A devotional exhortation for leaders from Pastor Mur.

I was just about out the door the other day when I heard my wife ask, ‘Could you come in here and help me for a minute?’ I said, ‘Sure,’ and made a U-turn. I walked into the bedroom to find the bed in total disarray and my wife holding a new bed ruffle in her hands. Jean had bought some new ruffles to cover the box spring and to install them meant that someone had to lift that heavy king-sized mattress off its resting place. My wife mistakenly believes I was born for such moments as these.

Well, I grunted and groaned and got that unwieldy heavy mattress standing by the side of the bed, and then my gal proceeded to get the new ruffles perfectly placed so they were just where all ruffles should be. Then it was my turn and I quickly learned that replacing the mattress was far more difficult than raising it for bed ruffles can not be disturbed lest they get out of place. I also learned it is impossible to put a king size mattress back without disturbing those ruffles. I grunted and groaned anew with the chore made much worse by Jean’s lack of understanding of the pain and difficulty I was enduring. I quickly realized that bed ruffles and their position were far more important than me and my position. I was unhappy but even so I kept my mouth shut, and suddenly I received a thank you kiss and gracious permission to go about my day. The bed ruffles were in place and they met my gal’s expectations.

When I joined the pastoral staff of a large church in California many years ago, I had visions of doing great things for God. I soon learned that church was more about moving furniture than doing what I had thought of as ‘great things.’ Those of us on the staff got to set up and take down chairs and tables as a constant part of our pastoral duties. I also learned that pastoring included giving up your Saturday nights to come down to the church and pray over each empty chair in the Sanctuary. There were thousand of chairs, and we would faithfully stand at each one and ask God to touch those that would sit there the next day. Pastoral duties also included policing the grounds to pick up discarded cigarette butts, pieces of paper, and unbelievable numbers of discarded cups and bottles.

‘Great’ moments are few and far between for most of us. The Apostle Paul wrote that success is being content with your circumstances. I have learned that my Godliness is not determined by my status, my title, or what I own. Rather, Godliness is a reflection of my attitude towards picking up mattresses and putting them back so as not to disturb a ruffle, or picking up debris others have discarded, or giving up my Saturday night to minister to an empty chair where no one will see me or ever know what I did. Character has more to do with what only our Father in heaven sees. Godliness is what others have called a long obedience in the same direction. You too can be Godly. It starts and ends with attitude. My daughter calls people with the right attitude a ‘keeper.’ Are you a ‘keeper’?

Originally published on the Pneuma Foundation (parent organization of PneumaReview.com) website. Later included in the Winter 2025 issue.

Apostolic doctrine, therefore, is not the new and novel teachings of someone who calls himself/herself an apostle. Apostolic doctrine is the message of Jesus, His redemptive work, and His call to selfless discipleship that is found in the 27 books of the New Testament.

The “apostles’ doctrine” of Acts 2:42 is a reference to the original eyewitness accounts of Jesus by the 12 apostles. This “doctrine” consisted of their first-hand reports of His life, teachings, death, and resurrection. This was, at first, an oral message spread by the Twelve and those that heard them. It was later written down in what we know as the four gospels. Paul’s writings were later added to this original testimony and, with the addition of James, Jude, Hebrews, 1 & 2 Peter , 1, 2, & 3 John , and Revelation there came into existence what we know as the New Testament canon.

Canon, of course, refers to a measure or rule. As such, the twenty-seven books of the New Testament became the standard or rule against which all other teachings and revelations must be measured. Why? Because the New Testament canon contains the original, apostolic testimony and teaching. Hans Kung, the well-known Roman Catholic theologian and reformer, says,

The preaching of the apostles, as it has come down to us in the writings of the New Testament, is the original, fundamental testimony of Jesus Christ, valid for all time; being unique, it cannot be replaced or made void by any later testimony. Later generations of the Church are dependent on the words, witness and ministry of the first “apostolic” generation. The apostles are and remain the original witnesses, their testimony is the original testimony and their mission the original mission.

The Significance of the Twelve & Paul

Image: James Tissot

Although there are other apostles in the New Testament, it is obvious that the Twelve chosen by Jesus are a select company and occupy a unique place in God’s purposes for the Church. This is borne out by the fact that throughout Scripture they are referred to as “the Twelve”, a set number neither to be added to nor subtracted from (See, for example, Matt. 10:2; 26:14; Mark 9:35; Luke 18:31; Acts 6:2; 1Cor. 15:5). Their uniqueness is clarified by the fact that Jesus tells them that, in the age to come, they will sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28).

