Guilty, As Charged!
Why Pastors Sometimes Damage the Truth with Their Illustration
From Pastor Johnny 1/21/22
Why Pastors Sometimes Damage the Truth with Their Illustration
From Pastor Johnny 1/21/22
For those of us who try to be creative in our efforts to make God’s Word accessible and relevant to our congregations, there is always the risk of going too far. Yesterday, as I was starting this article, I read the horrifying news story of an evangelical pastor who took things to a new extreme. After spitting on his hands, he rubbed it on a member’s face—all captured live on video. He has since apologized but the damage is done to the millions who now think that this is what pastors do. He was trying to make a point about why secular society despises Christians who don’t go along with their sinful assumptions, but he ended up providing more ammunition for those who say that Christians are insensitive, fanatical, and uncouth.
The sad thing is that almost every pastor I know, including yours truly, has gone overboard in trying to illustrate a spiritual truth. I believe that one of the reasons I so often remind the English congregation that no analogy is perfect, and we need to grasp the similarity while rejecting what doesn’t fit. In terms of pulpit style and deliver, factual and apt illustration, and biblical interpretation and application, I believe that pastors should take seriously the last part of Titus 2:7 and Titus 2:8
The NIV reads as follows: “In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.” Admittedly, the apostle is telling Titus not to embarrass him with dishonesty, frivolousness, and speech gimmicks, but I believe the “us” also refers to all involved in the cause of Christ. Many is the time I have heard a pastor or evangelist go over the line and wanted to crawl under the pew in embarrassment. And I’ve seen people turn against the gospel largely because of stupid things said from the pulpit.
Confession is Good for the Whole [Person AND Body of Christ]
Let me share a couple of my failures to show how easy it is for a pastor to go wrong. In my first full-time pastorate, I was burdened because of what I perceived as “cold hearts” among some of our membership. I had prayed fervently for revival; I had preached my heart out; I was expecting decisions; and nothing happened. When the first two verses of the invitation went by with no movement, I waved to the organist to stop the hymn. I spoke some harsh words about the need for repentance in our church and (probably shouted) said that nothing would happen till we humbled ourselves and prayed.
Then, in the opposite of humility and with an inappropriate act of attempted showmanship, I leaped from the 2.5 (or 3) foot platform to the carpet runner (covering the hardwood floor) right next to the Lord’s Supper Table, landing on my knees and lifting my voice in a loud (and, in retrospect, self-righteous) prayer. My youngest brother was visiting me at the time, and, over lunch, he asked me a pointed question, “Who died and made YOU the Holy Spirit?” I indignantly responded that no one had. I accused him of being ridiculous. He responded, “I’m ridiculous? I’m not the one who jumped three feet and landed on his knees to try to convict people of their sin. Last I heard, that was the Holy Spirit’s job.”
He was right. In fact, I probably accomplished the opposite of convincing people of the need to rededicate themselves and recommit their full lives to the Lord. Of course, being family, my brother has never let me forget it and he brings it up to embarrass me nearly every time we get together. Well, I deserve it. When we know that God spoke to Elijah in a “sound of crushed silence” (that’s more literal than the English “still small voice” in 1 Kings 19:12), how dare we mouth off like the comic relief in an Asian drama?
By the way, I preached at the church the Christmas before the pandemic and saw that platform and I can’t understand how on earth I didn’t break something or mess up my knees permanently. It just goes to show that God doesn’t always give us what we deserve. He acted with grace toward this arrogant and immature young preacher. So, I guess the first lesson here is to be wary of too much showmanship.
Notice that even when I do those costumed monologue sermons today, I don’t stop with the monologue but lead you into the scripture text to clarify what I had just acted out. That was a lesson learned the hard way. You see, I used to think the dramatic monologues should stand on their own with artistic merit. If I wrote them well enough and performed them well enough, I assumed people would hear the biblical message. But I learned that people didn’t necessarily catch the references I put into the monologues to bring out the scripture text and, since the purpose of the monologues is to involve people in the scripture, that wasn’t happening. So now, I put those summary interpretations at the end of the monologues to point you back to the text and consider the significance of what you’ve seen.
