The PASSION Blog

I did my first lecture in Pastoral Care the other day. It was an interesting exercise to find a definition that really covered it. Instead of coming up with a succinct statement that encompassed it, the lecturer gave a number of definitions that painted a picture to try and give us an understanding of Pastoral Care is.

In the lecture I also found a couple of interesting things that really jumped out at me.

1. Pastoral Care is the cure and care of souls - I like that as a definition as it touches on helping people get “well” again from the storms and pains of life. It also touches on a maintenance and equipping side that helps people be better prepared for the future and helps them to be all they are in Christ. I think I will keep this definition in mind as I go about the things I do.

2. Pastoral Care changes depending on the context - The care and cure of souls varies depending on the setting. Working with patients in a cancer hospice or as a hospital chaplain is dramatically different to working as a high school chaplain or a Pastor in church. While there are some common things in both places, you would have to adjust the way they are delivered and the depth of care you can give.

It is also interesting to note that in the last week, God has brought three people across my path that have needed Pastoral Care and encouragement. It seems God is building into me with the academic side and the practical side at the same time.

I had an interesting discussion with some friends last night. Part of our discussion touched on how we noticed that often the people of God in the Old Testament followed and served God faithfully for a time. Then after a number of years or generations they had turned completely away from them.

For those who are a bit scholarly this is know as the Deuteromonic Cycle. Or as one of the other guys called it “The Jewish Spiril”. I really liked that one better as it is much easier for me to pronounce!

Anyway, it was interesting that during the discussion a few of the guys really recognised this cycle in their own lives. They shared that at times they wanted to know God and walk closely with Him, but at other times they have just wanted to go their own way.

For me this was a great reflection. Because if we are honest, all of us at times walk closely with God and then there are other times we slip away. The key I think is to recognise the signals and put things in place that will manage the fall or slip away and perhaps prevent it.

Some of the things I have found is that I don’t have the same passion for things and I am not wanting to read my Bible, not wanting to pray with people, not wanting to share my faith with others and thinking my money and talents are my own to use as I please. When I notice any of these things happening little alarm bells ring and I come to God and pray. I also share with someone else how I am feeling and ask them to pray for me too.

I have found that by recognising the signals and having a couple of things in place it can reduce the height of the fall. Sometimes it can nip it in the bud altogether.

How about you? Do you notice any signals when you are starting to pull back from God? What do you have in place to manage the fall?

Revelation 2:1-7 talks about the church at Ephesus and how they are going as a church. There are some positives, some negatives and a challenge.

At the start of the passage in verses 1-3 we see that the Lord commends the church of the good things they are doing. He commends their labour in doing good works, for being patient, for opposing evil and exposing false teachers. All good things that deserve being commended.

Then in verse 4 of the passage changes. He says, “You no longer love me as you first did”. In this simple statement we see that the church at Ephesus had lost its first love for Jesus. They had been doing some great things, things that the church should be doing, but they had forgot the reason why we do church in the first place - Jesus.

In verse 5 Jesus offers them the challenge and the call to repent. He says, “Repent and do the things you did at first”. Jesus is calling them back to re-focus their hearts on Him and their relationship with Him.

I think as Christians we can all learn from this passage. Human nature is that we get all excited at first and then over time our enthusiasm wanes. This happens to many people when they first get married. The love and excitement is overwhelming and then in time it fades and many relationships fall apart. Today as Christians we can start off loving Jesus passionately, but in time we can get caught up in serving Him like the church as Ephesus and we can lose our first love.

How are you going? Is Jesus your first love or have other things got in the way? Is it time to come back and check in with Him today? Is it time to re-focus your love and adoration on Him and then move out into the world from there?

God Bless,

Dave

I found this quote recently from Spurgeon and his thoughts on preaching a sermon without mentioning Christ…

“The best sermons are the sermons which are fullest of Christ. A sermon without Christ as its beginning, middle, and end is a mistake in conception and crime in execution. If you leave out Christ, you have left the sun our of the day and the moon our of the night. You have left the waters out of the sea and the floods out of the river. You have left the harvest out of the year, the soul out of the body, you have left the joy out of heaven. A sermon without Christ! As well talk of a loaf of bread without without flour. How can it feed the soul? It is the sort of sermon that will make the devils in hell laugh, but make the angels of God weep”.

This comes from a man that preached over 40,000 sermons in his life. It certainly reminded me what the main theme of my next message should be!

I just read a great story on the ABC news website. It talked about how one of the riders in the Tour de France was caught because the drug company Roche put a secret molecule in the latest batches of EPO.

EPO is a drug that is legitimately used to help people with anemia and kidney disease. It boosts the way oxygen is used by the body. The problem is that athletes sometimes use this to boost their performance in endurance sports.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said they have been working in secret with major drug companies to develop new drugs with markers in them that will be easily detected. I believe this co-operation between WADA and the drug companies is a great step forward for all sports.