Danielle Treweek, “Will ‘Complementarianism’ Survive?: I want to continue to call myself a complementarian. But we need to reclaim the term” Christianity Today (March 18, 2024).

As appearing in the April 2024 issue of Christianity Today.

Gaby Viesca, “Egalitarianism Is More Than a PR Statement: Are churches moving to an egalitarian model truly embracing female leadership?” Christianity Today (March 18, 2024).

As appearing in the April 2024 issue of Christianity Today.

Gordon P. Hugenberger, “Complementarian at Home, Egalitarian at Church? Paul Would Approve: The biggest New Testament passages on gender roles may have more to do with marriage than ministry” Christianity Today (March 18, 2024).

As appearing in the April 2024 issue of Christianity Today.

John Stonestreet and Shane Morris, “Richard Dawkins, a ‘Cultural Christian’: You can’t have Christianity’s fruit without its root” Breakpoint (April 9, 2024).

Mark R. Fairchild and Jordan K. Monson, “Was Paul a Slave?: The surprising argument that Saul of Tarsus was born into bondage” Christianity Today (May/June 2024).

This cover story from Christianity Today offers historical and biblical evidence that has been convincing to non-English theologians and Bible scholars for over a hundred years. Will we read Paul differently if this is true, and if so, how?<< [seek cover image]

“Preaching and Pentecostalism panel discussion” CraigKeener.com (June 26, 2024).

This was a Panel discussion at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary posted to CraigKeener.com on June 26, 2024.

Rasool Berry, “For Christians, Juneteenth Is a Time of Jubilee: Observing Juneteenth as a national holiday affirms what we believe about our faith and our freedoms” Christianity Today (June 16, 2022).

PneumaReview.com Editor Raul Mock writes: “I would like to introduce you to my friend, Rasool Berry, and this terrific introduction to Juneteenth. Although this article was published in 2022, it should be evergreen until every follower of Jesus in the USA appreciates this holiday. Rasool was the host and narrator for the excellent, award-winning documentary, ‘Juneteenth: Faith & Freedom’ produced by Our Daily Bread Ministries and shown throughout the country on PBS.”

Here is another article on Juneteenth: John Mark Richardson, Sr., “Juneteenth: Through the Eyes of an African American Wesleyan Holiness Leader” Firebrand (June 18, 2024)

Image: Andrea Tummons

PR

Do you remember the last time you consulted a commentary? There is a high probability that you did not read it all the way through from cover to cover. Commentaries usually sit for quite some time on a bookshelf waiting to be used as reference material for a pastor’s next sermon, a student’s next research paper, or a professor’s next class lecture. Having referred to many types of commentaries over the years as both a student and pastor, I found Michael J. Gorman’s Romans to be a refreshing surprise thanks, in part, to its elevated level of readability. This expository commentary is for pastors, students, and laypeople who want to consider the contemporary, spiritual and pastoral implications of Paul’s letter; however, there is no reason academics should bypass this volume. Anyone interested in understanding Romans better should benefit from the erudite scholarship of this renowned New Testament scholar. In part, his goal for this commentary is to “help those who struggle with the letter to read it more intelligibly, and charitably and to embrace its call to participate in the life God offers in Christ by the Spirit more fully” (xviii). It is this volume’s emphases on the newness of life in Christ, participation and transformation, and “the life and mission of God in the world” which allows this commentary to stand out in a crowded market.

For anyone who is more familiar with verse-by-verse commentary, this one will require a slight adjustment period to become accustomed to Gorman’s panoramic exposition of the text. This refreshing view of Paul’s letter is helpful for discerning the overarching themes presented in both the individual chapters and the entirety of the letter. The Pauline themes which Gorman emphasizes are numerous and familiar; however, there are several themes which receive special attention that resonate with his longstanding scholarly interests—righteousness and justice, life and cruciformity, participation and transformation. For example, the reader will find several gray-box excursuses throughout the commentary section. One of these, The Vocabulary of Righteousness, Justice, and Justification, contains an explanation as to why the translational usage of two English word families, “right-” and “just-,” for one Greek word-family, dik,- is problematic vis-à-vis gaining an accurate understanding of Paul’s inspired motive for using the dik-family of words to articulate the righteousness or justice of God (70).

