Podcast Ep. 19: Holding On to The Truth In A Confused World (Steven Kozar)

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What the pastor believes really matters, and what his congregation believes really matters. Spiritual discernment is vital in the pastor’s commitment to stand for the gospel, and to stand against false beliefs. How does he remain faithful to the gospel when compromise and accommodation are the norm? I’ve covered a lot of topics to this point on Before You Quit. Marriage difficulties! The pastor’s family! Dealing with conflict! Antagonists! Sense of failure! Loneliness in ministry! When is it time to make a change! Dealing with loss! Confessing sin! 

Have you ever thought that the pastor is also under severe pressure to soften his message? To be relevant and maybe even make the scriptures about US rather than about Jesus? Remaining true to the Word of God is a heavy burden on the pastor’s shoulders, especially in a day when accommodation and compromise is easier. We live in a confusing world and the church stands in the midst of this confusion with the lights beaming from its steeple becoming harder to see.  We are dealing with a lot of hot topics in the church today,  from gay marriage to our eternal destiny to moral and social issues, and people are waiting to hear what the pastor will say about it.  We will talk about all of this and more with our special guest, Steven Kozar. 

What I like about interviewing Steve Kozar is that he is neither a pastor nor theologian. He’s an artist, a painter who loves Jesus and loves the church. For those of you who are regular listeners to  Fighting For the Faith Podcast, you will recognize Kozar’s voice as a member of the “Pirate Gang.” Steve has been a full-time, hyper-realist artist since 1986 (his “real job”). More recently he has become a fierce (yet hilarious) blogger who regularly swash-buckles abasing heresy that sails the Seven Seas. He’s witnessed the Evangelical-decline first hand since the late 1970’s and hopes to be “pied piper” speaking to the confused, hurting, and frustrated people in the Church.

Steve is also the author of the Messed Up Church Podcast. 

Many of his water color prints are available at stevenkozar.com.

Steve is married to his best friend and wife of over 30 years, Paulette. They are the parents of three grown children. Steve and Paulette live in Wisconsin.

Here are some of the resources we talked about on the podcast.

Book: The Sheep Judge Their Shepherd by C. F. W. Walther

Here also is an excellent article on discernment.

Discernment