Boars in God's Vineyard

today's chapel speaker dr chuck swindoll or as most of us know him simply as chuck and that's the way most people around the world know him simply as chuck he served dallas seminary well as the fourth president and is known by millions around the world for his practical application of the bible to everyday living he now serves dallas seminary as chancellor emeritus and is also the senior pastor teacher of stonebriar community church in frisco texas he and his wife cynthia reside here in the metroplex and love to spend time with their four grown children and ten grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren shortly after i became the chaplain here chuck took a spill [Music] and as he says boogered up his nose and i i was brand new on the scene and i thought to myself well i am the chaplain i think i'm just gonna give him a call or an email and check on him i mean that's part of what i'm supposed to do and so i did and he emailed me back immediately thanking me and so began a friendship with chuck that i cannot tell you how highly i value i appreciate it so much chuck so would you please welcome dr swindoll to our chapel today good morning i want to thank chaplain joe allen for inviting me to speak in chapel several times this academic i'll be with you three times counting today this semester and then three again in the spring semester i always want to speak on things that will help you in the ministry you will hear other speakers in this chapel that will talk about other subjects that will relate often to your studies or your world of academia i will rarely address that i will always go toward the practical side of ministry because that is where you will spend your life in in the days ahead in whatever capacity the lord leads you this academic year i've chosen to speak on the pros and the cons of ministry in the fall semester right now i want to talk on what is it that makes the ministry difficult and i want to cover three areas the first one i'll cover today and the next one in early uh this next month and then the third one in uh toward the middle of november i will talk on another subject related to the difficulties in ministry what makes it tough what makes it hard to deal with and then in the fall in in the spring semester i want to talk on the things that make it so rewarding so fulfilling we'll end on a really upbeat positive note for there are far more of those than there are of these that i'll be addressing during the fall semester in answering the first question i plan to cover three of the most notable areas that are often challenging in ministry today i will address the subject of dealing with difficult people yeah um there will always be individuals who will take the fun out of your day or take the joy out of your career if you let that happen difficult people next time we're together in october i'll talk about how we bring our own humanity into the scene of ministry and how that works against us and makes ministry difficult our temperament our tendencies frankly our old sin nature are habits that we have not broken that work against relationships often we are the cause for the difficulty that we face in ministry and then the third time when we come together in november i want to talk about the things that happened to us that we never expected the most recent one i can think of that we'll deal with when we together in november would be of course the pandemic we didn't see it coming we didn't realize how extensive lengthy it would be or what a what a toll it would take on the way we do ministry i don't know of a church today that wouldn't have to say you know it it required us to alter a number of things we'd been doing for years and to rearrange things and do them differently we'll talk about that and for example things that happen in your family that you didn't see coming even with your partner in life who may become disillusioned or go on a long drift spiritually and that takes a toll on you and the church or the ministry that you're serving things that happened to us that we didn't see coming today we're going to talk about the difficult people difficult sheep in the church sometimes they're difficult staff that serve people that are working alongside you closely occasionally they are officers in the church people that were elected to be a part of the church leadership and they become difficult in the classroom we'll just say it straight some of your students or a pain in the butt you're difficult for for the profs to deal with and you started out that way and you're getting only worse as time passes so don't think this is about someone else you can be the one who is the problem anyone called into ministry must must be both tender and tough both and not either or we must be full of grace and truth we must be devoted and determined we as balanced ministers must be people of merciful compassion and dil and insightful discernment willing to serve the flock and yet unwilling to be controlled by or manipulated by those within the flock hear these words carefully today they may not apply one day they will we must be patient and sensitive with newborn lambs as they are getting their their sea legs and learning to walk in the spirit at the same time we must be firm and strong with legalistic sheep honorary church people and for sure treacherous wolves former pastor stewart briscoe who ministered for years in the milwaukee area suggests there are three qualifications for a pastor must have the mind of a scholar the heart of a child in the hide of a rhinoceros i couldn't agree more being a faithful minister of integrity has nothing to do with being a people pleaser some of you are