Peter Witkowski Discipleship

The Love of Counsel: A Key to David’s (and our) Effective Leadership

Under the guidance of divine providence, King David achieved great political success in part because he valued the wise counsel of others. David’s love for wisdom kept pace with his heroism. The man who rose to fame through the slaying of giants and armies was just as approachable as he was brave. He valued the counsel of women, prophets, and common soldiers.  In other words, to lead well like David, pastors and elders must listen to and heed biblical counsel irrespective of its source.

The King Who Listened Well

The first person to gain an audience with David was Abigail, the wife of Nabal, the man David was marching to kill. After providing David and his army with food whose previous lack thereof had precipitated David’s spat with her husband, Abigail reminded David of the Lord’s faithfulness. She pleaded, “Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live (1 Sam 25:28).” David quickly recognized the rightness of her cause and abandoned his lust for vengeance that would have prevented him from reaching the throne. David understood that Abigail had been God’s mouthpiece. He praises her saying, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand (1 Sam 25:32-33)!” David rose to power through the godly counsel of wise women.

He then ended his life as he began listening to the counsel of another woman, Bathsheba. When she learns that Adonijah is attempting to supplant Solomon on the David throne, she with the help of the prophet Nathan made David aware of the coup. Spurred to action, the now well-aged King David quickly reaffirms his commitment to Solomon, declaring, “‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ even so will I do this day (1 Kg 1:30).” King David then orders Zadok the priest to anoint Solomon as king in accordance with God’s prophetic word. The faithful leader will recognize and heed the wisdom of God that flows through his sisters in Christ.

Secondly, David listened to the prophets in his life. When David seduced Bathsheba and then killed her husband Uriah, the Lord dispatched the prophet Nathan to rebuke the unrepentant king. After being cut to the heart through Nathan’s story of a rich man stealing a poor man’s one sheep and then learning that he was the thief, David grasped his sin and repented. In 2 Samuel 12:13, David proclaims, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Though consequences of his sin would follow him, David maintained his kingdom through God’s mercy because he heeded the wise rebuke of the prophet.

Lastly, he listened to the wise counsel of the lowly and even the foolish. Though the soldier in King David longed to join the fight against Absalom’s revolutionary army, the king did not go to battle because he heeded the counsel of his troops. They reminded the king that his death would bring an end to their cause and to the Davidic kingdom. The Scriptures report, “But the men said, “You shall not go out. For if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore it is better that you send us help from the city (2 Sam 18:3).” David deferred to the wisdom of his men and replied, “Whatever seems best to you I will do (2 Sam 18:4).” In so doing, he avoided the fate of Absalom who went to battle, died in battle, and saw his revolution and monarchy come to a quick end.

Though his troops proved victorious, David would once again need the wisdom of others to keep his kingdom. When King David heard of Absalom’s death, he mourned so loudly that his troops’ victory procession turned into a funeral. In God’s providence, his general Joab, a murderer and often unfaithful man, saw the looks on the troops’ face and rebuked David for his excessive sorrow. If left unchecked, David’s grief would have produced a political dynamic that would have been “worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now (2 Sam 19:7).” Again, David heeded the wise counsel Joab offered him. The Scriptures report, “Then the king arose and took his seat in the gate (2 Sam 19:8).” David left his grief and the crisis was avoided.

The King Who Listened Too Much

But the counsel must always be infused with Scripture and Scriptural principles. Counsel for counsel’s sake proves no more edifying than solitude for solitude sake. David suffered great harm when listening to the foolish counsel of Joab. Using a story, the general convinced King David to suspend justice and to allow Absalom to return from exile. Because of this advice, Absalom managed to gain the power and influence needed to bring about his revolution. Had David executed Absalom for Ammon’s murder, 2 Samuel would have been much shorter and happier. In other words, the validity of one’s counsel rises and falls in accordance with its adherence to the Scriptures and Scriptural principles.

New Covenant Leaders Listening

Though the people of God no longer abide under the Davidic covenant, the principle of heeding wise counsel irrespective of its sources should be heeded by those pastors and elders that lead the new covenant people. The wise elder or pastor will value the biblical counsel of others. He will not assume that he always knows best, recognizing that God conveys wisdom through his spouse, the men and women in his church, his fellow elders and pastors, and even at times (especially about non-biblical matters) even through unbelievers. Whenever a pastor or elder encounters counsel infused with biblical principles, the new covenant leader should listen and apply the counsel he has received. When his wife encourages him not to speak so rashly and unkindly to others he should heed her, repent, and change his ways. When his fellow elders rebuke him for posting a foolish comment on social media, the pastor should take it down and ask for forgiveness. When church members encourage him to rest and take a sabbatical, he should heed them. And when the unsaved but gifted electrician warns him that the church will burn down unless the wiring is replaced, he should heed him. The wise pastor – and by extension Christian – will welcome the wise counsel of others. As King David’s son Solomon wrote in Proverbs 11:14, “in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” May God give us all the grace to listen well.

