Is Theology a Four-Letter Word?

Is Theology a Four-letter Word?

Thomas D. Reeves

For those who have watched with any regularity that deep theological show The Simpson’s, you will most certainly be familiar with Homer Simpson. In this impetuous and sometimes bawdy satire, Homer often represents that which is shallow and thoughtless in American culture. Homer’s limited attention span displays itself in almost every episode. If someone is conversing with Homer and he loses interest, his eyes glaze over and he begins to day-dream.

As a Christian who has grown up in the church and has pastored for a while, I have often encountered this same glazed-over look. All that I need to do is mention the word theology. With many, this will provide not only a response that Pavlov would have appreciated, but often brings any discussion to a screeching halt.

There are many reasons why the word theology has become an almost obscene word which often produces yawns, clock-watching, and “glazed-over” looks. However, what I would like to suggest is that everyone has a theology (good or bad), and that understanding what you believe is vital to understanding and discerning your own motivations, direction, and interaction with the world around you. In other words, theology is not optional for those who take the importance of the Word of God and the illumination of the Holy Spirit seriously. A sound and growing appreciation of what we believe as Christians is at the heart of the church’s witness, unity, uniqueness, and future in this country.

Is Theology for Everyone?

Much of the thinking at the lay level (and unfortunately, also at the ordained level) is that theology is for those people who don’t have anything better to do with their time. At the very least, it would seem, only scholars and teachers should have to grasp it. Theology is certainly not very helpful to a normal pew-sitting (or theatre chair/ folding chair sitting) person who has no formal Seminary training!

However, theology is not just for the professor, the priest, the bishop, the pastor, or the vicar. Some of the most detailed theological development that we find in the New Testament is contained in letters written to…hold on to your seats…churches. The Apostles where silly enough to send their readers back to what they believed about the character of God and the greatness of their salvation (theology) to in turn deal with their very down-to-earth, often region-wide problems.

For whatever the reason, many pastors and churches alike have decided to avoid “all of that difficult theological stuff”. Thus, many clergy deal with the scriptures in obscure/benign ways or in the so-called “practical” and “down-to-earth” ways which often deal with the symptoms of life without ever dealing with the deeper issues behind the symptoms. Even when the scriptures are read in the service (in some instances and traditions not very much scripture is read at all), there will be little or no mention of them in the sermon/homily. If the scriptures are engaged, often the listener is barraged by cross-referenced verses where the context and the setting of these verses are never developed. Thus the listener is left having to trust that the preacher/teacher has done his/her homework. Is it any wonder then why teaching and preaching such as this often lacks clarity, authority or any kind of enduring quality? Could it be that preaching/teaching that trivializes the depth and breadth of the scriptures contributes to the perception that the scriptures really don’t matter to everyday living?

Is Theology Relevant?

There is much talk among professionals and laity alike about what a sermon or lesson should “look like” or “sound like”. It is often suggested that preaching must be “relevant”, which in the end means that you avoid anything that could ever smack of something “theological”. In seeking to make the Bible become “relevant”, most of the solutions given by the “experts” are methodological. Could it be, however, that the reason the scriptures seem irrelevant has more to do with how we teach, preach, listen and view the Word of God, than some kind of “method” that can somehow make us “relevant”. What if the clergy actually presented the scripture as the inspired literature that it is? This would mean taking seriously the context of the Word first for the original listeners, so we could then more authentically help people understand why this same scripture matters in their own twenty-first century lives. Maybe if people coming to worship every Sunday demanded that the clergy preach the Word of the Lord in its context, God’s voice could more clearly be heard. Could it be that pastors who seek to protect listeners from the text of scripture (hoping they will return to hear happy and palatable words), are contributing greatly to the muffling of God’s voice? Where anymore is the Reformer’s emphasis on the Word and Spirit as vital to our worship? It is God’s voice that is needed and relevant. Our perceptions and creative approaches are supposed to help convey not distract from God’s voice in the midst of a local congregation.

Why Does Theology Get a Bad Name?

