- RSS FeedSubscribe
- « Previous PostT4G - John Piper
- Next Post »T4G - Day 3 Photos
T4G - Discouragement in Ministry
- 04/17/08
- 9
Here is an excerpt from a Together for the Gospel panel discussion with R.C. Sproul. He and the other men discuss the reality that preachers are often dissatisfied with their sermons. It is an illuminating discussion mixed with hilarious quips.
Published in 2008, this book
This is a guide that calls men,
This review of the bestselling
New to the site? You can get
Comments (9)
Tim,
Please forgive my ignorance... Can you identify the gentlemen in the video (L-R) for those of us who are not familiar (in the know...)?
Thanks!
Dan...
Dan,
Left to right, they are Al Mohler, Mark Dever, R.C. Sproul, Ligon Duncan and C.J. Mahaney.
Bart
what a clip... I can't wait to listen to the audio of the conference. Thanks again, Tim.
Tim, I'm a first time commenter...I've read quite a bit though. Thanks for this. Great clip. As an aspiring preacher, it's comforting, challenging, and convicting.
It's so easy to get discouraged ... regularly, and often more so than the opposite.
I find that knowing my brothers struggle in a similar fashion helps me to keep going.
But there are times when one wonders, "Do I struggle so because I should be doing something else?"
Hearing of the "successful" big boys' struggles is encouraging.
Bart,
Thanks for your indulgence...
All,
Being a lay person might I humbly suggest that one (other) possible source of pastoral discouragement might be the "enemy"!!!
1 Peter 5:5-11 (NIV)
5Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Tim,
As I watched this, I was reminded of the quote by Jeremiah Burroughs. He said in his book "Gospel Fear",
"Many times the Lord will not go along with the ministry of the Word when it comes with the greatest power and the strongest arguments and, yet, at another time, the Lord will be pleased to bless a word that you only speak in passing. It may do more than all the others. There is scarcely any one faithful minister in the world who observes the work of God upon his ministry who does not find this to be true. Yet this is no argument why a minister should not labor with all his might and come with the strongest arguments. He is bound to do his duty. Aye, be not discouraged."
The full quote can be found at:
http://www.reformationtheology.com/2006/07/jeremiah_burroughs_on_preachin.php
It's encouraging to think that John Piper and Jeremiah Burroughs both experience this discouragement!
Sorry for the failed link. Go to
http://www.reformationtheology.com/preaching/
and scroll about 2/3 down the page to find the link for the Burroughs quote. It's worth a read!
-Phil
It was interesting to listen to John Piper during the open forum with TBI (The Bethlehem Institute) on Wednesday night. I asked him the question "have you ever finished a sermon and felt like you struck out?". A couple things he mentioned that were a real encouragement to me - the first was "God has a way of taking my C- efforts and making A+ conversions". Second one he mentioned at the conference - how he can't correlate how he "feels" he did with a sermon and the real effects of the sermon. Actually, the first thing he said was "The truth doesn't strike out"....Amen to that.
Great stuff.