One of my favorite ministerial books is by Calvin Miller; Letters
to a Young Pastor is a collection of pastoral essays written in a personal
letter form. It’s one of those books I read selections from on a monthly basis.
The work has the unique mix of practicality and thoughtfulness. For the next
few blog entries, I’m going to use Miller’s format; most of these blogs will be
sourced from my personal journal.
Dear Young Planter:
You have read all the books, blogs and even listened to the
podcasts. They are good, always be reminded that fresh ideas keep you on “your
game.” Please heed this! Understand that you don’t need them. You need the
Scriptures, nothing else. I’d be a hypocrite to say extra-biblical writing is
wrong to read. I read Dickens; I try to read Shakespeare. I count Luther, Spurgeon
and Piper as close friends that I will meet one day. It is doubtful that I
would be in the church planting “business” if Jonathan Edwards hadn’t published
David Brainerd’s biography and if it hadn’t landed in my hand years ago.
The
reason that all of the above writers have had impact in my life (even Dickens!-Christmas
Carol?) is because the Scriptures shaped, encouraged and influenced their
writing. The same is true of the church planting gurus of today, and tomorrow,
and the day after. Gurus come and go, but only the Bible is eternal. Think
about it. Planters in new areas have to answer some pretty complex questions.
How do I bridge a culture gap? How do I live as a minority?
How do I communicate the Gospel of Jesus to people that think my accent is
backwater and weird? Where’s the post office? (Ok, that’s not too complex).
These questions are not easily answered; in fact, you may never answer them
fully. That’s why you need an eternal source that bridges all cultures, all
accents written by one that is King over every village and city to have ever
existed.
Keep on plowing,
Richard
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