Trueman on ministry, the internet, and so-called "British pubs"

At Westminster one of my church history professors was Dr. Carl Trueman, who at that time was fresh off the boat (O.K., airplane) from England and just beginning his new teaching position here in the States. He was an immediate hit among us students, not only for his engaging lectures, but also for his unique perspective on almost everything.

His latest article at Reformation 21 is, as usual, thought-provoking. As the title of this post indicates, he does write about America's versions of the "British pub" (which he says resemble nothing back home), but more significantly he offers some good thoughts about the nature of God's call upon his people to service in his Kingdom. Most of us, Trueman argues, are called to serve locally: Like all believers, I am called to serve others, and primarily to serve where God has placed me.

He goes on to say:

This realization that the Lord has called me - and I am guessing, most of us - to serve first and foremost wherever we actually are - our families, our congregations, our denominations, and our workplaces - is surely a sobering one. It lacks so much ambition, and shows such a limited vision, after all. Yet in this regard, I think the church is best served by those with such limited ambitions and myopia. I am not much of a web-wandered but on the odd occasion I do a bit of websurfing, I am struck by how many Christians, pastors, professors, and laity, have blogs, Facebook pages, and Twitters going. How many millions of Christian hours are wasted writing this stuff, engaging in mindless blogthreads, and telling the world about personal trivia?

And further:

When I see Christians blogging so much, I wonder how many sermons are being prepared on the fly because of lack of time, how many parishioners go unvisited, how many prayers remained unprayed, how many words of love and affection to spouses and children are never said, how many books - let alone the Bible - are left unread, and how many fellowships atrophy through lack of any real, meaningful social and spiritual intercourse. Indeed, to summarize: how many online "communities' (sic) prosper to the detriment of the real, physical communities into which the Lord has placed each and every one of us? How many complain of insufficient time to do the boring routines of the Christian life - worship services, Sunday School, visiting the sick and the aged, fellowship, Bible reading, prayer - and yet always somehow manage to fit in a quick twitter or blog or podcast or change to their Facebook status?

As a pastor - and speaking as one who started blogging again recently! - I find these challenging thoughts. There is an undeniable appeal to blogging, and to using the internet generally, in that it offers an escape from the too-strict confines of the local and the routine. Yet, as Trueman reminds us, that is just where you and I are called to serve.

It boils down to a question of priorities. Based on my few years' experience as a pastor, it seems to me that so much of the work of ministry is getting priorities straight. There are a million worthy things to be done. But what is most important (not "pressing", but truly important)? I could be missing the mark even while doing that which is valuable in itself. There's no question I can spend too much time on the internet, or blogging (and sometimes do). But I can also spend too much time reading the Bible, or studying, or talking on the phone, or visiting, or counseling, or even praying, if there is at that time some more important work I ought to doing.

The crucial question is, from the perspective of eternity, is this activity the most important for me to be engaged in, right now? There's no easy answer to that question. But in general, as Trueman argues, God calls you and me to serve him right where he's placed us.