An interview with Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones about expository preaching
Dr. Jones was a humble servant of God and I appreciate many things he had to say. He held to a high standard of preaching the word of God in a way that did not bring attention to himself. For example, he believed that no preacher should enter the pulpit without wearing a robe. Not a fancy multi-colored robe, like so many do today, but a plain black robe that was not a distraction. It is interesting that so many church choirs wear robes, which I think is great, but so many pastors do not. Dr. Jones doesn’t talk about that in this interview, but I find his spirit of humility to be refreshing.
FYI – Here is an excellent article by Michael Brown called, “Why the Pastor Wears a Robe .”
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About
- David and Paula McAfee on Rainbow Trail
Our Story…
David has served in many areas which include serving as an officer in the USMC, law enforcement, information technology, sales and more importantly ministry. He has been a Minister of Single Adults, Minister of Education and Senior Pastor in Lubbock, TX and recently Tucumari, NM. David received a Bachelor of Arts in Law Enforcement Administration, a Master of Arts in Political Science, and has one semester left to complete a Master of Divinity degree. Paula was formerly an executive secretary with Occidental Petroleum, Oklahoma University College of Continuing Education, and Texas Tech University Law School.
Sangre de Cristo Journal is a collection of postings about seminary life in the Sangre de Cristo mountains and is not endorsed by the Seminary, although I think they like it. Hopefully it will give prospective students a better feel for what a non-traditional seminary atmosphere is like and provide some meaningful information that the Seminary website does not provide.
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Quote of the Week
Trifles Which God Gives
“The emperor Augustus, in his great feasts, gave trifles to some—but gold to his favorites.
Just so—honors, riches and worldly pleasures are the trifles which God gives to the worst of men.
God gives His gold—His special love and grace—only to His people.” - Thomas Brooks Heaven on Earth 1667
I grew up in baptist church. I have never seen a baptist pastor wear a robe, and I am not very fond of them. I actually think they are a bit of a distraction because they are not commonly seen in the work place. I actually think it is POPERY. Didn’t the puritan go against wearing the roman catholic vestments…But I do not know what they replaced this with. I imagine puritans wearing common street clothes when they are preaching. I have not read on the history of this wardrobe, but I do not think this tradition should live on. God has given us enough guidelines on dressing in the Pastoral Epistles.
Gus, I understand your thoughts and I certainly would not try to imitate anything that came out of the Roman Catholic tradition. Did you download the pdf in the article about “Why the Pastor wears a robe?” I think it expresses my thoughts pretty closely. I have pastored two churches and have been in the Baptist church since I was saved in 1972. I have seen preachers and congregations make a big deal about suits. On the other hand, casual has no place behind the pulpit in my way of thinking. Many churches today have lost the sense of holiness, reverance and awe that belongs in the worship service. My desire is that people would not look at the man and what he is wearing, (a suite, hawaiian shirt, etc.) but focus on the word that is being preached. I think historically, the reformers refused to follow Roman Catholic tradition which had gone to lavish extremes in attire much like we see in some pulpits today. My understanding is that Calvin wore a legal robe. Jonathan Edwards wore a robe as well, but they were plain black Genevan robes. That would be the limit of what I would be willing to do. I currently do not own a robe…and may never. But this is something I have spoken with other men of God about occassionally because of my concern about where we are heading in our worship services.
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