Forbes: Stop Being a Little Jesus - Let the Spirit Lead

ROSEMONT, IL (February 4, 2003) - In 1996, Newsweek named pastor James A. Forbes "one of the 12 most effective preachers in the English-speaking world."

But in the midst of leading one of the largest multi-cultural congregations in the United States, Forbes once sat in a church board meeting wondering if his job was in jeopardy. Forbes, senior minister at Riverside Church in New York City, shared some of the ups and downs of his ministry Monday evening, encouraging his listeners to let the grace of Jesus Christ guide their work.

Addressing the opening worship service of the 2003 Pastors Midwinter Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church, he called for worldwide revival. "We stand in need of a fourth great awakening," he declared, cautioning that "apart from a sense of accountability to God, we will not be able to be a land of power." He challenged pastors to pray for such revival and to seek to revive themselves through the power of the Holy Spirit before they return to challenge their congregations.

Oakdale Covenant Church senior pastor D. Darrell Griffin introduced Forbes to the audience, suggesting that his preaching might bring "a picture of God you have not seen before." Forbes didn't disappoint, opening with a homemade 'quasi rap' that reminded worshipers of the seriousness of the mission of ministry. "Now, I don't mean to be uncouth," he explained. "What I'm askin' for is that you tell me the truth. So, what time is it y'all," he asked. "No time for foolishness" was the requested response.

With Matthew 16 as his text, Forbes recalled the relationship between Jesus and Peter, using the conference theme "In All Things, Grow in Christ" to introduce the story of Peter's radical transformation into servanthood and obedience. Forbes found the story of Peter to be a perfect model for pastors because Peter comes to believe that he was ready to be "the rock on which the church was built," only to find that he was as human as everybody else. Forbes urged pastors and lay leaders to take a lesson from Forbes' own experiences. "When you are ordained, you are not really a finished product," Forbes said. "It's an invitation to a lifelong learning laboratory. The learning process involves trial and error, successes and failures. The call and credentialing for Christian vocations is an invitation to matriculation of an education with the Holy Spirit..."

Forbes said that he was called by God to preach in 1956, but was unwilling to consider it seriously until God put it on his heart to read from Psalm 27, which begins, "The Lord is my light and salvation, in whom should I fear..." Forbes said he was unsure as to why God had instructed him to memorize Psalm 27 until he was in a 1996 church board meeting with some angry parishioners. On the day of the board meeting, he went to the hospital to visit a sick parishioner. The individual asked Forbes to read Psalm 27 and he thought of the psalm during the evening board meeting and came to a peace that set him at ease.

"Stop representing yourself like a little Jesus on earth and be a human being," Forbes advised. "It's not you," said Forbes concerning the matter of who leads the ministry of the local church. "It's got to come from another source . . . the Lord is the only light you need, even at your best."

A pair of songs from the choir of Oakdale Covenant Church on Chicago's south side introduced Forbes' message. The choir, directed by Walt Whitman, energized the crowd and Forbes (who confessed he was a bit under the weather) suggested that the choir could finish his sermon if he didn't have enough energy at the end. For a time, it appeared that Oakdale's choir might be the sermon - Forbes' plane was delayed by fog and he had not arrived at the hotel by the time the service began.

Monday's service included several musicians - worship leader Harvey Drake, vocalists Donna Martinez and Leslie Hodgkinson, drummer Brian Fraible, saxophone player Matt Lundgren, guitarist Danny Martinez, bass player Daniel Sesay and organist/pianist Randall Wilkens.

Forbes recalled speaking at the 1984 Pastors Midwinter Conference in Minneapolis and said he admires the Covenant's care of its pastors, prompting him to declare Monday evening's energetic worship and unified praise and the Midwinter Pastors Conference "the secret weapon of the church."

(Editor's note: accompanying photo courtesy of Don Davenport)

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