Packer on Reading and Study

"I think that the priority for every pastoral leader must be his own personal time with God over the Scriptures, and anything he does by way of preparation must flow out of that. The first requirement for authoritative, perceptive communication of the word of God is that you yourself should be experiencing the power of it. The Puritan John Owen said, ‘A man only preaches that sermon well which first preaches itself in his own soul.’ He was profoundly right." J.I. Packer

A Plan for Reading and Study

A while back I promised a post on how to develop a plan for reading and study. We’ve been covering a variety of topics on this blog, but I didn’t forget my promise. I hope this brief post proves helpful.

If you haven’t already read all the great posts on this topic–provided by Lig (his series might still be going), Mark and Al–please make time to peruse this material. And if you’ve already read it, let me encourage you to review it again. You will be freshly inspired by the content and discouraged by all you’ve forgotten.

It’s important to read these posts again, because if you don’t have a conviction about the importance of study, talking about a plan would be premature. Let the following words by Charles Bridges create a renewed conviction about the importance of studying Scripture–not simply because we are pastors, but because we are Christians:

“For if we should study the Bible more as ministers than as Christians, more to find matter for the instruction of our people than food for the nourishment of our own souls, we neglect to place ourselves at the feet of our divine teacher, our communion with him is cut off and we become mere formalists in our sacred profession.”

May God protect us from becoming “mere formalists in our sacred profession.”

So, do you have a plan for reading and study? Do you have a plan for each week, each month and each year? If not, your good intentions will be hijacked by the urgent and issues of secondary importance. You will look busy and maybe even feel productive, but eventually there will be a withering effect on your soul and in your preaching. But this doesn’t have to happen. It’s not inevitable, unless, of course, you don’t have a plan.

Here is what I recommend. Before your week attacks you (and each week will do this), attack your week. Spend time at the beginning of each week determining when and how long you need to read and study in order to cultivate passion for the Savior and prepare the sermon for Sunday. This simple practice can make all the difference. It has for me.

This practice protects my time of study from the many requests that come up each week. Because I have already determined what is most important, it is easier to decline or reschedule a request if it interferes with reading and study. Obviously, however, there will be emergencies and exceptions.

I would also recommend informing the church of your divinely prescribed mandate to study. This will help your people to understand this is a biblical priority for you as their pastor, and not simply a personal preference. Explain why you devote yourself to this task and how they will ultimately benefit. And ask them to pray for you as you devote yourself to the study of Scripture in service of the church.

So how much time should you devote to reading and studying each week, month or year? Lots! Actually, I can’t answer that question for you. You must work hard and seek counsel to come up with your own custom-designed plan. If you don’t know how or where to start, check out John Stott’s time allotments for study (apart from sermon preparation), which he has followed for many years:

One hour a day
One 3 hour period a week

One day every month

One week every year

This plan sure seems to have worked well for Mr. Stott.

Now, let me conclude with one personal recommendation. I encourage pastors to take two 3-day retreats each year for the purpose of reading, study, praying and planning. Put these dates on the calendar before the year begins. I have found that this unhurried time away from the daily routine of ministry refreshes my soul and makes all the difference in my leadership. I believe it will have the same affect on you. I would however, not recommend taking a retreat in March. The temptation to watch college basketball is too distracting. So take your retreat in a month where there is no Madness!

The Christian Response to Christ's Resurrection

Thanks Al for a great post on the Gospel (and don’t you love C.J.’s answer to his own questions?!), and for pointing us to Mark’s important article on the atonement. Thanks Mark for the Spurgeon quote.

I quoted John Piper yesterday, during the morning services (from his Easter sermon in 2000). It’s a great example of a Gospel response to the power of Christ’s resurrection. John tells the story of Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards – two elderly missionaries who had just then died in Cameroon in a car accident. John says: "Ruby [was] in her eighties and Laura in her seventies. Ruby gave all her life in medical missions among the poor. Laura, a doctor who practiced in India for many years and then here in the Cities, was giving her retirement for the bodies and the souls of the poor in Cameroon. Both died suddenly when their car went over a cliff."

John then asks: "Was that a tragedy? Well, in one sense all death is tragic."

The following is John’s answer:

Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards, at their age, could have been taking it easy here in retirement. Think of tens of thousands of retired people spending their lives in one aimless leisure after another – that is a tragedy. The fact that Jesus Christ took authority to make Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards valiant for love and truth among the poor and lost and diseased of Cameroon when most Americans are playing their way into eternity – that is not tragedy. And that he took them suddenly to heaven in their old age in the very moment of their love and service and sacrifice, and without long, drawn-out illnesses and without protracted and oppressive feelings of uselessness – that is not a tragedy. Rather, I say, "Give me that death, O Jesus Christ, Lord of the universe, give me that life and that ministry and that death!"

This is why Jesus came. This is why he was crucified. This is why he rose from the dead with all authority and promised to be with us to the end of the age – to create a people whose sins are forgiven, and whose hearts are full of the love of God, and who are so emboldened by the triumphant Christ, that they spend their lives with risk and sacrifice and love to help others know and enjoy the greatness of Christ forever and ever.

Is this not what you were made for? Is there not something in your own soul that witnesses to you that this is true and worthy of full acceptance?

Dever on the Old Testament

Al, thanks for recommending Mark’s article on the atonement in Christianity Today and commending Mark for this article. I couldn’t agree more. And thanks for your fine post on the meaning of the gospel.

In case you guys didn’t know, Mark’s latest book, The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made, was just published by Crossway. It is a must-have for every pastor’s library, and it is outstanding. Not to mention, it is only 959 pages in length.

This book comes with some serious endorsements. Check out the following:

"This book is a landmark in the history of Bible expostion–a homiletical tour de force." Phil Ryken

"Mark Dever’s one-sermon whole-Bible-book overviews are a treasure trove for preachers, Bible teachers and growing Christians." Ligon Duncan

"Mark Dever has done the Christian community a great service in publishing these sermons." David Peterson

"This is a bold project, some might say foolhardy, but Mark Dever has brilliantly succeeded." Vaughn Roberts

"In a day of worrisome biblical illiteracy, even among Christians, there is a pressing need for books that give the big picture and provide surefooted guides for negotiating the Bible’s vast and subtle territory. To produce such a book is no easy task, yet that is what Dr. Dever has done." Carl Trueman

"Once again, this Duke graduate makes the university and the basketball team proud." Coach K

And the endorsements just go on and on, as they should for this book. Although the endorsement by Coach K cannot be verified.

Mark, thanks for all your hard work over the years preparing this material. Thanks for your compelling example in the pulpit by preaching this material. And thanks for providing pastors and Christians with this material.