TRUE Ministry: St. Paul vs. the "Super Apostles"

Pastor Chris Gordon sits down with Rev. Dr. Dan Borvan of Christ Reformed Church to dig into 2 Corinthians 4:1-6, where Paul describes a ministry marked not by cunning, flashy rhetoric, or crowd-pleasing gimmicks, but by an open statement of the truth. They trace Paul's contrast with the "super apostles" of Corinth, sophists who prized mystery and persuasive technique over plain proclamation, and draw a straight line to modern pressures toward showmanship, sermon-series gimmicks, and results-driven ministry.

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
01:31 - The pressure to be a "shock jock" pastor
05:21 - Sermon series gimmicks and chasing trends
08:50 - 2 Corinthians 4:1-2: renouncing underhanded ways
10:05 - The "super apostles" and Cicero's oratory
12:00 - Paul's rejection of excellent speech
15:09 - Deception in gospel presentations
16:02 - Micaiah vs. the false prophets
20:57 - William Perkins: plainness and power
23:43 - The gospel veiled to those perishing
28:39 - Why numbers don't measure faithfulness
30:01 - Not ourselves, but Christ as Lord
33:04 - Ministry succession and pastoral legacy
35:39 - Conclusion: the aim of all ministry

Rev. Dr. Daniel Borvan is pastor of preaching ministry at Christ Reformed Church. Daniel earned his Master of Divinity degree from Westminster Seminary California in 2011. As a student at Westminster Seminary he learned that all study of Scripture, theology, and church history is put into practice in the worship and work of the church. The goal is to glorify Christ by serving His church. At Westminster Seminary he also earned a Master of Arts degree in Historical Theology. His thesis paper was on Faustus Socinus.

Daniel is chairman of the Heidelberg Reformation Association. Some of his published articles are on the Heidelblog website. Daniel was installed as pastor of preaching ministry at Christ Reformed Church, September 29, 2023. Daniel is married to Marcy and they have two daughters and a son.

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