Janus Project

A Pastor is the head of the local church like an under-shepherd is the head of the sheep... What do I mean?  I mean this - the undershepherd is appointed, hired, and paid by the shepherd.  He does the shepherd's duty while the shepherd is away, and without the shepherd's consent in certain areas, the undershepherd is unable to "change" things at whim. God is the head shepherd, and He has tasked pastors with keeping the flock while He is away.  This task is rife with danger, seduction, and award.  Several creep in unawares and try to convince the pastor (and the sheep) that they have been sent by the Shepherd.  At every turn, the pastor and the sheep must turn to their guide-book - the Bible - and double-check to see if they (as the sheep) or their leaders (the pastors) are actually "sent from God."  So, in this blog, I'd like to tackle the semantically-rich minefield that I would sum as "gender roles in the pastorate." There are some blog

In today's culture of "manly men" and "manlier women," I find it needful to bring up many of the truths of Scripture that apply to gender roles. Before anyone lights into me... I'm not a chauvinist (even though I have no idea how that word came to mean "man-first," nor am I misogynistic, either). I'm a married teacher, who recognizes the strengths and weaknesses of both men and women. Women are comforters, nurturers, and frankly, the kind sex that keeps the fire of manhood from doing things otherwise they shouldn't. Man, on the other hand, tends to be disconnected from his emotions (I personally hate them most of the time, and don't know quite what to do when I feel emotion - maybe every other man is different). Man can be headstrong, pigheaded, careless, and otherwise stubborn.   Notice a trend? Man is built for work and leadership roles. He doesn't act emotionally. He (should) act rationally. Women, on the other han

I recently got married, and let me tell you one thing - I'm so glad I don't have to be "on the hunt" anymore. To be honest, too many people today are "hunting," when they should be "growing" and "waiting," but I'll get into that in a bit. What I'm truly thankful for, though, is that I found the right one for me. I found a wife who is caring, who I can share anything with, who helps me grow, and who is someone I can be friends with, through thick and thin. Does that mean we never fight? Not at all. Does that mean we agree on everything? Nope. Does that mean we want exactly the same thing? Nope. So the question naturally arises - how did I find the one that God had for me? I can answer that in one sentence - I married her. That's how I know that I found the one that God had for me. At that statement, you probably beg the question - "how did you know she was 'the' one?" "How did you kno