From Dostoevski to Dick Lucas
November 7, 2011
A strange weekend. Arrived in the UK Saturday and stayed with Paul Levy which was positively Dostoevskian. I had been convinced by various emails sent to Reformation 21 that Levy was, in fact, a pseudonymous clown I had myself invented for the blog, though I was always suspicious of the man's spelling. Imagine how disturbing it was to discover that he was actually real and had even been ordained by somebody. Still, with Levy out of the pulpit (a pulpit, incidentally, built by Ferrari - seriously; the American megapastors clearly need to catch up) his church provided outstanding preaching on Sunday: Christopher Ash on Psalm 74 (lament the state of the church, remember the faithfulness and power of God, pray accordingly) and Robin Weekes on the covenant and the Lord's Supper. Robin spoke powerfully, but was still reeling from having fallen for an email scam last week which told him that I was planning a Reformation celebration conference in 2017 with a certain famous pastor and Bishop T D Jakes. I kid you not.
Then today the treat: hearing Vaughan Roberts preach on the Lukan beatitudes. Quoting Dick Lucas, who was in the audience, he highlighted the fact that it is not pride but discouragement which is often the minister's deadliest enemy. Vaughan spoke movingly of how despised Christians are even within the church in the UK, how so many ministers have sacrificed so much -- money, prestige, comfort -- for the gospel; and how this can bite deep into the minister's morale; but he pointed to the great promises of God, promises rooted in God's own sacrifice and to be enjoyed not simply in the afterlife but, in some deep sense, in the here and now. It was a sombre yet encouraging address.
And finally I had the thrill of speaking with Dick Lucas himself. `I gather you serve in a small church.' he said. `Good. That is where the real work is to be done.'
It is a tremendous encouragement to spend time with those who have no patience with pastoral pyrotechnics but who simply want to be faithful servants where the Lord has placed them.
Then today the treat: hearing Vaughan Roberts preach on the Lukan beatitudes. Quoting Dick Lucas, who was in the audience, he highlighted the fact that it is not pride but discouragement which is often the minister's deadliest enemy. Vaughan spoke movingly of how despised Christians are even within the church in the UK, how so many ministers have sacrificed so much -- money, prestige, comfort -- for the gospel; and how this can bite deep into the minister's morale; but he pointed to the great promises of God, promises rooted in God's own sacrifice and to be enjoyed not simply in the afterlife but, in some deep sense, in the here and now. It was a sombre yet encouraging address.
And finally I had the thrill of speaking with Dick Lucas himself. `I gather you serve in a small church.' he said. `Good. That is where the real work is to be done.'
It is a tremendous encouragement to spend time with those who have no patience with pastoral pyrotechnics but who simply want to be faithful servants where the Lord has placed them.