Certainly we professionals have not always contributed positively to the perception of the person in the pew that the scriptures and theology are alive and vital. Taught doctrine in the church which turns the Word of God into a theological textbook (which is then dumped on a congregation without warning) can tempt anyone to run from the more difficult passages and realities of our faith. Also, when the scriptures are preached and taught in a way which communicates simplicity where complexity abounds (whether in interpretation or application), it seems likely that people will struggle to relate.

Even if truth has been perceived by the preacher in the context of the scriptures, there is still work to be done as we help people engage this truth. As we professionals should know, this discipline is called Homiletics. Effective teaching and preaching embraces the difficulty of communicating with audiences within local, cultural, and age specific settings. I suggest that the homiletical task has always been a lot of work, and will always be a lot of work. However, is the starting place placating and amusing, or effectively helping people hear God’s voice? (no matter how difficult or uncomfortable the truth may be to hear at times) It seems to me that the starting place for the congregation and clergy should be on the latter, and this will always require worship to be viewed at least in part as a spiritual discipline for those desirous to hear God’s voice. When the starting place is the adaptation of Word and worship to the audience, the temptation becomes great to let other voices shape or cloud the revelation of our Lord. When this occurs, we can lose much (if not most) of the counter-cultural message and influence of the Gospel.

What Makes Theology Meaningful?

With the church fathers and with communities of faith departed and present, I submit to you that Christian theology is something that matters and is alive (through Word and Spirit). It is not just contained in the books of some of the best minds, nor was it devised to torture people as they pursued Christianity at whatever level! It is my belief that when the truth of God’s Word is put into its context, we can then embrace the reality that people in scripture are “slobs” just like us: people seeking God, struggling, questioning, denying, embracing, showing cowardice, showing great courage, dealing with doubt……If we are not careful we may start to wonder if maybe, just maybe the scriptures (which, are the basis of all good Christian theology) have more to do with life then we first thought. Maybe, just maybe, we don’t have to check our brains at the door. Maybe, just maybe, a laborer, a carpenter, an at-home parent, a doctor, a salesperson, a plumber, a business owner, a teenager, a child, a professor, or whomever, can hear and internalize the truth of the scriptures.

However, if we have decided that the scriptures are largely in need of our rescuing because they are so out-dated and seemingly irrelevant, then should we wonder when our leaders and preachers give us nothing but general palatable truth (often benign Christian morality) or something more related to entertainment or self-help? Should we wonder why what we believe about our Christianity seems almost worthless in those quiet times when we are actually forced to stop and deal with ourselves? What do we turn to when we have to deal with evil, tragedy, corruption, and death in our lives, in the lives of those we love, and in the world around us? If we turn to the Lord, then who is this God that we turn to and why? In other words, what we believe about God (theology) does matter. A Theology centered in a relationship and search for God will have life, and this same theology will impart life to those within the Church of Jesus Christ.

Does our Theology Influence our Outreach?

Many in our culture are nomads in search of spiritual substance and authenticity. These people are ripe to hear the voice of God as it is declared to them through his people. However, if the Christians that these individuals encounter (whether clergy or laity) are themselves “tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine” what is it that is communicated to these wanderers? If we ourselves are unsure of our basic foundations, do we really have anything different to offer others? Is Christianity nothing more than another special interest group or the newest flavor of excitement and belief induced by the culture swirling around us?

I submit that through the responsible teaching/preaching of the Scriptures infused with the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit, it is possible to have a solid, developing, Christian theology that matters. This kind of theology is living and communicates hope. This kind of theology can help the disciples of Jesus Christ find sure footing during the slippery times of life. This kind of theology can help keep our compasses heading due north.

Maybe theology is not such a bad word after all.

"Do a Few Things and Do Them Well" (Part 2)

“Do a Few Things and Do Them Well” (Part 2)

So what are those “few things” right now that God wants St. Peter and St. Paul to be (and DO!)? Well, in part this question still needs to be worked out together in tangible ways, however, I think that there are some things that we all need to think and pray about.