already forming that habit thinking that's what a good minister is called to do not so you are not called to cultivate a popularity cult through flattery of others or softening the truth or compromising the message as you tell people what they want to hear rather than shaping your message based on the scriptures and delivering what they need to hear there's a great difference between the two you must learn not to adapt your words to what is politically correct though there will be those in your congregation who guide their lives according to that standard you must not keep in step with those who urge you to keep everything relevant you'll hear that a lot these days if you're committed to preach the word you'll need to be determined not to pay attention to anyone who tries to pull you away from becoming a faithful and consistent expositor of the scriptures you determined that in your years at seminary believe it or not you don't suddenly turn there once you've graduated hear this warning there are still many wolves in sheep's clothing they lurk in most churches in the days of martin luther he had his problems with pope leo the tenth in fact he was considered such a maverick that leo gave him the name of a wild boar in god's vineyard luther turned those words on the pope himself and saw him as the wild boar the fact is you will encounter wild boars in god's vineyard dr richard sumi in his heyday at the school in teaching the timothy letters used to refer to these individuals without mincing words he called them savages maybe that's too strong for you to hear today but you'll live to see the day when you realize they fit that description you will meet them in the scriptures when saul was ravaging the church study that word and you'll realize it means exactly what it says in acts 8 3. elders from ephesus are warned about the wolves that were among them acts 20 verse 29 legalists according to paul's writing to the galatians in 2 4 and 5 sneaked in and spied out our liberty they're still doing that and you will really earn your right to be called a shepherd of the sheep when you encounter and deal directly with legalists they are among the most difficult in the church the list goes on and on in fact i brought with me i won't have the time to read it two eight and a half by 11 pages single space of people in the scriptures who dealt with difficult people in their lives there's hardly a major individual you could name who didn't have an enemy or several enemies this is time for me to make a disclaimer i'm not saying or any of this to make you suspicious or to frighten you or to make you jaded as you step into the work of ministry when you leave the school i'm not even suggesting that most churches are filled with difficult people that's not true they are not some are most are not but there are always difficult people in whatever church you serve they don't set out to be that they just over the years have become that i'll add that most churches are not difficult places to serve but some are while most are loving and thoughtful and understanding and kind i would even add encouraging and generous there are some that are caustic independent argumentative they have a reputation for resisting whatever shepherd is called to lead that flock remember that when you step into ministry go with your eyes open just as you would tell one of your growing teenagers when they get to college or when they get into the military or go into business go into those things with your eyes open realize there are people who do not have your good at heart take off your rose-colored glasses when you step into ministry and wear glasses that are filled with realism now then let's look together at a somewhat obscure section in paul's letter to the romans it's toward the end of that letter as he zeroes in on some of the difficult people in the church at rome i'll take just a small section of these verses romans 16 17 through 20 where paul points out some of the boers in the roman vineyard romans 16 17-20 reveals that there were those to begin with who were causing dissensions you'll see that named in the very word itself the original term donates actually means divisiveness polarization by casting doubt cynthia and i often refer to people like this as those who stir the pot there are those who take delight by subtle questions and accusations and innuendo they find delight in spreading false information and often it will be about you the leader things you did not say or even imply they will spread as though you did both william barkley refers to this individual as a man or woman who speaks well but acts ill the kind of person who behind a facade of pious words is a bad influence who leads sheep astray not by direct attack but by subtlety who pretends to serve christ but in reality they are destroying the faith of others close quote be aware be aware as a shepherd keep your eyes open pay attention to those especially those who are influencing others in the church not out of jealousy you'll find delight in those that teach the scriptures well they are part of the team but those who do so with wrong motive will soon reveal themselves as among those bores in the vineyard second along with spreading this dissension they cause hindrances you'll see here in this passage the greek word is scandal obviously scandal from that word i found that such people create drama as they stir the pot among those they influence now why do they do this why the dissensions why are the hindrances what reason do they have for doing that paul takes off the gloves as he identifies the reason he shoots straight in verse 18. such people are not serving christ our lord he states they are serving