Adam Mallette

Quotes of Note: Pastoral Leadership

Photo: William “Iron Mike” Leftwich at the Marine Corps Basic School, Quantico, VA

Christian leadership is the antithesis of secular leadership.

The transition from military to pastoral leadership has been the gradual reformation of my leadership paradigm.  I’ve written about some of that reformation here.  While judgment, moral courage, and self-discipline serve as assets in the spiritual arena, their application is markedly different.  The motifs of shepherd, servant, and slave seem so counterintuitive to a military where rank has its privileges.  To this day, I am confronted with military leadership instincts which lead down the wrong ministerial path.  This truth, as I’ve experienced it, is why pastoral leadership models that lean heavily on secular principles are often doing it all wrong.  Brothers, we are not flag officers.

Not all pastoral leadership books are created equal.  Instinctually, I tend to discount anything written within recent memory.  After all, leadership is validated over the long haul and not in a conceptual test tube.  But it wouldn’t be fair to discount everything based on youth or validate solely based on tenure.

You’ll notice many leadership books are written by wonderful Christians who serve in parachurch or academic ministries.  In fact, many of the quotes below are from such men.  Yet, let me encourage you to pay special attention to the counsel of men who serve in the pastorate.  Leading a church is like pushing a rope; it’s an organism, not an organization. The men who lead churches are acutely aware of this reality and speak from an overflow of having undertaken this difficult task.

The quotes below represent the surface of an ever-growing bibliography of pastoral leadership sources.  I hope you enjoy as you reflect on the ministry of Pastoral Leadership.

“If Christians around the world were to suddenly renounce their personal agendas, their life goals and their aspirations, and begin responding in radical obedience to everything God showed them. the world would be turned upside down. How do we know? Because that’s what first century Christians did, and the world is still talking about it.” – Blackaby in Spiritual Leadership

“the most powerful leaders among us are the teachers among us.” – Gary Bredfeldt in Great Leader Great Teacher

To help readers in “becoming the leader God intends me to be rather than doing the leading God intends me to do.” – Jeff Iorg in The Character of Leadership

“Success is the breeding ground for pride.” – Jeff Iorg in The Character of Leadership

“The last fruit of the Spirit is self-control. Self-discipline refers to the self as the object of discipline rather than its source.” – Jeff Iorg in The Character of Leadership

“It is reprehensible for any Christian leader to expect discipled behavior from the unconverted.” – Jeff Iorg in The Character of Leadership

“God would rather demonstrate his presence through a humble leader than through a thousand cathedrals we might build to house him.” – Jeff Iorg in The Character of Leadership

“Christian leadership and worldly leadership are markedly different. They are not the same, never have been the same, and stand in stark contrast to each other.” – Jeff Iorg in The Character of Leadership

“But the issue, the key issue, is motive. The aroma surrounding our actions—the unmistakable aroma of Jesus Christ—is what marks real servant leaders.” – Jeff Iorg in The Character of Leadership

“Leaders enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations.” – Jim Kouzes in Christian Reflections on the Leadership Challenge

Ministry is: “about preaching the historic Jesus, who is both Lord and Messiah, in words and actions, enabling people to respond to his message, enter his kingdom, and grow in appreciation of this gospel, its depth and its implications, and grow to maturity in Christ, in the new community of which he is head, whatever circumstances they face, by people who are qualified in gift, understanding and holiness, working together with others, for the glory of God’s name” – Derek Tidball in Ministry by the Book

“Here is one of the rich ironies in the history of salvation: the heavenly Jerusalem, it turns out, was all along as much anticipated by the deserts and dispersions of the community’s journey as by the earthly city bearing its name. In both experiences the Shepherd-Lamb was teaching them to follow him to their real home.” – Tim Laniak in Shepherd’s After My Own Heart

“The greatest crisis in the world today is a crisis of leadership, and the greatest crisis of leadership is a crisis of character.” – Aubrey Malphurs in Being Leaders

“The ability to see faults is a cheap and common gift” – Gene Edwards

Commenting on James 4:15 – “What James warns us about is that our freedom to make plans is not a license to live free from God.” – Haddon Robinson in Decision-Making by the Book

“Spiritual goals can be achieved only by spiritual people who use spiritual methods” – J. Oswald Sanders in Spiritual Leadership

“True Greatness, true leadership, is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you.  True Service is never without cost.  Often it comes with a painful baptism of suffering.” – J. Oswald Sanders in Spiritual Leadership

“We can lead others only as far along the road as we ourselves have traveled.  Merely pointing the way is not enough.  If we are not walking, then no one can be following, and we are not leading anyone.” – J. Oswald Sanders in Spiritual Leadership

“The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight; But they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.” – J. Oswald Sanders in Spiritual Leadership

“A Vision without a task makes a visionary.  A task without a vision makes drudgery.  A Vision with a task makes a missionary.” – J. Oswald Sanders in Spiritual Leadership