It is my belief that the scriptures teach that there are key characteristics that a healthy church family will exhibit (making the main things, the main things). These identification markers should include:

• the worship of the triune God
• the effective communication of the Holy Scriptures
• the development of Biblical family
• the centrality of prayer
• the training of people in their ministry gifts
• and a life-long approach to reaching out to others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

God calls the church to engage these things as a gathered “body” of Christ, and as we live as the church individually¹ out in the world.

If you are familiar with the “core values” of our current Vision Statement, you will notice the parallels between the above mentioned truths and the things we as a church say that we value. In the pamphlet entitled “Our Vision”, we state that our foundation is to “Know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and to Lead Others to Him”. Fantastic! However, the next question is, how does that vision statement help us in our “on the ground” planning and prioritization?

In time we will engage each characteristic or mark of the church listed above, but for today let's look to some local and specific things that we can apply right now. If we as a church body want God to bless, and if we indeed want to encourage a real season of “growth” (spiritually and numerically) then what can we do to prepare for it?

While we are a family together, we are also unique individuals. How does God want to use you? Yes, I am talking to you (insert your name here:___________________________). First of all, do you believe that he wants to use you? I know enough about Father Philip to be quite sure that he has taught our body regarding this, and I will also flesh this out this idea more in upcoming sermons and teaching. However , you are the one who has to believe that God wants to use you right where you are, at your age, your circumstance, in your financial situation. Do you believe it?

Secondly, are you asking him to use you in any way that he chooses? We are not the lords of our own lives, HE is. So are you willing to submit to this? This might mean that you will have to involve yourself in attempting things that you have never attempted before. This may mean that you have to STOP doing other good things in the church so you can do what God is calling you do do FIRST OF ALL. Open your heart to him in regular prayer during the week and ask HIM how he wants to use you.

Thirdly, are you praying for others in our body, that God would use them? Yep, more prayer (grin). Sometimes we are so busy doing, that we don't have time to stop to listen and communicate with our Lord. With the resurrection power of the Spirit, change this. Don't beat yourself up, or put unrealistic expectations on yourself, but make time during the week to pray for yourself and others that we as a body would let HIM lead us. It is his strength and guidance that we must have.

Fourthly, do you love those you know who are unchurched or who are seemingly uninterested in knowing God? Are you praying regularly for these same people? Who are those people in your life? Start (or continue) praying for them, that God would soften their hearts to the Gospel and use our church (starting with you [insert your name here:___________]) to lead them to Jesus Christ.

Lastly, prepare yourself through prayer and meditation for UNCOMFORTABLE CHANGE as our church grows. NO, this does not mean that the pastor has any crazy ideas that he is going to surprise you with...what it means is that if a church is going to choose to love one another and love the world outside, then we must embrace that there is no real love without sacrifice. As a body grows numerically, the dynamics of that body change...the friendships and warmth don't have to change...but you might find God using you (or those you know now) to spend time with other newer people in our church that need to be served...which might mean that you don't see them as much...which means that you might be called to do different things...which means YOU (meaning all of us) will not have control over what God wants to do in our church. He might answer our prayers by bringing “undesirables” to our church (remember Jesus and the Leper?). Embrace this pain, don't run away from it! Through prayer and seeking God with all your heart, prepare yourself now to be what he wants you (and all of us at SP & SP) to be.

Remember, the Lord is already in the future waiting for us. We have nothing to fear.

1Individually, but never on our own...we are always a part of the one church of Jesus Christ

Article: "Keep the Main Things, the Main Things"

“Keep the Main Things, The Main things”

April 2012

How do you do with prioritizing? I must admit that for me it is an everyday discipline, and that I am constantly trying to cultivate it. I have also learned that I can rarely prioritize without saying “no” to someone or something; I don't often like this, because if I prioritize, this means someone somewhere is NOT going to be happy with me. I like it much better when people are happy with me.

