Retooling, Recalibrating, & Releasing for Ministry

Greetings, fellow laborers in Christ (e.g., pastors, chaplains, missionaries, teachers, and other Christian workers)!

If you are like me, your life in ministry has been filled with times of both joy and sorrow, constancy and change, growth and pruning, excitement and exhaustion, ... sometimes all in the same week!

It may have been a while since you graduated from seminary…or perhaps you are still in the formative stages of your ministry. In any event, I’m wondering if this new season finds you sensing the need for…

• Retooling—sharpening your understanding and skills for ministry in a rapidly changing cultural context;
• Recalibrating—your approach to ministry (separating what is merely Western culture from what is more biblical and more orthodox than we have ever been) to an even greater level of biblical faithfulness and missional effectiveness through the process of a learning community;
• Releasing—has the weekly pressure of ministry led you to neglect the dream that God has imparted to you? Is there a ministry passion that has been set on the back burner for longer than you planned?

It is my belief that God wants to use us all to release a gift to the Church and to the world that would benefit from the nurturing accountability of a cohort-based ministry training program. It can be a program that is either academic or non-academic, but it should be deeply relational, honestly wrestling with the scriptures and our methodologies as well as with our own attitudes, words, and actions. It is tough to self-edit, so my prayer is that we all can find a learning community that will facilitate us doing the work together.

Fireworks, Unguarded Words, and Cultural Engagement

Eagle Creek Fire (Photo KATU)

While Houston was horribly flooded by Harvey and Florida evacuates in anticipation of Hurricane Irma, in Portland, known for its rain, it has been a long, hot, and completely dry summer. As usual, many lightning-started wildfires are burning around the state, particularly in Southern Oregon (Chetco Bar Fire) and in the Central Cascades (Milli Fire). 

As I write, approximately 35,000 acres along the Oregon side of the picturesque Columbia Gorge are burning in the Eagle Creek Fire as seen in this time-lapse video.  

This last fire was believed to have been started a week ago by some Washington teenagers throwing fireworks off a forest trail down into the canyon. While some may think that they wanted to start the fire, it might have been less intentional. Perhaps they just wanted to watch a smoke bomb fall and gave no thought to what would happen when it landed in the tinder-dry forest floor or as it bounced from rock to rock, throwing sparks onto very dry grass and leaves.

Photo KOIN-TV

So many have been hurt and inconvenienced by that careless action. All the fire departments in the region have sent resources to help, residents have been evacuated, and I-84 (a crucial transportation corridor) has also been closed to all traffic all week. The entire Portland metro area has been beneath the pall of the cloud of smoke and Mordor-like ashfall. The sun and the moon have been filtered and reddened to an apocalyptic degree for a hundred miles. Images and narratives fill the news and weather broadcasts (competing with floods and hurricanes elsewhere). Public opinion strongly contends that they should have known better. The damage is beyond anything they or their families could ever fix or pay for.

It is hard to watch this consuming story without seeing the latent object lesson in it... 

We all should know better. 

In the New Testament, one of Jesus’ half-brothers wrote a letter for all the churches to read. In an apt metaphor, he warned,

So also the tongue is a small member,

              yet it boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze

      by such a small fire!

And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.

The tongue is set among our members,

               staining the whole body,

               setting on fire the entire course of life,

              and set on fire by hell.

For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue.

It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With it we bless our Lord and Father, and

 with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.

My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and saltwater? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. (James 3:5-12 ESV)

Our insensitive words are even more dangerous when spoken into an environment, a society, a culture, increasingly withered dry by disconnection and relational distrust, choked by structures and systems surprisingly unjust, made brittle by the unkindness (even trauma) of “I must…”.

