Hello from the Cold State of Minnesota

Posted on Monday, February 4th, 2008 at 9:53 pm

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I have finally arrived in Minneapolis for the Desiring God conference.  I left home at around six this morning, arrived in Chicago at about ten, and sat in the airport through two canceled flights, but I did make it.  Not in time to hear tonight’s lecture, but I will be ready for tomorrow’s full day.  I will be able to hear from John Piper, D.A. Carson, several other speakers, and of course, browse in the bookstore.

The theme of the conference is “The Pastor as Father and Son.” I have seen many middle aged men with their elderly fathers and it has reminded me of how thankful I must be for my own Godly heritage.  Carson has a new book, just out, about his own father.  It is called “Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor.” Too often, I am afraid, the accolades go to the pastor’s of large churches or those with the “new book, idea, plan, etc.” Many times those ministers in churches who toil away tirelessly for no other reason than the Glory of God and the Gospel are seen as, if not failures, certainly not the great success that we would want to follow.  Yet the kingdom of God is made up of such as these.  These men who work long hours, often without a support staff, just doing the best that they can.  When they hear of these great “success” stories it often leads them to wonder if the fault is theirs for the lack of great “success” in their own church.  God looks at those men as much more successful than me, and perhaps much more than you.  Our call is to be faithful, not successful.

My own father preached in the same church for nearly fifty years.  A church that he started from scratch, that grew to be about 300 at its largest, but was never a “great success.” Yet today I strive to be as successful and as faithful as my father.  He did his job, obeyed the Lord, and let the glory be for God alone.  He was an “ordinary pastor” and the church needs more of those.

Blessings on You, from a far less than ordinary pastor-

SamLam