“If knowledge is the accumulation of facts, and intelligence the development of reason, wisdom is heavenly discernment.” – J. Oswald Sanders in Spiritual Leadership

“The spiritual leader must outpace the rest in prayer.”  – J. Oswald Sanders in Spiritual Leadership

“Our problem is not too little time, but making better use of the time we have.” – J. Oswald Sanders in Spiritual Leadership

“Disciples are not manufactured wholesale.  They are produced one by one, because someone has taken the pains to discipline, to instruct and enlighten, to nurture and to train one that is spiritually younger.” – J. Oswald Sanders in Spiritual Leadership

“Prayer moves the arm that moves the world to bring deliverance down.” – Unknown

“Give me a man of God–one man, one mighty prophet of the Lord, And I will give you peace on earth, Bought with a prayer and not a sword.” –George Liddell

“God’s work done God’s way will never lack God’s Support” – Hudson Taylor

“Every church needs to grow warmer through fellowship, deeper through discipleship, stronger through through worship, and larger through evangelism.” – Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Church

“A long pastorate does not guarantee a church will grow, but changing pastors every few years guarantees a church won’t grow.” – Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Church

“Ministry must be both faithful and fruitful. God expects both from us.” – Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Church

“You only believe the part of the Bible that you do.” – Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Church

“Transformation will not happen by chance.” – Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Church

“People give to vision, not to need.” – Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Church

“There is no method, program, or technology that can make up for a lack of love for unbelievers.” – Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Church

“Reading makes a broad man, but writing makes an exact man.” – Francis Bacon

 

Adam Mallette

Quotes of Note: Pastoral Ministry

Photo by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič on Unsplash

Life is constantly moving despite being at a pandemic standstill.  I’ve provided an update on some of our journey here.  Recently, I’ve completed the coursework for the PhD program at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; only a comprehensive exam, prospectus, and dissertation remain.  While I’m grateful to have taken my last class, there is a sobriety in knowing the most treacherous part of this academic journey lay ahead.

As I prepare to sit for my comprehensive examination later this summer, I thought I would take the opportunity to pass along some of the quotes which have ministered to me these past few years.  Having been permitted the opportunity to read and engage with some of the brightest minds and scholars in the fields of pastoral studies and preaching, I feel a debt of gratitude and an obligation to steward these pearls of wisdom.  With that, expect several of these posts in the future with quotations of note as I continue my preparation.

May the Lord bless you and keep you during this season of Pandemic.  May He make His face to shine upon you.  May these quotes from the saints of bygone eras provoke your thoughts and affection for a wonderful God.

“The test of Leadership is what happens when you leave.”  – John Bisagno in Pastor’s Handbook

“The Church is the mirror that reflects the whole effulgence of the divine character.” – Charles Bridges in The Christian Ministry

“He stands best but who kneels most. He stands strongest who kneels weakest. He stands longest who kneels longest.”  – W.A. Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors

“When the chariot of humanity gets stuck…nothing will lift it out except great preaching that goes straight to the mind and heart.  There is nothing in this case that will save the world but what was once called, ‘the foolishness of preaching’.” – W.A. Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors

“Pastor, preach for a verdict and expect it.” – W.A. Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors 

“To love the Word is to love God.  To receive the Word is to receive God.  To believe the Word is to believe God.  Spiritually, to know the Word is to know God.” – W.A. Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors 

On good preaching: “The difference between a bore and a good conversationalist is that the bore has not discovered the distinction between what interests him and what interests his hearers.” – W.A. Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors

Take time for prayer and study and preparation.  If the message is of little cost to the preacher, it will be of little value to the congregation.” – W.A. Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors 

“You cannot live on skim milk during the days of the week and preach cream on Sunday.” – R.G. Lee quoted by – W.A. Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors

“A short pencil is better than a long memory.” – W.A. Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors

“Christ did not come to develop programs to reach the masses, He came to develop men whom the masses would follow.” – W.A. Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors

“The only investments I ever made which have paid constantly increasing dividends, is the money I have given to the Lord.” – W.A. Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors 

“It does not take great men to do great things; it only takes consecrated men.” – W.A. Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors

“The greatest, finest, noblest sermon any pastor ever delivers is that of his own example.” – W.A. Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors

“Luther wrote in his commentary on Galatians, ‘Every minister of God’s Word should be sure of his calling, that before God and man, he may , with a bold conscience, glory therein, that he preach the Gospel as one that is sent, even as the ambassador of a king glorieth and vaunteth in this, that he cometh not as a private person, but as the king’s ambassador.’” – W.A. Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors

“We go further on our knees than by any other way.” – W.A. Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors

 “Indeed, he is a poor and unskilled physician, who aims at healing others but is ignorant of his own ailment.” – Gregory the Great in Regula Pastoralis

