Reformation21 Blog

Reformation21 Blog

reformation21.org

Hi there, guys -
I am Carl Trueman's research deacon, and he asked me if I would put together that endorsement you have been waiting for. It might need cutting down a bit, but that's always been a problem with Carl's sermons - I mean, that's what you're there for, right? Anyway, any problems, please don't bother Carl, who's far too busy choosing a cardigan for his next conference appearance. Just get back to me, and between us we can sort it all out. Let me know what you think.
Regards,

Torbin Bellfetch

Recently, ordinary people have become a real drag on my ministry. Actually having to think about the people I am preaching to when preparing my sermons has been a distraction I can no longer afford, and it's a problem magnified by the fact that I don't know most of them, and many of them aren't even there when I am preaching. I need a sermon that maintains the veneer of relevance while not necessarily having much to do with the people in front of me. I can no longer afford too much time on my knees before an open Bible, wrestling with the text with the help of study aids and with the faces of men and women before my mind's eye: the time has come to move beyond preparing my sermons using trending stories on Twitter and word-searches on Bible software. I need to outsource some of this labour, giving me more time to concentrate on my ministry priorities, like developing my webpage, writing books for my friends to endorse, finding conferences to preach at, sitting on committees with other people more important than you, buffing my teeth, choosing new shirts with floral patterns, and generally polishing my profile. After all, I have a reputation to maintain. I pity the Whitefields, the M'Cheynes, the Edwardses, the Calvins, the Rowlands, the Latimers, the men of the past - men trapped by the paucity of resources, shackled by the absence of a proper research team, weighed down by the demands of the daily grind. How much more they might have done! I pity the unknown men of today's church - slaving away to feed some tiny flock of sheep in some hidden backwater, bringing out of their rather dull treasure things allegedly new and evidently old, doing their own exegesis and reading their own books, all without the sociological research, cutting-edge illustrations, in-depth theological insight, and cleverly-crafted anecdotes that a faceless group of background bookslaves can provide for the modern 'man of God.' I mean, think of poor Bunyan: "I preached what I felt, what I smartingly did feel." Why put yourself through all that? Time to leave aside the burden from God and the message from heaven, and get fire from Docent!

Posted June 2, 2012 @ 3:42 AM by Jeremy Walker