12 Faithful Men: Portraits of Courageous Endurance in Pastoral Ministry

© 2018 by The Gospel Coalition

Published by Baker Books

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Ebook edition created 2018

Ebook corrections 09.20.2018

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ISBN 978-1-4934-1415-4

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2011

Scripture quotations labeled KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

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This is a good book. It encourages our souls to know that those greatly used by God often experience seasons of depression, persecution, sorrow, and suffering. It reminds us that God draws near most often when we are down and hurting, not when we are up and prospering. Many will be blessed by these portraits. I know I was.

Daniel L. Akin

Collin Hansen and Jeff Robinson have presented to us more than the usual suspects of pastoral ministry in the history of the church. Several of the individuals included in this volume were unknown to me before reading the book. But each of them, in his own way, is a Christ-exalting portrait of both the suffering and the joy that God has called us to embrace as pastors. I highly recommend it!

Sam Storms, Bridgeway Church, Oklahoma City, OK

"This remarkable book goes ahead in time to gather foretastes of heavenly joy and pours them out in chapter after chapter of clear, compelling testimony. Everyone who reads 12 Faithful Men will be strengthened, convicted, and instructed by these skillfully crafted chapters. This book made me long for our heavenly future and yearn for earthly faithfulness."

Andrew M. Davis, senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Durham, NC

"Suffering in the ministry is a distinguishing mark of a true servant of God. Yet we are often surprised and disillusioned when it comes upon us. 12 Faithful Men provides help in this regard as it surveys some of the greatest men in church history and the afflictions they suffered in their personal ministries. We are familiar with their successes, but what do we know about their afflictions? Here is much-needed encouragement for all who serve God and are sailing the turbulent waters of gospel ministry."

Steven J. Lawson, president of OnePassion Ministries, Dallas, TX

Historically rooted, biblically sound, and biographically diverse, this book shows that the road of biblical faithfulness is one marked by pain and suffering. Whether we are new to the pastorate or veteran shepherds, this work—which elucidates the stories of suffering and the faithfulness of the saints that have gone before us—reminds us that we are not anomalies but that every man of God will be tested often. I’m thankful for this breath of fresh air.

Jamaal Williams, lead pastor, Sojourn Community Church—Midtown

The pathway to the beatific vision often entails suffering and heartache. And this is especially true of the pilgrimages of those called to vocational ministry. This volume, which recounts the lives of twelve such ministers of the gospel from all over the globe and throughout the history of the church, is a terrific reminder of the cost of faithfulness in the service of the Lord of glory. An excellent resource.

Michael A. G. Haykin, professor of church history and biblical spirituality, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

"12 Faithful Men was conceived in the throes of deep spiritual testing. The editors and each of the contributors have experienced the sanctifying fires of God’s providence about which they write. The subjects chosen for discussion come from a variety of denominations, ethnicities, nationalities, and circumstances. Their particular contexts of tribulation cover a great diversity of ways in which God allows his servants to be assaulted. Under the power of this diversity, the united experience is one of divine faithfulness. This book demonstrates that Christian ministry and Christian life consist in suffering. Suffering is not an appendage simply to be endured or overcome but is the essence of knowing Christ and communicating the life of Christ in this world."

Tom J. Nettles, senior professor, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

"Church leadership comes with a cross and invites all pastors to be impaled upon it. But you now hold a healing balm for when the hammer strikes. Through extraordinary stories of ministerial affliction, 12 Faithful Men prepares leaders for suffering and encourages leaders in suffering!"

Dave Harvey, president of Sojourn Network; teaching pastor, Summit Church; founder of Amicalled.com; and author

Faithful pastoral ministry will inevitably include hardship and temptations to discouragement. None of us is exempt. So who of us does not stand in need of the regular encouragement of seeing others live out their pastoral ministries with persevering faithfulness? I experienced that encouragement many times as I read the chapters of this book. Let this book provide that encouragement for you.

Mike Bullmore, senior pastor, CrossWay Community Church, Bristol, WI

"Aside from God’s Word and prayer, reading biographies has been the most useful goad and guide to endurance when trials dog my steps. In the most difficult times, the story of a brother faithfully enduring gave me courage to continue on. By putting twelve of these stories together, Collin Hansen and Jeff Robinson have done an enormous favor to those engaged in ministry. Some familiar and others less so, these biographical sketches prove to be just the balm to salve wounds and energize the spirit to press on in faithfulness. This book is a go to for encouragement to endure."

Phil A. Newton, senior pastor, South Woods Baptist Church, Memphis, TN; author of The Mentoring Church: How Pastors and Congregations Cultivate Leaders

The apostle Paul called Timothy, his ‘son,’ to ‘imitate me as I imitate Christ.’ One of the great blessings of God’s providence is the record of godly men who with their lives point us to Christ and give us insights on how we can effectively lead others to Christ. In this volume, Collin and Jeff have given us a treasury to draw from that contains inspiration, instruction, and Christ-honoring motivation. Enjoy it and share it.

Harry L. Reeder III, pastor teacher, Briarwood Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, AL

"In 12 Faithful Men, Collin Hansen and Jeff Robinson have written a deeply challenging and profoundly encouraging account of pastors who learned that the pastoral life is the Christoform life, one marked by suffering as well as glory. Their book tells the story of widely varied men, all profoundly wounded, faithful, and fruitful in the Lord’s work."

