Pastor's Circle - Steve Blakemore

Steve Blakemore is the Professor of Philosophy at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, as well as the newly appointed pastor of Wesley Chapel. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.
 
How should a pastor talk about politics from the pulpit?

I think the first thing we should keep in mind when we talk about politics is that Christians do not have an investment in either political party.

We have to speak in such a way that the people in the pews understand that the political process can be good or bad, but it's not ultimate.

I can get really wrought up about the direction of the country, but I have to remind myself that if I'm not careful I can sound like the Republican party is the ultimate hope for America.

That's the first thing that can keep us from being able to proclaim the Kingdom values in this.

How can a pastor keep his balance?

The first thing is this. We need to make sure that we do not spend time demonizing individuals.

We need to speak strongly against policies that are obviously immoral, like abortion or same-sex marriage. When a party is advocating those policies openly, we need to speak against it.

But when individuals endorse those policies, we cannot demonize those people and elevate others.

That seems to me to cross the line. We have to proclaim the truth, but always remember that Christ died for these people.

It's not easy.

It certainly is hard. I heard a bit of your devotional today, talking about how Jesus challenges us to do things that are hard.

I think that doesn't just involve going to the abortion clinic, or standing outside of the strip club.

It also involves the rigor of thinking compassionately without getting mushy about things that matter.

Jesus is the one who said to us, "Love your enemies." I don't think that command goes away.

What are we to make of the whole Ted Haggard situation?

I can't tell you how deeply, incredibly sad this makes me.

It's almost unbelievable how this kind of ministry can unravel in someone's life.

It seems to me, though, that if we ratchet it back a little bit, that every pastor may not have that big of a name, that big of a following, but every pastor has to be on guard against celebrity.

Even if it's just in your own church.

What are the antidotes to celebrity?

I think that something you talk about a lot is the first antidote.

You've got to have a group of men who will keep you accountable. Guys who are not impressed with you. Guys who will speak the truth to you.

The celebrity problem is more easily avoided if you have that kind of accountability.

The second thing is that pastors need to be out somewhere in the hard places of ministry. To be reminded again and again of the suffering that goes out in the world.

Pastor's Circle - Steve Blakemore

Steve Blakemore is the Professor of Philosophy at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, as well as the newly appointed pastor of Wesley Chapel. Here are the highlights of his interview on The Matt Friedeman Show.

Talk to us a little bit about new pastorates.

The thing that can be best done for the church is for the pastor to refuse to think about himself like Moses, coming in to lead the people of Israel. 

People often get excited about a new pastor because they think there will be a new source of vision for the church.

It's not for the pastor to be the source of vision for the congregation.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter said what happened was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel.

What the Pastor needs to see himself doing is to help his congregation to hear the voice of God.

Is God sending these natural disasters that have been hitting the U.S.?

I think something like this happens in our minds because we forget how much suffering and natural disasters have happened in the history of the world.

In medieval Europe, many people were convinced that the Black Death, the Bubonic Plague, was the sign of the end times.

While I don't want to minimize at all that Jesus is coming back, I do want to emphasize that we can make too much of the "signs and wonders" that we see.

And often when we do that, we forget to respond with prayer and compassion to the results of the natural disasters.

Ultimately, we should be thinking what should our response be, as the hands and feet of Christ.

We often don't realize that we are in as much of a moral disaster as Katrina was physically and economically. Instead of seeing it as a sign of decay, we should be seeing the huge moral vacuum that we can help to fill.

How should a pastor respond to Anthony Weiner?

Dr. Steve Blakemore sheds some light on how pastors should react to current events and use them to teach others.


What should a pastoral response be to an issue like Anthony Weiner?

I think a pastor's got a responsibility to do a couple things when it comes to a news item that deals with that particular issue.

I think the first and foremost thing pastors oughta do should be is to teach the people.

I think that our culture has become so obsessed with sex. It's no longer about just pleasure anymore. So many people are told to express themselves through this.

The Church highly values sex as a gift from God.

It's not that we're prudes; we see the beauty and glory of our sexuality.

The Bible on one knee, a newspaper on the other. Is that a good way to start the day?

I would think that a better way to start the pastoral life is the Bible, soaking up the Word of God.

As a pastor you read the Bible, not just for your own personal edification, but for other people as well, then go to the newspaper.

One danger if we start off with the paper on one knee and the Bible on the other, then we start to read the Bible in light of the news.

So many hear about that (Weiner) instead of hearing about that in light of our lives, it's just a chance to rail against someone that's failed. Or some people say that we shouldn't judge.

That's wrong.

Allow the Bible to shape us, then encounter the current events.

When natural disasters happen, is that a good time to address some tough issues?

I would think that they could be, because when those things happen, everyone has a question on their mind, "Why do we live in a world like this?"