There are too many tragic cases. In such a context, one of extreme fire danger, we are called to speak, serve, and love. As followers of Jesus, we should submit our words (and the inner condition they reveal) to a higher love than the self.  To a love that, when it speaks, reveals the One who claimed,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and recovering of sight to the blind,
    to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
    to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)

Certainly, we need to set a guard over our lips so that instead of cutting people down, our words and deeds might heal wounds and bind up the brokenhearted in a God-honoring way (Prov. 12:18; Psalm 147:2-3). We also need to learn how to engage those whose beliefs and experiences are different than our own in a way that doesn’t start a damaging fire of invective or pollute the place of meeting with the noxious smoke of ignorance.

For those of us who are in places of leadership and influence, it is important that we learn to minister in this changing cultural environment. We must unlearn some of our old ways so that we can reach the world in a more biblical, more relational, and more Kingdom-oriented way than before. 

Our words, as well as our tone and demeanor, even when we are speaking the truth, can be incendiary if we don’t first clear relational space to be heard with a healthy amount of love, listening, and learning how what we say is interpreted and understood. 

Photo by Bjørn Tore Økland
 on Unsplash

It is helpful to be reminded that we are not called to defend this place as our home, where we can demand our rights. Rather, we are called to die to that impulse in ourselves and serve God and humanity as ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven in a way that shows forth the overflowing heart of God. Christ’s ambassadors are not to leave scorched earth and a pall of smoke in their path; rather, they are to turn the valley of weeping into a wellspring of life (Psalm 84:6)!

Fan into Flame the Gift

My last post concluded with these verses and the following encouragement,

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame [ἀναζωπυρέω] the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:6-7) 

Is there something that God has put on your heart to do, but the pressures of daily ministry and the fear of the unknown have kept you from doing it? Perhaps now is the time to revisit it.

I am going to take up that advice and revisit the topic here today...

Pastors and other Christian workers usually begin their ministry with an idealistic enthusiasm for the mission to which they have been called. The preceding verse suggests that this was true of Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.” (v.5)

Timothy not only had a sincere faith personally, but was part of a heritage of faith. He also had been given “the gift of God” through Paul’s prayer. And yet Paul considered it important to remind him to rekindle or “fan into flame” [anazopureo: to kindle again] that gift. In this post, I want to do the same thing.

It's harder to build a fire
in the rain. But all
 the more necessary.

So why would we need to hear this message again? I think that doing the work of the ministry and participating in ongoing spiritual warfare can tend to dampen the flame with distractions, doubts, and the fog of discouragement. This also happens as men and women get caught up in what I call the “machine” of ministry—dealing primarily with the organization, administration, planning, budgeting, production, and never-ending deadlines that come with western ministry leadership—which can quickly entomb their initial gift, starving it of the spiritual wind it needs to burst into flame.

We live in dark days—days when people need to see authentic lives empowered by the Holy Spirit, seeking to live out their love for Jesus. Such lives bring both light and heat for the good of all. However, the well-cooled machine of church culture is not so friendly to such divergent light and heat. So if we are going to revisit and rekindle the very reason Christ called us into his great mission, then we will need to be intentional about it.

Photo by Erwan Hesry on Unsplash

What is the gift that God has put in you for the Church? What is the purifying coal of service from the very altar of God that has been planted within you, that which, when we let God overcome both our fear and our fatigue, might change the world (Isaiah 6:5-8)? Perhaps it involves one of the five ecclesial gifts—mentioned by St. Paul—that the Lord has given to the church, “apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds (pastors), and teachers.” (Eph. 4:11-13). No church is complete without each and every God-given, Spirit-empowered part working together. Yet are we making the church look like only one of the gifts? Or are we leaving one of the essential gifts out of the local church because it might be culturally unseemly? Dr. Tim Robnett (the former MU faculty mentor for Global Evangelism) thinks so. He contends that we are systemically ignoring the need for gifted evangelists in the local church.

