A Tribute to Spiritual Fathers

James McManus

It has been an interesting summer - but not always in a good way, especially in the church. I’ve watched men who are supposed to be spiritual fathers act in ways that are unbecoming to Christ and His flock. Both in my denomination (ARP) and in other denominations, there have been men/leaders who have taken vows to love and care for Christ’s church that have done and said things that no spiritual father should ever do or say. It has seemed to be a Jonah-type situation … instead of these men looking to examples such as Paul and his spiritual father relationship with Timothy, they have run in the opposite direction of power, influence and confusion. It is sad to watch men who have taken ministerial and elder vows conduct themselves in such a way.

Yet, in the midst of this, the Lord has been kind and gracious to remind me of spiritual fathers He has placed in my life over the past 28 years. Men who have loved me, guided me, taught me and set an example that still sets the tone of my life and faith to this day. I’d like to tell you about 3 of these men who God has blessed me with as spiritual fathers …

Rich Lambert

I met Rich at the beginning of my 2nd year at Winthrop University, his first year as the RUF campus minister. As a former skater punk/current college rock aficionado, I wasn’t very impressed by my first impression of his bowties and preppy look. Turns out, there was more to Rich than his wardrobe! I had only recently realized my need to be serious about my faith, and he took me under his wing, patiently answering my questions, dealing with my immaturity and laughing at my lame attempts at humor. At the large group meetings every Tuesday evening in the upstairs conference room of Dinkins Student Center, Rich faithfully took us through the Scriptures, pointing us to our need for Christ and His willingness and desire to be our faithful Lord and Savior. We would sing the great hymns of faith to acoustic guitars as God’s word settled into our hearts. It was under Rich’s spiritual father guidance that I fell in love with God’s word that pierced mind and heart. A word that challenged mind and heart. A truth that simultaneously broke and healed my heart. A doctrine that challenged my mind as I grappled with what God’s sovereignty meant in faith and life. All along the way, Rich would listen to my questions, answer me from God’s word and challenge me to now go and live it out. From fireside chats at Durango Bagel where he used a napkin to explain the sovereignty of God (which I still have tucked away), to trips to Ridgehaven for retreats, to hanging out at his house with his family and being accepted for who I was - all of those big and little things that God used through this spiritual father to love and shape me. Every time I work on preparing my sermon, I wonder how Rich would preach this text, like a son would wonder how his father would do something. My spiritual father Rich Lambert taught a young man the love and beauty of God’s word - and I am forever grateful for him.

Chip McArthur

Towards the end of my college career, I was hired by the Olivet PCA church to work alongside their pastor, Chip McArthur, as their youth leader. Little did either one of us know what was in store for us! For the next 7 years, I lived on one side of the church, while Chip and his family lived on the other. As a single man, they would feed me, which guaranteed that I would be over as often as possible! There was always a place at their table with Chip, Donna and their two children, Webb (Bubba) and Katie (Boo). I was always welcome to join them in their living room to talk about what was going on in life. Donna was one of the first people I showed the engagement ring I was preparing to give to my girlfriend because it was important that I had their approval. As I worked with Chip and practically lived with him and his family, the Lord provided a spiritual father who showed me what it meant to love well - love his wife well, love his family well, love his church well, and, most of all, love his God well. The best description of Chip is that he is a comforting teddy bear - the Lord has blessed him with a personality and disposition of love and making others feel loved and comfortable. Even when people were difficult (and I know I was one of them), he loved them and loved them well. His love for his people was evident in how he preached to them every Sunday from the Olivet pulpit. It was evident in his prayer life for them, which often included late Saturday nights in the Olivet sanctuary, praying for each family by name. I would see Chip deal with hard situations with love. No blame, no consuming anger, no fist-shaking frustration. He loved. He loved Jesus and trusted His guidance. He loved his people, because he knew Jesus loved them first and best and he should too. He loved his children, who, by all accounts were good kids and didn’t give him a lot of grief … so, on the rare occasions that Webb and Katie stepped out of line (much more rare for Webb than Katie!), their father loved them through it. In Chip, the Lord blessed me with a spiritual father who taught me to love my wife well, my children well, my congregation well, and, most importantly, my Lord well. As I look upon the blessing of my wife, children and congregation, I am daily thankful for my spiritual father Chip and the blessing of love that he gave me.

Tom Shoger

My first call out of seminary was as the associate pastor at White Oak ARP in Moreland, Georgia, where Tom Shoger was the senior pastor. That time was a culture shock for me - first time living outside of South Carolina, first time working in full-time ordained ministry, and the first time working with someone like Tom. He was a graduate of the Naval Academy, former Marine fighter pilot, and engineer. Tom came to ministry later in life and he brought with him the gift of a strong sense and responsibility of leadership. He understood that even in the Presbyterian system, all things would end up in front of him in one way or another, so his leadership was important. I watched him take the reigns and lead. He wasn’t afraid to say what needed to be said and do what needed to be done. It led to some tense and uncomfortable situations (a few of those with me!), but they were necessary. Tom took seriously his call from the Lord to lead his people. We would have weekly staff prayer meetings, and he would always ask for the same thing - wisdom from God to lead well. This leadership was rooted and nurtured in a devotion to God’s word in personal and family study, along with preaching thrice every Sunday and teaching Sunday School. Tom is a man of God’s word, a word that shapes and guides him. He would not allow much of anything to stand in the way of his personal devotions, always making time to spend time with God in the study of the word and prayer. He is one of the most disciplined men I’ve ever met - a discipline shaped by the Naval Academy and the USMC, and sanctified by God’s word. He faithfully led White Oak during my 6 years there and taught me what it meant to be a Godly leader at home and church. What it meant to do the right thing at the right time for the right reason and trust the Lord for the results. What it meant to take a stand for the right, Biblical thing, even if met with opposition. What it meant to be a leader in prayer. What it meant to lead for the glory of God and the good of the church. The church was blessed by Tom … but I think I may have been more blessed. He took a naive young seminarian and helped shape a pastor who would be willing to lead, even when it was hard. To lead his wife … his family … his church. And to do it all for the glory of God. Now, as I pastor my congregation, I find many times sitting in my study and thinking, “How would Tom handle this?” As I raise my children, I share stories about Tom and what he taught me. My wife and I often share about the blessing of those years at WOARP, with one of the biggest blessings being me working with Tom, and Beth getting to know Tom’s wife, Sue … and how good those times and lessons were. Thanks to my spiritual father, Tom Shoger, I am not as good of a pastor-leader as he is, but he has trained me well to do the job at hand, and I am forever grateful for that.

These are just 3 of the spiritual fathers the Lord has blessed me with. There are many others, and I trust there will be more. And, I pray that I will be a good spiritual father to whoever the Lord places in my life. I hope that I will be as good of a spiritual father to them as Rich, Chip and Tom have been and continue to be. I am convicted that is part of my call as a Christian, husband, father and pastor.

And, I take comfort in this - although experiencing the bad actions and terrible decisions of spiritual fathers this past summer, there are many more good ones out there, who are doing the good and hard work of loving God, loving His word, loving their families, loving their churches and always pointing others to Christ. The more we have men who are like Rich, Chip and Tom in the church, then this “interesting” summer will just be a blip, and Christ’s church will grow more and stronger through faithful spiritual fathers. May God continue to raise up more Pauls for more Timothys!