Progress

Lifelong growth for gospel workers

Adrian Reynolds

• Publisher: 10Publishing
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781911272953
• eBook ISBN: 9781911272953

Many of us start off in ministry after an initial boost of intensive training, whether on the job or in college. During this time we make progress in our godliness and in practical gifting but the danger is that once we begin our ministry this rapid progress can start to stagnate. In this book, Adrian Reynolds warns us against being satisfied with gradual growth and instead calls leaders to make a deliberate effort to continue to grow and develop. He uses Paul's words to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4 to encourage us to seek growth in the areas of speech, conduct, love, faith, purity and our gifts. This book is best read reflectively, taking the time to answer the questions at the end of each chapter to help you to grow more and more into the likeness of Jesus.

PROGRESS IN GIFTING

Up to now, we have been considering various aspects of what it means for a gospel worker to be godly and to be growing in godliness, whether that means in their speech, conduct, love, faith or purity. These are absolute essentials for Christian ministry. But it is naïve to think that the only qualification for gospel work is a godly life.

It is true that ungodliness disqualifies us from serving God in this capacity. However, the teacher has to be able to teach. We see this qualification mentioned only briefly in Paul’s list in chapter 3 of 1 Timothy (v. 2) and some people wonder why more mention is not made of this necessity. Is it an oversight on Paul’s part? Or even perhaps that we attach far too much weight to the gifting part of the leadership qualification?

Whilst it’s the case that we may often undervalue godliness when it comes to gospel work, I don’t think we can overestimate gifting. Though 1 Timothy 3 makes little mention of it, the rest of the book is infused deeply with both explicit and implicit assumptions about the role of those called to lead the church.

It is impossible to read the letter and not see giftedness as integral to the work that Timothy is called to undertake. Establishing that foundation is not, I believe, the tricky thing about this subject. Instead, there is a different challenge: what is the connection between Timothy’s gifting and his progress? If Timothy is a teacher because he is gifted to be one, what role does human endeavour or progress have to play in his development?

This is a crucial question because it goes to the heart of our training model for those involved in Christian ministry. There is a certain viewpoint (less prevalent today) that preachers are anointed from on high and therefore any training from below is, at best, unnecessary and, at worst, a denial of the supernatural. On the other hand, it is quite possible to think that leaders of the calibre of Timothy are made on earth rather than appointed in heaven, and this is an equally dangerous approach.

The gifting paradox

What we need to see from the outset, then, is that supernatural appointment and human endeavour are natural companions. In fact, they are both necessary if progress is going to happen. Our passage demonstrates this tension admirably.

Timothy’s ability to teach and preach is, says Paul, a gift. Moreover, this gift was given to him ‘through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you’ (1 Tim. 4:14). This is probably the same event Paul describes in 1:18 and the same gifting that Paul refers to in 6:20 as having been ‘entrusted to [Timothy’s] care.’ On into 2 Timothy we see similar language:

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands (2 Tim. 1:6).

It is significant that in each case Paul accompanies his description of Timothy’s gifting with a command or appeal: ‘I am giving you this command’ (1 Tim. 1:18); ‘Do not neglect your gift’ (1 Tim. 4:14); ‘guard what has been entrusted to your care’ (1 Tim. 6:20); and ‘fan into flame the gift of God’ (2 Tim. 1:6).

This is what we might call the gifting paradox. Timothy’s teaching gift is undoubtedly Spirit-given. It is, literally, a charisma (see appendix). We are looking for this kind of gifting in every individual we allow to preach or teach within a church setting.

Yet, at the same time, this gift must be cultivated and nurtured. We cannot and should not expect it will blossom on its own. It is not unspiritual, therefore, to invest in those we believe to be gifted. In fact, it is actually irresponsible not to do so.

More personally, it is rash in the extreme not to make this same investment ourselves. We shall consider this subject in just a moment, but before that we need to assess the breadth of what Paul considers to be Timothy’s calling in this area.

Devotion to public reading

It might surprise you to hear that I believe one of the most neglected parts of Christian ministry is the public reading of Scripture. Many of the churches which call themselves evangelical and say they love the Bible spend precious time reading it aloud in services. Some of us, in a worthy attempt to tackle narrative passages of Scripture in whole story units, skimp on readings and give an edited highlights package of, say, 1 Samuel 17 – a sort of divine Match of the Day.

Moreover, even those church leaders who do include public reading of Scripture in services (and why would you not?) allocate the task to others rather than taking it on themselves. For some, this is part of a healthy attempt to avoid one person doing everything in a service, but I believe there is a real danger that we undervalue the nature of public reading of Scripture.

It could be, of course, that Timothy is to commit himself to the concept of public Scripture reading. This would be like Paul saying, ‘Make sure it happens, though it doesn’t matter who does it.’ To be honest, that would be a good starting point for us to adopt if it led to more public reading!

But it seems difficult to square this abstract understanding with the more personal commands with which it is interwoven. We cannot be sure, but it seems most likely that the public reading that Paul has in mind is Timothy himself doing the job.

