Dever’s 9 Marks of a Healthy Church caught my attention immediately as he
explained how he started a sermon; I instantly felt as if I was a part of the
audience, considering all of his questions. Especially when he gets to questions
about the preacher, being the preacher or, in my case, the Chaplain is a
difficult job. As the author describes the preacher, “He has to be someone that
you feel you could relate to and talk with and let your hair down with or trust in
some measure. But he needs to seem holy, too. But not too holy. He needs to
be knowledgeable but not too knowledgeable. He needs to be confident, but not
too confident.”[1] c The list of expectations is lengthy, and I believe we all try
our best to meet them.
The first mark is that I am working on improving expositional preaching; it is not
that I am horrible at it; it's simply that I do not have many opportunities for it in
my job field. I lack preaching experience; I have preached 3 times in my life,
and I am scheduled to preach in July. I also lack time to prepare expositional
sermons; I have been working on Army Orders due to COVID much of this and
last year. I look forward to time honing this skill.
Mark three: The Gospel is an area that many Christian Churches are struggling
to provide thoroughly; the good news is proudly proclaimed. The “God is love”
message is heard but not often the consequences of disobedience. The Bible
“tells us, for instance, that God requires holiness of all who would be in a loving
relationship with him. As the Bible says, "Without holiness, no one will see the
Lord" (Heb. 12:14)”[2] As ministry leaders, we are severely slighting our church
members if we do not provide the tools for a thorough understanding.
Mark six: A Biblical Understanding of Church Membership is a topic that I
struggle with; I was a church member for many years but left when I chose to
pursue my ministry calling. In the church body that I grew up in, women do not
serve in ministry except serving children’s ministry and other women. I felt no
longer welcome there; for the past three years, I have been visiting Churches. I
have enjoyed seeing the various ways that people “do Church.” I look forward
to completing this degree and finding a church that I can serve. I agree with the
text that church membership is important. “Church membership is our
opportunity to grasp hold of each other in responsibility and love. By identifying
ourselves with a particular church, we let the pastors and other members know
that we intend to be committed in attendance, giving, prayer, and service.”[3]
[1] Mark Dever (2015). (p. 40). Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. Crossway.
Retrieved from https://app.wordsearchbible.lifeway.com
[2] Ibid (p.92).
[3] Ibid (p.167).
