Jared Wilson writes about a 130 million dollar new church building in the buckle of the Bible Belt:  Dallas Texas.  He calls it Megachurchianity.  AKA: attractional church.

H.T. Challies

Watch this video to see how Benny Hinn and Kenneth Copeland  theology (prosperity gospel & word of faith) is running amuck in Africa.  It burns me up that they peddle this theology here, but it really pushes me over the edge when they sell it to Africa.

Here’s what John Piper has to say about it:

Quite a while ago, Brian reprinted a post from John Stackhouse that was aimed at those considering seminary.  Recently, I encountered and read a book that is aimed at that same audience.  So, if you have ever or are currently considering a theological education of any type, I suggest you purchase and read So You’re Thinking About Going To Seminary by Derek Cooper.  It explains who needs seminary, the different types of theological education available, the different degrees, and what a seminary education looks like.  It is very helpful for opening your eyes.  I wish I had read it before I attended seminary.

I’m thinking a little bit today about the Old Testament idea of turning and returning to God.  Many times in the Bible, we are encouraged to turn to God.  But the Bible has something interesting to say about what happens when we return to God.

 When we turn to God, he turns to us.  This is seen in Malachi 3:7, “Return to me, and I will return to you.”  It’s the same word – when we make a move toward God, God makes a move toward us.

 This is helpful for a very simple reason – humans are easily turned.  We are easily distracted from God and we easily forget about Him.  Jeremiah 3:14 encourages the people to “return, turning sons of Israel.”  Here again, “return” and “turning” are from the same root.  The verse is calling the easily turned people back to God.

 It’s not just Israel, though; Israel’s story is very often our story.  They had hearts that were easily turned, and my heart is often easily turned.  But, surprisingly, God turns as well - but He turns to us.  We are never so far that He won’t return to us if we will simply return to Him.

 Sometimes, we make a mess out of things (well, OK, I make a mess out of things – I probably shouldn’t speak for anyone else).  We damage our relationships with children, spouses, co-workers – but especially we damage our relationship with God.  But God is never so far away that we can’t return, and God is never so far away that He will refuse to return to us.

This article focuses on pastor suicides, but it seems to me that the most important information contained in the article is about pastoral depression.   You have to read the article carefully to get to the important stuff regarding depression and pastors.  (While the information on pastors and suicide is important to note, it is also important to note that the article itself says – despite its own focus – that there is no statistical evidence to indicate that pastors commit suicide at a higher rate than the general population.)  Read on to see a few of the highlights.

The author checked with a few people who counseled pastors:

Those who counsel pastors say Christian culture, especially Southern evangelicalism, creates the perfect environment for depression. Pastors suffer in silence, unwilling or unable to seek help or even talk about it.

Pastors, particularly in some cultures, have such high expectations that they are afraid to talk about their problem.  Having lived among southern Evangelicalism for awhile, I tend to agree that it is worse there.  But I think the problem exists any place in North America (at least, that’s my guess).

When pastors fail to live up to demands imposed by themselves or others they often “turn their frustration back on themselves,” leading to self-doubt and to feelings of failure and hopelessness, said Fred Smoot, executive director of Emory Clergy Care in Duluth, Ga., which provides pastoral care to 1,200 United Methodist ministers in Georgia.

A pastor is like “a 24-hour ER” who is supposed to be available to any congregant at any time, said Steve Scoggin, president of CareNet, a network of 21 pastoral counseling centers in North Carolina. “We create an environment that makes it hard to admit our humanity.”

It’s a job that breeds isolation and loneliness — the pastorate’s “greatest occupational hazards,” said Scoggin, who counsels many Baptist and other ministers.

Moreover, pastors are often (or perhaps even usually) unwilling to get help:

For pastors, treatment can come at a high price. “You are committing career suicide if you have to seek treatment,” said Stanford, “particularly if you have to take time off.”

If a pastor is afraid for his job, getting help can mean putting the family at risk.  So they simply don’t get help.

It seems to me that a lot of this is because we treat pastors as professionals who are a step above the congregation.  The Biblical model is that all believers are a part of the body and that we all should be equipped to minister – not just THE minister.

