The Seminary of Suffering : Jars of Clay

Happy opening day of the baseball season - I'm enjoying the opportunity to watch the Brewers play the Reds this afternoon.  Along with melting snow, the opening day of baseball signals the end of winter.  And for some of us (particularly those of us in the northern reaches of the country), winter can be and seem very, very long.  So, praise God - for opening day and the sureness of the seasons changing.

If you haven't already seen the introductory remarks regarding the "Seminary of Suffering" series, please click here for some context on my hope and design for these postings.  Today's posting pertains to a term that Paul uses in 2 Corinthians, a book which has a great deal to say about the nature of the pastor/missionary as one set apart for peculiar kinds and seasons of suffering.  Here's the broader passage, from 2 Corinthians 4, of Paul - and pastor and Christian in general - as a "jar of clay."

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.  For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.  So death is at work in us, but life in you." -2 Cor. 4:7-12 (ESV)

There's a great deal of territory to cover in this broader passage - but context being the great help it is, is here presented for our benefit to see just how clay-like we really are.  So I offer my remarks below on what it is to be a jar of clay:

• At the heart of the matter is an issue of identity.  The primary identity of any true pastor is his status as a Christian, a saint, a justified sinner redeemed by the blood of the Good Shepherd Himself.  This is the over-riding identity of any true pastor.  Yet just as we may have different roles that warrant different titles throughout the course of life - daddy, husband, employee, etc. - so also, pastors and missionaries have different identity "angles" from which to approach a right understanding of what a pastor really is.  Here, we find a key term that - pun intended - holds a good deal of substance in the pastor as a jar of clay.  In an age - like many other - where pastors are groomed as CEOs, self-starting entrepreneurs, self-help experts, and the like, there is very little room for a pastor to know himself to be weak and non-proclaimable.  I say "non-proclaimable" because Paul makes mention of the fact, in verse 5, that what he and his co-laborers were concerned with doing was not proclaiming themselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord.  Jesus is the Treasure and we are the clay pot.  Why would we want to proclaim ourselves as the ultimate answer for a church?  Why would even the most fruitful and gifted of men, as Paul himself was, want to deny a church of the Treasure that is Jesus Christ, the treasure of the Gospel, the great goal of the very glory of God Himself - all in order to extol a frail pot of clay?  We do not like to think of ourselves as weak and frail.  Yet this is exactly what we are.  We are jars of clay, with imperfect and fading bodies, hearts that fluctuate in affection between the things of this world and the things of God, and souls that must endure the presence of indwelling sin until we reach glory.  It is hard to think of a better term to use than "jar of clay" to describe man viewed from this perspective.
• The jar of clay picture not only highlights the finiteness and frailty of the pastor, but it also designates the pastor as one who carries about a treasure that far overshadows the vessel in which it is carried.  The clay pot would have been a very typical vessel in the first century world in which Paul lived.  It would have been used to store food, drink, etc.  It was average.  It was domestic.  But what is so amazing is that the pastor, being a jar of clay, would be entrusted with so valuable a treasure to carry and set before men.  Just as one purchases a packaged item for the item itself and not the vessel it's delivered in, so also the pastor, as a jar of clay, displays to this world that there is only one to worship, the glorious Trinity.  Frail and finite as we are, we proclaim a great God, His great Gospel, by His great grace, for His great glory.  But the greatness belongs to God.  And not to us.  And I suggest that our self-identification as jars of clay will help put to flight the perils of self-importance, in order that we might be concerned with pursuing the purposes of God in the great vocation He has called us to in the service of the church.

I offer you these reflections knowing that there is much more that could be said about the identity of the pastor as a jar of clay.  Please feel free to offer your thoughts as you care to.  Be looking for some more out of 2 Cor. 4 later on this week.

Additionally, Stephen Altrogge posted a great pump-primer on the issue of anxiety and depression in the life of the church.  As a man who struggles with anxiety (part of my clay-ness), I found it to be very helpful and worthwhile.  It's entitled Talking Freely About Depression and Anxiety.

To God Alone Be the Glory,
-Chris

The Seminary of Suffering

One aspect of blogging that is very helpful is the large audience that can be served with relatively little investment.  Accordingly, one hope of mine is to serve the saints well with series of posts like those introduced today.

