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notes_blog_2020 [2020/04/21 14:03] – [Pastoral Ministry: A Truncated View] gregkedronotes_blog_2020 [2020/10/19 18:24] (current) – [Blog 2020] gregkedro
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 ====== Blog 2020 ====== ====== Blog 2020 ======
 +
 +This "blog" is just a brain-dump area. Formal studies that have been worked out, studied out, written up, etc. are in another section (like Topical, Various).
  
 Stuff I wanna look over later:  Stuff I wanna look over later: 
Line 9: Line 11:
 ---- ----
  
 +===== Content Value Hierarchy =====
 +
 +https://danielmiessler.com/blog/the-content-value-hierarchy-cvh/
 +
 +{{ :blog_2020:content_value_hierarchy.jpg?direct |https://danielmiessler.com/blog/the-content-value-hierarchy-cvh/}}
 +
 +It’s important for content creators—especially those in the newsletter and podcast spaces—to know what level of content they’re bringing to their audience.
 +  - **Discovery:** You’re just surfacing random, interesting stuff for your audience.
 +  - **Curation:** You’re being extremely conscientious about the quality of what you surface.
 +  - **Analysis:** You don’t just show them content; you’re also telling them why it matters.
 +  - **Vision:** You’re creating original ideas that help them navigate the world.
 +
 +**Summary**
 +  * There has been a massive adoption trend around newsletters and podcasts, with people signing up for tons of them.
 +  * Content moves through a value progression of Discovery, Curation, Analysis, and Vision.
 +  * As people get overwhelmed with all the content they’ve signed up for, they’re likely to drop most of the newsletters and podcasts at the first and second levels.
 +  * The highest chance you have of remaining on someone’s list after they cut 90% of their subscriptions is to provide analysis of what’s going on, and/or vision around what might be coming.
 +
 +----
 +===== The Ruin of Every Minister =====
 +
 +**The Almost Inevitable Ruin Of Every Minister . . . And How To Avoid It**
 +
 +by [[http://biblicalspirituality.org/blog/|Don Whitney]] | {{ :11_notes:blog_2020-04-22_ruin_of_ministers_by_don_whitney.pdf |download}}
 +
 +**//For every twenty men who enter the ministry, by the time those men reach age sixty-five, only one will still be in the ministry.//**
 +
 +>**1 Timothy 4:15-16:** Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
 +
 +Almost everyone knows someone who used to be in the ministry. Almost everyone knows someone who shouldn't be in the ministry. And every minister knows another minister—if not several—he does not want to be like.
 +
 +But the sad news for ministers is, regardless of your age or education or experience, it is almost inevitable that you will become the kind of minister you do not want to be. So I think it's important to address the subject of: the almost inevitable ruin of every minister . . . and how to avoid it.
 +
 +  * They may get ruined by sex.
 +  * They may get ruined by power.
 +  * They may get ruined by pride.
 +  * They may get ruined by cynicism.
 +  * They may get ruined by success. 
 +
 +The sad reality is, you will become like that. That's you in a few years. 
 +
 +It's almost inevitable for every minister—**//__or__// you will make progress**. There is no middle ground.
 +
 +The world, the flesh, and the devil outnumber you, and they have you in their sights. ...unless you make the kind of spiritual progress that's spoken of in the Pastoral Epistles, you will be hit by enemy fire.
 +
 +Take pains with the things of God. Be absorbed in the Pastoral Epistles. Pay close attention to your life and to your doctrine. Don't let the ministry keep you from Jesus or keep you from learning.
 +
 +----
 +
 +===== Think About Death =====
 +
 +{{ :11_notes:blog_2020-04-22_think_about_death.jpg?direct |https://thoughtcatalog.com/ryan-holiday/2017/08/heres-why-you-should-think-about-death-every-day/}}
 +
 +**Think About Death Every Day by Ryan Holiday**
 +
 +**Original Article:** [[https://thoughtcatalog.com/ryan-holiday/2017/08/heres-why-you-should-think-about-death-every-day/|site]] or {{ :11_notes:blog_2020-04-22_think_about_death.pdf |download}}
 +
 +In late 1569, a French nobleman named Michel de Montaigne was given up as dead [[https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2012/11/13/165025207/death-but-softly|after being flung from a galloping horse]].