I don’t believe this is, finally, a question of gender. Some people ask whether it is appropriate for women to read in church and hold very firm views on the answer. This is not that question. Rather, there is a kind of public reading which is necessarily linked to the preaching and teaching, and for which the preacher or teacher must take responsibility. I take it that this is what Paul has in mind.

Our churches could do a lot worse than seeing this as a gospel ministry in which those called to serve the church should excel. Such a view still leaves room for others to read, of course. Indeed, if you have more than one reading in a service, someone else can read aloud the other passage.

This year, I attended the Keswick Convention and heard an American actor and performer recite the Bible reading from memory. He brought a difficult part of Galatians 4 alive. I was struck not so much by his capacity for recall as the energy and vitality that he brought to the reading. We applauded. My illustration doesn’t really serve me, for he was not the preacher! But imagine the power and possibility of a preacher or teacher who conveys something of the same devotion, enthusiasm and conviction as he reads the sacred text! I imagine that most people in ministry are more devoted to the teaching of Scripture than we are to the public reading of it and some recalibration is required.

Devotion to preaching and teaching

The question of exactly what Paul means by ‘preaching and …teaching’ in 1 Timothy 4:13 is much debated. Is Paul, for example, talking about one aspect of ministry or two? Is there a difference, we might say, between a Bible study and a sermon? At one level, we don’t have to get drawn into these debates as both here and the other time the couplet appears (1 Tim. 5:17) the two are put together.

In other words, let’s put aside questions of whether it is possible to be a teacher without being a preacher, or vice versa, and consider them together. Here we have the breadth of what it means to be the one who unfolds Scripture – there is both content (teaching) and proclamation (preaching). It is this ministry (singular) to which Timothy is to be devoted. He is to teach and proclaim from those same Scriptures that he is devoted to reading aloud.

At its most basic, all ministry is this. Whether it is conducted in public or private, in the church building on a Sunday morning or in the coffee shop on a Wednesday afternoon, all ministry is bringing the word of God to bear on people’s lives. I want to be careful about the language I use because I believe there is something different and special about those moments when the whole church gathers together. It is self-evident, I hope, that a sermon on a Sunday morning is different in many ways from a conversation at a bus stop. And yet both are and can be a ministry of the word to which gospel workers must be committed.

Arguably, Timothy finds himself in a unique position. He is the pastor of this key congregation. He presumably will bear more of the teaching burden than, say, the other elders he is to appoint. Nonetheless, they too need to be ‘able to teach’, reminding us that this gifting is at the heart of ministry.

Our context will demand different approaches. Evangelising a seniors’ club will feel very different than, say, leading a young adults’ group made up mainly of believers. However, each will be centred on preaching and teaching – giving content and proclaiming the truth.

How can I progress in gifting?

In this chapter I want to reverse the order of previous chapters. I want us to consider some practical ideas for how we progress in gifting, before we use some diagnostic questions to help spur us on. This is because I am assuming, if you are reading this book, that your church has already recognised some form of gifting in you – while it may not have been as spectacular an event as Timothy’s! (For what it’s worth, I take it that Timothy’s experience is descriptive rather than necessarily normative.) Nevertheless, if you are considering ministry, embarking on ministry or already in ministry, it is almost certainly because the church has recognised gifting in you.

So, a more pertinent question is for us to ask how to progress in this gifting. Let’s tackle public reading first. Despite what some people might think, it is perfectly possible and desirable to get better at this skill. Frankly, some preachers and teachers I have heard need this more than others. But all of us can take practical steps to think about how we read.

Moreover, it is relatively easy to receive feedback. There was one young man (who was not a preacher as it happened) who regularly read at our church. Each time he would ask me for feedback, which he, sometimes, took on board! And over time, it was easy to spot areas where he had made improvements.

We should certainly not neglect progress in this area. Perhaps, however, the harder question is to think how we progress in preaching and teaching. The difficult part of the answer is not actually the ‘how to’. It is relatively easy to think through the mechanics of how to go about making improvements – getting help with process, for example, or structure, or delivery or even practical technique. There are courses and conferences on this, and many people have found staff meetings or small teams and groups invaluable.

However, all these practical steps are useless unless our attitude is correct. It may seem obvious to say it, but we have to want to progress, which involves admitting we’re not as good as we’d want to be. This is hardest to do in the area of preaching and teaching because we feel that this is the essence of what we are as gospel workers. Our identity as gospel workers is very often wrapped up in our teaching ministry. An admission that we need to keep making progress, therefore, seems remarkably close to an admission of failure.

To be blunt, we need to call such attitudes out. For many years I organised preaching conferences and my heart would sink when older preachers told me that they didn’t need to come any more: they had learnt all they had to learn, they said. Such an attitude is dangerous and goes against what Paul has to say ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Establishing lifelong patterns
• Progress and grace
• Progress in godliness
• In speech
• In conduct
• In love
• In faith
• In purity
• Progress in gifting
• Conclusion: keep the end in mind
• Appendix
• Notes