FULFILL YOUR MINISTRY 2 Timothy 3:14-4:1-8 First Presbyterian Church Dr. Michael A. Roberts September 23, 2018

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1 1 2 Timothy 3:14-4:8 FULFILL YOUR MINISTRY 2 Timothy 3:14-4:1-8 First Presbyterian Church Dr. Michael A. Roberts September 23, But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, 15 and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is inspired by God and is [a] useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. 4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: 2 proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. 5 As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully. 6 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing. I was ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament nearly 35 years ago. The service was on Sunday evening, there was a full congregation, and it was a most festive occasion. After I kneeled for the laying on of hands, I couldn t get up, my legs were so weak. I was helped to my feet by my friends. After that wonderful night, I became a Reverend. I can still see those first envelops with the Rev. before my name. What an honor! I ve been a pastor now for 35 years, 5 years as an Associate Pastor and of course, 30 years as your pastor. To reflect with you about these years, I ve chosen as my text 2 Timothy 4. This has been an important, formative text for my ministry. The night I was ordained, a close friend of mine presented the charge to me using this scripture passage. He gave me a plaque which summarized his charge. It has hung in my office since then. Since that time, this passage has shaped the priorities and values of my ministry. In a prophetic way, this passage has ended up describing my ministry. The key verses are verses 2 and 5: Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching... always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

2 2 Proclaim the message. Literally, proclaim the word. I ve been called to the ministry of Word and Sacrament. My primary calling is to proclaim the word through preaching and teaching. We Presbyterians say there are two kinds of elders, ruling elders and teaching elders. I have been called to be faithful in explaining, interpreting, and expounding the scriptures. In 2 Timothy, the apostle Paul gives specific guidance to a young pastor, Timothy. He reminds him of the faith he learned from childhood and of the importance of scripture in his formation. Continue in what you have learned from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. The scriptures tell the story of God's great acts of redemption, culminating in the cross and resurrection of Jesus. The Bible describes the good news of God's love and our response of gratitude and obedience. This book's purpose is about leading us to salvation. The Bible is also full of specific, particular content that is intended to inform our lives. Scripture gives direction, helps reform and correct our lives. The Bible challenges us constantly. Scripture reforms our lives and the life of the church. This book is God s gift to us to help us grow, to expand our horizons, to challenge us, and equip us to serve. Pastors are called, as 2 Timothy says to be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable. That has been an important word in my ministry. There are times when the occasion of proclamation is favorable and other times unfavorable, sometimes convenient, sometimes inconvenient. There have been times when people did not want to hear the word I preached. Shoot, there have been times when I did not want to hear the word I preached. A faithful pastor stays at the task whether it is convenient or not. A faithful pastor gives the people not only what they want, but what they need. As the New English Bible translates this phrase: Press it home on all occasions, convenient or inconvenient. We are, as 2 Timothy says, to convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. All of those words are important in the process. We are to convince, there is a rational process in preaching. We are to rebuke, or challenge God s people including ourselves at times. We are to encourage, to lift up, to comfort God s people. Preaching needs to include careful instruction and teaching. It is appropriate to have an educational element in sermons. And preachers need to be patient. They need to be faithful, consistent, persistent- To preach the word with great patience and careful instruction (NIV).

3 3 Our constitution informs us that A minister of the Word and Sacrament is responsible for the selection of Scriptures to be read in public worship. Selected readings are to be drawn from both Old and New Testaments, and over a period of time should reflect the broad content and full message of Scripture. Selections for readings should be guided by the rhythms of the Christian year, events in the world, and pastoral concerns in the local congregation. Lectionaries ensure a broad range of biblical texts as well as consistency and connection with the universal Church (W ). This is a responsibility that I took most seriously especially as my pastorate here lengthened. Over time, the full canon of scripture can narrow to just the pastor s preferences. I believe that God s people need to hear sermons on all of scripture, the Old and New Testaments. I was personally committed to reading and preaching the whole counsel of God. I preached and taught on almost all of the Bible at least twice. I preached from the Revised Common Lectionary faithfully for over 20 years. I also practiced what is known as continuous reading. Our Presbyterian Book of Common Worship says this about continuous reading: Instead of the medieval lectionary, the Reformers recovered an ancient tradition of reading and preaching through the books of the Bible in course Some may wish to adopt the principle of continuous reading as an alternative to the lectionary. In such cases, a book of the Bible (or a portion of a book) is chosen on the basis of its appropriateness for the particular season in the liturgical life of the church. Then chapter by chapter, or verse by verse, the whole message of the chosen book is proclaimed in an orderly manner over a series of weeks or months. The principle of continuous reading provides a responsible alternative to the use of the Common Lectionary in liturgical reading of the Bible and in preaching in worship (p. 1034). This was the main way of the Protestant reformers and has remained one of my favorites. We had fun going through many biblical books together: Genesis and Exodus, the Psalms, the Gospels of Luke and John, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, James, and Revelation to name just some of the books we journeyed through together. Looking back over these decades, I ve certainly attempted to be faithful in my calling as a minister of the Word. As a church, you have allowed me to fulfill my primary calling from God to proclaim God s word. Your weekly affirmation of my preaching and teaching has truly encouraged me and sustained me through the years. As the NIV puts it: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction (NIV). The charge to young Timothy continues in verse 5. This is more general now: As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry

