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Ask Roger

What Makes a Great Leader?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,
I was just commissioned as a pastor here in Nigeria. I want to become a better leader for my congregation. What should a church leader be like?
Thank you,
Theetso

Dear Theetso,
I am so glad that you asked you asked this question. I believe that one of the greatest needs in the church is solid, biblical leadership. In fact, when Jesus talked about “sheep without a shepherd,” He was talking about the need for good leadership.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:35-36)

What Characteristics Are People Looking for in Their Leaders?

In “The Leadership Challenge,” by authors Kouzes and Posner, we can see four characteristics people are looking for in good leadership. Followers want leaders who are: honest, competent, visionary, and inspirational. I have found the same to be true in over fifty years of pastoring.

Those four traits are what good leaders ARE. They’re also the foundation of what great leaders DO.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:35-36)

 

1. Great Christian Leaders Have a Passionate Desire to Know God

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. (Philippians 3:10-12)

“Christianity Today” Magazine surveyed 100 pastors of large American churches. They found that these pastors demonstrated a passionate desire to grow a large church; but, sadly, not a corresponding desire to know God. Obviously, this is one of the reasons why Christianity is declining in America.

2. Great Christian Leaders Are in Touch with Where People Are and Lead Accordingly

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” – John 10:14-15

Studies reveal that in the average church, 10% of the people do 90% of the work. We call these people the “pillars” of the congregation. On the flip side, this means that 90% of the church members do very little or nothing. I call these attendees the “caterpillars” because they crawl in and around the pillars.

Church leaders—pillars—respond to commitment. When the pastor is greeting guests at the end of the worship service, a church leader comes by and says: “Good sermon today! I love how you pushed hard for the non-money givers to start tithing. They need to feel guilty.”

On the other hand, attendees (caterpillars) are more likely to respond to compassion and understanding. As Andrew McLaren said: “Please be kind to everyone you meet because everyone is fighting a battle.” Most Christians come to Christ because someone compassionately loved them into the kingdom. In other words, most people respond better to compassion than they do to commitment.

3. Great Christian Leaders Are Willing to Take Risks

Think about the risk Mary took. Read Luke 1 carefully, and you’ll discover that Gabriel gave her a choice. She did not have to say “yes.” She must’ve thought about all the ridicule, mocking, and, smearing comments about her having a child out of wedlock. She considered the risk and said, “Be it unto me as you said.” God said to Jeremiah, “So you want to be my Prophet? If so, the people will beat you mercilessly, throw you in stocks, toss you in cisterns, and never believe a word you say. Do you still want the job?” Jeremiah took the risk.

God said to Isaiah, “Take off your clothes and walk down the streets of Jerusalem naked.” Talk about a risk! Isaiah walked naked for the next three years (Isaiah 20) in order to deliver God’s message to Egypt and Cush. He took the risk. God uses leaders who will take risks when He calls.

4. Great Christian Leaders Model Christian Living

“Follow my example as I follow Christ.” – See 1 Corinthians 11:1

My seven-year-old brother, my dad, and I were walking through hot-burning beach sand in the middle of the afternoon. My father turned around to see my brother and me carefully placing our feet in his footprints.

“Why,” he asked.
“Because it doesn’t burn as much in the places where you have already stepped.”

Leaders set an example for others to follow. They put up signposts when people feel unsure of where to go or how to get there. Like it or not, church leaders are also held to higher standards. I carefully counted my change at the checkout line at the grocery store. I realized that the cashier had given me five dollars too much. I said to her, “You gave me five dollars too much.”

She said, “I know. I was in your church service this morning, and I was just testing you.”

5. Great Christian Leaders Develop an Inspired Vision

“Without a vision, the people perish.” –Proverbs 29:18

Great Christian leaders envision the future and create an inspired idea of what the church or organization can become. A new vision often creates change. Many people do not handle change well. They will fight to preserve the status quo at any price. Then, when change occurs, about 10% are the early adapters are pioneers who immediately support the change without question. Then studies have shown that about 80% of the group will accept the change if they are properly cultivated. 10% of the people will resist strongly.

Don’t be discouraged by that last 10%! God gives His leaders a vision and calls us to action.

6. Great Leaders Set People Free to Act

Thomas Jefferson said: “There are two kinds of leaders. Those who trust people and those who fear the people.”

Some churches or businesses don’t trust their people. Their attitude seems to be, “Give them an inch, and they will take a mile.” That translates into the belief that people must be watched very carefully and micromanaged to be certain that they are not slacking off. Very few of these churches and businesses accomplish much—their people don’t respond with loyalty or motivation. On the other hand, good leaders believe that they can trust people. They don’t need to look over their shoulders. They stay out of the way and let them do their jobs. If you do the same, you will come out far ahead with your workers or church congregation.

My dad advised, “Don’t ever push down the people around you to make yourself look better. Instead, lavish great praise on the people around you, and in time, they will lift you up on their shoulders.” He was a great leader.

7. Great Leaders Encourage the Heart

Good leaders recognize the contributions that individuals make and share them publicly. They celebrate accomplishments. They make people feel like heroes. Many years ago, I decided that I would try to say a word of encouragement to at least three people a day. It’s amazing how even strangers will smile when you take a moment to say something that builds them up. One day a staff member said, “Roger, do you know what you do best for us?”
“No.”
“What you do best is encourage us.”
Mission accomplished.

8. Good Leaders Develop a ‘Catalytic’ Leadership Style

People often ask, “Which is more important?”, meeting the needs of the people or building up the structure of the organization? Most people immediately answer, “The needs of the people.” This is the ENCOURAGER style of leadership. Barnabas mentored John Mark, who was such a disappointment to Paul. But at the end of his life, Paul asked for Mark to come and visit him in prison because, said Paul, “Mark is a profitable man for the ministry.” Paul could only say this because Barnabas mentored John Mark to maturity. Encouragers are people-centered. They promote love and unity.

David was a COMMANDER. This is the EFFICIENT style of leadership. This leader is more concerned about building a strong organization than about caring for the people who are part of it. Commanders usually have narrow agendas, are rigid and efficient, create conflicts and pressure, and leave a trail of broken and bleeding people in their wake. David built a great empire and ruined his family. You would not have wanted to be one of David’s children.

The CATALYST is the most EFFECTIVE style. Nehemiah is the best biblical example of a CATALYST. He recognized that when the people returned from Babylon, it was important both to build up the walls of the city and to meet the needs of the people. Catalysts balance building up the people with building up the organization. They understand that building a wall—or a strong organization—is one of the best ways to care for the people. On the other hand, people who are well-cared for are loyal and motivated to build the wall.

9. Great Leaders Understand the Distinction between Management and Leadership

Management is getting other people to do something. Leadership is getting other people to want to do it.

Well, Theetso,
I hope that these principles are helpful to you. I will pray that God will develop you into a great leader that people love to follow.
Love, Roger

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Articles

Consumerism and the Church

by Carey Nieuwhof
written by Carey Nieuwhof

“Consumerism and the Church: Reclaiming the Gospel From Our Most Powerful Religion” is written by Joe Terrell, content manager at CareyNieuwhof.com. Joe’s writings for Medium, Relevant, Carey Nieuwhof, and his personal blog, Instrument of Mercy, have been read by over three million people.

For the past six decades, the local and institutionalized church has positioned itself as a place to be entertained, discover your purpose, and “plug in” to community.

And it’s a strategy that’s been wildly successful.

Until now.

Echoing national trends of a growing distrust of “large institutions,” a 2017 Gallup poll found that only 41% of Americans view the Church as a “trustworthy organization.”

According to a Barna research study, only 2 out of 10 millennials believe church attendance is “important or worthwhile.“

At the same time, nearly 40% of millennials consider themselves “Religiously Unaffiliated.” Additionally, members of Gen Z (the generation currently entering college) are twice as likely to identify as atheists than the general population.

What happens to large institutions when people begin to lose faith in large institutions?

In other words, what happens when miming secular culture finally leads the Church down a road it can’t follow without dismantling itself?

While high-profile scandals, partisan politics, and generational shifts in opinion regarding controversial social issues certainly contribute to the modern disillusionment of organized religion, I believe a much larger unifying force is at play here.

It’s called consumerism.
And it affects nearly every aspect of your life.

Consumerism has not only infiltrated our understanding and application of Christianity, but it is also essentially a religion in and of itself.

And, by almost every metric, it could easily be considered th

What is Consumerism?

Consumerism is a cultural ethic born out of the advent of mass production and further cemented by the advertising boom of the fifties and sixties. Consumerism hinges on the belief that if we only bought what we needed, our economy would collapse.

Therefore, the goal of consumerism is to create artificial demand for goods and services you don’t really need and probably didn’t even know existed.

Consumerism is so much more than an advertising strategy.

It’s a worldview that fundamentally alters the way we approach our bodies, our relationships, our mental health, and our religion.

The goal of consumerism is to create artificial demand for goods and services you don’t really need and probably didn’t even know existed. 

There is no aspect of the American experience that hasn’t been infiltrated by consumerism.

In The Shattered Lantern, Ronald Rolheiser writes,

“Our lives become consumed with the idea that unless we somehow experience everything, travel everywhere, see everything, and are part of a large number of people’s experience, then our own lives are small and meaningless.”

It’s an economic system that thrives on your lack of self-control and preys on your insecurities. We give magazines, home-makeover TV shows, and social media accounts permission to sow discontent in our personal lives and shape our desires for something better.

From diamond engagement rings to home ownership, we’ve been led to believe that “Bigger is Better” by corporations and financial institutions that profit from that very belief.

Our religious and national holidays have become excuses to shop. Products – like cars and smartphones – are purposefully designed to make you yearn for the newer model. One of the fastest growing real estate markets in the U.S. is storage containers – so we can fill them with stuff that can’t fit in our too-big houses.

We are taught through an endless barrage of advertisements that love is best expressed through the exchange of expensive gifts and purpose can be obtained by a trip abroad.

The consumer culture has slyly commodified conversations about happiness, contentment, mindfulness, and empowerment into conversations about individualism and materialism under the banner of “pursuing an authentic life.”

Even the virtue of simplicity quickly became the marketable aesthetic of minimalism – another ‘lifestyle’ only available to those wealthy enough to afford it.

In Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari writes,

“Consumerism sees the consumption of ever more products and services as a positive thing. It encourages people to treat themselves, spoil themselves, and even kill themselves slowly by overconsumption. Frugality is a disease to be cured. Consumerism has worked very hard, with the help of popular psychology (“Just do it!”) to convince people that indulgence is good for you, whereas frugality is self-oppression.”

Consumerism absorbs, modifies, and commodifies preexisting belief systems and ideologies. And Christianity is not immune.

Because, make no mistake, consumerism is a religion.

Our temples are malls and digital storefronts, our altars are checkout counters and online baskets, our priests are advertising agencies, our sacrifices are the dollars in our checking accounts, and God is our unmet desires.

Consumerism absorbs, modifies, and commodifies preexisting belief systems and ideologies. And Christianity is not immune. 

The Marriage of Consumerism and the Church

In the early 1970s, a generation was coming of age that didn’t seem to want much to do with their parent’s faith; church attendance among young people began to plummet.

(Sound familiar?)

The sixties and seventies were periods of immense social and political upheaval, and people were questioning the role of religion in the new cultural landscape.

At the same time, color TVs were making their way into every living room in America, and the entertainment industry was experiencing its heyday – some of the most iconic films and bands were born out of this era.

How could a stuffy church service possibly compete with Star Wars, the Rolling Stones, televised sports, and the bloom of New Age spirituality?

However, a few innovative pastors began to experiment with new ways of doing church. Instead of shying away from cultural expectations, these ministries leaned in and began crafting a church experience with something to offer everyone.

In How Churches Became Cruise Ships, Skye Jethani writes,

“The logic was simple: if the Baby Boomers did not feel the need to connect with God, then perhaps another felt-need would draw them into the church: the need for community, or entertainment, or help with their children and marriages. While they consumed the upbeat music, support groups, dramas, and therapeutic sermons, the hope was that they would find God as well.“

Evangelical churches began orientating their Sunday morning services around worship experiences with an emphasis on production. In the 1990s, the emphasis shifted to offering programs, art, and services that mimicked the secular culture, but offered a “Christian twist.”

New churches stripped religious iconography from their exteriors and interiors and gravitated toward an architectural style that blended the aesthetics of a mall, community college campus, and movie theater.

Church could be anything, as long as it wasn’t boring.

And this cycle began to perpetuate itself: The growth and direction of the modern church were fueled and influenced by money donated by the congregations attracted by entertainment and conditioned by consumerism.

In The Forgotten Ways, pastor Alan Hirsch writes,

“Win them with entertainment, and you have to keep them there by entertaining them. For a whole lot of reasons, this commitment seems to get harder year after year. We end up creating a whip for our own backs.”

And this creates all sorts of weird problems.

For example, people become more prone to leave if the reason they were attracted to a church (entertainment, community, etc.) in the first place gets a sleeker and more productive counterpart in the secular culture (this phenomenon explains, in part, the surge of popularity in “community-based” fitness programs like CrossFit and SoulCycle).

Additionally, seeker-friendly churches that construct their congregational appeal around family-oriented programming often find it difficult to engage young professionals who don’t have children and re-engage parents whose children have left home.

It’s important to note that none of this was driven by ill intentions. It’s simply an organization responding to market pressure.

And a lot of these changes were for the better. Obviously, we shouldn’t try to make our church experiences more miserable and inaccessible to the average American.

And it worked.
God has clearly used (and is using) the attractional model to change countless lives for the sake of the Gospel.

But there was a cost.
And it’s catching up to us.

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Bible Studies

A Guide to Sharing Your Faith in Jesus

by Tom Terry
written by Tom Terry

BEGINNER’S GUIDE: SHARING YOUR FAITH IN JESUS

Christianity is known as a missionary religion. This means that a fundamental part of our faith in Christ is to tell others about him so that we may encourage and persuade them to also make a commitment to Jesus. This is the way in which we expand faith in Jesus to others. Romans 10:14 says, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”

Each of us has a responsibility to tell others about Jesus in some way. That means that our families, friends, and work associates should know that we are Christians and that our chief aim in life is to live for Jesus and please him in all respects. Do your family and friends know that you are a Christian? What do they think that means?

In this study we will learn the basics of sharing our faith in Christ and what happens in us as a result of sharing the good news about Jesus. We will look at:

• Why We Share Our Faith
• How We Share Our Faith, and
• The Results of Sharing our Faith

Many Christians are scared to talk about Jesus openly. But if we truly love the people we know then we will be compelled to try and talk to them about Jesus. Their eternal destiny depends upon us sharing God’s love with them.

What kind of commitment are you prepared to make to tell others about Jesus?

 WHY DO WE SHARE OUR FAITH IN JESUS?

Read: Mat. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Jo. 14:6; I Jo. 2:23; II Jo. 9; II Cor. 5:14-15

God commands us to tell others about Jesus.

(Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8)

Part of the Christian life is to live in obedience to Jesus’ commands. Part of Jesus’ earthly ministry was to tell others about himself. He wanted people to know he was the Son of God and to believe in him. He has given us that same task of telling others about him.

Have you told others about Jesus yet? Make a short list of five people that you want to share Jesus with. Start praying for those five people today and everyday.

People are eternally lost without Jesus.

(John 14:6; I John 2:23; II John 9)

Jesus and the Apostles made it clear that the only way to gain eternal life is to have faith in Jesus Christ. No one who does not have Jesus will experience eternal life in Heaven with him. Therefore, sharing our faith in Jesus is a matter of life and death.

Look at your list of five people you want to talk with about Jesus. What is their eternal fate without Jesus? How does this motivate you to tell them about him?

Sharing our faith is an expression of our love for Jesus and of his love for others, expressed through us.

(II Corinthians 5:14-15)

The Bible’s greatest command is that we love the Lord with all of our heart, mind, and strength. This means that Jesus must become the center of our affections. If we truly are growing to love Jesus, then we will want to tell others about him. If we don’t want to tell others, then we have a love problem.

How much do you love the five people that are on your list? Are you ready to tell them about Jesus? If so, then let’s move to the next part of our study and learn how to actually share our faith.

HOW DO WE SHARE OUR FAITH IN JESUS?

Read: Jo. 15:26-27; Acts 1:8; Luke 8:39; Rom. 6:1-2,11-14; Eph. 4:17-5:2

We share the Bible’s testimony about who Jesus is.

(John 15:26-27; Acts 1:8)

Telling others about Jesus means telling them about his work and identity. This means that we must tell people that God loves them, that Jesus is the only Son of God who died for them on the cross to pay the penalty for their sin, and that he rose from the dead, never to die again, and that they must receive him to gain eternal life. This is the most basic message about Jesus that everyone needs to hear.

What do the people on your list know about Jesus? What will you tell them?

We share the testimony about what God has done for us through Jesus.

(Luke 8:39)

Just as Jesus commanded the demon possessed man to tell others about what he did for him, so too we must tell others what Jesus has done for us. People must know that our lives are different because of Jesus.

Do the five people on your list know how your life has changed because of Jesus? Write out a three-minute testimony about your life since knowing Jesus. Include what your life was like before Jesus and how your life is different after receiving Jesus.

We live lives that demonstrate that Jesus has changed and saved us from our sin.

(Romans 6:1-2; 11-14; Ephesians 4:17-5:2)

No one who has had a genuine experience with Jesus can continue to live their old lives of sin. A life in the process of transformation is the mark of a person who has been changed by Jesus.

Are there still sins in your life that you need to confess to God? Do that right now. Our lives are a powerful testimony of what Jesus can do for a person who comes to him.

RESULTS OF SHARING OUR FAITH IN JESUS

Read: Luke 19:10; Col. 1:13-14; John 1:12; Romans 8:15; II Corinthians

6:18; II Timothy 2:24-26; Hebrews 13:15-16

The lost will come to a saving knowledge about Jesus.

(Luke 19:10; Colossians 1:13-14)

Not everyone who hears about Jesus will receive him. But those that do will begin to experience a new life transformed by Jesus. They will move from simple knowledge about Jesus to obedience to Jesus. Believing in Jesus brings eternal life.

Pray for the five people on your list, that they would come to know Jesus the way you have. Then ask God to help you share the message of Jesus with them.

We will gain new brothers and sisters in the family of God.

(John 1:12; Romans 8:15; II Corinthians 6:18)

The Bible refers to Christians as brothers and sisters. We gain a new kind of relationship when we come to Christ. We become adopted children in God’s family and all in God’s family become our brothers and sisters. When you lead someone to Christ you are welcoming them into your spiritual family.

Pray for the five people on your list, that they will become part of your spiritual family.

God will be pleased with our obedience in sharing his love with others.

(II Timothy 2:24-26; Hebrews 13:15-16)

Telling others about Jesus is part of God’s plan for how we are to live our lives. God is pleased when we share his love and grace with others.

Are you ready to share your faith with the five people on your list? Now is the time to help lead your friends and loved ones to Christ. Pick the first person on your list. Make an appointment or pay that person a surprise visit. Then be prepared to look for natural opportunities to tell him or her about Jesus.

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Ask Roger

What Does God Say About Retirement?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,
I am 62 years old and facing retirement. I’ve tried to carefully manage my funds with Social Security, IRAs, mutual funds, savings, and some investments in the stock market so that I will be financially secure in my later years. I know that nothing is guaranteed in the future, but I’ve done the best I can to be all set.
Is there a biblical model for retirement?
Sincerely, Richard

Dear Richard,

First, may I congratulate you on the obvious discipline that you have shown to put yourself in a good position for financial retirement. You are one of the few people I’ve met who has done adequate financial planning.

Second, I recognize that some folks never had a good enough salary to accomplish the things that you have. You are very fortunate.

Third, thank God for Social Security and Medicare, which will help some squeak through retirement with just enough.

Yes, Richard, the Bible does have a clear-cut plan for retirement. But for many of us, it is not at all what we’ve imagined.

1. Retirement, As Practiced in Our Culture, Is Not Necessarily Supported By Scripture

Our culture today follows the dictionary’s definition for retirement: “to withdraw from office, business, or active life; to enjoy what many think of as the ‘golden years.’”

Many see retirement as sleeping late every morning … or rocking on the porch … or on the creek bank fishing … or crocheting at the local senior center … or perhaps enjoying the golf course every day.

There’s nothing wrong with any of these delightful things as long as we don’t allow them to be the focus of our lives. But the idea of a believer who chooses to stop functioning as a productive disciple of Christ just because he or she has reached some arbitrary age (like 65) is completely foreign to Scripture.

2. The Biblical Definition of Retirement Is Death

God has a mandatory retirement date for each one of us. On that day, He will remove us from the earth. This is good because earthly life is not an end in itself!

According to Scripture, our earthly life is just a testing ground to determine two things: Where will we spend eternity? And if we have received Christ as Savior, what our rewards and responsibilities will be when we get to Heaven?

God intends for us to exit this life either by death or by rapture. Mentally and physically, we will become less and less active as we grow older. This may mean that we have the wisdom and grace to step down from a particular job when we are no longer able to function properly.

On the one hand, God will allow some of us to become completely disabled and unable to work before we die. Be assured that He has another way for us to function as a disciple of Christ. On the other hand, He intends for some of us to work eight-hour shifts until the day we die, and God retires us.

3. If We Are Living in God’s Will, We Will Not Die Until He Is Ready to Take Us Home

Scripture tells us that God has a purpose in mind for each and every day we live (see Psalm 139:15-16). That means quitting or arbitrarily retiring, as it is encouraged by our culture, is simply not in the plan of God.

The Bible is full of examples of men and women who were viable and functioning long after the “retirement age” of 65.

By the way, do you know why we have 65 as our basic retirement age?

Germany was setting up a Social Security-type program in the late 1800s. Kaiser Wilhelm said, “Let’s set the qualification age at 65. No one lives that long.” My, how things have changed.

Now, may I give you some examples?

Caleb was assigned by Joshua to lead the Israelites into battle in the Promised Land.

As they marched into war, Caleb encouraged the army by shouting, “I am just as fit at 85 to go to battle as I was at 40!” Caleb didn’t say, “Joshua, I would love to go to fight with you, but I just retired.”

Abraham and Sarah were “stricken in years” (120 years) when they had their first child. There would be no Jews if they stopped trying when they reached 65 or even 119!

If we are obedient disciples of Jesus Christ, operating in the will of God, nothing on this earth … nothing … can take our lives until our work is finished. The Lord God will empower us to do anything on the earth that is His will, regardless of the difficulty, apparent odds, obstacles, or our age.

What an inspiration this is for some folks who are mounting the crest of the final hill!

With these three truths in mind, we can formulate a biblical principle regarding retirement:

Normal biblical retirement occurs when a believer carries out God’s first and best plan for his life. God will take him or her to glory on the appointed day.

4. It Is Possible to Retire Too Early or to Retire Late

Early retirement occurs when a believer is disobedient and fails to engage in a profitable ministry before he or she dies. God may decide that a person is wasting His time, and so He brings him or her home early.

Let me give you a few examples.

Saul was the first king of Israel. He was a petty man who failed to carry out God’s intentions for his life. He was killed in battle, decapitated, and his head was put on a pole to be mocked by his enemies. God retired Saul early.

Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit about the amount of money that they received from a land deal. They told Peter that out of their generosity, they were giving it all to the church when, in fact, they lied. They were only giving a portion. God killed them on the spot. He retired them early.

Late retirement can also happen when God actually extends our retirement date due to unusual faithfulness or obedience.

King Hezekiah (read 2 Kings 20) is perhaps the most outstanding example of late retirement.

God told good King Hezekiah that it was time for him to die. Hezekiah pleaded with God for a few more years. After all, he reasoned, King Uzziah and King Rehoboam were bad kings, and God let them live for a much longer time. He declared, “I have been a man of faith and wholehearted devotion.”

Scholars tell us that Hezekiah was 39 when he made this statement. Hezekiah knew that wicked King Uzziah had ruled until he was 68. He knew that rebellious and disobedient King Rehoboam had reigned until he was 58.

Hezekiah was making his case before God: “Listen. God, this is not fair. Those two reprobate kings are getting a lot more time than I am. I have served you with my whole heart. I have obeyed you! It is not right!”

God extended Hezekiah’s retirement for 15 years more than His original plan.

But God didn’t extend Hezekiah’s life—or Caleb’s, for that matter—just so they could enjoy a period of retirement … sit and rock on the back porch … or fish and play golf. He intended for them to use those retirement years to build the Kingdom of God on earth.

For the remainder of his fifteen years, Hezekiah delivered Israel from the Assyrians and designed and built a reservoir and conduit to supply water to the city of Jerusalem. And at the end of that fifteen years, when his work was finished, he died. God retired him.

The lesson is this: God intends for us to serve Him as long as there is breath in our bodies. If we serve Him with our whole hearts, He might arrange for late retirement!

Either way, He will provide all the resources necessary to do His will, and nothing will take our lives until our work is finished.

5. Vacations, Holidays, and Recreation Are All Proper Within Scriptural Limits

The whole biblical concept of the Sabbath emphasizes rest! Anyone who doesn’t have enough sense to rest one day out of every seven is going to pay a price. In fact, I think that the most valuable form of rest for the Christian is the rest from his normal work habits every seven days.

Jesus took periodic vacations. We see one of them in Mark 6.

There are times when we grow weary from the pressure of our normal routine or even of our day-to-day work for the Lord. But we don’t need 10, 15, or 20 years of rest. That is absurd. What we need may be a few days … weeks … even months, as the Lord directs. Then we get back to work—whatever that work may look like in God’s plan for us.

6. Rest May Take Many Forms

Playing golf; tennis; crocheting, fishing; playing with grandchildren; gardening; various types of hobbies. The variety is endless. Even mowing the lawn could be restful for some.

As we get older, our bodies and minds need more rest in order to stay healthy. And each one of us needs a different amount of rest according to the work God has for us to do. For example, one of my daughters struggles with a serious chronic illness. She’s able to work about four hours per day, and then her body says, “Enough.” She has to rest much more than most … but she is productively, joyfully completing the work God has planned for her right now.

However, if you have in mind a date when you will arbitrarily quit working and live off what you have accumulated—even though you are still able to work and produce—then you are on the wrong track.

7. There Are Multiple Ways We Can Serve in the Years Before God Retires Us to Heaven

God may call you to leave your career and do something new for His Kingdom. What a privilege! Teach; go on a mission trip; lead a small group: work with teenagers; deliver meals to shut-ins; visit nursing homes to cheer up the residents; pass out Bibles; and on and on goes the list.

He will open up opportunities and give you the physical strength, mental capacity, and financial resources you need to follow … be watching!

Let me close with this story.

An old man in his nineties had a regular habit of working every day in his garden. One day he was out chopping weeds, and a little boy came by and began watching him. He stood for a long time watching the old man—you can imagine how an old man in his nineties looked to a little boy.

Finally, the boy got up the courage to speak. He said to the old man, “Mister, what would you do if you only had one hour to live?” The old man stopped, leaned on his hoe, and said, “I’d just keep right on chopping weeds.”

That is the biblical concept of retirement—just keep right on chopping—until God calls you home.

Love, Roger

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Ask Roger

What I Believe and Why

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,

I have often wondered what you believe about the Bible and how it influenced your life and ministry. Could you give me a short summary of just a few of the essentials of your faith? Many churches these days have stopped believing important parts of Bible doctrine. Please help me. I don’t want to go to a church who has allowed culture to compromise biblical truth.

A concerned church member.

Dear Concerned Church Member,

I am sorry you are struggling in this area. These biblical truths have guided my life since I first began my ministry. Did you know God called me to preach when I was seven? I preached my first sermon at 13. I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home and a great church. However, it is not enough just to associate with good Christians. Every person must seek God and study the Bible to know what God has to say. I hope that every person God placed in my life heard these truths from my pulpit.

The doctrines I list below are only a few of the basic doctrines I hold. I stake my life on them. I pray these truths are deeply communicated each and every day. In fact, that is why God led me to develop Preach It, Teach It. I will also list a few links where you can find more basic doctrines on our site.

WHAT I BELIEVE

The Bible

We place our confidence in the divinely inspired Word of God without error. It is completely reliable as the final authority for all matters of faith and practice.

1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:15–17; and 2 Peter 1:20–21

 

God the Father

We acknowledge the Creator-God as our heavenly Father, all-knowing, all-powerful and always present, yet intimately acquainted with each one of us.

Psalm 103:19; Matthew 28:19; and 1 Peter 1:2.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ

We claim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. He who is fully God came to earth as a man, lived a sinless life, died to pay in full the penalty we owed for our sins, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and will come again someday.

John 1:1–3, 14; Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 1:1–3; and 1 John 5:11–12

 

The Holy Spirit

We recognize the Holy Spirit as the third member of the Trinity who is constantly at work, convicting those who’ve sinned, comforting those who hurt and guiding those who believe in Christ.

John 14:26; Acts 1:5, 8; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20; and Ephesians 1:13–14

 

The Depravity of Humanity

We confess that we are all sinners, by birth and by choice. Our relationship with a holy, sinless God can only be restored through Christ’s work of salvation.

Genesis 3; Jeremiah 17:9; and Romans 3:10–18, 23; 5:12

 

Salvation

We believe that God’s free gift of salvation is available to everyone. Those who accept it by faith, apart from works, receive the forgiveness of their sins and experience a restored relationship with God which results in permanent life-change.

John 3:16; Romans 10:9–10; 1 Corinthians 15:1–5; and Ephesians 1:4–12; 2:8–9

 

The Return of Christ

We anticipate our Lord’s promised return which could occur at any moment.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12; Hebrews 9:28; and Revelation 19:11–16

 

Eternity

We are convinced that at the end of time, believers will enter into everlasting communion with God and unbelievers will be condemned to everlasting separation from God.

John 11:23–27; 1 Corinthians 15:51–57; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; and Revelation 20:4–21:5

 

The Body of Christ

We are grateful to be a part of the church universal, which exists to proclaim God’s truth, to stimulate spiritual growth, to facilitate healthy relationships and to bring glory to God.

Acts 2:41–47; Philippians 2:1–4

https://piti.wpengine.com/ask-roger/detail/how-can-i-be-sure-that-the-bible-is-reliable/

https://piti.wpengine.com/ask-roger/detail/you-cant-be-a-christian-without-these-5-things/

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Podcasts

Church Trends: Live-Streaming and De-Centralizing

by Carey Nieuwhof
written by Carey Nieuwhof

Carey Nieuwhof interviews Dave Adamson, who led social and online ministry for several megachurches including North Point. Dave talks about why some churches should stop live streaming their services, the reasons church attendance might be decentralizing rather than decreasing, and how radical self-care has become part of his daily commitment to help him lead through intense times.

www.careynieuhof.com.

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Bible Studies

Moses’ Call from God

by Tony Evans
written by Tony Evans

Message 1: Encountering God’s Person

SUGGESTED PASSAGE: EXODUS 3:1-14

Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.” When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

The LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.

Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

MESSAGE GOAL:

The goal of this message is that you and your church, individually and collectively, will experience a life-transforming divine encounter as we meet God at our burning bush.

INTRODUCTION:

Far too many Christians have a relationship with God that is more like a flicker of a candle than the brilliance of the noonday sun. What we need is a fresh encounter, an experience with the Most High God.

One of the most famous encounters in Scripture is when Moses meets God at the burning bush. Moses is eighty years old at this time. He has spent forty years in the court of Egypt as the adopted son of Pharaoh and forty years in the wilderness as a lowly shepherd after killing an Egyptian slave master in a misguided attempt to liberate his people, the Israelites.

So, when we find Moses in Exodus 3, there is a forty-year gap between his misstep and his encounter with God. He has gone from the spotlight in Egypt to following sheep in a remote desert, a lowly profession in the biblical world. Life certainly had not worked out the way Moses must have thought it would.

Are you here today feeling like you are just leading sheep? That is, life is not working out like you had hoped it would. Something happened years ago, and now you are wondering around behind sheep. If you could go back and change whatever happened to put you there, you would do it. But you can’t, so you’re just leading sheep, doing the best you can with what you’ve got.

I have some good news for you today, particularly if you’re in a wilderness with sheep. Even though it had been forty years, God had not forgotten Moses. And He has not forgotten you, even though it may seem like it as you perform your routine day-to-day tasks and watch the clock and the calendar go by. But the good news is that there is still hope for a fresh encounter with God.

SERMON POINTS:

1. IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A DIVINE ENCOUNTER WITH
GOD, YOU NEED TO HANG OUT WHERE HE IS.

• A lot of people who say they want an experience with God don’t want to hang out with where He is located.

• If you want to pursue God’s Person, you must be willing to go into God’s presence.

• As long as we insist on a long-distance relationship with God, that is precisely what we will have, but it will be absent a true encounter with Him.

2. ONE WAY YOU KNOW YOU’RE ABOUT TO HAVE A DIVINE ENCOUNTER IS WHEN GOD PRESENTS YOU WITH A CONTRADICTORY SITUATION.

• Throughout the Bible, we see contradictions occurring when God shows up—things that are not operating according to their normal flow.

• Many of us have missed an encounter with God because we ignored His contradiction.

• If you are seeking God and something happens that doesn’t make sense, don’t ignore it—turn aside and investigate it further.

• The Bible says that when you respond to what God has done, He will give you more (Matthew 13:12).

• It’s easy to talk about wanting a fresh encounter with God, but He wants to see us turn aside and seek Him, not just talk about it.

• If you will call out to God in the midst of your contradiction, He will answer because He responds to His name being called.

3. YOU CANNOT HAVE A DIVINE ENCOUNTER WITH GOD IF YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DEAL WITH SIN.

• When you come into God’s presence, you are standing on holy ground.

• Moses’ shoes represented the collective dirt of sin that has to be put aside before you can go any further in an encounter with a holy God.

• Some people will never burn for God because they are wearing “evangelical asbestos suits.”

• People like this don’t want to get too close to God’s holy fire lest His spark catch them on fire.

• We have to deal with sin because many of us are too “Egyptianized.” We have too much of the world in us.

• God doesn’t want to tell us His plan for lifting us to a new level in our Christian lives until we have had an encounter with Him and dealt with the sin that is holding us back.

4. IF YOU WANT A DIVINE ENCOUNTER WITH GOD, YOU MUST COME TO HIM ON HIS TERMS.

• God is the personal, self-revealing God whose name is “I AM WHO I AM,” who sits outside of time in eternity.

• This means that no matter how long you have been leading sheep, I AM can deal with your situation and restore the years that have been lost if you will depend completely on Him.

• This is why there is no room in the Christian life for the pride that says, “I can do this myself.”

• Having an authentic encounter with God doesn’t mean your problems are over; you’ll still have to face your Pharaoh.

• But when you face your Pharaoh, I AM is going to be your power, your deliverer, your sustainer and your victory, because “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

SERMON ILLUSTRATIONS:

REMOVING SHOES FOR WORSHIP

Perhaps you have seen pictures of the long lines of shoes outside of a Muslim mosque. A person has to take his shoes off before he can enter the mosque because it is considered a holy place and the people coming in have been walking all over town collecting dirt on their shoes. But they are not allowed to bring that dirt into their place of worship. How much more should we who worship Yahweh treat His presence as holy.