Paul may be referred to as a pastoral theologian, so this commentary may be considered “theological-pastoral” (xvii). It focuses on ‘discourse units,’ and mostly “comments on the text, not on other commentators” (xviii). The volume has seven major commentary sections (1:1-17; 1:18-4:25; 5:1-8:39; 9:1-11:36; 12:1-15:13; 15:14-33; 16:1-27) with each divided into subsections that are arranged beneath boldface subtitles (burgeoning editors might notice a few discrepancies within the Contents—missing are several boldface subtitles for sections 1:1-17 and 9:1-11:36, two subtitles as included on pages 77 and 180, and major section summaries; also, the usage of boldface and italics in the Contents does not match the corresponding text in the Body).  Four major section summaries are included within the volume’s pages (Rom. 1-4, 141; Rom. 5-8,  216-17; Rom. 9-11, 241; and Rom. 12-16, 300); subsection summaries are only occasionally provided for the reader. Reflections and Questions and For Further Reading are practical resources for the reader, helpfully placed after chapters one and two; thereafter, they follow each discourse unit.

This commentary does contain several intriguing approaches to texts that have proven to be difficult or divisive for decades, if not centuries. For example, Gorman does not shy away from controversial politics as seen in Reflections and Questions, as well as in the gray-box excursus, “Romans 13 and Nonconformity Today” (cf. 107, 213, 257-9, 263). His discussion on predestination “as a testimony to God’s mercy and faithfulness” may be a cause of concern for some who understand it differently (46, 221-23). Also, the author’s humble and respectful perspective on Romans 1:24-27 (same-gender sexual relations) will most certainly compel readers to either reevaluate or solidify their position on the subject. In all of these cases, some may believe Gorman to be relatively myopic; however, as he tells his hermeneutics students, “let whoever is without sin cast the first stone,” and reminds the reader, with sincere humility, that “our best interpretive efforts are never infallible.” (xviii, 91).

This review began with the supposition that most people have never read a commentary from cover to cover. Well, this will be a commentary you will want to read closely from beginning to end. Gorman states at the opening of his exposition that pastors, students, and laypeople may benefit from his work. However, it is not an exaggeration to make the assertion that everyone can benefit from this commentary.

Reviewed by Joseph R. Fiorentino

This book review previously appeared in Didaskalia: The Journal of Providence Theological Seminary, Volume 31, pp. 140-44 (2023-2024), ISSN 0847-1266. Used with permission.

Publisher’s page: https://www.eerdmans.com/9780802877628/romans/

How should we lead the church?

New Testament scholar Andrew D. Clarke imagines what it would be like to interview the Apostle Paul about church leadership today.

The opportunity to interview the Apostle Paul about his perceptions of church in the early twenty-first century was an opportunity not to be missed.

Interviewer: Paul, could you start by telling us some of the most striking things that you notice about churches today?

Apostle Paul: The thing that amazes me the most is to see how church buildings now have such a high profile in every town and in some of the best city centre locations.
Interviewer: Did you ever foresee church buildings would be so large, so permanent and so centrally located?

Apostle Paul: No – our imaginations in the first century never quite expected this. But then, nor did we expect so many centuries would pass without seeing the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Certainly these churches are amazing testimony to centuries of significant growth, development and influence.
Interviewer: Would you have liked to minister in these kind of churches?

Apostle Paul: I can certainly see advantages, but then I can also see disadvantages. The biggest advantages are public profile and space. Christians travelling through a strange city can immediately identify where believers are gathering. For many years, identifying whether there was a group of believers in a city was a major challenge to me on my travels.

These church buildings also offer an amazing space for large crowds to worship and hear the gospel proclaimed. Our Lord Jesus, of course, often spoke to very large crowds of my countrymen, and we also looked forward to festival days when the whole city of Jerusalem could offer loud worship to the Lord, with many musical instruments. These new buildings must be ideal for this. When I wrote to the churches in Asia Minor, Macedonia and Achaia, however, this was something I knew was not a realistic option – so I said little about it.
Interviewer: And the disadvantages?

Apostle Paul: Probably the same – public profile and space! As I look around today, it seems to me that ‘church’ is now identified either with a building, or with what happens in that building – at fixed times each week. It’s as if church comes down to a list of weekly activities, advertised on large notice-boards outside locked church buildings.
Interviewer: But, what about when church is ‘on’?

Apostle Paul: As I say, I’m excited about the opportunities for both teaching and worship, but I’m puzzled about how the mutual up-building of the body is carried out in spaces like this, and I’d be surprised if these buildings were good places to meet unbelievers.