[Note: I once saw a performance where a person attempted to recite the entire sermon on the mount in one service. He was successful at reciting the text and it was amazing to hear, but there was no explanation or application. It felt like more of a performance than a worship experience. That experience also pushed me to be certain that I gave a wrap-up explanation (and hopefully, application) at the end of my monologues.]
I believe that the “soundness of speech” of which Paul wrote applies both to the written and spoken word. Pastors have a responsibility to be grammatically correct and use words correctly lest people think they are as careless with their doctrine as they are with their language. In the same way, we need to watch for typographical errors in our bulletins, newsletters, websites, and PowerPoint slides, too.
To Err is Human, But Not Benign
But more important than grammar is facticity. As far as possible, we need to make sure that what we say is factual. One year, I very “cleverly” scheduled Paul’s words about not looking back from Philippians 3 on a Sunday when the Indianapolis 500 automobile race was being run. I had watched IndyCar races on television and hadn’t seen any rear-view mirrors in the cockpit. So, I erroneously concluded that they didn’t have rear-view mirrors on Indianapolis race cars. It made a perfect illustration for the verse that read in the NIV: “…forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, …” (Philippians 3:13). That is, it would have been perfect if it had been true.
In those days (this was the day when A. J. Foyt became the first driver to win his fourth Indianapolis 500), the race happened in the afternoon and ABC-TV broadcast a taped delay of the race in the evening. I told everyone I didn’t want to know who won because I was going to watch the taped delay and I wanted the thrill of experiencing it like it was live. When I got home from evening service and turned on the television, ABC was talking about the race cars. I hadn’t been watching TWO minutes before they were talking about the rear-view mirror each car had.
But to show you how I believe a pastor is to show integrity, I addressed my mistake the next Sunday morning. We had a laugh over my ignorance, but I underscored the truth underneath the bad illustration by observing that any driver who was constantly monitoring the rear-view mirror I didn’t know he had was very likely to crash at those speeds, and if we were constantly looking backward in our lives, we were likely to crash in a different way. Yet, if I hadn’t acknowledged my mistake and someone who was really into auto racing had heard the message, they would have written off the whole message—gospel and all.
Honesty is the Best Testimony
Some people probably get tired of hearing me cite a specific pastor, teacher, scholar, or poet by name. I’ve heard people (over the years) say that it is too academic and makes things too wordy. Yet, I can honestly say that my father, a pastor who was far from being an academic, was careful to cite not only quotations, but ideas and illustrations, from the sources where he read or heard them. My Mom (we were talking about this just the other day) heard him preach more than anyone and she said, “I don’t think he ever neglected to tell everyone where he got something—if he knew.” And, obviously, I think it’s important, too.
But many pastors do not think it’s important. I know of pastors who have preached entire sermons from those provided on the world-wide web (including slides) without giving credit. I know of one very prominent pastor in California who stole an illustration straight out of a Charles Swindoll book without changing a word and without one note of credit to the author. I shared with another pastor some material I had developed on the Book of Jonah prior to writing my book. That pastor took the material and used it to lead a national seminar for our denomination—with no reference to my study materials whatsoever. I’ve heard pastors recount false historical anecdotes without one word of caution or one indication of their source. I’ve also heard pastors refer to bogus science without any indication of their source. The fact is, if we can’t be careful of secular facts, how can we be trusted with the important facts of the gospel. And if we can’t be honest about where we’re getting information, how can we expect people to trust us.
[NOTE: It should probably go without saying, but I’m going to write it anyway. Watch how your pastor candidates treat their sources. If they don’t at least say, “I once heard another pastor say, …” or “I’m not sure where I heard this, but …”, they may not have the kind of integrity needed in a pastor. The other positive of pastors citing their sources is that you may take note of a good writer or an interesting book and follow up for yourself.]
There was also the problem my Dad called the “Were You There, Charlie?” syndrome. There was an old joke where some pranksters were telling tall tales as though they had all been involved together. Charlie wanted to be part of the group and didn’t realize that the tall tales (“lies”) were just getting bigger and bigger. At several points in the story, the liars would say, “Were You There, Charlie?” and Charlie, wanting to be part of the group, would answer, “Yes. I was there!” So, the pranksters would laugh and say “Then, of course, you remember…” and make the tale even bigger.