BACKGROUND BIBLICAL HISTORY AND CULTURE:

Exodus 3:1 says that Moses brought his flock “to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.” “Horeb” is another name for Mount Sinai, the place where Moses would later be given the Ten Commandments. Horeb is the place where God’s presence was manifested in a miraculous way and terrifying way (Hebrews 12:18-21).

QUOTES BY DR. TONY EVANS:

“A rhema word is an utterance with your name on it. The question is, do you hear it as being for you? Do you hear God calling your name in the wilderness that has been an extended place for you? When God grabs your undivided attention, you’ll experience what we call in theology, God’s shekinah glory when He manifests Himself.”

“People put on asbestos suits so they don’t catch fire. Some of us will never burn for God because we really don’t want to get that close to the fire. We’re satisfied with services, seminars, programs and preaching, but we don’t want to catch fire. So, we put on our asbestos suits and our asbestos dresses, and we come to church with our shoes on, and we wonder why we are not encountering God.”

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Articles

Is Your Church Really “For” the Church?

by John Beeson
written by John Beeson

When I say the word “church” what do you think of? Most Americans probably think of a single building that they might attend or drive by on the way to work.

If you said “church” to a first-century Christian, they had a very different image pop into their minds. New Testament scholars agree that the way the early church conceived of itself was as a collective city-church. In other words, when Paul writes his letter to the church at Philippi, he writes it to all of the congregations that meet within the city of Philippi. The letter made the circuit through the city and was read by the leaders at various assemblies. In other words, there was such strong unity across local churches that they conceived of themselves as a collective church.

In fact, there appear to be certain leaders in the various cities who held authority over their local church as well as a number of congregations within their respective cities (Titus, Timothy, Peter, John, etc).

Now, this isn’t to diminish the serious challenges and conflict within these city churches. A cursory look at the letters makes it clear that these churches dealt with many of the same problems we still deal with today: sexual misconduct, greed, heresy, gossip, and conflict, to name a few. It’s instructive to see how these issues are dealt with in the context not just of a local church, but of the city-church.

The average church today is an island unto itself. If truth be told, most churches are for their church, not the church.

It’s understandable why any given local congregation would withdraw from a broader commitment to the church. There are a number of challenges to being committed to the church.

  1. Busyness. There is hardly a pastor out there looking for more things to fill out his schedule. Shepherding a local congregation is taxing enough. Similarly, good pastors are protective of overwhelming their churches with a flood of events.

  2. Differences. A commitment to the city church will necessitate discernment about how wide a net can be cast. There are churches that stretch our theological comfort. There are churches whose practices create discomfort. There are churches that lie outside orthodox Christianity. These differences make the city church messy.

  3. Competition. Many of our strategies to grow our church are done so at the expense of other churches. Many pastors are more than happy to have congregants flock to their church from other churches. Many church leaders view other churches not as true partners but as competitors.

  4. Hurt. There isn’t a pastor out there who doesn’t have wounds at the hands of another pastor. I know I’ve caused hurt to other pastors. A commitment to the city church means reconciliation.

  5. Humility. It requires significant humility for church leaders to honor and praise what God is doing in other local congregations. It requires humility for pastors to not be in charge, but work alongside other pastors.

How can we become churches that care more about Christ’s Church than our church? It will require sacrifice. It will require humility. It will require a change in mindset. All of these must begin with pastors. Pastors, I encourage you to invest in relationships with other pastors in the city. Make sure they know you are for them. Your goal shouldn’t be to be friends with every pastor, but to have deep, trusting relationships with a few, and good relationships with a number of local pastors. This past year instead of going to a national conference, I went to two conferences with local pastors and invested in those relationships and learned from godly men working shoulder-to-shoulder with me in Tucson.

Have conversations with new congregants who are coming from other churches to ensure they have left in a healthy and God-honoring manner. While it can be overdone, there should also be some city-wide events and efforts that our churches partner in. In Tucson, for instance, there are two city-wide prayer gatherings for pastors a year. There are events that intentionally build reconciliation in the city church (led by J17 Ministries). There are also city-wide initiatives to support the foster system and care for local schools (spearheaded by 4Tucson). The vast majority of schools in Tucson have a church partnered with them to care for them.

Let me clarify what I don’t mean by this. I am not encouraging engagement in interfaith events (although there is a time and a place for such involvement). I also wouldn’t want the local church to be so engaged in city events that it loses its unique call and thick relational commitments. In addition, I think that it is problematic for congregants to meander from one church to another because “we are all Christ’s Church.” Commitment to Christ’s Church assuredly begins with an investment in your local church. Just as a commitment to marriage means a specific commitment to your spouse, so too does a commitment to Christ’s Church begin with a meaningful commitment to the manifestation of Christ’s church in a local church family.

If you are a pastor, I urge you to lean into the city-church. If you are a congregant, I encourage you to ask your pastor how your church is investing in the city-church. Let’s be those who are not just about our church, but about Christ’s Church.

www.thebeehive.live. Used by permission.

 

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Devotionals

Bring Others With You

by Tom Terry
written by Tom Terry

“And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negev near Arad, and they went and settled with the people” (Judges 1:16).

 

I have a friend who lived in New Mexico but decided he needed to find better opportunities for work, so he moved his family to Texas. His best friend then did something remarkable. They were so close that his best friend decided to leave his job and also move his family with him to Texas so they could be together, friends together, no matter where, no matter what.

 

Moses’ father-in-law once visited him when he was leading Israel out of Egypt. But when Moses asked him to come with him to the promised land, he declined, But over time, his descendent joined the people of Israel, as we read in today’s passage, and lived in the promised land with them, as if they were of their people.

 

God doesn’t want us going to Heaven alone. He wants us to take others with us—our friends, our family, our associates. God has great blessings in store for those who love him. And he wants us to share that love and blessing that we have received so that others will experience it as well. Who would you want to settle with you in your place in Heaven?

 

Memory Verse

 

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20).

 

Application

 

The only way you can get others to come to Heaven with you is to tell them about the work of Jesus on the cross for them. Be intentional in your relationships with those who don’t know Christ. Look for natural opportunities to share God’s love with them in both your actions and your speech.

 

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Devotionals

Don’t Serve God Alone

by Tom Terry
written by Tom Terry

 

“After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the Lord, ‘Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?’ The Lord said, ‘Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.’ And Judah said to Simeon his brother, ‘Come up with me in the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. And I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.’ So Simeon went with him” (Judges 1:1-3).

 

Have you ever felt alone in what your are trying to accomplish? Many pastors and lay ministers feel alone in their role because of the expectations that are put upon them for their ministry. Sometimes people expect our spiritual leaders to be perfect people, above the fray, better than everyone else. Once, when I shared a popular joke on social media a friend of mine wrote to me and said, “I thought that you were better than that.” In embarrassment I took the joke down, but also felt unjustly criticized.

 

When we engage in reaching others for Christ God does not want us to be alone. We need the support and partnership of others if we are to be successful in whatever ministry God has called us too. Just like Judah and Simeon, they did not engage in their conquests alone. They partnered with each other to realize the dream of a land God would give them. Partnerships are important. Event the apostle Paul did not do things alone. He traveled with others like Barnabas and Silas. He wrote his letters with the help of others. In fact, when God called him into ministry, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart Barnabas and Saul to the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2).

 

Whether you are criticized or praised, don’t do your work alone. We need each other. There are no Lone Ranger Christians.

 

Memory Verse

 

“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (I Corinthians 12:27).

 

Application

 

Do you feel like you have no help? Seek out others with a similar heart as yours and recruit their help, or offer to help them in their ministry. Partnerships are intentional. Be intentional in working with others.

 

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Articles

Ten Reasons People Give for Leaving Their Church

by John Beeson
written by John Beeson

It’s that time of year, when transitions happen: seasons close and new seasons begin. Maybe you’re a student who just headed off to college. Maybe you got a new job. Maybe your employer transitioned you. Those are some of the many natural reasons that you might have just left or might be leaving your church in the coming weeks.

Maybe you’ve left or are planning on leaving your church for entirely different reasons, though. Maybe your pastor is in a rut. Maybe the worship grates on you. Maybe you feel like you just don’t know anyone there any longer. Maybe you were injured by someone at the church and you tense up at the awkwardness of returning. Maybe you feel like you’re not getting spiritually fed there any longer. Maybe you are frustrated with how your church has handled Covid-19.

In this five-part series we will explore appropriate reasons for leaving a church, how to leave a church, how to choose a church, and how to join a church.

Let’s explore some of the most common reasons[i] people leave the church and reflect whether they are appropriate or not.

1)      I feel disconnected

“The church doesn’t feel like home any longer. My friends have left and I feel like I’m at someone else’s church when I arrive.”

It’s not appropriate to leave: losing friends is hard, but we shouldn’t leave a church because our friends have left. Part of the joy of the church is that God brings together strangers into community. Do the hard work of starting a new small group or serving in a new ministry and God will surely bring about new relationships.

2)      They got rid of an important program

“I poured my heart and soul into AWANA and the pastor just canceled it.” “Our Sunday School class was family, and after ten years they said we can’t have our Sunday School class any longer.” “I’ve served with the Gideons for fifteen years, and our church has always supported it. But this past year they stopped providing financial support.”

It’s not appropriate to leave: what a beautiful thing to pour yourself out in service! And how appropriate that we become so connected to the vision of those programs that we serve! But while the mission of God (“go therefore and make disciples of all nations” Mt 28:19) remains the same, the methods of accomplishing that mission change. And so our grip on any particular program ought to be loose.

3)      The church just started a building campaign

“Our church is gearing up for relocation. I’ve gone through a relocation before, and I don’t want to hear the constant drumbeat of financial and service demands that are going to come because of a relocation.”

It’s not appropriate to leave: the gospel isn’t an easy thing. Jesus calls us to pick up our cross and follow him (Matthew 16:24). He calls some to sell everything and follow him (Matthew 19:21). He calls all to use their gifts for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7). Church ought to make us uncomfortable, and God can use relocation for the sanctification of his people.

4)      I disagree with the pastor’s politics

“I can’t believe the church doesn’t require masks.” “I am so frustrated the pastor hasn’t denounced vaccination mandates from the pulpit.” “I am so angry that our pastor said what he said about President Biden’s handling of Afghanistan.” “I’m angry our pastor didn’t support President Trump during this past election.” “I’m sick and tired of our pastor assuming that you have to be a Republican to be a Christian. He never comes out and says it, but he makes dozens of little comments that disparage Democrats.”

It’s probably not appropriate to leave: the idea that politics and religion should be separated is a secular, not a Christian idea. If Christianity is God’s truth, Christianity has plenty to say about politics. But Christianity is not a sub-category of either political party and ought to speak truth to both parties. If your pastor appears to place his nationality or political affiliation above the gospel or to reduce the gospel’s reach to politics, then it may be time to leave. But Christians ought to be able to have civil and respectful disagreement about the political implications of the gospel.

5)      They changed a good thing

“This used to be my church. But they have lost their way.” “The new pastor doesn’t preach like our former pastor. He’s dry and I can’t follow his sermons.” “We used to sing hymns and choruses, but we only sing choruses now, and the drummer is too loud.” “We used to be a family, but we’re so big now, it’s like a mob.”

It’s probably not appropriate to leave: change is hard. Change stretches and challenges us. And the changes your church is making may not even be wise. Maybe the change in worship style will empty out the sanctuary. Maybe they hired a pastor who isn’t as dynamic as your former pastor. But whether you preferred the music before or your former pastor or singing from a hymnal, usually these changes reflect our preferences. Unless the changes reflect a fundamental abandonment of the gospel or foundational theological doctrines, you should probably stay.

6)      No one there is authentic

“Everyone here seems so fake.” “I like the pastor’s preaching, but everyone in my small group seems allergic to being really honest and transparent.”

It’s probably not appropriate to leave: we all seek authenticity, but we tend to reduce what authenticity looks like to what we think it ought to look like. It is likely that those at the church think they’re being authentic. The best way to open the door to authenticity is to lead the way. It is a rare small group that will respond to your authenticity with inauthenticity. Transparency leads to trust which leads to transparency. There are rare situations where churches have structures that actually disallow authenticity; that may be an appropriate reason to leave.

7)      I was hurt by someone at the church

“The Children’s Ministry Director won’t confront the family who keeps bringing their kids to Sunday School sick and got my kids sick.” “I found out that my connection group leader gossiped about me.” “I’ve complained multiple times to the Senior Pastor about the temperature of the sanctuary and he never fixes it.” “They asked me to step down from the worship team because they don’t think I’m good enough.”

It’s probably not appropriate to leave: the burden of peacemaking in the Bible falls on us. On me. On you. Have you been a peacemaker? Have you examined your own heart and confessed any sin to the one who hurt you? Have you confronted the one who injured you in love? If that was rebuffed, have you brought in others? Have you given the process time to work through? There are only a very few situations where leaving is appropriate before we engage in proactive biblical peacemaking.[ii] We’re called to do the hard thing and get messy.

8)      The church makes me feel guilty

“Every sermon is a reminder of how much I’ve failed.” “Everyone at church has it together and seeing them reminds me what a sinner I am.” “All I hear is ‘do, do, do’ from the pastor.”

It may be appropriate to leave: this one really depends on whether you’re really feeling guilt or shame. If you are running from your church because you don’t want to hear about your sin and you want good news without the bad news, then you are running from the very thing that will save you. We need to be convicted and challenged and repent and turn to truth and righteousness. If, however, what you are experiencing is shame or false guilt rooted in a call to earn your salvation, then you are in a church that has twisted the good news of Jesus Christ into legalism and you not only can, but you should leave.

9)      The church doesn’t teach the truth any longer

“The pastor doesn’t preach from the Bible any longer, he is preaching the gospel of self-help.” “The new pastor made it clear in his candidating process that he doesn’t hold to core biblical truths.” “The pastor preached on the book of Revelation and I realized he holds a view of the end times that I strongly disagree with.”

It may be appropriate to leave: if the church has truly abandoned the gospel and/or core historic theological tenants, then you can and should leave the church. However, be careful what you consider to be “core historic theological tenants.” Each of those words is important. Just because the pastor has a different interpretation of the end times, or of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, or of the creation account doesn’t necessarily mean that the church has abandoned the gospel. Ask your pastor to meet with you to discuss your concerns and listen charitably about beliefs that you may be uncomfortable with. Recognize, though, that the conflicting beliefs may be well within the bounds of biblical Christianity.

10)   I’m moving

“I appreciate my church, but I just accepted a promotion and am moving to another town.”

It’s probably appropriate to leave: even here, I’m going to suggest that it still might not be appropriate to leave your church. Don’t assume that your vocational calling trumps your calling to your church. It might, but this should be an open question for you (and your family). God might be calling you to stay in your current job. He might not be releasing you from your workplace, your church, or your neighborhood. He might have a calling for you there that is more important than your career advancement.

The Hard Work of Staying

My point in this post isn’t to give your church a blank check to do a poor job. Churches and leaders are called to a high level of responsibility to lead the church well and create vibrant, gospel-proclaiming communities to move outward with the life-changing hope of Jesus. They’re called to listen. They’re called to lead as peacemakers. But we become the problem when we are not engaged in being the church and participating in the transformation of the community for the glory of God.

If our churches are mere gatherings of shoppers, how can we expect God to build up vibrant communities of faith like we see in Acts where there was shared worship, life, meals, and even possessions? How can we be one body with many members that Paul envisions in 1 Corinthians 12 when members are moving from body to body without much more thought than changing our dentist?

You are the church. The people are the church. And transformation comes through you. Hope comes through you. Just as beautiful and meaningful seasons lie in front of the couple who is experiencing marital difficulty if they will do the hard work of reconciliation, so also fruitful times may lay in front of those in situations where they are contemplating leaving their church if they will stick it out and do the difficult work. I pray that God gives you the strength to take that risk, if that is what you ought to do.

In the coming weeks we will continue walking through what a healthy process of leaving and joining a church looks like.

 

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Devotionals

We Are Empowered by God

by Abraham Kuruvilla
written by Abraham Kuruvilla

Paul’s divinely empowered role in the administration of God’s plan forms a paradigm for the ministry of all believers, as God is made known to the cosmos through the church. Ephesians 3:1-11

Paul begins in Ephesians 3:1 intending to utter an intercessory prayer but breaks off immediately, to resume in 3:14, where he repeats his opening phrase, “For this reason ….” The seeming digression of 3:2–13 describes the stewardship entrusted to Paul by God’s grace—the apostle’s ministry to the Gentiles and its relationship to the “mystery of Christ” (3:4)—and it becomes a paradigm of how believers’ individual and corporate ministries are integral to this glorious plan of God.

Paul labels himself “the prisoner of Christ Jesus” (3:1). That’s true, but he is also the prisoner of Caesar, who in earlier chapters of Ephesians was extolling the triumph of the God he serves, the God who has exalted Christ as cosmic lord and is consummating all things in him. How can the ambassador of such a great God be a humble captive in the dungeons of a pagan emperor? Indeed, Paul’s captivity reflected the daily experience of God’s people—outnumbered, insignificant, weak, and suffering. If these saints were co-citizens being co-fitted and co-built into the dwelling of the glorious God (2:19–22), should not this privileged position of Christians be reflected in actuality now?

In 3:2 (and in 3:9), Paul sees himself playing a definitive role as a preacher to the Gentiles, a steward in God’s grand plan. “The consummation of all things in Christ” (1:10), God’s cosmic plan to bring all things to completion and in alignment to his will in the fullness of time, had now been “revealed” to God’s apostles and prophets by the Holy Spirit (3:5), a company that included Paul himself, to whom the “revelation” was “made known” (3:3). The “mystery” here is specifically about those who were once outside now being introduced into a new sphere of life, into a new “in-Christ” realm (2:11–22; 3:6). Thus, despite his agonizing situation as a prisoner, in the wondrous divine action of consummating all things in Christ, Paul played a major role.

This use of Paul in this divine action was entirely a matter of grace (3:2–3, 7–8). Throughout this pericope, there is a preponderance of passive verbs: “was given” (3:2), “was made known” (3:3), “was not made known” and “has been revealed” (3:5), “was made a minister” and “was given” (3:7), “was given” (3:8), “has been hidden” (3:9), and “might be made known” (3:10). These (divine) passives underscore God as the subject of the divine actions: Paul was engraced by God to be a part of the grand divine program to consummate all things in Christ. And so it is for each individual believer—it is all by grace.

In fact, Paul labels himself “less than the least [literally, “leaster,” a word coined by the apostle] of all the saints” (3:8). This imprisoned, “less-than-the-least”-ranked saint—a prisoner!—is the one who is part of the grand plan of God (3:8). Despite Paul’s “leasterness” (3:8), God’s work is manifest.

And guess what? All God’s people, too, are engraced and empowered for great things, for it is “through the church”—i.e., the unity of this body—that God’s wisdom is manifested (3:10). If Paul, the “leaster” of the saints, could be so used, how much more the rest of the company, who have “boldness and access in confidence” to God (3:12). Therefore, believers are not to “lose heart” (3:13).

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Ask Roger

Teach Me to Pray!

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

 

Dear Roger,

 

I’m a new Christian, and I got invited to a Bible study. Everyone in the circle prayed a nice prayer, but when it came to my turn, I didn’t know what to say. Please help me.

 

Sincerely, José

 

Dear José,

 

IT’S TIME TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT PRAYER.

 

Covid-19 is running wild as it kills hundreds of thousands and stymies a worldwide economy. Riots and racial tension make news every day. Hurricanes have been smashing week by week into Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. Fires have devastated the western states. Some white supremacy groups have set a goal to bring down the United States government. Oregon has decriminalized the possession of cocaine.

 

Personally, I pray for the protection of our republic. There’s little doubt that the Constitution, which has served us well for over 300 years, is under attack. I’m concerned that our nation is divided to the point of destruction.

 

Many Christians are praying for the health and success of our entire world. However, in some ways, what happens to our world is dependent upon the actions of Christians as described in 2 Chronicles 7:13-14;

 

When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

 

Most Christians never get serious about prayer until a problem arises in their lives.

 

How many Christians pray consistently? Unfortunately, my experience is that most Christians pray very little. If we were to receive $10 a minute for the time we spent in prayer each week, most of us would be unable to buy groceries.

 

JESUS FOCUSED ON PRAYER AT ALL TIMES.

 

  1. Early in the morning:

 

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35)

 

  1. All night:

 

“Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spend the night praying to God.” (Luke 6:12)

 

  1. Before choosing the Twelve Disciples:

 

“Jesus spent the night praying. … When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated as apostles.” (Mark 3:14)

 

  1. When life was unusually busy:

 

“Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (Luke 5:15-16)

 

  1. When He was healing and casting out demons:

 

“The people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sicknesses, and he laid his hands on each one and healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people.” (Luke 5:40-41)

 

  1. During His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane:

 

“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’” (Matthew 26:36)

 

  1. On the Cross:

 

“From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice,  . . . My God my God why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

 

LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY.

 

What is prayer?

 

It’s simpler than you think. Prayer is simply talking with God.

 

The only prayers that the disciples knew were those of the Scribes, Sadducees, and Pharisees. Their prayers were filled with pride and endless repetition. These men knew very little, or perhaps nothing at all, of the heart and character of God.

 

On the other hand, the disciples heard often the prayers of Jesus. They were so fresh, passionate, and relevant. So, one day they said, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). So, He did: “Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name” … and continued praying what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.”

 

The astounding thing here is that no one had ever called God, “Father.” Jesus’ prayers were compassionate, gentle, purposeful, and full of humility! He was talking with His father in heaven.

 

Most Christians learned how to pray from listening to others. As a child, I always hoped that the pastor would not call on Mr. Long to pray the closing prayer at church. He seemed to pray on and on forever. I thought that’s why his name was Mr. Long. But now I know better.

 

I really learned to pray watching and listening to the prayers of my mother and father. Sometimes, when I got up really early, I would peek around the corner of the bedroom door to see my father on his knees in prayer.

 

During high school, my prayer life really improved. The leader of our group recommended that we put a chair in front of us and imagine that Jesus is sitting there. Then, just talk to him, as we would chat with each other. I still do that.

 

These five simple truths have always helped me to pray:

 

  1. Prayer is like talking to your best friend.

 

  1. Prayer is “family talk.”

 

  1. God is not someone we fear. He’s our father.

 

  1. Have a nice chat!

 

  1. Prayer really isn’t that hard.

 

It was raining the first time that Tom Terry ever went to church. Riding his motorcycle by our church one Sunday night, he was intrigued as he passed by a parking lot full of cars. He wondered what could be so interesting. So, he turned around and came to church.

 

We were having an evangelistic service, and 25 or 30 people responded to the Gospel, coming down front to meet with our counselors. I was still surrounded when it was time for the service to end. I pointed to Tom and said, “Why don’t you lead us in a closing prayer.” I thought that Tom was one of our counselors.

 

I have forgotten what he prayed, but I recall it was very, very short, something like, “God help us all.” I like to think that he prayed the same prayer as the Philippian jailer during the earthquake, “Lord save me!” But I doubt it.

 

Tom and I still laugh about that moment. He and his wife Diane ultimately joined Campus Crusade for Christ. Tom now oversees the Jesus Film ministry, which has reached millions all over the world with the life-transforming Gospel.

 

Prayer plays a powerful part in bringing God’s invisible power to bear on a visible world.

 

FOUR PRAYER MODELS YOU CAN USE RIGHT NOW.

 

First, “ACTS” is an acrostic that covers most everything that we need to pray.

 

“A” stands for adoration (praise)

“C” stands for confession

“T” stands for Thanksgiving

“S” stands for supplication (requests)

 

Second, pray the Scriptures.

 

For example, pray Philippians 4:4-7:

 

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I’ll say it again: rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

 

Then, take a moment to enjoy the peace of God.

 

Or, pray Philippians 3:10-11:

 

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

 

Ask God to set your heart and mind on becoming a spiritual mother or father at any price.

 

Third, pray in the mind.

 

Praying in the mind is where most Christians spend their time praying. Often, this includes making a prayer list of requests that we’re asking God to care for or grant. A prayer journal helps to keep track of what we’re praying for, which prayers are answered, and how.

 

Praying in the mind often involves worship, songs of praise, hymns and spiritual songs which teach theology, give glory to God, and draw us closer to the heart of Christ.

 

It’s easy to allow the mind to wander. We must turn our attention back to God whenever we lose focus.

 

Praying in the mind refers to our constant thinking about things that need prayer and dealing with them accordingly.

 

Praying in the mind also means that we cultivate the art of quieting our thoughts so that we can hear God speak;

 

“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in his heaven and you are on the earth, so that you were to be few. As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speaks of a fool when there are many words.” (Ecclesiastes 5:1-3)

 

Isaiah spoke for God in Isaiah 30:15, “In quietness is your strength.”

Fourth, pray in the Spirit.

 

Paul wrote:

 

“I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.” (1 Corinthians 14:15)

 

Praying in the Spirit often occurs after we have prayed in our minds, gotten quiet ,and listened for God to speak deep within our human spirit—the inner shrine where God dwells.

 

The Holy Spirit often brings to mind people and events that need our prayers that we had no way of even knowing about in the first place.

 

We often feel the intercession of the Holy Spirit when we can’t put our feelings into words.

 

Praying in the spirit occurs when we are communicating Holy Spirit to human spirit. Paul wrote:

 

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans with words cannot express and he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” (Romans 8:26-27)

 

Jesus shared the same truth:

 

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the father seeks. God is spirit and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24)

 

Theologian St. Augustine declared, “I lost much time in the beginning of my Christian life by trying to find God outwardly rather than by looking within.” And pastor Lloyd Jones wrote, “Our ultimate position as Christians is tested by the character of our prayer life.” I agree wholeheartedly!

 

Well José, I hope you find my answer helpful. May you be fervent and powerful as you come to the Lord in prayer.

 

Love, Roger

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Articles

God Wants You to Be Developed, Not Just Discovered

by Christine Caine
written by Christine Caine

From the time I was 21, I felt desperate to serve God. I remember praying fervently for  him to use me: Here I am Lord, send me, and then I left the where and to whom up to him. Soon, when leaders at my church asked for volunteers to serve on a cleanup team, I said yes. When I was asked to help start a center for at-risk teens, I said yes. Even when it meant cleaning up vomit after a drunken teen lost it in front of me. That was the day I felt the Holy Spirit say, “Christine, this is what you’re going to spend your life doing—wiping up the vomit of a lost and a broken generation.” I was undone. I was right where I was supposed to be.

When my pastor said, “Christine, I want you to be the state director of our denomination’s youth movement, Youth Alive,” once again, I said yes. I was a single woman, called to be an evangelist, willing to serve in any way I could wherever I could.

As state director, I traveled country roads to a different town each week. I drove eight to nine hours one way to develop youth leaders, help build youth ministries, and speak at evangelistic rallies. While I faithfully walked out my yes, I never lost my wonder at seeing God save young people, and yet, there were times when I felt so alone and so in the dark. Times when I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d made the right decision. If I were in the right place. If I were doing the right thing.

I’m not sure what I had imagined my life to be—especially on the nights when I found myself couch surfing or officing out of my car, long before there were cell phones and laptops—and I couldn’t help but wrestle with my thoughts wondering if this was what the rest of my life would be. I had left a corporate job with lots of promise to step into ministry, only to find myself sometimes more alone than fulfilled, with more questions than answers. The whole concept of walking by faith and not by sight had sounded far more glamorous when I first said yes.

But in those early years, God was preparing me. Intentionally. In the dark. In obscurity. Where no one could see me—because that’s where we’re developed and truly prepared for what God has prepared for us.

Isn’t that what happened to King David in the Bible? He was a shepherd boy, tending his father’s sheep when the Prophet Samuel came looking for the next king of Israel. He was just a boy of 15 faithfully doing everything his father assigned him to do, and after Samuel anointed David, he went back to tending sheep. Twenty years later he was appointed king (1 Samuel 16:13:  2 Samuel 5:1-4). Can you imagine waiting 20 years to do something God’s anointed you to do? I can!

Technology may have almost caught up with the speed of light, but God’s processes never will. I understand that we live in a world where it seems everyone is waiting to be discovered, instead of developed. We live in an age of selfies and instant uploads, of Instagram celebrities and talent-discovering TV shows, but God’s idea of preparation is more like the years I spent in obscurity, living out one yes after another.

Looking back, I liken it to the multi-step process of developing photos in a dark room, something common only a decade ago: going into the darkroom, removing the film from the canister, stretching out the film, re-rolling it onto a reel that was submerged into the developer…and on the tedious process went, one chemical bath after another, developing one image after another. Slowly.

The difference between taking a selfie today and taking a picture years ago is astounding. And misleading. In our snap and upload world, we can begin to think our life is supposed to be just as quick. Just as instant. Just as miraculous. We can begin to think that stepping into our purpose, dreams, career track or ministry, should be faster, sooner, easier.

But it never will be. I have learned that like the old-fashioned way of developing film in a dark room, stepping into all that God’s called us to do is a process, one that often takes years in the making.

God’s always using our present to prepare us for our future. Always preparing us for what he’s prepared for us. Always working in us so he can work through us. Because he understands we need to be developed, not discovered, to move into all the plans and purposes he’s designed just for us.

www.propelwomen.org.

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Articles

Character Wins Over Charisma

by John Beeson
written by John Beeson

My youth group was great, but I had never seen a youth event like this. Teens spilled out from the Youth Center into the lawn. Big-eyed, I wormed my way through the crowd toward the door where fog billowed out and the music boomed. The hip youth pastor emerged, smiling ear to ear with an entourage in tow. He greeted me and then moved past to welcome the mass of teens on the lawn.

The band launched into worship and the youth pastor jumped onto stage, delivering a powerful and passionate message to the hundreds of gathered teens.

Little did any of us know that the days of this thriving group were numbered. Over Christmas, the youth pastor would pack his bags for another church after a power struggle with the senior pastor and a moral failing came to light.

I didn’t have any relationship with the pastor, but it was the first pastoral failing that struck so close to home. Several of my friends struggled as they tried to reconcile this pastor’s outward ministry with his inner life. His words had moved them, but they seemed hollow now that his internal struggles came to light.

MORAL IMPLOSIONS

Every month another national Christian leader comes crashing down. Flagrant abuses of power, sex addictions, hateful outbursts, and misogynistic words exposed. How many souls are left struggling in the wake of their exposed sin?

I’m no better than these brothers. Seven years ago I stepped down from ministry. My wife confessed to a series of affairs and I was left with a choice: try to save my pastoral ministry, or try to save my marriage. Praise God I chose the latter (you can read the full story here).

But stepping down didn’t just involve my wife’s admission of guilt; it required my confession. My wife’s sin didn’t happen in a vacuum. It occurred in the soil of my neglect. And it wasn’t my wife alone who sinned against the church. I sinned against the church in my lack of transparency. I didn’t protect my bride, and I didn’t protect Christ’s bride either.

I still grieve those whose faith was negatively impacted by my sin. May God recover the trust I lost.

CHARISMA

The world is drawn to charisma, to power, to gifting.

A charismatic leader draws followers like moths to a flame. But you know what happens when you play with fire.

At our church, our heart is that we would be a church that would prioritize character over charisma. This is God’s heart, too.

When Israel begged God for her first king, God gave them exactly what they were looking for: the tallest, most handsome man in the room: Saul.

When God removed his anointing from Saul, God led Samuel to a nondescript family and then chose the most unimpressive of Jesse’s boys. Samuel, who had far more wisdom than most, couldn’t wrap his head around God’s choice. Looking at Jesse’s boys, his eyes went to those who looked kingly, “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

INTENTIONAL CHARACTER FORMATION

We long to be a church that cultivates leaders with hearts soft for Christ. We desire to multiply leaders who earn your trust with their character, not with their charisma.

It’s not as though our character is a static quality. It must be cultivated.

There are a number of ways we try to cultivate character in leaders at New Life. The first is our co-leadership structure. One blessing of having co-leadership at my church is that it requires mutual submission between my co-pastor and myself. We have a relationship where we can call each other out. In fact, we have signed a covenant where we have committed to keeping short accounts and navigating any issues biblically. We even meet with a counselor twice a year just to make sure there is nothing that has been left unsaid. We recognize that we are better together and that we have to be one another’s biggest cheerleaders and one’s biggest exhorters. Sin cannot go unchecked.

The second way we try to create checks and balances in this area is through an Executive Leadership Team and our elders. Our heart with these teams isn’t just to get the best thinkers in the room, but also those who reflect Christ’s character. When we think about iron sharpening iron (Proverbs 27:17), our first priority is that our character would be shaped in community. Sharpening our strategy and skills comes second. If you were to sit in on an Executive Leadership Team meeting or an elders meeting, you would find us spending our first and best time spent sharing and praying for one another.

The third way we cultivate character at church is through a leadership pipeline. We have several groups that have started in the past few years whose purpose is to pour our best time and energy into developing leaders with godly character at New Life. Instead of just choosing leaders from afar, our desire is to help coach, train, and shepherd leaders (if you’re interested in participating in a group, please reach out to me). Our heart is that our leadership pipeline would develop ministry leaders, staff members, elders, and church planters.

Character over charisma. We pray that is always our priority at our church. We recognize that the evaluation of God’s ministry hinges not just on the purity of the proclaimed gospel, but on the transformation of God’s people through the Spirit. We pray that God shapes our hearts and the hearts of New Life to look more and more like him with every passing year.

thebeehive.live

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Articles

Four Principles to Avoid Burnout

by Tim Keller
written by Tim Keller

I want to talk today about you. There are a lot of questions about what kind of unique witness should the church have at a time like this—how do you pastorally care for people who are experiencing anxiety on a unique level? But I don’t want to talk about those. I want to talk about you.

If you have ever flown on an airplane, you know that the flight attendants are required to give a safety briefing at the beginning of every flight. At one point they always say, “If the cabin pressure falls, oxygen masks will drop from the ceiling.” Then they show you an orange cup-shaped mask attached to a hose and demonstrate how to put it on, while saying these words: “Don’t try to help anybody else unless you put your own oxygen mask on first.” That’s because if you pass out from lack of oxygen, you’re not going to be able to help anybody else. That’s what I want to talk to you about.

Two days after the attacks on 9/11, I got a phone call from a pastor in Oklahoma City. There was a bombing in Oklahoma City, as many of you know, in 1995—a domestic terrorist bombing that not only killed 168 people, but maimed hundreds more. Oklahoma City is not a massively big city, and it had a huge impact on all the families and caused a great deal of suffering. What the pastor told me was that, “You have to be very, very careful. At first, you’re going to go into 200% overdrive, and you’re going to be helping everybody and talking to everybody and dealing with everything.” He said, “Right away you’ll just think you’re sort of tired and you just need one good break and it’ll be okay, but no. Two or three years later, suddenly everybody on your church staff will go into depression. They will have burned out. They will have been eating into their emotional and spiritual capital, as it were, and not realizing it. Don’t let it happen to you.” Now, I wish I could tell you that we avoided that. We didn’t, actually. Over the next five years, the same thing happened to us.

The typical type of ministry burnout usually has to do with the minister’s own heart, identifying too much with the ministry, making their own ego basically the same as the ministry. If the ministry does well, you do well. The ministry doesn’t, you’re a bad person. That kind of burnout is more our own fault. But in times of crisis like this, the burnout is different. You have to get your oxygen mask on or the burnout will be deeper and more widespread. And you cannot help anybody else if you don’t have your own mask on, spiritually speaking.