The problem I have with drugs in sport is that it is cheating. That goes without saying. But I also believe it robs people of the rightful celebration they deserve when they win. If you and I have a race and I win, I get to stand on the dais and celebrate in front of the world. If the next day I test positive for a drug and get thrown out, I have still “stolen” your rightful celebration. You may be awarded the gold medal or stage win jersey at a later stage, but I have still stolen your celebration. That moment in time can never be replaced.

It will be interesting to see how many athletes preparing for the Olympics pull out now with an “injury” because they are worried that they may now be caught by secret markers in their drugs.

I have been reflecting on the lost sheep parable the last few days (Luke 15:3-7). This is the one that talks about a shepherd with 100 sheep and one goes missing. The shepherd leaves the 99 and goes to look for the one to bring it back into the fold. When he finds it he rejoices at the find.

There are two reasons I think I have been looking at this passage. One is because I am going to be doing a Pastoral Care unit this semester and the other is that I feel I have been prompted by God to reflect on it.

Traditionally I have been good at noticing when someone is struggling and slipping out of the fold. I generally am able to pick up on the signals and then I pray. It is then it is usually confirmed and I keep praying. I try to speak to the person at church and encourage them, but normally that is where I have left it. I have never been good at following them up during the week by giving them a call or a visit.

I have friends who are brilliant at this and I see the difference it makes to people. Many times I have seen people who are slipping away being returned to church or home groups as a result. A few simple calls or visits can make a huge difference to them long term.

I have a feeling this is one of the major areas God is going to speak to me about over the next few months. If I really get this message and take it on board I feel my ministry effectiveness will dramatically increase.

How about you? Have you got people in your life that might benefit from a call or a visit? A few calls or visits over a couple of weeks might make a huge difference long term.

I was reading the story of the resurrection from Luke 24:1-12 this morning. It is interesting that when the ladies went to the tomb they were hoping to anoint Jesus’ body with spices (Mark 16:1), much like an undertaker would. However they found an empty tomb and two angels standing there.

At this point the story takes an amazing turn. They came to anoint the body of Jesus, but found the angels who told them had risen to life. At this great news they remembered what Jesus had told them. He said that on the third day He would rise (Luke 24:7-8).

These faithful ladies had come to care for Jesus’ body, but instead they ran to the others to tell them the great news of Jesus resurrection. In a few simple moments they changed from morning undertakers to excited preachers.

I have been reflecting on the death of Jesus the last day or so. When you read the account from Matthew 27:45-55 you see it was no ordinary death.  A number of amazing things happen when Jesus gave up His spirit.

1. Darkness covered the earth - some commentators say this was a sign of God’s displeasure.

2. Temple curtain torn in two - this was a sign that the way to God is open to all people and there is no need for a priest to be an intermediate.

3. The earth shook violently - this was a major earthquake that caused major damage.

4. Graves and tombs opened - verse 52 tells us that people were raised to life and several days later they went to the holy city.

5. Fear gripped the people - verse 54 tells us that after all that had happened people were terrified.

6. The centurion confessed - a hardened roman soldier who had possibly overseen many thousands of crucifixions proclaimed his thoughts on Jesus. “Surely he was the Son of God!”

The death of Jesus was an amazing event. In His death Jesus paid the price for our sin and opened the way for us to be in relationship with the Father. I am glad He did it, but I am glad I was not there to witness it. Not only was it a gruesome event, but it was one that would has been very scary for those watching.

My books, lectures and assignments for this semester at Tabor arrived yesterday. It was a mixture of emotions. On one hand I was excited and looking forward to the learning, then part of me wondered how many assignments I would have to do!

After looking through all the paper work I found there was a lot of work to do, but most of it looked pretty interesting. Straight away my brain started to kick into gear and I started planning out some of my assignments. That might seem strange to most people, but I am one of those strange organised people who likes to start things early.

At first glance a couple of assignments seemed quite interesting. One was reviewing a churches pastoral care program and then writing a report on how it operated and suggestions to make changes or improvements. Another was to look at a current ethical issue and show all sides of the debate and make conclusions from a Biblical perspective. Both got my brain ticking.

It will be interesting to see what happens after this semester. I am not 100% sure yet if I will continue on with more studies next year. Most of the time I think I will, but I guess it depends on what God has in store. If He opens up a position for me I might continue with my studies part time. If not the books are looking pretty good at this stage.

As with all things written on this blog, time will tell.

Recently I have caught up with some people that I haven’t really seen for a while. One of the things that has really excited me is the growth I have seen in them.

Some of them are more confident speaking in front of a group, some are reflecting on and overcoming areas where they have been struggling, some have a deeper Bible knowledge, some have made a commitment to Christ and others are really seeking to hear from God on a future direction. I don’t know about you, but when people are growing and pressing in to God I get really excited because I know great things are just around the corner for them.

When I see growth I really love to tell people about the growth and changes I have seen. I think that is important because often when we are churning through things we don’t see our own growth. We often just see the struggle and feel like we are spinning our wheels. When someone notices change or growth it can encourage us to keep pressing on with it.

Here’s a thought. Is there anyone in your life you can encourage about the growth and changes you have seen in their life over the last six months? No matter how small it is, it might just really encourage them and give them the motivation to press on.