Pastoring a church today is challenging on many fronts. One of those fronts is navigating the biblical call for maintaining unity among the local and global body of Christ, and the call for pursuing the purity of the local and global church as well. A pastor can feel like a pinball getting knocked around between battles over purity and brawls for unity as though the two are in opposition to one another like two prizefighters contending for a championship belt. It is nothing short of a tightrope walk for the pastor seeking to balance these realities, yet purity and unity are actually complementary and should be kept in cooperation with one another.

This is where the work of Dr. Albert Mohler and Gavin Ortlund, with contributions from many others, can be incredibly informative and helpful. Dr. Mohler coined the phrase, “theological triage” shining light on the posture by which we can pursue purity and unity as pastors leading our churches. Triage means “to sort”. Mohler illustrates its value through the analogy of a medical doctor prioritizing the urgency of patient’s injuries in order to treat the highest priority first. Dr. Mohler asserts a similar approach to theological triage in which Christians learn the discipline of determining “a scale of theological urgency” that consists of various levels (he suggests three) that correspond to issues and priorities of theology present in current doctrinal debates. Ortlund takes Mohler’s concept and further develops it, providing insights from his own journey into theological triage and highlighting helpful principles to guide the overall process. He identifies four categories for prioritizing our theology. For both men, the point as it relates to the pastor who desires unity and purity, is that not all Christian doctrines are created equal, nor should they possess equal weight, but must be accurately prioritized in order that we may experience the beauty and benefit of living as the church unified and pure.

Church history provides us many examples of believers doing this well and others when they did not. One example that serves us well is the lengthy process the church navigated in recognizing the twenty-seven books of the New Testament as the divinely inspired authoritative Word of God serves. Throughout this process is a blend of a desire for unity and a pursuit of purity.

For a period of approximately three hundred years the church no longer enjoyed the presence of the Apostles and did not possess a formally recognized collection of writings to guide the practices and expansion of the Christian faith. From local church to local church there was some similarity and some disparity regarding which of the approximately 125 books in circulation should be read when the church gathered for worship. This put churches in a vulnerable position in which error could creep in and pollute the fellowship. Just such a scenario appears to be what launched the Church on the pursuit of recognizing a formal list of writings for guiding the Church.

Near the end of the second century, two individuals stepped on the scene presenting some unique perspectives regarding what should and should not be considered God’s revelation to humanity. Marcion was convinced the god presented in the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament) could not possibly be the same god presented in the gospels and the writings of the Apostles and their contemporaries. Therefore, he proposed a complete removal of the Old Testament for use in local churches. As far as the writings of the Apostles were concerned, he promoted only Luke’s gospel and eleven of Paul’s writings. Montanus was far more inclusive. He believed that he and a few of his followers had been given the gift of ongoing revelation by which their words should be added to the authoritative writings for the church.

The Church displayed a desire for purity in recognizing that both Marcion and Montanus were promoting and teaching aberrant beliefs that threatened Christians leading some astray into false beliefs. In the end, the Church declared them heretics, seeking to preserve the purity of the Christian church. At the same time, the actions of these two men led churches to recognize the need for an actual list of which writings were true, authentic, and useful for Christians to read, showing a desire for Christian unity. The result was lists like the Muratorian Canon, our earliest Christian effort at listing Christian Scriptures (c.175) and likely drafted in response to Marcion and Montanus. Several other lists followed in the third and fourth centuries concluding with the first listing of the current twenty-seven books coming from Athanasius in his letter declaring the date of Easter in 367. There he lists all 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament. His letter hints that this was a process that had been passed on to him by others who encouraged him to carry on. He writes, “it seemed good to me also, having been urged thereto by true brethren, and having learned from the beginning, to set before you the books included in the Canon, and handed down, and accredited as Divine…In these alone is proclaimed the doctrine of godliness. Let no man add to these, neither let him take ought from these.”

Athanasius’ comments reflect a pursuit of unity and purity among Church leaders which was later finalized at the Council of Carthage (393) and the Council of Hippo (397) in which Church leaders from across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East joined together to affirm the recognition of the twenty-seven books listed by Athanasius which we consider the true, authentic, and useful books of the New Testament.