“Fear must moderate the desire of compassing authority, and when this is attained by one who did not seek it, let his way of life recommend it.” – Gregory the Great in Regula Pastoralis

“For no one does more harm in the Church than he, who having the title or rank of holiness, acts evilly.” – Gregory the Great in Regula Pastoralis

“Wherefore, the man gives testimony against himself that he is not desiring the office of a bishop, if he seeks the glory of that honour, but not the ministry of a good work.” – Gregory the Great in Regula Pastoralis

“The pastor is the more easily delivered from temptation, as he is the more compassionately afflicted by the temptations of others.” – – Gregory the Great in Regula Pastoralis

“The seed of the word does germinate promptly, when the kindness of a preacher waters it in the hearer’s heart.” – – Gregory the Great in Regula Pastoralis

“the mind of the elect must maintain patience, lest, being stirred by the wind of impatience, it lose in addition all the good they have performed.” – – Gregory the Great in Regula Pastoralis

“What unhappiness is that of people whose state deteriorates by the progress of their neighbor.”  – Gregory the Great in Regula Pastoralis

“Good should be loved for its own sake, not pursued under the compulsion of established penalties.” – Gregory the Great in Regula Pastoralis

 “If we lose the sense of wonder of our commission we shall be like common traders in a common market, babbling about common wares.” – J.H. Jowett in The Preacher: His Life and Work

“The absence of the sense of vocation will eviscerate a man’s responsibility, and will tend to secularize his ministry from end to end.” – J.H. Jowett in The Preacher: His Life and Work

“A man may be dealing with ‘gold thrice refined’ and yet he himself may be increasingly mingled with the dross of the world.” – J.H. Jowett in The Preacher: His Life and Work

“We may be professors but not pilgrims.  Our studies may be workshops instead of ‘upper rooms’.” – J.H. Jowett in The Preacher: His Life and Work

“The worldly spirit of compromise is just the sacrifice of the moral ideal to the popular standard, and the subjection of personal conviction to current opinion.” – J.H. Jowett in The Preacher: His Life and Work

“We may be more concerned to have a swelling membership-roll than to have the names of our people ‘written in Heaven’.” – J.H. Jowett in The Preacher: His Life and Work

“Yes, you will find that when your spirit is impaired, your Bible, and your lexicons, and your commentaries are only like so many spectacles behind which there are no eyes:  you have no sight!” – J.H. Jowett in The Preacher: His Life and Work 

“We are not going to enrich our action by the impoverishment of our thought.  A skimmed theology will not produce a more intimate philanthropy.” – J.H. Jowett in The Preacher: His Life and Work

“Cases are not won by jaunty ‘sorties’ of flashing appeal, but by well-marshalled facts and disciplined arguments marching solidly together in invincible strength.” – J.H. Jowett in The Preacher: His Life and Work

“Preaching that costs nothing accomplishes nothing.  If the study is a lounge the pulpit will be impertinence.” – J.H. Jowett in The Preacher: His Life and Work

“There is nothing mightier than the utterance of spontaneous prayer when it is born in the depths of the soul.” – J.H. Jowett in The Preacher: His Life and Work 

“Let the music be redeemed from being a human entertainment, and let it become a divine revelation.  Let it never be an end in itself but a means of grace, something to be forgotten in the dawning of something grander.” – J.H. Jowett in The Preacher: His Life and Work

“Multitudes of ministers can fish with a net who are very reluctant to fish with a line.” – J.H. Jowett in The Preacher: His Life and Work

“I believe that what the old world needs just now is not so much the multiplication of organization as the baptism of the Holy Ghost.” – J.H. Jowett in The Preacher: His Life and Work

“Brethren, your calling is very holy.  Your work is very difficult.  Your Savior is very mighty.  And the joy of the Lord will be your strength.” – J.H. Jowett in The Preacher: His Life and Work 

“If we have not the Spirit which Jesus promised, we cannot perform the commission which Jesus gave” – Charles Spurgeon in Lectures to My Students

 

 

 

Adam Mallette

Mallette Family Update

Dear friends, thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and generosity.  The text messages, notes, cards, and occasional monetary gifts have blessed our souls.  You have sustained us and reminded us of God’s presence during this time.  For that, we are especially grateful.  Some have asked what resources I might point them to during this time of pandemic.  Two of my favorite preachers are Steven Smith from Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock and H.B. Charles of Shiloh Church in Jacksonville, FL.  Mac Brunson of Valleydale Church in Birmingham features a great morning devotional, and there are many others to check out during this time of sheltering in place.  Of course, you’re welcome to peruse this website to listen to my sermons as well.  Simply search for a text or keyword under the Preaching and Writing tab.