The topic of my MA thesis will focus on the role of suffering in the preparation and life of the pastor.  I find that this topic, while treated in varying contexts, lacks as exclusive a presentation- at least in contemporary publishing - as it might warrant.  Much is made of the intellectual and practical training of pastors (and rightly so).  Yet the seminary of providence, which spans one end of life in this world to the other, continues to issue courses for the holiness and sharpening of pastors, with the department of suffering and hardship offering many courses.  The theme of suffering in the lives of those men set apart for service to the people of God runs from Genesis to Revelation and throughout the history of the church.  Consider: Joseph, Moses, David, Elijah, the Apostles, and the earthly ministry of the Man of Sorrows, the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself?  What of Athanasius, Tyndale, Calvin, Bunyan, Edwards, Brainerd, and Spurgeon?  And who can deny the experience of so many men around the world who have found their service to the saints colored by grief, hardship, persecution, and suffering?  And finally, there is a biblical paradigm well-established, not only abstracted from narrative experience, but explicitly stated in such passages as 2 Tim. 2:10, Col. 1:24-25, and a relatively good portion of 2 Corinthians.

There is ample testimony to be considered - and I would suggest to you that it is a testimony that will serve much good in its consideration, accompanied with an earnest trust that God is pleased for good and wise purposes to direct the steps of His servants in such a manner.  It is this testimony - and these good purposes, inasmuch as they can be presently understood - that I hope to share with you.  (As an aside, much of what is related in these postings is also applicable to all Christians, as it has been granted to the whole company of the saints, "that for the sake of Christ [they] should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.") 

I don't have a particular "timetable" laid out for this, a particular number of postings to be had regarding the topic, etc.  It is broad enough to warrant much more and so specific to individual lives to warrant treatment of more than should be covered in this context.  However, I do sincerely hope that what is presented would provoke thankfulness for the wise and gracious purposes of God, serve in building a healthier theology of suffering, provide context with which to assist you in understanding what you have endured, what you are enduring, or what you will most certainly endure, and to develop a camaraderie among men who have suffered - in many different ways - for the same servant cause.  So please, if you are a pastor, a missionary, the wife of a pastor or missionary, a seminary student, considering God's call to vocational ministry, would like help in processing hardship in the course of the Christian life, or are simply interested in considering these things, I hope that you will be well-served here.  Further, if you have any questions about these matters or would like a particular topic treated, please feel free to comment or send an e-mail.

While these postings will not be the central focus of this blog, as there are other things to blog about besides this one issue, I trust this will be a fruitful series of postings.  Please check back in the next day or two to find the first post which will, Lord willing, address coming to terms with being a "jar of clay."

To God Alone Be the Glory,
-Chris

Welcome

Welcome to the web-home of Christopher Tillman - Christian, Husband, Father, Pastor, and Jar of Clay. The name of this blog is "Guarding the Good Deposit," which comes from Paul's exhortation to Timothy to, by the Holy Spirit, "guard the good deposit" entrusted to him.

To provide you with some context for who it is that lives behind the posts that you'll find here - I currently live in central Wisconsin with my lovely wife and our two daughters. I am, by vocation, a pastor, and am in the process of completing my studies at Reformed Theological Seminary. We are hoping very soon for God to direct our steps to the church we've been set apart to serve and share our very lives with. I have a deep and earnest desire to see God's glory pursued faithfully, intentionally, and joyfully in all things - and to see the local church capture that vision corporately. Please, as you have the occasion, pray for us as we seek God's placement of our family in a local church whom I would have the privilege to serve in that task of shepherding the flock of God.
My doctrinal convictions are Reformed and Baptistic - I do prize the doctrines of grace as the most faithful distilling of biblical doctrine. Some of my primary theological and ministerial influences are Edwards, Spurgeon, and Piper and I enjoy reading a good deal. My family is precious to me and our time together is as well. I enjoy watching the Packers, Brewers, and Badgers. I like to cook and like the concept of woodwork and fixing things around the house, though it's more of a want-to than a regular hobby. I am a recipient of unfathomable mercy and grace, for while I was once dead in my sins and trespasses, the God whom I had offended by my whole life was pleased to make me alive together with Christ, whom He raised from a death that was suffered on my behalf, as my Substitute.
While my design in blogging is to be a part of what is the new cultural forum, I do not have a desire to be updating you on every in and out of my daily life. Words are important things - I do hope that what is presented here serves to promote godliness in you who may read it and serve the good of the church in the defense and promotion of sound doctrine and biblical exposition and a spurring on to love and good works among the people of God.
This is just an introduction to the basics of who I am - though I do hope that what is ultimately commended and displayed throughout the postings on this site is that which magnifies the glory of the Triune God. It is His glory that we who have been granted to turn from sin and trust in the Savior are oriented towards as our goal - and it is my hope that it will be the purpose of this site as well, whatever the content of posts should ultimately be.

To God Alone Be the Glory
-Chris