If someone were to pin me down and ask me the question: “What is the most common underlying cause of pastoral problems in the church today?”, I wouldn’t hesitate to give an answer. It might be controversial and provocative, but I would say it anyway.
Men who abdicate their God-given responsibility.
And for the sake of absolute clarity, I mean men, adult males. Men who invariably prefer a quiet life and prefer skirting around a crisis to identifying it in plain words. Men who do not take the time to think ahead, let alone plan ahead. Men who throw up their hands in defeat at the first sign of opposition or discouragement. Men who are inclined to indulge their own priorities and pleasures, rather than consider the long-term good of the souls for whom they are responsible. Men who instinctively adopt a defensive posture when they are challenged, no matter how reasonable the challenge.
Narnia's lessons for knowing and enjoying God
Summer would not have been summer without a good deal of reading (as well as cricket, which you must admit …