What Can Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers Teach Us?
Have you ever wondered why Sesame Street has lasted so long as a top children’s television show? There is a Sesame Street clothing line, Sesame Street toys, computer games, and many other recognizable Sesame Street icons all throughout American culture.
Another famous and long lasting children’s television show was Mr. Roger’s neighborhood. Whereas Sesame Street is loud, past paced, and introduces new technology as it is developed, Mr. Roger’s neighborhood changed very little over the years proceeding Fred Roger’s death. Mr. Roger’s neighborhood used the same hand puppets that were first used when the show began. The show followed the same flow over the years, with the famous changing of the shoes and sweater, to the trolley going to the magical world of the neighborhood of Make-believe. It was slow and often a monotone monologue with Mr. Rogers. Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood did not have the marketing arm as Sesame Street had yet there it was day after day for children and their families.
I believe that it was not flash, technology, or marketing that made these shows a success. Instead it was the laser focus on their purpose and goal of the two shows. For Sesame Street, their goal is to teach children the letters of the alphabet, and for the children to be able to count to twenty. (That’s it) They sought to appeal to the mind. Mr. Roger’s sought to appeal to the heart. He sought to show and tell children that he loved them, they are of great value, and that he wanted them to become apart of his world. He wanted to give them a world where things were quiet, predictable, and slow paced. And children loved him for it; they wanted “to be his neighbor.â€
In comparison to the previous successful children’s organizations would be the decline and seeming failure of the U.S. government’s Head Start program.[1] From its inception in the 1960s, the founders conceived of Head Start as much more than an educational program. The health, nutrition, motivation, and self-confidence of poor children were deemed to be at least as important to their future well-being as their academic learning. Another feature present from the beginning was Head Start’s rule that parents be involved in running each local program. A rationale for that principle: building parent’s self-esteem would help develop their children’s.
In short, Head Start has not been primarily an academic program.[2] Instead of staying focused on teaching academic facts, they allowed this one admirable goal to be encroached by other goals and objectives. By allowing themselves to become sidetracked they are not reaching their ultimate and most important objective, the children’s ability to be successful in future educational excellence. Head Start believes that by helping children get a solid educational foundation, when they are young, they will be far more likely to do well in later schooling. However, instead of giving them the essential academic information needed, they have become side tracked with issues like self-esteem and nutrition.
If we are to make it over the long run, we must not allow ourselves to become sidetracked from our ultimate purpose as a church. Matthew 28:19-20 tells us the Great Commission of the church, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (NIV)” This is God’s instruction for what the church is to be doing. Every action taken by the church should be compared with this passage as the standard.
[1] Head Start is a Federal program for preschool children from low-income families. The Head Start program is operated by local non-profit organizations in almost every county in the country. Children who attend Head Start participate in a variety of educational activities. They also receive free medical and dental care, have healthy meals and snacks, and enjoy playing indoors and outdoors in a safe setting.
[2] E.D. Hirsch. The Schools We Need (New York, New York: Doubleday), 46.
A Defense of Pastoral Leadership In the Local Church
Words of John Bunyun in Bedford England are carved on a statue of him that state;
A very great person hung against the wall;
And this was the fashion:
Eyes lifted up to heaven,
the best of books in his hand,
the law of truth was written upon his lips,
the world was behind his back;
he stood as if he pleaded with men;
a crown of gold did hang above his head.
He describes the preacher as being God’s gift to the world. While I do not consider myself in the same high esteem, I do know many gracious men who I could say this about. The position of the pastor is of utmost importance to the church, as well as his role as leader and representative before God.
The preacher is sent on a heavenly mission (as are all Christians). He is to declare the message of God to the world, “Whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear†(Ezekiel 2:5; 7; 3:11). Preaching was recognized as a gift from God in the Old Testament. Noah was “a preacher of righteousness†(2 Peter 2:5) by those whose testimony the primitive world was condemned (Hebrews 11:7). The psalmist and the prophets delivered their messages of truth in pleading, exhortation, prophecy, and promises from the Lord. The prophets were preachers of their day and the predecessors of the New Testament heralds of the gospel.