This is a beautiful picture of how churches and leaders worked together to preserve the purity and unity of the church. Then they passed that conviction along to succeeding generations in hopes that they would do the same until the entire process was brought to completion, which is exactly what happened. Though not a perfect process it does give us hope and a model to learn from and build upon.

As we seek to build upon and honor the legacy of the saints who have gone before us (Hebrews 12:1), one of the keys is to revive a concept that has fallen out of favor in our culture and among many within our congregations. It is the idea of civility. Merriam-Webster defines civility as polite, reasonable, and respectful behavior. If we are to navigate the pursuit of purity and unity in a biblical manner within and between our local churches with those who believe differently than us on issues not essential to the gospel itself then we must familiarize ourselves with an approach to unity and purity that adopts the importance of civility. We live in an age of extremes that have found their way into our human interactions. The automatic response for many toward those who disagree with us is shutting out and shutting off. It’s been labeled “cancel culture” in which there is no time, space, or tolerance for dialogue about differing views. It forces uniformity instead of unity. Sadly, this is slinking its way into our churches. Another deeply ingrained cultural belief is captured in the phrase “love is love”. This love takes whomever and whatever as they are without no regard for reality or truth. It flies in the face of purity at the expense of going along to get along. Sadly, this too is wriggling its way into our churches.

As pastors, pursuing civility in the face of both extremes brings out the beauty and the benefit of unity and purity in cooperation. No matter the degree to which we disagree with someone, a respectful conversation can help us see things in a different light and affirm the reality that every human being is an image-bearer to be treated with dignity and honor that comes from their Creator, whether they acknowledge the Creator or not. For those of us in the church who acknowledge and esteem the Creator, the responsibility to be civil with other human beings is non-optional. Leading through the challenge of preserving and promoting the unity and the purity of the church will continue to demand pastor’s attention. Purity and unity should exist together in every church and Christian. Pastors who cultivate civility will nourish the soil of their congregations to enjoy this biblically beautiful blend.

Bibliography

Athanasius, St. n.d. “From Letter 39.” New Advent. Accessed February 16, 2021. https://ww.newadvent.org/fathers/2806039.htm.

Greenspan, Rachel E. 2020. “”How ‘cancel culture’ quickly became one of the buzziest and most controversial ideas on the internet.”.” Insider. August 6. Accessed February 16, 2021. https://www.insider.com/cancel-culture-meaning-history-origin-phrase-used-negatively-2020-7.

Jr., Dr. R. Albert Mohler. 2005. “”A Call for Theological Triage and Christian Maturity”.” Albert Mohler. July 12. Accessed February 15, 2021. https://albertmohler.com/2005/07/12/a-call-for-theological-triage-and-christian-maturity.

Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “civility,” accessed February 16, 2021, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civility.

Nickens, Mark. 2020. A Survey of the History of Global Christianity, Second Edition. Nashville: Broadman & Holman.

Ortlund, Gavin. 2020. Finding the Right HIlls to Die On: The Case for Theological Triage. Wheaton: Crossway.

A quick search of “Sermons” on Youtube will generate video images of Billy Graham, T.D. Jakes, John Piper, Craig Groeschel, Dr. Charles Stanley, and Matt Chandler. If you want to have some fun, search funniest or worst sermons. A quick search on google for “sermons” will result in 146,000,000 results in .51 seconds. Yikes! The variety and excess of sermons available to us are astounding. It is possible for us to live our lives and do nothing but watch sermon videos from home in our pajamas, but I don’t recommend it.

In this post, I want to give a shout-out to the local pastors of local churches that are set in local communities. These men labor each week in the study and prayer closet to bring biblical and relevant messages for their churches. In my denomination, the SBC, most are laboring for less than 100 people a week. They know and love deeply those that hear them each week. It is a portrait of intimacy, of hands-on under-shepherding, and intentional Christ-like love for the sheep they have been entrusted.

I am convinced that it is impossible to submit to spiritual leadership in the church if you are not regularly sitting under the preaching and pastoring of a local pastor. It would seem that it is not compatible with maintaining the relationship described in the New Testament of a Pastor and church member apart from active in-person local church participation. The best-case scenario for this dynamic of a pastor to members, pending Covid-19 restrictions and recommendations, is regular in-person fellowship and worship at a local church. There will be a time coming that we will return to an in-person new normal of church attendance.