Just a word of update on our family: The kids are growing!  We can’t keep them in shoes. We can’t keep them in clothes.  Milk and Cereal don’t stand a chance!  Augustus has recently begun helping me mow the yard and is a great helper.  Lucius has been really good at bible verse memorization.  Maximus has excelled in his math, and Alessia is a constant reader.  They’ve been exceptional at handling this season of transition.

As always, Heather is doing a wonderful job turning our house into a home.  We’ve recently rearranged the living room and tinkered with our setup to keep things new and fresh. I’m very blessed to have her as a helpmate and consummate supporter. Life, in some respects, remains unchanged.  Heather and the kids continue in their homeschooling.  I continue to work on my PhD studies.  In fact, I’ve just completed the research paper and reading required for my final semester of seminars.  The only hurdles remaining are my Oral Comprehensive Examination this summer and a completed dissertation.

Allow me to offer a word of devotional for you during this time of pandemic.  Consider the book of Ecclesiastes chapter one.  It says:

The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.

“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher.
“Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”

What does a person gain for all his efforts
that he labors at under the sun?
A generation goes and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.

The sun rises and the sun sets;
panting, it returns to the place
where it rises.

Gusting to the south,
turning to the north,
turning, turning, goes the wind,
and the wind returns in its cycles.

All the streams flow to the sea,
yet the sea is never full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.

All things are wearisome,
more than anyone can say.
The eye is not satisfied by seeing
or the ear filled with hearing.

What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.

As you reflect on this time in the world, it’s very tempting to think we are navigating uncharted waters; as if the Coronavirus is the first pandemic to ever distress humanity.  But we are reminded by the author of Ecclesiastes there is truly nothing new under the sun. In fact, if you were to look a hundred years ago at this time, you would find pastors, teachers, and governing officials attempting to navigate the Spanish flu pandemic coming out of World War I.  If you were to make your way to the United Kingdom in the mid-1850’s you would find the formidable Charles Spurgeon pastoring his congregation through the cholera outbreak.

There is truly nothing new under the sun.

The world has seen these times before. And so, the question is “How is the Christian to react during such a season?”  Firstly, we are to reflect the hope of Jesus Christ.  We reflect a reality that we are not long for this world, but that Jesus Christ is going to make all things new again.  In fact, creation groans for him to do just that.  Secondly, this pandemic reminds us of our own mortality.  It is good and right for us to urge people to Christ as they consider their finite earthly existence. They will truly know us by our hopeful love during this season.  We have a hope in Jesus, so live as people with hope!

Practically, there are some things that we should probably refrain from, and also, some things we should probably do.  In that spirit, let me suggest a few to consider:

  • Turn off the TV. It’s good to watch the news and to be informed.  However, there is quite a difference between being informed and being stirred up.  Get your thirty minutes of news a day.  Understand what’s going on in the world. But don’t be afraid to turn that TV off. Sometimes watching the news on a 24-hour loop can lead us to a place of worry and anxiety.
  • Treat this time as a Sabbatical. I would encourage you to do those things during this season you have been putting off.  Do those projects around the house or take care of the yard work requiring your attention.  Get out and take a walk in the refreshment of Spring or grab a book you’ve been meaning to read.  Perhaps there is something that God is calling you to do now that your schedule has been cleared.  Embrace this as God’s provision in your life.  As Mark 2:27 reminds us, “the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.”

Let me also give you some specific prayer requests for us.

  • Pray for our health. It was just two years ago that Heather was coming through a season of difficult health challenges.  God has demonstrated his kindness in restoring her health in many ways, and she is miraculously in a much better place.  But we continue to pray that the gains that have been made will continue to be maintained for the sake of the calling in her life.  Continue to pray for her health specifically, but also for the health and wellness of our family. We know that God is providing for us supernaturally, but every time someone gets a boo-boo on the trampoline you hold your breath.  Pray that God would continue to give us health even during this season transition and pandemic.
  • Pray for my studies. Pray that God would help me during my preparation for my upcoming comprehensive exam.  It is a two-hour oral examination that tests me on everything I’ve learned in the PhD program.  I’ve recently put together a study guide which is over 700 pages.  The exam is a daunting task that you are permitted only two attempts to pass.  In these days as we await our next ministry calling, I’m committed to sinking my teeth into my studies, knowing that life will get busy when a church does call.  Please pray that the Lord would grant retention and recollection in a supernatural way.
  • Pray for our next ministry. Pray for us as we wait for the Lord to open that next door.  We’ve had the privilege of being considered by a number of great churches.  In fact, we’ve continued in faith by closing the door on opportunities which we didn’t believe the Lord was in.  Our commitment is to go where the Lord directs our path.  Many have our resume and some made preliminary inquiries.  We have great confidence that our resume is in the hands of those God will direct in our journey.  We will accept nothing less than His perfect call and will for our life.
  • Pray for our finances. Reading the story of the feeding of the five-thousand reminds us that the Lord can multiply the provision of our fishes and loves.  Let me assure you that He has done that over and again during this season of transition.  His provision has included the prayers and gifts of His people, and has exceeded anything we could have imagined. We have not lacked for anything which is a testimony to God’s goodness. Continue to pray for our daily bread.