There are four texts I’d like you to reflect on as the days go on. They give us four principles for avoiding burnout: extraordinary prayer, resilience without stoicism, radical refocusing, and gospel resolve.

MARK 1:35-39: EXTRAORDINARY PRAYER

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else, to the nearby villages, so I can preach there also. For that is why I have come.” 

This was not a perfunctory prayer; this was a lot of prayer. The more popular Jesus became and the more people he ministered, the more time he had to get away to spend in solitary prayer. The exterior ministry of strength was contingent upon an internal dependence on his father. The stronger he was out there, in a sense, the more dependent he was on his father.

We’re talking about immersing oneself in the Bible and prayer. Having time daily, weekly, monthly in spite of the crisis—getting your oxygen mask on first. We’ve got to do what Jesus did. He was at the beginning of the most important ministry in the history of the human race. People are after him for healing and all their needs, but he took the time to pray. We’ve got to take the time to rest. We need to get to bed on time. We’ve got to take our time in meditation and prayer. We cannot let those things go. If anything, we have to enhance them. Extraordinary stress takes extraordinary prayer.

2 CORINTHIANS 4:18: RESILIENCE WITHOUT STOICISM

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we’re being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

This passage has fascinated me for years. Resilience without stoicism. Paul is not saying, “Keep a stiff upper lip. Don’t let it get to you. Don’t let anybody see you sweat. Don’t express emotion.” He actually tells us we’re pressed, we’re perplexed, and we’re struck down. He says he has been knocked flat but not destroyed.

There are different translations of Proverbs 3, but it basically says that when troubles come, don’t make light of them or faint under them. Some translations say don’t make light of them or lose heart. There is permission to lament. There is permission to cry. There’s permission to break down, to literally get on the floor, and yet not stay there.

In a sense, extraordinary prayer is necessary for this principle. The end of the passage says, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. Because what is seen is temporary, what is unseen is eternal.” This refocusing of perspective is what gets us off the ground. But there is a real need for grieving. In this world, many people respond to tragedy with sheer stoicism or total brokenness. This is neither of those. It is lamentation.

The psalms are particularly helpful with lamenting. You need not only be in the psalms, but when you’re doing your solitary time of study and prayer, make sure whatever else you’re reading, whatever else you’re thinking about, you include the psalms. They bring study and prayer together.

1 CHRONICLES 12:32: RADICAL REFOCUSING

“The men of Issachar who understood the times and knew what Israel should do…”

The verse is about the people who went out into the wilderness to throw their lot in with David when he was a fugitive. These men were taking a radical step. They left their families and certainly left the safety they had in the rest of the country where Saul was king, but they recognized that David was God’s anointed. The verse states the reason they sided with him was because they “understood the times,” or as we might put it today, the cultural moment.

Just as a good farmer realizes it’s time to plant or it’s time to harvest, they understood the seasons. During times like we are in now, we have to—at least for the sake of brainstorming—break free from all our older goals, traditions, and priorities, and question everything about our ministry, except the things the Bible absolutely prescribes. We need to be willing to think outside familiar categories and pathways.

This means to question everything but the things that the Bible mandates. Things have changed, so we should be careful to know what in our approach to people and ministry needs to change as well. There may be many, many things that we’ve done in the past that we should continue. There should be some goals that we should stick with, but we need to re-examine everything to understand the moment we live in.

ESTHER 4:12: GOSPEL RESOLVE

Last, there is gospel resolve. This principle does not work without the first three. If we aren’t getting enough rest and spending enough time with God despite the huge amount of pressure to basically work 24 hours a day, if we aren’t expressing our emotions to God and yet doing it with resilience, and if we aren’t rethinking our ministry and what we should be doing, gospel resolve can lead to burnout.

Gospel resolve means that at some point, we just do it. At some point, we just summon up the willpower and do the next thing. Elisabeth Elliot used to tell me and my wife that sometimes you just put one foot in front of another. You do the next thing, even if that is just combing your hair. You don’t know where you got the strength to do it, but you just do it. It’s gospel resolve.

The Bible gives us a great example of gospel resolve and finish with this.

“When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do you think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape? For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from some other place, and you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you were brought to your royal position for such a time as this? Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it’s against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

That’s resolve. Okay, I’m going to do it. I want you to consider—whoever you are, wherever you are, if you’re a ministry leader, if you’re a church leader—you have been brought to the position you’re in for such a time as this. You need to have Esther’s resolve. You need to say, “Okay. I’m going to do it.” It’s going to be very difficult. Do you see how this would lead to burnout if you don’t do the other three things?

With the other three principles, there could be many days in which you just say, “I’m going to do it and if I perish, I perish. I’m going to be obedient. I’m going to be faithful to the people. I’m going to be faithful to my Lord.” Actually, like Esther, you won’t perish—and you know why, of course. You have your eye on the one who perished for us and rose from the dead.

Jesus made atonement for his people and now, like Esther, stands before the throne of the universe, and the favor he procured is ours. That’s the reason why just looking at what he did for us can strengthen our gospel resolve through him.

Here’s my prayer for you:

Our Father, we ask that over the next two or three years, in which there will be death and fear, that you will be with your people. There will be economic devastation. Many of our ministries may experience economic contraction, but don’t let there be any contraction of our ministries at the spiritual level.

I pray that all of the leaders reading this right now will go to these passages and say, “This is how I will get through. This is how we will get through. This is how we’ll be able to lift up the name of Jesus over the next few years.” We expect and pray that many, many people who are spiritually careless right now will listen to your word and turn to you.

We pray you work through the people who are reading these words. I pray the words of these passages from scripture would live in us and prevent us from sinking in the mire of depression and burnout. We pray that you would bear us up. Help us to walk on the waves as we fix our eyes on you. Don’t let us be like Peter who looked at the waves and not on you and sank, but rather let us look at you and walk on the water.

We pray that you would help us in all these waves.

www.redeemercitytocity.com. Used by permission.

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Sermon Starters

The Dangers of Stunted Spirituality

by Chris Brown
written by Chris Brown

There are three test areas to evaluate if we’re personally doing church right – are we growing in knowledge, love, and service? How do the following verses reinforce the importance of each and their relationship to one another?

Psalm 119:10, 13-16

10 I seek you with all my heart;

do not let me stray from your commands.

13 With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.

14 I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.

15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.

16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. [NIV]

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong

or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. [NIV]

Matthew 25:31-32, 37-46

The Sheep and the Goats

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” [NIV]

Is there one you would typically tend to think is more important than the other? Could there be any danger in thinking this?

Is there one you would say you’ve grown in understanding or applying more than the other in recent years?

  1. Our understanding of the “part we play” and our personal area of ministry can be confusing at times. Our calling to serve God shows up in two areas where we have a responsibility to do our part for God’s Kingdom. The first is in our daily life (how we live and interact with those around us) and the second is in support and service to God’s people and his kingdom.
How do the following verses speak to your own vision and focus for your daily life ministry opportunities?

Micah 6:8

Matthew 22:37-40

Colossians 3:13-14

8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. [NIV]

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all

your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” [NIV]

 

13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. [NIV]

Colossians 4:5-6

How might this view of our ministry and service for God take the pressure off when it comes to ministry? How might it put the pressure on?

  1. One of the keys to finding the specific “part to play” that God has designed for us is to simply start serving and see where we’re effective and what we gain energy from. What do the following verses tell us about the importance of every single ministry role?

1 Corinthians 12:4-7

1 Corinthians 12:12-13

1 Corinthians 12:21-26

Have you ever found yourself seeking a role that didn’t fit you? What happened?

At what point can thinking a role doesn’t fit become a cop-out for an unwillingness to serve?

Can you think of anything in your life that could help you or has helped you to learn humility?

5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. [NIV]

 

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. [NIV]

Unity and Diversity in the Body

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. [NIV]

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. [NIV]

 

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Ask Roger

Who is the Wisest Man I’ve Ever Met?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

“Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family.” Proverbs 18:24. MSG

 

I hired Gary Shrader over the telephone. I was 26. Gary was 24, green and newly graduated from seminary.

 

Our fledgling church needed a youth pastor. I received Gary’s resume and was so impressed that I didn’t even bother to bring him out for an interview. I noticed on his resume that he was valedictorian of his high school class. I thought that anyone who was valedictorian would be a great hire. Several months later, I discovered that there were only 13 in his graduating class. Gary pulled up to the church with a tiny U-Haul trailer. I asked, “Where is the rest of your stuff?” “This is everything I own,” he replied.

 

Hiring Gary was the best decision I ever made.

 

He was a splendid youth pastor. He was also hilarious. I loved his rendition of “I’m a Little Teapot, Short and Stout.” Imagine Gary painting lipstick around his belly button and making it talk. He played foppish King George in the Christmas Pageant, the Young Messiah, and brought down the house. He dressed as Albert Einstein when he played the Bionic Baptist in a sketch promoting missions. Gary sat on the lap of our Education Pastor and played a ventriloquist’s dummy. Gary, the deadpan puppet, told so many jokes off the cuff that people were falling out of their chairs. No one at youth camp can ever forget the story about “Diarrhea: it runs in your jeans.”

 

Gary was the only one brave enough to accompany my wife Julie on youth mission trips. I tried to go once. I almost had a nervous breakdown. Julie was scatter-brained and was never afraid of anything. Gary was not afraid of Julie.

Gary was our only eligible bachelor. He was a catch. Young women lined up at the door of the church office hoping to curry Gary’s favor. Only one woman won the prize: Gary’s heart. Jan Wooten became his bride. Jan was a pastor’s kid. Gary had a formidable father-in-law. When Pastor Henry Wooten performed Gary and Jan’s marriage ceremony, Henry said, “Do you promise to love, honor and cherish this woman?” Gary replied, “Yes.” Henry snarled, “If you don’t, I’ll break your neck!”

 

Gary is one of the most spiritual men I’ve ever met. We were leading summer camp in the mountains of Northern Arizona. Gary and I got up early every morning to go to the chapel to pray. Long before there was ever a Prayer of Jabez book, I heard Gary praying the prayer of Jabez for himself. I heard him pray for God would expand his boundaries. God answered his prayer. He mentored young pastors and missionaries all over the globe.

 

He was loyal, honest and faithful. He was always forward thinking, adaptable, open to change. That’s why he succeeded in every pastoral position he assumed. Gary was a renaissance man. I once asked him, “How did you get so wise?” He admitted that driving a tractor on his Oklahoma farm gave him time to think. Perhaps we all need to spend time on the farm. Billy Graham did also!

My friend gave me the best advice I ever had. Once upon a time, we were facing a church split and I was deciding how to handle it. Gary appeared at my office door and said, “Roger, now is the time the average pastor does something stupid.” I kept my mouth shut as Gary advised, waited it out and God worked it out.

 

I remember when I was a 30-year-old pastor with PTSD, the church leadership recommended I take a sabbatical to recover. I assigned Gary the job of holding the church together until I returned. He did.

 

He gave his wise counsel in a number of different ways. He had the ability to sit quietly in a meeting, synthesize everything that was said, and then frame an answer that was directly from God and imminently practical.

 

For example one of our worship leaders committed adultery. I was traumatized. I wasn’t sure to make it public. Gary encouraged me to handle it up front with the congregation. I preached the Sunday service. I preached on what to do biblically when a church leader sins, and Steve, head of our counseling department, shared with our congregation how to heal their grief and disappointment. Speaking the truth in love allowed the couple to stay in our church for a time, and paved the way for an easy staff transition.

 

Gary was my go-to guy. Whenever the church had a problem, I asked Gary to fix it. We had a charismatic Sunday school teacher who convinced 100 people to follow him and make his own church. Instead of getting angry and vengeful, Gary said to pray a blessing over all of them. A year later, his church fell apart and most of our former members returned. It was our blessing that opened the door for their return.

 

He was quite versatile. During his career he was a youth pastor, a missions pastor, a church administrator and an executive pastor. Gary excelled at every post. He was the steady hand that kept our ship aright.

 

Gary consulted on every decision to hire church staff. I wanted his advice. He was an excellent judge of character. Gary helped me select hundreds of church personnel over the years. He helped me fire a few, too!

 

Gary and I were always passionate about growing the church. We made an attendance chart on the back of the bathroom door in my study. Every Monday we would look at the numbers and see if we were doing enough to reach people for Christ. We were chatting in my tiny bathroom one Monday afternoon and Elsie Robinson, my secretary, knocked on the bathroom door. She looked in the door, saw both of us crammed into the tiny bathroom, shook her head and left.

 

Gary called the 1980’s the “Camelot Years” at Casas. There was only one level of staff, we were all good friends, and the church was exploding. But we outgrew our old site.

 

It took twelve years to re-locate our church to a 100-acre plot five miles north of our church. We faced almost insurmountable obstacles. Gary stood beside me in every challenge we faced. He helped coordinate the sale of the old property and secured continuing income for the Casas ministries today. Gary orchestrated plans to get the church debt-free by the time I retired. And he did!

 

One thing that most impressed me was Gary’s vision to make our church a mission-minded church that spanned the globe. Casas gave millions of dollars to support world missions, and sent out hundreds of missionaries. I remember one summer we had over 500 people involved in long and short-term mission projects overseas.

 

Gary and Dwight Nelson travelled to India to do mission work. Gary asked for bottled water. He looked out his window and saw the waiter fill a plastic bottle with a water hose. Gary also ventured to Kenya and went off into the bush to take photos. Suddenly a nearby elephant trumpeted and began to charge. He escaped to his tent not knowing if he and his wife would be trampled underfoot. Finally the elephant lost interest and lumbered away.

 

When the Libyan Embassy became available in Pakistan, our church purchased the building. I assigned Gary to start a seminary for native pastors. We trained several hundred pastors over the next few years. It was all Gary. I never even went.

 

Gary coordinated our 40-year partnership with Pastor Roberto Morales in Mexico. He also coordinated short-term mission trips throughout the year with our sister church. Pastor Roberto expanded his ministry throughout Mexico and Peru. What a legacy!

 

Gary was a fabulous teacher but he hated to preach. He taught me what to do if ever I accidentally said a bad word in the pulpit. Gary was preaching on Jonah and used an illustration about a garbage scowl that confessed, “I wanted to be a beautiful ocean liner and all I ended up being is a stinking shi*.” He kept right on going. Everyone in the congregation said, “Did he really say that?” Gary never admitted it. I used his sage advice the next time that I bungled my words. I kept on going. I adopted his recommendation. “If you try to fix it, it will always be worse.”

 

Gary had a personal prophecy for me. He said that my ministry after 55 would be greater than before. I grieved having to retire early for health reasons, and Gary’s words rang true when we began our web ministry. Preach It, Teach It fulfilled my dreams to help pastors and missionaries around the world. I counsel pastors on every continent every day. Our site reaches millions. His words have always given me God’s perspective instead of my own.

 

He was a great encourager. When I was down, he had an open door to listen. The one thing I remember most was that Gary was always at my side. In every phase of my ministry, he never left.

 

When I suffered through so many health challenges, crises and criticisms, Gary said, “Roger, you are the toughest man I ever met.”

 

He was wrong. Gary was the toughest man. He fought a battle for his life. Inoperable brain cancer was his greatest challenge. He handled excruciating pain and relentless setbacks with grace. He even laughed in the face of adversity. Jan, his faith-filled wife, showed grace every day in his suffering.

 

I have never known anyone like him. I will always love him and admire him. He truly is the friend who sticks closer than a brother.

 

 

 

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Articles

Predictions About How the Future Church Will Look

by Carey Nieuwhof
written by Carey Nieuwhof

By now you’ve realized that the Coronavirus pandemic is not an interruption nearly as much as it’s a disruption.

And as you move more deeply through this crisis, the question of what kind of world will emerge beyond the crisis is probably also starting to occupy your mind. Mine too.

It’s pretty clear by now that the shuttering of business, churches and restrictions on movement and gatherings will be measured in months rather than weeks. It’s also becoming far more likely that when things do re-open, it won’t be an overnight return to wide-open gatherings and travel. To make things more challenging, the return to travel and gatherings the way they were might be measured in years, not months. Perhaps it will never be quite the same again.

As upsetting and frustrating as that may be (and I hope I’m wrong), your job is a leader isn’t to fight reality, it’s to cooperate with it and leverage it.  Fools deny reality, kicking against it to make it do what they hope it will do. The wise co-operate with it, leveraging it for new opportunities.

So let’s start here: the new world will be a different place. In some ways deeply recognizable, but in some profound ways, different as well.

And, as a result, the church will be a different place—same mission, just some very new methods.

As much as you may want everything to go back to normal, you can’t go back to normal when normal changed forever. The future isn’t kind to the unprepared, so prepare.

Please hear the promise in change though: leaders who have the energy, passion and agility to change now will end up advancing their mission in the future.

And of course, leaders who don’t, won’t. They may not even survive.

5 PREDICTIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE CHURCH WHILE EVERYTHING’S STILL UNKNOWN

So, with all that said. What does the future look like?

While it’s impossible to know where this will all land, how it will land or what things will look like, and while two months from now this might be an entirely different post,  you can begin to see the trends.

Here are some trends I’m watching very closely and would put time and energy into resourcing in the midst of the crisis.

  1. DIGITAL CHURCH IS HERE TO STAY

As much as many churches went online for the first time and everyone made digital their default, the long debate about whether online church is ‘real’ or not is settled.

And even if it’s not settled theologically (a few still have questions and objections and always will), it is settled practically.

Of course physical gatherings will return with joy as restrictions lift (don’t ignore the probability that the restrictions will lift partially and gradually), but to think that the world will suddenly go back to 100% physical when people have experienced digital is highly unlikely for a number of reasons.

First, because digital church is the only option now, churches have poured a ton of time and energy into making it better, experimenting with different formats and opportunities and really connecting with people. Many are doing a great job and it’s only likely to get better in the upcoming months as smaller churches come online and all churches keep innovating.

Second, sometimes the digital connections have been as or more meaningful than the in-person connections. I realize there will be many who push back against this, but it’s foolish to ignore the fact that people connect more easily online and often admit the truth more readily online than they do in person (That might not be right, but it is true).

Third, most of the churches who are online now are experiencing growth.

Again, the critics will question how to count the online numbers for real and raise 100 other objections, but it’s unmistakable that people who were unaware or disengaged with church a month ago are leaning in now. I have people in my own life who have attended a service now who never came to a building before. Our church has seen a 500% Sunday ‘attendance’ spike since the pandemic grew. And yes, people are texting in their decision to follow Jesus and we’re opening up digital discipleship pathways and groups for more people than we’ve ever connected before.

What about the argument that some of this won’t stick? Let me take you back to the analog days for a minute: everyone who attended your church in person didn’t ‘stick’ either.

Unprecedented challenges provide unprecedented opportunities. And what we’re seeing in these early days of digital church is a huge spike in engagement and interest.

To put digital church back on the shelf in the new normal is to ignore the greatest opportunity the church today has to reach people. And it also ignores the fact that many will want digital to be at least an option, if not a preferred method of engagement where geography and other barriers prevent access.

Will we go back to in-person and physical gatherings and services? Absolutely. But digital isn’t going away. It will continue to grow and advance.

In the future church, if you care about people, you’ll care about digital church.

2. VIRTUAL AND FLEXIBLE STAFF TEAMS WILL BE THE NEW NORMAL

In the same way church went digital overnight, staff teams for churches and corporations did too.

I talked to a number of CEOs over the last week (who tend to be far more bottom-line driven than church leaders) who said as hard as the adjustment was for their teams to become virtual overnight, they’re not going back to the way it was before.

Some may close their offices and become entirely remote. Others will simply scale back things like square footage and travel along with the instance that everyone come in every day.

One CEO working from his home told me that what would have been a four day trip to the East Coast turned into a 5-hour virtual factory tour. When you calculate the dollars saved, the staff time and the opportunity cost involved (3 additional days to try new things), even when travel becomes an option again, it makes no sense to fly there anymore.

Another CEO who works in staffing said that prior to the disruption, even Fortune 100 companies looked at flexible and virtual work options as options. He believes that when things re-open, remote work and flexible work (some days in the office, some days out) will become a requirement for any company serious about attracting and keeping the best talent.

Translate that for church leaders.

As inefficient as working from home might seem now (kids hanging off you, everyone signing into Slack for the first time and not quite sure how Asana works), one day the kids will be back in school and novel tools will be normal tools, and then the real efficiency of flexible and remote work will start to kick in.

Prior to the disruption, there was already an emerging trend that saw your most talented young employees asking for the most flexibility: to work from home, coffee shops or to flex their hours. That will only accelerate.

The future workplace for churches and businesses will flexible workplaces: with an array of in-person and remote teams.

Again, move ahead five months and begin to think about hiring the ideal Exec Pastor you’ve been wanting to hire for a long time who doesn’t want to move. Bringing him or her on board as staff and flying them in a few times a year suddenly looks far more feasible than it did even a month ago. And with Zoom and video calls normalized now, you won’t feel nearly as distant as you would have earlier in having team members join meetings remotely.

On future teams, insisting that everyone show up in person will become a competitive disadvantage.

8-4 stopped working years ago. Now it’s broken beyond repair. The future workplace is the flexible workplace.

3. CHURCHES WILL SHIFT THEIR FOCUS FROM SUNDAY TO EVERY DAY

One of the most exciting trends to emerge so far is to see churches focus on everyday ministry, not just Sunday ministry.

For years, the fun part of social media, online live events and even email marketing is that it allows you to show up in people’s lives every day, not just on Sundays.

But most church leaders were so Sunday-focused that they were totally absent in people’s lives by Monday, not to mention the other five days of the week.

That’s changing, and that can only be a good thing.

When it comes to discipleship and evangelism, every day is more important than Sunday.

Tens of thousands of church leaders are showing up online on every imaginable social media platform almost daily.

Not all that digital spaghetti will stick to the wall.

Some leaders are already tiring of daily messaging.

Others realize daily content is proving to be challenging (you have to have a lot to say).

And the initial enthusiasm of viewers will wane as the internet settles down into some new rhythm.

BUT…and this is big…the idea that we can go back to Sunday worship with a few midweek (group) meetings and the odd inspiring quote on Instagram is already a thing of the past. Sundays will continue to be really significant gathering and worship days for churches, but it can no longer stop there.

If people live every day in need of hope and resources to live out their faith (or to find faith) every day, church leaders have to start coming alongside people every day. Like many are doing right now.

In the future, churches will shift their focus from Sunday to every day, because people need to find faith and live out their faith every day.

4. LEADERS WILL START TO RETHINK MULTISITE 

This one takes us out on a bit of a ledge, so bear with me. Like I said, everything could be different in two months.

But I’m wondering how the disruption will fare for the multisite movement that’s been part of our landscape for the last three decades, with growing churches planting numerous physical locations.

Here’s what the current crisis has done so far. Overnight, every multisite church became a single site church, that single site being the internet.

And, as already discussed, church leaders are also discovering that digital church scales in a way that physical church doesn’t.

I have no idea what will happen to multisite churches when locations are allowed to reopen. Perhaps more people will flock back to church in person.

There are rattlings already that this could be the end for many malls, theatres and even restaurants.

That could mean that real estate, being cheaper than ever, could be snapped up cheaply by church leaders wanting to expand.

Or it could mean that you’re trying to be Blockbuster in the age of Netflix, AppleTV and Disney+.

If digital breaks down physical barriers, what will happen to physical locations?

Right now I think this is simply a question to be asked rather than anything to be acted on. But again, asking the question now gets you ready for an answer then.

5. THE SERMON WILL BE REBORN

Even in these early weeks of the disruption, church leaders and rethinking and reinventing the sermon.

For decades/centuries, the standard method of delivery has been a 30-40 minute monologue by a preacher based around scripture.

To be clear, I’m almost at the point where I think preaching could be a sacrament. I take it very seriously and believe it gets used powerfully by God to change lives through the preaching of his word. (Side note: It’s weird to me how many denominations restrict the presiding over communion to clergy but let anyone preach. Way more damage has been done through awful sermons than from misdistributing communion).

So how will the sermon be reborn? In many ways, but the key is to experiment.

  • Many sermons are getting shorter. Speaking into a camera takes a unique skill set, and most leaders are choosing to go shorter rather than longer.
  • You can easily make messages interactive. Having live-chat during sermons can allow your hosts to engage with people, and at the very end of the service on Sunday I took live questions from people about the message.
  • You can start to film in advance and make the messages more creative, almost taking a cinematic approach to it.
  • Some sermons might get longer and more intellectual. Online isn’t just video or social media. It’s also audio. In this post, which I wrote a few years ago, I argued one way that the Sermon 2.0 could take shape was through long, off-Sunday content. Shorter isn’t always better.  Long-form content has a role.

I realize there’s no consistent pattern here. That’s the point.

There will perhaps always be a role for the 40-minute message on a Sunday morning, but for the church to become far more creative than only has an upside.

Crisis is a cradle for innovation. So when it comes the sermon, innovate.

www.careynieuwhof.com. Explore Carey’s new series on How to Lead Through Crisis.

 

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Beware the Church Mafia: 4 Ruling Families

by Jon Acuff
written by Jon Acuff

I want to go out on a limb, I want to expose the secret society that has long held sway over churches around the world. I want to talk about the Church Mafia.

The Church Mafia is a loosely constructed, by tightly wound, syndicate of four ruling families. Modeled after the Italian Mob of the early 1920s, they are the ones pushing and pulling for political power within the church. They control everything from the quality of cookie you get at Vacation Bible School to which people get elected to the Pastor Search Committee. Even mentioning they exist could get me black listed from the sarcastic writers religious speaking tour. But it’s a risk I am willing to take. I am sure I will remix this post later, possibly covering each family individually, but here they are at a high level:

1. The Elderati
Background:
Although they would never admit this, the Elderati is the strongest of the ruling families. Their influence is not often direct and visible, but is instead quietly woven into almost every decision the church makes. Once you make it into the Elderati, you can never really leave. For although your official “term” might end after a year or two, you will constantly be called into conversations and decisions long after you actually attend an Elder’s meeting. It’s rumored that they all have a small letter “E” tattooed on their ankle. But since members of the Elderati never wear shorts, it’s impossible to prove.
Also known as: “The only people the pastor fears.”
Nemesis: The Deaconistas
Signature sentence: “Have you cleared that with the Elders?”

2. The People from the Old Country
Background:
This group of people has always been with the church. You know this because they will regularly tell you, “I’ve been coming here for 42 years and I’ve never seen anything like that.” Even if your church is only 38 years old, it doesn’t matter. They probably came to the field where they predicted the church would be planted and sat in the grass in the spot where their favorite seat would one day be. Their faith may be well seasoned, but if you do something offensive to them, like accidentally park in their spot or try to add a praise song to your hymns, they will cut you.
Also known as: “The OGs” or “Original Gangsters”
Nemesis: The Changeleones
Signature sentence: “We’ve always done it this way.”

3. The Changeleones
Background:
The Changeleones are dedicated to changing things at church. The particular thing doesn’t matter, they simply want to do something different. They are constantly suggesting a change in direction, a shift in mission, a new vision statement, anything that will help the church “reach more young families” or “connect us with this generation.” They are often big on words and small on action, suggesting radical changes and then fading back into the shadows to let other people actually do the work.
Also known as: “The Fadorinis” for their uncanny ability to jump on the latest and greatest fads.
Nemesis: The People from the Old Country
Signature sentence: “We gotta shake things up around here.”

4. The Old Minister Mob
Background:
Occasionally, for a variety of reasons, a minister will leave a church. And when he or she does, the Old Minister Mob springs into action. They will regale you with tales about how amazing the old minister was, creating lavish examples of his awesomeness. “The music was just better with the old music minister. He did something with the piano and triangle that few people can. I’m not getting fed the same way with this new Family Life minister. We should bring the old minister back to speak sometime.” They will mount a verbal campaign of grouch and forget all the things they didn’t like about the old minister when he was here. They often suffer from a weird mix of “ex-girlfriend syndrome” and “small Goditis.” They look back on the old minister with rose colored glasses and doubt that God is big enough to use the new minister to whatever purpose He ultimately has in mind. Deep down, they are a good hearted family, but if they channeled the time and energy they spent grumbling, they would have a ridiculously cool impact on the church.
Also known as: “The Grumpilucas”
Nemesis: Any new minister.
Signature sentence: “I fully support the new minister but … .”

It should be noted that the families are not bound by age requirements. Sometimes you’ll find someone from the Old Country family that’s 15 and a Changeleone that’s 82. And it’s possible to have a great Elder. But all of that is starting to change. There is a new family on the scene that is starting to shake things up. A new group spilling into the church that is threatening everything the ruling families hold dear. I am of course talking about the Young Bloods.

The Young Bloods are a new generation of Christian. Whether they just came to faith recently or are having a quiet faith renewed in a loud way doesn’t matter, the results are the same. They are exploding from the inside out. They are walking into churches and coffee houses and colleges across the world and they are changing the face of faith as we know it. They don’t play by the Mafia rules, they live by grace. They don’t get caught up in the politics, they’re too caught up in the passion of God to notice they’re even there. Their faith is messy and fresh and not restricted by a desire to do things differently or do things the same way they’ve always been done. They’re not mounting a revolution, they’re giving in to a surrender. They’re rolling up their sleeves and sharing scars and stories and the overflow of a love that is too big to contain or hoard in one person. And if enough ever get together, if the Young Bloods keep coming, the Church Mafia will never be the same.

www.stuffchristianslike.net

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Does God Want Us to Have Pets?

by Julie Barrier
written by Julie Barrier

Countless American families hastily evacuated their homes due to fires, floods or hurricanes. The stories of their frantic retreats are remarkably similar. They rescue two things as they rush out the door: treasured photos and the family pet. Forget the paintings and the jewelry! Fido and photos come first. 

We love our pets!

This past weekend, I took my daughter and her Doberman Roo to the “Darling Dachshund” races. You heard me. Little weiner dogs burst out of their teeny-tiny starting gates and frantically sprint toward doting owners holding squeaky toys at the finish line. Hysterical!

Americans spend $70 billion per year on their pets.  There are 2 million cat videos on YouTube. (Why? I’m not a cat person…) My daughter frequently chats with her pet-loving friends around the globe on Instagram.
Viagen Pets cite 10 reasons why folks love dogs: loyalty, friendship, therapy, health, unconditional love, protection, selflessness, exercise, forgiveness and happiness.

My Mom had mid-stage Alzheimer’s. We always brought Penny, our cocker spaniel, to visit her. My Dad passed away three years ago. Last week she confided, “I love when Penny sleeps with me. My bed doesn’t feel so empty without Ralph (my Dad). “

I pondered this passion we have for all things furry (and scaly, as the case may be). God must have placed in us a desire to bond with animals. Does the Bible broach the subject?

Yes. God has a lot to say about our intertwined relationships with animals in His Word.

 

God had Adam name the animals. He commanded Noah to protect and care for the animals in the ark. He had the Jews keep Passover lambs in the house with the family. Nathan decried David’s adultery with Bathsheba by telling a story of a poor man who had one little ewe lamb he loved. Uriah was the poor man. Bathsheba was the beloved little lamb:

“The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter 2 Samuel 12:

God knows when a little sparrow (or Budgie the parakeet) falls, and is concerned:

“What is the price of five sparrows-two copper coins? But God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” Luke 12:6-7

God gives us a window to observe the unspoken relationship between a man and his animal in the book of Numbers. The Jewish prophet Balaam was on his way to help Balak, a pagan king, curse Israel. God sent an angel with a flaming sword to stop him. His donkey saw the angel. The rebellious prophet did not.   Balaam’s donkey spoke to her master. In Numbers 22:26-28, we hear a unique conversation:

Then God gave speech to the donkey. She said to Balaam: “What have I ever done to you that you have beat me these three times?”

Balaam said, “Because you’ve been playing games with me! If I had a sword I would have killed you by now.”

 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your trusty donkey on whom you’ve ridden for years right up until now? Have I ever done anything like this to you before? Have I?”

He said, “No.”

Even Balaam’s donkey spoke of the relationship they shared!

Isaiah reveals another passage about the connection between man and his animals:

“Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognizes its master’s care— but Israel doesn’t know its master. My people don’t recognize my care for them.” Isaiah 1:3.

God carefully teaches us to understand our relationship with Him from Bible passages about animals.

The Lord used animals to show us our need for forgiveness of sin. When Adam and Eve fell, the first act of God was to sacrifice an animal and cover their nakedness in Genesis 3:21.

Blood sacrifices and atonement fill the pages of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Christ was the Lamb of God who would provide the ultimate way for man to connect with God:

“And they sang in a mighty chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered— to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” Revelation 5:12

Our Heavenly Father controls animals to teach us lessons.

He directed a whale and a worm to teach rebellious Jonah. He showed Elijah His care by dispatching ravens to feed him during a drought. The Lord judged wicked Jezebel by dispatching dogs to eat her corpse. He shut the mouths of lions to protect Daniel and to reveal His power to a pagan king.  The highest moment of Christ’s ministry involved multiplying fish to feed the masses.

God created animals to need us to provide and care for them. We need them, too!

How many lessons do your children learn from your pets? 

1. They learn responsibility.

 

Someone has to feed, walk and wash the pooch. Hopefully your child learns these invaluable life skills. Solomon observed in Proverbs 12:10: “The godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel.” What a great nugget of wisdom for your son or daughter!

 

2. They learn unconditional love.

 

No matter how many times your little one pulls their fur, chases them or tries to “ride them around the house,” your canine runs to the bedside of your kid every morning with a tail wag and a lick.

 

3. They learn faithfulness.

 

My daughter Brie is chronically ill. Her toy havanese Wicket never leaves her side. She depends on Wicket. He makes her laugh and cuddles her when she cries.

 

Jesus demonstrated the love between man and his animals in the Gospel of John. Christ’s words are so powerful and precious, I will share all of them:

 

“The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep… the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.

 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.

 I know my own sheep, and they know me,  just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.”

What a beautiful picture!

Jesus knows us, His little sheep, and we know and trust Him.

Penny, my pup, lies quietly at my feet while I write to you. I feel warm and calm and comforted. I think I’ll get up, scratch her warm belly and give her a treat. Or maybe I’ll get a treat too!

 

P.S. My husband Roger wrote a wonderful article entitled “Are Dogs Religious? Do Dogs Go to Heaven?”

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I Can’t Measure Up to the Proverbs 31 Woman!

by Lysa TerKeurst
written by Lysa TerKeurst

Do you ever get that sinking feeling of not quite measuring up at the mention of the Proverbs 31 woman?

Me too.

I remember when I first read this chapter many years ago as a young wife and mom. I thought the Proverbs 31 woman was overwhelmingly perfect.

And as I’ve walked through a season of extreme hardship in my marriage over the last few years, I’ve found myself not just intimidated by Proverbs 31 but defeated by this wife whose marriage seems full of praises. Even good marriages don’t always have such shiny realities.

That’s why my heart feels especially tender toward those who would rather skip over Proverbs chapter 31. I know what it’s like to have these words sit heavy on your heart with a resounding declaration of “not enough.”

But what if I told you that the heart behind Proverbs 31:10-31 is one of celebration, not condemnation?