After the exile the reading and exposition of Scripture were from the beginning the chief feature of the synagogue service, and is frequently mentioned in the New Testament. Jesus, “as his custom was,†went to the synagogue service on the Sabbath day and there delivered the wonderful message of hope recorded in Luke 4:17-22. In Acts 13:5, “after the reading of the law of prophets†the rulers of the synagogue invited the two preachers, Paul and Barnabas, to deliver this message of exhortation. In Acts 15:21, James the pastor of the church at Jerusalem and the presiding officer over the council in Jerusalem, spoke of the fact that “Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day.â€
The New Testament church, likewise, moves on the feet of those who, “preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things (Romans 10:15). It was Paul that declared that faith in Jesus as Lord will save all who call upon him (v. 9), but “How . . . shall they call on him in whom they have believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? (v. 14)†This preaching of salvation that Paul referred to is the proclamation of the Word of God recorded in the Holy Scriptures and centered in the redemptive work of Christ. It is a summons of men to repentance, faith, and obedience before the Lord Jesus. It is God’s appointed means for communicating the gospel of hope to the unbelieving world for communicating the gospel of hope to the unbelieving world and for the strengthening of the faith of those who have found refuge in our living Lord.
The apostolic message (kerygma), the preaching of the men who first heard the Great Commission of our Lord, consisted of these seven things:
1. It was a definite body of facts; it was “propositional truth.â€
2. It was not speculative philosophy but an announcement of the intervention of God in human history for the salvation of those who would hear and accept.
3. It was centered on the redemptive work of Christ, in his cross and atonement, and glorious resurrection.
4. It was witnessed to and confirmed in the human heart by the Holy Spirit.
5. It was historically and organically related to the Old Testament.
6. It imposed a stern, ethical demand upon men.
7. It was a vast eschatological dimension. It looks forward to a triumphant forever in Christ.
In God’s plan, there is no such thing as the delivery of this glorious message of truth without a preacher. In the elective purpose of God his will and work are made known to us through a living personality. This is the essence of preaching and is the first, primary calling of a pastor. Each generation must experience falling in love, building a home, rearing children. So each congregation must have a living pastor. The truth of God must be made to live again and again.
That is the calling of a preacher-pastor. It is preaching the Word of God that people desperately need. And it is preaching that feeds the souls of Christians. Paul wrote about the services of public worship in Corinth, “Let all things be done decently and in order†(1 Corinthians 14:40).
The verse concludes a lengthy discussion of disorder that marred the meeting of the Corinthian Christians. The worship of God ought to be worthy of his glorious name. Therefore, the pastor has been called to preach God’s Word and to lead the church. He should be allowed to do this so that order and appropriate worship may take place, and the message of the gospel may be preached.
A Defense of Pastoral Leadership In the Local Church
Words of John Bunyun in Bedford England are carved on a statue of him that state;
A very great person hung against the wall;
And this was the fashion:
Eyes lifted up to heaven,
the best of books in his hand,
the law of truth was written upon his lips,
the world was behind his back;
he stood as if he pleaded with men;
a crown of gold did hang above his head.
He describes the preacher as being God’s gift to the world. While I do not consider myself in the same high esteem, I do know many gracious men who I could say this about. The position of the pastor is of utmost importance to the church, as well as his role as leader and representative before God.
The preacher is sent on a heavenly mission (as are all Christians). He is to declare the message of God to the world, “Whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear†(Ezekiel 2:5; 7; 3:11). Preaching was recognized as a gift from God in the Old Testament. Noah was “a preacher of righteousness†(2 Peter 2:5) by those whose testimony the primitive world was condemned (Hebrews 11:7). The psalmist and the prophets delivered their messages of truth in pleading, exhortation, prophecy, and promises from the Lord. The prophets were preachers of their day and the predecessors of the New Testament heralds of the gospel.