Well, have you ever been in a service and heard a pastor tell a story he read from a book or heard from another preacher as though it had happened to him? My folks and I were visiting a church in Georgia where the pastor told a whopper. At lunch, my Dad asked, “Do you think he really had that experience?” I smiled and said, “Probably not. I just read it in a book last week and I know he’s reading that book, too!”
And one more thing! This is more likely to be seen in a service where the hymn of response is called an “invitation” and people are invited to come forward and make their decisions public. When I was a kid, pastors and evangelists often used a gimmick where they would ask people to bow their heads and close their eyes. Then they would have people raise their hands if they needed to be saved, if they wanted prayer for something in their lives, or if they were thinking about joining the church. The piano would keep playing the hymn of response, broken up by the pastor or evangelist saying, “I see that hand. I see that hand.” The only trouble was when smart-aleck kids would peek and see that no one was actually raising their hands. The pastor or evangelist was using a lie to try to manipulate people into responding. It’s called priming the pump, but it’s dishonest and disgraceful. How could an impressionable kid trust a pastor or evangelist about the things of Christ if said individual lies about the actions of the crowd.
When it comes to integrity, the little things matter.
Seriously?
Titus 2:8 also mentions being “serious.” Now, I don’t think that means to be long-faced and gloomy when one is preaching. I like to inject humor into my messages to underscore a point I’m making or to set people up for the next point. Yet, I think we have to be careful that we don’t make the Lord look ridiculous. Once, when I was on vacation, the guest speaker preached a message about Jesus as our substitute.
The speaker used a very clever illustration. He talked about rodeo clowns. Do you know what rodeo clowns are for? They aren’t to entertain the audience between contestants, though they do. They are really part of the safety net for these events. When a bull rider is thrown from a bull, for example, that cowboy is likely to be stunned long enough that the angry bull will spin around and try to gore him. The job of the rodeo clown is to distract the bull long enough for the rider to be picked up by another horseman and carried to safety. But what about the clown? The clown wants that potentially lethal bull’s attention until, at the last minute, he can jump behind a wall or disappear into a barrel (which the bull doesn’t always realize he or she has done). So, the clown is risking death so that the cowboy can live to ride again.
Now, on one level, that illustration works. Jesus took on our deserved death so that we could live forever with Him. On some other levels, it doesn’t. Are you really comfortable with saying that Jesus is a clown? Even if it’s a rodeo clown? The truth is, some people may not have a problem with that. I love the music from “Godspell,” but I’ve always been uncomfortable with Jesus and His disciples as clowns. But, even if you’re comfortable with Jesus as a rodeo clown, note the difference. Jesus saved us so that we wouldn’t have to be at risk for the punishment of sin, but the goal is not for us to come right back and do it again. Yet, the rodeo clown is saving the cowboy precisely so that he can come back and ride that dangerous bull again.
So, I think we have to be careful when we lose the serious focus of our illustrations. I’m not sure that I’m completely consistent on this, but when I’m aware of parts of an illustration that could be misconstrued, I try to warn the congregation or speak to the problems after I use the illustration. Feel free to let me know if you catch me abusing an illustration so as to make a mockery out of the point I need to be making.
Still, my real issue is with pastors who feel like they have to tell a joke several times during their sermons. I’ve seen some pastors who seem to be doing “stand-up comedy” more than preaching. And, yes, I know that I make some things funny in some of my sermons, but I think you know when I’m trying to be serious. A laugh can release tension as long as it doesn’t overwhelm what is being shared.
[NOTE: In terms of lack of seriousness, I would also label those pastors who preach in T-shirts, jeans, and shorts. It doesn’t seem (maybe because of my generation) like they want to be taken seriously or for their message to be handled seriously.]