Peter Witkowski Book Reviews

How to Lead Your Family: A Review

If ever a book was worthy of being labeled “Must Read,” it would be Joel Beeke’s How to Lead Your Family. In the span of 73 dense yet readable pages, Beeke casts a vision for Christ-like male leadership in the home and family.  Appealing to Jesus’ character of Jesus, Beeke argues that husbands and fathers should serve as their family’s prophet, priest, and king. Essentially, Beeke’s book serves as a paper version of that man-to-man conversation that many Christian men long for and that all men need.

Overview

Beeke begins his book with a call for husbands and fathers to prophetically shape their homes through their faithful practice of family worship and through modeling that same gospel as they interact with their wives and children. In the second chapter, Beeke encourages men to serve as their family’s priest. While no man can replicate the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, faithful husbands can model Christ’s sacrificial spirit and intercede for their family’s needs through prayer. As Beeke notes, “If you would die for your wife, you will also live for her. You will joyfully help her with some of her household and childcare duties, listen to her cares and anxieties, sympathize with her distresses, and serve her in her needs and desires – even when you do not feel like doing so (30).” Addressing prayer, he presses his readers, writing, “If you do not pray for your family, how can you say you fear the Lord?”

Beeke devotes the next chapter to biblical kingship. He encourages men not to lead with ruthless authoritarianism but with sacrificially service. Beeke explains, “The point is that he always does what he believes, in the fear of God, is for the good of his wife and family, regardless of his selfish desires (47).”  As king of the home, the father must also defend his family, guiding them away from physical and spiritual harm through biblical counsel and loving discipline.

Beeke then ends his book with a helpful reminder that the ability to lead one’s family comes not from within but from the Lord with gives wisdom freely.

Reflections

Though women can benefit from this book, Beeke unapologetically writes for Christian men. He dispenses with sentimental stories and passes along the direct commands of Scripture backfilled with practical examples. For example, Beeke charges men to disciple their children and then presents them with a whole host of options such as the “Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Apostles’ Creed…the atoning blood of Christ and its efficacious power…tell them of His Beauty and all sufficiency as the Mediator who is truly God and truly man, who serves as Prophet, Priest, and King (15).” When speaking of discipline, Beeke unapologetically writes, “If you never spank your young children, you are acting more out of self-love than for their best interest (58).” He also calls men to love their wives “superlatively” and then offers them the following guidance: “Respect her, honor her, tell her how much you love her (every day!), shower her with verbal, physical, emotional, and spiritual affection (49).” And most importantly of all, Beeke holds out the hope of the gospel to his readers, reminding us that, “It is never too late for you to find the grace and mercy from the great Prophet, Priest, and King (68).”

Final Thoughts

In writing down his fatherly and grandfatherly counsel, Beeke has given his readers access to one of the best man-to-man talks that I have ever overheard. Dear reader, dear young man, dear faithful brother, get a copy of this nugget of divine wisdom. Be encouraged. And then go faithfully serve your wife and children as their prophet, priest, and king.

Peter Witkowski Ecclesiology, Pain & Suffering

Pastor, Don’t Make Church Your Therapy Session: Send the Ark Back

When the sorrows of illness, grief, or family trials swallow a pastor’s heart, he must take note of king David and resist the temptation to allow his anguish to disrupt his congregation’s fellowship with the Lord through the normal means of grace.

King David’s Principle

Though King David lacked the more traditional qualifications tied to pastoral or priestly authority, his kingship still possessed a spiritual dimension. The Lord had called King David into a covenant relationship with Him so that the nation of Israel would be able to commune with God through David’s wise rule. As David notes in Psalm 101:6,8, “I will look with favor on the faithful in the Land, that they may dwell with me…Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land.”

And like contemporary pastors and elders, David faced struggles in his private life that disrupted his ability to care for the people of Israel. In 2 Samuel 15, Absalom successfully launched a revolution that forced David to flee his capital with a small contingent of troops and advisors. As they marched out of the city, David saw the priests carrying the ark of the covenant out of the city. But instead of applauding the priests’ devotion to him, David told them to reverse course. “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place (2 Sam 15:25).”

