Tag: study

Quotes to Note 30: Pastors as True Shepherds or Mere “Mutton Farmers”

~ Bob Hayton

Recently, I’ve been reading some forums that have been lamenting poor leadership in certain IFBx circles. Some have shared painful testimonies about years of harsh treatment by parents and teachers who ostensibly cared about the children’s welfare, but ultimately just rejected them (literally throwing them out, and disowning them completely) when it became clear that they weren’t keeping in step with the brand of fundamentalism these pastors and church leaders advocated.

Then I stumbled across this quote in studying for my Men’s Bible Study lesson on Mark 6:31-44 where Jesus looks on the crowds with compassion and considers that: “they were like sheep without a shepherd.” I almost started weeping when I read these words about what a true shepherd should be. Praise Jesus he is not like some of the “shepherds” I’ve known…

Most contemporary listeners are unfamiliar with the job description of a shepherd. Lena Woltering has pointed out that a shepherd “is needed only when there are no fences. He is someone who stays with his sheep at all cost, guiding, protecting, and walking with them through the fields. He’s not just a person who raises sheep.” They lead sheep to food and water and are ever mindful of the sheep’s condition (Gen. 33:13). They gather lambs that cannot keep up in their arms (Isa. 40:11). They seek out lost sheep, and when they find them, they carry them back to the fold on their sholders (Luke 15:5). They guard against predators and thieves. It is a dirty and hard job. Woltering castigates those bishops who regard themselves as “tenders of the flock” and brands them as little more than “mutton farmers.” “They build fence after fence after fence, keeping the flock within sight so they don’t have to dirty their feet plodding along the open fields.” They turn the difficult role of shepherd into a position of rank and superiority and sequester themselves from the sheep. Ezekiel’s castigation of the self-indulgent and irresponsible shepherds in his day (Ezek. 34) is no less applicable today to those who want to dominate and crush others rather than feed them. — David E. Garland, Mark, The NIV Application Commentary, pg. 258-259 [quotes from Woltering were cited in Salt of the Earth 15 (July/August, 1995), 34]

BibleWorks 9 and a Revolution in Textual Critical Studies

~ Bob Hayton ~ 4 Comments

Check out these two videos to see what the new BibleWorks 9 software, available mid-July, can do when it comes to textual critical tools. I saw a demo of this feature back in April at The Gospel Coalition Conference, and was blown away by the potential of this tool for textual studies of all kinds. One can only hope that many more manuscripts will be added, and fresh Majority Text collations and other tools will be incorporated into the CNTTS apparatus which is made so accessible by means of BibleWorks 9. BibleWorks promises that as more manuscripts become available, those updates will be provided free of charge to BibleWorks 9 users.

Watch the videos, and check out BibleWorks 9!

~ cross posted from my group site, KJVOnlyDebate.com

“The Essence of Christian Doctrine: A Brief Study of the Apostles’ Creed and Basic Christian Doctrine” by Martin Murphy

~ Bob Hayton

What is the essence of Christian doctrine? If you had to summarize the Christian faith, how would you do it? What primer could you give a new convert to introduce him to the foundational truths of Scripture? For many centuries, creeds such as the Nicene or Apostle’s Creed functioned as a foundational catechism for the Church. Even today, many evangelical Protestant churches revere and from time to time quote these creeds. They were the first confessions of the Church and much care and thought was put into each and every phrase they contain.

Perhaps the most widely used creed is the Apostle’s Creed. In a new book by Martin Murphy, this creed is expounded as a summary of basic Christian doctrine. Murphy’s book is entitled The Essence of Christian Doctrine: A Brief Study of the Apostle’s Creed and Basic Christian Doctrine. A publishing company he has founded, Theocentric Publishing, has produced this title and I was asked to review it.

The book begins with the Apostle’s creed and goes line by line through it. Each chapter is brief and provides a high level overview of fundamental Christian doctrine. After the creed is finished, other general Bible truths are explored: the Bible, Creation, sin, salvation, sanctification and more. Then the 10 commandments and the law of God are covered, as is evangelism and “principles of reformation and revival”.

The author’s pastoral tone is evident throughout this brief work. When appropriate, historical details and finer theological points are shared, but for the most part, a basic survey of doctrine is achieved. The implications of doctrine and the problems of the church today are also explained. The work is Reformed in perspective and can be used as a discipleship tool. It would also serve well for use as educational materials for older children.

