How Must a Pastor Die?Some Personal Reflections

This past week a non-stop flight took me to the land of frozen lakes in Minnesota. As we broke through a layer of clouds to land at the Minneapolis airport, a snow covered landscape was there to greet us. The theme of the 19th Annual Bethlehem Conference for Pastors was “How Must a Pastor Die? The Cost of Caring Like Jesus.” Over fourteen hundred pastors were welcomed by the Bethlehem Baptist Church where John Piper serves as pastor. Why would pastors from all over America and various foreign countries want to go where the high temperature each day is 34 degrees and the featured speakers challenge their audience in how to die for Christ’s sake? There are very good reasons.

The three-day conference at the Hilton Hotel was preceded by a pre-conference with John Piper. It was by invitation only for a couple of hundred pastors. All attendees were asked to have read God is the Gospel by John Piper. In this book, subtitled “Meditations on God’s love as the gift of Himself,” we are reminded that the “gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. It’s a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God.” Especially noteworthy is the warning of how a “radically man-centered view of love” has captured both our culture and the church. We are besieged by the trite belief that our self-esteem should be bolstered by the fact that God has made much of us, or as Piper puts it, “We are willing to be God-centered…as long as God is man-centered.” All the pastors in America must beware of the subtle nature of this error for the sake of their flocks and themselves. The gospel message is at stake.

The Keynote Speaker was Ajith Fernando, the National Director of Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka since 1976. His topic, “How Must a Pastor Die?” was developed out of a study of Colossians 1:24-29. His home country of Sri Lanka has been torn by decades of war and was most recently hit by a tsunami. Dr. Fernando has exemplified sacrificial service for Christ for many years and has contributed much to the body of Christ through his teaching and writing ministry. The soul-strengthening from what it means to be sorrowful yet always rejoicing came from his careful handling of the Scriptures and his personal experiences in serving others. Michael Campbell, senior minister of a new multi-racial church in Jackson, Mississippi, spoke on “Sacrificing Self- The Multi-ethnic Church and the Mandate of the Gospel.” We were challenged to love all people in the gospel, no matter what their race or ethnicity. Churches are too apt to move when the racial makeup of their community changes. Pastor Campbell’s appeal was boldly simple. Don’t move.

David Sitton was our Missions Speaker. The title of his message was “Missionary Martyrs: Fools for Jesus, for the Nations.” David has worked among cannibalistic and headhunting tribes in the interior of New Guinea. His stories kept everyone on the edge of their seats, but the soul of his sermon was the privilege we have in taking the gospel to people who have never heard the name of Jesus. He called for a tenth of the pastors in attendance to go into a church planting ministry among the unreached people of this world. Many were lined up afterward to talk to him. Several of the seminary students that were sitting near me on the return flight home had already called their wives about short-term missions work this summer.

At every Pastor’s Conference John Piper presents a biography of someone in church history. This year’s message was “Always Singing One Note…a Vernacular Bible: Why William Tyndale Lived and Died.” It was superb. The strength of Piper’s preaching is that he makes you want more of God. He told of Tyndale’s life being offered as a martyr so that the English people could have the Bible in their own tongue. It was a culminating call to pastors to live and die for the sake of the gospel.
I know of no other conference for pastors that surpasses this one in reviving the heart in greater love for God and His Word. A significant part of this is the worship in song. When hundreds of pastors unite their voices by heartily singing the praises of God you are carried to the gates of heaven. But this need not be limited to preachers. Our congregational singing ought to be joyous and exuberant for the glory of God. How can we stand passively by when our God deserves the exalted language of truth in melodies that take wings and fly? I thought of some of our friends who are going through troubled waters as we sang “Be Still, My Soul.” The words, “when change and tears are past, All safe and blessed we shall meet at last,” were a special comfort.

There is a certain spiritual reinvigoration that comes from a pastors’ conference that is well done. By “well done” is not meant a slick, well-organized, celebrity cast of speakers. When Christians gather there must be authenticity of worship and preaching from the Word that grips the heart. A number of good things can happen in such an environment. One’s spiritual eyesight can become sharper. A sense of one’s sin and the need for repentance can rise up without warning. The needs of others walk across the mind. The greatness of God’s grace and mercy overwhelm the soul. The awareness of being surrounded by fellow Christian pilgrims brings encouragement. The tide of emotions ebbs and flows. The mind dances with delight in God. This is the nature of Spirit-bathed corporate worship. It is not limited to pastors’ conferences. All of our congregational worship is to be a celebration of our great and glorious God. Do you come to church to encounter God and leave encouraged in the gospel? Settle for nothing less.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church