David made this decision because he knew that God revealed himself through the ark. When the priest sprinkled the ark’s mercy seat with the blood of the sin offering, they taught God’s people that only a blood sacrifice could atone for their sins. The priests also stood before the ark to gain insights into God’s will for them. The Lord told Moses in Exodus 25:22: “There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.” In other words, the ark was the center of divine revelation. It was how and where the people learned of and experienced the saving mercy of God. The ministry of the ark was a foretaste of the ministry of the church. Though events had disrupted David’s access to the normal rhythms of worship, David would not allow his sorrows to disrupt his people’s access to the revelations of God’s mercy.

In the new covenant, God conveys his mercy through the preaching of the word and through the practice of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Despite these changes, the principle that guided David still remains in place. The pastor should not allow his suffering to disrupt his church’s ministry of mercy. He should resist the urge to abandon his sermon series on Romans in favor of a ten-week series on betrayal or to abandon the Lord’s table for a panel discussion on grief. He should not replace his sermons with stream of conscienceless derived from his suffering. In other words, he should not transform the church service into his therapy session.

He should send the ark back and work with his elders and fellow church members to ensure that the church keeps declaring the whole counsel of God. As Paul reminds his mentee in the faith Timothy, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers (1 Tim 4:16).” The preaching of the full counsel of God is not ancillary to but the very antidote for the pastor’s sorrows. It is also how his congregation finds salvation and sanctification. As John Calvin says, “By the preaching of his gospel he helps us so to grow in faith and patience that we are able to bear every trial.” Do not disrupt the regular means of grace.  Keep the ark in Jerusalem.

Keeping Preaching

Sometimes, the pastor will have to surrender the ministry of the church to his fellow elders because the nature of his crisis prevents him for serving in the normal rhythms of the church. But when the crisis passes and the pastor returns to his public duties, he still must not deviate from the regular means of grace.

Like King David, John Calvin once found himself exiled from the city of Geneva. When Calvin returned to the city three years later, he preached the verse that followed the last verse from the last sermon he had preached prior to his exile. He neither give vent to his sorrows nor disrupted the church’s normal displays of grace. In so doing, Calvin helped his congregation understand in the words of Dr. Timothy George that: “The Reformation was not about Calvin or any other personality. Much less about the ups and downs of church politics…the Reformation was about the Word of God”

What was true of Calvin and the Reformation should be true of every church. Moreover, the pastor’s mission does not change with his circumstances. As the apostle Paul says, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching (2 Tim 4:2).” Calvin explains, “When we have the word of truth we must not depart from it in any way, nor be so fickle that we are driven first one way and then another. We must be able to dispense the word well and rightly so that our people are fed.”

Admittedly, pastors will misstep at times like the priest did and take the ark a few steps into their suffering. When they do, their fellow elders and church members should take up the mantel of David. They should lovingly encourage the man to return the ark. The pastor should then humbly confess his sin to his congregation and return the ark back to its proper place. Understanding that their pastor stands in need of grace, the local church should warmly grant their pastor forgiveness just as Jews welcomed king David back to Jerusalem and Swiss welcomed back Calvin to Geneva.

Two More Principles

This argument does not negate the pastor’s need to suffer within the context of the local church community. He should not hide his sorrows nor pretend that he does not hurt. Like other church members, he should make use of the godly counsel and the servant hearts of his congregation. Just like the young dad overwhelmed by fatherhood, the pastor should be able to process his struggles with faithful brothers and depend on the kind old ladies for meals. The other elders and church members should also carry on with the ministry of the word and the sacraments when the pastor cannot, knowing that the ministry of the church depends not on single man but the Lord. Outside of the Lord, the local church should be the pastor’s greatest resource during his times of suffering.

Moreover, the example of David also does not negate the shaping influence of the pastor’s suffering upon his life and ministry. As Paul notes in 2 Corinthians 1:4, the God of all comfort takes pastors and others through the valleys of suffering in-part so that they “may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” To quote Charles Spurgeon: “A man’s own experience should be to him the laboratory in which he tests the medicines which he prescribes for others.” Having faithfully applied the gospel to his heart, the pastor will be better apply the medicine of the gospel to the suffering souls that sit in his church’s pews and in his office. Just as Calvin’s and David’s exile turned out for their good, God promises to use the pastor’s suffering for the good of the pastor and his congregation. The pastor’s ministry should be shaped by the benefits of Christians suffering.

Final Thoughts

But the pastor’s suffering should not be allowed to interrupt the church’s practice of the normal means of grace. He should not take the church captive to his needs. Rather, the pastor should send the ark back to Jerusalem.