Tranwei Yu

Christian | Husband | Father | Pastor | Graduate of @mastersseminary

[theficouple @theficouple]

Reminder for all young parents:

You only get:
- 1 Summer with your baby
- 3 with your toddler
- 9 with your child
- 5 with your teenager

This time is precious. Don’t rush it.

[Matt Smethurst @MattSmethurst]

We plant churches for God’s glory.

I love this story.

[Luke Simmons @lukedsimmons]

It’s ok that you’re not amazing at everything.

Embrace how God made you, do your best, and rest in Christ.

You aren’t called to be omni-competent.

[Matt Smethurst @MattSmethurst]

People treat God’s sovereignty as a matter of controversy, but in Scripture it is a matter of worship.

— J. I. Packer

[Sean DeMars @DemarsSean]

We must not expect all things at once. We must remember what children are, and teach them as they are able to bear. Their minds are like a lump of metal – not to be forged and made useful at once, but only by a succession of little blows.

Their understandings are like narrow-neck vessels: we must pour in the wine of knowledge gradually, or much of it will be spilled and lost.

- JC Ryle

[Tranwei Yu @tranwei]

@nateakin I agree with you concerning that title and the NT usage of the verb. I'm just wondering if you would then argue we should stop using the verb in other non pastoring contexts like parenting, leading fellowship groups, etc.

[Matt Smethurst @MattSmethurst]

Goodness. What a prophetic quote from 44 years ago.

[Southern Seminary @SBTS]

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[Matt Smethurst @MattSmethurst]

Every single day of my childhood, my parents asked the same question at dinner. Not “What did you learn?” but “Who did you serve?”

Wonderful reflections from Ben Sasse’s daughter.

https://t.co/lST2ZyResf

[Tranwei Yu @tranwei]

@dougponder I'm in agreement with you on this entire thread. In my ministry context, we'll often talk about parents shepherding their children or our community group leaders (all men) shepherding their group members.

Do you think that is unhelpful and should be avoided?

[Jeff Wiesner @JeffreyPWiesner]

A proud pastor defensively rejects everything his critics say.

A fearful pastor spinelessly accepts everything his critics say.

A godly pastor listens carefully to his critics and after measuring himself against Scripture, rejects every false claim and accepts every true claim.

[Michael Foster @thisisfoster]

A while back, when I was not in the ministry, my wife and I found ourselves in a conversation with a young college student at the church building. She had long flowing hair and wore matching dresses. She was naturally beautiful, but we found her to be quite brash in her attitude.

That morning in the foyer, the conversation somehow turned to women wearing pants. She had brought it up. She was all about femininity She said there were only two kinds of pants: sexy pants and man pants, and women should not wear either.

I joked that there was at least a third category: sexy man pants.

We laughed and moved on.

Several months later, I noticed she was posting what I would call very sensual illustrations online. In many of them, the woman looked somewhat like her. I tracked down the artist and discovered he (George Petty) was well known for creating pin-up art, including a fair amount of outright pornography.

He was talented, no doubt, but it was very odd to see a woman who was so outspoken about external modesty posting sensualized artwork that so clearly traded on sexual allure.

So I questioned her about it and told her I thought it was inappropriate. Her response was, “If it stumbles you, I’ll take it down.”

I told her this was not about me being stumbled. It was about the images themselves being inappropriate and immodest. She pushed back hard. Another woman who was mentoring her also challenged her on it, and she eventually took them down.

But the whole thing was framed as accommodating men’s weakness rather than recognizing the deeper issue.

Not long after that, she had a falling out with the church. The last time I ran into her, she was wearing very tight pants and still carried that same brash spirit.

There is a difference between aesthetic modesty and actual modesty.

Some people adopt the outward trappings of conservatism because they are visible and legible. Long dresses, flowing hair, carefully curated femininity.

Those things can be good in themselves, but they can also become costumes, a way of signaling that you are more feminine, more righteous, and more set apart than everyone else around you.

At that point, modesty has already been lost, even if every inch of skin is covered.

Biblical modesty begins in the heart. It is tied to humility, self-possession, and what Scripture calls a gentle and quiet spirit in 1 Peter.

A woman quietly shaped by Christ will often grow into external modesty over time. When the externals are adopted apart from inward submission to Christ, they often become just another means of self-display.

That is why so much of the modesty-and-femininity discourse that is popular right now feels wrong to me.
Much of it substitutes comparison for personal holiness. It is often a contest to prove who is more masculine, more feminine, more traditional, or more righteous.

It runs on competition before men, not reverence before God. That has always been a temptation, but social media has turned it into a driving force for both sexes.

Anyhow, I would far rather see a woman with a gentle and quiet spirit who is still growing in her outward understanding of modesty than a woman who has perfected the external aesthetic while still carrying a wild, unsubmissive heart.

P.S. We have no problem with women wearing pants, though not all pants are equally modest.

[Tranwei Yu @tranwei]

@carmenjoyimes @coramdeo1 @talbottheology Gotcha, so you make a clear distinction between elders and pastors and/or between the office (elder) and function (i.e. pastoring and preaching). Am I understanding that right?

[Matt Smethurst @MattSmethurst]

Effectiveness in teaching the Bible is purchased at the price of much study, some of it lonely, all of it tiring.

— Don Carson

[Luke Simmons @lukedsimmons]

STOP BELIEVING THESE DISCIPLESHIP MYTHS.

❌ Myth #1: Every individual Christian must be able to make another disciple

✅ Truth: The whole church is involved in disciple-making. It takes a "body." It's not about "disciples who make disciples" (as if it's up to each individual). It's about disciples who play their part in making disciples.

❌ Myth #2: Your church needs a step-by-step pathway for making disciples

✅ Truth: Most people don't grow in a linear way. And many people have worked through the "steps" or "pathway" and are still pretty spiritually immature. It's not about a step-by-step plan. It's about a vision, framework, and ecosystem that allows disciples to grow over time.

❌ Myth #3: If we get people in small groups, they will grow as disciples

✅ Truth: Small groups are an extremely valuable piece of the discipleship ecosystem. But they are not a silver bullet.

❌ Myth #4: Our church needs a Discipleship ministry

✅ Truth: Your church IS a Discipleship ministry. The whole church with the whole gospel making whole disciples. If there's something your church is doing that doesn't contribute to that mission, it's worth revisiting.

❌ Myth #5: Discipleship is overwhelming

✅ Truth: It only feels overwhelming because you've likely not figured out how to explain it in a simple way that people can engage with.

[Matt Smethurst @MattSmethurst]

So much of the Christian life can be boiled down to two simple truths.

1. You are no longer your own. You belong to Christ.

2. You are no longer 𝘰𝘯 your own. He gave you the church.

[Garrett Kell ن @pastorjgkell]

"Jesus wept, but He never complained." - Charles Spurgeon

Lord, guard us from grumbling about anything Your wise providence prescribes.

[Matt Smethurst @MattSmethurst]

The gospel story in 100 seconds.

What a rescue. What a hope. What a King.

Thanks, @GlenScrivener.

[Larry Sanger @lsanger]

I made a chart.