Integrity, Seriousness, Soundness of Speech
So, why am I sharing this? After all, most people reading this aren’t pastors, so why pay attention to this? We have a responsibility, as a fellow-pastor named George Johnson once told me, to sharpen each other’s swords. As noted above, if you catch me doing any of these things, you need to call me on them. I want to preach and teach with integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech. If you catch another pastor doing these things and you think it might be habitual, don’t call that person to be your pastor and, even when you’re invited to hear that person preach or teach, run the other way. And, if you’re teaching, be careful to reveal your sources. Someone might be blessed by the good ones or be steered away from the bad ones.
And, ultimately, I suppose, I think this article introduces the idea that you should pay attention to where a prospective pastor gets her/his ideas and how a pastor expresses them. More importantly, pay attention to whether a prospective pastor is still learning. I’ve known some pastors who haven’t read even one new book per year after they graduated from seminary. What a tragedy!
[NOTE: For the record, my last official degree was conferred in 1981 (though I have some certifications since then). For a recent Bible Study, my sources were published in 1867, 1960, 1962, 1971, 1974, 1982, 1994, 1995, 1998, and 2009. I’m currently reading a theology book published in 2021 and a science book published in 2019. So, I think you can safely say that I haven’t stopped learning. I just wanted everyone to be aware that some pastors stop learning.]
The sad thing is that almost every pastor I know, including yours truly, has gone overboard in trying to illustrate a spiritual truth. I believe that one of the reasons I so often remind the English congregation that no analogy is perfect, and we need to grasp the similarity while rejecting what doesn’t fit. In terms of pulpit style and deliver, factual and apt illustration, and biblical interpretation and application, I believe that pastors should take seriously the last part of Titus 2:7 and Titus 2:8
The NIV reads as follows: “In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.” Admittedly, the apostle is telling Titus not to embarrass him with dishonesty, frivolousness, and speech gimmicks, but I believe the “us” also refers to all involved in the cause of Christ. Many is the time I have heard a pastor or evangelist go over the line and wanted to crawl under the pew in embarrassment. And I’ve seen people turn against the gospel largely because of stupid things said from the pulpit.
Confession is Good for the Whole [Person AND Body of Christ]
Let me share a couple of my failures to show how easy it is for a pastor to go wrong. In my first full-time pastorate, I was burdened because of what I perceived as “cold hearts” among some of our membership. I had prayed fervently for revival; I had preached my heart out; I was expecting decisions; and nothing happened. When the first two verses of the invitation went by with no movement, I waved to the organist to stop the hymn. I spoke some harsh words about the need for repentance in our church and (probably shouted) said that nothing would happen till we humbled ourselves and prayed.
Then, in the opposite of humility and with an inappropriate act of attempted showmanship, I leaped from the 2.5 (or 3) foot platform to the carpet runner (covering the hardwood floor) right next to the Lord’s Supper Table, landing on my knees and lifting my voice in a loud (and, in retrospect, self-righteous) prayer. My youngest brother was visiting me at the time, and, over lunch, he asked me a pointed question, “Who died and made YOU the Holy Spirit?” I indignantly responded that no one had. I accused him of being ridiculous. He responded, “I’m ridiculous? I’m not the one who jumped three feet and landed on his knees to try to convict people of their sin. Last I heard, that was the Holy Spirit’s job.”
He was right. In fact, I probably accomplished the opposite of convincing people of the need to rededicate themselves and recommit their full lives to the Lord. Of course, being family, my brother has never let me forget it and he brings it up to embarrass me nearly every time we get together. Well, I deserve it. When we know that God spoke to Elijah in a “sound of crushed silence” (that’s more literal than the English “still small voice” in 1 Kings 19:12), how dare we mouth off like the comic relief in an Asian drama?
By the way, I preached at the church the Christmas before the pandemic and saw that platform and I can’t understand how on earth I didn’t break something or mess up my knees permanently. It just goes to show that God doesn’t always give us what we deserve. He acted with grace toward this arrogant and immature young preacher. So, I guess the first lesson here is to be wary of too much showmanship.