The first thing I want us to take note of is that this isn’t just a chapter about a wife of noble character, despite how your Bible titles verses 10-31. It’s a chapter about a woman of valor. A courageous woman. A woman of strength and dignity.

In Jewish culture, these verses are read out loud on the Sabbath as a celebration over the women. This is in no way condemning what they aren’t but celebrating how they are, in their own unique expressions, living out the virtues detailed in this chapter. These aren’t words meant to tell a woman she is supposed to be more. They are a celebration of who she is.

Isn’t that the way it should be?

Courageous women celebrating each other … and those they love celebrating them? All under the banner of honoring God, serving out of love, and smiling at the future. Yes, this is why I love Proverbs 31 and rejoice that our ministry is named after such uplifting Scriptures.

I also love how Proverbs 31:30 reminds us of what’s truly worth celebrating: “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”

Notice it’s not a woman with a spotless house who is to be praised. It’s not the mom with perfectly behaved children wearing matching, designer outfits. Honestly, it’s not even the woman who’s married and has children.

A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. This isn’t an “I’m afraid of God” kind of fear. This type of fear refers to having a heart completely in awe of God. It describes a woman who honors God by seeking Him in everything she does and trusting Him wholeheartedly with her life. She has a heart of reverence that overflows into a life of spiritual maturity and wisdom.

And let’s not forget to look at today’s verses within the context of why God gave us this book of the Bible. The very first chapter of Proverbs tells us it exists so we can gain wisdom, instruction, understanding, insight, knowledge, discretion and guidance (as seen in Proverbs 1:1-7). Proverbs 2:1-5 goes on to remind us that as we receive and apply God’s commands, we’ll be able to understand how to find the knowledge of the Lord.

Wisdom is both a gift from God and a process of learning. And Proverbs 2:10 tells us the benefit of this kind of wisdom: It will be pleasant to your soul as it enters your heart.

I know this is a passage of Scripture that can easily trip us up. But what if we take God at His Word and choose to believe these words hold good and pleasant things for us? What if we challenge ourselves to look at Proverbs 31 closely — to see which part of it is a gift to us and which verses we need to learn from? What if we speak these words over ourselves and the other women in our lives as a form of celebration instead of condemnation?

God tucked these words into His Word for all eternity, sweet friends. And that tells me they are needed and meant for our good. Let’s ask Him to help us learn from them today.

Father God, thank You for this beautiful picture You painted in the pages of Scripture. Help me receive these words from You as a gift. Help me hear them spoken over my own life with Your voice of love. And show me how to live them out, according to the unique way You purposefully designed me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY

Proverbs 31:25, “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” (NIV)

RELATED RESOURCES

Is there any part of your life that isn’t turning out the way you thought it would? Find the scriptural encouragement and help you need with Lysa TerKeurst’s newest book, It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way. Order here today.

With Mother’s Day and graduation just around the corner, take time to remind those closest to you of their identity in Christ with products from our Spring Celebrations collection. Find gifts with meaning and purpose during this season of celebrating. Head to p31bookstore.com, to find the perfect gift.

www.proverbs31.org.  Used by permission. 

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Ask Roger

What Kind of Church Do I Want?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,

 

For several reasons I’m looking for a new church home. I’m looking for guidelines to help me in my search. If I were to ask you, “What kind of church do you want my church to be,” What would you say?

 

Sincerely, Donelle

 

Dear Donelle,

 

A CHURCH THAT PRIORITIZES BIBLICAL EXPOSITORY TEACHING AND PREACHING

 

The Scriptures are foundational for everything in the church and they must be taught.

 

The first thing written about the early church was that they were devoted to, “the apostles teaching” (Acts 2:42). The teacher’s toolbox includes many different types of sermons and teachings. One-point sermons, three-point sermons and topical sermons are just three of many.

 

But the most effective way to build disciples over time is what’s called “expository” preaching and teaching. “Expository” means to go verse by verse, paragraph by paragraph and chapter by chapter in order to teach, explain and apply the meanings of the Scriptures.

 

I want a church where people arrive asking the question, “Does God have a word to speak to me today?”

 

I listen to a preacher sermonizing about economics and think to myself, “Why is he doing that? There’s not a person in the Treasury Department who doesn’t know ten times more about the economy than he does. I hear a teacher trying to teach on foreign policy, and I think to myself, “There’s not one person in the State Department who doesn’t know ten times more about our foreign policy than he does. God’s servant’s priority is to do what economists and politicians are not trained to do: teach and proclaim the Word of God.

 

Charles Spurgeon used to say, “People are like dogs. If all the teacher-preacher has to share on Sunday morning are a few old scraps, they will fight over the scraps. However, if they are feasting on the Word of God, they will go home from church and take a nap.”

 

Only a church that knows the Bible can ever hope of having a church that pleases Christ!

 

A CHURCH WHERE PRAISING GOD THROUGH SONG AND WORSHIP IS A HIGH PRIORITY

 

“And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit; speaking [one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:18-19).

 

Singing psalms means taking words and passages directly from the book of Psalms and setting them to music.

 

Spiritual songs are composed, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, for the purpose of bringing worshipers into the throne room of heaven. These are often songs of personal testimony. “This I Believe” (Creed) by Hillsong Worship is an example of the Apostle’s Creed set in contemporary style.

 

Hymns are designed to teach great biblical truth. For example, look at all the theology taught in the old hymn, “The Old Rugged Cross.”

 

“On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross

The emblem of suffering and shame.

And I love that old cross where the dearest and best

For a world of lost sinners was slain.

 

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross

Till my trophies at last I lay down.

And I will cling to the old across cross

And exchange it someday for crown.

 

To the old rugged Cross I will ever be true

Its shame and reproach gladly bear.

Then he’ll call me someday to my home far away

Where his glory forever I’ll share.

 

Examine the theology packed into twelve short lines!

Crucifixion; Salvation; Rewards; Crowns Offered To Jesus; Commitment; Persecution and Heaven.

 

A CHURCH WHICH PRACTICES AND ENCOURAGES PRAYER

 

Charles Spurgeon, a London pastor of a previous generation, whose written sermons circled the globe, who was well known for his evangelistic heart, said: “When I’m invited to speak somewhere, and given the opportunity to either pray a prayer or preach the sermon, I’ll pray the prayer every time.”

 

Most pastors I know, myself included, would rather preach the sermon, than pray the prayer.

 

Prayer develops intimacy with God. Very few times, if any, does the Bible record Paul praying for someone to be healed. However, he prayed often for the human spirit to be matured:

 

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, . . . And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, . . . to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:16-19).

 

God answers prayer:

 

“Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry for help, and he will say: ‘Here am I’” (Isaiah 58:9).

 

We had dedicated prayer teams to go at any time when prayer was needed. When people called the church office asking for prayer, we set up appointments for them on Sunday to meet with one of our groups.

 

Sunday evening was often a time for prayer. I recall one woman, Toni, a physician at a local hospital, asked for healing prayer for her upcoming cancer surgery. Not only was she concerned for her life, the extensive surgery meant no children. We followed James’s guideline for healing prayer (James 5:13-16). We anointed her with oil, laid hands on her, and prayed for her healing.

 

Later that evening she told her husband: “Wasn’t that exciting when the lighting crew shined that bright, warm spotlight on me while Roger was praying?

Her husband replied, “It was late; there was no light. Are you sure you saw and felt a light? The crew was long gone.”

 

Toni asked her oncologist to run all the tests again. No cancer was found.

 

Several years later she was the proud mother of a daughter and two sons.

 

A CHURCH THAT IS EVANGELISTIC

 

In Luke 5: 4-7, Jesus miraculously filled Peter’s fishing fleet with so many fish that their nets broke. Jesus said, “You think that is exciting! Follow me and I’ll let you fish for men.”

 

The first cry of a newborn babe is to share with others what just happened to them. The day after I became a Christian, I shared the gospel with two of my best friends. A month later all three of us were baptized together!

 

This is important because research shows that 98% of all Christians fail to lead anyone to Christ.

 

Paul tells us that Jesus awards crowns for those who follow him in five different areas.

For example, when we first lead a soul to Christ, Jesus reserves for us the soul winner’s crown. Every time we help another become a Christian, he adds a star to our crown.

 

By the way, some seem to believe that numbers is not important. Luke thought that they were.

 

“Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about 3000 were added to their number that day” (Acts 2:41).

 

A CHURCH THAT IS DISCIPLESHIP-FOCUSED.

 

Christians who are farther along in the faith must take those not as far along under their “wings”. This is what Jesus meant when he said to Peter, “Feed my sheep. Tend my little lambs;.

 

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others (2 Timothy 2:1-2).

 

John described three levels of spiritual maturity. We want to mature spiritual children into spiritual mothers and fathers through prayer, fellowship, Bible study and mentoring.

 

I am writing to you, dear children,
because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.

I write to you, dear children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one (1 John 2:12-14).

 

“Every man or woman is just a spiritual as he or she wants to be.”

 

Here is one prayer that God promises to answer: “Lord, make me a spiritual mother or father at any price.”

 

A CHURCH WHERE PEOPLE TITHE REGULARLY AND GIVE GENEROUSLY!

 

I’ve heard Christians say that we are no longer under the principle of tithing– giving the top 10% of our income, (the tithe) to the Lord. They propose that Paul teaches “grace giving” in the New Testament (2 Corinthians 8-9) whereby we personally decide how much to give to the Lord.

 

When we look carefully, two practices are in play. First, we give tithes to the Lord. Second, we give to those in need and to the various facets of Lord’s kingdom.

 

Jesus verified the tithe in Matthew 23:23:

 

“Woe to you teachers and Pharisees. You give your tithes. But, you have neglected the more important matters of justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”

 

Paul, on the other hand, is talking about “grace giving”. In this particular case, he is encouraging the Corinthians to give generously to help the Jerusalem church in their time of famine.

 

A CHURCH WHERE FELLOWSHIP PERMEATES THE CONGREGATION.

 

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.. . . Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:42-47).

We really do need each other. Others need us to meet their needs, and we need them to meet our needs. Fellowship involves pouring our lives into the lives of others.

 

Occasionally, we hear Christians say something like, “I don’t need a lot of fellowship, Jesus and I get along just fine.”

That attitude reminds me of burning coals in a fire. Imagine taking one particular coal out of the fire and placing it off by itself. It won’t be long until the burning coal is a smoldering ember that soon turns dark and cold.

 

Jesus is not looking for Lone Ranger Christians

 

A CHURCH THAT FOCUSES ON HELPING HURTING PEOPLE.

 

Jesus said to Peter, “I’m a shepherd, you be a shepherd, too” (John 21:15-18).

 

In the catacombs of Rome, the “fish” symbol is often scratched into the walls. The Greek letters for “fish” form an acrostic, “Jesus Christ, son of God, Savior”. However, the most frequently scratched symbol is that of a shepherd’s staff.

 

I decided long ago that if our church focused on helping hurting people we would always have a viable ministry. The world never runs out of hurting people.

 

Our church motto became: “Helping hurting people.”

 

One of our church members sat down in the first teachers meeting of the school year beside a brand-new teacher. The conversation turned to churches.

“Where do you go to church?” asked the new teacher.

“My family and I go to Casas Church.”

“I’ve heard of that church,” responded the new teacher, “That’s the church that helps people.”

 

A CHURCH WHICH IS ACTIVE IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE.

 

James wrote that Satanic attacks can wreak havoc in the lives of Christians “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

 

Every area of our lives not surrendered fully to the Holy Spirit is open to attack by a Satanic spirit.

 

John wrote that spiritual young men and women have overcome the devil. Spiritual children are often deceived (1 John 2:12-14). It’s time for many babies to grow up.

 

Paul encourages us to be active in spiritual warfare: “. . . in order that Satan might not outwit us. for we are not unaware of his schemes.”

 

If Satan can deceive Adam and Eve, who were perfect, how must it be for us!?

Fortunately, God has given as every tool necessary to be victorious in spiritual warfare.

 

In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul describes the spiritual armor necessary to find victory.

 

Most all of our demonic attacks can be handled with prayer and discipleship.

 

The key verse is James 4:7: “Submit to God; resist the devil; and he will flee from you.”

 

A CHURCH THAT IS PREPARING FOR THE NEXT GENERATION.

 

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14).

 

The best time for people to come to Christ is before the age of 25. After that, most have set their life’s values in place and those values do not include Christianity.

 

Donnelle, I hope that you find my thoughts helpful as you consider your church home.

 

Let me know what you choose and how things work out.

 

Love, Roger

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Why Is Your Work Never Done?

by Carey Nieuwhof
written by Carey Nieuwhof

Ever feel like your work is never finished?

You can’t quite stop working at home. You wake up most mornings feeling like you’re just stepping back onto the treadmill that never stops.

On rare occasions, you think you’re done (at least for now), but then you head out for dinner or take a walk only to start thinking about all the different ways you could have tackled the situation at work. Suddenly you’re not ‘off’ anymore.

Even on vacation, you don’t really feel free. Work is on your mind, even when you’re a thousand miles away from it.

More and more leaders feel like their work is never done.

The challenge, of course, is that the more you feel like your work is never finished, the closer you edge to feeling finished.

Why is that?

Well, there are a number of factors at work.

This is a far greater problem for people today than it ever was for our parents or grandparents. Things have changed radically since the 60s and even since the 90s.

Some of the factors at work are beyond your control: to fight them is like fighting gravity.

But there’s one thing you can change, and it’s the #1 reason your work is never done.

First the reasons why it’s so difficult, which are the factors you can’t really change because they’re cultural, not personal.

The more you feel like your work is never finished, the closer you edge to feeling finished.

Flex Hours

Flex hours were supposed to liberate people from the tyranny of 8 to 4 or 9 to 5. And some extend, they did.

A defined start and finish time to work left a lot of office workers feeling like they lived in an arbitrary prison. After all, why should a responsible employee have to sit behind a desk or cubicle when they could be at their child’s school play and get their work done earlier or later?

It all makes perfect sense.

Except that when there’s no clean start and clean finish to work, there’s no clean start or clean finish to work. Everything gets lost in the messy mud of “did I really do enough?”

There’s definitely a group of people who take advantage of flex hours to cheat their employers. But I suspect there’s an even larger group of responsible people who end up doing more because there are no longer any clear boundaries.

Flexible hours really means many people just work more hours.

Your Work Isn’t Tangible

If you work at an auto plant or even at Starbucks, there’s a tangibility to work that almost no one in an office, firm or church experiences.

You start your shift and produce X number of SUV steering wheels or Frappuccinos, and you’re done. Five hours after your shift ends nobody’s thinking, “I wonder if I should be installing more steering wheels right now.”

The challenge with knowledge workers (pretty much all office, ministry workers and a growing number of entrepreneurs) is that nobody’s quite sure how to measure what we do, including us.

Sure, you can measure bank balances, attendance, customer acquisition, growth rates and the like. But how do you really measure what you do in a day?

It’s harder to find a sense of accomplishment when you met with someone for an hour and there was no defined outcome.

Maybe you should have a dozen more meetings like that. Or maybe none. Who knows?

If you’re a preacher or writer like me, who knows whether what you did accomplished anything? Sure, over the long haul you’ll see results, but every sermon could be ‘better’ and every article could be more polished or have stronger ideas.

It’s just so intangible.

The intangibility of ministry creates a tangible angst in many leaders.

More than a few people compensate by looking for other wins in their lives that are measurable. That’s why I love cutting my lawn and cleaning my car. There’s a before and after. The results are clear.

At work, they’re never that clear.

As a result, you feel like you’re never done.

The Mission Is Endless

Adding to the sense of never being done many of us experience is the size of the mission facing us.

In church, there are always more people to reach. Even if your church is the largest in town, most of your town doesn’t attend church and the majority of those people likely don’t have a growing relationship with Christ.

In business, there are always more opportunities.  Even if your company is on a 30% growth curve, somebody down the road is experiencing 10x growth. And there are 7 billion people on the planet anyway to reach anyway, right?

A lot of us have an endless mission. There’s just always more.

The problem with having ‘more’ as a standard is that more has no end point.

You never feel done because, well, you aren’t.

Your Work Lives In Your Pocket

Previous generations have lived with intangible work and an endless mission. Arguably they handled it better than we’re handling it.

Why? Well, one reason is they never carried phones.

Your challenge is your work lives in your pocket. You carry it with you wherever you go. Even on vacation.

As a result, you feel like your work is never finished.

When you check the time or the weather forecast, you can’t help but notice the eighteen unread emails that have piled up in the last hour.

Co-workers text you at dinner. Friends ping you while you’re watching the game.

Add a laptop into the mix, and you’re never off when you’re off.

The line between work and home isn’t just blurred, it’s gone.

Thanks to phones and laptops, the line between work and home isn’t just blurred, it’s gone.

The #1 Reason You Feel Like Your Work Is Never Finished

All of the reasons listed above are huge factors in how we feel day to day and why the struggle is real.

But none of them is the key reason you feel like you’re never done.

You know what is?

It’s this: You feel like you’re work is never finished because you don’t have a strategy.

What you need is a strategy to figure out how to handle the pressures of flex hours, intangible work, an endless mission and your constantly buzzing phone.

After all, none of us can go back to 1974 when no one had a phone and office hours were office hours. And probably many of us won’t work at an auto plant or in retail where there are clear lines.

As a result, self-leadership has become critical. Most of us have no idea how to lead ourselves.

If someone asked you right now What’s you strategy for handling the constant pressure of work, what would your answer be?

Most leaders I know would have no answer.

Frankly, I didn’t either until ten years ago.

Self-leadership has become critical, and most of us have no idea how to lead ourselves.

www.careynieuwhof.com. Used by permission.

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Articles

Why the Search for a Church to Meet Your Needs is Wasted Time

by Carey Nieuwhof
written by Carey Nieuwhof

Any church leader who’s been in ministry for more than a few months has heard different variations of it:

 

“I’m looking for a church that meets my needs.”

“What are you going to do to better meet my needs?”

“I’m leaving this church to find one that better suits my needs.” 

The longer a Christian has been in church, the more likely it is that they’ve uttered a phrase or two like this from time to time.

I’m not against changing churches. I think everyone has one or maybe two church changes in them. Leaders change. The effectiveness of churches can vary in different seasons. And occasionally a church is downright toxic. I get that.

One or two church changes (when living in the same community) is understandable. And it’s completely different from serial church shopping, which for reasons I outline in this post, is a colossally bad phenomenon.

The problem is deeper, though, than changing churches (as big a decision as that is). It’s about the purpose of the quest. Should the criteria of a church meeting your needs be the reason you change churches? Well, what if the church was never intended to meet your needs? What if the furthest thing from God’s mind when he created the church was to meet your needs?

Here are 5 reasons why I believe trying to find a church that meets your needs is futile.

1. A Church That Meets All Your Needs Is Probably Off-Mission

If a church ever meets all your needs as a Christian, it’s probably off-mission. Because the church was never designed to meet all your needs. It was designed for glorifying God and showing his love to the world.

A church that is only about meeting your needs is a church that’s focused on insiders while the world is quite literally going to hell.

The attitude that the church exists to meet the needs of members is one more remnant of consumer-Christianity, which is a strand of Western Christianity that continues to die.

A church that meets all your needs is probably a church that’s off-mission.

CLICK TO TWEET

2. You’ll Uproot All Your Non-Christian Friends

If you’re drifting from church to church to satisfy your needs, what happens to all the non-Christian friends you’re building into? Oh wait… that almost never comes up in conversations with Christians who demand their needs be met. Because they usually have zero non-Christian friends. Their idea of church isn’t about the mission. It’s about them.

Think about it. If you’re living out your faith and sincerely praying for friends who aren’t in a relationship with Christ, theoretically there are at least a handful of non-Christians who will be impacted by your move.

But usually, that’s not even on the radar screen of Christians who move to satisfy their needs. Because there are zero non-Christians involved.

Far too many Christians have zero non-Christian friends.

CLICK TO TWEET

3. Christianity Was Never About Satisfying Yourself

The heart of the Christian faith isn’t about satisfying yourself, it’s about dying to yourself. If Christians stopped indulging their preferences and starting focusing on Christ and on helping others, the church would be so much healthier.

It’s strange, but the happiest and healthiest people aren’t those who are focused on meeting their own needs. Harvard Business School studies relate that there is a demonstrated correlation between giving away time and money and experiencing a feeling of happiness.

Perhaps it’s because that’s exactly how God designed us. Because when we give, we get.

The heart of the Christian faith isn’t about satisfying yourself, it’s dying to yourself.

CLICK TO TWEET

4. Your “Needs “Aren’t Usually Needs

To be fair, we all have a few basic needs. A church should be biblically faithful. It should be reasonably healthy. And it should focus on the true mission of the church, which is to make disciples (not just be disciples but make disciples, which means reaching out).

When someone says that a church doesn’t meet their needs, what they usually mean is a church doesn’t suit their preferences.

When you drill down, ‘needs’ often means:

Is this my kind of music?

Did the people notice me?

Do I like this place?

A lot of Christians these days ask, “Did I like it?” And the moment they don’t, they’re done. When no church meets your needs, maybe you should check your ‘needs.’

When no church meets your needs, maybe you should check your needs.

CLICK TO TWEET

If you really boil it down, because of the rise of consumer Christianity, too many church members think their mission is to criticize. A church member’s mission isn’t to criticize. It’s to contribute. Criticizing has never been the Gospel. And that’s never the best contribution we can make.

A church member’s mission isn’t to criticize. It’s to contribute.

CLICK TO TWEET

5. Your Needs Are Never Satisfied

Needs are like appetites. They grow when you feed them. You probably already know this, but if you’re always trying to satisfy your needs, you’ll never be satisfied.

We all roll our eyes at the guy who ‘needs’ a new car, or a new computer, or a vacation, or a new phone when he pretty much has the latest (okay…confession…I can be that guy when it comes to tech….).

The truth? Those aren’t needs. But that’s the problem with what we call needs. They’re never completely satisfied.

If you’re always trying to satisfy your needs, you’ll never be satisfied.

CLICK TO TWEET

So What Should You Do?

So what should you do if you feel your current church doesn’t ‘meet your needs’? Maybe the best thing you can do is focus on the mission God has given you. Which happens to look an awful lot like the mission God gave all of us: to love the world for which he died.

Chances are there’s a pastor who loves that mission, and maybe some other Christians in your church who are committed to that mission too.

And if you give your life to it, you’ll discover your needs don’t matter nearly as much as they once did. In fact, you might even find them satisfied.

If you take your eyes off what you want and begin to see what other people truly need, it will change how you live.

 

 

 

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Ask Roger

Hear the Hearts of the Abused

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

“Forty-two percent of the women in our church were sexually abused, inappropriately touched, fondled or molested before the age of sixteen!” I couldn’t believe my ears!

 

Steve and I were leading a women’s conference for 200 women in our church. I’ll never forget the results of an impromptu survey we administered near the end of the final session. We passed out paper and asked the women to answer “yes” or “no” to the question above: “Were you sexually abused … before the age of 16?”

 

I was stunned by the result! The women were aghast!

 

Forty-two percent answered, “Yes.”

 

Later, reflecting on the results, it dawned on me that if 42% of the church women answered, “yes,” what must be going on among the women outside the church?

 

About one-half of the questions to “Ask Roger” are about sour relationships. Most of these are from women tormented in one way or another by the man in her life—or by the men and boys in her past?

 

Last week I received an insightful poem from a woman abused. She shares of her shattered life, and of the hope and wholeness that came from the Lord Jesus Christ.

(I’ve made several small editorial changes—Roger)

 

She once laughed with abandon;

but now she’s scared to feel joy.

She cringes at the sounds of his coming.

 

Tears fill her eyes:

she knows that no matter how she tries,

she’ll never be good enough,

pretty enough,

or smart enough,

for the one who thinks that he’s perfect.

 

She puts up her invisible wall,

and he wonders why.

 

She cries rivers of tears,

and he steps right over them,

afraid that his feet might get wet.

 

Sometimes she prays for his demise—

lost in wicked imaginings.

At the same time prays for her soul.

 

Sometimes she prays to be gone—

finally she would be free.

 

When he soaks her in poison,

she prays it won’t seep into her soul…

for she knows she’s better than this.

 

She gives until she’s spent.

She loves ‘til she’s depleted.

 

She once sang with angels,

but her voice is now stilled.

 

A girl forgotten and unloved,

abused and beaten,

pushed away and shoved.

 

How are some girls worth fighting for…

while I’m all alone…bleeding on the floor.

 

I cried, “God, where are you?! Rescue me!”

and finally He came.

 

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit”

(Psalm 34:18).

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Articles

Can We Bind Satan?

by Tom Terry
written by Tom Terry

Binding Satan Without A Rope

Have you ever heard someone pray, “Satan, I bind you?” Or perhaps you may have uttered such a thing yourself? I’ve heard many people use phrases like this in their prayers, and while I don’t want to belittle a person’s heartfelt cry to God against evil, I can’t help but dig into this phrase a little and ask the question, “Is this a biblical way to pray?” Can we really bind Satan or demons or is this a flaw in our theology?

To put it plainly, there is no passage of scripture which tells us that we can bind Satan or a demon from doing harm. Demons can be cast out of a person, but is this the same as binding? What does it mean to bind Satan?

When the various words in the Bible that are translated into bind, bound, or chained(252 instances) are used there is only one instance when it is used about the devil. It is found in Revelation 20:2, which says that an angel, “Seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.” This is a specific reference to a period following the Great Tribulation as the millennial reign of Christ begins. Satan is bound for a thousand years so that he may do no harm during the millennial reign of Christ. But his binding is only temporary.

What is interesting, however, about how the Bible uses the language of binding about who does the binding. Take a brief look at these examples:

Biblical Examples

Satan bound a woman for 18 years with a debilitating medical condition (Luke 13:16). In other words, Satan did the binding. Then she was set free by Jesus. But nowhere was Satan bound as part of the response to her healing.

Remember the demon possessed man in the tombs? The scripture says that people tried to bind him with chains, but he just broke them off (Mark 5:1-4). In this case the binding was physical, but it’s interesting to note that the demons he was possessed with gave him the strength to break his chains.

There is a reference in the Bible to God binding demons to prevent them from harming people. It’s found in II Peter 2:4 and Jude 1:6. These demons are bound by God, being held for the day of judgment. In Revelation 9:14-15, however, there are spirits bound to a specific location for a long duration of time until—and get this—God releases them so that they may kill one third of the people on earth.

What is even more startling is not that we cannot bind Satan or his demons. Rather, it is the fact that God intentionally used evil spirits to accomplish his designs. Consider that God intentionally used Satan to test and try Job, David, Zechariah, and Jesus, among others. Satan was never bound from harming them. Rather, he was let loose upon them!

Common Sense

Let’s consider some practical common sense about prayers to bind Satan. If it were possible for us to command Satan to be bound, then why would we need the armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-20? The armor of God is given to us so that we may face demons directly and see them defeated. Remember what James said about resisting the enemy, “Submit therefore to God: resist the Devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Note that Satan is not bound, but rather flees.

Considering how often Christians around the world pray everyday to bind Satan, if such a thing were possible, then Satan would be continually bound and unable to do anything. Yet we can see from the state of the world and even our own trials that this is not the case. The scripture also tells us this in I John 5:19, “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”

What Did Jesus Do?

Consider also how Jesus dealt with Satan. Did you know that Jesus NEVER bound Satan during his earthly ministry? During his temptation in Matthew 4:1-11 Jesus never bound Satan. Satan withdrew. When Satan possessed Judas so that Jesus would be betrayed, even though he knew what Satan was doing to him, Jesus never bound him. In fact, he actually told Judas (and thus, Satan) to get the job done quickly (John 13:26-28).

How about when Jesus prayed for Peter? Note in this passage that Jesus didn’t bind Satan from harming Peter. Rather, he let him. “Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again…” (Luke 22:31-32). Did you catch that? Jesus didn’t bind Satan from Peter, he actually let him at him. Jesus was more concerned with Peter overcoming Satan during a period of testing than he was in protecting him.

What We CAN Do

If we want to do some binding that will have a truly spiritual impact in our lives and strengthen us for our trials, then this is the kind of binding we should engage in, “My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck” (Proverbs 6:20-21). “Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man” (Proverbs 3:3-4). Speaking of the scripture, God instructed the Israelites to, “Lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes” (Deuteronomy 11:18).

True spiritual warfare is not about binding Satan. From the scripture we can see that we are not given such power. But we can endure, remain steadfast in faith, and count God faithful no matter what befalls us. Then we will see victory and the enemy retreat.

guywithabible.com Used by permission.

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Articles

Can a Woman Be Strong AND Submissive?

by Julie Barrier
written by Julie Barrier

Can a wife be both strong and submissive? A tough question….Here’s my story. I’ll be brutally honest. My Dad wanted a son to take over his business. He had two girls, and I was the heir-apparent. My “Daddy” issues carried over into my marriage. I was driven, to say the least. At best, I was a hand full.

 

As a pastor’s wife, I didn’t fit the “bun-wearing, casserole-carrying church hostess” model. I burned food. Badly. Instead, I was more comfortable wearing leopard leather pants, playing keys in the youth rock band. But my husband was stellar. He was a man to be respected, and I even in my “rebellious” stage, I seldom doubted his judgment. We became partners in life and partners in ministry.

 

My husband Roger often quotes Genesis 2:18. The KJV version states:

 

“And the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an helpmeet for him.’”

 

The Hebrew word helpmeet is not a healthy protein; it is a term that describes interlocking fingers-distinct yet united, completing each other.

 

Lory Byerling1 wisely described the Hebrew phrase ezer kenegdo (helpmeet) in this way:

 

“Eve’s creation reflects a kind of strength and was a rescue for Adam. All of creation was good and very good, but there was one thing that was not good. Adam was alone and God’s solution was an ezer kenegdo.  The words ezer kenegdo couldn’t be found (in the rest of creation), so God made one.”

 

Ezer is often used in the Old Testament in reference to someone who is very strong and capable coming to the rescue of another in serious trouble! Most of the verses using “ezers” concern God being the help of His people in battle (1 Samuel 7:12). Kenegdo signifies “what is in front of, corresponding to, or facing opposites.” Picture male and female counterparts reflecting the full image of God!

 

Wives, God created you and your husband to be a team-interconnected, stronger together and yet distinctly unique. Eve was created to be half of a strong partnership divinely designed by the Creator.

 

Ladies, what if you don’t have a “Roger?”

 

Perhaps your husband is threatened by your success, intimidated by your talents. Do you belittle him or neglect to honor, respect and encourage his strengths? We all need appreciation, approval, acceptance, support, security and comfort. Humble yourself. Learn to be content in God’s arms. Remember David’s sweet prayer in Psalm 131:1-2:

 

“My heart is not proud, Lord,
My eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.” NIV

You may be a frustrated young mom at home chasing babies and changing poopy diapers. Contentment is the last emotion you are feeling right now. I sat enthralled, listening to Jill Briscoe speak at conference for pastor’s wives. I wept. “God, why am I on the shelf instead of at the podium? I am so tired of chasing kids, drowning in loads of laundry. Will I ever be able to express the passionate calling I feel for ministry?” I heard a loving whisper. God said, “Wait, my Daughter…My timing is perfect.” A weaned child is one who leans on mommy’s breast without any milk. He can find contentment just being close to Mom. I learned to be content during that time just resting, loving my babies and being close to Him.

 

Paul’s wise words in Romans 12:3 also challenged me.

 

“I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for Him.” The Message

 

All that I am is from God and to God. The gifts I hold are His and not mine. They are to be used as He chooses.

 

What if your husband is not a believer? You may be the only spiritual leader in your home. Perhaps you have children to raise and they need to know Jesus. My favorite verse in this regard is 1 Peter 3:1:

 

“In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, 2 as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.” ASV

 

Many Christians paint this verse as a picture of slavish subjection. “Wives, keep your head down and your mouth shut. Your husband will be won to Christ without your preachy nagging.”

 

I believe this is a beautiful opportunity for a woman to express the gentle character of Jesus. She loves her Lord, prays earnestly for her hubby, and nurtures her children.

A strong woman does not have to be bossy, “large and in charge!” She listens to God, looks for His will and patiently allows her Creator to fulfill her potential.

We are delightfully made. We are not just an appendage for a husband, like an extra arm. We are meant to be strong partners. We are needed in the body of Christ to help reflect the image of God to a world in desperate need of a Savior. We are not somehow inferior or less than. We are made of the same substance as “man” but fashioned a little differently. Not better, not worse, just delightfully different.

1Lori Byerling, www.the-generous-wife.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Articles

Twelve Life Lessons I’d Teach My 25 Year Old Self

by Carey Nieuwhof
written by Carey Nieuwhof

“So, what would you tell your 25-year-old self?”

I get that question all the time from young leaders.

It’s a great question.

There are so many things I would do the same, but there are more than a few things I’d do differently.

Some mistakes you make as a young adult and leader are inevitable, but not all.

In fact, I wish I would have applied or sometimes even known these 12 truths when I was 25. (Although I’m not exactly sure my 25-year-old self would have listened that well.)

Whether I would have listened or not, I’m positive they would have helped me lead and live better earlier.

Here are 12 things I’d tell my 25-year-old self:

1. Take God At His Word

For almost my entire life, I have believed that the Word of God is just that – the Word of God. I always landed on the side that trusts the authority of scripture.

But I would read certain passages and say to myself “Come on….really?”

I thought I knew better.

Time and again I have seen God’s word proven to be true not just in principle but in experience. In everything from how husbands ought to treat their wives, to scriptural ethics about relationships, to insights about human nature, finances and leadership, the Bible proves itself accurate again and again.

Disobedience (even slight) comes with a cost that you and the people you love pay again and again.

Frankly, I think I’m still working to take God at his word more seriously every day.

Disobedience (even slight) comes with a cost that you and the people you love pay again and again.

2. Get To A Counselor Earlier

I got married at 25, and before I got married I swore I had no ‘issues’.

Hey, when you live by yourself, it’s easy to get along.

Then as ‘issues’ emerged, I made the natural assumption that the blame lay with other people. Until, inevitably, I discovered I had a pile of issues (don’t we all?) I got counseling and help but not until after my wife and kids bore some of the cost of me not dealing with my issues earlier.

So I got counseling and help, but not until after my wife and kids bore some of the cost of me not dealing with my issues earlier.

Go to a counselor earlier. Get into accountable community earlier. And deal with your issues as early as you can in life.

Issues that you resolve at 25 won’t haunt you at 30. Unresolved issues, on the other hand, only get worse with time.

Unresolved issues only get worse with time.

3. Work Twice As Hard On Your Character As You Do On Your Competency

As a young leader, I was 100% convinced that competency was the key to effectiveness in leadership.

I no longer believe that’s true.

Sure, competency is important. Incompetence doesn’t get you or your mission very far.

But competency isn’t the ceiling many leaders hit. Character is.

Why is that?

Well, all of us can name highly gifted pastors, politicians, athletes and other public figures who failed not because they weren’t competent, but because they weren’t up for the job morally. An addiction, an affair, embezzlement or honestly sometimes just being a jerk caused them to lose their job or lose their influence.

This is why I’ve come to believe your competency will take you only as far as your character will sustain you.

Your competency will take you only as far as your character will sustain you.

So what do you need to do to ensure your character doesn’t undermine your talent?

Work twice as hard on your character as you do on your competency.