4 4 fully. This is not necessarily what we would expect to hear about pastoral ministry. If someone was giving counsel today they probably would not emphasize the same things. Yet, I have found that this counsel has great relevance. The night of my ordination, my friend took each of these phrases in turn to speak of the life of a pastor. Always be sober. We can understand this word both literally and figuratively. Don t be intoxicated, that is not befitting a spiritual leader. And figuratively speaking, a pastor is to be well-balanced, controlled, wakeful, aware, engaged. I like the way the New English Bible puts it: always be calm and sane. Believe me, pastors need to be calm and sane. They often need to be the non-anxious presence in a situation. For church life is often the opposite- chaotic, crazy, and very anxious. We are struck by the next charge to young pastor Timothy- endure suffering. When I was ordained, I didn t know what that meant. Now I do. We don t expect to hear that word but it is a helpful word for pastors- endure suffering or hardship. Some suffering for a pastor comes from identifying with the hurts and struggles of a congregation. A pastor shares many, many hurts and much grief with the people. In my decades of pastoral ministry, there have been hundreds of home visits and hundreds of visits in hospital rooms. There have been anxieties and depressions and addictions. If a pastor is human, they feel the heaviness of those many moments. I ve had my share of suffering as I have come alongside of you, as you have struggled. So suffering comes from identification. Some suffering in ministry, though, I have to admit is self-inflicted. I ve made a number of mistakes in the years of my ministry. I ve said things I shouldn t have. I ve had to apologize to people. There have also been periods when I have overcommitted myself. There have been times when I ve struggled to balance the needs of my family, doctoral work, presbytery or seminary involvement, building programs, and the normal ministry of a growing congregation. There have been periods when I haven t balanced these very well at all. In the ministry, pastors need to endure suffering, even when it is selfinflicted. The third counsel to young Timothy is to do the work of an evangelist. When I was ordained I did not think of myself as an evangelist. I still don t think that I have the gift of evangelism but as I look back over the years of my ministry, the ministry of evangelism, of making disciples was a primary focus of my ministry. I learned a great deal about evangelism and church growth during these years. In the end, my doctoral work focused on evangelism and making disciples. My final doctoral project was titled Developing a Teaching Guide for Presbyterian Newcomers. My sermon books Foundations and Beginnings were intended to respond to common questions, help people learn about the faith and to assist people to grow spiritually.

5 5 I began as Pastor here on September 27, 1988 and 14 days later I began to teach my first New Member Class. Back in May, I finished teaching my 74th New Member Class. It has been in those classes, most of all, where there has been an intersection between my teaching ministry and the ministry of evangelism. I ve now taught that class to nearly 1000 people, including many of you, in the last 30 years. God has honored my efforts in unexpected and fulfilling ways. I ve learned that evangelism, especially in our time and in our mainline church context, is truly a critical part of pastoral ministry. The last charge to the young pastor Timothy is the most general one- carry out your ministry fully. Fulfill your ministry. In other words, live up to your potential in ministry. Every pastor is involved in similar activities: preaching, teaching, administration, visiting, counseling. Each pastor also has other responsibilities that they are called and gifted to emphasize and focus upon. As I look back on the thirty-five years of my pastoral ministry I realize that I ve emphasized preaching, teaching, caring, and leading. In addition, God has called me to emphasize the development of leaders, buildings, and stewardship. I ve been involved in five 3- year capital campaigns, three major building projects, and two significant renovations. That was a major involvement of time and emphasis that I certainly did not anticipate on the night I was ordained. Every pastor (and every elder and deacon for that matter) is asked the question: Will you seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love? I have attempted to do that, to give everything I have to serve the people and carry out my ministry fully. Thirty-five years ago I entered the company of pastors. I joined thousands of others in a calling that extends back at least 2000 years. As I have studied I realize that what pastors do today is not all that different from what clergy did in say 300 a.d. Think about that. That thought staggers me. How many occupations today can you say that about? But the essentials of pastoral ministry- preaching, teaching, counseling, caring, visiting, and leading are still the same. Oh, I write my sermons on a laptop now (on my first day here in Georgetown I brought my typewriter with me!). Things change but the core of my ministry essentially remains the same. I sense the great blessing and the great responsibility that it means to be part of this company of pastors.

6 6 One of the most fulfilling aspects of being a pastor has been the opportunity to be with people in some of the most important times of life. It has been an honor for me to visit in the hospital, to provide support for a family in crisis, to visit with an individual who struggles with grief, to help prepare a couple for the commitment of marriage, to be with a family in planning a funeral and remembering a loved one s life. I count the opportunity to be with you in those moments, as your pastor, as a unique and tremendous privilege. Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully. PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE Lord Jesus Christ, we gather together to acknowledge your lordship over our lives and over this church. We are grateful for the love you expressed to each of us in your sacrificial death and victorious resurrection. We come today admitting that we would not be in this place if it were not for your redemption and compassion for us. We are grateful that you wish to be related to us. You are interested in our lives. You are interested in our transformation. We pray together that you may work with us. Help us to listen. Help us to respond with gratitude and obedience. Work in our lives and in the life of our congregation in ways that you have never worked before. Stretch us, challenge us, comfort us, love us, we pray. There are many in our congregation today who need your special care, Faithful and Loving God. There are many who are undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatments. There are many recovering from or facing surgery in the coming week. There are many who are worried deeply about their children or grandchildren. There are many who struggle daily with the loss of a loved one. There are many who are at end of their earthly lives. We know you to be faithful, Dear Jesus. We call upon you to be faithful to all who are hurting and in need of your tender care and compassion. Holy Spirit, you call us as a church to be faithful. You give us our mission and you strengthen us for that mission. We thank you for the dozens and hundreds of people who give of themselves for all these ministries. We are grateful for those who serve. We ask you now, Holy and Faithful God, to be with us. We need your help. We need your guidance and perspective. We need your power and strength. We are here to serve youhelp us to be humble and compassionate and faithful. Here we are, Loving God, your people gathered before you. Here to worship you, to proclaim your importance in our lives. May your Spirit assist us to deepen our roots and produce fruit in our life with you. We pray in the name of the One who calls us, even Jesus. Amen.