Photo by Madi Robson on Unsplash

Fanning the gift into flame might also involve one or more of the “sign” or “charismatic” gifts (1 Cor. 12), but it is not limited to such a list. These lists are certainly not exhaustive nor constrictive, but empowering for the evangelistic and discipling mission and the edification (building up) of the community of believers. Jesus has a place and a purpose for each of us to fill…without which the church is less than it should be. So, how has the love of Christ transformed us and quickened our spirit to humbly meet some needs, right some wrongs, or declare some truths, as a participation in his restorative mission?

The church grows when “every part is working properly” (Eph. 4:16). This doesn’t mean that we all should do the same things in the same way. Instead, we need to be working as God has designed, called, and empowered us to work; not merely doing what others have taught us to do. Just as the Lord inspired and worked through all the different people who wrote the Scriptures—processing his message through their backgrounds, personalities, passions, and education, so he desires to work through our uniqueness to touch the world. At the same time, this post is not an encouragement for us to do our own thing regardless of what others have done. God’s purposes for our lives, like good theology, are best discerned in community. This is one reason we should seek out someone who can be a Cupbearer in our lives. 

This is also a good reason why churches should invest in the continuing education of their pastors—such as what takes place through a cohort-based MA or DMin program. 

So I ask again, do you know what gift you are being called to develop, evaluate, refine, and give to bless the church? I hope you will not hide it under your bed (Luke 8:16) but, as Jesus instructed the twelve, "Freely you have received; freely give" (Matt. 10:8).

As we collectively fan into flame the gift of God within us, our authentic example becomes a beacon, encouraging others to do the same. Jesus said that if we are filled with the light of Christ’s love, and participate in the redemptive mission of God, no matter what kind of opposition we face, we will find that our light cannot be hidden. 

Photo by Al x on Unsplash

5. A Cupbearer Is Both Ministry Coach, and Missional Incubator

The last two Cupbearer roles—the ministry coach and the missional incubator—are more common in our ministry culture. Many people call themselves coaches, and many want to plant the seeds of mission in others. However, the distinctiveness of the cupbearer approach is that it would encourage the minister to apply the humble-shared glory motif throughout all areas of their ministry. Similarly, the mission that ought to be incubated and released through their ministry is intentionally Trinitarian and relational. If there is less mission or orthodoxy than desired, the Cupbearer might use a problem-posing approach, asking the pastor to think about an answer and then follow up later.

Cupbearers as ministry coaches will encourage the development of kingdom values, building on the Trinitarian glory model (i.e., it is shared, humble, and invitational) in keeping with Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount and specifically the beatitudes. From these kingdom values, will come an analysis of the fruit of the ministry entrusted to them, not the false narrative of the numbers game, but the kind of fruit that issues forth from the presence of the Holy Spirit in a faithful believer. The role of a ministry coach is neither to hand out participation trophies nor is it to shame pastors into conforming to a popular model. It is rooted in the teachings, commissions, and promises of Jesus Christ and is motivated by the love of God poured into our lives, as Paul wrote to the believers in Rome,

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)

In such an approach, God sees to it that nothing is wasted. We can rejoice even in suffering for it produces endurance à character à hope. At the very least, suffering is laboratory learning! Jesus, our savior and example, became human to identify with us, and in the process, the one who is omniscient in his divine nature actually learned obedience through suffering in his human nature. As Hebrews 5:7-10 says,

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Missional incubation is a natural function of the Cupbearer's calling, for they are as committed to fulfilling the missio Dei (mission of God) as anyone if thought is taken to do it Jesus’ way and in cooperation with others. In the West, we like strong leaders who get things done, but at the same time, we don’t like being told what to do. What we need are spiritual leaders who fully expect that their followers are hearing from God and are empowered by the Holy Spirit in their own lives, and don’t need the leader to tell them what to do in order to do what needs to be done. The late Rev. Ron Mehl once shared in a pastoral staff meeting,

“A strong leader says, ‘This is what we’re doing!’

 A spiritual leader says, ‘What are we doing?’ He has the willingness to release   

 leadership to [others so they can] do what they are called to do.”