With that said, I believe there are at least three practical reasons for giving priority to regularly listening to your local church pastor.

First, I believe intimacy cannot exist when you listen to an online preacher as your primary preacher and spiritual leader. A local pastor is familiar with your name and the place you live, work, and play. Often, he knows your family’s needs well. Pastors can craft messages from the Word of God with a sensitive awareness of their congregants’ needs. In other words, he is preparing and delivering sermons with you and other church members on his heart. It should be a comfort that your name enters his soul as he prepares, delivers, and reflects on the sermon.

Furthermore, it is helpful that he knows your cultural and sub-cultural context. Any good pastor should exegete the church’s culture and community to deliver the Word in a relevant and accessible way. I must be clear; he should not alter the Word’s truth to minister to his people. There is no replacement for biblically sound preparation and delivery of the Word. Instead, he considers the needs of his people concerning their cultural context. In this way, he demonstrates a high degree of cultural intelligence. A good pastor knows the demographics of his congregation and community. He understands the local history of the town or city in which he dwells. He knows the struggles they have faced and are facing in their worlds. For example, in a small town, a factory closing can cause significant economic hardship that a good preacher/pastor will be aware of as he crafts his messages and ministers to his people. Jesus and Paul were both masters of adapting the message to their audience for the sake of the Gospel. Jesus adapted a conversation about water to eternal life in John 4. Paul adapted the art and religion of Athens to share the message of Jesus on the Areopagus in Acts 17.

Second, when a church member slips away from a local church pastor’s regular preaching and shepherding, they lose spiritual accountability. I am not only referring to helping hurting sheep when they go wayward. There is also a component of accountability that includes comforting believers in the local church when they go through loss and hardship. An online preacher may be sound and smooth in delivery, but he cannot be there for you when family relationships are strained or when sickness and death show up at your doorstep. It is not his fault; that is not his purpose. Many Pastors who have large platforms are merely trying to share the Gospel as an encouragement to the church at large. However, I still smirk when I ask a person which church they attend or who is their Pastor, and they tell me of a distant church and a well-known pastor that lives thousands of miles away who does not know them. We need accountability, and one of the best ways to get that is to sit under the regular preaching and spiritual leadership of local church pastors who know us and have access to us.

Third, the Christian journey is about growing forward in Christ together. However, sometimes get stuck and confused along the path. Other times, we are broken and need counsel and healing. The beauty of a local church pastor is their accessibility to church members. When a pastor preaches and attenders listen, hopefully taking notes, they can ask him questions about the message. Most pastors are accessible to their congregations in varying degrees. Jesus demonstrated an amazing capacity for availability to his disciples in his earthly ministry. He was willing, even along the way, to stop, listen, answer questions, give comfort, and provide spiritual guidance.

Now, circling back, personal counsel and accessibility is not a feature in the online Pastor’s relationship with the viewer. I know there will be those who buck against this idea and say that pastoring can take place through screens. Again, I am only saying that it is best for pastoring to embody a certain level of accessibility toward those they lead.

In this post, I have suggested that regularly listening to a local church pastor in person is prioritized by believers in Christ. In the coming months, many will be faced with deciding whether or not to return to in-person worship. As a Pastor, I understand the current Covid-19 reservations. However, there will be a time when that reservation is not legitimate anymore. You will need to exchange online worship and preaching for in-person worship and fellowship again. I can tell you that it is much more comfortable and convenient to stay home in P.J.’s and sip hot chocolate or watch the service on our schedule so we can do side-projects or travel Sunday morning.

I want to encourage you to get back into the church and under the preaching of a local church pastor and fellowship with other believers. Scripturally, it is incompatible to intentionally and regularly isolate oneself from the gathering of the faith community and fulfill God’s purposes. Consider the dynamic of Pastors and believers in Christ as a part of the flock of God. How can this relationship flourish if there is no real interaction with each other? Also, consider the scriptural call to gather to build up one another and help each other stay sober to the coming judgment of God. Heb. 10:23-25 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

In closing, I ask you, How can we hold fast hope, stir up one another to love and good works, encourage one another, and hold each other accountable to God’s future activities if we are not gathered with the saints regularly. I hope when the time is right, you will carefully and prayerfully consider these words.

