jeff warren Posts

Pastor: follower, leader, servant, debtor

02 Oct , 2010 3 Comments

I’ve been called to be a pastor.  Paul wrote, “It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers…” “Pastors and teachers is actually one word in the Greek- it could be said, “shepherd/instructor”.  Clearly my first calling is not to a position or a place but to a Person.  My highest calling (like any believer) is to Jesus Himself.  My role as a pastor is love God with all my heart and to love others- more than I love myself.  My task as a pastor is to communicate God’s vision for His church and to shepherd the people as together we accomplish the mission God.

“The first task of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say, “thank you”. In between the leader is a servant and a debtor.” Max Depree

I love Max Depree’s definition of the role of a leader.  My first task is to tell the Truth- whether people want to hear it or not.  The Bible gives us His truth.  And I know that I am a servant and that I indebted to anyone who will allow me to lead. It was Andy Stanley who said, “leadership is a stewardship, it’s temporary, and you’re accountable”.  All of us are accountable before God Almighty for the vocation (“calling”) He has given us.

My primary role is to stay close to Jesus. My highest calling is to Christ Himself- to stay so close to Him, to listen to Him and obey Him in my role as pastor.  The priorities of my life will be guided by Scripture: God first, my wife second, my family, and my ministry.  I will live openly and authentically before you. I follow the apostles example in Acts 6:1-4. I will devote my life to prayer and to my personal walk with Jesus Christ. This is true for me- but it is true of you as well- as a parent, a friend, a co-worker, a classmate… if you’re not walking closely with Jesus, everyone around you becomes a victim of your unspiritual life.

I long to walk so closely with Jesus that I could join Paul who said, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”  1 Corinthians 11:1 Copy me as I copy Jesus.  The pastor’s role is to point everyone to Jesus. I don’t want to waste my life- and I know you don’t want to either.  God is calling us into this great adventure that is His redemptive mission- to bring hope and healing to our world.  If a church can determine to align all things (both personally and corporately) with His mission, that church will change the world.  Let the journey begin.

Thoughts on Leaving…

01 Sep , 2010 8 Comments

I’ve recently made the hardest decision I’ve ever made in my life.  Yesterday I was the Pastor of the FBC McKinney; today I officially begin my new role as Pastor of the Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas.  Though God’s call on my life has come once again- with crystal clarity- it has been difficult nonetheless.  In fact, I’ve discovered that those things are almost always one and the same; following God is always costly.  Throughout the process I have turned to Jesus, venturing deeply into His character, His heart, and His desires.  I’ve hung out in places like Colossians 1 where Paul offers one of the most comprehensive revelations of Jesus Christ in all of Scripture. There, Paul speaks of the preeminence of Christ- the Supremacy of Christ in all things.  He summarizes his thoughts with, “Christ is all.” Colossians 3:11

Years ago I decided that Christ would be preeminent in my life but the reality of that commitment has played out in ways I would’ve never imagined.  Christ becomes preeminent in one’s life only after being confronted with a series of life’s hardest decisions.  I’ve been confronted with the same question(s) that Peter wrestled with on the shore of Galilee.  In John 21, Jesus is face to face with Peter for the first time since His resurrection.  He’s given up as a disciple.  He has denied his Master and now Jesus will show Him the depth of His forgiveness and the length of His restorative agenda for Peter.  Jesus asks,

“Do you love me more than these?” John 21:15

What are “these”?

  • More than these other disciples love Me?
  • More than you love these disciples?
  • More than you love these fish? (Some commentators offer a stronger argument for this option than you might imagine).

Do you love me? Here’s the weight of this question:

  • As I love you?
  • More than you love any other human relationship?
  • More than your own livelihood?
  • More than your own plans, hopes, and dreams?

As I’ve wrestled with this question as never before, I’ve asked (again), “How would I know?”  How would I really know if I love Jesus more than anything/anyone else in life?  In the end, the only way you would know is if God called you to give up your hopes, your dreams, your loves, – even your deepest and most meaningful relationships- in order to follow Him.  This, of course, aligns with Christ’s words in Matthew 10:37 (and elsewhere) when He says if we love our father or mother, son or daughter is not worthy to follow Him.  Did he really mean this?  He most certainly did.

How would you know?  Well, every now and then in life we have one of those defining moments when we are faced with a decision.  God comes to us and says, “Do you love me more than these? More than anything in your life?”  For me to leave the greatest church I’ve ever been a part of and dive into the great unknown of the future has been heart-breaking, hopeful, sad, exciting, and gut-wrenching.  I know that He has called me to go; so I must go.  It is true, “saying goodbye is such sweet sorrow”.  Some day I will stand before my Savior again, face to face (like Peter) and on that day I will be the one resurrected, following after my Savior.  When He asks, “Did you love me more than these?” I want to say, “Yes, you know I did.”