Let me conclude with this thought from the end of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 12:13 says, “When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this:  fear God and keep his commands.”  When all has been said and done with a Coronavirus, our responsibility in the matter is to fear God and keep his commands.  Do the next right thing. Pray more and worry less.  Be a better version of yourself today than you were yesterday.  Enjoy the nearness of His presence in this season of uncertainty.  Embrace the sabbath that God has given you!

Adam Mallette

The Preacher Who Walks with God

The Preacher Who Walks with God:  Why Walking With God Precedes Speaking for Him

Originally posted at PreachingSource.com on July 18, 2018

The honor of being asked to contribute to Preaching Source was soon followed by the daunting task of the topic:  “Why Walking with God Precedes Speaking for Him.”  At the risk of sounding like a subject-matter-expert on walking with God, let me first confess that I feel inept and unworthy.  To speak of walking with God is to “aspirationally” espouse an obedient relationship that I fall so very short of, only hoping to attain.  Nevertheless, I write not as one who has perfected walking with or speaking for God, but as one who sees the great purposes of God in obedience and preaching.

I think it’s important to acknowledge that walking with God isn’t essential to speaking for him.  No, I’m not arguing against the premise of the topic.  I’m simply acknowledging up front that the power of the preaching is in the Word of God.  Paul is clear in Philippians 1:15–18 that not all preach from right motives.  Yet he is also clear that the proclamation of Christ, regardless of the authenticity of motive, is worth rejoicing over.  In recent days and over the span of history, we’ve seen a rash of men used mightily of God in the pulpit who have fallen outside of it.  Their public ministries saw scores come to Christ, even during periods when they privately walked apart from Christ.  People were saved even when they lived in sin.

As John Bradford said, “Except for the grace of God, there go I.”  For all of us, there are two sobering realities to confront.  The first is that even in our redeemed state, we are frail creatures.  We are prone to preach from wrong motives and from shallow walks.  We are prone to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ publicly while not spending any time searching for Christ privately.  And the second reality is that the power of preaching is in the Word—the Gospel.  It is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe.  The preacher and his pulpit prowess are not unimportant.  Men should seek to preach with sincerity, fervency, and persuasiveness.  Yet, it is the Word of God that is of supreme importance.  It is the Word of God that is inspired.  And we know this because of the Bible’s own testimony and—as A.T. Robertson said—because it has withstood “so much bad preaching.”

Given the power of the Word and the frailty of the preacher, what then shall we say of the necessity for godliness?  Walking with God Precedes Most Effectively Speaking for Him.  Not that God can’t speak for Himself or speak thru imperfect prophets, but we are most effective in preaching when we are most obedient in private.  Consider the Herald and the Spirit.

The Herald:  The message is most important.  Paul’s admonition in 2 Timothy 4:2 was to keruxon the Word—to herald the Word.  In short, the King has a message, and your job as a preacher is to herald that message.  Not spice it up. Not water it down.  Not alter it in any way.  As a text-driven preacher, you are to preach the substance of the text in a manner consistent with the structure and spirit of the text.

The best heralds are those who are trusted by the King and believed by the kingdom.  The trusted herald isn’t out to displace the King from his throne or establish his own kingdom.  Perhaps many of us could be reminded of this on occasion.  The trusted herald obeys and serves the King.  Further, the worthy herald is believed by the audience.  It won’t take long for a discerning subject of the king to sniff out an imposter.  A lack of authenticity in this generation won’t be given the time of day.  The need for ethos in a herald existed well before Aristotle coined the term.

The Spirit:  The Spirit and the Word hold hands in God’s triune economy.  Woe to the preacher who tries to divorce one from the other.  From the inspiration to the proclamation, the Spirit’s role and presence is foundational.  So what does this have to do with the preacher’s walk and effectiveness?  Everything.

In Ephesians 5:18, Paul writes, “Don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit.”  Interestingly enough, Paul didn’t admonish the church in Ephesus to get sober.  Rather, he admonished them to “be filled” by the Spirit.  There is this sense from the text that the indwelled Spirit of God is given more capacity to fill if we simply rid ourselves of disobedience.  Almost as if you’re peering into the x-ray of a smoker’s lungs and seeing the air he breathes is limited to those portions of the lung which aren’t damaged by tar.  The same is true for us.  We give the Spirit room to move to the extent that we remove the tar of sin from our walks.  Whether that tar is drunkenness or your favorite flavor of sin from Romans 1, we must be committed to stopping disobedience in order to be fully filled.  A Spirit filled man of God, preaching the Spirit inspired Word of God, is a powerful thing to behold.