It doesn’t matter how talented or gifted you are if you disqualify yourself from leadership.

It doesn’t matter how talented or gifted you are if you disqualify yourself from leadership.

4. Drill Down On Your Insecurity Faster

Have you ever met a truly secure person? Chances are they didn’t start out that way.

Most of us are on a journey from some kind of insecurity to a deeper sense of security.

Two things would have helped with this. Drilling down on my issues faster would have helped. And study some of the (then) emerging field of emotional intelligence would have really helped.

So much of leadership is actually not a battle with others, it’s a battle with yourself. So start early.

So much of leadership is actually not a battle with others, it’s a battle with yourself.

5. Trust Other People Earlier

I tend to be a fairly trusting person. So I was fairly trusting up front. However, I was very reluctant to trust at a deep level.

Over time, I’ve realized most people are not out to get you.

Most people care very deeply, and to let the right people in early is just a fantastic way to live.

6. Be More Selective About Who You Allow Into Leadership

I realize this sounds like a contradiction of the last point, but I don’t think it is.

Trusting deeply does not mean you should trust everyone deeply. And I lacked the discernment early on to know who to allow into leadership and who not to. In the name of being ‘nice’ or ‘fair’ I often failed to limit leadership to those most qualified to lead.

That always leaves the organization worse off. Not to mention what it does to you as a leader.

In the name of being ‘nice’, don’t invite into leadership those least qualified to lead.

7. Abandon Balance And Embrace Passion

Almost everyone in leadership would advise you to lead a balanced life.

I’m not so sure.

In many instances in our culture, balance has become a synonym for mediocrity. Don’t work too hard. Don’t be intentional about your time. Just be balanced.

Here’s what I’ve seen.

Most people who accomplish significant things aren’t balanced people. They’re passionate people.

They are passionate about their work, their family, their hobbies.

In fact, they’re often even passionate about their nutrition and their rest.

They can’t wait to get up in the morning and attack the day.

When they engage relationally, they’re fully present.

When they’re with their family, they’re with their family. They give everything they have to everything that’s important to them.

So do a variety of things (work, play, family), but allocate your energy so you can do everything you do, including rest and relaxation, with passion.

If you’re intrigued by how to better manage your time, energy and priorities, my High Impact Leader course will open again soon. It’s a 10-unit video course designed to help you get time, energy and priorities working in your favor.

If you want to get on the waiting list for the High Impact Leader, sign up here.

Most people who accomplish significant things aren’t balanced people. They’re passionate people.

8. Live In A Way Today That Will Help You Thrive Tomorrow

So many leaders struggle with staying healthy in leadership… spiritually, physically, emotionally, relationally and financially.

One way to look at leadership is to see it as a series of deposits and withdrawals.

All day long as a leader, people and the mission make a series of withdrawals from you: someone needs to meet with you, another person needs counseling, a third needs advice, a fourth wants to get that report done asap.

If you think of your life as a leader like a bank account, the problem eventually becomes the ratio of deposits to withdrawals. Over the long run, if you make more withdrawals than deposits, you go bankrupt.

That’s exactly what happens to far too many leaders.

The withdrawals that happen to you in life and leadership are inevitable. You can manage them well or poorly (which is something else we’ll help you master in the High Impact Leader course).

Here’s the thing, though: the withdrawals never go away.

It’s your responsibility to make the deposits.

This means applying the spiritual disciplines, physical disciplines, financial disciplines and the discipline to get the help you need to resolve your emotional and personal issues.

Here’s a question I’ve learned to ask myself and I would love every top leader to ask themselves daily: am I living today in a way that will help me thrive tomorrow? Spiritually, physically, emotionally, relationally, and financially?

If not, why not?

Since I started asking that question, I’m far healthier. It’s a recipe that works, so I’d suggest you start using it.

Ask yourself: Am I living in a way today that will help me thrive tomorrow?

9. Spend Less Time Reinventing The Wheel Trying To Be ‘Unique’

I think most leaders want to quietly leave a little dent in the universe. At least some of us do.

What I figured out a decade into my leadership is that most of what I spend my days trying to do has been done by someone else, often better.

If there are synergies to be had by borrow a strategy from someone else, often it makes sense just to do that.

I wish I had stopped trying to be so original earlier and copied what could easily be copied, focusing my creative strengths on those things that would bring the best and most unique value to our team and organization.

There’s fresh research that shows people who are always trying to be unique are rarely the people who make the biggest impact on their field or in history.

Don’t waste your life trying to reinvent the wheel in the name of being ‘unique.’

10.  Play Favorites

My guess is you spend 80% of your time trying to help your struggling leaders get better.

They’re producing maybe 20% of your results, but you’re devoting 80% of your time trying to motivate them, get them to show up on time and get them to do what they said they were going to do when they said they were going to do it.

What if that’s a colossal mistake?

What if you spent 80% of your time with the leaders who give you 80% of your organization’s result.

That’s what the best leaders do: they spend 80% of their time with the people who give them 80% of their results.

What do you do with the bottom 20%? Let them go or let them figure it out on their own. Or limit your involvement to 20% of your time.

Your best leaders get better with time and attention. Poor leaders never do.

So try it…spend 80% of your time on the people that produce 80% of your results.

Spend 80% of your time on the people producing 80% of your results.

I know… I know… you’re pushing back. I get that. You think this isn’t a Christian thing to do. I’m not sure you’re right.

You’re afraid that playing favorites isn’t biblical.

Just the opposite. Not playing favorites makes you unfaithful.

Moses tried to treat everyone the same, and it almost killed him and wore out the people he led (just read Exodus 18).

He appointed leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. The result? Both Moses and the people rested, and Moses’ leadership (finally) scaled.

And it’s not just Moses. Jesus actually walked away from people who needed to be healed in order to get food and rest.

Jesus organized his disciples into circles according to potential impact…groups of 70, 12, 3 (Peter, James and John) and 1 (Peter) and intentionally spent the most time with those inner circles.

The early church reorganized and moved their key teachers and preachers away from daily tasks and appointed new leaders, which fuelled new growth.

So if you want to be more biblically faithful, start treating different people differently.

Loving everyone the same does not mean treating everyone the same way.

11. Focus On Productivity, Not Just Effort

I’ve always had a high capacity for work. But sometimes I would put in more hours than I need to.

I did too much solo early on, not employing a team. And often my methods meant I wasn’t as productive as I could have been.

You don’t get points for working 60 or 70 hour weeks. You get points for producing results.

I could have either shaved hours off my work week earlier or produced much more in the time I spent working by engaging a team earlier and focusing on productivity sooner.

12. Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Taken

Oscar Wilde was so right: Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.

I wasted loads of time and energy wish I was either someone else, had a different gift set or been wired differently than I was.

You need to repent of your sin, but you don’t need to repent of who God made you to be.

He made you beautiful, and quirky, and different than he made everyone else. Get rid of the sin; leverage the distinctives.

I wished I would have become more comfortable with who God designed me to be earlier. In fact, in some ways, I’m still working on that.

What Would You Add?

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The site where Jesus was baptized in river Jordan, Betania, Jordan
Ask Roger

How Moses Taught Faith to the Jews Through the Creation Account

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Hi, Roger,

Recently two of my young friends have raised questions about the creation story.

One, a young lady, had been deeply hurt when another gal at a Casas evening group told her that if she didn’t believe in a literal 7 days, she might not even be a Christian!

The other, a young guy science major whose father is a scientist and atheist, was beginning to question the whole “faith-thing,” since he can’t reconcile literal 7 days with scientific method…

I don’t know if you want to address something this controversial and divisive, but… since the elephant is in the room, I think maybe we (er, that would be you, as “we” doesn’t have the answers…) should talk about it.

Love ya, “L”

Dear L,

I almost lost my faith over this issue. I believe the Word of God is infallible, inspired and completely true. I found peace when I asked myself the question: what did the writer intend when he wrote what he wrote? Here’s a bit about my journey to faith.

I grew up in a church which taught Genesis One as proclaiming a literal-seven-day creation. Any other interpretation was a slap at the veracity of the Bible. Those not falling into line were considered outside the historic Christian Faith since they failed to “believe in the Bible.”

And yet… this literal interpretation was not fitting well with what I was being taught in school. I loved math and science and took every course available: biology, advanced biology, chemistry, physics, advanced physics, geometry, trigonometry and calculus. Then, my senior year, I read Worlds In Collision by the Russian physicist, Immanuel Velikovsky and my faith was somewhat shaken.

But, I stood firm with the positions taken by The Center for Scientific Creation. I learned about young-earth theories and mature-earth creation stories; that God created the earth 6,000 years ago but made it to look as if it were 4.5 billion years old.

I considered the day-age interpretations that attempted to explain the apparent old age of the earth by interpreting the Hebrew word for day, “yom,” as long-indeterminate eras that could have lasted millions of years.

Then, five years into my pastoring, I came across The Red Limit by Timothy Ferris. My faith was shaken to the core. The more I learned about cosmology and creation the harder and harder it was for me to believe in the Bible.

I was in spiritual agony.

I wondered if I could be a man of integrity and continue preaching while I doubted the integrity of the Bible. In Psalm 73, Asaph, the worship leader during David’s reign, also struggled with doubts. God told him to continue his ministry. However, he was to keep his mouth shut about his doubts until he had worked through them successfully. Asaph became my biblical model.

I took by faith that the Word of God was living and powerful. I felt I could confidently proclaim that the truths and teachings and proclamations of the Bible were absolutely capable of changing lives and evangelizing the lost.

(By the way, I’m surprised how many Christians have the same struggle I did. I wished I were more like my wife Julie, who doesn’t worry about this at all. But, I’m not).

I intensified my research. I read books on general and special relativity, quantum mechanics, chaos and string theories, cosmology, time dilation, the standard model of particle physics, multiple dimensions, multiple universes, evolution and natural selection. Then, I tackled anthropology and genetics. You can read and study a lot of books in 15-20 years!

I cherished the things I learned, but none stabilized my faith. Everything was either/or. Either I accepted the literal seven-day creation or I accepted the findings of Science. No intermeshing of Science and Genesis One was apparent on the horizon. I was as confused as ever.

Then, I was introduced to Conrad Hyers and his book, The Meaning of Creation. Genesis One began making sense. 

Hyers demonstrates how Moses used Hebraic poetry to declare that the Most High alone is God while the gods of Egypt were just creatures, all of which were made by the hand of the Most High.

What might Moses have been thinking about when he composed the creation story? He had just engineered the Exodus from Egypt. Many of the people were still worshipping Egyptian gods (cf. the golden calf (Exodus 32)); they wanted to worship like they had in Egypt. Aaron caved in and made them a god. Moses was so angrily out of control that he smashed the stone tablets to powder!

Moses’ biggest concern was that the people would forget the Most High and begin (or continue) worshipping the Egyptian gods (Joshua 24:14). It boggles the mind to think that Moses was at that time focused on a literal, scientific teaching of when and how the world came to be.

To make his appeal as simple as possible he wrote in thoughtful, poetic, rhyming schemes that were easy to grasp and remember orally. Poetry was just the tool he needed.

Most of us recognize a poem as a poem because the words rhyme. But as we immerse ourselves deeper into poetry, we discover the genius of rhyme schemes and rhyming thoughts instead of just words. Poems are, in fact, more likely to rhyme thoughts than words. Shakespeare, for example, never rhymed words in his sonnets, but he utilized poetic patterns to rhyme thoughts; his plays were poetic narratives written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Observe that several contemporary songs are rhythmic and tell stories without a single word rhyming with another.

Similarly, Hebrew poetry seldom, if ever, rhymed words. Ancient Hebrew poetry utilized eight different patterns to rhyme thoughts.

Psalm 91:1-4 is an excellent example of rhyming thoughts in Hebrew poetry:

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge…

No one interprets this passage literally. We all know that God is not a bird; He does not have wings and feathers. He is a spirit. This passage is poetry.

Rhymes are all over this passage. Shelter, as a concept, “rhymes” with ‘fortress,’ ‘refuge,’ ‘feathers’ and ‘wings.’ Each passage also rhymes with others. The lyric, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High,” rhymes with “and under his wings you will find refuge.”

In essence the Psalmist is giving us a pictorial experience of God’s love and care—like a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings when they’re threatened, so God brings protection and care to His children when they are in need. The point is well made.

So back to Genesis One, where Moses declared that God is the Creator of all things. In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth. In verse two, Moses declared that God’s creation was formless and empty. What is formless needs form. What is empty needs filling.

Now notice how on days 1-3 God gave form to the formless and on days 4-6 He filled what was now formed.

By the time God gets to day seven He is able to rest because the formless has form and the empty is now filled.

  • On day one God created Light and Darkness (1:3-5).
  • On day two God created and separated the Sky and Waters (1:6-8).
  • On day three God created dry Land and Vegetation (1:9-13).
  • On day four God created the Sun, Moon and Stars (1:10-19).
  • On day five God created Birds and Fish (1:20-24).
  • On day six God created Animals and Man (1:25-26).
  • On day seven God rested (2:2-3).

The poetical framework is now in place. The rhyming begins.

  • Day one rhymes with day four. On day one He formed light and darkness. He filled it on day four with the Sun, Moon and stars.
  • Day two rhymes with day five. On day two the Almighty formed sky and sea. On day five He filled the sky with birds and the waters with fish.
  • Day three rhymes with day six. On day three God formed dry land and vegetation. One day six He filled dry land and vegetation with animals and man.

Be certain to notice that each of the things God created in Genesis One were things the Egyptians worshipped as gods themselves: light and darkness; sea and sky; land and vegetation; sun, moon and stars, birds and fish; and animals and man (Pharaoh and his son were ‘gods’).

On each of the six days of the creation story, Moses toppled one or more of the Egyptian gods.

We might say that Moses was thumbing his nose at the Egyptians, singing, “My God is better than your gods! Your gods aren’t gods! My God made your gods!”

I had no doubt in my mind that when Moses wrote down Genesis One he was thinking about God the Most High vs. gods who were only idols. Consider Moses’ final charge to Israel just before he died not to return to the gods of Egypt. In this passage he repeated the pantheon of gods he addressed in Genesis One:

“Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not… make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has [created]” (Deuteronomy 4:15-19).

My struggles ceased. My faith soared. No longer were seven-day creation and Science my only choices. Now that I understood Moses’ intention in writing Genesis One, there was no need for both to mesh—or for my mind to be forced to choose one side or the other.

Finally, I no longer had to answer the oft-asked question, “How do dinosaurs fit into the Bible?” In this understanding of Genesis One, they don’t.

L, I hope that my journey might be of help to your young friends and others. At the minimum, these are some things you might consider as you are reconciling the Bible with Science.

Love, Roger

P.S. Dear Reader,

You may stop reading here. My answer is completed.

However, if you want to know more about the literary devices used by biblical authors to communicate truth to us, I have summarized several of them below. I hope you find them informative and helpful as you study the Bible.

Much of the Bible is written in prose and understood as literally true just as it is written. The Bible is replete with narrative stories which actually occurred as recorded. So, we interpret prose as prose. In the same way, we interpret poetry as poetry.

The Bible also contains metaphors. A metaphor is a comparison not using the words “like” or “as.” For example, Jesus declared, “I am the door.” None of us believe that statement to be literally true. Jesus is not made out of wood and hinges. He used a metaphor to describe Himself as the way into eternal life. We understand metaphors as metaphors.

The Bible is filled with similes. A simile is a comparison using the words “like” or “as.” In the Olivet Discourse Jesus described the end times as follows: “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.” The end will not come with the days of Noah; however, the end will be like the days of Noah. So, we understand that similes are not literally true, but they use one thing to help make something else easier to understand. So, we interpret similes as similes.

Onomatopoeia is a literary device that uses a word that sounds like the meaning of the word itself. For example, when the Rich Young Ruler turned His back on Jesus, Jesus “looked upon him with compassion.” ‘Compassion’ is translated from a Greek word that actually sounds like someone’s inner-most body parts being spilled out. Jesus’ insides did not literally pour out. But, we experience from that particular word an insight into Christ’s deep, emotional, heart-broken feelings of compassion for the young man who made the wrong choice. We interpret onomatopoeia as onomatopoeia.

Jesus often used Greek chiasms to teach truth. A chiasm is a Greek literary device used to invoke deep thought and consideration. Four clauses are arranged like an “X” in the rhyme scheme a-b-b-a. For example, Jesus said in Matthew 7:6: “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.” His statement is only understood by unraveling the chiasm. The first and fourth clauses go together as do the second and third. Now, His words make sense. Otherwise they seem like gibberish. We interpret chiasms as chiasms.

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Articles

Ten Bible Blessings to Give Your Father

by Max Lucado
written by Max Lucado

The Brazilians taught me the beauty of a blessing. Here is a scene repeated in Brazil thousands of times daily. It’s early morning. Time for young Marcos to leave for school. As he gathers his books and heads for the door, he pauses by his father’s chair. He searches his father’s face. Bencao, Pai? Marcos asks. (Blessing, Father?) The father raises his hand. Deus te abençoe, meufliho, he assures. (God bless you, my son.) Marcos smiles and hurries out the door. Father and child part for the day, a blessing requested, a blessing willingly given

.

The son seeks his father’s favor as he begins his day. We should do the same. Like the child longing for the father’s favor, each of us needs a daily reminder of our heavenly Father’s love. When I returned to the United States from Brazil, I began the practice of pronouncing a blessing on our church at the end of each service. It was my way of praying for them in their presence. I’d like to do the same for you. May each day’s blessing encourage you as you seek your Father’s face.

For this Father’s Day, you too may bless your earthly father. Here are a few of those blessings to share.

 

One – A Blessing of Hope



May the God of peace, the eternal One and only God, grant you an awareness of his immediate return. May you be patient, may you be eager, but most of all may you be found ready when he calls.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
1 Peter 1:8, NIV

 

Two – A Blessing of Grace

Today, may you go in the grace and peace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the grace he has given you be the grace that you share with others.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.” Galatians 2:20-21, NIV

 

Three – A Blessing for Protection

May the God of peace and grace and truth be your guide as you begin your day. May he go ahead of you and prepare the way. May he come behind you and protect you. May he surround you and make you aware of his presence.

“I ask the Father in his great glory to give you the power to be strong inwardly through his Spirit. I pray that Christ will live in your hearts by faith and that your life will be strong in love and be built on love.” Ephesians 3:16-17

 

Four – A Blessing for Daily Worship



Today, may you be aware that worship is a way of life — it’s not just a once a week event. May your worship never cease. May you continue living in the Father’s presence, and may you continue being thankful for what he has done.

“Shout to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with joy; come before him with singing. Know that the Lord is God. He made us, and we belong to him; we are his people, the sheep he tends. Come into his city with songs of thanksgiving and into his courtyards with songs of praise. Thank him and praise his name. The Lord is good. His love is forever, and his loyalty goes on and on.” Psalm 100

 

Five – A Blessing for Encouragement



May you know the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ today. Let his spirit overshadow and consume you. I pray that it gives you strength and courage and focus in everything you do today.

“God will strengthen you with his own great power so that you will not give up when troubles come, but you will be patient. And you will joyfully give thanks to the Father who has made you able to have a share in all that he has prepared for his people in the kingdom of light.”Colossians 1: 11

 

Six – A Blessing for Conviction

As your day begins, may the Father’s blessing be upon you. Be his quiet and holy representative. Be the one who takes a stand for that which is right. Be the one who reminds the world of what really matters in our world. Be the voice of God and the promise of eternity.

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father encourage you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say. God loved us, and through his grace he gave us a good hope and encouragement that continues forever.”
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

 

Seven – A Blessing for Guidance

May the Spirit which lives within you guide and convict you. Remember the message which brought you to him. Let it be the message you share with others. May peace and power be yours today.

“I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace while you trust in him. Then your hope will overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

 

Eight – A Blessing of Anticipation

In everything you do today, may your spirit be one of eager expectation and patient trust. Eagerly expect your Father to return any minute, but patiently trust him to do what is right.

“Our homeland is in heaven, and we are waiting for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven.” Philippians 3:20

 

Nine – A Blessing for the Soul

May the song within you which sings for eternity, sing loudly. Heed the songs of heaven. Dismiss the songs of earth. May the Father quiet the voices around you which tell you to settle for less than what he promises.

“Always be joyful. Pray continually, and give thanks whatever happens. That is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

 

Ten – A Blessing for Eternity



Look for the Father’s face today. Seek him. Search for him. Pursue him. And may what you see cause you to long for the day you see him eternally.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In God’s great mercy he has caused us to be born again into a living hope, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Now we hope for the blessings God has for his children. These blessings, which cannot be destroyed or be spoiled or lose their beauty are kept in heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1:3-4

http://www.upwords.com Used by permission.

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Articles

Simple Ways to Get on the Same Page as Parents

by Kevin Leman
written by Kevin Leman

Andrea and I grew up in homes that had very different views on eating. Andrea’s family had a value of healthy living. My (Doug’s) family came from a carefree and celebratory view of eating, especially when it came to candy and other sweets. When we got married, we did not agree at all on this issue. Eventually, we found some resolution, but not completely. We still can get into minor skirmishes about it. Andrea has agreed to lovingly come closer to my views. I, on the other hand, need to stop pushing for his way all the time.

Candy and sweets are not a major issue of parenting. Yet, parenting differences play out in fights in many families.

I want to give you action steps for getting on the same parenting page.

Step 1: Recognize why you don’t agree.

When we say that our spouse is undermining our efforts to parent our kids correctly, we are really saying that we have not submitted to each other. We aren’t going to give in to the other person.

It is like saying, “I am right and you are wrong.”  Here is the key: You must realize that you may be wrong. Or. . . you might be making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Competitive parenting never works, because someone is winning and someone is losing. Competitive parenting leads to a competitive marriage–which often ends badly.

One reason you may not be on the same parenting page is because you refuse to agree with them. Try opening yourself up to listen and consider the possibility that you may not be right.

Step 2: Get on their page.

Once you open yourself up to listen to them, try getting on their parenting page. In fact, get on their parenting page EVEN if it is the wrong page.

By getting on the same page, you do three things. One, your child no longer can run wild between your differences. Secondly, you will stop fighting with each other and start looking at the behavior of the child. Lastly, your spouse can no longer blame you for parenting incorrectly. Their parenting style is now on full display.

You may need to will yourself to their page. You will likely need to bite your tongue.

Remember, if their parenting style is abusive or they have destructive behaviors like alcoholism, then don’t jump over there. Be reasonable, and of course, keep your kids safe.

Step 3: How to talk about parenting issues

Now that you are on the same page with your spouse, when a behavior problem arises, ask your spouse for their input on how to solve it. Use the words like “maybe” and “we”.

If your spouse grounds your son, Bob, and doesn’t realize the effect on you, try asking them this, “Dear, thanks for engaging Bob. Do you think MAYBE we could talk about grounding him before you ground him? This way we could explore options together and consider the ramifications.”

Now that you are using their play book, when your kid behaves really badly, feel free to walk away and let them deal with the consequences. Go to the bathroom or leave for a short walk. By letting them deal with it, they will likely realize this isn’t working.

When it gets bad enough, ask if maybe the two of you together could explore different options. Ask them to find the solution. If they don’t have time to research other options, ask them if it would be okay if you did some research and brought a summary of what you found.

Build the plan together. It won’t happen overnight, but being on different pages is destructive on many levels. Work to get on the same page.

Action Steps to get on the same page:
Be open to their different opinions
Get on their page, even if it is the wrong page.
Wait and be silent as you parent on their page.
When things get bad enough, ask if there is a different option to explore together.

Parenting Tip/ Pocket Answer

Get on their page, even if it is the wrong page.
&
Parenting is not a competitive sport.

From www.birthorderguy.com. Used by permission.

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Articles

How to Pray for Our Troops

by National PrayerTeam
written by National PrayerTeam

How you can pray for deployed military personnel?

We hear people say, “Pray for our Troops!” But what do we pray for? What, specifically, are their needs?

Here are insights in how to pray for our military:

·       Pray if they’re not saved that the Lord would send a witness to them and save them.

·       Pray that he would have the peace of Christ with him—especially if he travels outside of his Forward Operating Base (FOB).

·       Pray that he will depend on the love of God to keep him from bitterness at others (who needlessly make life difficult on their subordinates especially when they aren’t the most competent leader).

·       Pray for his spiritual and emotional resiliency so that regardless of what they face, they will be able to be effective in his military role and responsibility.

·       Pray for protection. “As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever” (Psalm I25:2).

·       Pray that he will be vigilant if he is called upon to fire upon the enemy. “Blessed be the LORD my strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:” (Psalm 144:1).

·       Pray that the enemy will be turned back. “Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.” (Psalm 40:14).

·       Pray that he will be fulfilled in his job. Without purpose, time in the combat zone is extremely long and difficult.

·       Pray that he will resist lowering himself to lower levels of conversations and instead seek to be an example of goodness and righteousness.

·       Pray that he finds “good and solid” Christian brothers to have fellowship.

·       Pray that if he struggles or is discouraged, he will seek out his chaplain for wisdom and encouragement.

·       Pray for the leadership in Platoons, Companies, Battalions, Brigades . . . depending on what level the soldier works. Leadership can make or break a man.

How can you pray for the military home front?

Many prayers are directed to our deployed military personnel, and that is so appreciated, but it is equally important to pray for their loved ones at home. Here are insights provided by military spouses in how to pray:

·       Pray…for the home front spouse

·       Pray if they’re not saved that the Lord would send a witness to them and save them.

·       that they would trust God and that they would be firmly rooted in Christ and the Word of God and draw strength from Him

·       for joy, hope, endurance, strength, patience, protection and safety

·       pray against fear, loneliness, fatigue, despair, depression

·       that support would be present when needed, that friends, family, co-workers, neighbors would rise up and extend assistance and encouragement

·       Pray…for their marriage

·       for loyalty and commitment in their marriage, and that their relationship would have trust

·       that their love would grow stronger during the time apart

·       pray against temptation or inappropriate relationships

·       for a healthy way to fill the hours left empty that would have been spent with their spouse

·       Pray…for their children

·       that they would be strong for their children and would have wisdom and discernment in parenting

·       that children would learn how to cope with the deployment (fears, anxieties,

·       sadness) and learn how to express themselves

·       that schools would be understanding and helpful

·       And keep praying following the deployment!

·       Pray for the time of re-integration. After the happy reunion, the period of adjustment can be tough. The whole family has been affected/changed by the deployment.

·       It may be a time of dealing with unresolved issues.

·       The deployed parent needs to fit back into the home that has managed independently without him/her for a period of time. Parental/spousal responsibilities may shift.

Sometimes a return home is followed by a move to a new location. Please keep praying!

What you can pray for parents of military personnel?

1. Pray if they’re not saved that the Lord would send a witness to them and save them.

2. Strong faith to entrust their son or daughter into God’s hands no matter the outcome. (Having no control of a child’s well being is extremely tough.)

3. That the fear regarding their child’s situation is replaced daily with God’s peace. (When communication is minimal anxiety is at it’s highest.)

4. They are able to physically rest and restore themselves in order to function on an everyday basis. (Insomnia is extremely common for these parents.)

5. They are able to accept their child’s decision to enlist. (When an enlistment is not the parents’ first choice or if it was a complete surprise, anger can surface.)

6. They find joy in everyday in the midst of the unknowns. (Severe depression is common with Blue Star Moms.)

7. For them to find creative ways to support their loved one, emotionally, and spiritually, from a distance.

8. That they would remain steadfast and not “loose heart”, but continue in prayer causing them to grow stronger in the Lord.

9. That family and close friends understand or at least accept and not criticize the roller coaster of emotions. (Without realizing it, family has the highest ability to hurt and isolate Blue Star Parents.)

10. For wisdom to know how to encourage their son or daughter throughout each stage of their enlistment. Knowing if they are to say something, what to say, when to say it and how to say it. (Some parents say too much too soon, others don’t say anything because they are unsure how their child will react.)

11. They be able to adapt to and accept the changes in themselves as well as their child that have occurred during their child’s enlistment. (Changes may be positive, like after boot camp; or negative, like after a deployment. Either way life will never be the same for any of them. The entire family has a “new normal” to adjust to.)

12. That they be led to those that will support and encourage them possibly by joining or starting a support group for other military families. (It’s extremely lonely for Blue Star Parents if they don’t have others in similar situations to share their hearts and the everyday uncertainties.)

Also, something I do for those I’m praying for is ask God to lead me to a passage of Scripture that I can insert their name into and make it a personal prayer for them. Here are a couple great scriptures to claim.

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. ~ I Peter 5:7

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. ~Psalm 28:7

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Why the Resurrection is Revolutionary

by Tom Terry
written by Tom Terry

As we celebrate Easter, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I want to offer up five significant thoughts about what the resurrection of Jesus Christ provides to us. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is far more significant than any other event in history. While most people tend to give more attention to Christmas, I’ve always felt that the resurrection was of greater importance. If there had been no resurrection there would be no Christmas celebration; the resurrection gives Christmas its meaning.

 

Aside from Christmas, the resurrection provides five things that make Christianity stand out as unique, remarkable, and superior to every other philosophy and faith.

 

THE RESURRECTION REVERSES THE GARDEN CURSE

We don’t often think of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden when we think of Easter. But the scriptures actually tie the two together. The first pronouncement that man would die was in Genesis 2:17. God warned Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, “for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” After their disobedience, in Genesis 3:19 God confirmed the consequences of their sin: “By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

 

From that point on all men were subjected to the punishment of death for the disobedience of sin: “Through ?one man sin entered into the world, and ?death through sin, and ?so death spread to all men” (Romans 5:12). But Jesus, as the “last Adam” of I Corinthians 15:45, negates the final effects of the curse. Though we will one day all partake of death, the death of the Christian is only a temporary condition while we await our own resurrection that will give us a body like his: “Just as we have ?borne the image of the earthy, ?we will also bear the image of the heavenly” (I Corinthians 15:49).

 

THE RESURRECTION JUSTIFIES THE BELIEVER

Justification is the pronouncement by God that he has accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as the punishment for our sin. This acceptance by God results in the freeing of the believer from the terminal consequences of our sin. Romans 4:25 tells us that Jesus “was raised because of our justification.” No Christian need ever be concerned with his or her eternal destiny. The resurrection of Jesus Christ makes our destiny a surety. We will enjoy eternal life with Christ in our own resurrected, transformed bodies.

 

THE RESURRECTION TRANSFORMS

We already know from I Corinthians 15 that we will receive resurrected, transformed bodies during the resurrection of the righteous. But we sometimes forget that the resurrection provides transformation in this earthly life. We have two dramatic examples in the scripture of this very fact.

 

Following his death, Jesus’ disciples hid themselves away from the Jewish authorities. Their hopes for the coming kingdom seemed crushed following the crucifixion. Yet when the risen Lord Jesus showed himself to them, they were radically changed. This was not simple case of resuscitation. Jesus was horribly mangled from beatings and the cruelty of the cross. The flesh of his back had been ripped away. His body had been beaten, swollen, bruised, and bloodied. His death was attested to by soldiers, his friends, and religious leaders. A sword pierced his side, rupturing his heart. So when the disciples saw Jesus standing before them on the third day they could not help but be transformed. They had seen a man destroyed as well as dead, and suddenly there he was standing before them, restored.

 

The result for the disciples was a transformation from fear to courage. Each of them took the message of the risen Jesus with them. They had become dynamic missionaries, serving for years, with each of them dying a martyr’s death proclaiming the risen Savior.

 

The Apostle Paul is another significant example of the power of the resurrection. Paul, in a frenzy of murderous rage persecuted Christians from place to place until the risen Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus. Paul’s response to seeing the risen Jesus? “Immediately he began to proclaim Jesus ?in the synagogues, ?saying, “He is ?the Son of God” (Acts 9:20).

 

THE RESURRECTION IS REVOLUTIONARY

In our English Bibles we read the word “resurrection” and think of nothing more than a rising up from the dead. But in Greek there was more than one word used that we translate as “resurrection” or “raised.” One of those words has as a root meaning to rise to political revolution. How appropriate is such a word! The person who embraces Christ is doing nothing less than experiencing a revolution in his soul, rejecting the old sinful nature for the transformation of a new nature. The Scriptures say that since our old self was crucified with Christ we are freed from our sin (Romans 6:5-11). “Therefore do not let sin ?reign in your mortal body” (Romans 6:12). The Christian is to experience nothing less than a revolution of character having “rescued us from the ??domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of ??His beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13).

 

THE RESURRECTION PROVIDES PURPOSE AND MEANING TO LIFE

Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ Christianity is meaningless. “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and ??if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain…and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; ??you are still in your sins” (I Corinthians 15:13-14,17).

 

How dreadful life would be without the sure hope of the resurrection. Knowing our future state, that of bodily resurrection to become whole people the way God intended, gives us purpose and direction for life.

 

Nothing else in life offers the hope, purpose, and meaning that the resurrection of Jesus does. The atheist mistakenly looks to a future of nonexistence. The Buddhist hopes for a better rebirth and nonexistent nirvana. The deceived Muslim awaits his virgins. None of these offer the hope that the resurrection of Jesus Christ brings.

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Useless? 3 Ways to Change People’s Lives

by Tom Terry
written by Tom Terry

During a home Bible study I attended recently, someone asked the question, “How do I know what God has given me to use for his kingdom?”

There were a lot of answers around the room about spiritual gifts, financial resources, etc. But as I thought about it, it occurred to me that God has given us three areas of life with which we can serve him and take part in the Great Commission. All of us posses these three categories of usefulness. So, if you’ve wondered what you have in your life to serve God with, here is your answer.

God has given every Christian:

• A Place

• A Power, and

• A Purse

Now let me briefly explain each one so you can see where these fit into your life.

Place

This is the location where we live, or work, or educate, or take part in any variety of activities. Where we are is where God has us, and where God has us is where he needs us to be to have impact for his kingdom. So, ask yourself some questions. Do I know my neighbors? What is my relationship like with the people I work with? What associations am I a part of where I can give God a voice? What are the needs of my family and/or extended family? You can continue these questions on your own. Any place where you are is the place that God has you at the moment where you can give a voice for his kingdom.

Power

Power, in this context, refers to abilities that we have that we can used for God’s kingdom. These may be natural abilities or supernatural abilities, otherwise known as spiritual gifts. Do you want to know what your gift is? First ask yourself, what motivates you? Do you like to share your testimony? If so, act as an evangelist. Do you like doing things for people, fixing things, serving other people’s needs? Then do so with gusto, always ready to use whatever opportunities you may have as a witness for who Christ is.

Every believer in Jesus has a power, whether a natural ability you were born with, or an ability you acquired through education, training, or experience, and a spiritual gift that God wants to use for the Great Commission. In your place, use your power.

Purse

Automatically you may think of financial resources. This is true. We all have some level of financial resources to use for the kingdom. Maybe you are wealthy but have never considered using your wealth to fund ministry projects, or missionaries. You financial resources can multiply with others to have a big impact for the Great Commission. Think of how many people’s lives can be changed for eternity through your resources.

Do you have little money? You can still give. The widow put in two mites—miniscule—but it was all she had and Jesus praised her for it. Certainly, you have more.

But the purse goes beyond cash. We have other assets that can help fulfill the Great Commission. Perhaps you have a home suited for hosting evangelistic Bible studies. You don’t need much. Just a room, some chairs, a Bible, and a heart to help people learn about Jesus.