Notice that even when I do those costumed monologue sermons today, I don’t stop with the monologue but lead you into the scripture text to clarify what I had just acted out. That was a lesson learned the hard way. You see, I used to think the dramatic monologues should stand on their own with artistic merit. If I wrote them well enough and performed them well enough, I assumed people would hear the biblical message. But I learned that people didn’t necessarily catch the references I put into the monologues to bring out the scripture text and, since the purpose of the monologues is to involve people in the scripture, that wasn’t happening. So now, I put those summary interpretations at the end of the monologues to point you back to the text and consider the significance of what you’ve seen.
[Note: I once saw a performance where a person attempted to recite the entire sermon on the mount in one service. He was successful at reciting the text and it was amazing to hear, but there was no explanation or application. It felt like more of a performance than a worship experience. That experience also pushed me to be certain that I gave a wrap-up explanation (and hopefully, application) at the end of my monologues.]
I believe that the “soundness of speech” of which Paul wrote applies both to the written and spoken word. Pastors have a responsibility to be grammatically correct and use words correctly lest people think they are as careless with their doctrine as they are with their language. In the same way, we need to watch for typographical errors in our bulletins, newsletters, websites, and PowerPoint slides, too.
To Err is Human, But Not Benign
But more important than grammar is facticity. As far as possible, we need to make sure that what we say is factual. One year, I very “cleverly” scheduled Paul’s words about not looking back from Philippians 3 on a Sunday when the Indianapolis 500 automobile race was being run. I had watched IndyCar races on television and hadn’t seen any rear-view mirrors in the cockpit. So, I erroneously concluded that they didn’t have rear-view mirrors on Indianapolis race cars. It made a perfect illustration for the verse that read in the NIV: “…forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, …” (Philippians 3:13). That is, it would have been perfect if it had been true.
In those days (this was the day when A. J. Foyt became the first driver to win his fourth Indianapolis 500), the race happened in the afternoon and ABC-TV broadcast a taped delay of the race in the evening. I told everyone I didn’t want to know who won because I was going to watch the taped delay and I wanted the thrill of experiencing it like it was live. When I got home from evening service and turned on the television, ABC was talking about the race cars. I hadn’t been watching TWO minutes before they were talking about the rear-view mirror each car had.
But to show you how I believe a pastor is to show integrity, I addressed my mistake the next Sunday morning. We had a laugh over my ignorance, but I underscored the truth underneath the bad illustration by observing that any driver who was constantly monitoring the rear-view mirror I didn’t know he had was very likely to crash at those speeds, and if we were constantly looking backward in our lives, we were likely to crash in a different way. Yet, if I hadn’t acknowledged my mistake and someone who was really into auto racing had heard the message, they would have written off the whole message—gospel and all.
Honesty is the Best Testimony
Some people probably get tired of hearing me cite a specific pastor, teacher, scholar, or poet by name. I’ve heard people (over the years) say that it is too academic and makes things too wordy. Yet, I can honestly say that my father, a pastor who was far from being an academic, was careful to cite not only quotations, but ideas and illustrations, from the sources where he read or heard them. My Mom (we were talking about this just the other day) heard him preach more than anyone and she said, “I don’t think he ever neglected to tell everyone where he got something—if he knew.” And, obviously, I think it’s important, too.
But many pastors do not think it’s important. I know of pastors who have preached entire sermons from those provided on the world-wide web (including slides) without giving credit. I know of one very prominent pastor in California who stole an illustration straight out of a Charles Swindoll book without changing a word and without one note of credit to the author. I shared with another pastor some material I had developed on the Book of Jonah prior to writing my book. That pastor took the material and used it to lead a national seminar for our denomination—with no reference to my study materials whatsoever. I’ve heard pastors recount false historical anecdotes without one word of caution or one indication of their source. I’ve also heard pastors refer to bogus science without any indication of their source. The fact is, if we can’t be careful of secular facts, how can we be trusted with the important facts of the gospel. And if we can’t be honest about where we’re getting information, how can we expect people to trust us.
[NOTE: It should probably go without saying, but I’m going to write it anyway. Watch how your pastor candidates treat their sources. If they don’t at least say, “I once heard another pastor say, …” or “I’m not sure where I heard this, but …”, they may not have the kind of integrity needed in a pastor. The other positive of pastors citing their sources is that you may take note of a good writer or an interesting book and follow up for yourself.]