So, just a few suggestions:

1.  We should be creating a culture of openness with our pastor.  He should be able to share his struggles without threat of job loss.  As I was leading my small group not too long ago, teaching a passage, someone said “What’s that mean to you?”  I was surprised – no one usually asks me that.  I’m so busy asking other people I never talk about what I’m learning or going through or how God is working on me.  But I need to.  And, just as I expect from the rest of my small group, I need to be open with them.

2.  Be willing to get some counseling for your pastor if he needs it.  Elders and board members, this is something you should more than willing to do for the man God has called to your congregation.

3.  Make sure the pastors family is cared for if the pastor is having depression issues.  It’s not just affecting the pastor, after all.

For the record, I’m not depressed and this is not a cry for help!  But the article struck me as important.  Statistics say that somewhere within my local community are probably 2 or 3 pastors who are depressed.  It’s hard enough to be a pastor without the black clouds of depression hovering around.  Be willing to offer that help.

From ABWE Missionaries in Mango, Togo.  Three things stand out to me:

1. Mango is ready for a hospital and ripe for the Gospel.
2. God is at work there.  So many things are coming together that can only be attributed to God’s grace and work in a special way.
3. It rained.  Make sure you read the last paragraph.

October 24, 2009

It’s a cloudy Saturday, and I think it best to write today as we travel to Dapaong tomorrow and have meetings in the evening here in Mango.  The big news is of course the laying of the first stone for the Wendell Kempton Medical and Ministry Center on Thursday.

First off, the President didn’t come, which was both a disappointment and a relief.  It certainly lowered the level of security, and that was a blessing.  He did send his greetings, and the person who announced the change in plans attributed his absence to a last minute affair of state that required his presence in Lome.  We did have four cabinet ministers and five representatives from the Togolese National Assembly, so there was plenty of “star power” in attendance.  The authorities here told us they estimated the crowd at 4000, and people came from distant villages, and from as far away as Lome.  The day started off with a light fog, which cooled things down early in the morning.  But that burned off, and it rapidly heated up.  We were under a canvas shelter, but most of the crowd was seated, or standing in the sun, which had to be very uncomfortable.

To me, the high point of the affair was when Pastor Pat Nemmers preached from Mark 2 about the paralyzed man whose friends brought to Jesus.  Our desire here is to talk about our Lord Jesus Christ, and to show His mighty works, and wonderful teaching.  Pastor Nemmers spoke of how we can be healed physically but then lose our souls. Jesus, however, went beyond healing the man physically, forgiving his sins and giving him eternal life in the process.  Our friends here see Jesus as a powerful prophet, but not as God in the flesh.  The story in Mark 2 defines His deity in a powerful way, for only God has power to forgive sins.  I was impressed that the message was finished in 20 minutes, and that included translating it from English to French and then to Anufo.  With the heat, as well as other speakers and activities, it was a wise thing to do.  The following day we met with the Préfet, and as we prepared to leave him he commented to us about how much he appreciated the message from the Bible.  He said that several people had come to him to tell him how they were impressed by Pastor Nemmer’s remarks.  Our prayer always was that Jesus Christ be praised, and I believe that happened on Thursday in front of 4000 people here in Muslim Mango.

Bill Hanson, ABWE Project Office director spoke about the various ministries of the hospital, and there was a loud cheer from the women in the crowd when he said there would be separate wards for women and men.  The local hospital mixes everyone together, which has to be embarrassing for Muslim women, or for that matter, for any women.  There was another loud cheer when he said there would be three operating theatres.  There is no surgery in the government hospital, and that means in emergency situations people have to travel to Kara, 140 km south of here, or even over to a Catholic hospital in Tanguieta, Bénin, several hours to the east on a dirt road that is impassible during the rainy season.  Understandably, people sometimes die before help is available.

During the VIP meal that followed the ceremony Ron Washer, ABWE Director for Africa, met with government ministers who assured him of their support for the project.  One offered to put in temporary electric power for the construction phase of the project.  Another promised help in finding water for the wells we plan to drill.  City water is contaminated, requiring expensive filtration, and it isn’t always available, so we plan to develop our own system.  Recently we spoke with several of the local employees at the water company, and they pooh poohed the idea of drilling a well here in Mango.  According to them there is no water available, and every attempt to drill wells has failed.  The Minister promised to send engineers at government expense who can help us locate water.  We’ve started to pray for pure water.

