On Being a Good Church Member

As most of you, my readers know, I was a pastor for 30 years. I enjoyed being a pastor and never thought I would be anything else until the Lord engineered a change of plans for my life. After retiring from pulpit ministry, I have found myself on the other side of the pulpit. My wife and I applied for, and were received into membership in our new church this past week. As I got to thinking about church membership I was faced with the challenge of viewing church life from a totally different perspective. Which leads me to this new series of posts.

For thirty years I encouraged thousands of people to give their lives to Jesus and to follow him with total obedience. I challenged them to testify to their lives of commitment with actions and attitudes that communicated to the unbelieving world that their lives had changed as a result of making the decision to let Jesus be the Lord of their lives. It's my turn now, to practice what I've preached, and I am looking forward this new phase of life.

One of the things I believe is important for believers is to attend church services regularly for the purposes of corporate worship and fellowship. The book of Hebrews reminds us that we are not to "forsake the assembling of ourselves together, especially as you see the day approaching." Church attendance is important. While there are some who would suggest that worship can be done on a golf course, on a placid beach or in the comfort of ones living room, corporate worship has a different purpose in the life of the believer.

The Christian life was never meant to be lived in solitary fashion. Believers are to assemble together in order to pool their resources and gifts for the purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission. There is strength in numbers and God wants us to work together. But the second part of the Christian calling is just as important. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. You can't love your neighbor if you don't have regular contact with them. The romantic notion of loving people without interacting with them fails the test. True loves expresses itself when we learn to love others, warts and all. If we find it difficult to love the members of the fellowship to which we belong, how can we love those we don't know, especially those who are completely different from us in race, color, creed, economic, educational and even religious makeup.

Church attendance is a great workshop and laboratory for learning to practice the principles of the kingdom. Grace and I are looking forward to getting to know our new brothers and sisters in Christ by worshiping and fellowshipping with them as often as possible. We are looking for ways to be of benefit to them and to receive from them what God wants us to have in order to grow in our relationship with Him.

I want to be the kind of church member I preached about. A believer engaged in the life of the Body of Christ. It's what the Bible teaches and I want to be obedient to its teaching.

A Pastor's Prayer

My last post was an exhortation for you, my readers, to pray for your pastors. I can't make a better case than the one that was made by the link on that post.

This time I want to share with you the flip side. For thirty years I labored in the pastoral ministry. There were so many times that I felt totally inadequate. If it wasn't for my faithful friends who prayed for me and God's grace, I am sure I would have either quit, or at the very least not enjoyed ministry quite as much as I did.

Every week I was expected to speak a word from the Lord to the congregation. Sometimes I would have to deliver 2 or 3 different messages from the Word of God. There never seemed enough time in any given week with counseling, visitation, phone calls, meetings, organizing, and planning for prayer and preparation. There were times when I would pray a simple prayer of faith and launch out to do what God had called me to do, preach and teach the Gospel.

The following prayer reflects much of what was in my heart during most of the years I served as a pastor. Although I was never so eloquent, this prayer hits the nail on the head. For those of who are pastors, I'm pretty sure you'll agree with the sentiments expressed. For those of you who are church members and attenders, this will give you a glimpse of a typical pastors heart.

A hat tip to Justin Taylor's blog for posting this first:

The following is a prayer for those who preach, adapted from The Valley of Vision:

My Master God,

I am expected to preach today,

but go weak and needy to my task;

Yet I long that people will be edified with divine truth,

that an honest testimony will be given for you.

Give me assistance in preaching and prayer,

with heart uplifted for grace and passion.

Present to my view things pertinent to my subject,

will fullness of matter and clarity of thought,

proper expressions, fluency, fervency,

a deep emotion to accompany the words I speak,

and grace to apply them to people’s consciences.

Keep me conscious all the while of my defects,

and let me not gloat in pride over my performance.

Help me to offer a testimony for yourself,

and to leave sinners inexcusable in neglecting your mercy.

Give me freedom to open up the sorrows of your people,

and to set before them comforting consolations.

Give your power to the truth preached,

and awaken the attention of my slothful audience.

May your people be refreshed, melted, convicted, comforted,

and help me to use the strongest arguments

drawn from Christ’s incarnation and sufferings,

that people might be made holy.

I myself need your support, comfort, strength, holiness,

that I might be a pure channel of your grace,

and be able to do something for you.

Give me then refreshment among your people,

and help me not to treat excellent matter in a defective way,

or bear a broken testimony to so worthy a redeemer,

or be harsh in treating Christ’s death, its design and end,

from lack of warmth and fervency.

And keep me in tune with you as I do this work.

Pray for Your Pastor

Well, it's been about six weeks since I last posted. There were two reasons. One, I wanted to give full attention to my 11 part testimony and didn't want it to get lost amidst new posts. This is a significant milestone in my life so I let it linger for awhile. Second, I want to start a consistent routine of posting once per week on something meaty, instead of just odds and ends that were interesting.

For those of you who contacted me via phone, card or email about my journey, thanks for your support. A couple of you mentioned that you felt it helped you understand me better. A couple of you wondered if I had left the world of "Pentecostalism." I'm happy to report that I am as "pentecostal" as I have ever been. It is no longer a denominational, or traditional moniker. It does not refer to my theological underpinnings. It is a description of my experiences as a follower of Jesus Christ. Being "full-gospel, charismatic, and pentecostal have never meant as much to me as it does now, but there is a whole new dimension in Christ to complement that experience. It's an exciting time for the Riveras.

I'll try to post something at least weekly now, although I fully expect that my schedule will get very busy as I embark on a wonderful new project. I'll let you know about it in weekly installments, but suffice it for now to say that it involves the passion of my heart. I will be actively involved in training people for ministry, many of whom will be church planters. I will be doing it in partnership with Logos Christian College and the Communion of Convergence Churches. More details to follow.

And now, on to today's post. Pray for your pastor. Serving as a pastor for 30 years, I came to appreciate those in our congregation who reminded me from time to time that they were praying for me. Some were praying for me because they were painfully aware of my weaknesses. Others prayed for me because they recognized my calling and gifts and wanted the Lord to bless me. Some prayed for my family, my finances, my health, my vision, my relationships and my sanity. I leaned on those people, especially when the load got heavy, when I got distracted, or when the frustrations of life got the best of me. Thank God for those who prayed for this weak earthen vessel.

The link above is a great little prayer list for your pastor. I have been on the "pew" side now for about 10 months. With each passing Sunday, I am more aware than ever of the necessity of praying for the leaders of our church. We have a great pastor and staff. It is a joy to sit under their ministry. I want my pastors to be healthy, and wise. I want them to have many more years of fruitful ministry. I want them to lead us into God's presence in worship, preach with anointing and counsel with compassion. I want them to dream big dreams and to have God provide them with the resources and people that will make those dreams for the kingdom to come to pass.

I want to be as faithful in praying for our pastor as those who prayed for me when I was their pastor. So I encourage and challenge you. Pray for your pastor.