What about you? What is He asking you to release, to deny, to give up, in order to love Him comprehensively, with your whole life? Seek His face.  Let Him reveal what it is.  Then, do it.  Ultimate freedom in life comes when you realize that nothing is yours and all is His.  Freedom. Release.  Joy.  Christ is all.

The Preeminence of Christ

13 Aug , 2010 4 Comments

“But what about you?” He asked, “Who do you say I am?” Matthew 16:15

The first followers of Jesus encountered Him in a profound and life-changing way.  But with successive generations, it’s possible for this encounter to fade like a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy.  What begins as a revolutionary, life-altering encounter with Jesus, eventually subsides into a codified religion and is then incorporated into normal social life.  The “YOU say” is contextual. Each new generation, every culture is given a “you say”.  And if we get our “you say” wrong, we get everything wrong.  It was W. A. Tozer who said, “What comes into our minds when we think of God is the most important thing about us.”  I would say that what comes into your mind when you think of Christ is the most important thing about you.

Jesus did not come to be the Founder of a religion.  Rightly understood, Christianity is decidedly anti-religion. Through His life, death, and resurrection Jesus ushered in a whole new way to experience the God of Israel- which later became known as Christianity.  Christianity is not a religion but a relationship.  In fact, Jesus eliminated the need for religion. But for most Christians, Jesus is simply part of the American life and not the guiding, defining center.  A vibrant, ongoing, and exciting relationship with Christ is reduced to just going to church.  We receive Christ as Savior of our sins but not Lord of our lives.  And this is what I want us to talk about today.  After all is said and done, and after all the opinions of Jesus are offered…He remains the Risen Lord!

What is Christianity?  It is Christ.  Nothing more, nothing less.  In his book, “Jesus Manifesto”, Leonard Sweet has noted, “Christianity is not a religion, it is not an ideology, or a philosophy.  Neither is it a new type of morality, social ethic, or worldview. “  Christianity is the “Good News” that life, beauty, redemption, and all that is good and right, and made right is found in a Person, whose name is Jesus.  And true humanity and community are founded in and experienced by connection to that Person.  I’ve heard people say they want go deeper and move on to other things.  Deeper? What “other things”?  Other things beyond Christ?  Is there anything deeper than Christ?  If you think you can move on beyond Christ, you’ve never really encounter Him.

In Colossians 1:15-23, Paul sets forth one of the greatest revelations of Christ in all of Scripture.  He says Christ is supreme in creation, He is supreme in authority, and He is supreme in redemption.  All things were created by Him and for Him, including you. You’ll finally discover ultimate freedom and joy if you’ll allow Him to be supreme in every area of your life.

Mystery Solved: The Chicken or the Egg?

17 Jul , 2010 1 Comment

Scientists in the UK say they have certain proof that the answer to the oft-posed question of whether the egg preceded the chicken or the chicken preceded the egg. The answer, say the researchers is… (drum roll here)… the chicken came first.  There you go.  You can sleep tonight.

According to the scientists a protein called “ovocleidin” (OC17) is the catalyst for the creation of eggs, and it’s created in the ovaries of chickens (and nowhere else).  One news report noted that, “Some mysteries remain as it is still unclear where the chicken that came before the egg came from.”  Okay, let me solve that mystery (and maybe I’ll make national news too).  The Bible says God created all things- including the chicken.  God created chickens so they could make baby chickens; that’s why the chicken comes with an ample supply of ovoleidin.  Sheffield University´s Dr. Colin Freeman stated, “It had long been suspected that the egg came first but now we have the scientific proof that shows that in fact the chicken came first.”

This is further proof of God and the fact that He created all things.  It is pure (and simple) Aristotelian logic: For every cause there must be an effect.  The world and all that is (again, including chickens) is the cause and God is the effect.  Let’s talk science: You can’t something from nothing! It is scientifically impossible.  Living matter does not come from non-living matter.  This is not improbable or unlikely; it is impossible.  End the debate.  God created everything that is.  Let’s all be accountable to Him and steward this one and only life He’s given, for His glory.

“Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.” Romans 1:22

The Chicken or the Egg?

Lighten Up

16 Jul , 2010 1 Comment

I never grow tired of this sequence from “The Mission”- a powerful reminder that we have been set free in Christ.  If you have received Christ’s forgiveness you are now completely loved, fully pleasing, totally accepted by God.  You don’t have to pay the price for your failures.

Think about your own life for a moment. What burdens are you carrying around?  What failures from your past continue to beat you down?  John Mark McMillan’s lyrics from, “How He Loves”: “I don’t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way He loves us.”  Life is too short to be burdened by sin that Christ has taken to the cross.

“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

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