There has been a lot of discourse recently around why certain things were able to / allowed to happen in the Church here in the UK. From serious breaches in common sense and safe practice by major evangelical leaders to theological rifts in the UK’s largest protestant denomination, we seriously need to return to biblical wisdom on this issue.

I believe that much of the anger and pain could have easily been circumvented if there was less misunderstanding about how we're supposed to raise up "leaders" in the church. At present, many churches reflect a worldly, corporate model more akin to career progression rather than relying on the Bible to lead their thinking and practice.

In some ways, it is understandable that this has happened. When the whole world around you seems to be going down one path, it takes a concerted effort to walk down another. However. As the church, we are meant to look, act, and sound different, especially with regard to how we choose our Pastors. The worldly model might actually work quite well for certain positions. When deciding upon whether to hire a new Lead Graphic Designer, their ability to use Photoshop and command a team, as well as a steady track record of previous roles that suggest they’re qualified is a wise choice. When deciding on a Pastor, however, worldly wisdom won’t do, however foolish it might look to human eyes (1 Cor 1:25.)

So how should we be raising up new Elders? In short, when we look the life of a potential Pastor, it should help us to evaluate what his legacy will be.

Before anything else, his character must be sure. 1 Tim 3 talks about being trustworthy, the husband of one wife, being self-controlled, and well thought of by outsiders. Above all else, this should be absolutely clear. Choosing between an illiterate former fisherman who has all of those in hand is far better than choosing a qualified expert in Greek and Hebrew who has shipwrecked two marriages and is frequently getting into heated arguments down the local pub. That is obviously a caricature, but there are leaders who have fallen recently who should were seen failing on this account long before the news dropped.

Secondly, they must feel a desire to serve the church, rather than to serve themselves. 1 Tim 3:1 says, “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.”1 Not a noble title, or a noble career, but a task. He will need to spend late nights in hospital, early mornings in prayer, time spent preparing sermons; he’ll need wisdom in giving tasks to those under his authority, and in how to handle church discipline.

When I was sixteen years old I used to wake up Monday - Friday at 4am to wash, peel, de-eye2, chop, and re-wash potatoes for about four hours. I worked in and lived above a Fish ‘n’ Chip shop and that was what was needed in order to provide the latter half of that equation to our customers. Test your potential Pastor based on whether he has the desire to spend his time doing those kinds of tasks, not on his gift for selling the chips.

Finally—although, this could come before his internal call3—have others recognised his heart. Do people in his life outside the church think highly of him? What would his closest friends say? Has he cultivated long and lasting friendships and relationships? How does he treat his wife, if he has one, and his kids? More importantly than any of this, have you prayed int whether this is wise? Have you sought the Lord diligently for his wisdom to supersede your own?

“Isn’t gifting important though?
What if he can’t speak yet?
What will we do then?”

All good questions.

I believe that the gifts of the Spirit are more than mere talents. Even a perfect orator doesn’t equate to a gifted preacher. In 1 Tim 4:14, Timothy is reminded, “Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.”4 Timothy fitted the qualifications of an Elder, and was commissioned to raise up others, but it seems that when he was made an Elder, the council laid hands on him so that he would receive the gifting he needed.

This isn’t to say that if someone comes across your desk who is already gifted and has the qualifications of an Elder that you shouldn’t hire him, but don’t neglect someone just because they aren’t gifted yet.

No pastor is ready for everything they have ahead of them. Maybe they’ve not yet sat at someone’s bedside, or raised children, or commissioned deacons, or helped to close a ministry that sorely needs to come to an end. You’ll never find someone who fits every possible need, and you don’t even know every need yet. If you find someone who thinks they do, I’d suggest you point them to Jeremy Writebol’s book, “Pastor, Jesus is Enough.” In fact…I’d probably do that either way.

This doesn't mean that such things will never happen, hence why the church has always needed teaching and guidance for those times when false teachers do infiltrate the church.

With that said, the Bible gave us these qualifications for a reason, to help guard against the potential wave of wolves that could rampage the church if we let our guard down.

I’d to hear your thoughts though, and whether you think I missed anything.

Leave a comment

Grace and Peace,

Adsum Try Ravenhill

This is a review of Blueprint of Grace by Bob Allen1. If you’re interested in reading more about my philosophy towards writing reviews, you can check that out here.

Earlier this year, the woods and fields behind our house were impacted by what some might describe as "an Act of God." Rain began to pour one day—a fairly typical occurrence here in the UK, as you might imagine—but this rain persisted day after day, leading to rising floods that reshaped the landscape we knew.

Familiar paths disappeared, leaving us with new and unfamiliar terrain. We attempted to adapt, seeking out new paths and navigating our new environment, however; One day, we found ourselves returning to the old paths, even though they were submerged shin-deep with water. We strapped on some wellington boots and waded through the shallow ponds, because despite the challenges, those familiar paths were comfortable and familiar.

Our lives as Christians can be like this sometimes, we’ve been hit by an "Act of God" being saved by his grace, and yet, after experiencing that grace and finding our identity in Jesus, we often find ourselves reverting to old habits and paths that we once walked before we were saved.

Maybe you’ve found yourself on such a path recently, let me encourage you to take a moment to look around. You'll see footprints all around you left by those who've walked this path before. One of the sets of footprints belongs to a man named Bob Allen. Instead of giving up when finding himself on that path again, Bob turned to God, and having done so his new book helps to show us the way back to the light.

