Transcription
You're with Pastor PD a-- we like the name Wikipedia stole it from us. It just means that encyclopedia of things about pastoring. I'm Newt Larson. I'm with Jim Brown from Goshen and Jeff Bog from Akron, and we're delighted to be a part of this, aren't we, you guys? I am delighted to be a part of this. I'm delighted that they they're here with me. All right, this time this time our subject is a huge one, but it's very personal: our godly example. We made up the title: God made up the prescription and the goal. What do you think of her? What's big to you, or what are you—what's a goal you have about being a godly example to your people? We all know we have to be.
Jim: I would I will keep it simple. I I wanted I want to first love my wife. I want to love my kids, and I want to love my my people. Obviously, God's above that, so I want to live in such a way that the way I love my wife, love my God, and love love my children, it lets other people see that and in tune that leaves a godly legacy. My hope my hope is, and doing that, I give my life away, use all of my talents and gifts that God has given me, and don't waste them. It's pretty pretty simple. If you look at my business, Garza's, I'm a husband, father, and pastor. I want to keep those in line and do the best job I can do. That's hard to do. It is, it really is.
Jeff: What's a goal you have? I would have those same goals, not to love Jim's family, but my own. Thanks for clarifying. I would I maybe start a step above some of that in my mind, anyways. That the number one thing I want my folks to see is I want them to see a man of God that does not argue with the Bible. So I want them to see me—fine God experience, got understanding from the scriptures—and then see every aspect of the scripture woven into my life, which is going to equal me loving my wife, my family, my children, and in all areas of that. I think the number one sign of discipleship is you quit arguing with God's Word and you start embracing it and downloading it. And so that's what I want them to see me do, and in the same return to God's Word, to see me pay the prices sometimes that come with those kind of decisions, and it spills into all aspects of my life: love and integrity. So I think on a high level, that's where I would start at.
I think it's great. I I would summarize for me, too, and probably always protect—I would say guard and lead and do it well. I want to protect my family. I want to guard my family and those that I love, and I want to lead them well. Though that were to somehow fall into that, too. Yeah, I had as one of my goals—might be off the subject, but I don't think so—to be seen as a normal human being, too. People in the church—I—a part of it's wonderful respect and good, healthy respect, but some of it is they can put you on a pedestal. You know, I've had people through the years, not so much anymore, but start a conversation with, "I know you've never faced this." You know, "Oh, yeah," and I always say, "Well, what is anger like? Yes, what's pride or less so they—" But sometimes, pastored, any of us can preach in another world or act like we've never faced what they're facing. So that's part of it, because otherwise, you're not an example; you're just an icon and talking in theory instead of in real-life application.
Yeah. Yeah, I would agree. I love when—I won't often—one of my guys, Jeremiah, come to me and encouraged me, said, "Jim, just tell your story. Tell—tell him from your heart." So those same things: just be real. It's really be real. What helps you? What helps us grow in our own godliness other than our own sermon sermons?
Well, I listen to my own podcast and their life change. Oh, good. I listened to Jump into Action. Poisonous chest tapes of yours, Newt. Thank you. I got out the wax cylinder and put on my photograph. It was powerful. You're early stuff wasn't me. Thank you for joining us today. As next month we'll have two other—I just spent in time of God. If I'm not getting to know God, if I'm not having—I do—I have regular quiet time. I love my own time in God's Word. If the word isn't impacted me, how in the world can I use it to impact others? So, at my relationship with God in it in prayer, to spend in time talking to God, it's communication with them. I know the secret is—isn't it?—it's nice. I'm talking to my Father who loves me dearly, and it impacts my life. I wanted to say something that you guys are welcome to argue with it carefully: our job works both ways as pastors. It you can do it just because it's a job, and you're going to get up Sunday and preach, but it also helps to think when what I'm serious about the responsibility of these people and and to live as a godly example. The job is a great help to—isn't it?
I agree strongly with that. I I feel like I'm actually grateful for the build-in accountability, the build-in time to go to the Word of God. I had a pastor one time say to me, "Your sermon prep is totally different than your devotion." "No way!" And I thought that was dumb. Yeah, it's—system—our vocation. We get to go into our office, shut the door, be left alone, and spent hours with the Lord. In fact, you shouldn't preach a sermon if that passage hasn't changed your heart, anyways. So I I love that, and I often think in in some ways we get off a little bit easy, or it's a it's a blessing of the vocation is a better way to say it. And yeah, I'm grateful for the even even the glasshouse talk about accountability and all those kind of things. It helps. I'm grateful for it, and it wears me out sometimes, too, but I'm glad it's there. It's just—think we get paid to tell people about Jesus Christ. We paid, and we've been called to do that. God believed in us; he gave us that calling; he trusts us, so why not do it and do it well? And the good side of glass houses: you get to show—in a restaurant, they know who you are—you get to show how you treat your wife. I mean, you got to make the best of all these, and there's wonderful—Oh, be a godly example where it's work, and it's something we've got to all work at, and guess what? Our Lord helps us, and we're all human beings. One of the one of the famous speaker who helped many people, pastor, one of the things that people said in a survey about his sermons was, "He's one of us." I would agree with that when I hear someone speak, but that's real. He's real. I'm late for that. Thank you for being with us about a godly example. Our papers will say a lot more, but we wanted to just say this much and urge you to keep following Christ. Who was it that said, "Follow me as I follow Christ"? Here with Pastor PD a--, I'm Newt Larson, Jim Brown, Jeff Bog. Thank you very much.