The man behind the book of Ecclesiastes is one of the most intriguing in all of Scripture. He is a case study in one whose heart lost its heat for God throughout a lifetime. His life prompts me to ask, How do giants redwoods of the faith fall from grace? Recently, the Christian world was rocked with the scandal of Ravi Zachariah. His posthumous witness has all but eroded his character while tarring and feathering his writings. Solomon and Ravi and so many others remind of a a fading ember in a late night campfire. They start as a roaring bonfire and end in cold stillness as only a distant memory of orange heat. My heart breaks when I think of these men and I know that all men are only a step away from a similar course and destination.

The author of Ecclesiastes is traditionally believed to be Solomon. The author states as much in verse one when he writes, “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.” Furthermore, he claimed to have great wealth and wisdom (2:1-11; I Kings 3:1-15; 4:20-34), as we know Solomon gained and demonstrated in his lifetime.

Solomon is one who began well, in the favor of God and men, but later faded and allowed his heart to be turned away from God. I Kings 3 paints a picture of a King who is dedicated to the Lord as a humble servant. There is only a small inkling that he would allow foreign wives and foreign gods to turn his head from the path of life. At the end of his, as recorded in I Kings 11, we see a man who has given himself over to other gods and has provoked the anger of God. Amid Solomon’s evil, God maintained his promise to David not to take the kingdom from Solomon. However, when Solomon passed, his sons divided the kingdom, and it never recovered again.

Enter Ecclesiastes, a book written by an older Gandalf-like sage, looking back at a life lived for short-term pleasure and in pursuit of elusive long-term gain. The book is meant to awaken the soul satisfied with earthly delights and hearts for many idols to the reality of meaningless apart from fearing God and keeping his commandments. It was intended as a sermon to be read to a congregation. And, the end of the sermon must be heard to make sense of the beginning. In my opinion, it is best understood as being read in one sitting.

In this post, I would like to examine an overview of Solomon’s life and resume. Also, I would like to consider his heart’s journey from I Kings 3 to I Kings 11. Finally, I would like for us to consider some practical ways that we, as people of God, can keep our hearts awakened and warmed to following Jesus to avoid breaches in our integrity that compromise our God-given calling to fear and obey Him.

Solomons coronation was glorious. He began with the King’s blessing, his father David, and the High Priest, Zadok. And yet, if we look closely in I Kings 3, we see cracks in the foundation of his integrity already forming. I Kings 3:1 says, “Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the LORD and the wall around Jerusalem.” At the beginning of his kingship, Solomon can also be observed as active in worship and sacrifices (Vs. 2-3) to the one true God of Israel. Verse 3a says, “Solomon loved the LORD, walking the statutes of David, his father…” The Message version more fully explains, “Solomon loved GOD and continued to live in the God-honoring ways of David, his father…”

As Solomon is offering sacrifices in the most well-known sacrifice locations, Gibeon, God appears to him with a simple question, “Ask what I shall give you?” Now, think about that question. Here is a young man with his whole kingship in front of him, and he can ask for anything; military prowess, wealth, riches beyond compare. However, Solomon asks for wisdom to rule Israel’s Kingdom (Vs. 7-9). God was so pleased with this request that he gave him insight beyond measure and riches and incomparable honor. God even offered to lengthen his days, but with a condition. He said, “And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”

The conditional promise is something that points forward to his downward spiral away from God. It would appear that as his intelligence, honor, riches, and power grew large, his heart, like the Grinch, was shrinking and losing its heat.

The resume of Solomon is unlike any other person ever to live. He was a great organizer of governments, a master builder and architect, an astute business leader in national and international commerce, and a prolific writer of wisdom literature (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon). He was a man of many pleasures too. He ate the best foods and dined with 700 wives and 300 concubines. His renown even beckoned the attention of the Queen of Sheba who came to see his fame and wisdom (I Kings 10). He was rich, famous, wise, and accomplished. And yet, with each passing accomplishment and marriage to foreign wives, his heart moved further away from God.

