With 2020 almost drawing to a close, instead of a regular post, I thought I’d share a behind-the-scenes look at the studios where we film our sermons, vlogs, and Sunday School videos. Some people have asked whether I film these at my home. Others have wondered whether I use my phone to record them. If I was relying on my own talents and resources, I probably would. Thankfully, God has provided a great team. They have invested a lot of time and research in getting the right lighting, sound, and picture quality to ensure that what you see online doesn’t distract from the message we’re trying to communicate. Out of gratefulness for them, let me show you what things look like from the other side of the camera.
Once you’ve been reading the New Testament for a while, you run into various lists of spiritual gifts. They can be confusing and intimidating. There are so many of them and people disagree about what some of them mean. It can be hard to understand what your gift might be. One of the ways that the church has responded to the confusion has been with quizzes and assessments. You can go through questionnaires that are designed to predict your spiritual gift (see an example: here). While those may have some value, I think there’s a better way.
Have you ever wondered why others in the church don’t care the way you do? Have you at least noticed that they don’t? If you haven’t felt this yet, before long you probably will. When I first felt this, I didn’t ask the why question; I assumed it. I assumed that other people didn’t care the way I did because they just didn’t care. I assumed that it must be a deficiency in their faith or their passion or something! What I was experiencing was real, but my assumptions about it were all wrong. Let me explain why other Christians don’t care the way that you do.
Have you ever thought to yourself, ‘The pastor should do something about that’? I have. The more you read about the church in Scripture, the more you see that needs to be fixed. There are things that we’re not doing. There are ways that we’re not relating. There are purposes we’re not fulfilling. As a pastor, I feel burdened to evangelize those who are lost, disciple those who are new, counsel those who are struggling, comfort those who are weak, train up our leaders, oversee our office, lead the church in prayer and still devote the bulk of my energy to teaching and preaching God’s Word. The reality is that I often try to do all of those things, but the Bible says that there are a few things a pastor should focus on.
