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
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