When we state that we want to “keep the main things, the main things”, we are saying that there are some things that we value and believe that are more important than others. The idea is that we all have foundational values that we say we live by. We say that these foundational values should guide us as we do whatever it is that we do. If we depart from these values, we may still say that our values are important, but our repeated behavior may reveal something else entirely. What is true personally, is also true organizationally. There are many organizations that have values (some may have mission statements) that communicate that there are certain core beliefs that drive them. However, are they really who they say they are? (i.e., the way they do business, conduct their work, live out their ministry)

I have yet to meet a person or organization when challenged with the fact that they may be living inconsistently with their stated values, that responds: “Oh, yes, we are aware of that...thank you so much for pointing it out”! Why is this? Because most of us don't purposely get distracted or led astray from our values. It happens over time, because we have let certain things in our lives slide, or have been listening to other authorities that tell us “well, those values are all fine and good, but here is what will really make you a success...or will get you to your goal...faster”. For the most part, our culture is ambivalent to the lessons of history (unless it is recent history), is given to short-term thinking, and is rather impressed with all of their research, stats and graphs (especially successful business people and organizational model builders). However, it seems that the greatest claim to authority that one has in our culture relates directly to one word: SUCCESS. In my opinion, (and I think that history bears this out) only ABSOLUTE DISASTER stops most people in their tracks when they are filled with their own pride due to their own accomplishments. Even then, there is no guarantee that they will learn from their disaster and change their beliefs and behavior (The Old Testament helps us with this).

Your point, Tom? God dictates to us what the “main things” are supposed to be, and cares little whether we get our share of “reaching our American dreams”, i.e. ....our success..

For example: God want us to “evangelize”; not because he needs our help, or because he doesn't love people. He wants us to love him, and love our neighbor because it brings him glory (the REAL purpose of life and the church). He wants us to “evangelize” because we love our neighbor, not because they can relieve some of our angst or make us feel good about ourselves (if they would just convert). We shouldn't reach out to others because they can keep our organizations alive (so we don't have to go through any discomfort or so the pastor can keep a job). No, if we truly love our neighbor then we will not seek to “use” them for our own purposes, but will seek to understand how God is ALREADY at work in their lives (since HE is the only one who converts a heart), and how he wants us to be faithful pointing them to the Gospel. In other words, we will pray for and be light and salt among our neighbors (believer and non), because we actually WANT to love them. If they convert to Christ and join our church, we then get to love them as family members.

So what do I believe are some of our “main things” for the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul as we navigate the American culture?

• Keep secondary authorities in their place: successful business people, psychologists, philosophers, church growth experts etc. may have certain insights to offer us, but we will only know this as we apply and grow deeper in our understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the lived out Kingdom of God. Even clergy and theologians should be tested and challenged if they are not pointing us and teaching us to follow Christ on his terms.
• Avoid the public relations trap: People and organizations are great at pretending that they are something when they are not. PR is all about managing public perception, and controlling a situation for an outcome that is desired. In other words, PR is manipulative, not authentic. As we will be reminded by Jesus in the Sermon on the mount in a few weeks: authenticity can't be faked...not in the long run. Be more concerned with who we really are as a church, than how we are perceived as a church. Perception matters, but it isn't the starting place for ministry. If we are open to it, Lent can aid us in becoming a people of constant re-evaluation and repentance. Lent assumes we are sinners and that we have major blind spots, not that we have it “together” with just the need of an occasional tune-up.
• Seek your God with all of your being: The more we know our Lord with our “heart, soul, and mind” the more authentic and joyful we will be (no matter what may come). If our desire is truly for our Lord, he will give us the desires of our heart. If we have little to give out to others, then we should expect little in return regarding ministry to others. Communally and personally, disciplined worship, prayer, and growth in the Word of God are significant ways that God draws us to himself. However, the above disciplines will only be meaningful and effective if the motives and desires of our hearts are engaged.
• Embrace depth and breadth . It has been said that “the American Church is a mile wide and an inch deep”. If one accepts this statement as containing some accuracy (and this writer does), what is the reason? In short, I would say that depth isn't “cool” and we don't really believe that it matters that much. It doesn't sell well, and it is way too slow. Depth takes a lot of work, and it isn't always measurable in the worlds eyes. However, if true, this reveals a huge problem in the way that Americans think about church. In this writer's opinion, the long-term effects of such thinking has contributed greatly to the slow decline in the church in the last two decades. Our ways of doing things are not transformational (regarding the heart); God's ways are.

