Failure

I am currently reading Tony Dungy's book, Uncommon. There is a chapter in the book called "Failure" in which Tony describes his "success" in the NFL. He says he is often introduced as one of only three people to win a Super Bowl as a player and as a head coach. "What they don't always say is that there were twenty-seven straight seasons that ended in disappointment between those two Super Bowl wins."

If I were to be totally honest, I would have to admit that I often feel like a failure. I suspect this is true for most of us at some level. There is a difference between failing and being a failure. I need to work harder to keep this in perspective. I will fail often, but I am not a failure. It is alright to fail. In fact, it should be expected. This does not make me a failure.

I think God often allows us to fail. We can learn so much more from our failings than from our successes. There is a spiritual "urban legend" that many of us get sucked into believing. It tells us that God will not give us (or allow us to be burdened with) more than we can bear. I suspect this is a misquotation or misinterpretation of the passage that tells us God will not allow us to be tempted beyond the degree he gives us the power to resist. Please don't be confused. They do not mean the same thing.

I believe God specifically intends to give us more than we can bear. This is so we can fail on our own and learn to trust him. Would we learn it any other way? Really? When you fail, and you will, take time to learn from it. First remember that failing does not make you a failure. We all fail. In fact, failure simply sets us up for future success. To accomplish our goals, failing should be seen as part of the process. It has been said that Thomas Edison said that he didn't fail repeatedly; he merely found ten thousand ways not to make a lightbulb.

As I prepare to enter into ministry, I want to have the freedom to fail. I want the freedom to try things and learn from what works and what does not. I want to fail so I will not rely on myself. I want to fail so I will rely only on the God who gives me the strength to succeed through him. There is an old English proverb that says, "He who never makes mistakes, never makes anything." What are you making?

Coolness and Cussing

I am sure that there have always been preachers and pastors who made a habit of using coarse or crude language. Maybe they even outright cussed. I suspect most, if not all of these preachers were somewhere out on the fringe. I remember Gene Scott used to sit in his recliner smoking cigars, drinking scotch, and cussing as he "taught" and "preached".

In 2003, Thomas Neslon published Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. About half way through the book, he introduces us to Mark. Mark pastors a church in Seattle and says a lot of cuss words. Mark is Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. In Driscoll's defense, he doesn't cuss anymore. He does a really good job, I think, of watching his language. He can be a little coarse or crude sometimes, but he doesn't really cuss.

Ed Young of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, recently posted this video about preachers who cuss. I think it is a wise admonition to those who speak the truth of the Gospel. Warning: Young demonstrates some of the language he warns about.

What do you think about Young's take on this? How far should preachers go with their language in trying to relate to their audience?

The Next Billy Graham

One week from now, we will have a new President. I have some opinions about all of that, but I will keep them to myself. President-elect Obama has asked Pastor Rick Warren to pray at his innauguration. Of course, Warren accepted. There have been a number of reactions to this. It has proven to be a little sticky for both Warren and Obama. Because of Mr. Obama's positions on the issues of abortion and homosexual marriage, many conservative Christians have taken the opportunity to use this as ammo against Warren. Cultural liberals, especially the homosexual lobby, have accused Obama of teaming up with Hitler (or worse). Obviously, neither of this is true. Liberals lump Warren in with ultra-conservative, fundamentalist Christians, and they would never claim him as their own. The reverse is also true.

Because of the attention given to Warren, along with his hosting a couple of political forums, the media is making the case that Warren is the next Billy Graham. I have a great deal of respect for Billy Graham. His testimony has been above reproach in the areas of finances and marital fidelity. He typically did not get involved in partisan politics. This opened the door for him to preach in countries that have traditionally been closed to the Gospel. Between his large crusades and television specials, he has preached to more individuals than anyone in the history of the church. I respect that. I also know that he has primarily been an evangelist, partnering with local churches for follow-up. This gave him the luxury of not needing to (publicly) clearly define a number of doctrinal positions.

Rick Warren is a church planter and a local church pastor. He has been responsible not only for evangelism, but also for developing a plan for discipling converts and growing a church in the community.

I do not think Rick Warren is the next Billy Graham. I do not think there will be another Billy Graham. I think Rick Warren is the next Rick Warren. I think God works in seasons. Seasons come and go.

The Role of Counseling in the Ministry of the Pastor

If you have about 26 minutes to kill, check out this video of a presentation I made in my psychology and counseling class. It focuses on simple, practical elements of the counseling role in pastoral ministry. I know it is long. Sorry about that. If you do take the time to watch it, please give me some feedback. Thanks.


The Role of Counseling in the Ministry of the Pastor from John Collier on Vimeo.

Pastors Referring Counselees

For the follower of Jesus Christ, especially the follower who is a member of a local church, the pastor or other local church leader should be an option as a counselor should the need arise. In order to increase his effectiveness as pastor, including as counselor, the pastor will necessarily have to refer some cases. I will address three themes: why refer, how to refer, and who to refer to. This is a summary of my position on referral and my referral procedures.



Any counselor, including a pastor, will sometimes find it advisable or even necessary to refer a particular case to someone else. There are many good reasons for this. In one way or another, most of these reasons relate to limitations on the pastoral counselor. The most obvious limitation would be a pastor’s ability or expertise in a particular area. For example, the areas of substance abuse or sexual issues certainly include spiritual elements that the pastor may be equipped to handle, but they also are specialized enough to warrant the counsel of someone trained in those particular areas. In my opinion, the most important limitation on the pastor that would require him to refer cases is his time. The pastor’s primary responsibility is not counseling; in fact, that is only one element of his pastoral duties. Even in the typical church, the pastor could schedule a full-time counseling load. He must not do this. He must guard his time to be able to fulfill his primary functions of study, prayer, and teaching. There are other limitations which are related to these, such as: ability to lead necessary programs for some cases, training in a particular area, or even conflict of interest.