After the exile the reading and exposition of Scripture were from the beginning the chief feature of the synagogue service, and is frequently mentioned in the New Testament. Jesus, “as his custom was,†went to the synagogue service on the Sabbath day and there delivered the wonderful message of hope recorded in Luke 4:17-22. In Acts 13:5, “after the reading of the law of prophets†the rulers of the synagogue invited the two preachers, Paul and Barnabas, to deliver this message of exhortation. In Acts 15:21, James the pastor of the church at Jerusalem and the presiding officer over the council in Jerusalem, spoke of the fact that “Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day.â€
The New Testament church, likewise, moves on the feet of those who, “preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things (Romans 10:15). It was Paul that declared that faith in Jesus as Lord will save all who call upon him (v. 9), but “How . . . shall they call on him in whom they have believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? (v. 14)†This preaching of salvation that Paul referred to is the proclamation of the Word of God recorded in the Holy Scriptures and centered in the redemptive work of Christ. It is a summons of men to repentance, faith, and obedience before the Lord Jesus. It is God’s appointed means for communicating the gospel of hope to the unbelieving world and for the strengthening of the faith of those who have found refuge in our living Lord.
The apostolic message (kerygma), the preaching of the men who first heard the Great Commission of our Lord, consisted of these seven things:
1.   It was a definite body of facts; it was “propositional truth.â€
2.   It was not speculative philosophy but an announcement of the intervention of God in human history for the salvation of those who would hear and accept.
3.   It was centered on the redemptive work of Christ, in his cross and atonement, and glorious resurrection.
4.   It was witnessed to and confirmed in the human heart by the Holy Spirit.
5.   It was historically and organically related to the Old Testament.
6.   It imposed a stern, ethical demand upon men.
7.   It was a vast eschatological dimension. It looks forward to a triumphant forever in Christ.
In God’s plan, there is no such thing as the delivery of this glorious message of truth without a preacher. In the elective purpose of God his will and work are made known to us through a living personality. This is the essence of preaching and is the first, primary calling of a pastor. Each generation must experience falling in love, building a home, rearing children. So each congregation must have a living pastor. The truth of God must be made to live again and again.
That is the calling of a preacher-pastor. It is preaching the Word of God that people desperately need. And it is preaching that feeds the souls of Christians. Paul wrote about the services of public worship in Corinth, “Let all things be done decently and in order†(1 Corinthians 14:40).
The verse concludes a lengthy discussion of disorder that marred the meeting of the Corinthian Christians. The worship of God ought to be worthy of his glorious name. Therefore, the pastor has been called to preach God’s Word and to lead the church. He should be allowed to do this so that order and appropriate worship may take place, and the message of the gospel may be preached.
What of Those Who Feel Called?
God originally called the nation of Israel to Himself and established a covenant with them. However, because of their disloyalty they forfeited this claim on God. There is frequently the thought that it is amazing grace of God that the whole people were not consumed and that a Remnant continues to inherit the election. The Israelites were elected to service and that one element of service was a universal mission to the world. Within Israel itself, however the thought is a collective one, either of the whole people or of the group that constituted the Remnant.
*Those who are truly called come from God’s chosen people.
Within the elected nation, individuals were also chosen for service. Several are said to have been chosen before they were born, and in this way it is emphasized that their election is not the reward of their worth. They are not chosen for what they are, or even primarily they will be, but for a specific task that is assigned them and for service God requires of them. For that service they are equipped by God, and all that is required of them is humble obedience to His will and surrender of themselves to His power.
* Calling has nothing to do with talent, skill, gifting, or worthiness.
Some are chosen to be judges and kings, to be God’s vice-regents among His people, to deliver them from their foes and to rule them in His name. Gideon was chosen to deliver Israel from the Midianites [1] , and Sampson, even before his birth, was chosen that he might be a thorn in the side of the Philistines.[2] In the story of the establishment of the monarchy, Saul was chosen by God to enable Israel to throw off the yoke of the Philistines. There are two accounts of the setting up of the monarchy in the Biblical story. According to the latter account the institution had its origins in nothing more exalted than a popular desire to imitate foreign nations, and it was in itself an ac of disloyalty to God and rebellion against Him. According to the earlier account the initiative was with God, who said to Samuel, “About this time tomorrow I will send unto thee a man from the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be the leader over my people Israel; and he shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines, because I have seen the affliction of my people, for their cry has come unto me.†[3] Acting on these divine instructions, Samuel privately anoints Saul, who then takes the lead in the rescue of Jabesh Gilead and is in consequence hailed as king by all the people.