As we left the Préfet’s office, he spoke of the rain that fell on the property following the end of our ceremony.  There is a belief here in Togo that if rain falls after a major event, it is an omen that God is pleased and has promised His blessing.  The Préfet said that surely this was a sign that God is going to prosper our plans, and that His blessing will rest upon the Wendell Kempton Medical and Ministry Center.

May Jesus Christ be praised,

Tim & Esther Neufeld

A little video for your Friday afternoon.  I laughed till I cried . . .

Two articles by David Powlison to help you wage your war with pornography.

Breaking Pornography Addiction Part 1

Breaking Pornography Addiction Part 2

Two excellent sermons by John Piper:

Sex and the Supremecy of Christ Part 1

Sex and the Supremecy of Christ Part 2

Question: How do you say I love you to your 14 year old son?

Answer: Ask him how his day went.

This is how the text exchange went . . .

My text:

Did you have a good day at school?

My son’s first reply:

yes

My son’s second reply a minute later:

i love you too

Missionary Tim Neufeld writes about their preparations for the hospital ground breaking (October 22, 2009) which is amped up because the President of Togo is attending.

Update: President a no-show but approximately 4000 other Togolese present for ground breaking!

October 19, 2009

It’s only three days until groundbreaking day, and this place is a beehive of activity.  We spent Sunday moving and then planting five Palm-oil trees.  The move took from 7:30 until 3:00 in the afternoon, and we got the last of the trees in the ground just before dark.  There wasn’t time to stake them up, and we discovered this morning that the wind had blown two of them over.  So today we had additional work getting them up and in the ground, and then putting supports around all five trees.  Now we will have to wait to see if they survive the move and the climate here in Mango.  They are at least 15 years old, so this had to be a shock.  While I was skeptical about the feasibility of the project, I must admit that they add a touch of class to the property, and are going to be really pretty if we can surround them with flowers and bushes.  Not only did we have to struggle with the weight and the distance from tree to truck, but there is a good deal of danger in moving these things, as the branches are covered with razor sharp thorns.  I read somewhere that South Pacific Islanders used to make their war clubs out of palm branches, and I shudder to think of the damage they must have inflicted.

Today we also built the “monument” for the placing of the first brick.  That is an honor accorded to the President of Togo.  You can imagine that with his decision to come, we lost a good deal of control over the groundbreaking ceremonies.  The Préfet also sent school children out to clean the property, along with a number of women who came with their brooms.  Since it has been drying out, there was a lot of dust in the air.  We are praying for at least one rain to settle the dust, but we don’t want it on Thursday.  The number of people attending will be much larger than we had anticipated, but it also makes things easier in some ways.  Since the President is coming, things have to be ready, which means that the Préfet will be held responsible for any omissions or other problems.  So the local government is not responsible to see that the tents for the seating of VIP’s are set up in the proper order.  Although we pay, they will make the trip to Dapaong to get them, along with up to 500 chairs, and will have to see to it that they are ready for the day.  I can tell you I breathed a sigh of relief when they took over that responsibility.  We also got out of buying the food for the VIP meal, although we still pay.  The cook will do the shopping.  There will be, among other things, two sheep, a hundred pounds of rice, three or four gallons of cooking oil, three bottles of mayonnaise for the salad dressing, enough lettuce to make a salad for the 160 invited guests, along with green beans, carrots, and a host of other things that go into making a meal.  It looks to cost us close to $300 to feed everybody, but we think it is money well spent.

All the activity in town and on our property brings to mind the arrival of someone far greater than any earthly president.  The folks here are doing their best to be ready for the visit of their President, which at the most will last a few hours.  The Lord Jesus has promised to return to be with us eternally.  He assures us that when we see Him, we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.  We are told that everyone who has this hope purifies himself, even as he (Jesus) is pure.    Are you ready, or getting ready?

Yours in His service,

Tim & Esther Neufeld