What does it mean to say God is sovereign? What does it mean to say God's in control?

What it means is that God is going to save the world....and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Scandals in the church. Good opportunities for sharing the Gospel?

Once again, it is if we present it correctly.

One thing that kills me is when...a Christian leader fails and a Christian's  response is this: Christians aren't perfect, they're just forgiven.

But if we say, "There's no excuse to be made. That falls short of the glory of God....but we all need a Savior."

I think in those kind of moments, as long as Christians don't minimize or make excuses for the failings of Christian pastors....I think it does offer us an opportunity to speak about the gospel with people.

Pastor's Circle - Steve Blakemore

Dr. Steve Blakemore, Professor of Philosophy at Wesley Biblical Seminary and Director of Third Millennium Faith, addressed the now-failed prediction that Jesus would return on May 21st as well as how we should view the second coming.

What should be our attitude towards the second coming? 

Well, it should be the source of our great hope.

We should have a great hope in awaiting Jesus to come and complete the redemption that he has begun.

The doctrine of the second coming...is a reminder to us that we can't create the kingdom of God in this world...God ultimately will have to complete what he started in Jesus.

We should be living for the sake of others - that Jesus wants to bring them into the glory of His kingdom too. 

You didn't hear a lot of people expressing hope that Jesus would come back this weekend (as predicted).  Do we really look forward to the second coming?  Do we in the West have too much affluence to want Him to interrupt all that? 

You know what? I think you have really, right there in that, struck upon a great insight that Christians in the west for decades and centuries have been blessed with such affluence.

Let's face it, the early church's prayer "even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly" was said in a culture where many people wanted to kill them. 

What does it tell us about a culture that doesn't yearn for the return of Jesus? 

I think first of all it tells us the church may not really be living for the triune God and the glory of the Savior of the world.

If we can get the comfort and blessing right now, we may not want Jesus to come and interrupt the comfort.

If we're living for our own satisfaction, we're not worrying about the salvation of the whole world.

So we're not driven to glorify Him nor are we oriented so we can see the redemption of the whole world.

 It's got to say something about the shallowness of our faith. 

I do think it does indeed. Our faith is so individualized...our faith is so focused on what God can give me right here and now that we forget the calling of Jesus is not come to Him and be blessed. The call of Jesus is to come follow Him.

When someone was in need they sold it and gave it. Even in that, the early church was such that they said, "If Jesus can use our stuff, we're not going to hold on to it."

I think it does say something about the shallowness, because we're so focused on personal welfare.

I have an email here from a lady who wants to start a mass prayer to protect against the great tornado outbreak. Is that an appropriate kind of prayer? 

I would say yes.

Because we're to cry out to him and cast our every care upon the Lord. We don't just need spiritual blessings, we don't just need moral blessings...

But I think in light of this we need to remember something that's easy for us to forget in our technological age, we're not really in control. 

Pastors Circle - Steve Blakemore

Dr. Steve Blakemore, Executive Director of Third Millennium Faith and Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Wesley Biblical Seminary, joined the Matt Friedeman Show today to talk about Evangelism.

Describe to me what a sacrament is.

Historically in the life of the church...for protestants we've usually meant baptism...and communion.

A sacrament is a means of grace...in which we discover God is present with us in powerful ways. And we engage in these practices because we understand and believe that God has promised to meet us in these sacraments.

Can we start understanding evangelism as a sacrament?

I think about two scriptures. Of course there's the Great Commission. Jesus said Go...baptizing them and teaching them. He said that clearly as a commandment.

The other is I think about Paul's commandment...faith comes by hearing.

God is not telling us to pass on information. He's challenging us to bring people to Him.

I think that's the way we really ought to see it.

What are the key ways to evangelize?

I think first of all, the most effective evangelist layperson that I've encountered...were people that saw evangelism not just as their own private enterprise. They saw it as a community of faith that they were a part of.

They weren't just trying to pick people off one by one....instead they viewed their calling as inviting people into the church.

Those people also realized that we're not first and foremost called to speak the gospel. But we're called to live it out in our lives.

How do we balance evangelism and compassion?

If a person actually deeply cares about the welfare of another human being, we're of course going to care about whether they have enough to eat. But also about whether or not they have the bread of life.

We're going to be concerned about whether they have clothes to wear. But also whether they are clothed in righteousness.

If you have the love spread in your heart, you care about the unborn baby.

I think it begins with whether we have the love of God spread about in our hearts.

If we have a discerning heart, if someone's hungry, we're going to figure out how to address that.

Do we contextualize evangelism - do it differently depending on location?

In the small town evangelism, there is an awareness of people's lives that you don't have in the anonymity of New York City.

It seems more of this relational, going out with your neighbors, caring for your neighbors to be ready to give a reason for why you help the poor.

In New York City, I would think that just stopping to care for people in the anonymous morass of the city.