Preacher, when you step into that pulpit on Sunday morning, you’ve just declared war.  And if you hope to withstand the attacks of the enemy, you better make sure you don’t have any cracks in your armor.  And if you hope to be effective in attacking him, walk softly and carry the big sticks of the Holy Spirit and the Word.  Walking with God Precedes Most Effectively Speaking for Him.

Adam Mallette

Re-Formation

At this time of the year we are often focused on fall festivals, changing leaves, and the upcoming holiday season.  We drink our pumpkin spice latte and kindle our bonfires with the excitement of childhood.  But in the wonder of the fall landscape, let us pause to remember how our lives have been forever changed by a few days in latter October.   

October 31, 1517

An Augustianian Monk named Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, crystalizing a protest known today as the Protestant Reformation.  This reformation included core convictions which span into the present church.  In concert with the development of the printing press, this reformation placed the Word of God, in the language of the people, at the forefront of Christian worship.  Here is a helpful article by Justin Holcomb and short-video from my friend Dr. J.T. English explaining a little more about what happened on this day in history.

 October 28, 1966

A few hearty souls came together with a desire to worship God here in the City of Republic.  They were bound together by a common belief that the bible was God’s Word and the church was His possession.  From these beginnings came Calvary Baptist Church.  With a heritage of faith expanding fifty-one years, Calvary has been used of God to change the landscape of this community.  Our 50th Anniversary Video captures some of our unique history is southwest Missouri. 

Re-Formation

As we step into our future let us remember our past.  We are forever changed by the contribution of those five-hundred and those fifty-one years ago.  We are the beneficiaries of their courage and conviction.  Let us be challenged to be a people of courage and conviction.  Let us be challenged to believe that it is by God’s grace alone, thru faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone that the sinner is saved to bring glory to God alone.  Let us hear the words Sola Scriptura and be reminded of all the ways the Word of God is re-forming us.

We honor those who came before us, but let us remember the source of their strength.  They were ordinary men empowered by an extraordinary God.  We move forward in time because He created time.  We stand on the truth of His Word, because He is the Word.  We assemble as a church, because He gave us the church.  We shine a beacon of light because He is the light.  

May the Lord bless you richly in the weeks ahead as we reflect on the past and inaugurate the future, always allowing God to re-form us into the image of His Son.

-Pastor Adam

Adam Mallette

CSB: The Christian Standard Bible

I am proud to wholeheartedly endorse the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) and will continue to prefer it in my preaching ministry.

Within the past week, Jonathan Merritt, son of former SBC President Dr. James Merritt and writer for Religion News Service (RNS), wrote an article entitled “Southern Baptists Embrace Gender-Inclusive Language in the Bible”.  The article, published in the Atlantic, took great pains to portray Southern Baptists in a light of compromise and contradiction.  It did this by inferring that the gender-inclusive language of the new CSB represented a significant break from the Southern Baptist moorings related to gender complementarity.  Merritt argued that Southern Baptists were inconsistent on the issue of gender-inclusive language in adopting the CSB, yet opposing the release of the TNIV in 2011.  

There is no controversy here.  The article fails to adequately portray the translation philosophy adopted by the CSB or the issues being raised revolving around the TNIV 2011.  Dr. Denny Burk wrote an excellent critique of the article which you can read here.  The article amounted to making a mountain out of a non-existent molehill, no doubt intentionally timed to produce controversy on the eve of the 2017 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona.  I can assure you that the General Editors of the Christian Standard Bible–Dr. Tom Schreiner of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Dr. David Allen of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary–hold a high view of scripture and gender complementarity.  To suggest they let something slip thru the cracks or adopted a more liberal view on scripture is simply ridiculous.  

The CSB combines an ideal blend of textual faithfulness and contemporary readability, providing a translation that will minister equally to the savvy saint or the inquiring visitor.  Dr. Trevin Wax and Brandon Smith of Lifeway Christian Resources have provided the church with an excellent resource in this new translation.  Southern Baptists have always been bound by their cooperation in confession and mission.  And with the introduction of the CSB, Southern Baptists can be proud in yet another added dimension to their cooperation.  

So for the members of Calvary Baptist Church-Republic, let me assure you that you’ll hear the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth when I preach from the Christian Standard Bible on Sunday’s.  The CSB–for Conservative Southern Baptists.  

 

Adam Mallette

Boyz II Men: A Tribute to Steven Smith

“How do I say goodbye to what we had?”

If you recognize these lyrics then you may be a fan of the 1990’s chart topping group Boyz II Men.  The song “It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday” launched the group to stardom and saturates my memory as a teenager.  Today, I am saying goodbye to a great friend.  No, this isn’t a eulogy.  It’s a tribute—a celebration of the Lord’s calling on behalf of so many at Southwestern who call Steven Smith friend.