their own personal interests make no mistake such people are self-serving john or w stott states that this description self-serving is a graphic metaphor of self-indulgence it's all about them they're the star of the show they're the ones who are getting the attention then paul says it like it is at the end of verse 18 by smooth talk and glowing words your bible may read flattering words they deceive innocent people therein lies the tragedy every church has both mature and immature saints those who are less mature i call innocent they don't know that they're around people that can't be trusted they don't realize how innocent they are how gullible they are like defenseless sheep seduced and led astray that's why they need you that's why they need a strong shepherd a faithful shepherd what happens is that harmony is disrupted you'll find as you minister in whatever capacity that when harmony is disrupted there is a disunity that replaces it that's tough to deal with it proliferates it doesn't become less it becomes greater which explains the the whole idea of the word picture bores in god's vineyard they make a dreadful dreadful scene now how's the problem to be handled what do you do about it now if you're like most reluctant shepherds you will uh put up with it too long i did that for the first number of years in ministry i looked the other way i acted like it wasn't happening i ignored the warning signs i thought maybe it would get better on its own in fact i didn't even want to think it was going on which makes me appreciate the very first word that paul uses when he deals with how it's handled is watch out there needs to be close observation faithful shepherds watch out for their flocks they care about them not again not out of jealousy but out of diligence and then you will notice at the end of verse 17 the strongest of the terms stay away from them not only observation [Music] but there must ultimately if there isn't change there must be separation turn away from them you've not earned your right to be called a shepherd until you have done your work in this realm it is not pleasant it is not easy and it certainly is not popular realize individuals who have gained the mastery over a few people often have a following and those following those followers are loyal they don't see the danger in the one they're following you do and so that's the reason it's unpleasant and unpopular you'll be misunderstood by some by dealing with it and you will be maligned by others because you have taken it on privately personally and directly this is especially true when you confront those who have gained that group of followers and they have become popular in the place where you minister you will deal with various carnal angry stubborn christians who will disrespect you and resist your counsel and resent your confrontation in a former church we had a a person who was a a very gifted individual she had taught classes not only in our church but in the communities around our church she was well known and by many well-respected she was however a gossip she was difficult to deal with she stirred the pot regularly she worked against the direction i was taking the church and our elders were trying to take it was always something wrong with our plan according to her evaluation and would you believe out of those many years i was at that church i put up with it for 16 years i state that deliberately not because i'm proud of it but i'm ashamed of it now uh it wasn't planned that i would wait that long it's just you keep putting it off it isn't pleasant as i said earlier it isn't popular and when you want to be liked more than you want to be right you'll let it go on and on and on finally it fell my lot to uh deal with it i i brought in my closest associate and along with that i brought in the the uh chair of our elders they were in the room when i asked her to come in i confronted her with the wrong and she looked at me like a calf looking at a new gate of me you're talking about me and then i began to name evidence after evidence example after example one issue after another after another after another even confessed to her that i had overlooked those things i had no business overlooking and it was it had come to an end she was through it's one of the few times that i have uh in let me put it nicely that i have invited people to try another church for for their uh their their own good and uh it's always difficult to know what church to recommend so i i usually do not recommend which church but it won't be this one i'll make that clear her husband was not with her perhaps a fault on my part but that was the last i ever heard from either one of them let me add not in my notes but from memory the relief was palpable the release from all of the pot stirring and troublemaking and gossip an innuendo now i wasn't popular with her sister who was in the church and when she confronted me the following sunday i quietly made it clear you're next and it's amazing how that quieted her down as i said that when i was younger i would have never done that when you get older you get a little crusty and uh hopefully not cranky but you're you get tired of it and you know what else is more important the sheep need protection they don't need to be around that they're learning wrong things they're also learning that you're passive as a leader i think the respect for me grew as a result of dealing with it though there were some in her group that left with her that was also a nice change we quickly filled the pews with those who were longing to come to the church and couldn't find a place to sit now they had a place and they came with delight and anticipation looking forward