Every year at the Desiring God Pastors Conference, John Piper takes about 75 minutes to focus on the life of a man who has walked the Christian journey ahead of us. His life may have ended in martyrdom or old age, or it may have involved depression, illness, or other life-ending circumstances. But at the end of each biography the reader cannot help but wonder, “How can I learn to develop these qualities in my own life?”
These biographies were the theme of an interview I conducted recently with Michael Burchfield. Mike is a pastor at West Hills Community Church in Morgan Hill, California who not too long ago used the biographies for a series of weekly staff devotionals.
Most of the staff at Mike's church have concluded that this was the deepest and dearest staff devotion series they have ever done. Why? As Mike put it, “It was better to encourage the staff with a real life story—one with real faults, with intense hurts and problems, from men who had gone on before but who finished their race—than to look to men still alive, who still have the potential to crash and burn in the future.”
Below is Part 1 of the interview. Parts 2 and 3 are scheduled to go up over the next two days.
Changing the Devotion Schedule
Mark Struck: Whose idea was it to do something radically different for staff devotions, to study historical biographies? And why?
Mike Burchfield: Christian biography has always been a source of inspiration to me in my Christian walk. So when Dr. Piper began to publish The Swans Are Not Silent series I bought each volume as they were released for sale; and I also listened to the audio files when possible. I knew Dr. Piper’s biographical sketches were a huge drawing factor at the DG Pastors Conference. On that backdrop, I realized I was holding onto a great teaching tool for all my staff.
Mark: When you proposed the idea, what was the reaction of the staff?
Mike: Some of the staff, who were non-pastoral, were a bit skeptical and wondered how these biographies would benefit them. But I would say most thought it would be a refreshing way to examine the attitudes, traits, and qualities of men who were pastors, missionaries, and leaders. Once we started, the interest turned into a real eagerness. Staff either read the book, the transcript, or downloaded the audio file and worked through each respective bio prior to each week's staff meeting.
Mark: Most senior pastors have a set objective for staff devotions, but you did something very different and your staff obviously finished the series with strong praise. What were your goals?
Mike: I had four goals for using The Swan is Not Silent series:
- I wanted my staff to be encouraged by men who had already run the race, men who are considered pillars of the faith for us today.
- Many staff members face challenges or have lived through similar issues and pressures, while some have gone through major trials in a former church. So my hope was that these biographies would show us all that trials are a normal part of ministry, that real life has suffering.
- I hoped that reading these biographies would help us realize how much these men loved and depended upon the Word of God in the midst of trial.
- Finally, I knew that each staff member would find a way in which Jesus Christ would speak to their life through the story of the saints of old. And I was right. Through reading and interaction, the staff felt they all could sense the touch of Jesus on their life.
