I heard one pastor say at his instillation service yesterday that he learned a long time ago that the ministry is not for wimps.  Tullian Tchividjian, whom I have come to appreciate this last year, knows this far too well.  Just this last week Tchividjian wrote an article for the Florida Sun-Sentinel about some controversy that is swirling around his new call to Coral Ridge Presbyterian church as he has replaced the late D James Kennedy. It appears the controversy swirls around his decision on Robes and Politics from the pulpit among a few others things, but we know that at a deeper level it is a spiritual matter for those in his church.  I appreciate Tchividjian's response here to this storm he is in and the biblical conclusions he is looking for.

Here is an excerpt:

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper today printed an op-ed by Tullian Tchividjian regarding the conflict at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church--which some of the members unfortunately took to the media--and the congregational vote this Sunday regarding him as senior pastor. An excerpt:

You may have read, in this paper or elsewhere, six members of our church recently circulated unsolicited letters and a petition voicing their opposition to my leadership and requesting a congregational meeting to vote on whether to keep me as their pastor. Citing things like my desire not to wear a robe when I preach, not honoring the legacy and preferences of Dr. Kennedy to the degree that I should, making personnel changes (bringing in my staff from New City), and not preaching political sermons, these six members have been working to remove me as pastor.

The saddest thing about all of this is that, because of the visibility of both Coral Ridge and my family, this conflict has taken on a national interest. The reason this grieves me so deeply is because the Bible says God wants the church to be a visual model of the gospel. He wants us, in other words, to live our lives together in such a way that we demonstrate the good news of reconciliation before the watching world.

The late Francis Schaeffer once noted that bitter divisions among Christians give the world the justification they're looking for to disbelieve the gospel. But when reconciliation, peacemaking, and unity are on display inside the church, that becomes a powerful witness to this fractured world. "Just as I have loved you," Jesus commanded, "you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35).

To get this matter behind us once and for all, the elders and I have called this congregational meeting and a vote will take place on Sunday. You will no doubt read about the result, but whatever it is, I want to say three things to the South Florida community that I love so much and have called home for 37 years. . . .

Read the full thing here


(HT JT)