* God alone chooses what the calling will be to, i.e. the task to be performed
David was later chosen to replace Saul. Of the rejection of Saul we have two accounts. One attributes it to his impatience in not waiting for Samuel at Gilgal, [4] while the other attributes it to his failure to annihilate the Amalekites. [5] It should be noted that Saul’s failure to annihilate the Amalekites sprang from a defect of character. He accepted the commission of Samuel as the command of God, and yet failed to carry it out, because he set his own will above the will of God. The other story reveals an impatience of spirit, while all the story of Saul there is apparent an instability of character that marred his achievements. But here in this story of the Amalekites there is revealed a deeper defect of spirit, and a rejection of God’s will as final for him. If then election is for service, and its first corollary is loyalty of spirit to God, and if the abandonment of that loyalty is equivalent to the renunciation of the election, Saul had indeed renounced his election. He had revealed the attitude of his heart towards God, and it was no longer serviceable.
* One can disqualify himself from a calling of God by a rebellious and sinful heart.
How prophets were recruited is still unclear, but what we do know is that of several prophets we have some record of their Divine call to their office. They were not prophets because they were born to the office, or because they fancied the life, but because they felt a constraint which they believed to be of God. It is frankly recognized in the Old Testament that to tell a true prophet from a false one was no easy matter. Of the call of Moses in the wilderness, of Samuel in his childhood in the shrine of Shiloh, of Amos when pursuing his daily work, of Hosea in the tragedy of his domestic life, of Isaiah in the temple, of Jeremiah in his youth, and Ezekiel in the bizarre vision that came to him, we have a familiar record. All of these men became prophets because the hand of God was laid upon them. Some tried to resist the call, only to find that it could not be resisted. Amos 3:8 says, “The Lion hath roared, who can but fear? The Lord Yahweh hath spoken; Who can but prophesy?â€
* God seems to delight in calling all “types†of people to be His.
All this would imply that the call of the prophet was the arbitrary act of God, and especially if he was called before he was born. Yet there is much in the Old Testament to indicate that it was neither arbitrary, nor so irresistible as the experience of the greater prophets would suggest. There were prophets who did not fulfill the purpose of their call, and who stand under sharp condemnation. The edge of their spirit’s sensitiveness became blunted, and no longer did they feel the command and constraint of God’s hand. More are called to service than truly respond to the call. There is a paradox in this area of calling. The prophet’s response to the call that he feels the irresistibility of the constraint, and he who most justifies the call and fulfills its purpose is most conscious of the Divine element and least conscious of the human element in his commissioning.
Paul could feel himself to be the “chief of sinners,†and it has ever been the case that the nearer a man becomes to God the nearer he wants to come, for it is only he who is very close to God who can feel the gulf that separates him from God. It is apparent that the true prophet is thought of as one who stands in so close and intimate a relationship with God that his personality becomes the vehicle of God’s Word.
* The effectiveness of a called man of God is directly related to his closeness with God.
God calls men by His own volition and gives them abilities to perform the tasks they are asked to do. God always calls individuals to particular acts of service (a pastor, youth leader, associate pastor, etc.) and as with any position, especially that of a pastor, his effectiveness in that position is dependent upon his closeness and dependence upon God. When the one who is called turns from God, he is no longer usable and will be replaced. The calling process appears to be a personal matter between an individual and God, whereby the latter places His hand upon that person “in a special way†and directs them to a position of leadership within the church body. But there is also recognition of this calling by a body of believers and the apparent power of the prophet.
* God will give His called one what he needs to perform his task and will empower him to show that he is God’s man.
[1] Judges 6:15
[2] Judges 13:3-5
[3] 1 Samuel 9:16
[4] 1 Samuel 13:8-14
[5] 1 Samuel 15
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