I really appreciate Sam Storms, who is a pastor at Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City. He has penned helpful books on the Christian life, the doctrine of election, the theology of Jonathan Edwards, and “devotional” books on Psalms, 2 Corinthians, Colossians, and Revelation 2-3. Sam Storms has a fascinating blend of theological convictions. Most notably, he is fully Calvinistic and Charismatic. One rarely sees this combination. Many Calvinists are tragically part of the “frozen chosen.” Not Sam Storms! He steadfastly believes that if worship in heaven is uninhibited (Rev 4-5), then we should surely experience glimpses of it here on earth. In the same vein of John Piper and Jonathan Edwards, Sam Storms pursues Jesus Christ as his greatest Treasure and Satisfaction in this life as the greatest means of glorifying God.
However, the thing I most admire about Sam Storms is his willingness and labor in mentoring young men for the Christian life and future ministry. I have noticed that He has had an internship program at his church for the last two years. Specifically, he has picked seven young men to spend profuse time with in reading and discussing theology, the Christian life, and church ministry. There are also opportunities for hands-on training. This is a fantastic endeavor. I would recommend this type of training over Bible college or seminary in a heartbeat. Kudos to Sam Storms for his eternally helpful work here.
The question is: why are not more pastors today doing the same thing? Sadly, the answer is that most are either clueless or selfish. They either do not see the immense benefit of such labor or they do see it, but they would rather do other things. All these pastors are doing a real disservice to the Body of Christ because of their negligence. And what a blessing they are missing out on.
Personally, if God grants me a pastorate in the future, I would make this type of mentoring one of my top priorities. To be sure, there are great preachers out there who are worth imitating. I indeed want to improve constantly on my preaching and teaching. Nevertheless, I would rather want to imitate someone like Storms, who not only is a good preacher, but also is actively discipling men and training them for ministry.
