Art Azurdia resigns

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Recently, Art Azurdia posted an open letter of confession for the public to view.

At face value, it seems that he is owning up to his sin and recognizes the grave consequences of what he did. As someone who had never heard of Art until this incident, I found myself encouraged from reading the letter. I hope it encourages you all as well.
 
Recently, Art Azurdia posted an open letter of confession for the public to view.

At face value, it seems that he is owning up to his sin and recognizes the grave consequences of what he did. As someone who had never heard of Art until this incident, I found myself encouraged from reading the letter. I hope it encourages you all as well.
All things considering a good letter and a good illustration of repentance in words. May the words in the letter be a true reflection of his heart.

Nonetheless we owe the man, his family, and Trinity our sincere prayers.
 
Good to see this open letter. I see genuine repentance in the words.

I continue to pray that our ordained servants, versus having another expose their sins, examine themselves often and, when appropriate, take the proper steps to reconcile themselves with God, family, and their church.
 
I wrote the below in response to a Facebook post where the poster was highlighting a new book on the Church by Francis Chan. It is applicable, in large measure, to the issue of a minister's work:

I think this article by Michael Horton is very incisive.https://www.whitehorseinn.org/.../michael-horton-on.../

It's from 2010 but apt to the issue of love for and service in the Church. The ministry is too much for any person to bear on their own. On the one hand I think the "eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor 4:16-5:10) keeps us fixed upon that which is important so I cannot argue with a need for zeal.

The issue is the broader Ecclesiastical organization toward that end. By that I mean, how is the Church organized to achieve the end?

Moving from excitement to excitement and assuming one is always going to be able to sustain it is part of the reason burnout occurs. The first thing all of us need to think about when it comes to "love of the Church" is this: are we zealous to come hungry for the Word and to receive Chrsit in the Sacraments? Are we present for the means of grace where Christ promises He will build us up. If we de-prioritize that in our lives and pursue zeal for other things (as good as they are) we will not be equipped for ministry.

I also think there is a need to recognize that zeal is a shared effort. Mike is helpful in pointing out how ministers go through certain cycles and bring their congregations through that if people look to the zeal of a single individual. Is it not interesting that Mike was writing about the burnout of Francis Chan and the cycle pastors go thruogh where the Phoenix rises again telling us how "on fire" he is and taking us through another cycle of being totally sold out to God?

Again, don't get me wrong. We need zeal for the Kingdom but this is a marathon and not a sprint. We are called to stand and to stand together. I can't stand up without my wife in the home and I can't stand up without Leonard and Bob in the Session. I can't stand up without the eoncrouagement of other saints in the Church pressing me on. I get weary and discouraged. I sometimes don't agree with the way certain things are done but I show up and stand because I know that, in the process of supporting someone else as they serve, God is faithful to build us all up together.

It doesn't always feel exciting. It doesn't always bring me to tears in terms of sensing the love of Christ. I hate getting up early on some mornings to show up for Bible Study. I don't rush into my office thinking: "Today is going to be an awesome day of prayer and reading God's Word." I don't go to Session meetings skipping that it's going to be exciting. It's mundane at times. The flesh is weak. But God works through ordinary things to move me forward together with the Saints and I keep in the fight. I keep in the race.

Our corruption is a powerful enemy within but the power of Christ is more powerful. Mortificaiton of sin within our members is only possible when we recognize that sin is at war within our members and never letting our guard down. It is possible to fight only insofar as we look to Christ for power. It is also a "we" in sanctification. The injunctions in Hebrews are to encourage one another to press on. We cannot fight the battle alone. I check in on my Pastor and he checks in on me.

That said, fearfully, the congregation ought to be able to look to me and see me battling sin and being transformed by the power of the Gospel. I ought to be someone who understands how sin operates and demonstrate that I'm battling sin by the power of Christ even as I'm encouraging them to do so.

When we say we love good preaching, we ought to be asking ourselves how often the Biblical themes of being brought from death to life and that we should live as if sin is no longer our master. This is part of the liberating power of Christ and if it is not evidenced in the preaching from the pulpit then it should be a warning sign that, if the people are not being reminded constantly of what Paul and the other Apostles reminded, that something is amiss.
 
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