Maybe you have physical resources that can help others, like tools for a building project or renovation. A car to shuttle people to church or to transport the homeless to a shelter. Whatever physical or financial resources you have, you have something that you can give to help fulfill the Great Commission. So, in your place, use your power, with your resources.

It doesn’t matter if you start small or go big. Everyone, everyone, has a place, a power, and a purse that can be used by God for his kingdom. And the reward you will receive will be a place in Heaven, with the power to enjoy it, and a purse in Heaven that Jesus says will never wear out.

Do you want to be useful? Pray first, then get up and start at it, and see God begin to work through your life to change the lives of others.

——

Tom can be contacted through his website at guywithabible.com

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Reasons Young Christian Men Choose Radical Islam

by David Murrow
written by David Murrow

There’s been much hand-wringing over ISIS’s success in recruiting young men from the West to join their holy war. Contrary to the stereotype of the poor, disadvantaged youth acting out his rage by joining a jihad, many of ISIS’s male recruits hail from middle class homes in prosperous communities.

Why would these men exchange safe, comfortable lives to fight for a bloody death cult?

Even more disturbing – some ISIS fighters grew up practicing the Christian faith. Many are African-American, and attended church regularly as boys.

Among these men is Douglas McArthur McCain, one of the dozens of native-born American and European men who have joined various jihadi groups. In 2014, McCain became the first U.S. citizen killed fighting for the Islamic State.

McCain was an American-born Midwesterner. He was a 33-year-old father, a rapper and a caregiver to special needs patients.

McCain was raised in church. His mother attended faithfully. McCain was said to be a practicing Christian prior to his conversion to Islam several years ago.

Why did McCain choose the mosque over the church? He’s dead, so we can’t ask him. But I’m guessing his church experience had something to do with it.

Assuming McCain grew up in a typical African-American church, here’s what his weekly worship experience would have been like:

  • Up to 75% of adult worshippers are female.
  • The service lasts approximately 3 hours.
  • The sermon lasts approximately 90 minutes (or more).
  • Worship services are highly emotive. Worshippers cry out regularly during the sermon.
  • Décor features quilts, banners and flowers. Lots of flowers.
  • The sanctuary is outfitted like a theater, with a stage, lighting, sound equipment, podium and pews.
  • Worshippers are expected to “dress for church.”
  • The offering plate comes by several times until sufficient money is raised.
  • The Sunday school system emphasizes reading, sitting still and memorizing.
  • His mother is the spiritual leader in the home.

Compare this to the mosque. As a Muslim, McCain’s worship experience would have been completely different:

  • 100% of adult worshippers are male (women are not required to attend, and do not worship alongside men).
  • Friday prayers last less than an hour.
  • The sermon is divided into two parts and lasts just a few minutes.
  • Islamic worship is devoid of emotion. Worshippers must remain totally silent during the sermon.
  • Most mosques are sparsely decorated with high ceilings and carpeted floors (to accommodate kneeling)
  • Worship spaces are simple and spacious. There are no chairs. No stage. No band. Little artificial lighting.
  • Worshippers are expected to wear clean clothes. They worship barefoot.
  • There is no offering plate. Alms may be given before or after prayers.
  • Worship is a full-body experience; a quasi-military exercise featuring standing, kneeling, bowing, etc. Men line themselves up in ranks as if preparing for war.
  • Women (with few exceptions) are not allowed to lead men in prayers.

Now, which worship experience seems better suited to young men? Which suggests battle preparation — and which suggests a stage presentation?

One time I pointed these differences out at an event for African-American men. One man tried to explain to me why black churches worship the way they do: “When we were slaves, Sunday was our only day off. We put on our best clothing and spent all day at church. That’s why we have long services. It’s our culture.”

He continued: “We weren’t allowed to be educated, so Sunday school taught us to read. We had no voice in society, so we expressed our emotion and anguish in worship and song. And church was the one place we could meet socially, talk politics and organize for a better life. So we needed a stage and pastors who were gifted orators.”

OK, I get this. Given our nation’s appalling history of black oppression, it’s not hard to understand why African-American churches have evolved the way they have. And there’s nothing improper about a three-hour worship service, a 90-minute sermon or a sanctuary filled primarily with ladies in hats and gloves.

But when you compare this to Islam, it’s easy to see why significant numbers of young African-American men, desperate for a masculine worship environment, might reject church and find a home in the mosque.

And a few find their way into ISIS. How do we put a stop to this?

One of the best ways to fight Islamic extremism is to provide a robust competitor. Christianity is the obvious alternative. Significant numbers of Muslims are reportedly coming to Christ in the Middle East – even in countries where it’s illegal to follow “the Nazarene.”

Secularists who are waiting for religion to disappear may be waiting a long, long time. Religion is not going to go away. In fact, evidence suggests the world is becoming more religious – not less. Men will always pursue God. The only question: will they seek a God of love and peace — or a God of hatred and violence?

I believe a strong, assertive Christianity will be the most effective bulwark against jihadism. Our worship services must reflect the militant aspects of our faith. Men must understand that Christianity is not just a stage show – it’s a dangerous faith that demands our total allegiance.

How can we strengthen churches to them more appealing to young men of color? Here are six suggestions:

  1. Restore battle imagery to worship. In response to the Vietnam War, many churches stripped their hymnals and liturgy of any metaphor of war or conflict. This was an enormous mistake. Battle imagery does not make men violent – it galvanizes their resolve.
  2. Redecorate. If a church looks like a grandma place, then young men will avoid it. Decorate your worship space according to the tastes of young men, not old ladies.
  3. Relax dress codes. Men enjoy dressing informally, so let them.
  4. Men-only events. Men need opportunities to gather and disciple one another – without women in the room.
  5. Shorten worship services. It’s 2015. People have things to do. If a black church advertised a one-hour worship service, you wouldn’t be able to keep men away.
  6. Give young men a meaningful role. Older Christians need to hand ministry over – and give young men a meaningful place in the church.

I have been working with a black church that has done all these things. In just five years the congregation has nearly tripled in size by focusing on men. And the number of active men has increased fivefold. In my next post I’ll share an interview with the pastor of this church.

www.churchformen.com. Used by permission. To read the original article, click here.

 

 

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How Pornography Objectifies Women

by Luke Gilkerson
written by Luke Gilkerson

Is she a collection of body parts? Is she made of plastic? Or is she a whole person with a soul, full of all the things that make a person human: strengths, weaknesses, quirks, fears, insecurities, anxieties, vulnerabilities, likes, dislikes, hopes, and dreams?

The answer is obvious, yet it escapes so many men lost in our sex-and-skin-saturated culture.

Whether by conscious choice or by years of overexposure that has conditioned an addiction, many men view women as objects to be consumed.

This trap is so easy to fall in to, most men don’t even realize they are doing it. I know for most of my life, I didn’t.

If you allowed yourself to be raised on soft-core pornography the way I did, your mind and body define attractiveness as body parts. You give a woman her worth based on her body parts and not much else. This is just as true for woman you see on a page or a screen as it is for women you see in real life.

It’s easy to stare at a photo or movie of a nude woman and create the perfect fantasy with her. You know nothing else about her! The reality is, she’d likely have zero interest in you in real life and you likely would be quite turned off by a variety of things about her as well. But it’s not real life. It’s fantasy.

But where do you live? You live in real life, not in fantasy. We all live in real life. So what happens when the way we view women is completely formed in fantasy then we get up from the computer to interact with women in real life?

Problems ensue, and ensue quickly.

The Stakes

If you’re married, these ensuing problems are obvious. If there’s one thing marriage does, it shows the full humanity of a woman and the full humanity of a man. There’s a reason our marriage vows say “for better or worse” in them: marriage is guaranteed to bring with it the best sides of a person, as well as the worst. There is no hiding in marriage—which is the exact opposite of pornography and lust.

So as a man, you know all of your wife’s flaws, you smell her breath in the morning, and you see her when she’s tired, stressed out, and without makeup. You see none of these things in pornography—or in the attractive woman you think is flirting with you at the receptionist counter. Fantasy then takes over and you assume this woman has none of these human imperfections.

As fantasy crashes headfirst into reality, logical thought goes out the window and obsession and longing ensue—a recipe for disaster in a marriage.

But the stakes aren’t any less if you’re single. Many single guys feel they have a license to lust since they aren’t married, as it doesn’t seem like they are harming anyone else. The sobering remedy to this line of thought is simple: if you’re conditioned to view women as objects meant for your consumption, how do you view my wife when she walks in the room? How do you view my daughters? What thoughts go through your head? Where do your eyes go?

Exactly.

If you are single and you feel this gives you the license to lust, please stay far away from me and my family. This mindset makes you an incredibly unsafe person to be around.

As Christians, we are called to be in trusting, dignity-giving community with one another. The only way to do this is to be serious about the damage our pattern of objectifying women does to everyone around us.

The Solution

The solution to a mindset of objectification is to allow God to rewire the way our brains process the women we interact with. We obviously need to completely cut off the pornography as the “professor” who wired us to turn women into pieces of meat like this in the first place. But beyond the elimination of this force, we need to allow God’s healing and corrective touch to rebuild the way we were designed to view women.

Every woman you lust over is someone’s daughter. Would you want someone lusting over your daughter the way you lust over women? Obviously not—because you view your daughter as a whole person, not as a collection of body parts.

All of us, men and women, are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). This is full humanity.

God tells us that the very definition of sex is two of these full humans coming together as one flesh (Genesis 2:24). Anything less that the full merger of these two humans falls short of God’s design for sex. “Full” meaning all of someone: the good and the bad, and definitely not just their body parts.

The reality is sex is not about body parts.

It’s about trust, safety and commitment—things that are completely foreign to lust.

God did not create women to be consumed, nor did he create you to consume them.

So next time you see a cute girl, don’t dehumanize her by placing her sole value on her physical appearance. And don’t let lust dehumanize you by turning you into this kind of consuming monster.

Sex and lust make lousy gods.

Ask the only God with any real power to heal you and put you on the path to loving all of his image-bearing children the way he loves you, and the way he loves your daughters.

www.covenanteyes.com. Guest author Noah Filipiak.

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Ask Roger

Intuition: How Does It Happen?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

“I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” Ps. 119:11

Developing an intentionally Biblical world-view requires an intentional study of God’s Word, aimed at understanding the true meaning and application of it to everyday life.  Like any other intellectual endeavor, there are certain methods and tools that can make the process more efficient and effective.  The minds God has given us are wonderful instruments with far more capability than most of us ever realize.  While we tend to emphasize the conscious methods of study and analysis, much of what we learn and discover results from subconscious or intuitive processing.  Such intuitive processes lead to the “aha” moments in life, where we suddenly make a new connection or application.

 

Years ago, I read an article in the newsletter of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) on the intuitive process in petroleum exploration geology.  It noted that many successful petroleum and mineral exploration geologists (consciously or not) relied heavily upon intuitive processes to find economic petroleum and mineral deposits.  The author stated that the intuitive process is not passive, but arises from a disciplined approach involving three basic phases – immersion, incubation, and inspiration. 

 

In the immersion phase, the geologist devotes massive amounts of time to absorbing all he or she can about the region of interest, the types of deposits sought and any other information that might remotely be related to the quest.  He made the statement that sometimes this comes across wrong to superiors, co-workers or outsiders.  The geologist may spend hours slouched back in a chair, feet on the desk, staring at a map on the wall, or trading “war stories” with other geologists.  In this stage, it is not often understood what the inter-relationships are between the various materials digested, and the shear volume of material makes it unlikely that anything initially stands out as significant.  But by immersion in the subject matter, many of the details are subconsciously absorbed and stored for later processing.

 

The incubation phase occurs when the geologist steps back from the immersion phase (sometimes overwhelmed or exhausted by the process).  Even though he or she is no longer aggressively pursuing knowledge on the subject, or consciously analyzing it, the subconscious mind continues to process the material, sorting out the facts and figures, connecting the dots, systematizing the apparently disparate parts into a coherent synthesis.  The length of the incubation phase is often unpredictable, except by repeated experience, since each individual situation may contain varying degrees of complexity.  It is also influenced by the intensity of preconceived notions.  The more strongly held misconceptions take longer to disassemble, to make way for new paradigms. 

 

Suddenly, “out of the blue”, an idea bubbles up to the conscious mind – an inspiration.  Too often, it is dismissed, because it seems so out of line with past experience or conventional wisdom.  It is only by conscious intent that a new idea is entertained and analyzed to see if it indeed contains any merit.  It may be an incomplete “seed” that triggers a thought process leading to the answer, or it might come as a strong urge to “drill here!”  Those that have learned to use the intuitive process know how to distinguish such inspiration from a case of indigestion. 

 

It is often only after testing the idea that the geologist can trace backwards through the subconscious logic that led to it.  Such inspiration is most common as the geologist is engaged in non-verbal activities like listening to music, exercising or hiking.  Part of the discipline involves providing such apparently “unproductive” interludes (read “life balance”).

 

I believe this process may be useful in many other areas of study and practice, not the least of which is the understanding of God’s word.  While the geologist is largely dependent upon unconsciously learned logical processes, we as believers have yet another aid in the process, the work of the Holy Spirit.  So let’s see how this process might look in study of the Bible.

 

Immersion in the Bible involves concentrated study and dissection of passages, be they a book of the Bible, or scattered passages related by some theme one wishes to better understand.  It starts by prayerfully reading and re-reading the passages until all of the details are recognized, whether or not their relationships make sense.  Just as the scientist would carefully observe every detail, the Bible student must become so familiar with the material, that the details can be easily recalled.  The ultimate expression of this is memorization of passages.  The goal is to learn the content of the passages.  The role of prayer and the action of the Holy Spirit in this phase cannot be overemphasized.  Prayer is a yielding to the will of God and opening of the heart to the Spirit of God, who “knows the mind of God.”

 

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27; New International Version, ©2011)

 

During this stage and into the next, the student will begin to bring in commentary and other supporting materials to begin interpreting the passages.  If he or she has committed the passages to memory, it will be easier to recognize which supporting materials are faithful to the text and which are not. Again, dependence on the leading of the Spirit will help separate the wheat from the chaff.  Inconsistencies will more likely become apparent.  Materials on the cultural, historical, political, geographical, economic, social, and even geological contexts can shed light on the events or ideas expressed.  Biographical materials can reveal themes that the authors or those being written about consciously or subconsciously dwelt upon.  During this stage the goal is to understand the intended meaning of the passages, and not force it into a modern context or set of presuppositions.

 

Up until now, the process has been what the Bible refers to as “hiding the word of God in my heart”, so that I am intimately familiar with it.  I can then begin to meditate upon it, turning it over and over in my mind and my heart, consciously and subconsciously, looking at it from all angles and integrating it into the larger cognitive framework I have built over the years, my core scripts and world-view. The more it incubates, the deeper it becomes embedded in my world-view.

 

If I have granted God’s word the authority it is due, it will occasionally reveal flaws in my core scripts or world-view.  In other cases, it may validate truths I have been taught or discovered on my own.  Those “inspirations” may come at unexpected times, or rise to the conscious mind because of triggering events, words or thoughts.  The more authority I have granted His word, and the more I have opened myself to the action of His Spirit, the more fruit will be born of committing His word to my heart and mind.

 

In the scientific and technical disciplines, this approach bears the most fruit among the best educated (formally or informally).  In this case, hiding away God’s word is the education, as well as related reading, listening to lessons, or even watching related video materials.  The key here is intentionality.  It is not just passive absorption of material, but rather, absorption with intent to understand and apply the material  

 

In the spiritual realm, the process can be fruitful for anyone who applies it, because the Holy Spirit makes accessible the mind of God.  The more the process is committed to prayer, the more fruitful it will become because it will be unhindered by interference from the enemy, and the soil will be well prepared to receive the seed.  The discipline of “resting” or “waiting upon the Lord” serves the same purpose as the “non-verbal” interludes mentioned above.  It will be during those times of listening, that I will receive the most inspirations, not as I am wrestling with the process.  The inspirations will be applications of the word to everyday life, educating and focusing my world-view.

 

As with the geologist, the more I practice this process in studying the Bible, the more productive it will be.  What I learn in one study, will still be there in subsequent studies, and may enter into the application or understanding of the new topic or passage in unexpected ways.  Even unfocussed reading and meditation upon God’s word will contribute to the process, as in that process, I am storing away God’s word.  When I say unfocussed, I do not mean inattentive.  I simply mean attentive study aimed at understanding and application, but not necessarily with some end result in mind.  The more of God’s word that I have stored away, the more my subconscious mind will have with which to work.  And there will be more about which the Holy Spirit can remind me.

 

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26; New International Version, ©2011)

 

But I cannot reasonable expect the Holy Spirit to remind me of something I have not previously hidden in my heart.

 

I have often been surprised by a sudden “inspiration” triggered by a comment on the radio or something I have read.  Looking back, I realize it is because I had previously hidden away pertinent parts of God’s word, and my subconscious mind has worked it over, and may have actually made the connection some time previous, but something I see or hear triggered release of that connection.

 

If you have never intentionally tried the intuitive method, consider it.  Look back at some of the “aha” moments in you life, and see if they were not actually preceded by immersion, and incubation, maybe weeks or months before hand.  And do not neglect immersion in other “non-biblical” topics, such as hobbies, interests, current events, biographies, and even fiction.  All of these can provide balance to life and may yield rich analogies and ideas that morph into Biblical illustrations and object lessons.  But be immersed in an attentive way, continually filtering the material so you recognize error or heresy.  You may be surprised how effective this method can be in understanding and applying scripture.  The worse that can happen is that you will learn a lot more of God’s Word!

 

 

 

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Intuition: How Does It Happen?

by Mark Marikos
written by Mark Marikos

“I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” Ps. 119:11

Developing an intentionally Biblical world-view requires an intentional study of God’s Word, aimed at understanding the true meaning and application of it to everyday life.  Like any other intellectual endeavor, there are certain methods and tools that can make the process more efficient and effective.  The minds God has given us are wonderful instruments with far more capability than most of us ever realize.  While we tend to emphasize the conscious methods of study and analysis, much of what we learn and discover results from subconscious or intuitive processing.  Such intuitive processes lead to the “aha” moments in life, where we suddenly make a new connection or application.

 

Years ago, I read an article in the newsletter of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) on the intuitive process in petroleum exploration geology.  It noted that many successful petroleum and mineral exploration geologists (consciously or not) relied heavily upon intuitive processes to find economic petroleum and mineral deposits.  The author stated that the intuitive process is not passive, but arises from a disciplined approach involving three basic phases – immersion, incubation, and inspiration. 

 

In the immersion phase, the geologist devotes massive amounts of time to absorbing all he or she can about the region of interest, the types of deposits sought and any other information that might remotely be related to the quest.  He made the statement that sometimes this comes across wrong to superiors, co-workers or outsiders.  The geologist may spend hours slouched back in a chair, feet on the desk, staring at a map on the wall, or trading “war stories” with other geologists.  In this stage, it is not often understood what the inter-relationships are between the various materials digested, and the shear volume of material makes it unlikely that anything initially stands out as significant.  But by immersion in the subject matter, many of the details are subconsciously absorbed and stored for later processing.

 

The incubation phase occurs when the geologist steps back from the immersion phase (sometimes overwhelmed or exhausted by the process).  Even though he or she is no longer aggressively pursuing knowledge on the subject, or consciously analyzing it, the subconscious mind continues to process the material, sorting out the facts and figures, connecting the dots, systematizing the apparently disparate parts into a coherent synthesis.  The length of the incubation phase is often unpredictable, except by repeated experience, since each individual situation may contain varying degrees of complexity.  It is also influenced by the intensity of preconceived notions.  The more strongly held misconceptions take longer to disassemble, to make way for new paradigms. 

 

Suddenly, “out of the blue”, an idea bubbles up to the conscious mind – an inspiration.  Too often, it is dismissed, because it seems so out of line with past experience or conventional wisdom.  It is only by conscious intent that a new idea is entertained and analyzed to see if it indeed contains any merit.  It may be an incomplete “seed” that triggers a thought process leading to the answer, or it might come as a strong urge to “drill here!”  Those that have learned to use the intuitive process know how to distinguish such inspiration from a case of indigestion. 

 

It is often only after testing the idea that the geologist can trace backwards through the subconscious logic that led to it.  Such inspiration is most common as the geologist is engaged in non-verbal activities like listening to music, exercising or hiking.  Part of the discipline involves providing such apparently “unproductive” interludes (read “life balance”).

 

I believe this process may be useful in many other areas of study and practice, not the least of which is the understanding of God’s word.  While the geologist is largely dependent upon unconsciously learned logical processes, we as believers have yet another aid in the process, the work of the Holy Spirit.  So let’s see how this process might look in study of the Bible.

 

Immersion in the Bible involves concentrated study and dissection of passages, be they a book of the Bible, or scattered passages related by some theme one wishes to better understand.  It starts by prayerfully reading and re-reading the passages until all of the details are recognized, whether or not their relationships make sense.  Just as the scientist would carefully observe every detail, the Bible student must become so familiar with the material, that the details can be easily recalled.  The ultimate expression of this is memorization of passages.  The goal is to learn the content of the passages.  The role of prayer and the action of the Holy Spirit in this phase cannot be overemphasized.  Prayer is a yielding to the will of God and opening of the heart to the Spirit of God, who “knows the mind of God.”

 

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27; New International Version, ©2011)

 

During this stage and into the next, the student will begin to bring in commentary and other supporting materials to begin interpreting the passages.  If he or she has committed the passages to memory, it will be easier to recognize which supporting materials are faithful to the text and which are not. Again, dependence on the leading of the Spirit will help separate the wheat from the chaff.  Inconsistencies will more likely become apparent.  Materials on the cultural, historical, political, geographical, economic, social, and even geological contexts can shed light on the events or ideas expressed.  Biographical materials can reveal themes that the authors or those being written about consciously or subconsciously dwelt upon.  During this stage the goal is to understand the intended meaning of the passages, and not force it into a modern context or set of presuppositions.

 

Up until now, the process has been what the Bible refers to as “hiding the word of God in my heart”, so that I am intimately familiar with it.  I can then begin to meditate upon it, turning it over and over in my mind and my heart, consciously and subconsciously, looking at it from all angles and integrating it into the larger cognitive framework I have built over the years, my core scripts and world-view. The more it incubates, the deeper it becomes embedded in my world-view.

 

If I have granted God’s word the authority it is due, it will occasionally reveal flaws in my core scripts or world-view.  In other cases, it may validate truths I have been taught or discovered on my own.  Those “inspirations” may come at unexpected times, or rise to the conscious mind because of triggering events, words or thoughts.  The more authority I have granted His word, and the more I have opened myself to the action of His Spirit, the more fruit will be born of committing His word to my heart and mind.

 

In the scientific and technical disciplines, this approach bears the most fruit among the best educated (formally or informally).  In this case, hiding away God’s word is the education, as well as related reading, listening to lessons, or even watching related video materials.  The key here is intentionality.  It is not just passive absorption of material, but rather, absorption with intent to understand and apply the material  

 

In the spiritual realm, the process can be fruitful for anyone who applies it, because the Holy Spirit makes accessible the mind of God.  The more the process is committed to prayer, the more fruitful it will become because it will be unhindered by interference from the enemy, and the soil will be well prepared to receive the seed.  The discipline of “resting” or “waiting upon the Lord” serves the same purpose as the “non-verbal” interludes mentioned above.  It will be during those times of listening, that I will receive the most inspirations, not as I am wrestling with the process.  The inspirations will be applications of the word to everyday life, educating and focusing my world-view.

 

As with the geologist, the more I practice this process in studying the Bible, the more productive it will be.  What I learn in one study, will still be there in subsequent studies, and may enter into the application or understanding of the new topic or passage in unexpected ways.  Even unfocussed reading and meditation upon God’s word will contribute to the process, as in that process, I am storing away God’s word.  When I say unfocussed, I do not mean inattentive.  I simply mean attentive study aimed at understanding and application, but not necessarily with some end result in mind.  The more of God’s word that I have stored away, the more my subconscious mind will have with which to work.  And there will be more about which the Holy Spirit can remind me.

 

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26; New International Version, ©2011)

 

But I cannot reasonable expect the Holy Spirit to remind me of something I have not previously hidden in my heart.

 

I have often been surprised by a sudden “inspiration” triggered by a comment on the radio or something I have read.  Looking back, I realize it is because I had previously hidden away pertinent parts of God’s word, and my subconscious mind has worked it over, and may have actually made the connection some time previous, but something I see or hear triggered release of that connection.

 

If you have never intentionally tried the intuitive method, consider it.  Look back at some of the “aha” moments in you life, and see if they were not actually preceded by immersion, and incubation, maybe weeks or months before hand.  And do not neglect immersion in other “non-biblical” topics, such as hobbies, interests, current events, biographies, and even fiction.  All of these can provide balance to life and may yield rich analogies and ideas that morph into Biblical illustrations and object lessons.  But be immersed in an attentive way, continually filtering the material so you recognize error or heresy.  You may be surprised how effective this method can be in understanding and applying scripture.  The worse that can happen is that you will learn a lot more of God’s Word!

 

 

 

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Change and Grace: Part 1

by Tim Keller
written by Tim Keller

For decades Kathy and I  have profited immensely from the pastoral wisdom of the converted slave trader John Newton. As an 18th century Anglican minister, Newton was a good preacher, but it was as a pastor, counselor, and advisor that he excelled. His pastoral letters are a treasure chest.

In one of his letters (entitled “Some Blemishes on Christian Character”) Newton points out that while most Christians succeed in avoiding more gross sins, many do not actually experience much in the way of actual spiritual growth. 

Newton lays out a very convicting and specific example of the kinds of Christian people who coast on their strengths but do nothing about their weaknesses and so rob themselves and others of joy and God of his glory. These blemishes are often seen by their bearers as mere “foibles.” Newton says they “may not seem to violate any express command of Scripture” and yet, they are “properly sinful” because they are the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit that believers are supposed to exhibit. 

These “small faults” mean that large swaths of the Christian population have little influence on others for Christ.  This is true because, while our faults always seem small to us due to the natural self-justification of the heart, you can be sure they don’t look so small to others. 

Over the years I’ve gone back again and again to this list in the manner he directs to use in my own personal self-examination (not as a way to find fault with others!) As I have done so I’ve seen things in myself that I’ve sought to stamp out with God’s grace. And as I’ve worked through the list I’ve expanded it—often breaking some of his larger categories into smaller ones in order to be more incisive.  

Here I’ll share my expanded list—based heavily on his Newton’s original one.  Since Newton gave each case study a slightly humorous Latin name, I’ve done the same.  

Austerus is a solid and disciplined Christian but abrasive, critical and ungenerous in dealing with people, temperamental, seldom giving complements and praise, and almost never gentle.

Infitialis is person of careful and deliberate character but habitually cynical, negative, and pessimistic, always discouraging (“that will never work”), unsupportive and vaguely unhappy. 

Pulsusis passionate, yes, but also impulsive and impatient, not thinking things out, speaking too soon, always very quick to complain and lodge a protest, often needs to apologize for rash statements.

Querulus is a person of strong convictions, but known to be very opinionated, a poor listener, argumentative, not very teachable, and very slow to admit they were wrong. 

Subjectio is a resourceful and ambitious person, but also someone who often shades the truth, puts a lot of spin on things (close to misrepresentation), is very partisan, self-promoting, and turf conscious. 

Potestas gets things done, but needs to control every situation, has trouble sharing power, has a need to do everything him or herself, and is very suspicious and mistrustful of others.

Fragilis is friendly and seeks friends, but constantly gets feelings hurt, easily feels slighted and put down, is often offended and upset by real and imagined criticism by others. 

Curiosus is very sociable, but enjoys knowing negative things about people, finds ways of passing the news on, may divulge confidences, and enjoys confronting too much.

Volatilis is very kind-hearted and eager to help, but simply not reliable—isn’t punctual, doesn’t follow through on promises, is always over-extended, and as a result may do shoddy work. 

Look at these and ask which one or two most describe you. Have the courage to ask someone else you know, too. In future installments we’ll look both at why so many of us seem to be stuck in these character flaws instead of growing and changing to be of more godly character.

Our natural virtues, which come from inborn temperament and family nurture—such as our talents, aptitudes, and strengths—are good things. But they each have a ‘dark side.’ People with prophetic gifts—great directness, often good at public speaking or writing—can have problems listening to others and taking advice. People with priestly gifts—sensitivity, often good at listening, giving counsel, showing mercy—often can be too concerned to make people happy. They may be cowardly, or overly sensitive themselves to criticism. A person who is very generous may also be undisciplined and irresponsible in financial matters. Thus his generosity is really a facet of his too-impulsive character. 
 
One of the reasons that the virtues of gifts and temperament have a corresponding ‘dark side’ is that our gifts and natural temperament are bound up with the idols that dominate any not heart filled with the gospel of grace. Without a thorough knowledge of the gospel, we look to good things—human approval and relationships, the exercise of power and accomplishment, the control of our environment and self-discipline, the enjoyment of comfort, privacy, and pleasure—and make them into pseudo-salvations. So the person who makes an idol out of human approval may be a sensitive artist and the one who makes an idol out of power might be a courageous leader. But gifts and temperament in the service of idols—and this is our normal state—always are a mixed blessing. They have a good side—they produce virtuous behavior—but they lead the person into a corresponding sin or vice as well. 
 
The final result of all this is that people cannot see their sins because they looking only at their virtues. For example, someone may say: “I’m not abrasive, I just speak very directly.” It is true that a direct-speaking person may do good because direct, blunt comments are sometimes needed. But overall the abrasiveness is ineffective and the person’s boldness and confidence comes to some degree from pride and a lack of love. And for this reason, many (or perhaps most) Christians do not work on the supernatural graces of the spirit that are not natural to us, and that mitigate or eliminate the dark side—the besetting sins—of our nature. 
 
So how can we be shaken out of our lethargy and awakened to our need to grow? Here are some principles that I have gleaned from Newton’s letters over the years. 
 
1. Know that your worst character flaws are the ones you can see the least. 
By definition the sins to which you are most blind, that you make the most excuses for, and that you usually minimize—are the ones that most have you in their grip. As we said before, one way we hide our blemishes is that we look at places that our natural temperament resembles spiritual fruit. For example, a natural aptitude for control and self-discipline can be read as ‘faithfulness’, and a natural desire for personal approval could look like ‘gentleness’ or ‘love.’ Or we mistake a bubbly, sanguine temperament for joy, and a laid-back, phlegmatic temperament for peace. We give ourselves spiritual credit for these things, when actually we aren’t growing spiritually at all. The lack of other fruit shows that real supernatural character change is not happening.
 
2. Remember that you can’t learn about your biggest flaws just be being told—you must be shown.
There are two ways we come to see our sins and flaws more clearly. One way is that we are shown them by troubles and trials in life. Suffering is ‘God’s gymnasium’—it reveals our spiritual weaknesses just as a workout reveals physical weaknesses. 
 
Secondly, we learn by Christian role models. Sometimes the best conviction comes when you are brought near a person who is living as you should be living. You may not think of yourself as impatient, or abrasive, or over-sensitive until you are brought into close proximity to someone much more patient, irenic, and content than you. What this means is that we should make use of these opportunities to grow. They are painful—even being near very holy people can be uncomfortable! But it is at such times, when we most feel the need for grace, that we find God’s grace most desirable.
 
3. Be willing to listen to correction and critique from others. 
We just said that no one ever learned about his or her sins by being told. We have too many layers of self-justification to grow without hard knocks. But in addition, as a complement, we need critique and accountability from brothers and sisters. 
 
There are at least two kinds. First, you can create your own Hebrews 3:13 community. Hebrews 3:13 says we are to “exhort one another daily” so we are not “hardened by the deceptiveness of our sin.” Take some other believers that you trust and give them “a hunting license” to talk to you about where you need to grow. 
 
Secondly, don’t forget the “Balaam’s ass” principle. You must learn how to profit from criticism even given by people who are badly motivated, or who you don’t respect. Even if only 20% of what they say is true, it may be God speaking to you. 
 
But, you may ask, how do we actually make changes once we see where we need to change? Read the article to come.

Re-printed from www.timothykeller.com. Used by permission of the author.

Originally titled Change and Grace.

 

 

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In Solidarity with Grief: Listening to Ferguson

by Adrianne Schwanke
written by Adrianne Schwanke

Behind the smoke and ash, behind the shattered glass, a groan in Ferguson remains. Whether justice was served or injustice actually occurred, the perception of injustice surfaced a real and present pain. On August 9, 2014 protesters erupted after Darren Wilson, a white police officer, shot and killed Michael Brown, a black teenager. Three months later on November 24, a St. Louis County grand jury ruled not to indict Officer Wilson based upon evidence and testimony that Brown forcibly threatened him, causing Wilson to “fear for his life and use lethal force in self-defense.” The verdict set off a wave of angry demonstrations and riots.

Behind those raging fires of night and peaceful protests of day, an invisible grief sustains. Ferguson felt like a Band-Aid yanked. Whatever the true events of that fateful day, the verdict ripped a new bandage off an old wound. Despite forensics, toxicology reports, and countless sworn witnesses, when the 12 member jury determined that Officer Darren Wilson would not face trial, Michael Brown’s family was devastated. They felt that their son’s voice would go unheard and undefended, like he was not even worth a trial. Many within the African American community resonated with the Brown family by proxy. If another black voice was silenced, then many people of color felt invalidated all over again.

Maybe Ferguson is less about an 18-year old boy that most protesters never knew and more about the deep-seeded, long-standing grief of a community that resonates with his story.

It hurts to feel unheard and under-valued. And real pain demands a voice. Ferguson has spoken out from Manhattan to L.A. through St. Louis, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Denver, Dallas, Cleveland, Portland, and even London. Grieving hearts have communicated in both constructive and destructive ways. While M.L.K. wouldn’t be too proud of the torched buildings and Molotov cocktails, his words offer a meaningful explanation:

“Riots are the voice of the unheard.”

While “riots are the voice of the unheard,” it has been argued that this isolated case is “not the time” to cry racism. If forensic evidence corroborates the officer’s testimony, then many in the media are arguing that protesters are picking the wrong battleground. While jurors believed this isolated case did not warrant a trial, statistics overall suggest an additional interpretive lens: less than 1% of white officers are charged in the murder of black civilians.

Certainly, officers should receive higher levels of protection considering the dangerous nature of their job description. Male and female law enforcement alike deserve respect and high honor for putting themselves in harm’s way in the process of protecting American communities. Even so … no one is immune to error. There are some who carry a badge, white privilege and a presumptive history that warns them to suspect, fear, even target African Americans. It is within this context that Ferguson replied to the verdict with gunfire and demonstrative grief:

 We are hurting.

We are tired of still hurting.

No, the discussion is not over.

We will not pretend everything is good enough.

#BlackLivesMatter, and we will stay the course toward dignity.

We feel unheard, unprotected, at times targeted in our own country.

This outcry has given way to fresh debate into the American airwaves: Why doesn’t law enforcement wear body cameras? What about tactical training that requires options before lethal force? Is this verdict really about race? Don’t we have a two-term black president? Couldn’t some communities of color be conjuring up a heightened sense of paranoia about a phantom prejudice that doesn’t exist anymore? Possibly, but certainly not always.