There was also the problem my Dad called the “Were You There, Charlie?” syndrome. There was an old joke where some pranksters were telling tall tales as though they had all been involved together. Charlie wanted to be part of the group and didn’t realize that the tall tales (“lies”) were just getting bigger and bigger. At several points in the story, the liars would say, “Were You There, Charlie?” and Charlie, wanting to be part of the group, would answer, “Yes. I was there!” So, the pranksters would laugh and say “Then, of course, you remember…” and make the tale even bigger.
Well, have you ever been in a service and heard a pastor tell a story he read from a book or heard from another preacher as though it had happened to him? My folks and I were visiting a church in Georgia where the pastor told a whopper. At lunch, my Dad asked, “Do you think he really had that experience?” I smiled and said, “Probably not. I just read it in a book last week and I know he’s reading that book, too!”
And one more thing! This is more likely to be seen in a service where the hymn of response is called an “invitation” and people are invited to come forward and make their decisions public. When I was a kid, pastors and evangelists often used a gimmick where they would ask people to bow their heads and close their eyes. Then they would have people raise their hands if they needed to be saved, if they wanted prayer for something in their lives, or if they were thinking about joining the church. The piano would keep playing the hymn of response, broken up by the pastor or evangelist saying, “I see that hand. I see that hand.” The only trouble was when smart-aleck kids would peek and see that no one was actually raising their hands. The pastor or evangelist was using a lie to try to manipulate people into responding. It’s called priming the pump, but it’s dishonest and disgraceful. How could an impressionable kid trust a pastor or evangelist about the things of Christ if said individual lies about the actions of the crowd.
When it comes to integrity, the little things matter.
Seriously?
Titus 2:8 also mentions being “serious.” Now, I don’t think that means to be long-faced and gloomy when one is preaching. I like to inject humor into my messages to underscore a point I’m making or to set people up for the next point. Yet, I think we have to be careful that we don’t make the Lord look ridiculous. Once, when I was on vacation, the guest speaker preached a message about Jesus as our substitute.
The speaker used a very clever illustration. He talked about rodeo clowns. Do you know what rodeo clowns are for? They aren’t to entertain the audience between contestants, though they do. They are really part of the safety net for these events. When a bull rider is thrown from a bull, for example, that cowboy is likely to be stunned long enough that the angry bull will spin around and try to gore him. The job of the rodeo clown is to distract the bull long enough for the rider to be picked up by another horseman and carried to safety. But what about the clown? The clown wants that potentially lethal bull’s attention until, at the last minute, he can jump behind a wall or disappear into a barrel (which the bull doesn’t always realize he or she has done). So, the clown is risking death so that the cowboy can live to ride again.
Now, on one level, that illustration works. Jesus took on our deserved death so that we could live forever with Him. On some other levels, it doesn’t. Are you really comfortable with saying that Jesus is a clown? Even if it’s a rodeo clown? The truth is, some people may not have a problem with that. I love the music from “Godspell,” but I’ve always been uncomfortable with Jesus and His disciples as clowns. But, even if you’re comfortable with Jesus as a rodeo clown, note the difference. Jesus saved us so that we wouldn’t have to be at risk for the punishment of sin, but the goal is not for us to come right back and do it again. Yet, the rodeo clown is saving the cowboy precisely so that he can come back and ride that dangerous bull again.
So, I think we have to be careful when we lose the serious focus of our illustrations. I’m not sure that I’m completely consistent on this, but when I’m aware of parts of an illustration that could be misconstrued, I try to warn the congregation or speak to the problems after I use the illustration. Feel free to let me know if you catch me abusing an illustration so as to make a mockery out of the point I need to be making.
Still, my real issue is with pastors who feel like they have to tell a joke several times during their sermons. I’ve seen some pastors who seem to be doing “stand-up comedy” more than preaching. And, yes, I know that I make some things funny in some of my sermons, but I think you know when I’m trying to be serious. A laugh can release tension as long as it doesn’t overwhelm what is being shared.