I love the stories of a former missionary who never told national pastors what to do (“You need to plant a church in such-and-such town”) but simply asked them questions about what they might do (e.g., “If you were to plant a church where would you plant one?”) which peaked their imagination and incubated the mission already placed within them from the Lord. Cupbearers, like Jesus in his passion, do not seek to shout in the streets, neither adding to the bruising experience of life in ministry, nor snuffing out the smoldering wicks of your dreams and callings (Matt.12:19-21), but rather they desire to restore, rekindle, and release it.

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:6-7) 

Is there something that God has put on your heart to do, but the pressures of daily ministry and the fear of the unknown have kept you from doing it? Perhaps now is the time to revisit it.

4. A Cupbearer is a Theological Investigator

From the role of a spiritual director, it is natural that the Cupbearer is also what I call a "Theological Investigator." 

Call Before You Dig

While the label "theological investigator" may sound a bit like the infamous Spanish Inquisition, there is nothing to fear because it is outside of our organizational power structures. A better analogy for theological investigation would be the 811 locating services that are called to mark any underground utilities on your property before you do any digging. Such location work is done to prevent injuries and expensive repairs, as well as inconvenience for the neighbors when their service is interrupted because of your bad decision. 

How often do we take time to do such theological locating before we dig into the tasks at hand?

Praxis

The late Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire, defined “praxis” as action and reflection working together in mutuality. If we sacrifice action, then our reflection is just so much “idle chatter” or wasted words (verbalism); similarly, if we sacrifice reflection [e.g., theology], then all we are doing is merely engaging in “activism.”^[1] The Cupbearer brings the theological reflection part of Freire’s praxis equation that is used to learn what the theological foundation and trajectory of a teaching, an attitude, or a missional action would be. Such an inquiry is not done didactically but dialogically, prompting the participant to follow the trail where it leads and to report their conclusions.

Praxis that honors our Trinitarian God and expresses itself in transformational care for people will not happen by accident, nor by merely shifting our methodologies, but through training current and future leaders in the church to understand the “Why?” behind it all.

Tim Keller has also developed something similar to this idea as theological vision… 

Theological vision is hard, but it is what pastors need. Urban pastors struggle to connect doctrinal foundations to ministry expression in a meaningful way. There is a tendency either to overcontextualize to the city (which usually leads to weakening or relativizing a church’s commitment to orthodoxy) or to undercontextualize (which leads to inward-facing churches that reach only certain kinds of people and fail to advance a movement of the gospel in the community). But we find that the quality of the theological vision often determines the vitality of the ministry, particularly in urban settings.[2]

Whiplash and Withdrawal

Because of a lack of theological reflection in their praxis equation, some churches continually switch the things they are doing, and the methodologies employed to do them, without articulating the underlying reasons for it. Thus, members are confused about what they should believe. Since they may never have been shown the beliefs behind their actions, when the actions or programs change, they conclude that the foundational beliefs have changed. Such uncertainty and unsettledness have led many formerly engaged volunteers to step back from regular ministry involvement. There is even a name for such people, “Dones.” While pastoral mistakes are not responsible for all such withdrawals, there needs to be a change to prevent further relational and missional damage to the body of Christ.

Measure Twice, Cut Once

The conventional wisdom states, “Measure twice, cut once.” In my case, as I mentioned in my previous post, it has more to do with printing than with cutting. Everyone who writes needs a proofreader or editor, for they are often unable to discern their own blind spots. 

As a professor, when reading my students’ papers, I find them filled with typos, grammatical errors, wrong words (those that spell-checkers don’t catch), and unfinished sentences (due to “cut & paste” editing). They would all benefit from a proofreader before turning in their work. I wouldn’t have to buy so many red pens! But as much as I can mark up a student’s paper or that of colleagues in my doctoral cohorts, I confess that I am no different. When I do my own writing, I rarely have anyone willing to proofread for me, and the work invariably ends up containing embarrassing errors. Life is no different. Paul David Tripp says it this way, “Perhaps every pastor needs to humbly recognize that because of the blinding power of remaining sin, self-examination is a community project.”[3] If a pastor is willing to seek biblical counsel and desires honest feedback, then the Cupbearers Initiative is for them!

