After an afternoon off we gathered again for a useful question and answer session with most of the main speakers. Then after dinner David Magowan spoke on growing in our love for Christ mainly from John 21. He had some nice illustrations including that of a marriage that may cool and need to be rekindled and of a dying fire being brought back to life. There was also the cruise control state we can too easily be in as ministers and the circle of concrete that used to be found at RAF stations, where pillots would check that their compass was correctly calibrated before flying off - we too need to get back to the cross and recalibrate on a regular basis.
There was also a helpful brief quote form Paul David Tripp's Dangeroous Calling. The fuller version is as follows.
You see, it is only love for Christ that can defend the heart of the pastor against all the other loves that have the potential to kidnap his ministry. It is only worship of Christ that has the power to protect him from all the seductive idols of ministry that will whisper in his ear. It is only the glory of the risen Christ that will guard him against the self-glory that is a temptation to all who are in ministry and that destroys so many. Only Christ can turn an arrogant, “bring on the world” seminary graduate into a patient, humble giver of grace. Only deep gratitude for a suffering Savior can make a man willing to suffer in ministry. It is only a heart that is satisfied in Christ that can be spiritually content in the hardships of ministry. It is only in your brokenness in the face of your sin that you can give grace to the fellow rebels to whom God has called you to minister. It’s only when your identity is firmly rooted in Christ that you are free from seeking to get your identity out of your ministry (p. 64).
No comments:
Post a Comment