This morning, Dr. Steven Smith was called to pastor the historic congregation of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas.   As he walks out the door to serve the local church, I reflect on three years of having served at his side.  Dr. Smith has faithfully waived the banner for Southwestern in his writing, preaching, and teaching.  His influence on a younger generation of preachers has grown remarkably, particularly with the release of Recapturing the Voice of God.  His work with the School of Preaching on PreachingSource.com will bless pastors for years to come.  His legacy at Southwestern is one of faithful service; a legacy that will continue as he teaches adjunctively.

I celebrate Dr. Smith for the indelible mark he leaves on the character of the faculty, staff, and students of Southwestern.  Micah 6:8 permeates his life and leadership.  As a Vice President, he administrates justly, leading with kindness and humility.  As a thinker, he loves the Lord with his entire mind.  As a preacher, he heralds the text with winsome bravery.  As a family man, he ministers graciously to his wife and children amidst the deepest of waters.  In every way, I am a better man for having served with him.

Many may not have seen this coming.  If I’m truthful, it caught me off guard.  But isn’t that how the Lord works?  And if I take a step back, it becomes clearer that the Lord has been grooming him to lead this sweet church at this very moment.  As a ring-side observer, I can see the Lord’s hand all over this.  There is a bright future for Immanuel Baptist!

As with the song, I know where we’ve been and what we’ve been thru.  And it is hard to say goodbye to yesterday.  But I’m not losing a friend—I’m just saying goodbye for now. And unlike the song, I do know where the road leads.  It leads northeast on Interstate 30 and is paved with a clear calling from the Lord—a calling to the people of Immanuel Baptist and the city of Little Rock.

The growth from ministerial boyhood to manhood is difficult.  And at Southwestern, that often means saying goodbye to great friends and trusting the Lord with their care as they are commissioned to the four corners of the earth.  And so on behalf of my family, the employees of Student Services, and your friends at Southwestern, we express our deepest gratitude for your service, leadership, and friendship.  May the Lord bless you and keep you Dr. Smith.  Fair winds and following seas my friend.

-Adam

 

Image:  Neuestock

 

Adam Mallette

A Few Good Men?

Originally posted January 2016 at markdance.net

 

It’s 0043 in the morning, and I’m staring at the blank page of a Word document wondering what I might say to pastors and those in positions of ministry leadership.  If I could convey one message it would be this: CRUCIFY THE MARINE.

Three years ago after leaving the Marine Corps to follow the Lord’s calling to preparation for ministry at Southwestern, I believed I had it all together. I had been a Captain in the Marine Corps and led Marines in combat.  I had a Masters in International Relations and was an effective administrator. I could see organizational inefficiencies with little effort, and could take decisive action to remedy the problem.

I, I, I, I.

The Lord has shown me my ignorance over these last three years. Ninety-one credit hours later, I finished up my M.Div. this December.  And the professors at Southwestern have wonderfully pressed into my mind more than I thought possible. Yet, for all that the M.Div. has taught me, its greatest lesson has been in exposing how very much I don’t know. Throw in the residential experience of a family of six in student housing, the pressures of living on less, and the strain for time, and you have the perfect concoction for being humbled. And that’s just what the doctor ordered and what the Lord knew my heart needed.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  It is clear that our salvation is the great gift and act of God reaching into our decay (Ephesians 2:1-3).  Continuing on, verse 10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, that God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” We see in the text a natural flow from being to doing. That is, the works we are created for in verse 10 come from an overflow of our relationship to the Lord. Our calling is to BE before it is to DO; a call to be His. Ours is a call to commune with the Lord in repentance, faith, confession, suffering, giving, utter dependence, and trust. Our identity is not in a title, or the kingdom usefulness of our talents.

If there is any hope of being used in ministry, we have to crucify the Marine.

We are not God’s 911 force in readiness. We have to let go of the guy who twists his abilities with his usefulness; his rank with his importance. We must keep from letting the guy who is ten feet tall and bulletproof have his way. We need to give up the thought that we have it all together, know it all, and that God is counting on us to achieve His ends. And for those times when the square peg needs to be forced into the round hole, don’t call on the Marine; call on the Lord.  If I can do it all, there is no place for the Lord.  And the reality is I can’t do it all; and neither can you.  The Lord doesn’t need a guy that has it all together. He needs a guy that desires Him altogether.

I won’t stop calling you all civilians or wondering why you don’t call me sir. I’ll continue to prefer my coffee more tar than tea. I’ll shave my face, keep my hair short, and expect you to as well.  I’m not saying the Lord can’t use those lessons or disciplines learned in the Corps; he has and is. He will bring to bear all of your experience and giftings too. But before you turn to the Marine to resolve the crisis, turn to the Lord.

He doesn’t need a Few Good Men, He just needs you.