Is it possible to support our law enforcement, value their sacrificial service, and simultaneously acknowledge that many African Americans still feel unheard, under-valued, and at times unsafe? If one person does not fully relate to another’s pain, does that negate that problem really exists? Can someone listen to another’s grief, even if it’s far away? And does one person have the right to ignore another’s hurt if it’s communicated in angry, even destructive, ways?

Sometimes people hurt because the injustice of the moment. Other times people so deeply hurt because the present situation reminds them of a past and often greater injustice or injury. Division can loiter far longer when we get stuck in the throes of our own hurt feelings. It can worsen when we start throwing verbal accusations and hammers in retaliation. When pain runs violently deep, it can feel impossible to fathom anyone else’s perspective. We may never be able to fully relate each other’s vantage point, but if we are going to maintain and grow in unity, we have to at least be sensitive enough to keep considering it.

Perhaps this dynamic is going on in Ferguson. America has a past bludgeoned by racism, and certain situations, symbols and verdicts resurface that trauma. Certain moments trigger the memories of feeling unprotected, threatened, and even hated. A movie can resurface visceral feelings. So can a disparaging look, a certain word or symbol.

For example, it may be within someone’s legal right to don a Confederate flag from the back of a pick-up truck, but when those rebel stars and stripes fly by me and my African American sons, I grieve. My pain quickly turns to anger. That flag may just be an image, but so is a swastika. To some, the Confederate flag represents the protection of states’ rights, but there’s a second message latent within that symbol. To deny this same flag doesn’t still drip with blood-drenched memories of war fought to retain slavery is to forget our full American history. And to parade this symbol about without a care to other’s interpretative feelings, I find rather myopic and rude.

My African American study buddy told me that just seeing that flag “takes her backward.” Still, she and I are both trying to fathom that someone throwing on a Kappa Alpha t-shirt with that flag might have absolutely zero intention of ever hurting anyone else’s feelings. They may simply love their fraternity and want to boast in generic southern pride.

Individual and communities interpret the same symbols and situations so uniquely. Ultimately, only God can see heart and intentions of man. That is why we need to be slow to anger and slow to give up on each other.

Some heated conversations have hit the airwaves: When can America move on already? Why don’t we start enforcing body cameras for every police officer to gather accurate accounts? Has America taken the race-bait again on Ferguson? Why are some African Americans still crying when there are kindergartners in American who have never known a day of life without a black president? The collective questions beg answers to a deeper problem still at hand. Based on reactions in Ferguson and across our country, our nation is still healing.

Of course, there has been great progress in our country, but there are still infected pockets. We have residual problem areas with prejudicial hiring practices and a residue of division on both sides of church aisle. Not all churches, but many prove Sundays are still the most segregated hour of the American week. So, while we have taken long strides, we cannot yet throw out sensitivity, mercy, and listening.

So should people advocate for a civil trial for Michael Brown in federal court? Do we take sides and defend the unwavering honor of America’s law enforcement instead? What if it’s not about picking sides, but about holding another’s heart, vantage point, and emotions just a little tighter than our own? Often it’s less about a flag or the luggage or one isolated verdict and more about the a heart interpreting messages of indifference, invalidation, fear and antagonism behind them. Feelings are real, and we don’t stop listening because America has made great progress.

It still hurts to feel your voice isn’t heard. It hurts to feel like it takes a riot or a rally to gain attention. It hurts to feel few are even listening.

Are we?

 

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20 Ministry Resources to Help Pastors Fight Pornography

by Luke Gilkerson
written by Luke Gilkerson

Internet Pornography: A Ministry Leader’s Handbook —This free e-book, written by pastors and counselors, helps ministers who struggle with pornography understand the importance of confession and accountability. It addresses why pastors are particularly vulnerable to pornographic temptations and what should be done to bring this truth into the light.

10 Stories of Pastors in the Struggle — Read, watch, and listen to the stories of pastors who have struggled deeply with porn and sex addiction and how God set them free.

PornToPurity.com — Jeff and Marsha Fisher were church planters until Jeff’s porn addiction came to light. After he was removed from church leadership and found help in overcoming his sin, he started PornToPurity.com, a website for anyone trapped in sexual temptations.

Surfing for God: Discovering the Divine Desire Beneath Sexual Struggle, by Michael John Cusick — Michael was sexually abused and exposed to pornography as a child. Later in life, serving as both a youth pastor and a counselor at a Christian university, his sexual struggles only became more acute with porn and prostitutes. This book talks about what he learned in the midst of recovery

Ashamed No More: A Pastor’s Journey Through Sex Addiction, by T.C. Ryan — Pastor Ryan had a lifelong struggle with sexual addiction and secrecy. This book shares his story of learning to let the gospel of Christ transform him into a man who can be open, honest, and unashamed before God and his Christian family.

Breaking the Silence: A Pastor Goes Public About His Battle with Pornography, by Bernie Anderson — Bernie Anderson battled behind closed doors with pornography for years. In this book, Anderson tells his personal story of struggle and how God changed his life, giving practical tips to protect yourself and your family.

My Struggle, Your Struggle, by David Erik Jones — Pastor Jones struggled with porn as a pastor. This book is his personal story of porn addiction that lasted 20 years and how he found freedom while serving in the ministry.

Beyond Ordinary: When a Good Marriage Just Isn’t Good Enough, by Justin and Trisha Davis — Justin didn’t just struggle with porn. As a pastor, he also began an affair with another church staff member. This book shares Justin and Trisha’s story and how their marriage recovered.

The Pornography Trap, by Dr. Mark Laaser and Ralph Earl, Jr. — This book addresses what should be done when ministry leaders (pastors, deacons, choir directors, Sunday school teachers, etc.) struggle with Internet pornography. The authors share the core issues related to sexual sin and how to develop a biblical view of healthy sexuality.

Restoring the Soul of a Church, edited by Dr. Mark Laaser — This book from the The Interfaith Sexual Trauma Institute describes the devastation that can happen to a church congregation when a pastor sexually sins and is removed from the church. It gives insight about the neglected secondary victims of abuse: the congregation, the wider community, other clergy, the wider church, the offender’s family, and the pastor who takes over.

Stone Gate Resources — Dr. Harry Schaumburg has been counseling Christian men and women about sexual and relational brokenness for years—with a special emphasis on caring for pastors and ministry leaders caught in sexual sin. His intensive counseling is known around the world as one of the best for sexual addiction.

ThrivingPastor.org — This is a ministry of Focus on the Family for pastors, including a pastoral care line for ministers who need to speak with a trained counselor.

8 Resources for Ministry Leaders Who Want to Equip Their Church

Porn-Free Church: Raising up gospel communities to destroy secret sins — This free e-book is for church leaders who want to create a safe community where taboo sins can be confessed and people can find healing.

False Love and True Betrayal — This video series by Summit Church is designed for small groups or recovery groups focused on the pain caused by sexual sin. False Love walks men and women who struggle with sexual sin through a step-by-step process of repentance and restoration. True Betrayal walks spouses of sexual strugglers through the same process as they overcome the pain of sexual betrayal.

Pornography Statistics: Annual Report — This conglomeration of more than 250 stats, quotes, and facts about pornography can help any pastor preparing to teach others about this subject.

A Bird’s Eye View of Lust and Pornography — This free sermon series can give pastors a place to start for talking with their congregations about pornography in a way that is biblically sound and practically helpful.

Fight Porn in Your Church: What works and why it matters — This free white paper from Covenant Eyes looks at how real churches are addressing the issue of pornography and gives practical ideas for programs churches can implement today.

Confessing Sin: How Matt Chandler preaches a culture of grace — Matt Chandler of Village Church understand that church leader set the pace when it comes to being open about sin. In this sermon clip, Chandler talks about not being afraid to be honest about sin and being vigilant to fight it.

The Quick Reference Guide to Sexuality & Relationship Counseling, by Dr. Mark Laaser and Dr. Tim Clinton — This book gives pastors, counselors, and everyday believers the information they need to help congregants, clients, and friends with their most intimate sexual and relational issues.

Join1MillionMen.org — This movement, spearheaded by Pastor Jay Dennis, is equipping church leaders nationwide to bring the issue of pornography into the light where church members can find help and healing.

Reprinted from Covenant Eyes. Luke Gilkerson. Used by permission.

 

 

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Sermons

Is This Really Church?

by Francis Chan
written by Francis Chan

One day we will know just how much God has blessed us. God has made us to be His hands and feet-to touch the hurting and feed the poor. We assume that to have a “real church” we must have a building, a sermon, a band, etc. But the Biblical characteristics of the church must go much deeper. Sharing the gospel honestly and openly means some will receive and some will reject the truth. It’s one thing to preach exegetically, but to live exegetically is something entirely different.

Part of Gospel Conference, Part Five. Preached at Cornerstone Church, Simi Valley.

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Articles

Can Easter Change Your Daily Life? Yes!

by Julie Barrier
written by Julie Barrier

Easter is the joyful climax of the liturgical year. You can’t top Jesus jumping out of the grave, stomping Satan’s ugly head and forgiving our filthy sins. The whole Bible leads up to that amazing, holy moment.

Yet here comes Monday, post Easter celebration. Satin banners sagging. Lilies drooping. Extra chairs stowed. Pastors tall and short, old and young, slump in an exhausted heap after leading a bazillion services during Holy Week. The large chocolate bunny I consumed after church has gone directly to my growing thighs. Easter is over.

Why do I describe the aftermath of Easter Sunday as a time of post partum depression? Wikipedia defines post partum depression as the letdown that occurs in women after they have carried a child. Symptoms include sadness, fatigue, crying episodes, anxiety, and irritability.

Jesus’ disciples did not experience post-Easter letdown. You don’t have to either. The miraculous event catapulted ordinary people into dynamos exhibiting joy, boldness and supernatural power.

Can Easter change your daily life? I believe it can. Let’s look at a few Bible characters we can emulate.

Thomas, the skeptic, wanted proof: rock-solid evidence. Jesus, in His compassion, gave him just that.

John tells us in his gospel:

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” John 20:26-28. NIV

Jesus was no longer his teacher. Doubting Thomas became convinced that Christ was God Himself, His Lord and Master. Thomas preached the Gospel fearlessly and faithfully to the ends of the earth. Historians tell us that the old apostle was stabbed with a spear in 72 A.D. while in prayer on a hill in Mylapur, India.

You don’t have to wonder about Jesus. Touch His nail-pierced hands and wounded side. His resurrection proves you can follow Him as your Lord and your God. His power becomes your power. Don’t be a wimpy Christian anymore. Jesus is bigger than that. And so are you.

John, the beloved disciple, was purported to be Jesus’ cousin by many historians. He probably remembered playing stickball with Jesus as a little boy. John probably visited Jesus’ carpenter shop many times. He was the only disciple who watched Christ’s brutal crucifixion and promised to care for Jesus’ aging mother. John saw the gory blood. He grieved as he witnessed his cousin’s last breath. But three days later, John was transformed by Christ’s resurrection. No earthly miracles Christ had performed prepared him for this:

“Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher, and seeth the linen clothes lie, 7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. 8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulcher, and he saw, and believed.” John 20:6-8. KJV

John was filled with wonder and awe at what He saw. Jesus’ mangled corpse was wrapped in 75 pounds of spices. A linen napkin was placed over His face. Easter morning, the gigantic boulder was rolled down the hill. The sixteen cracker jack Roman Special Forces team was nowhere to be found. And to top it off, the bandages were not unrolled, they remained in the shape of the corpse. Jesus had dematerialized folded His head napkin, and laid it on the other side of the tomb.

John was filled with a sense of wonder. Every day, for the rest of his long life, John was in awe of His Master. Ninety-year-old John, imprisoned on the island of Patmos, was the one Jesus trusted to write Revelation-the heavenly vision that predicted the glories of heaven and the end of time.

We can live lives of wonder because of Christ’s resurrection. Post-conversion, most Christians slug their way through daily living in apathy. The Bible is boring and the events of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection seem like holy mythology. Nothing is fresh or new.

But have you ever taken a child to Disneyland? Their eyes are as big as saucers, and every mouse, princess and teacup seem magical and amazing! If we truly believe Jesus conquered death and the grave, we can live our lives with a sense of wonder. We can wake up every morning, just waiting to hear our Savior speak, looking for Him in creation and seeing Him in the lives of your Christian brothers and sisters. Don’t let your Christian walk become mundane. Open your eyes and marvel at His work.

Finally, you don’t have to experience post-partum depression after Easter because God is a God of second chances. Jesus cooked breakfast for Peter and restored him to ministry. Nobody messed up more than Peter. He denied Christ. He always said the wrong thing. And he picked up his nets and went back to the fishing business after Jesus died.

Jesus gently spoke to Pete as he chewed his trout sandwich.

2 Jesus said to them “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. 15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” 16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” 17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. John 21:12-17 NIV

The four words in Greek for “love” are different: eros, storge, phileo, and agape. The first “love” implies agape, Divine love. Peter’s response meant phileo “like you a lot.” So Jesus said, “Peter, do you love me with Divine love?” Peter replied, “Lord, you know I like you a lot…” Jesus repeated His question to Peter. “Peter, do you love me with Divine love?” Again Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, You know that I really like you a lot.” Jesus pushed Peter further. “Peter, do you even like me a lot?” “Yes, Lord, you know that I like you a lot.” “Then feed my sheep.”

Peter loved Jesus imperfectly. Jesus assured Him it didn’t matter. He called Him to do the most important task in the world. Peter took on Christ’s mantle, the mantle of a shepherd. The flawed, bumbling apostle became the rock Jesus knew he could be. Peter preached at Pentecost, and pastored the church in Jerusalem. He even shared in Christ’s crucifixion. In 34 A.D., Peter died in Rome, choosing to be crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to be executed in the same manner as his Master.

So how can Jesus’ resurrection change you? You now have hope. Jesus doesn’t care about your past failures or your stupid words. You may have denied Him. You may be on God’s plan “Z” for your life. You can begin again, and Jesus can infuse your life with unbelievable resurrection power. You can change the world. Yes, you!

So lay aside your doubts and failures. See the wonder of the Divine every day. Embrace the hope that He offers you. He is risen indeed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Articles

Are You Part of the Scandal?

by Leonard Sweet
written by Leonard Sweet

In many local elementary schools, every few weeks the “Lost and Found” box is emptied out and the contents are scattered down the length of the main hall. Coats, mittens, shoes, sweatshirts, gym clothes, are all laid down and spread out in the hopes that their owners will spot them and take them home. But the scene of all those empty clothes creates an eerie sensation, as if it is not the clothes that had been left behind, but that the children themselves have somehow been “lost” — zapped out of their clothes and transported to somewhere far away. For any parent walking down those empty halls, those empty clothes give an empty feeling, a feeling that is disturbing and desolate.

Losing track of a child is every parent’s worst nightmare. It only takes a moment to go from peaceful to panic when you suddenly realize that somehow, someone has gone astray. And, sorry to tell you this, it is a worry that never stops. Just when you think you have gotten through the scary “I can walk but not really talk” phase, children go off to pre-school and kindergarten — out of our sight for hours on end. Then they get older and want to do things like ride their bikes to a friend’s house, or go to the mall by themselves, or “hang-out” without you quite knowing where they are or what they are doing. For some reason teenagers always insist on getting driver’s licenses and then they graduate from high school and go off to college, or join the military, or get their own place. It doesn’t matter how old they get — parents still want to know where their “kids” are and how they are doing. “Out of sight” definitely does not mean, for a father or mother, “out of mind.”

But good parents also know there is a time and place when letting go is necessary. To grow and develop their own sense of responsibility, to take their own actions seriously, and to learn to live with the consequences of those actions, children have to let go of the “family lifeboat” and dare to test the untamed waters of the world.

Yet for Jesus’ first-century audience, such a message was unfamiliar. There were strict cultural and judicial laws mandating the behavior of children. Even “adult” children (an age that might be anywhere from 13 to 33) had to abide by the traditions of both a Torah-devoted and an agrarian-based life. In that patriarchal world the father was “large and in charge” — until his death. Sons stayed to work the land with their own families, daughters became part of their husband’s family world.

In his book The Prodigal God (2011), Timothy Keller portrays the two brothers as symbolizing the two basic ways people try to make life work. The younger son pursues “self?discovery” — he’s on a quest to find and fulfill himself, even if a few people have to get hurt along the way. The older brother is trying to fit in to the respectable path of social and moral conformity. He’s trying to be well-liked by pleasing his father, his family, his faith. Keller says he’s on a program of self-salvation.

The “prodigal son’s” petition for an “early inheritance” wasn’t like a kid begging for a car before going off to college. That youngest son’s request was an offensive, slap-in-the-face, “I-wish-you-were-dead” disregard of all that was accepted, expected, and respected. He was supposed to stay on the family property, raise his own family, and help bring in the crops and “run the family business.” He was supposed to honor his father through his life and work. The youngest son’s demand for an “early retirement” from any family commitment or obligation, was the equivalent of him robbing the family safe-deposit box and taking off over the horizon. That his father ok’d such a self-centered act is the first remarkably gracious action taken by this parent. The father gives his child the gift of freedom, even if it is freedom from the father. It is now the child’s responsibility to live a righteous life within that freedom.

The youngest son in today’s text goes down fast and hard. Like a college kid with a Platinum card on Palm Beach during Spring Break, his life becomes a disaster. He makes all the wrong choices at every turn. When he gets in trouble he chooses the worst possible options as a “way out” — he becomes a servant to swine, and he cannot even snack on their disgusting food.

One of the reasons we like the parable of the prodigal son so much is that we like the contriteness of the contrary youngster. He “came to himself.” He realized the miserable life he was living was worse than anything that the servants and day-laborers who worked for his father were experiencing. But from the “been there/done that” vantage point of the twenty-first century, it is hard for us to see just how grievous this young man’s actions had been, how much grief and shame he had caused his family. He had not just sown some “wild oats.” He planted a prairie where he broke every familial and social contract of his culture. He fractured the civil constructs that upheld the unity of a “faith community.”

And still his father forgave him. That’s the scandal of this story: the scandal of a father’s love; the scandal of a father’s forgiveness.

Scandal is nothing new. Scandal is as old as Eve and familiar as the next-door-neighbor’s indiscretions, or the hottest new 2013 show “Scandal” featuring the scandalously beautiful Kerry Washington. Try doing good and ending up on “Hard Copy” or “Entertainment Tonight.” Shame and Scandal rule the airwaves.

Well, Salvation and Scandal rule the church. Or should. The message of Lent is that we have a Scandalous God. The scandal of love, the scandal of forgiveness, is beyond our tolerance and bring out our resentment. But God continues to scandalize us at every turn.

Can anyone ever forget the 2006 fatal shooting of 10 Amish children aged 6-13 outside of Lancaster County? A milk truck driver with three children and a wife drove his truck up to the one-room schoolhouse, exited the boys, barricaded the doors so none of the girls could escape, and proceeded to shoot the female children before shooting himself.

As if the scandal of the violence wasn’t enough, the most talked about scandal, however, was the reaction of the Old Order Amish community to the shooter’s wife and three children. Within hours, the Amish community publicly forgave the killer and expressed loving concern for his widow and three children. After burying their own children, they attended the burial of the 32 year old non-Amish killer. There were 75 in attendance. Half were Amish. The killer’s wife and her three children were greeted with hugs . . . and with an Amish-started fund for the killer’s family. “Your love for our family has helped to provide the healing we so desperately need,” the killer’s widow, Marie Roberts, wrote the Amish later.“Your compassion has reached beyond our family, beyond our community, and is changing our world.” (Quoted in Stan Guthrie, “The Scandal of Forgiveness,” Christianity Today, January 2007).

This is what scandalized people the most. “Hatred is not always wrong, and forgiveness is not always deserved,” wrote Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby. How dare these Amish forgive the killer of their children, and reach out to his family.

Even today we older brothers and older sisters have trouble with this concept of forgiveness, a new addition to the bloodstream of human history that came from the scandal of the cross and its occupant, the scandalous Jesus. “The discoverer of the role of forgiveness in the realm of human affairs,” declared Hannah Arendt, “was Jesus of Nazareth.” (The Human Condition [1958], 236-43).

Forgiveness doesn’t mean you’re pollyannaish about the world, or plaster over the cracks in people and history. Forgiveness looks square in the face of wrong, and chooses healing and reconciliation rather than hatred and revenge. It may be the hardest thing in the world to do offer true forgiveness. Scandalously hard.

There were three great holocausts of the 20th century: Russia, China, and Germany. Two were done by atheists — Stalin in Russia, Mao in China. One by someone who created a deviant religious cult in Germany. Adolph Hitler was his name.

Just this past week we have learned from scholars at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum that Hitler’s Holocaust from 1933 to 1945 was much worse than we ever imagined, with thousands more concentration camps up and running in areas of Europe under Hitler’s control than we ever thought even possible. The suspicion now is that the numbers of Jews killed may be far more than the 6 million we thought. (See Eric Lichtblau, “The Holocaust Just Got More Shocking,” New York Times Sunday Review, 01 March 2013: www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/02/holocaust.

But yet, from inside the barbed wire of the death camps there were some scandalous acts of forgiveness and love. Here is a prayer found at Ravensbruck Concentration Camp beside a dead boy on the day of liberation:

O Lord

remember not only the men and women of good will,

but all those of ill will.

But do not remember all the suffering they have inflicted on us.

Remember the fruits we have bought thanks to this suffering:

our comradeship,

our loyalty

our humility,

our courage,

our generosity,

the greatness of heart that has grown out of all this.

And when they come to judgment,

let all the fruits we have borne

be their forgiveness.

(As quoted by Duncan B. Forrester, Apocalypse Now? [2006], 115.)

That’s scandalous. True scandal. From a scandalous God. Have you been caught up in the scandal?

from www.sermons.com. Used by permission of the author.

 

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Ask Roger

How Fasting Releases God’s Power

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,

Recently I was having my morning devotionals when I came across Matthew 6:16-18 and noticed that Jesus twice said to His disciples, “When you fast.” He didn’t say, “If you fast.” He just assumed that they would fast. I have attended church since I was a child never once heard a sermon on fasting. So, I went to BibleGateway.com and looked up the word, “fast.” Just three chapters later John the Baptist’s disciples asked Jesus why His disciples weren’t fasting and Jesus answered in Matthew 9:14-16: “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.”

My question is: Why isn’t fasting emphasized in the church today? What does not eating have to do with spirituality? Why should I fast? What does a fast look like?

Sincerely, Lacy

 

Dear Lacy,

Nowhere in the New Testament are we commanded to fast. On the other hand, Jesus assumes that there will be times when His followers will practice fasting.

 

One of my pastor friends, Jeff Jones, gave the best definition for fasting that I have ever heard: “Fasting is a voluntary choice not to eat for a period of time in order to focus one’s attention on prayer during a significant moment in life.”

 

I like to define fasting like this: “Fasting is to abstain from food and/or drink for spiritual purposes.”

 

The word, “fast”, literally means, “to go without food.”

 

Fasting is not so much abstaining from food as it is choosing to feast on spiritual things.

I believe strongly in fasting as a God given tool for further enhancing our spiritual lives as well as to get some things done on earth that would never gotten done apart from fasting.

 

In the Bible fasting and prayer often go together.

 

Let me illustrate from one of my fasting experiences:

 

Pain etched Sally’s face. Nerves damaged by radiation treatments left her in constant agony. “The doctors say they can do nothing more,” she said. “God is my only hope.  I noticed a passage on healing in James 5 yesterday that might help.”

As she opened her Bible I saw two verses underlined in red: “Is anyone of you sick?  He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. and the prayer of faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.”

“Would you please gather the elders and pray for me?” she asked.  Unfortunately, it was not that simple.

I grew up in a denomination that ill-prepared me for her request. The unwritten, but strongly implied rule of our denominational culture, stated that pastors who ministered in the area of healing were “charismatic” at best, and deluded at worst. Also, our churches were organized around deacons; we had no elders. Furthermore, I was not sure what a “prayer of faith” was. Finally, I had never anointed anyone with oil and was not certain how to do it. Obviously, we never discussed James 5:14-15 in seminary.

So, I chose my words carefully: “Sally, you are the first person to ask me to pray for healing according to James five. I am not certain what to do.” I explained my pastoral dilemma and then proposed a solution: “I suggest that we both pray and fast for five days. I’ll meet you in my office next Friday afternoon, and if God tells us to proceed, we will.”  Sally was no novice. She had walked with God for many years. She agreed to the proposal.

Five days later we both wrote on paper what we thought God told us and then exchanged papers. The conclusions were identical. We made plans for a healing service on Sunday afternoon. Since we had no elders at the time, I invited our deacons.

During the thirty minutes before Sally arrived, I explained to the deacons her request, the background to her pain, and what I knew of James 5:14-15. I asked if anyone had participated in a healing service before. No hands raised.

When Sally arrived, we asked her to confess any known sin because James mentioned this in verse 16.  hen she finished, I took the bottle from Lucky’s Supermarket and prepared to pour olive oil over her head. ne of the deacons averted a mess when he shook his head and whispered that a drop on a finger applied lightly to her forehead might work better. We took turns passing the bottle, anointing her with oil, and praying for her.

I wondered if perhaps Sally would now leap up like on television and shout, “Glory to God! I’m healed!” But nothing happened. As she quietly exited the room, she thanked us for our prayers and left a room filled with disappointed confusion, mixed with some measure of hope.

Unbeknown to us, the healing service just moved to another time and place. In the early morning hours, Sally was awakened by a strange sensation and knew instantly that she was healed. By the time she was out of bed, the pain was gone—never to return. Later Sally related to me an intriguing aside: “I think that the reason God did not heal me in front of the deacons was because they might get proud. I think God waited until I was alone so He would get all the glory.” She never had another pain as long as she lived.

 

One purpose of fasting is to discern God’s will and then to have the spiritual power to act in accordance with His will. Fasting when accompanied by prayer seems to communicate to God a deeper seriousness and earnestness that gets his attention.

 

Lacy, you ask why should you fast? Let me mention some of the reasons and/or purposes for fasting.

 

1. When we need to know God’s will

 

I mentioned this reason above.

 

The Israelites fasted to determine direction in battle (Judges 20:24-28).

 

Daniel sought wisdom from God with prayer and fasting and God revealed things to him (Daniel 9:2-3, 2l-22).

 

2. WHEN WE NEED TO CHANGE GOD’S MIND

 

Jonah, the prophet of God, was sent to Nineveh to prophesy destruction. When the King of Nineveh heard Jonah’s message, he immediately fasted and called for a fast among his people (Jonah 3:5-6).

This time of fasting did change the mind of God, much to the disappointment of Jonah, you will remember, because God withheld His hand of judgment.

 

If you are thinking a bit you may remember that one of God’s characteristics is immutability. He never changes (James 1:16-17). You may remember that other passages describe Him as One with whom there is “no change, no turning, no shadow of turning, no variableness.

 

It is important to keep in mind that God has established a principle concerning His right to repent, and whenever we are talking about the repentance of God it is necessary for us to keep in mind the principle.

 

Jeremiah 18:7-10: “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it. “

 

God is saying, “If I decide that a nation, or an individual, needs to be chastened, if that individual or nation repents, I reserve to myself the right to nullify my intended action if I so choose.” He does not always choose, but He can.

 

Changing the mind of God through fasting is not a contradiction of the Scripture.

 

3. When we need to Intensify the Power of our Prayers

 

I mentioned this purpose above; but, I wanted to make it stand out because of its significance. God promised in Isaiah 58:3-5, 9: “I won’t hear with your fasting, but if you’ll do a true fast… then I will hear.”

How often we have made earnest prayer to God for some specific need, yet, there was no answer from heaven.

Why? It could well be that God is saying to us Jeremiah 29:13: “When you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you…”

When we are in turmoil, it is time to fast. When we are out of work, struggling with poor personal relationships, suffering with sickness, worried about wayward children, etc. it is time to fast.

 

4. when we need Freedom From Various Bondages

 

When you think about it, we have the opportunity to be in bondage to more things than any other culture in history. We can be enslaved and/or addicted to so many things: consumerism, jobs, cars, sports, TV, lust, porn, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, sex, video games, gambling, the occult, black magic, bitterness, resentment, jealousy, etc. You name it and we can find someone addicted to it.

 

Prayer with earnest fasting is designed to help us free ourselves from these bonds. God promised in Isaiah 58:6: “Is this not the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?”

 

5. When we need help forgivING ourselves for past sins

 

I never cease to be amazed by the Christians who have trouble accepting God’s forgiveness for some of the sins in their pasts. Surprise! That includes most all of us.

 

John the beloved Disciple spoke for God in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This promise, when properly accepted and appropriated, can help us forgive ourselves, put our past mistakes in perspective and move on to the future.

 

Both King Ahab (1 Kings 21:27) and David used this tool to get over the mistakes and sins of the past (2 Samuel 12:16, 21-23).

 

If you are guilty of sin, and have confessed and repented, and are still feeling accused, then fast.

 

6. When are in danger and need Protection.

 

The Jews fasted and prayed after hearing of King Xerxes’ plan to kill them all. Mordecai instructed Esther: “You must go and confront the King about this matter even if it is against the law for you to approach him uninvited.”

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai as recorded in Esther 4:16: “Go, gather together the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

Read Esther and see how God rescued all the Jews in Persia just in time.

 

Julie and I have travelled and taught in over thirty countries. Our children used to tell us that they had to stop and think to remember whether we were in the country or out. We’ve been in some remote and dangerous places. The kids didn’t really like for us to travel abroad. They often said, “We were afraid you were not going to come back.”

We have travelled a great deal in the Middle East ministering to Jordanian, Iranian, Iraqi, Tajikistani, Libyan, Armenian, Turkish, Armenian, and Azerbaijani pastors and Christians either in country or in pastors’ conferences throughout Turkey. We prayed many a prayer for protection. We’ve been cursed in Azerbaijan, mocked in England, snowed in for a week in Armenia, frozen in Mongolia and just after the Iron Curtain fell, afraid of communist persecution in the Ukraine.

I own two bullet-proof vests because my life has been threatened four times. Julie has had to wear a vest because of threats on her life.

God protected us in every situation. Prayer and fasting are important when we are in danger and need protection.

 

7. when our relationship with him is intimate and we desire to Enhance Our Worship And Devotion to God

 

Eighty-four-year-old widowed Anna worshipped God through prayers and fastings daily in the temple as she waited for the Son of God to make His first trip to the Temple. When He finally arrived, she fell to knees and worshipped (Luke 2:36-38).

 

The early church fasted often as they worshipped God (Acts l3:2-3).

 

Remember, in worship we want to move spiritually into the throne room in Heaven. Fasting helps to facilitate our moving into God’s presence.

 

Let’s examine the two basic types of Fasts: NORMAL AND ABSOLUTE

 

1. A Normal Fast Is Abstaining From All Foods But Not From Water.

 

During the Temptation as recorded in Matthew 4:2-3, Jesus was hungry, not thirsty. Satan tempted Him to turn stones into bread. He didn’t tempt Him to turn plants into water.

 

Usually a normal fast includes drinking water. I think that there are times when drinking juice or coffee is appropriate. However, the normal fast is usually undertaken with only water.

 

2, An Absolute Fast Is Abstaining From Both Drinking And Eating.

 

After Paul’s Damascus Road experience, when he met the risen Lord, Acts 9:9 records: “For three days Paul neither ate nor drank.”

Moses twice undertook absolute fasts of supernatural proportions. For forty days he fasted, no food or water, after he received the ten commandments and again for forty days when he saw the golden calf. Is it any wonder that God spared Israel.

 

How can WE begin fastING?

 

If you have never fasted before, don’t start off with forty-day fast. Our bodies grow accustomed to fasting by degrees. God doesn’t call us to run until we have learned to walk.

 

Consider beginning with a partial fast. Fast one or two meals and soon extend your fast to one full day–three meals in a row. Perhaps you fast breakfast, lunch and dinner on the same day.

I have found it a litter easier to begin after lunch on one day, have dinner that evening and miss breakfast and lunch on the next day. Then, conclude the fast by eating dinner.

 

You may discover that on the first day you experience a headache and/or some depression. This is normal. The headache is only caffeine withdrawal from drinks like coffee, tea and coke, etc. These feelings will not kill you!

 

When do you conclude a fast? When you sense God saying that it is time to stop/

 

By the way, and this is really important, certain medical conditions may need doctoral approval and/or may be incompatible with fasting.

 

If you are unable to fast because of medical reasons do not despair. When God forbid David from building the Temple because of his many battles and killings, God said to him: “You did well to have it in your heart. I will give you credit for it anyway.” The same may be said about fasting.

 

Let me address your initial question as to why we see so little emphasis on fasting today. This is my opinion, but, I think it has to do with the sorry state of Christianity in America. Fasting is one of the spiritual disciplines, all of which are designed to enhance our spiritual maturity. There is a cost to growing spiritually and in my opinion, many (most) American Christians are not willing to pay the price.

 

Well, Lacy, I hope that my answer is helpful. May God bless you as you engage in the spiritual discipline of fasting.

 

Love, Roger

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Visiting Church: Why Practical Things Matter

by David Murrow
written by David Murrow

In my books I offer a lot of advice for attracting men to church. Among these are the obvious “spiritual” suggestions: preach better sermons, do a better job loving people, offer ministry opportunities for men, etc.

But then I get into some practical ones: choose manly songs. Ditch the quilts, flowers and lace. Don’t make people hold hands. Go easy on the Love Songs to Jesus. I tend to focus more on these practical steps because we rarely give them much thought.

My critics often take issue with these suggestions. They have a hard time believing that song lyrics, paint color, décor and metaphors make a difference. God is all-powerful, and the idea that He could be limited by something as trivial as pink walls or romantic lyrics is insulting to many Christians.

Let me be clear: God is God, and he can do whatever he wants. If God is present in worship, it won’t matter if the pastor wears a pink ballerina tutu – men will be drawn. The Spirit always trumps the practical.

Yet practical things do matter.

Let’s say this Sunday your church’s furnace goes out. The temperature outside is near freezing. The sanctuary temperature drops into the mid-40s (8° C). You decide to hold your worship service despite the temperature. The Spirit comes and people get a blessing.

Things go so well you decide not to repair the furnace. Week after week you leave the furnace unrepaired. The temperature in your church varies widely based on the weather.

Tell me, what will happen? Would there be complaints? Opposition? Defections?

Yes, yes and yes. People would leave your church over the temperature of the sanctuary.

Now, should air temperature matter?  Not at all. Paul and Silas praised God in a smelly jail cell in Philippi. Peter was crucified upside down. Shouldn’t we have the fortitude to praise God in a room that’s a bit frosty? Are we really that weak? Are today’s Christians shallow people concerned only with their own comfort?

Perhaps. But we’re focusing on the wrong issue.

Look at it this way: when people come to church they want to focus on God. Not on distractions. A cold sanctuary is a distraction. If takes our focus off the Lord and places it on ourselves. Our discomfort. Our frigid fingers. Our fussy children.

At Church for Men, we help you identify the distractions that are keeping men from focusing on God when they enter a church building. Many of these things are trifles. They really shouldn’t matter. But they do.

