{"id":277,"date":"2012-07-13T17:24:44","date_gmt":"2012-07-13T17:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/?p=277"},"modified":"2021-07-10T21:03:41","modified_gmt":"2021-07-10T21:03:41","slug":"the-reality-ask-the-pastor-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/2012\/07\/13\/the-reality-ask-the-pastor-show\/","title":{"rendered":"The Reality “Ask the Pastor” Show"},"content":{"rendered":"

Living in this chaotic world, if we\u2019re honest, we have to admit that we all have problems. \u201cFriends, when life gets really difficult, don\u2019t jump to the conclusion that God isn\u2019t on the job.\u201d (I Peter 4:12 The Message Bible) <\/em>God\u2019s always at work. However, it\u2019s important to remember the famous public service announcement\u00a0from the Emergency Broadcast System, <\/em>\u201cThis is a test. This is only a test\u2026.\u201d but we also need wisdom concerning what we should do in the midst of our tests.<\/p>\n

Personally, I learned a lot about asking for advice during the years that I worked as a producer and reporter at WTLW TV 44 in west central Ohio. At the time, I occasionally assisted producing or hosting the Ask the Pastor <\/em>TV program. Folks would call in to pose questions about theological issues, but more frequently they were trying to find solutions to their daily dilemmas including: financial problems, addiction, grief,\u00a0loneliness, etc.\u00a0by seeking the expert spiritual opinions from the panel of local pastors.<\/p>\n

Asking for counsel takes humility, because we have to admit that we don\u2019t have all the answers. There has to be an answer though, because Jesus himself said, \u201c\u2026In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I\u2019ve conquered the world.\u201d John 16:33<\/p>\n

Besides, clergy are very busy people, they can\u2019t be expected to be on 24 hour call concerning our need for counsel. Although the Bible says, \u201cWithout good direction, people lose their way; the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances.\u201d (Proverbs 11:14) Of course, the ultimate book of wisdom is the Bible, and it\u2019s where we should look first. Often though, we require someone with some skin on to enable us to understand God\u2019s Word about our situation.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I would like to introduce the concept of the reality Ask the Pastor Show.<\/em> We can all be part of it, by seeking advice from the \u201cwise\u201d folks God places in our lives. It\u2019s important to emphasize the word, \u201cwise,\u201d because we should seek counsel from confidential individuals who have been successful in the area that we are struggling with.<\/p>\n

The bottom line is; if your marriage is in trouble, seek guidance from somebody of the same sex who has a healthy marital relationship. If your teen is on drugs, find a former addict who has become a productive member of society, and ask them how they broke free from addiction. Or if your business is in the red, talk with a successful entrepreneur.<\/p>\n

The professional arena has long instituted the policy of mentoring relationships. For example, in the academic world it is standard practice for a new public schools superintendent to be assigned a mentor. My husband, Larry Claypool feels he hit the administrative jackpot in his early days as a superintendent when he was assigned an adviser who had years of educational experience.<\/p>\n

Whenever an urgent situation occurred, placing my spouse on uncharted territory back then, he asked his mentor for advice. \u201cEven when you have a decision already made, you call. Just to make sure it was the right decision,\u201d Larry said. \u201cIt\u2019s just like being a disciple, because a seasoned teacher imparts his knowledge for the good of someone else,\u201d added my spouse who is now an experienced public schools superintendent himself\u00a0who takes time to counsel young administrators.<\/p>\n

Jesus knew all about mentoring people. He had his hands full with his own motley crew of followers. He had to teach Peter to control his temper, Thomas not to doubt, and James and John to quit seeking positions of honor, among other issues.<\/p>\n

I once heard\u00a0Kenton, Ohio’s New Hope Fellowship pastor, Jason Manns, say that he believes, \u201cGod usually places individuals in our lives that He uses to disciple us in our Christian walk.\u201d I agree, but we have to be cautious, that we don\u2019t miss God\u2019s voice through those close to us.<\/p>\n

Familiarity can stop us from receiving what we need to hear. We discount the message, knowing firsthand folks in our inner circle are flawed human beings like ourselves. That\u2019s why James 1:19 tells us, that \u201cEveryone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.\u201d Of course, we do have to guard ourselves from ungodly counsel, because. \u201c\u2026Bad company ruins good manners.\u201d \u00a0(I Corinthians 15:33)<\/p>\n

But if someone is a faithful believer, who wants God\u2019s best for us, we should be willing to listen. If their counsel doesn\u2019t line up with what you think your Heavenly Father is saying, put it on the shelf for awhile. Allow God to bring His perfect will to pass.\u00a0Most importantly in the Book of Proverbs we are told to, \u201cTrust God from the bottom of your heart;…listen for God\u2019s voice in everything you do\u2026He\u2019s the one who will keep you on track.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christina Ryan Claypool is an Amy Award winning journalist and evangelistic speaker. <\/em>\u201cSeeds of Hope for Survivors\u201d is available through her Website at www.christinaryanclaypool.com<\/a>\u00a0or through www.amazon.com<\/a> .\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Living in this chaotic world, if we\u2019re honest, we have to admit that we all have problems. \u201cFriends, when life gets really difficult, don\u2019t jump to the conclusion that God isn\u2019t on the job.\u201d (I Peter 4:12 The Message Bible) … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[6,29,30,26,27,24,25,28,13,11],"class_list":["post-277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-spiritual-path-on-the-road-less-traveled","tag-advice","tag-bible","tag-christian","tag-counsel","tag-help","tag-pastor","tag-problems","tag-public-schools","tag-self-help","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1779,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277\/revisions\/1779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}