Many of these themes will already be familiar to you from prior knowledge and recent sermons. However, these are themes that I will often return to as we seek to move together as a family to be the people of God. As we reach out to those in need of reconciliation with God in the Roanoke Valley, we do so knowing that our God wants to use us. May we keep “the main things the main things” and avoid shortcuts that side-step God's transformational plan in our lives, in His church, and in his world.

Article: "Do a Few Things and Do Them Well"

“Do A Few Things and Do Them Well”

March 2012

No, the title of this article is not a direct quote from scripture (although, it does sound proverbial doesn't it?). However, in keeping with my article in our last epistle, it certainly connects to our constant need to balance our view of our own “finiteness” and our responsibility in using our gifts as trusted stewards.

As we talked about in the previous article, there is only one person who can do all things at once and do them well. Only our triune God, is unlimited by time and space. As the Paul reminds us in Colossians 1:17, “He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.... The reality is that God not only is a wonderful creator, he is the wonderful sustainer. God is intricately involved in his created universe, and he is never tired-out or limited. This is a mind-numbing thought for us, and should encourage us that we do not have a “Clark Kent/Superman” kind of God, but a God that while comprehended in part, is incomprehensible. Not only are there things that we do not understand about him and his ways, there always will be a vast gap between the creator and his creation. If it were not so, then we would have a God that is more like the mythological and pagan god's of old; more super-human and maniacal than truly god-like.

I just remarked to Sylvia Bailey today, how encouraged I am with how well we are able to accomplish a helpful and sharp presentation in regard to our worship and church life. We are small in number and resource, but our way of doing things reflects a desire to do things well. For example, our banners are tasteful and first rate. Our worship space is simple, but communicates an appreciation of historic symbol and the importance of art in worship. We have people in our church who are artists or who have a great discernment about the place of art in the redeemed community. We are led in worship by people who take their craft seriously, yet do not want worship to be hindered by an attitude of “performance”. We present a wonderful newsletter, order of Worship, and are meticulous in our board and committee notes so as to be truthful and accurate. Led by the building and grounds committees past and present, we have a well-maintained and beautiful church building and property that enhances our ability to worship and minister to people. With Lilian (our custodian), there are many volunteers who keep the building clean, the trash out, and the dishes washed.

However, we are finite, fallen, and redeemed human beings. We are saint and sinner at the same time. Thus, we are driven at times by more things than just the Holy Spirit. A church that accomplishes much, must also be a church that constantly examines and discovers things about itself. If we do not discipline ourselves to be prayerful and reflective (like the season of Lent encourages), then we might start thinking that what we do and why is just because we are so “saintly”. However, this is untrue. We are often driven by many things in our lives, that if not reflected on (and changed by the Word and Spirit) end up driving us instead of the Holy Spirit. We have insecurities and hurts that make us feel inadequate; we have self-imposed requirements on ourselves that are often unrealistic; we have a “blasie-someone-else-can-do-that attitude” (that puts the burden on too few); we often have our glory and control in front of God's; and we have to fight a constant need to “do God's job for him” if we don't like the way he is choosing to work in someone's life or in our church as a whole.

It is now my desire as pastor, to start challenging us all to take a closer look at who we are and what God wants us to accomplish together. I think that he has much for us, but NOT ALL AT ONCE. Like his process in our sanctification he does not give us everything at once to handle. He gives it to us gradually, in his timing. When we follow his timing and are PATIENT (not irresponsible or unresponsive) we find his timing and power is PERFECT. When we run ahead of his timing we are usually pushy, anxious, and potentially divisive.

How can we balance the limits of our finiteness while pushing ourselves to a more disciplined and effective “Ministry” to the people God has called us to love? Well, the scriptures tell us that we are to do so meditatively (evaluating our selves and our motives), prayerfully (realizing it is only the Holy Spirit that can break through our blindness and hardness), and patiently (moving TOGETHER in Spirit while having differing opinions and specific ministries). So what are those “few things” right now that God wants St. Peter and St. Paul to be (and DO!). Great question! We will pick this discussion up again in part two of “Do a Few Things and Do them Well”...(coming to an Epistle near you!!!)