One way that Christian leaders can better develop kingdom-minded disciples is by thinking, praying, and discussing the issues together before making missional decisions and acting on them. The church would benefit from taking a balanced form of Paulo Freire’s ideas of dialogue and praxis seriously and stopping doing “mission” without first considering the theological foundation for such actions. Inserting Freire’s concept of “praxis” into the culture of the Evangelical church means properly balancing “theological reflection” with “missional action.”

In my own church culture, churches are quite good at doing stuff, but not very good at knowing why they are doing it. Cupbearers should help you with this.

---

[1] Paulo Freire, “Pedagogy of the Oppressed." 30th Anniversary ed. Translated by Myra B. Ramos (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2000), 87.

[2] Timothy J. Keller, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Grand Rapids: Zondervan), Kindle Locations 305-309.  

[3] Paul David Tripp, Dangerous Calling [Good News Publishers. Kindle Edition], 73.

3. A Cupbearer is a Spiritual Director

One of the roles filled by a ministry Cupbearer is that of being a spiritual director. This term is used with considerable reservation for two reasons. 

First, there is a reservation because the word “director” can easily be misunderstood. In this context, it is not a director in terms of telling others where to go, stand, speak, enter, and exit, but more in the sense of providing directions, upon request, to help someone get where they are trying to go. The former meaning implies control and power over the participant, and the latter implies being a helper, a fully human resource walking in a relationship with another. Jesus’ own ministry with his followers involved time spent together, walking, eating, teaching, questioning, and praying, as well as challenging false ideas and sinful attitudes, such as their constant quarrel over who was the greatest. 

Photo by Severin Höin on Unsplash

Secondly, “spiritual director” is used with reservation in that it is a term once only known to Catholic Monastics and New Age practitioners and often has been a departure from Biblical orthodoxy into an uncentered mysticism. However, in recent years, Protestants and Evangelicals are once again seeking to connect with the larger stream of the Christian tradition in ways to deepen their relationship with Christ and with the church at large.

As a spiritual director, a Cupbearer seeks to encourage pastors to continue their spiritual journey (in step with the Holy Spirit -- Gal. 5:16, 25) instead of settling for some high-water mark they experienced in the past. Without forgetting what Jesus has done in the past, pastors should be challenged to stop depending on the way they have always done it and be open to experiencing the transforming love of Christ today. 

Synthesizing theological reading, with case studies from church history, affective spiritual practices, and Bible journaling, the Cupbearer as a spiritual director encourages a deepening of devotional life that is separate from their sermon preparation and other church work (Acts 20:27-28). Yet, taking a page from a humble glory pedagogy, a cupbearer begins by asking them where they feel like they need to grow and what kind of help they would like to do so. Here are a few scriptures that speak to this subject...

• 1 Corinthians 11:2 Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.
• 2 Timothy 1:13-14 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
• 2 Timothy 2:1-2 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
• 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.
• Hebrews 13:7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

Do you have someone in your life who helps you in this way? Can you think of other verses that encourage us to be this for each other?

2. A Cupbearer is a Confidential Sounding Board

The second function of the Cupbearer Initiative, after that of A Brother (or Sister) in Arms, is that of a trusted adviser, an adviser in the sense of a confidential sounding board. 

Sometimes we just need a safe place to be able to share our ideas where the lightning won’t start fires or frighten others. Do we have someone with whom we can share such ideas? Sure, at some point we will need to share our ideas and plans with our staff, elder board, and church council. However, our staff and council may not feel comfortable opposing our ideas if we are passionate about them. And as staff, perhaps we are tentative about sharing our developing ideas and opinions with our superiors. What if they say no or are critical? Power dynamics tend to hinder open and honest communication within an organizational structure. The ancient cupbearer was often considered the king’s closest adviser, for he had skin in the game—the safety of the king was his job—and yet he had no path to power. As a result, he was not a threat and could be trusted to be refreshingly candid when asked for feedback.