to a place of worship they could enjoy i repeat it is unpleasant and it is unpopular but if you do the work of discipline as it should be done always with witnesses always making sure that those you answer to in my case a group of elders know the full story in fact i mentioned earlier i had the chair of the elders with us and they all understood interestingly it never once urged me to do it that was my call that was my responsibility and it's yours someday it will be yours now i can just read some of your minds i can just see some of you thinking i'm just gonna i'm just gonna go to a church that doesn't have people like that well welcome to mars that's on another planet they'll be there and some of them lie in weight had a young man who was a graduate of masters seminary very fine preacher very fine preacher excellent expositor called me with tears and i called his name as we were on the phone and i said i i'm so glad to hear from you haven't heard from you in a long time he said well since we've last talked i've changed churches and and maybe just sobbed i said what on earth is happening he said there is an old man in our church that has run off three pastors before me and he's made it clear that i'm next and he spread the word that i'm guilty of this and i'm not that i'm not doing that and i am and he said i just don't know what to do i said well get out a piece of paper and a pencil and i will give you some directions and i went over many of the things i just covered here he was as quiet as a church mouse he said okay okay he would on occasion say are you serious and i said yep i'm serious let me go there i said uh let me ask here do your elders know what he's doing well most of them do were they there before you got there and watched all this yep most of them were well you need to break him of a very bad habit you need to expose him call his hand he said well he's 80 years old i said i don't care if he's 180. 210 he needs to be confronted he's making your life and many in the church miserable he said well he certainly is and and yet you know he's really rich i said i don't care if he's rich that doesn't qualify him for doing what he's doing call him in privately and tell him if it doesn't change you're going to make it known publicly he said well when do i do that i said how about next week how about this week he said okay you can write this down and i said get your elders ready for it and he did that that week he called the old guy in confronted him and he said he balked at first kind of looked down he said well i never thought i'd be talked to like this and i said did you back off he said no not once you told me not to back off right here he's reading it right here in the paper i said well that that's right and you you've followed through well how'd the elders do he said you know what man they stepped up and i said how about the following sunday you know he didn't show up i said that's great if he shows up and starts making trouble expose him publicly call him by name said are you serious i said yeah i did that once with an elder who was a child molester it had been going on for some time no one knew it when we found out about it we confronted him as a group of elders and he was sort of the hero of the church at the time until we investigated and found out the truth newspapers showed up they had their cameras ready and the tv was there they had heard about what was going to be done but they had nothing to report except an article that appeared in the paper the next week that said finally a church handles it like it should be handled don't be afraid of doing what is right don't be afraid of standing against what is wrong they may be those who played a major part and you're being called to that church i've had that happen it's sort of a known factor that often the one who is most influential that you're being called turns against you when the church begins to appreciate your ministry and out of jealousy he works against you they may be older than you are often they are they may be long-standing in the community influential intimidating always powerful people me tell you about an elder that i dealt with in a former church another place another time in my life he was angry all the time i rarely knew him when he wasn't angry he was angry in elder meetings unfortunately he had been elected as the chair of the elders and uh there we were under that man's influence everything i tried to move the church into he worked against every time i attempted to deal with things like discipling elders and working alongside them and carrying out new ideas he stood against them and in a fit of rage he came in one cold evening i was at the study by myself he stomped in and slammed the door and he looked at me and he said i've about had as much of you as i'm gonna take and he pulled his coat back kind of like this and there was a this is no exaggeration there was a revolver stuck in his belt he said you know i uh carry a gun in fact i'm not afraid to use it he turned it on this on the butt of the gun and he pounded out the bullets they fell on the desk he said just remember i'm not afraid to use this when i need to put every one of the bullets back in slammed it shut put it back in his waist and walked out welcome to the ministry huh nobody ever told me at dallas seminary i may face somebody like that nobody at the church ever warned me that the man carried a gun he's a psychopath he's a very sick man he's dead now through a number of events that have happened in fact before i moved from that church one of my prayers was lord remove him so that the man who takes my place will not have to deal with him for as long as i've had to deal with