Once the necessity of referrals is established, we can look at how to go about referring a case. If an individual has met with the pastor for some time, he/she is likely emotionally attached. This makes referral difficult. I think the pastor should approach the subject with the client honestly. Admit that he does not have the training or resources to appropriately handle the situation. Reassure the counselee regarding their mental health (as far as he can tell). Reassure the client about their relationship. While the counseling relationship may be ending, the pastoral relationship is not. The pastor should work to maintain that relationship. Appropriate ways to do this may be through telephone calls, email, notes, and visits.



The pastor should work hard to form a network of sources to refer counselees to. The pastor has a responsibility to know the variety of professionals to whom he might refer. These should range from psychiatrists to Christian counseling programs. He should be careful not to overlook addiction recovery and marriage enrichment programs. The pastor will want to know some things about the counselor or program he is utilizing these include: reputation, training, experience, professional supervision, network of other professionals or hospitals to call on, and faith commitment or appreciation of such a commitment in the client.

Psychology and Counseling for the Christian

In the Genesis account of the creation of man, there is no indication that God only created the physical. In a single act, God created the whole man. I believe this includes not only his physical body, but also his intellect and his emotion. When man sinned and experienced the fall, mankind was sentenced to death. This was primarily a spiritual death, but it clearly included physical death. Along with sin came sickness and disease. This extends beyond the physical body to the intellect and emotion. When my body is sick or injured, I seek the assistance of a medical professional to help restore my health. This does not mean that I do not have confidence in God's ability to heal me. I believe He can heal me either directly or through the work of a skilled physician. God is no less in charge of my healing.

I think the use of psychology within the framework of ministry works in a similar fashion. Broadly defined, psychology is the study of how people think and behave. Thanks to the first Adam and the fall, the way we think and behave has been damaged. Essentially, this is the problem of sin. Clearly, acceptance of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only answer to the problem of sin. There is no biblical reason the study of psychology cannot be one of the tools used show individuals freedom and healing in Christ.

One thing that cannot be denied is that sin leaves scars in people's lives. This is true physically. If an individual lives a life of drug abuse, then accepts Christ as his savior, his body still bears the damage that the drugs caused. Over time, God may heal him and use him. God may even choose to take away the damage done, but that is not an automatic benefit of salvation. This is not unlike the emotion. Damage that is done before a person's conversion is not automatically healed. A trained counselor can be very beneficial in helping this individual experience the freedom and healing found in Christ.

This in no way negates the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. Romans 12 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This implies that God can redeem the damage that has been done. Nowhere does it say He can not or will not use human agency to help accomplish that task.

In my opinion, the use of psychology is both appropriate and beneficial for the Christian worker. It will help him or her offer counsel and insight into some of the ways God can take that which was damaged and make it more useful for His kingdom.

What do you think? What role, if any, do you see for counseling and psychology in Christian ministry?

The Balanced Life II

there seem to be rhythms to life. these might best be described as ebbs and flows of life. there clearly are seasons when our jobs or ministries demand more of our time and energy and times when things seem to just click along. there are times when our families make relatively few demands of us and times when we must focus almost solely on them. i have come to the realization that our lives are not necessarily meant to be balanced so much as they should be lived in obedience to god and in the season he has placed us in.

right now, my life seems as out of balance as i have ever felt. i am finding this feeling very difficult to deal with. i like to have a plan for what i am doing and where i am going. right now there doesn't seem to be one. i am convinced that god is leading me to work in ministry as a vocation. i do not have any strong sense of what that will look like. that feeling of uncertainty is troubling. i would love to serve in my current church home. i do not know if that is what god has for me, or if that is within the capacity of the church. i am not even sure they would want me. i have some good ideas - at least i think they are good - but i don't know if they would work where we are located (or anywhere, for that matter).

i am a student. i am enrolled in college and taking a pretty heavy load, especially considering i am back in college to complete my degree after about fifteen years away. this takes a lot of time. probably too much. i have a part-time associate pastor position in my church. i probably work more than i should (for a part-time position). i say my priority is my wife then children. they might argue with that. i think i am in a season of hard work right now. i am waiting on my season of rest and rebuilding. i feel really out of balance. but i am not called to be balanced. i am called to be obedient. i am called by god to complete my education and work in a church setting. i am called by god to care for my family. i am going to screw up parts of it. when i do, i repent to the ones affected and get back at it and try not to screw up the same thing again (although i likely will).

during all my time of uncertainty, i can rely on one fact. god is good all the time; and all the time, god is good. when i feel out of balance, i can know that god always rights the scales.

The Balanced Life

there are several adjectives you could use to describe my life. balanced is not one of them. i wear a lot of hats. i am a husband, father, college student, and assistant pastor. i am in a small group, a men's group, and i serve in my local church. can that even be balanced? the balanced life. what does that even mean? i was reading through the blogs i read daily, when craig groeschel over at swerve really caused me to think about this. when asked how he balances his life, his response is, "i don't live a balanced life." the more we try to balance our lives, the more we fail at it, and consequently, feel like a failure. i do not know anywhere in scripture we are called to live a balanced life. i think that concept, for all its good intentions, i severly misguided. we are called to live an obedient life. we are called to follow jesus. we are told to live a life worthy of our calling. craig went on to say, "while following jesus, our life will often be out-of-balance. he may lead us on long stretches of ministry followed by a substantial season of rest. ministry will rarely be predictable." he obviously wrote that in the context of leaders in ministry, but i think it applies to all believers. i plan to spend some time thinking about this idea of balance and unbalance. craig will be blogging about it this week. rather than striving for a life of balance, i want to strive for a life of honor to god. let me know what you think about this. i will try to comment further on this idea later this week.