[NOTE: In terms of lack of seriousness, I would also label those pastors who preach in T-shirts, jeans, and shorts. It doesn’t seem (maybe because of my generation) like they want to be taken seriously or for their message to be handled seriously.]
Integrity, Seriousness, Soundness of Speech
So, why am I sharing this? After all, most people reading this aren’t pastors, so why pay attention to this? We have a responsibility, as a fellow-pastor named George Johnson once told me, to sharpen each other’s swords. As noted above, if you catch me doing any of these things, you need to call me on them. I want to preach and teach with integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech. If you catch another pastor doing these things and you think it might be habitual, don’t call that person to be your pastor and, even when you’re invited to hear that person preach or teach, run the other way. And, if you’re teaching, be careful to reveal your sources. Someone might be blessed by the good ones or be steered away from the bad ones.
And, ultimately, I suppose, I think this article introduces the idea that you should pay attention to where a prospective pastor gets her/his ideas and how a pastor expresses them. More importantly, pay attention to whether a prospective pastor is still learning. I’ve known some pastors who haven’t read even one new book per year after they graduated from seminary. What a tragedy!
[NOTE: For the record, my last official degree was conferred in 1981 (though I have some certifications since then). For a recent Bible Study, my sources were published in 1867, 1960, 1962, 1971, 1974, 1982, 1994, 1995, 1998, and 2009. I’m currently reading a theology book published in 2021 and a science book published in 2019. So, I think you can safely say that I haven’t stopped learning. I just wanted everyone to be aware that some pastors stop learning.]
我的分享：12/29/21
黄家慶
黄家慶
當太太在點心滿枱時落淚，我跟两个兒子起初是不明白为什么在应该很开心的时候她会難過，但當她解释了我们都了解，我也講了一下我自己的联想。
我的幼年时期原来也不錯，記得最高興的是爸爸拖着我手走路到茶楼，因为我是最少的。但曾幾何时，爸爸因为与另外一个女人同居，就很少回家了，更不要说上茶楼了。他们生了四个女儿，我们四个男孩跟母亲的经济就很差了。不但如此，當年我们在親戚中很觉羞愧。