However far we’ve strayed down the wrong path, it is never too late to repent, to turn back and walk towards the Way, the Truth, through whom we have eternal life.

How do we know when we’ve strayed though?

A few weeks ago I was returning from a walk after a strenuous day, and my watch started to buzz, telling me to sit down. It knew before I did that something was wrong.

So how did it know that that was the case?

Well, when I first bought the watch I inputted some data; I told it how tall I was, how much I weighed, my age, and essentially what had happened was that on the way home my heart rate had gotten so high that it determined "Something's wrong! Sit down, you need to take a rest," More fundamentally, it asked me, "Do you have any health conditions?" and "If not, maybe you should go and consult a doctor."

Now, I do have health conditions; I have a problem with my spine that affects all sorts of other things in my body, which my watch knew because, based on the the general parameters about somebody my age, and my height, and my weight, the way my body was acting wasn’t correct.

When we’re on the wrong path buzzers and alarms might be going off around us that we’re ignoring or unaware of. Being part of the body of Christ is one of ways God uses to direct our attention towards those signals, both in our local churches but also through faithfully written literature like Bob Allen's book, "The Blueprint of Grace." Whilst this book is full of introspective insights, these are secondary to the vital task of looking beyond ourself to ask God what he has to say not the matter, and then to look together at what it means to get back, to get right with God.

This isn’t a book directed at those of greater or lesser maturity, either, whether you've been a Christian for five second or fifty years, we all have a proclivity to walk down the wrong paths, to trespass upon land that doesn’t belong to us, but the enemy.

Throughout the book, Bob emphasises and repeats some key messages, challenging us to reflect on the struggles that we face and seek deeper understanding of what led us there and who will lead us back. To be clear, when I say that he repeats these things, I don’t mean that pejoratively. These truths are difficult to internalise, but they are essential for personal spiritual growth.

I believe that "The Blueprint of Grace" provides an opportunity to deepen your understanding of yourself as a Christian, God's plan for you, and the ways in which God's love, Jesus' sacrifice, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit empower you to live according to God's blueprint, rather than your own.

I encourage you to pick up "The Blueprint of Grace" and to repent of those common sins you struggle with.

Grace and Peace,

Adsum Try Ravenhill

“The Affinity Advisory Council, a group of church and organisation leaders, have agreed to champion the formation of The Gospel Coalition UK. They are now in the process of consulting with gospel partners outside Affinity about how to create a broader fellowship of churches and Christian organisations to serve the cause of Christ and his church. The purpose is to establish a UK-based organisation that is unique but also benefits from the resources and knowledge of The Gospel Coalition worldwide.”

This statement was released yesterday by Affinity, in partnership with the Gospel Coalition and it would be safe to say that the news hasn’t been received with much fanfare.

Read the Statement Here

It astonishes me that TGC has been around now for almost two decades, but what doesn’t surprise me is the fact that during that time, the organisation has managed to annoy almost every facet of the church. I’ve watched today as people decry TGC as ultra-woke, far-right, liberal, neo-con-evangelical, and everything in-between.

I have mentioned my own reservations about some of the content over at TGC in the past, not least following the release of the “Beautiful Union” fiasco last year.

However.

I think perhaps we need to show a modicum of caution in our response to this news.

Here’s why:

I have full control over all of the content at the Raven’s Writing Desk, having written almost every article released over the past few years. In that time I have written articles that I wouldn’t write again today and I have received reasonable criticism that I have taken on board. I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to keep track of the thousands of articles that pass through TGC’s digital gates every year.

If you’re reading this and you think you would have done better; please keep reading.

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t wish we had more unity in the church in the UK. We’ve witnessed denominational schisms, and we’re seeing others on the brink of closing for good. We’ve all watched on as brave members of the General Synod have stood up for the gospel, and seen others try to tear them down. Just yesterday, another story dropped about yet another fallen leader, and the response has been anything but unanimous.

We need to be united.

If you believe in the one, holy catholic1, and apostolic Church, you should long for that too.

I don’t believe that the Gospel Coalition is the answer to that need, but why not hope that it could help us to get some of the way there.

TGC has made mistakes. There’s no doubt about that, but they’ve done an awful lot of good too. They’ve brought together people who would have otherwise never sat down together, and helped them to work together. They’ve hosted conversations, debates, and released resources that have democratised access to theological study in a way previous generations could only have dreamt of.

For those of you who think that you could do better. I want to say this clearly.

You might be right.

You might be wrong.

It really doesn’t matter.

Past is past, and there’s an opportunity to do better now.

If you’ve written off working with TGC(UK) because of what has gone before, you’re all but condemning the future of the organisation to continue down a path you wish it wouldn’t. TCG is going to grow here whether you want it to or not. People in your churches will use their resources, read their articles, and listen to the sermons they share.

You can choose to stand against that, or join in order to try and pursue unity here in the UK, and perhaps even nudge them in the right direction from time to time.

I might be wrong. Maybe this is one of the articles I’ll regret having written in years to come, but I hope not. I hope that TGC will grow, and be nurtured by a genuine desire to see the gospel proclaimed, and that we will see brothers and sisters across Bible-believing churches and denominations come together in a way that they wouldn’t have otherwise.

That’s my hope.

Grace and Peace,

Adsum Try Ravenhill