At the end of his life, we have the Book of Ecclesiastes as his reflections. We also have the inspired records of his final days in I Kings 11. AS we reflect, we remember that when he was first beginning his kingship, it is recorded that, “Solomon loved GOD and continued to live in the God-honoring ways of David, his father…” Furthermore, he humbly asks God for help to rule. Several decades later, his affections have been realigned, and, in error, his God-given wisdom eclipsed his need for God. The gift God gave him became an idol that possessed him.

I Kings 11:1 says, “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women…” You may say, what is wrong with that? However, it is recorded that God forbid him to forge these kinds of relationships. He commanded, “You shall not enter into marriage with them [foreign wives], neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon did not listen and disregarded the law of God and “clung to these (foreign wives) in love (vs. 2b).” One of the reasons God forbade the people of Israel to engage in marriages for foreigners was the danger of the heart losing its fire for Israel’s one true God. Solomons, 700 wives, and 300 concubines “turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his Father (vs. 4).” The decisions to pursue foreign wives eventually led to a new love for foreign gods, just as God anticipated. The results of Solomon’s decisions are recorded in vs. 6-11. Solomon “did what was evil in the sigh fo the Lord (vs 6)” and “the Lord was very angry with Solomon (vs. 9).” Why was he mad at him? God explains his reasoning to Solomon clearly and firmly. He said it is, “because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the LORD commanded.”

Ultimately, Solomon lost the kingdom after his death. He defiled the covenant of God as a matter of “practice” and habit. In other words, he was regularly violating God with his heart in worship.

We may be tempted to think that Solomon and his downfall have nothing to do with us as believers or leaders in the church. However, we know people who have started with a white-hot heart for God and have ended with a cold heart running away from him.

A question arises as I consider this progression of events from I Kings 3-11. Is there something we can do to stop the heart fade from God? Ironically, the author of Proverbs 4:23-27, probably Solomon, gives us a clue. He writes:

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. 24 Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. 25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

The crux of this section has to do with keeping the heart or keeping “watch over your heart (NIV).” Just as the human heart is the center circulatory system in the human body, so it is the center of thought, will, and feeling in the soul. When the heart goes bad in the human body, all else is negatively affected. So, it is with the spiritual heart. It must be kept well. In his book, as a man thinketh, James Allen writes, “THE aphorism, “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he,” not only embraces the whole of a man’s being, but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance of his life. A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.”[1]. We think with our hearts. The spiritual heart is the engine of the soul, and without it, we lose the power to think right and live well before God and men. Even if the importance is acknowledged, we must admit that it is hard to keep the heart. In his book, Keeping the Heart, John Flavel writes, “The heart of man is his worst part before it is regenerated, and the best afterward; it is the seat of principles and the fountain of actions. The eye of God is, and the eye of the Christian ought to be principally fixed upon it. The greatest difficulty in conversion is to win the heart to God, and the greatest difficulty after conversion is to keep the heart with God. Here lies the very force and stress of religion; here is that which makes the way to life a narrow way, and the gate of heaven a strait gate.” [2]

One way to know your heart is being kept is look for the evidence described in Prov. 4:24-27. Crooked speech and deceptive talk will be far from you. You will be focused on the path of life and the call to walk out the Gospel. They will constantly consider the course they are on and the destination it is leading them. In the New Testament, we could frame these activities as walking the Spirit and producing the fruit of the Spirit.

Perhaps, the most crucial element to keeping your heart is not to think that you can do this on your own. Solomon wrote of this but apparently did not listen to godly counsel. In Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, he writes, “Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. “

We need each other to stay accountable and encouraged. The writer of Hebrews encouraged believers to stay together. He writes, “23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” The pronouns in this passage are plural for a reason. By confessing Christ together regularly, we can stir each other up to love God. We cannot do this if we do life as lone-ranger Christians. We recognize and remind each other that there is an urgency to staying hot for the Lord, as someday we will face him as stewards in judgment.

[1] Excerpt From: James Allen. “As a Man Thinketh.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/as-a-man-thinketh/id499809711
[2] Flavel, John. Keeping the Heart . Fig. Kindle Edition.