 +
 +As his friends carried his limp and bloodied body home, Montaigne watched his own life slip away, like some dancing spirit on the “tip of his lips,” only to have it return at the last possible second.
 +
 +This sublime and unusual experience marked the moment Montaigne changed his life. Within a few years, he would be one of the most famous writers in Europe. After his accident, Montaigne went on to write volumes of popular essays, serve two terms as mayor, travel internationally as a dignitary, and serve as a confidante of the king.
 +
 +
 +----
 +
 +===== Facebook: You Are the Product =====
 +
 +Some quotes that resonate with me these days ([[https://slate.com/technology/2018/04/are-you-really-facebooks-product-the-history-of-a-dangerous-idea.html|source]])...
 +
 +Bruce Schneier:
 +
 +>Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re Facebook’s customer, you’re not – you’re the product. Its customers are the advertisers.
 +
 +Mark Weinstein:
 +
 +>You as a Facebook user are not the customer. You are the product they sell.
 +
 +Edward Morrissey:
 +
 +>You’re not Facebook’s customer. You’re Facebook’s product.
 +
 +Brian Stelter:
 +
 +>You know, Facebook’s free. If something’s free, that means you’re the product.
 +
 +blue_beetle:
 +
 +>If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.
 +
 +Content Article:
 +
 +>To the extent that our personal data has become a product, it’s because we—and our representatives in government—have allowed it to happen... If you aren’t paying for it with money, you’re paying for it in other ways. Whether it’s your time, your privacy, or your intellectual property, you’re giving over to Facebook something of value every time you use it.
 +
 +
 +----
 +
 +===== Pastor-Teacher vs. Self-Help Coach =====
 +
 +**The Pastor-Theologian: Valuable and Necessary** an [[https://fromthestudy.com/2018/04/24/the-value-and-necessity-of-the-pastor-theologian/|article]] by Derek J. Brown
 +
 +Pastors of what seems like a long-lost era were doctrinally grounded and biblically saturated, to be sure; but they were also well-read in other important branches of study—literature, economics, politics, philosophy, and science—and were therefore able to apply biblical truth to these areas of inquiry with keen spiritual and intellectual skill, helping their people think theologically about major trends within the church and the greater society.
 +
 +Most importantly, the pastor was a theologian. Today, however, the pastoral office is no longer viewed in such categories.
 +
 +...the larger contemporary church has loaded the pastoral role with responsibilities and expectations that hinder if not altogether prohibit the work of theology. The pastor is seen chiefly as a “leader, organization builder, administrator, coach, inspirer, endless problem solver, spiritual pragmatist, and so much more.” For a pastor to consider how he might engage in important doctrinal discussions and cultural issues, pursue some form of theological writing, and make scholarly contributions to the larger Christian academy is to indulge in pointless fantasy
 +
 +The pastor-theologian, despite what history may tell us, appears to be an ecclesiastical impossibility in our current age.
 +
 +**Greg's Comment:** To the extent that local churches refuse to support pastor-teachers with their loyalty and "honor," we will not have these kinds of men in our pulpits leading us. As the saying goes, "You get what you pay for" and churches today do not value pastor-teachers.
 +
 +----
 +
 +===== Palestinian Covenant: Basis for the New =====
 +
 +**The Palestinian Covenant is the Basis for the New Covenant**
 +
 +Think about this... the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 12, 15, 22, etc.) promised land, seed, and blessing to Abraham and his physical descendants. The Mosaic covenant was made with his seed (descendants) and the promised blessing was to come through that seed in the land as they obeyed and fulfilled their covenant agreement of Exodus 19.8. 