Dan Doriani, vice president of strategic academic projects and professor of theology and ethics at Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, MO

Contents

Cover    1

Title Page    3

Copyright Page    4

Endorsements    5

Foreword by Ray Ortlund    11

1. PAUL: Apostle of Pastoral Affliction    15

Jeff Robinson

2. JOHN CALVIN (1509–64): Faithful in Exile    33

W. Robert Godfrey and Jeff Robinson

3. JOHN BUNYAN (1628–88): Faithful in Prison    47

Tony Rose

4. JONATHAN EDWARDS (1703–58): Faithful to the End    61

Peter Beck

5. JOHN NEWTON (1725–1807): Faithful amid Disappointment    75

Tom Schwanda

6. ANDREW FULLER (1754–1815): Faithful amid Heartbreak    87

Steve Weaver

7. CHARLES SIMEON (1759–1836): Faithful Shepherd to Hostile Sheep    101

Randall J. Gruendyke

8. JOHN CHAVIS (1763–1838): Faithful in the Face of Racism    113

Darryl Williamson

9. C. H. SPURGEON (1834–92): Faithful in Sorrow    127

Zack Eswine

10. J. C. RYLE (1816–1900): Faithful amid Personal Ruin    139

Ben Rogers

11. JANANI LUWUM (1922–77): Faithful unto Death    153

Dieudonné Tamfu

12. WANG MING-DAO (1900–1991): Faithful amid Political Coercion    165

John Gill

Notes    179

About the Editors    189

Back Ads    191

Back Cover    193

Foreword

Young pastors today are often cool, impressive, and popular. But the pastoral ministry that has borne eternal fruit down through the centuries has been something deeper, grander, and more resilient. The apostle Paul expresses it when he writes, I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake (Col. 1:24). Paul was not cool. He had something better. Into his pastoral ministry flowed two divine powers: suffering and rejoicing.

It is not enough that we pastors today suffer as Paul did. We must suffer without self-pity, resentment, or murmuring but with rejoicing. Then we advance the gospel. How could it be otherwise? We represent the One who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross (Heb. 12:2).

As a young pastor, I entered the ministry prepared for the rejoicing but not for the suffering. When the inevitable buffetings and sorrows came, especially in the form of rejection, I thought, I don’t deserve this. Maybe you’ve thought that too. And while it is a valid thought, it is not profound.

As the Lord led me further along, the following verses, like so many throughout Scripture, became more meaningful to me:

I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. (Luke 10:3)

Whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. (John 16:2)

I have been crucified with Christ. (Gal. 2:20)

Do not be surprised at the fiery trial. (1 Pet. 4:12)

I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. (Col. 1:24)

The Lord did not recruit pastors on false pretenses. He told us what to expect. We will suffer, for his sake. But for that very reason, because it is for him, our sufferings are a grace, a privilege, an honor he is giving us. We are following him down a path already stained with his priceless blood. When we realize this, a second thought breaks upon us: I really don’t deserve this. And that is profound, and it leads to profound rejoicing.

The privilege of pastoral ministry is Jesus—serving Jesus, standing for Jesus, representing Jesus, laying down our lives for Jesus, and through it all knowing Jesus more deeply. As my dad, the best pastor I’ve ever known, told me on his dying day: Ministry isn’t everything. Jesus is.

Collin Hansen and Jeff Robinson have gathered together godly pastors to tell us stories, true stories, of pastoral suffering with rejoicing that bears fruit to last forever. We pastors of today can never say the Lord is asking too much of us. The pastors we read of here proved that Jesus is worth it all, even to our hearts’ full rejoicing forever.

Ray Ortlund

Immanuel Church

Nashville, Tennessee

August 28, 2017

one

Paul: Apostle of Pastoral Affliction

JEFF ROBINSON

If you sent a résumé to a search committee to be considered for a pastoral opening, what types of information would it contain? No doubt it would detail all the positive ministry experience you have logged. If you had served as a pastor in one place for a few years, you’d put that first, particularly if things went fairly well. If you worked as a youth minister while in college, you’d put that down. If you taught a Bible class or served a short-term mission stint overseas, that would certainly make the list. You would include the names and contact information for several people likely to give a friendly assessment of your qualifications, character, and background.

Your aim would be to make certain your strengths stand out in bold relief so you would appear—on paper at least—better qualified than the other candidates.

A band of super-apostles forced the apostle Paul to brandish his ministry credentials late in his second letter to the church at Corinth. Thus, in 2 Corinthians 11, Paul provided his pastoral résumé, boasting in a rather lengthy set of qualifications that authenticated him as an apostle called and inspired by God. What made Paul’s ministry vitae?

Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. (vv. 23–30)

Paul’s ministry qualifications read like the diary of an Auschwitz survivor: imprisonment on false charges, flogging, starvation, shipwrecked, hard labor, robbed, sleepless nights—all things that portray him as a weak man. Why? Because, as Paul goes on to tell the Corinthians in chapter 12, he was called to suffer. The gospel’s work moves forward and the church gets built on the tracks of suffering, which demonstrate God’s power working through the conduit of human frailty. When I am tempted to throw a pity party over some trifling anguish I’m facing in ministry,