One example of Murphy’s direct and simple style comes from his discussion on “bearing one another’s burden”:

Christians burdened by sin have no trouble finding other Christians that are more than willing to criticize and find fault. Then others are calling for punishment rather than restoration of a fallen brother or sister. Of course there are plenty who simply ignore a fallen brother or sister. The biblical way to bear one another’s sin burden is to be restored by those who are spiritual (Galatians 6:1,2). (pg. 165)

For being a self-published work, there are not too many editorial flaws. Several times bullet points are not standard within one list, and that can be distracting (see pg. 66, 75, 113, and 152). My primary complaint with the book is that it doesn’t quote the Apostle’s Creed in full. Having been raised in churches that didn’t teach that creed, it made it hard to follow along at various places. [Note: I’ve been told these errors have been fixed, and the creed has been added in the most recent edition, available through Amazon.]

Make no mistake, this is no dry and boring book on doctrine. Murphy writes with vigor and love and with a pastor’s eye. This simple book will be a help to many and I recommend it. Books like this are needed in today’s church, and I hope it will find a wide audience.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by the author for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

You can pick up a copy of this book from any of these fine retailers: Christianbook.com, Amazon.com, or direct from Theocentric Publishing Group.

Quotes to Note 29: John Bunyan on Studying the English Bible

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

Today, there are many who encourage pastors to study Hebrew and Greek. Back in the day, the Puritan greats were masters of the Bible’s original languages. I’m not discounting this at all, although my proficiency in Hebrew and Greek is feeble at best. I just found it interesting to come across an anecdote passed down concerning John Bunyan and his being challenged on this very issue.

Bunyan was a tinker and not an educated scholar. But he had no qualms about picking up his English Bible and preaching boldly, however. I share the following anecdote about Bunyan and the English Bible below.

I might fear that some will now take this story and assume Bunyan was really a King James Only proponent. But I would just remind them that Bunyan used the Geneva Bible like all good dissenters of his day!

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Another story… concerns Bunyan’s encounter on the road near Cambridge with another university man, who asked him how he, not having the original Scriptures, dared to preach. Bunyan was nothing if not quick on his feet, and so he answered the scholar with a question: “Do you, sir, have the originals–the actual copies of the books written by the prophets and apostles?”

“No,” the scholar replied, “but I have what I know to be true copies of the originals.”

Perhaps there was the hint of a smile in Bunyan’s reply. “And I,” he said, “believe the English Bible to be a true copy also.” At a loss for words, the university man turned and went on his way.

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Excerpted from John Bunyan (Christian Encounters series),
by Kevin Belmonte (Nelson), pp. 79-80.

Quotes to Note 28: Daniel Doriani on How Pastors Read the Bible

~ Bob Hayton ~ 5 Comments

Recently, I was referencing Daniel Doriani’s commentary on James again. I have reviewed his commentary previously, and it is very good. He has a lot of pastoral wisdom, as seen by the following excerpt.

Here, Doriani exposes the tendencies of pastors or other teachers, to be too professional with the Bible in their own lives. His thoughts are worthy of reflection, which is why I’m sharing them with you here: Let me know what you think and if you agree that he strikes a nerve.

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…This seems obvious, but pastors and seminarians are prone to professionalize their use of Scripture, to read it to help every soul but their own. Let me offer a typology of the ways pastors can read Scripture.

When he is a new Christian, the future pastor’s reading is naïve and devotional. He devours Scripture, underlining virtually every word in his new Bible, feeling that God speaks directly to him with every word.

After a few years, the budding leader’s reading becomes sophisticated and devotional. He still feels that God is speaking to him in the text, but he has learned to read texts in their contexts. He reads Bible dictionaries and commentaries. He knows the translation strategies of various Bible versions and begins to use that knowledge to get at the original text.

The future pastor decides to go to seminary, where he becomes a technical reader. He reads Greek and Hebrew; he consults scholarly sources. He respects the distance between his world and that of biblical thought. His zeal to describe biblical history, culture, and language grows. He pursues what the word originally meant and perhaps neglects what it means today.

As ordination comes, our friend remembers that his study has, as its goal, the edification of the church. He continues to read technically, but now he shares his findings with the church. He becomes a technical-functional reader. His reading may be detached, personally speaking, but he stores and organizes his discoveries so he can offer them to others. While this phase may mark a partial improvement, he does not directly profit from his reading of Scripture.

He needs therefore to become a technical, devotional reader. Every technical skill remains, but he reads like a child, letting the word speak directly to his heart again. He gains what Paul Ricoeur calls a “second naiveté.” He is both technically astute and meek. He both receives God’s word and expounds it. In this way, he finds strength to endure trials and to check the growth of sin.

[pg. 50-51, James (Reformed Expository Commentary) from P&R Publishing]