Adam Mallette

Retire the Colors

Each day, we use signs to make a claim about what we believe.  As a husband, the ring I placed on my wife’s finger is a sign to the watching world that I am hers and she is mine.  As a society, we use specially marked signs, nearest to buildings, as an explicit claim that we believe those with disabilities should have greatest ease of access.  As a Marine, I would render a salute to a senior officer as a claim of my subordination and a sign that I stood ready to execute his orders.  Signs say something about what we believe.

One sign, common throughout our land, is the Flag of the United States.  It features fifty white stars, over a field of blue, symbolizing the states in our union.  The thirteen alternating red and white horizontal bars symbolize the colonies that declared their independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. These symbols characterize much of our history and what it means to be an American.  But make no mistake; the flag, in its totality, is a sign which claims the sovereignty of the United States of America.

As a rule, the US Flag takes a back seat to no other.  Title IV of the US Code brings clarity to the flag itself, regulating everything from manner of construction, to proper handling and appropriate display.  In a marching formation of troops, it is to be carried at the front right of the formation – the place of honor.  If posted alongside other colors, it will be in the center.  If hoisted to the top of a flag-pole, with multiple flags, it should be at the top.  Regarding the display of the flag on a speaker’s platform, the US Code states, “the flag of the United States of America should hold the position of superior prominence, and in advance of the audience, and in the position of honor at the clergyman’s or speaker’s right as he faces the audience.”[1]  In fact, there are only two situations in which another flag may be flown in a place of higher importance.[2]  The first is at the United Nations Headquarters, in New York, which provides for the display of the UN Flag in a place of prominence relative to its member nations.  The second is during a worship service conducted at sea by a Navy Chaplain.  In such cases, the church flag may be flown above the US Flag during the conduct of the service.

Here is the argument that I would like you to wrestle with in the context of your places of worship:  It is visually impossible to fly the US Flag correctly while still claiming that we are first Kingdom Citizens.  Since we are not at the UN, nor at sea in chaplain led services, there is no provision for the US Flag to take a position of lesser importance, to say, the Christian Flag.  Yet, week after week we continue to visually depict a hierarchy within our worship centers that places the US Flag above a flag representing our Christian identity.  I’m not championing the Christian flag as an emblem.  Rather, I’m addressing our infatuation with posting the national ensign in our places of worship.  Some may wish to respond by placing the Christian flag to the speaker’s right (the place of superior prominence).  Yet, this isn’t permitted in the US Code.  If you are the type of person who cares about flying the flags, then my hunch is that you are the type of person who cares about doing it right.  Still others may wish to respond by claiming this is merely an unimportant matter of protocol.  However, if we understand the church as an outpost in the larger world, or as Dr. Jonathan Leeman describes it “an embassy,”[3] then our local church is the sovereign territory of our Lord.  It would be scandalous to fly the flag of another country atop the White House.  So why would we allow another standard to fly at our Lord’s Embassy?

Removing the flag isn’t an issue for dogmatism or the breaking of fellowship.  I understand that the flag likely made its way into worship centers in response to anti-American sentiment in popular culture.  Yet, this post is written after a year in which I fear many Christians prioritized political discourse to the detriment of Kingdom witness.  The fundamental petition of this post is that we prioritize our claim of being Kingdom citizens first; to unify around the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Let us verbally and visually declare that Jesus is Lord!

The root of the word patriot is the Greek patēr, or father.[4]  To be a patriot is to love, support, and defend the land of one’s father.  I do love and support our country, and actively defended it for ten years, so please don’t confuse this post or its writer as unpatriotic.  I have been blessed by the many freedoms being a citizen of this country has afforded.  And I love our flag.  I’ve saluted it a thousand times in uniform, and one day, it will drape my casket.   I pray earnestly that the Lord will bring revival to our country; for the glory of the Father more than the fatherland.  My patriotism belongs first to my King before my Country.

Tomorrow, as we recognize our military veterans, let us give thanks to God for their service and the freedoms they helped protect.  Take the time to tip your cap to the red-white-and-blue at the ballgame or on your front porch.  Thank a man or woman in uniform for their service.  Pray for a gold star parent who lost a child fighting for their country. But the task of healing the brokenness of our land can only be accomplished by introducing King Jesus to our land.  This remains the greatest need of the hour.  Perhaps as we seek to turn the page on 2016, and as a sign of our Kingdom Citizenship, it’s time to reconsider flying Old Glory within our churches.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

 Adam Mallette is a PhD student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and serves as the Director of Student Services.  He is a former active-duty Captain in the Marine Corps and combat veteran of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. 

 Photo: Neuestock Photos  

[1] Title IV, Section 7, Paragraph (k) of the United States Code.

[2] Title IV, Section 7, Paragraph (c) of the United States Code.

[3] Leeman, Jonathan.  Political Church:  The Local Assembly as Embassy of Christ’s Rule.  Intervarsity Press Academic, 2016.

[4] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition, (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016), adj. “patriot.”