The Scriptures are filled with teaching about the wisdom of getting good counsel before making important decisions, but in our culture, that is often taken as a sign of weakness. Likewise, any opposition to our plans can trigger our own insecurities and make us more defensive than we need to be. Here are just a few of those Scriptural admonitions to seek wise counsel:

• It is wise to get counsel and to consider the consequences of a course of action (Deut. 32:28-29).
• It is presumption on our part to not ask counsel from the Lord (Joshua 9:14).
• Some will follow us only as long as their counsel is followed, and when we don’t do things their way, they will leave like Ahithophel did (2 Samuel 17:23).
• Listening only to those who feed our ego and self-importance is disastrous, as we can see in the life of Rehoboam (1 Kings 12; 2 Chronicles. 10).
• Even after hearing clear directions from the Lord, it is still wise to take counsel with those whom it affects on how to implement those directions (2 Chron. 20:20-22).
• We need to consider the source, for some will offer us wicked counsel (2 Chron. 22:1-5).
• Our taking counsel may play a part in our experiencing repentance, revival, and the return to the Lord we all desire to see (2 Chron. 30:2ff).
• Without counsel, our plans fail (Prov. 11:14; 15:22; 20:18; 24:6).

One of the most tragic parables in the Bible is that of the Rich Fool, where Jesus tells about a rich man who did not take counsel with anyone but himself (Luke 12:13-21). Kenneth E. Bailey in Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes does an excellent job of pointing out the cultural and spiritual foolishness of such a self-focused and self-directed position. The saying, “he who defends himself in court has a fool for a client,” is true in the area of counsel and self-examination as well. Have we become so isolated from others because of the pressures and perceptions of our ministry that we have no one with whom to talk over our decisions and get honest counsel? Isaiah 5:8 says,

“Woe to those who join house to house,
    who add field to field,
until there is no more room,
    and you are made to dwell alone
    in the midst of the land.”

Ultimately, we should work towards an open and honest environment where we can freely share ideas and offer constructive opposition or cautious encouragement without the constant fear of being “voted off the island.” Let’s face it, in our culture, we often “eat” our naysayers and whistle-blowers. It is a rare leader indeed who rewards those who love him or her and the mission enough to stand up to them if needed. Too often, our quest for consensus and unity means that the followers must agree with the leader instead of genuinely seeking the Lord’s direction together.

Our dream for the Cupbearer Initiative is to be able to help pastors and leaders think through their ideas, carefully considering potential opposition and weighing the practical and theological consequences offline before going public. Over my more than 30 years in ministry, I have seen a few pastors make draconian changes regarding staffing, structure, and mission of the church/organization they serve with little or no conversation with those most affected. Such leadership needs to be held in check so that we might consider God’s leading and work in the lives of the people as at least as valid as his work in and through us.

Let me close this section with an illustration and a quote.

We all need a proofreader, for we are often unable to discern our own blind spots. When I read my students’ papers, they are filled with typos, grammatical errors, wrong words (that spell checkers don’t catch), and unfinished sentences (due to cut & paste editing). They would benefit greatly from a proofreader before turning in their work. I wouldn’t have to buy so many red pens! But as much as I can mark up an undergraduate student’s paper or even that of a doctoral student, I have to confess that I am no different. When I do writing of my own, I frequently don’t have anyone willing to proofread for me, and it often ends up containing embarrassing errors.

Paul David Tripp says it this way, “Perhaps every pastor needs to humbly recognize that because of the blinding power of remaining sin, self-examination is a community project.”[1] 

If we are willing to seek counsel and desire honest feedback, then the Cupbearers Initiative is for us!

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[1] Paul David Tripp, Dangerous Calling [Good News Publishers. Kindle Edition], 73.