him even attempts at confronting him never worked and would you believe the day i read my resignation before that church service that morning scout's honor he came into my office threw his keys on my desk he had carried the keys to the church for all those years and he said well i'm out of here and i didn't know whether to shout or wind my watch i mean i was i was thrilled he said i decided to move and he moved a number of miles away and was never there from the day i read my resignation on isn't god good how he takes care of things that i was not able to take care of let me get even more serious in a former church our receptionist named sharon received a phone call from a man she didn't know he said is this the church that teaches people about jesus christ are you the ones who have that teacher that urges them to follow him as their master she was thrilled to hear him ask that she answered well yes that's us you're invited to come any time he said no i'm not interested i'm a part of the church of satan all of us are working against you and especially against your teacher and i'm calling to tell you we will win hung up the phone that wasn't bad enough several weeks later one of our members was on a flight flying from where we were located at the time to new york city happened to be in first class the meal was served and the man next to her didn't uh eat the meal and she looked over there and said you're not hungry it's late in the day i thought everybody'd be eating today he said no we're fasting oh she thought she was meeting a fellow believer and he said i'm i'm a member i'm going to read this i'm a member of a group of satan's followers we're fasting and praying to their to our master that at least 100 marriages of christian leaders will break up by the end of this year did you know that went on do you know that kind of thing goes on gives new meaning to the statement when you enter into ministry you don't step onto a playground but a battleground this is serious stuff and if you're given to kind of playing around with things as you're going through your schooling it's a good time to leave ministries nothing to play with they play for keeps out there you'll be needed like no one else in the church is needed how easy to ignore the words that we just sang and though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us we will not fear for god hath willed his truth to triumph through us the prince of darkness grim we tremble not for him his rage we can endure lo his doom is sure one little word shall fill him the enemy is real men and women real as real as a satanist fasting praying to their master that one of us will fall or our marriage will fail this is the time to grow up to realize that what you're learning is a game plan for life next time i'll talk about the things we bring with us into ministry that make ministry difficult today it's about people actual individuals folks you've not yet met but you will you'll need to be ready and you'll need to be strong back in 1985 marshall shelley wrote a little book i wish every one of you would read i mean that it's titled well-intentioned dragons well-intentioned dragons marshall begins oh by the way the subtitle is ministering to problem people in the church marshall begins dragons of course are fictional beasts monstrous reptiles with lion's claws a serpent's tail bat wings and scaly skin they exist only in one's imagination but there are dragons of a different sort decidedly real they leave ulcers strained relationships and hard feelings in their wake they don't consider themselves difficult people they don't sit up nights thinking of ways to be nasty but for some reason they undermine the ministry they're not naturally rebellious or pathological they're convinced they're serving god but they wind up doing more harm than good they can drive pastors crazy or out of the church if you do not get a handle on this chances are good you'll become a victim [Music] and you'll leave the church a broken man or woman disillusioned deeply deeply disturbed your whole frame of reference will have changed because you didn't ready yourself for difficult people my hope is that god will keep you strong stable positive determined committed to work the work of the ministry but never gullible not passive on the alert watching out being ready when necessary taking charge remember jesus words the one who was so gracious to say come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden and i will give you rest a short time later said to one of his followers get behind me satan the one who came to the last meal with his disciples whom he loved to the end spoke to them in these warm and encouraging terms said to one of them whatever you're going to do do it quickly get out that's the savior both and not either or staying in ministry requires mind of a scholar heart of his child a height of a rhinoceros remember that remember that thank you dear father for the way you love us watch over us protect us for the years you've done that for me all the mistakes i've made all the times i've looked the other way when i should have walked into the battle i realized today when i speak i'm no great example of all of this but i can speak from experience when i've done what i should have done you honored it help these men and women as they form their opinions about ministry to keep it real so they might serve you with a whole heart the shepherds who love the flock at the same time guarded well from wolves in jesus name everybody said

Channel: Dallas Theological Seminary

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Length: 48min 6sec (2886 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 08 2021