paul underscored this priority when, on his proverbial deathbed, he soberly challenged Timothy to “preach the Word.”

How quickly churches become entangled with activities that choke their effectiveness and trip up their progress! The church at Ephesus was in danger of just that kind of entanglement. In the place of solid, edifying preaching, teachers arose who were more concerned with their status and popularity than they were with the truth. Their man-centered approach to the truth was causing confusion among the hearers and eroding the foundations of that good assembly. Read more…

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Quite amazingly, we received no snow last night or this morning before church! It seems as if the norm lately has been a deluge of the fluffy stuff just in time to decimate our Sunday morning attendance. We enjoyed an outstanding Sunday school class (I lead the young couples class) in which Missionary Jacques Van Rooyen spoke. Jacques reminded us all that life is not pleasures, accomplishments, or possessions; it is a stewardship, a vapor, and an awesome responsibility. It was just the kind of message I like: based upon and saturated with Scripture; and appropriately illustrated.

Every three months we host a baby dedication service here at Harvest Baptist Church. This quarter we were honored to dedicate five babies to the Lord. Lord, bless them indeed and help them to know nothing but the joy of being in the center of Your will all of their lives.

I preached this morning on the topic, “He restrained them not.” Using the tragic life of Eli (1 Samuel chapters 1-4), I stressed the urgency of prioritizing the proper rearing of our children. Read more…

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The word expectation is truly a powerful word. It implies that someone knows something about my current behavior and is anticipating something different about my future behavior. Each one of us deals with expectations. The employer expects a certain work ethic from his employees; parents expect a particular character level from their children; coaches expect a performance level from their players. We are literally surrounded by expectations every day.

As the ideal model for every parent, our Heavenly Father has expectations for His children. Within the context of His local church, He outlines behaviors and best practices for His people. As I considered the book of 1 Timothy again recently, it occurred to me that Paul’s letter to his young protégé is literally packed with expectations for Pastor Timothy and his flock.

No longer serving with Timothy side by side as he had during the second and third missionary journeys, Paul now wrote the still relatively young Timothy about how he and his people ought to “behave themselves in the house of God.” God has expectations for the local church, and many of them are clearly outlined in this power-packed book of 1 Timothy.

I’ve traveled sufficiently and participated in enough ministries to know that we fundamentalists make a big deal about standards (leadership requirements, ministry expectations, etc.) And well we should. However, our mistake sometimes lies in the way we explain and communicate those standards. At times we unnecessarily elevate a standard to the level of a Bible principle and are thereby guilty of overstatement. Other times we fail to offer helpful guidelines whereby our people may more readily and effectively obey the Bible and are thereby guilty of understatement.

The key to communicating ministry expectations effectively is to painstakingly connect them to the Scriptures from which they are derived. The book of 1 Timothy is full of just these kinds of ministry expectations, and local churches would do well to establish the footers of their ministry expectations in the solid bedrock of its truth. Read more…

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Years ago I had the opportunity to pastor a handful of people in Enfield, Connecticut. No joy can adequately replace the joy fueled by the wonderful spirit and fervor of those dear people. And no one, other than a fellow pastor of such a church, can fully understand all of the unique challenges a fledgling pastor and church face.

Recently, Pastor Dan Weber and I reminisced about our respective experiences pastoring small, start-up churches. I hope these thoughts bring a smile to your face! In no way am I denigrating small churches or their pastors, I am simply reliving some precious memories. I hope you agree!

1. If you have ever thanked the quartet for the good singing, and you were talking about the congregational music, you just might be the pastor of a small church!

2. If your weekly pay is mysteriously similar to what you personally put in the offering plate, you just might be the pastor of a small church!

3. If your special meeting with the nursery staff also doubled as a date night with your wife, you just might be the pastor of a small church!

4. If you have ever said, “Head [singular] bowed and eyes closed” at the invitation, you just might be the pastor of a small church!

5. If you speak of growth in terms of percentages instead of actual numbers (i.e. Instead of “Last week we had 20, and this week we had 30,” rather it’s, “Hey, we were up 50% this week!”), you just might be the pastor of a small church!

6. If you’ve ever scheduled a “big day” on the day you invited the missionary with 17 kids, just so your attendance would double, you just might be the pastor of a small church!

7. If the church pictorial directory also serves as the family picture album, you just might be the pastor of a small church!

8. If you can praise people for sitting in the front row and rebuke people for sitting in the back row, and they are the same people, you just might be the pastor of a small church!

9. If the pianist calls you, “Dear,” and the ushers call you, “Dad,” you just might be the pastor of a small church!

10. If the voice message on your cell phone begins with the words, “You have reached the office of Bible Baptist Church” – you just might be the pastor of a small church!

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