Reformation & Companies of Pastors

(This is an edited transcript from Episode Fifty Six of The Messy Reformation podcast. You can find the full version of the podcast here.)

Pastor’s Leading Reformation

Ed: For reformation in our denomination, I think we need an alliance of pastors who are committed to teaching the faith handed down and entrusted to us, to preach the gospel of the transformation of the heart, and to inculcate a Christian world and life view—a Reformed world and life view that is Canonic in its scope: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Consummation...This is already happening, thanks be to God.

Pastors Gain Courage From Each Other

Bringing pastors together for mutual encouragement for edification and for emboldening is unbelievably important today. We must embolden each other. If you go look back at what Paul is doing with Timothy, he is continually trying to give young Timothy—who’s shaking in his boots—courage. I know that I gain enormous courage from knowing I’m not alone. Over the past several years, I have seen many of our brothers in Christ—who are laboring as pastors—feel completely alone.

Alone In One’s Thoughts

James Houston once said, “The definition of insanity is to be alone in one’s thoughts.” Many of our fellow pastors are feeling quite insane because they think, “Am I the only one who’s thinking this? My council is not with me. A couple of people in the body are with me, but if I try to talk about human sexuality—as I’m reading it in scripture—I get clobbered and hammered. Am I the one who’s crazy here?”

They will not hold on by themselves. It’s the old picture of the log in the fire. If you take that log away from the rest of the fireplace, it dies out. We need each other.

Creating Companies of Pastors

As a result of Chris Ganski’s encouragement, I started a Company of Pastors here at the beginning of COVID. That has been going quite well. Now, it’s been taken over by the Regional Pastors in our classis, which is where it belongs. They should be the ones leading this.

I’m also meeting with another group of concerned pastors, not to talk about COVID per se, but to talk about what COVID is doing. This is a group of pastors from all different denominations. There is a beauty there, particularly for those of us who went to Calvin Seminary with fellow CRC boys. That’s great, but there is something beautiful about going to Regent College and rubbing shoulders with Anglicans and Mennonites and Charismatics and Eastern Orthodox brothers. It reminds us that the Body of Christ is large and worldwide.

Strengthening the Churches

Jason: One of the things that’s been jumping out at me recently, as I read through the book of Acts, is the way it describes Paul and Timothy’s work. We’re told that these guys went to the churches and strengthened them. That is such powerful imagery. They didn’t just check in on the churches. They strengthened them and encouraged them in boldness.

So, I’ve been trying to work on ways can we go through the churches in our classis, and in our denomination, strengthening them in the Word of the Lord and in boldness.

Strengthened Pastors Strengthening Churches

Ed: Well, one of the ways that’s happening is when pastors are getting together, because they go back bolder, more encouraged, more enthusiastic, knowing they’re not alone. So, this is a great work that’s being done.