幸好的是爸爸在中年因吸烟导致第三个癌症時在医院中悔罪信主，母亲也在他臨终時饒恕了他和那女人，因为母亲已信了主。后来母亲在我家寿终在睡中走了，享年八十二。
人生在世上必有一死，除非在主耶稣再来時我们仍在世上。信主的人在世有 神的同在，就是以馬内利，直到永远，也会与主内的親友在天相会，真是好得無比！
我的幼年时期原来也不錯，記得最高興的是爸爸拖着我手走路到茶楼，因为我是最少的。但曾幾何时，爸爸因为与另外一个女人同居，就很少回家了，更不要说上茶楼了。他们生了四个女儿，我们四个男孩跟母亲的经济就很差了。不但如此，當年我们在親戚中很觉羞愧。
幸好的是爸爸在中年因吸烟导致第三个癌症時在医院中悔罪信主，母亲也在他臨终時饒恕了他和那女人，因为母亲已信了主。后来母亲在我家寿终在睡中走了，享年八十二。
人生在世上必有一死，除非在主耶稣再来時我们仍在世上。信主的人在世有 神的同在，就是以馬内利，直到永远，也会与主内的親友在天相会，真是好得無比！
12/28/2021
母親真是走了！
蒼靈
母親真是走了！
蒼靈
昨天一家四口興高采烈地開車去吃點心（飲茶）。當點心一碟一碟放滿枱子時，還未開始禱告，我禁不住落淚。丈夫和兩個兒子不知所措我為什麼哭！我說：「婆婆（孩子們是這様叫我的母親）很喜歡飲茶，每次我們去香港，婆婆都一定要去飲茶。」我跟他們説我一直感覺母親仍在。過去十年我們都是隔一两年回去探望她，最後一次跟母親飲茶（吃點心）是2019年夏天。這次疫情停頓了越洋探親的計劃。我的感覺猶像她仍是在香港，只是我們暫時不能相見而已。我想有一天回到香港後，才意識到桃花依舊人面全非；到那時理性和感性都吻合了 - 母親確實是走了。
自從出國讀書便跟父母親相隔兩地，唯獨在上海宣教那四年跟親人經常相聚。每當過節便去香港跟家人一起渡過或者是他們到上海探望我們。感恩是父親回天家時我們一家在上海定居，他在醫院那幾個月，我跑去香港好幾趟。母親和我一起在醫院里送父親最後一程。然而宣教的日子還是要結束，父親離世後兩年我們搬回到美國。每隔一兩年我們才回去探望母親，每次都是匆匆地逗留一两周。多年來藉着Skype 和WhatApps 在視頻上繫系遙遠的親情。
今年六月母親在家跌了一交，入院和做物理治療後十多天便回家休養。我跟她差不多每一天都有在WhatApps上視頻。到後期她認不出我的兩個兒子和丈夫了。她身體嚴重地走下坡時我正在冰島旅遊，因時差的原故，只有WhatApps 視頻過3次。母親跟我說最後的一句話是“孝順女”。我在冰島旅遊時查回港的機票和隔離的酒店，打算旅遊結束後八月初回港見她最後一面，心里在想她的日子不會持續太久了。旅遊回來第二天母親在睡中安然離世。工人WhatApps 視頻給我，她説：「叫不醒婆婆了！」
當年父母讓我出國讀書是盼望有一天我能衣錦榮歸。因著愛女情深，接受了我選擇在美國落地生根。我很感恩神帶領我們一家去上海宣教, 在那四年間我帶父親做了決志禱告。母親也在藝術團佈道會上決志，但她沒有像父親信得那様堅定。在她離世前半年，老人痴呆症越發嚴重，一會說感謝主耶穌，隔一會又感謝觀音。我不知她最後的歸宿究竟在哪里! 母親真是走了，還是會有一天在天家相會？現在仍是一個謎！然而我堅定相信到那日 神要擦去（我）一切的眼淚。不再有死亡、也不再有悲哀、哭號、疼痛、因為以前的事都過去了。（啟示錄 21:4 )
自從出國讀書便跟父母親相隔兩地，唯獨在上海宣教那四年跟親人經常相聚。每當過節便去香港跟家人一起渡過或者是他們到上海探望我們。感恩是父親回天家時我們一家在上海定居，他在醫院那幾個月，我跑去香港好幾趟。母親和我一起在醫院里送父親最後一程。然而宣教的日子還是要結束，父親離世後兩年我們搬回到美國。每隔一兩年我們才回去探望母親，每次都是匆匆地逗留一两周。多年來藉着Skype 和WhatApps 在視頻上繫系遙遠的親情。
今年六月母親在家跌了一交，入院和做物理治療後十多天便回家休養。我跟她差不多每一天都有在WhatApps上視頻。到後期她認不出我的兩個兒子和丈夫了。她身體嚴重地走下坡時我正在冰島旅遊，因時差的原故，只有WhatApps 視頻過3次。母親跟我說最後的一句話是“孝順女”。我在冰島旅遊時查回港的機票和隔離的酒店，打算旅遊結束後八月初回港見她最後一面，心里在想她的日子不會持續太久了。旅遊回來第二天母親在睡中安然離世。工人WhatApps 視頻給我，她説：「叫不醒婆婆了！」
當年父母讓我出國讀書是盼望有一天我能衣錦榮歸。因著愛女情深，接受了我選擇在美國落地生根。我很感恩神帶領我們一家去上海宣教, 在那四年間我帶父親做了決志禱告。母親也在藝術團佈道會上決志，但她沒有像父親信得那様堅定。在她離世前半年，老人痴呆症越發嚴重，一會說感謝主耶穌，隔一會又感謝觀音。我不知她最後的歸宿究竟在哪里! 母親真是走了，還是會有一天在天家相會？現在仍是一個謎！然而我堅定相信到那日 神要擦去（我）一切的眼淚。不再有死亡、也不再有悲哀、哭號、疼痛、因為以前的事都過去了。（啟示錄 21:4 )