Manhood and metaphors

This past weekend I got chatting to old friend Travis, who is a leader at an independent evangelical church. They have stopped actively searching for a paid minister after 8 years of trying. So what has Trav and the other elders been doing for the past 8 years? Taking responsibility, that's what. A number of the blokes share the preaching responsibilities and steering the direction of the church. They are still actively doing evangelism and reaching out to their community. What a great picture of what it means to be Christian men.

Providentially I also got the pleasure of hearing one of the lay leaders at my morning church preach yesterday. What a treat. Opening the word of God is not only for the professionals. My new conviction is that in any ministry I am in leadership over, my goal is to be developing the eldership that should I leave, they will be more than adequately equipped to keep persevering. Now this may not be a lightbulb idea for you, but it is for me. How many congregations, were the minister to be hit by a bus, would be able to competently and confidently continue to preach the word publicly and continue organising and equipping the congregation for evangelism?

Now an old exegetical fallacy I spotted in Isaiah 40:25. God says "To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him?" To which he is referring to the idols. But I have heard over and over again, this kind of verse to justify that we are unable to describe God, to attribute attributes to him. There are definite dangers in ascribing human characteristics to God as he is like no other. But it seems a bit silly to say we can't describe God at all. Especially using as justification a verse in the midst of poetry which attempts to describe God. While God is like no other, that doesn't prevent Isaiah using simile and metaphors to describe what he is like.