(Who :)
Members of the Grace Teaching Class
They know the Bible, they've likely been involved in some leadership role
for some time.
Likely Temptations :
Pride
Indifference / Lack of concern
1 Thess 2:1-7
Subject : How should we minister?
Compliment : We should minister without selfish motives, affectionately
caring for those we minister to, so that they would walk
in a manner worthy of the god who calls you.
Focus : Ministry should be affectionate and personal
Preparing to parent
It's a big deal
- a lot of changes (emotional, physical)
- a lot to prepare for (arrange, learn, practice)
I looked at 'Checklists for New Parents' - they're supposed to help.
- a lot of things to buy (crib sheets, crib teething rails,
a bottle sterilizer, a bathtub spout cover )
- things you want to arrange ( a savings account for the baby,
an estate plan, a will, and a college savings plan).
No mention of the attitudes needed to be a good parent.
- maybe this isn't the goal of the lists
- but i hope that no one thinks it is more important to
have a crib teething rail than a parent who is affectionate -
or that it would be better to have a bathtub spout cover
than a parent who will do the necessary work to be a good parent.
Unfortunately, I think that we sometimes approach Christian ministry in
these same terms.
- We start to think that it is more important to know
the history of the theological development of the trinity through the
African counsels than to have a selfless concern for others.
- Or we begin to make our focus in preparation the accumulation of more knowledge
and of relevant spiritual experiences, rather than a fostering of the
character modelled by Christ.
This is not the picture we get in Paul's letters
- Paul had the crib teething rails and bathtub spout covers - (the tools of
the trade).
- but even more, he had the right heart (the proper attitude and approach to
ministry).
(urls for baby checklists)
One of the places where Paul lets us see how he approached ministry in terms
of attitude is in the second chapter of 1 Thessalonians.
Context :
Epistle to the Thessalonians, a Macedonian Church (2nd in Europe)
Planted by Paul, Silas, and Timothy (acts 17)
A good church with a few minor issues he writes about...
2:1-6 - Paul refutes some accusations
It seems as though some have raised questions of Paul's motives
He doesn't seem to think that they're really going to believe the accusations,
so he doesn't spend time
proving his side to much;
Rather, he just
affirms that his motives weren't bad.
Look for the things in 2:1-6 that he says he doesn't do.
- not from error
- not from impurity
- not by way of deceit
- not as pleasing men
- not with flattering speech
- not with a pretext for greed
- not seeking glory from men
(Read 2:1-6)
After he's established that his ministry was not done out of selfish
motivation, Paul goes on to say what it is that does drive his ministry.
That's his topic in 2:7-12, where he defines how he actually was going about his
ministry to the Thessalonians.
Point : Ministry should be affectionate and personal
Explain the idea
Idea :
Paul is not self-concerned
- we worked for you (v9)
- we were devout (v10)
- we were upright (v10)
- we were blameless (v10)
Paul is engaged
How Paul describes his emotions, attitudes, and actions towards the Thessalonians:
- we were gentle
- we were affectionate
- you became dear to us
- we proclaimed the gospel to you
- we exhorted you
- we encouraged you
- we implored you
Paul not only shows that his motives were pure but that he had great love for the
thessalonians
A verse that stands out as a key statement in understanding Paul's relationship to
the Thessalonians is v8 :
Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to
you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had
become very dear to us.
Paul was pleased to give them the gospel and his own life, because they had become
so dear to him.
"we were well-pleased to impart...our own lives"
Paul did not die for the Thessalonians; he gave them his life by living
for them.
v9 says that they worked "day and night" for them
day and night is not an easy way to work.
you get tired, you start to feel taken advantage of, you may
start to burn out...
Transition :
Paul gives a picture of his emotions and how he sees his relationship to the
Thessalonians that makes a lot of sense of these ideas.
Illustrate the idea
Nursing Mother
(caveat : textual note...)
Paul compares himself to a nursing mother (snicker)
A mother, holding her newborn baby, gently trying to encourage the baby to eat,
holding it protectively...this is about the most earnest, intimate picture
we could have as humans.
- holding up the head
- cradling it gently; babies are tiny and fragile
- offering the breast, trying to encourage the baby to eat and grow
- burping the baby; this, for our kids, took forever
Father
this is an illustration many of us misunderstand...
- the picture here is not of a cold, distant dad who you visit on weekends
paul describes the dad as someone who
- encourages
- exhorts
- implores
What prevents us from doing this?
- pastoral/leadership authority makes it easy for us to be distant
- personal involvement is costly in terms of time and emotion
- our sinfulness makes it easy for us to not take the role of the mature
note : the mature seeks after the relationship
in both the illustrations (and the statements of how
paul ministers), the relationship is not incumbent on the immature but
on the mature.
the mother seeks the infant - in other words, a mother doesn't wait for
her baby to show her affection to love and care the baby.
the father seeks the child - a father doesn't wait for his kid to do the
right thing to provide encouragement; the father encourages the right action
proactively.
How do we do this?
- control our attitudes; parenting requires work, so does proper ministry
- consciously develop our affection
- invest our time and labor
Conclusion :
1. avoid distance
Military leadership and enforced separation between officers and enlisted
Corporate relationships in which the boss is higher class of human
Christian leadership in which the pastor is a member of a higher caste
2. pursue affection
regularly check our motives
questions :
is our labor a joy? (v8 - we were well-pleased...)