Article: "The Limited"

“The Limited”

February 2012

I am sure that there are some in our body who are fans of the various and sundry Clint Eastwood films. (a local Chicago station that is well known showed a bunch of his movies and called it “Squint like Clint” week). In one of his movies Clint Eastwood plays a police officer who lives by his own rules in the face of the bureaucracy of his own police department. From this movie came one of Clint Eastwood's famous lines stated to a criminal who had pushed his luck to far: “A man's got to know his limitations”.

Whether we like it or not we all have limitations to our abilities, gifting, and insights. We tend to want more power, money, control, or attention than is good for us or that we could manage if we even had it.

The early chapters of Genesis teach us that we are made “in God's image” and that one of our main purposes in living is the management and care of his creation on his behalf. This is what a “steward” is. The steward is not the King, but manages on behalf of the king while doing so in the name of the king. God has gifted us to be stewards of our time, talents, money, children, his church, one another (to name a few), and the entire created order. He NEVER asked us to do HIS job for him, though. He asked us to be faithful in completing the responsibilities he has given us within the context of what he has called us to be in EVERY area of our lives (we would rather just pick those few that we are good at to the neglect of the others, but that is another topic).

The point is this: Only our triune God is infinite. This means that he is unlimited in his ability to do all things well all at once with out blinking an eye!

Acts 17:25

^“.......nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things”

Jer 32: 17

“Ah Lord God! It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”

There will always be times to push ourselves to our limits because God is stretching us and showing us that we can be more than we thought we could. However, the reality also exists that he wants us to realize our limitations, and focus on stewardship and faithfulness as we “run the race”; we must remind ourselves that this race is a marathon and not a sprint. This means that we have to “pace” ourselves and prioritize who God has called us to be. He has given us all many roles, and he wants us to be faithful in all of them.

As a church we must apply these same principles to our future aspirations and planning. Before anything we are a people called out to be the bride of Christ...TOGETHER. While God will undoubtedly takes us places that we never thought possible, we must be the people who he has called us to be. That means that in our general planning and outreach we must be aware of who we are as a church in our spiritual gifting individually, and in our abilities generally. If we stray beyond who we are right now, we risk the temptation to frustration, division, and disillusionment. As we responsibly seek his moving and direction, we will need to continually keep his often SLOW process in mind. Even if we are reading his moving among us accurately, we have to take time “to be still and know he is God” before running forward in our necessary planning and hard work!! In addition, no one person gets all of God's direction without the aid of the rest of the body; we listen and move together.

As we look to future planning there will be several things that I will be stressing.  I believe these things to be scripturally foundational for us if we are to move forward to be effective for our Lord.

• We need to continue to authentically develop an atmosphere of love and grace because we are allowing the Holy Spirit freedom as a people of humility and love
• We need to embrace our God as infinite and ourselves as finite and dependent on him
• We need to continue to develop our ability to be big picture (long-term) and small picture (short-term) thinkers and planners.
• We need to continue to bathe all that we do in a thoughtful and focused openness to the Word of God and to the Holy Spirit.

In the next few newsletter articles I will be investigating with you the implications of accepting our infinite God and our call to be faithful but finite followers of Christ. We will look at topics as they relate to the problems of burnout, effectively using our gifts in the body of Christ, or allowing other good things to cloud us from those things that are central to being the church of Jesus Christ. In later articles we will also tackle some of the topics related to the other points listed above.

Because of our God, we have a lot to look forward to, and the knowledge that he is with us every step of the way. God is doing his work, and calling us to participate in it. How will we answer his call?

Father Tom

Article: "Why 'Father'?"

“Why 'Father'?”

Jan 2012

Today I would like to continue in more detail some good conversations that I have already had with several different people in our church: Why in the world do some Anglicans call the priest/pastor, “Father”? Below I am taking several different portions from an article that a fellow Anglican Priest (and good comrade) wrote in regards to this subject. If anyone would ever like to read the article by the Rev. Joe Murphy in it's entirety, I would be pleased to get you a copy.

