Okay, so I’ve never read any of David Platt’s books. And, quite, frankly, I didn’t know what the fuss was all about … until tonight. I’m not sure what happened, because I came here to “cover” Catalyst\u2013as a detached, objective, non-participating blogger\u2013but by the time Platt got done preaching, God had brought me to my knees, weeping. The talk was pretty simple\u2013a four-point sermon based on Exodus 32 about the pitfalls of pastoral ministry\u2013but it bowled me over (and I’m not a pastor at this point in my life). So what happened?<\/p>
First, there’s Platt the guy, the ordinary, humble, broken fellow-sinner and struggler who just stands up with a Bible and starts preaching. David started the message by reminding us a few times, “I’m way over my head in every area of my life. My life in ministry is filled with so many weaknesses.” Then he proceeded to preach a message that was laced with prophetic zeal, but here’s the amazing thing: I never once caught a whiff of anger or self-righteousness from him. As a matter of fact, at every stage of his message he was on the verge of tears. I’m not given to Christian celebrity name-dropping (as a matter of fact, it repulses me), but this guy reminded me of a modern-day Jeremiah, exuding tenderness and tough truth at the same time. <\/p>
Now for the four points of his message. Based on Exodus 32, Platt identified four “golden calves” of our leadership (and, again, he stated them with such biblical integrity, simplicity of speech, and with so much tenderness of heart that I couldn’t argue with anything he said): <\/p>