Re:visiting Richard Baxter

One of the first books I read as a seminary student was Richard Baxter's The Reformed Pastor. Baxter utilized the title, not to refer to a theological persuasion, but to designate a regenerated ethic that should accompany the pastor. Written in a day where pastors were known to be drunkards, brawlers, and fornicators, Baxter issues a plea for the Christian pastor to renew a movement of doctrinal education leading to moral transformation.

A practice I have had for numerous years is to keep a regular reading schedule of preaching and pastoral ministry books. Not so much focused on method (for they are countless) but ones focused on a foundational theology developed from Scripture. Today, as I sought to update my reading list, I was persuaded to pick up Baxter's classic work for another read, now a few years and many experiences since my first exposure to it. I have spent much of the day meditating on Baxter's "character of the pastor," for which he lists twelve.

1) Purity of Motive - "hard studies, much knowledge, and excellent preaching are more glorious but still hypocritical sins when they are done for our glory."

2) Diligence and hard work - "[I]t is of infinite importance to others and to ourselves. It is our task to save ourselves and others from temptation, to overcome the devil, to demolish his kingdom, and to set up the kingdom of God."

3) Prudence and efficiency - "The work of conversion, of repentance from dead works, and of faith in Christ, must be taught first and in a frequent and thorough manner." Baxter emphasizes the teaching of basic doctrines over and above speculations, that each might grow in the meat of the word.

4) Certainty about basic doctrines - Similarly, "To teach Christ to our people is to teach everything... Thus the great and commonly acknowledged truths are those that men live by, and which are the great instruments that raise men's heart to God."

5) Plain and clear teaching - "All our teaching must be as plain and evident as we can make it. He that would be understood must speak at the level of his audience. He must make it his business to be understood. Truth loves the light."

6) Dependence upon God and docility before others - "Our whole work must be carried on in a humble sense or our own insufficiency. We need a pious, believing dependence upon Christ for all things. We must go to Him for light, life, and strength. For it is He who sends us into our work."

7) Humility - "Where there is pride, all want to lead and none want to follow or agree. Hence is the cause of schisms, apostasies, arrogant usurpations, and other forms of imposition. Hence also is the concern of ineffective ministry of far too many ministers, who are simply too proud to learn."

8) A balance between severity and gentleness - "If there is no severity, then there will be contempt of our reproofs. If all is severity, then we will be taken to be domineering rather than persuaders of the truth."

9) A zealous and affectionate spirit - "The importance of what we are commissioned to teach will condemn any coldness or sleepy dullness which we may be tempted to indulge in. Let us then be wide awake. Let us then be in such a state that we awaken others."

10) Reverence - "The more God appears in the midst of our duties, the more authority they will have before men. For reverence is that affection of the soul which comes from the deep apprehension of God. It reveals a mind which is intimately conversant with God."

11) A caring love for people - "Be sure that your love is not carnal, coming from pride; let it not be as from a suitor of self-esteem, rather than coming from the lover of Christ. Take heed, then, that you do not connive at secret sins under the pretense of love. So friendship must always be cemented by piety. For a bad man can never be a true friend."

12) Patience - "We must bear with many abuses and injuries from those for whom we are doing good. When we have studied their case, prayed with them, and besought and exalted them, and spent ourselves for them, then we may still need more patience with them. We can still expect that after we have looked upon them as our own children, that there may be some who will reject us with scorn, even hate and contempt. They will cast our kindness in our teeth with disdain, and look upon us as their enemies. They will do this simply because we told them the truth. Yes, even the more we have loved them, the more they will hate us. All this has to be accepted, and yet we still need unswerving and unwearied desire to do good on their behalf."

I have enjoyed my fellowship with Baxter today, probably even more so than I did the first time. In a day of leadership principles, success models, and product promotions, it is good to be reminded that the work of the pastor is not selling his message, but exalting his Lord.

A Holy Voice

For close to two years the Lord has been dealing in my heart about a return to the pursuit of holiness and the lack thereof in the life of Christians on the grand scale. Infighting, divisions, gossiping, slander, and power struggles are all fruits that reveal a root that could not be tapped for the commodity of holiness. Just as a diseased root is a silent creeper that quietly kills a tree, so our unholy root will eventually be the death of many churches and denominations.

As people clamor for more relevance in a younger generation and lament the loss of fellowship in the older, the personal calling we have been given to a pursuit of holiness has given way to the voice of those crying about the sky falling on our churches for a void of relevance. Seminars are offered, sermons are preached, lessons are taught, all for the purpose of seeking to revive that which has yet to have even had life.

Prayer has become a good luck charm seeking a material blessing instead of a holy pleading for the presence of God. Ministries have become territories to be protected instead of lives to be shared and desires to be sacrificed. As we gain more stuff we lose our sense of the God who in His nearness is quite distant (Jeremiah 23:23-34).

Recent days have seen a practice of ‘sex-talk’ from the pulpit in order to captivate a younger audience. Preacher’s have shed “holy jargon” and adopted “street talk” so that seekers can understand – all in an effort to get more to attend. Church divisions are at an all time high. Music wars (of whom both the young and the old are guilty) continue to rule the day and a generational clash of epoch proportion looms large at the intersection of yesteryear and tomorrow. All the while we fail to notice the One who is not present during our worship, a sure indicator of self-worship as opposed to God-worship, for worship can only occur if the One worshiped is the One known (John 4:21-24).

I suppose there are many reasons why this has occurred. I will mention two. First, the Pastor has become more interested in filling the Fellowship Hall with chatter instead of filling the Pulpit with vigor. He has abandoned the desk in the study for the coffee table in the living room, and in doing so, has allowed his heart to grow quite timid in the face of opposition instead of being flamed with passion and courage that is ignited by prayer and Scripture.

Second, the congregation has come to enjoy the desserts of sweet anecdotes of therapy and abhor the main course of the exposition of Scripture. Therefore our churches have become quite obese and lazy instead of being equipped to run the race of ministry. That is both the fault of the one serving the meal and the one demanding the meal.

When a pursuit of holiness is regained and the root is restored to health, we will see the restored root through a healthy fruit. No longer will the 15 minutes between Bible Study and Worship be filled with complaining and lamenting, but there will be an awesome sense of the presence of God. When God is present in our worship, there will be a profound sense of the Holy One. In His presence, chatter will be stopped, gossip will be rejected, the sinner will feel quite uncomfortable, and the saved will be awed. God often captures the attention of the masses not by a booming voice, but by His silence. Perhaps His silence is our lecture.

His is often a still-small voice that cannot be heard over the chatter of the mocker. Why does God use a still small voice with His children? So they will be close enough to hear. Where the voice of God is not heard, there is an indication of the distance between the mouth of God and the ear of a man. Whose voice you seek this Sunday will determine whose voice you hear. My sheep hear my voice (John 10:27). Holiness is not so much of a practice, as it is an awareness of a presence: His.