Jesus reproached the religious leaders of His day with some strong words about being called, "father," that sounds like we shouldn't touch that name in the Church” (to save space I will not be printing most of the scripture texts, but I would challenge you to read them for a better understanding of what is being written. - Fr. Tom - Matthew 23:1-12 ).

Jesus' words to His disciples on not calling anyone else "father" seems to make the catholic practice of addressing a priest as "father" completely unbiblical, and a proud and Pharisaic thing to do. At least, a straightforward reading of the text might lead us to think that, what some would call a "literal" reading. The problem with such a reading of this text is that it would also prevent Christ's followers from calling their earthly male parent, "father." Jesus is pretty explicit: " . . .call no man your father on earth . . ." The same thing applies to teachers, of course. We would have to cease calling all teachers by that name--Jesus doesn't restrict it to religious teaching--if one takes this statement at face value. But, human society and the Church within it still need parenting and teaching. Of course, if we stopped using those terms altogether it would be very problematic, because then we wouldn't even be able to explain Who the heavenly Father is in relation to Jesus, or why Jesus alone is our Teacher, because those words would no longer apply to their earthly counterparts. No, Jesus wasn't teaching His disciples to stop using a name, a label, a way of referring to or addressing someone, whether "father" or "teacher." A literal reading of Jesus' words here just doesn't make sense.”

We run into further problems when we read the Apostle Paul's comments to the Corinthians and Thessalonians (see I Cor 4:14 – 17 and I Thes. 2:11-12)

The early Christians followed Paul's pattern. The Aramaic word "abba" ("father" or many argue, "dad") (e.g., Romans 8:15; Gal. 4:6) is the source of the English word "abbot" which the Celts first used for the head of their monastic communities. The French "Abbe" is similar, common for a parish priest. 

Oddly enough, the Christians that find it offensive to call the priest "father" routinely call their ordained church leader, "pastor." That term, however, is derived from the Latin word for "shepherd." Apparently, in their view, we have only one Father (as Jesus said) and so don't call their leader "father," but we have more than one shepherd. This is odd because Scripture is very clear on this:

The LORD is my shepherd . . . (Psalm 23:1 ESV)

But, its even more specific. At one point during the ministry of the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord rebuked the shepherds of Israel, His flock (Ezekiel 34:2), and later called David (as a type of the Messiah) the shepherd of his people (Ezekiel 34:23 and 37:24).

One Shepherd and yet we call our church leader “pastor” (shepherd)?

But, in fact, calling your church leader "Pastor" isn't wrong. For Christ is our "chief Shepherd" (see I Peter 5:1-4).

Peter commands the leaders of the Church in I Peter 5 to "shepherd" the people of God, yet they have a chief Shepherd. With pastors(shepherds), it isn't that God doesn't use humans to do that work--He does--but they are only obedient and beneficial as God's shepherds if there is a clear understanding of who the Real Shepherd is. 

Isn't this, however, exactly the case with fatherhood? We have a physical father, yet only one heavenly Father. We may have a spiritual father as well, perhaps several, yet understood as utterly insignificant in light of our heavenly Father because such "fathers" are only by analogy.  

So, why did Jesus say, "call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven"? For the same reason He said,

"If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell."(Matthew 5:29-30 ESV) 

He was making a point, a strong one, about the seriousness of sin. But, if we took it literally we might wind up killing ourselves to keep from sinning! Repentance is what Jesus was getting at, not self-mutilation. 

With giving our church leaders titles, whether "pastor", "teacher", or "father," Jesus' point is clear and driven home by the forceful way He expressed it: don't mistake anyone for the only Real Shepherd, Real Teacher, Real Father that you have. 

In the end, please call me “Tom”, “Father Tom”, or “Pastor Tom” (my kids will just call me dad). I am only a “Father” because I am a part of different families that I love very much!

Father Tom

Kicking off

Well, I am taking the "Blog" plunge primarily to make sermons and articles available to people in our church (peterpaulroanoke.org).