 +
 +Within the context of the Mosaic covenant (the Mosaic Law being the stipulations of the covenant) God made another covenant with Israel: (Deut 29-30) the Palestinian covenant. I find myself describing this as the "life and land" covenant because it set the requirements for LIFE (Dt 30.6, 16, 16, 19) and for that life to be lived in blessing in the LAND (v3, 5, 16, 20). 
 +
 +The overarching condition of participation in the Palestinian covenant (the condition to inherit LIFE and the LAND) was "devotion" (see the previous study on [[moadis_overview_0_intro#soteriology|Soteriology: Israel vs. The Church]], specifically pages 17-24 in the accompanying {{ :12_moadis:soteriology_israel_vs_church.pdf |PDF}}).
 +
 +God required repentance, faith, submission, and obedience; those are all summed up in one word: devotion.
 +
 +The Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language defines devotion as "profound dedication, consecration; earnest attachment to a cause, person, etc." It gives as synonyms "zeal" and "ardor." And at the very end of the definition in this unabridged dictionary are these words: "See love." Love God with ALL your heart, soul, mind, and strength!
 +
 +Well... with that in mind... 
 +
 +Isn't it interesting that in Romans 10, the chapter that deals with "Israel's Present" and salvation in the Church Age, Paul quotes Deuteronomy 30.11-14, a key passage in the Palestinian covenant?
 +
 +**Deuteronomy 30.11-14:**
 +
 +>11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
 +>12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
 +>13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
 +>14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
 +
 +**Romans 10.6-8:**
 +
 +>6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
 +>7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
 +>8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach.
 +
 +Romans 10 is "Israel's Present" because it lays out how they (as well as we, the Gentiles) can be SAVED -- how we get LIFE during the present dispensation. How is that? By FAITH (devotion), just like in the Palestinian covenant.
 +
 +The Palestinian covenant is the door to the New Covenant. The LIFE promised by the Palestinian covenant is the REGENERATION and NEW/ETERNAL LIFE provided for in the New Covenant, ratified by the death and resurrection of Christ. 
 +
 +"BUT...!" you say: "The Palestinian covenant required that the Jews KEEP the COMMANDMENTS of the LAW (Dt. 30.10, 16). Yep. But THEY get the whole salami (the whole Palestinian covenant and the whole New Covenant). We Christians don't. We just get a slice of the salami: the spiritual blessings provided in the New Covenant (all of them, but just the spiritual ones: Eph 1.3). So, our requirements are a SLICE of the Palestinian salami, not the whole thing: DEVOTION is required of us, yes. But that devotion is defined as repentance (Dt. 30.2, 8, 10) and faith (Dt. 30.20); no works on our part--no obedience to the Law. 
 +
 +We are NOT required to submit to and obey the Law because we are not Jews and the covenants were not made with us (Eph 2.12). God is giving us a slice of the New Covenant because the Jews rejected it and He wants to use us to make them jealous (Rom 10.19; 11.11, 14). Therefore, He hearkens back to the Palestinian covenant (the door to the New Covenant: LIFE) and uses THAT to establish OUR requirements to participate in the New Covenant. He only requires repentance and faith for our "devotion," not submission and obedience to the Law, because we don't get ALL the New Covenant (so we don't get ALL the requirements). Plus, he wants to make Israel jealous (to make them want what we have). 
 +
 +**My Point:** the Palestinian covenant forms the basis for participation in the New Covenant, for Jews and Gentiles. Paul's quotation of the Palestinian covenant in Romans 10, a key chapter with regard to salvation in the Church Age, makes the connection. 
 +
 +And I don't know why, but I just think that's cool. Like two puzzle pieces just falling in place...
 +
 +**My Disclaimer:** I'm still chewing on all this. It forms part of a larger study I'm working on that ties together the dispesnations and the coventants under the Kingdom theme of the Bible. It's a work in progress.
 +
 +----
 ===== Pastoral Ministry: A Truncated View ===== ===== Pastoral Ministry: A Truncated View =====
  
notes_blog_2020.1587477815.txt.gz · Last modified: 2020/04/21 14:03 by gregkedro