If there were only one church in a particular city, the little things would not matter as much. But modern worshippers have choices. They come to church seeking God. And they’ll choose the church where sense his presence. God’s voice is still and small. The fewer distractions, the easier it is to hear his voice.

Some of my critics feel that I’m reducing the power of God into a commodity. That I’m suggesting we somehow manipulate the pure gospel message to appeal more to a certain constituency – in this case, men.

This is not what I’m saying at all. In fact, I’m suggesting the opposite: the pure Gospel has already been manipulated in subtle ways to appeal to a female audience. Church for Men helps congregations restore a healthy masculine spirit – a spirit that’s widely present in the Bible but woefully absent in many congregations today.

David Brooks wrote an insightful article in the New York Times cataloging some of the ways people are affected by seemingly trivial environmental factors. Among these:

  • Organic foods may make you less generous
  • Men are dumber around women
  • Women inhibit their own performance
  • Judges are tougher at election time
  • New fathers are stingier with their money
  • Children from affluent neighborhoods are more often delinquent
  • Women wear red to impress men

Now, should any of these things affect our jobs and our relationships? No. But they do.

We’re only human. And when we walk into a church we’re affected not only by the Spirit, but also by our environment. Getting that environment right (and removing distractions) will help men connect with God.

www.churchesformen.com. Used by permission.

 

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Sermons

How to Finish Well as God’s Servant

by John Piper
written by John Piper

Getting old to the glory of God means resolutely resisting the typical American dream of retirement. It means being so satisfied with all that God promises to be for us in Christ that we are set free from the cravings that create so much emptiness and uselessness in retirement. Instead, knowing that we have an infinitely satisfying and everlasting inheritance in God just over the horizon of life makes us zealous in our few remaining years here to spend ourselves in the sacrifices of love, not the accumulation of comforts.

If we are going to make God look glorious in the last years of our lives, we must be satisfied in him. He must be our Treasure. And the life that we live must flow from this all-satisfying Christ. And the life that flows from the soul that lives on Jesus is a life of love and service. This is what will make Christ look great. When our hearts find their rest in Christ, we stop using other people to meet our needs, and instead we make ourselves servants to meet their needs.

By John Piper. ©2013 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org. Used by permission.

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When Your World Caves In: Handling Crisis

by Keith Waggoner
written by Keith Waggoner

Hundreds of ministers have admitted that when they get the phone call with the sobbing, furious, or panicked person on the other line, they do not know what to say.  Too many times, all they can muster is “I’m sorry”, or “It will be alright”, or some sort of sermon or lecture. 

After 16 years of ministry, counseling and congregational development, I have found that most church leaderships are overwhelmed when dealing with crises in their own congregations.
 
There are few times when a person is more vulnerable, open, receptive, and able to be molded than in a moment of crisis.
 
Most, if not all of the ministers I’ve encountered have genuine hearts for Jesus which long to heal the wounds of the hurting in their midst. However, as necessary as it is for a shepherd to have compassion for their flock, it is only the start. Good intention and strong desire is not enough when facing real emotional crisis.

Satan attacks the hurting, the lonely and the lost right under our noses. Like a stalking lion, he preys upon the spiritually and emotional weak and wounded. We can learn to recognize when the flock is under attack.  And in many cases we can intervene even before the attack happens.

It seems we choke in the moment of truth, when the enemy’s attack is hard pressing, and our brothers and sisters are being devoured.  We MUST do better. Lives are destroyed, and people abandon their faith in God when crisis is not dealt with. This critical time is paramount and is when we, as stewards of the church must stand in the gap to defend her.

Church members I have spoken with express that when they had a crisis, and they turned to a minister, they felt let down in some way by the response they received.  One person said: “I called my preacher when my wife filed for divorce… all I got on the phone was: ‘I’m sorry, I will be praying for you’ – It felt sterile… When I needed my spiritual brother the most… He seemed too busy to bother.” This isn’t an isolated incident.
 
Ministers, Elderships, Deacons, and congregational leaders can be equipped to identify, define, and implement real time solutions to immediate emotional crisis. This task may seem overwhelming at first. But it can and has been done. It starts by identifying ourselves as the ones who respond in the moment of crisis.
 
Crisis response teams can be developed to build relationships with congregants, and respond in times of emergency.
 
The next step is to get equipped with some basic training. This should include how to and not react; how to actively listen without passing judgment; and how to develop an immediate action plan which ensures the person’s safety and takes steps to address their needs.
 
IDENTIFY OUR ROLE:
 
The first thing we must do is admit we are the front line soldiers in this spiritual war. When we answered the ministry call upon our lives, we enlisted ourselves as the go-to person in times of crisis. Like it or not, congregants still look to their church leaders for spiritual and emotional solutions. We represent God on an official basis (or at least professional) and people expect us to deliver so much so that they base their and their families lives on what we say and do.  Take a deep breath, praise God for being useful, and gear up for spiritual battle.
 
The professional ministry staff and/or eldership can develop a team who responds within an hour of being notified of an emergency crisis.  These teams may be lead by delegated members of the congregation who have a heart to intervene in times of crisis.
 
GET EQUIPPED:
 
There are few times when a person is the more vulnerable, open, receptive, and moldable than in a moment of crisis. James 3:1 reminds us how serious it is to be a teacher of Jesus. Admitting we are ill-equipped is a big step. Now, what we must do is pray for wisdom and rehearse a few simple strategies.
 
Whether it’s implementing an Emergency Response Team, creating crisis protocols, or helping congregational leaders develop intervention skills, a church can’t go wrong by equipping themselves to aid those in emotional crisis.
 
The following model can provide every person wishing to better their understanding and ability to help those in an emotional emergency with a beginning guideline for handling crisis situations:

LISTEN TO DEFINE THE PROBLEM
 
Listening is one of our greatest tools. It allows us to clarify in concrete terms what is going on. When we actively listen, we can hear what the person really needs.

When I teach church leaders how to listen, we build these skills:

1.      Listen without being judgmental.

2.      Ask open-ended questions instead of close-ended questions. Close-ended questions usually begin with verbs like do, did, does, can, will and doesn’t. These kinds of questions usually elicit one word answers like “yup” and “nope.” Open-minded questions encourage people to respond with full statement and at deeper levels of meaning. Here are some examples:

“Please tell me…”
“How will that help you to…”
“Please tell me about…”
“Tell me specifically what happened…”
“What will you do about…”
 
REDUCE PANIC

Research indicates that when a person is upset their rationality decreases. Typically, the higher a person’s heart and respiration rate is, the lower their ability to think clearly will be.  Therefore, it is vitally important to never argue with a person in this state. Allow them to vent, tell their story, and feel they are being heard. You can encourage them to take slow and deep breaths, relax their jaw and shoulders, reduce the pace of their speech, and continue expressing their hearts.
 
ENSURE SAFETY:

It is a must to ask if the person in crisis is safe. Ask if they are in danger of harming themselves, someone else, or if anyone else may potentially harm them. If they answer yes to any of these questions, get help immediately!
 
Never respond to a situation alone.
 
If the person is suicidal, you will need to follow an already developed emergency protocol. Let the lead minister know of the situation. You may need the assistance of police and a professional counseling center. Do not leave the person unattended while making the necessary calls. Solicit the help of others in the response team, ministry, or eldership to be with the person while you are making necessary plans.

EXAMINE ALTERNATIVES:

Help the person look at options such as getting help at a counseling center, calling people in their support system, creating a structured bible study, and of course prayer.  The key is letting the person know you genuinely care and are will to build an appropriate Christ centered relationship with them. Always seek consultation with the lead minister, etc and never make a personal visit alone.

Remember that the person involved in emotional crisis is not thinking clearly; encourage him or her to refrain from making any serious, irreversible decisions while he or she is in crisis. Talk about the positive alternatives that may establish hope for the future. If the person is suicidal or homicidal, help them see that they do not have to take the action now; it can be postponed.

Do not feel that you have to work out the persons long-standing problems for them. You are simply looking at immediate steps that they can take to help the situation.

Although you want to help, do not take full responsibility by trying to be the sole counsel. The purpose of the Emergency Response is to defeat the tools of the enemy’s attack and develop appropriate channels for this person to prosper in Jesus.  Let the troubled person know you are concerned – so concerned that you are willing to arrange help beyond that which you can offer.

DEVELOP A PLAN:

Work with the person to firm up how they will take actions. Help them formulate a step-by-step plan for the alternatives described. Remember, that in extreme crises, people tend to not think straight and they may need help with basic tasks such as how to get to safety, a hospital, etc.

OBTAIN A COMMITMENT:

Obtain an agreement as to specific time, duration and number of activities required to carry out the plan. Make a specific time and place when you will call, visit, and give help again. This is also the time to establish boundaries, guidelines, and rules of engagement. Remember; never isolate yourself with a person in crisis. Always, report y our interactions, activities, conversations, and contacts to the proper channels.

General Do’s and Don’ts of Suicide/Crisis Intervention:

After you have made a referral, it is important for you to follow up on it in order to let the person know that you will continue to be interested and concerned about him or her. Follow-up will prevent any notions the person might have that “out of sight is out of mind.”

 

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Sermons

Priceless: The Biblical Worth of a Woman

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

The value of women is discussed from the scriptural, cultural, historical, traditional and contemporary lenses. Women blessed, encouraged and helped Jesus throughout His ministry. They accompanied Him on His ministry tours and financially supported Him. They remain at the cross after the disciples fled and they were present at the resurrection. The Old and New Testament are filled with examples of the impact women made for the cause of Christ.

 

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Codgers and Tweeters: Can They Coexist?

by Craig Groeschel
written by Craig Groeschel

Craig Groeschel discusses the schemes of Satan to separate the older and younger generations in Christian ministry. Older generations are encouraged to invest in the younger generation, and fight a resistance to change. It’s also important to delegate authority to younger leaders. Age and experience, authenticity, wisdom and compassion of older leaders can transform and ground the lives of the younger Christian leaders. 

Message delivered at Catalyst West 2010. Used by permission.

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Fearing What My Future Holds: Jairus’ Faith in Christ

by Max Lucado
written by Max Lucado

When Jesus went in the boat back to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him there. A leader of the synagogue, named Jairus, came there, saw Jesus, and fell at his feet. He begged Jesus, saying again and again, ‘My daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so she will be healed and will live. “So Jesus went with him….

While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of the synagogue leader. They said, “Your daughter is dead. There is no need to bother the teacher anymore.”

But Jesus paid no attention to what they said. He told the synagogue leaden “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

Jesus let only Peter, James, and John the brother of James go with him. When they came to the house of the synagogue leader, Jesus found many people there making lots of noise and crying loudly. Jesus entered the house and said to them, “Why are you crying and making so much noise? The child is not dead, only asleep. “But they laughed at him. So, after throwing them out of the house, Jesus took the child’s father and mother and his three followers into the room where the child was. Taking hold of the girl’s hand, he said to hen “Talitha, koum!” (This means, “Young girl, I tell you to stand up!”) At once the girl stood right up and began walking. (She was twelve years old.) Everyone was completely amazed. Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell people about this. Then he told them to give the girl something to eat.

—Mark 5:21-24,35-43

Faith means. . . knowing that something is real even when we do not see it.

—Hebrews 11:1

Last night I tried to teach my daughters to see with their eyes closed. I asked Jenna, the eight-year-old, to go to one side of the den. I had Andrea, the six-year-old, stand on the other. Three-year-old Sara and I sat on the couch in the middle and watched. Jenna’s job was to close her eyes and walk. Andrea’s job was to be Jenna’s eyes and talk her safely across the room.

With phrases like, “Take two baby steps to the left” and “Take four giant steps straight ahead,” Andrea successfully navigated her sister through a treacherous maze of chairs, a vacuum cleaner, and a laundry basket.

Then Jenna took her turn. She guided Andrea past her mom’s favorite lamp and shouted just in time to keep her from colliding into the wall when she thought her right foot was her left foot.

After several treks through the darkness, they stopped and we processed.

“I didn’t like it,” Jenna complained. “It’s scary going where you can’t see.”

“I was afraid I was going to fall,” Andrea agreed. “I kept taking little steps to be safe.”

I can relate, can’t you? We grownups don’t like the dark either. But we walk in it. We, like Jenna, often complain about how scary it is to walk where we can’t see. And we, like Andrea, often take timid steps so we won’t fall.

We’ve reason to be cautious: We are blind. We can’t see the future. We have absolutely no vision beyond the present. I can’t tell you with certainty that I will live long enough to finish this paragraph. (‘Whew, I did!) Nor can you tell me you’ll live long enough to read the next one. (Hope you do!)

I’m not talking nearsightedness or obstructed view; I’m talking opaque blindness. I’m not talking about a condition that passes with childhood; I’m describing a condition that passes only with death. We are blind. Blind to the future.

It’s one limitation we all share. The wealthy are just as blind as the poor. The educated are just as sightless as the unschooled. And the famous know as little about the future as the unknown.

None of us know how our children will turn out. None of us know the day we will die. No one knows whom he or she will marry or even if marriage lies before him or her. We are universally, absolutely, unalterably blind.

We are all Jenna with her eyes shut, groping through a dark room, listening for a familiar voice—but with one difference. Her surroundings are familiar and friendly. Ours can be hostile and fatal. Her worst fear is a stubbed toe. Our worst fear is more threatening: cancer, divorce, loneliness, death.

And try as we might to walk as straight as we can, chances are a toe is going to get stubbed and we are going to get hurt.

Just ask Jairus. He is a man who has tried to walk as straight as he can. But Jairus was a man whose path has taken a sudden turn into a cave—a dark cave. And he doesn’t want to enter it alone.

Jairus is the leader of the synagogue. That may not mean much to you and me, but in the days of Christ the leader of the synagogue was the most important man in the community. The synagogue was the center of religion, education, leadership, and social activity. The leader of the synagogue was the senior religious leader, the highest-ranking professor, the mayor, and the best known citizen all in one.

Jairus has it all. Job security. A guaranteed welcome at the coffee shop. A pension plan. Golf every Thursday and an annual all-expenses-paid trip to the national convention.

Who could ask for more? Yet Jairus does. He has to ask for more. In fact, he would trade the whole package of perks and privileges for just one assurance—that his daughter will live.

The Jairus we see in this story is not the clear-sighted, black-frocked, nicely groomed civic leader. He is instead a blind man begging for a gift. He fell at Jesus’ feet, “saying again and again, ‘My daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so she will be healed and will live” (Mark 5:23).

He doesn’t barter with Jesus. (“You do me a favor, and I’ll see you are taken care of for life.”) He doesn’t negotiate with Jesus. (“The guys in Jerusalem are getting pretty testy about your antics. Tell you what, you handle this problem of mine, and I’ll make a few calls. . .“) He doesn’t make excuses. (“Normally, I’m not this desperate, Jesus, but I’ve got a small problem.”)

He just pleads.

There are times in life when everything you have to offer is nothing compared to what you are asking to receive. Jairus is at such a point. What could a man offer in exchange for his child’s life? So there are no games. No haggling. No masquerades. The situation is starkly simple:

Jairus is blind to the future and Jesus knows the future. So Jairus asks for his help.

And Jesus, who loves the honest heart, goes to give it.

And God, who knows what it is like to lose a child, empowers his son.

But before Jesus and Jairus get very far, they are interrupted by emissaries from his house.

“Your daughter is dead. There is no need to bother the teacher anymore” (v. 35).

Get ready. Hang on to your hat. Here’s where the story gets moving. Jesus goes from being led to leading, from being convinced by Jairus to convincing Jairus. From being admired to being laughed at, from helping out the people to casting out the people.

Here is where Jesus takes control.

“But Jesus paid no attention to what they said. . .“ (v. 36).

I love that line! It describes the critical principle for seeing the unseen: Ignore what people say. Block them out. Turn them off. Close your ears. And, if you have to, walk away.

Ignore the ones who say it’s too late to start over.

Disregard those who say you’ll never amount to anything.

Turn a deaf ear toward those who say that you aren’t smart enough, fast enough, tall enough, or big enough—ignore them.

Faith sometimes begins by stuffing your ears with cotton.

Jesus turns immediately to Jairus and pleads:

“Don’t be afraid; just believe” (v. 36). Jesus compels Jairus to see the unseen.

When Jesus says, “Just believe. . . ,“ he is imploring, “Don’t limit your possibilities to the visible. Don’t listen only for the audible. Don’t be controlled by the logical. Believe there is more to life than meets the eye!”

“Trust me,” Jesus is pleading. “Don’t be afraid; just trust.”

A father in the Bahamas cried out the same plea to his young son who was trapped in a burning house. The two-story structure was engulfed in flames, and the family—the father, mother, and several children — was on its way out when the smallest boy became terrified and ran back upstairs. His father, outside, shouted to him: “Jump, son, jump! I’ll catch you.” The boy cried: “But Daddy, I can’t see you.” “I know,” his father called, “but I can see you.”

The father could see, even though the son could not.

A similar example of faith was found on the wall of a concentration camp. On it a prisoner had carved the words:

I believe in the sun, even though it doesn’t shine,

I believe in love, even when it isn’t shown,

I believe in God, even when he doesn’t speak.

I try to imagine the person who etched those words. I try to envision his skeletal hand gripping the broken glass or stone that cut into the wall. I try to imagine his eyes squinting through the darkness as he carved each letter. What hand could have cut such a conviction? What eyes could have seen good in such horror?

There is only one answer: Eyes that chose to see the unseen.

As Paul wrote: “We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever” (2 Cor. 4:18).

Jesus is asking Jairus to see the unseen. To make a choice. Either to live by the facts or to see by faith. When tragedy strikes we, too, are left to choose what we see. We can see either the hurt or the Healer.

The choice is ours.

Jairus made his choice. He opted for faith and Jesus. . . and faith in Jesus led him to his daughter.

At the house Jesus and Jairus encounter a group of mourners. Jesus is troubled by their wailing. It bothers him that they express such anxiety over death. “Why are you crying and making so much noise? The child is not dead, only asleep” (v. 39).

That’s not a rhetorical question. It’s an honest one. From his perspective, the girl is not dead—she is only asleep. From God’s viewpoint, death is not permanent. It is a necessary step for passing from this world to the next. It’s not an end; it’s a beginning.

As a young boy I had two great loves— playing and eating. Summers were made for afternoons on the baseball diamond and meals at Mom’s dinner table. Mom had a rule, however. Dirty, sweaty boys could never eat at the table. Her first words to us as we came home were always, “Go clean up and take off those clothes if you want to eat.”

Now no boy is fond of bathing and dressing, but I never once complained and defied my mom by saying, “I’d rather stink than eat!” In my economy a bath and a clean shirt were a small price to pay for a good meal.

And from God’s perspective death is a small price to pay for the privilege of sitting at his table. “Flesh and blood cannot have a part in the kingdom of God. . . . This body that can be destroyed must clothe itself with something that can never be destroyed. And this body that dies must clothe itself with something that can never die” (1 Cor. 15:50, 53, emphasis added).

God is even more insistent than my mom was. In order to sit at his table, a change of clothing must occur. And we must die in order for our body to be exchanged for a new one. So, from God’s viewpoint, death is not to be dreaded; it is to be welcomed.

And when he sees people crying and mourning over death, he wants to know, “Why are you crying?” (v. 39).

‘When we see death, we see disaster. When Jesus sees death, he sees deliverance.

That’s too much for the people to take. “They laughed at him” (v. 40). (The next time people mock you, you might remember they mocked him, too.)

Now look closely because you aren’t going to believe what Jesus does next. He throws the mourners out! That’s what the text says, “after throwing them out of the house. . .“ (v. 40). He doesn’t just ask them to leave. He throws them out. He picks them up by collar and belt and sets them sailing. Jesus’ response was decisive and strong. In the original text, the word used here is the same word used to describe what Jesus did to the moneychangers in the temple. It’s the same verb used thirty-eight times to describe what Jesus did to the demons.

Why? Why such force? Why such intolerance?

Perhaps the answer is found by going back to last evening’s living-room experience. After Jenna and Andrea had taken turns guiding each other through the den, I decided to add a diabolical twist. On the last trip, I snuck up behind Jenna, who was walking with her eyes shut, and began whispering, “Don’t listen to her. Listen to me. I’ll take care of you.”

Jenna stopped. She analyzed the situation and made her choice between the two voices. “Be quiet, Daddy,” she giggled and then continued in Andrea’s direction.

Undeterred, I grabbed the lid of a pan, held it next to her ear, and banged it with a spoon. She jumped and stopped, startled by the noise. Andrea, seeing that her pilgrim was frightened, did a great thing. She ran across the room and threw her arms around her sister and said, “Don’t worry I’m right here.” She wasn’t about to let the noise distract Jenna from the journey.

And God isn’t going to let the noise distract you from yours. He’s still busy casting out the critics and silencing the voices that could deter you.

Some of his work you have seen. Most of it you haven’t. Only when you get home will you know how many times he has protected you from luring voices. Only eternity will reveal the time he:

Interfered with the transfer, protecting you from involvement in unethical business.

Fogged in the airport, distancing you from a shady opportunity.

Flattened your tire, preventing you from checking into the hotel and meeting a seductive man.

And only heaven will show the times he protected you by:

Giving you a mate who loves God more than you do.

Opening the door for a new business so you could attend the same church.

Having the right voice with the right message on the right radio station the day you needed his encouragement.

Mark it down: God knows you and I are blind. He knows living by faith and not by sight doesn’t come naturally. And I think that’s one reason he raised Jairus’s daughter from the dead. Not for her sake—she was better off in heaven. But for our sake—to teach us that heaven sees when we trust.

One final thought from the seeing-with your-eyes-closed experiment. I asked Jenna how she could hear Andrea’s voice guiding her across the room when I was trying to distract her by whispering in her ear.

Her answer? “I just concentrated and listened as hard as I could.”

www.upwords.com

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When to Have Sex: Why God Says to Wait

by Glenn Barteau
written by Glenn Barteau

One of my pastor-mentors said, “When sex is good, it’s great. But when sex in bad, it’s still pretty good!” A good observation, but the Bible has more to say on the subject. The American notion of living together may or may not be exclusive, but it is by nature… far from permanent. God tells us in Genesis that our sexuality is designed to be exercised in a marriage relationship… defined as being exclusive, and permanent.

So what is sex? It’s an intimate, monogomous relational connection between maleness and femaleness that reflects the nature of God. It’s the fusion of two souls. The Bible compels us to lead sexually pure lives…. to express our sexuality through a marriage of intimate, exclusive, permanence. … and the payoffs for sexual purity are wonderful.

Here are just a few payoffs for sexual purity:

1. You will have a whole self… to connect with someone else in an intimate, exclusive, permanent relationship.

When you get married there will not be parts of yourself spread out all over the sexual horizon.

A commercial for Las Vegas shows a group of girls having fun, flirting and partying with some guys and says, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” Does the Aids virus know this? Has it heard of this?  Does Herpes, and VD… do they understand how this works? Do broken hearts, and sexual images emblazoned on the brain concur with this false pretense? By any standard it’s a wonderful thing to take a pure body and a healthy heart into the beginning of a marriage.

2. You get to be a whole person in your sexuality.

We lose a part of ourselves when we bond to someone in a non-permanent relationship. If you’re struggling – I think I’ve got just the illustration for you. Go to the freezer. Get your tongue nice and wet…. Stick your tongue to the side of the icemaker… and hold it there a few minutes until it freezes to the icemaker. Then I just want you to walk away. That is a physical picture of the consequences of a sex relationship outside of marriage. People who say “I’ll just go fuse myself to this person… and then walk away.” You are leaving part of yourself on the frozen bedpost of someone else’s life.

Lewis Smeads wrote “There are only two situations in which people feel no shame. The first is the state of wholeness…. the other is the state of illusion.” People who leave parts of themselves on the sexual horizon and say feel no pain have souls that are eroding away… and they don’t realize it. They will tell you, “Hey, I moistened my tongue, I stuck it to the icemaker. I walked away and it doesn’t hurt!” Blood is dripping from their mouths and half of their tongues are still stuck to the side of the icemaker. They justify their actions by saying, “I feel no pain!” “This is wonderful, so refreshing!” The only way one feels no pain is if he or she is living in deception or if they have destroyed the nerve endings on their tongues. I believe there are a lot of people on our planet that have destroyed the nerve endings of their souls. The Bible calls that condition a seared conscience.

Here are some words of advice:

1) Those who are whole – you who have guarded your sexual purity, celebrate what you have. Enjoy God’s gift.

2) Those who are not whole – you have given a part of yourself away.  First, if you’re still doing it… stop. Just stop. Even if it’s the person you are going to marry someday. That’s like going to the same freezer over and over.

3) Allow God to begin healing your life. If you’ve given a little or a lot of yourself away… through God’s grace, He can begin to fill the void in your soul… leading you back to sexual wholeness. You can experience forgiveness and renewal today!

Sexuality can become a lifelong source of joy… or it can become an unending journey of emptiness. Let God bless you by enjoying sex in the context of a godly marriage.

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Pastors, Peeps and Preaching

by Julie Barrier
written by Julie Barrier

Easter Sunday is the pastors’ Superbowl Sunday. Countless kiddies hyped up on Cadbury chocolate marshmallow bunnies and shocking pink peeps are forced to wear itchy petticoats, stiff, squeaky new shoes and hairbows the size of helicopter propellers. Mom and Dad won’t listen if their progeny aren’t plugged in. Normally on a leisurely Sunday morning, these rugrats would be sleepily scarfing Lucky Charms while older brother plays Duck Hunt on Nintendo. So what’s a pastor to do?

My husband Roger learned valuable preaching tips during his bus ministry/children’s church days. Humid spring Sunday mornings began early. We jumped on rickety blue un-air-conditioned buses and collected 500 wiggly kids to attend Northway Baptist children’s worship. A thousand pairs of eyes were trained on the stage for at least sixty seconds. The goal was to teach about Jesus in such a captivating way that no one poked, kicked or pinched his neighbor, snored, climbed under his chair. Mass exoduses to the bathroom were also a sure sign of failure.

So here are Roger’s four commandments of preaching.

  1. Preach with passion, power and proper preparation.
  2. Put the cookies on the lower shelf so that everyone can reach them.
  3. Be simple yet profound.
  4. Never, no never ever, ever, ever be boring. Jesus wasn’t. Why should we be?

I had a short attention span in big church when I was a little nipper. That’s why I’m so picky about preaching today. I was the antsy little kid sitting on the second row.

Passing time during “big church” was a bit of a challenge. If my posterior wiggled or squirmed too much, I got the “silent pinch” from Mom’s left hand. My Dad, on her other side, got the “silent elbow poke” when he drooled and snored through Leviticus.

However, I found some parts of big church fascinating. Mrs. Bates, the organist, donned a perky new flowered hat each week as she tore into a lively chorus of Bringing in the Sheaves. Because we had a clothesline, it occurred to me that bringing in the “sheets” inferred My mom’s favorite saying, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.”

Watching Mrs. Bates’ brown, bedecked bun was only half the fun. Melva Shofner, the sixty-something soprano in the choir, felt she had missed her calling as an opera star. No matter what piece the choir warbled, Melva stood out from the crowd with her painfully loud high notes. Shy Patsy McCormick hung her head in humiliation, as if guilty by association. Jim Palmer, the choir director, always pumped his arms with unmitigated gusto as he led the congregation in a rousing version of How Tedious and Tasteless the Hours. That’s a real hymn!

The “welcome” of guests was a Sunday morning staple. If Laney Johnson, the fiery young associate pastor, welcomed the bunch, he intimidated the visitors by cheerily bringing them to their feet to yell their names for the entire world to hear. Pastor Gaddy was much more sedate. Visitors quietly sat in their spots while the rest of the congregation greeted them in hushed tones. Either way, we all got a gander at the newbies and hoped they’d hang around until Easter.

Next on the agenda was a “responsive reading” from a gold-embossed tome the size of a telephone book. The heavy hymnal was full of these congregational responsive readings. The pastor intoned a passage in a rather dramatic manner and we hollered back a Bible verse or an enthusiastic “Amen!” Thank God we were reading English. I couldn’t yell as loudly in Latin. Responsive readings were the only part of the service where kids could talk out loud—a nice change of pace from sitting in stony silence on a hard wooden pew.

One Sunday morning I was particularly pesky and decided to keep chattering after the reading had concluded. I was on a roll. Apparently my banter was incredibly clever, because my sister Kathy giggled ‘til her tummy hurt. My mother was livid. She gave me “the look” that could curdle milk. I blithely ignored her withering glance. Mom subsequently tried finger-pointing, knee-slapping, and other subtle warnings, but I still never got the message. Our church was pretty small, and the pastor was so distracted by my antics, he lost his place and dropped his notes. My fate had been sealed. Daddy threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and stomped down the aisle headed for the parking lot. As I was whisked away to certain judgment, I flailed my arms and pleaded with the ushers, “Pray for me!” They didn’t. I couldn’t sit down for a week.

The “special music” followed the reading and allowed Melva a shining moment in the spotlight without the other choir members “bringing her down” (in her own words). “God gave me this song,” she chirped. The rest of the congregation was thinking, “Please dear God, make her give it back.”

Some hymn lyrics she belted made no sense at all. Melva warbled, “Here I raise my Ebeneezer.” Who was he and how could she lift him? “That saved a wretch . . . ” Wretching, really? I thought that meant throwing up. I’m glad God saved me from that! I was also mystified by all the “. . . ation” words: justification, sanctification, propitiation, fornication, playstation . . . oops. That last one wasn’t in the bunch. At the conclusion of every song, Melva decided to take the melody up an octave to a range that only dogs could hear. We stumbled out of church deaf and disturbed by her performance. 

‘Passing the plate’ was an essential part of the service the pastor never forgot. We knew he’d command us to “bring all the tithes into the storehouse.” He slipped up one Sunday when he was groggy on cough medicine and cried, “Bring ye all the tithes into the whorehouse.” It was the biggest offering we had all year!

Pilfering from the velvet-covered offering plate was a temptation for my buddy Donnie Scott. He could just imagine all the Double Bubble and G. I. Joe’s those crisp dollar bills would buy. I, however, loved the offering time. Daddy taught me that everything belongs to God, so giving Him money was the least I could do. Offertory songs were cool because it was the only time one could hear the piano or organ unhindered by vibrato-laden choir singers.

They allowed me to play the offertory song when I reached the age of ten! Mrs. Bates was my piano teacher and had great faith in me. I practiced for weeks. Sweaty-handed, I plunked my way through I Surrender All and played it without a hitch. God was merciful. It was a marker day in my young life.

On holidays, the youth pastor preached a children’s sermon. He summoned all the little people under the age of ten to sit Indian-style on the carpeted stairs and listen to a Jesus puppet encouraging us to share our toys. I had trouble sharing my spot on the carpet . . . much less my worldly belongings. But I did feel mildly convicted about chopping off my little sister Kathy’s ponytail while she slept through the sermon last Sunday. So I repented in dust and ashes and apologized.

Pastor Gaddy’s sermons had a hypnotic effect. He could make any Bible passage sound boring. I called this phenomenon preaching with his “elevator voice.” Laney was flashy and compelling. He started with a joke to loosen up the crowd and then proceeded to dramatize an exciting Bible story like Elijah calling fire down from heaven. I sat on the edge of my seat, mesmerized. Pastor Gaddy soon changed professions and became a psychologist. Then only one person at a time had to be bored.

Pastor John Schwensen followed Pastor Gaddy. He had a big booming voice like James Earl Jones. I closed my eyes and imagine God Himself was speaking with that powerful baritone timbre. Preschool bulletin-coloring turned into note-writing with my friends, which evolved into hand-holding with my boyfriends. In spite of my persistent efforts to avoid theology, many times the preacher stopped speaking and the Holy Spirit talked just to me. I looked around to see if anyone else heard the still, small voice I did. Then I knew, in my heart of hearts, God longed to have a relationship with me, His little child.

Pastor, the goal for this Easter Sunday is to preach in a way that the listeners hear the Holy Spirit speaking. Listen for His prompting. Pray for God to move. Watch Him work and when He does, give Him the glory.

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Staying on Track: God’s Reliable Compass and Your Options to Choose

by Tom Lutz
written by Tom Lutz

How do you know when it’s time to make a big decision in your life? How do you know when circumstances squeeze you into a corner and force you to radically alter your lifestyle? Does God see your desperation? Does He hear you pray for guidance? Does He have a plan, a “way out” of the confusion and the mire? First, you have to know the absolutes-the unchangeable bedrocks that ground your life and your faith to prevent you from veering off course.

 

Here are a few of them:

1. God has purpose in everything to bring glory to Himself. (Romans 8:28)

2.  God loves you and takes your best interest to heart. (Matthew 7:9-11)

3.  God’s view of your best interest is always focused on the eternal life perspective.

4.  God planned and knows your future for all eternity. (Ephesians 1:5-13)

5.  God sacrificed His Son, Jesus, in order to offer you a future with Him. (John 3:16)

6.  God is willing to have you sacrifice your earthly well-being to further His work. (Hebrews 11:24-26)

7.  God is the source of comfort and solace when the mazes overwhelm you. (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

8.  God surrounds you with spiritual brothers and sisters to help and encourage you. (Philippians 2:1)

9.  God builds, changes, solves, and removes change mazes in your life to get and keep you on His agenda. (Ephesians 2:10)

10. God’s plan is for you to grow to be more like Him throughout your lifetime. (2 Corinthians 4:7-10)

 

Once you are standing on the solid ground of God’s truth, and you are walking close by His side, then there are some essentials you must consider on whether or not you change the direction you are going. These life choices may be large or small, but the principles remain the same.

1.  Don’t let your emotions get in the way of listening to the Lord.

2.  Get the facts.

3.  Ask friends, experts, and other Christ-followers for their counsel.

4.  Ask God to lead you as you face the maze.

5.  Consider what Jesus would say about you making the change.

6.  Measure the change against Scripture and your spiritual belief system.

7.  Remember what you have learned from similar changes already

experienced in your own life.

8.  Weigh the risks.

9.  Evaluate the stress involved with making the change.

10. Estimate what the consequences might be if you change or don’t change.

No change is easy. Stepping out on faith requires keeping your eyes on Christ when everything else in your life tells you to be confused, worried or frustrated. Pray through Psalm 25. The psalmist prays an emotional prayer for guidance that will articulate many of the feelings in your heart at this life-crossroads. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. The only earth-traveller who got it right every time was Jesus. The rest of us just keep holding onto our Father’s Hand and try to read the Road Map.

From Navigating Your Change Mazes, by Tom Lutz

with Julie Barrier

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The Passionate Christian Leader

by Tom Lutz
written by Tom Lutz

The Christian leader that builds his role on Christ-centered bedrock is blessed with a sound foundation for setting priorities and is more faithfully followed because those he leads know the basis for his direction. There are certain non-negotiables for setting appropriate priorities:

Identify and clearly state the fundamental beliefs that you won’t compromise. Determine and clearly state your top allegiances. Who will you be able to go to for counsel when your emotions and personal interests get in the way of setting sound priorities? What do you do to refresh your non-negotiables each morning? How do your non-negotiables mesh with the professional responsibilities you have?

Jonathan Edwards, the fiery evangelist, was an example of a Christian leader who was passionate and focused. Here are some of his resolutions.

Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live. Resolved, that I will live so, as I shall wish I had done when I come to die. Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.

 

 

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