Humble, Servant Leadership

Humble, servant leadership. Three very simple, yet very profound words. In my opinion, this is what the church today is lacking. Now before you assume (we know what happens when we do that) that I am going to glory in my self-deprecation, let me make it abundantly clear that I am one of the most prideful and arrogant people I know. Don't argue this point with me or I will be forced to prove that fact to you. My point is that in our quest to be humble servants, many of us have in fact become egotistical demagogues. We enjoy the praise that comes with our service so much that we develop a false humility for the sole purpose of receiving more praise. When this happens, we have turned our hearts to the praise of men and away from the Glory of Christ. We seek to make our "low position" greater than it was ever intended. We begin to become the show. We begin to live John 3:30 in reverse, where we increase more and more and Christ increases less and less.

That verse is one of my favorite verses in all of scripture. However, I am a man of context, and the fact that we quote that verse alone and not in conjuction with the entire story found in John 3:22-36, causes us to fail to see the whole picture of the circumstances that caused John the Baptist to make that statement.

John's followers came to him upset because people were running to be baptized by Jesus instead of John. Their attitude was one of shock and dismay that this newcomer could turn the crowds so easily. They wanted to know what JTB was going to do to get his crowd back. John's answer is amazing. Before he even gets to the increase/decrease stuff, he waxes eloquently. John's message to his followers was simple, John was not the Messiah! He never claimed to be. And now John's joy was full to overflowing because the Messiah had come. That led John to make his statement on fading into the shadows. (The stuff John says after verse 30 is worth reading and equally mind blowing as well)

John was not saying that Jesus needed to be greater in his life. John was saying that Jesus needed to be greater than his life. Unfortunately, this is not how this verse is most often relayed. The message was that it was Jesus' time to receive all the Glory. John's time had passed. John had served his purpose; fulfilled his duty. It was time for the fame of Christ to be renowned, and if that meant that John had to fade into obscurity for Christ to receive Glory, then so be it.

When you look at the church today is this the manner in which you see it being led? Do you see men and women fading into the shadows so that Christ moves forward? Do you see men and women sacrificing their fame and glory for the fame of Christ? Do you see men and women consumed by the Passoinate Pursuit? Do you see men and women who live lives transformed by the Gospel? Some things to ponder today and everyday.

By the way, we'd love to hear your thoughts on this and any topic. We are seeking to create an open forum for authentic discussion. If you have any thoughts that you think could add value, please feel free to post them.

Abraham Or The Pope

I am often in awe of how God fathers us in His own kind, providential, way. If you are disposed to watch and to listen, the Lord will teach you unexpected lessons in unexpected ways. This has become especially clear to me in the area of tradition and “convictions”.

I have been conditioned by my spiritual upbringing. That means that many of the traditions and “convictions” that I hold to have been handed to me by parents, pastors, evangelists, Sunday school teachers, etc. Some of these things I hold to because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are true. I know this because the whole counsel of Scripture makes it clear. Then, there are other things that I practice, defend, and even shame others into believing. Such things God, like He did with Abraham, reveals to me that are my conclusions and not His. Through the years, the list of things in that former category become dearer and dearer and the things in the latter category grow frivolous and almost embarrassing. An attempt to list all these things would be a waste of time, but a few that come to mind are styles of worship, fixation on numbers, drop-off youth ministry, and a crusade to preserve the truth of God’s Word single-handedly.

Today a good word came to me from Brother Oswald Chambers (an unexpected lesson in an unexpected way) on this very subject. In his own words he states,

“Abraham interpreted God’s command that he had to kill his son, and that he could only leave this tradition behind by the pain of a tremendous ordeal. God could purify his faith in no other way…He was there to obey God, no matter to what belief he went contrary. Abraham was not a devotee of his convictions, or he would have slain Isaac and said that the voice of the angel was the voice of the devil. That is the attitude of a fanatic. If you will remain true to God, God will lead you straight through every barrier into the inner chamber of the knowledge of Himself; but there is always this point of giving up convictions and traditional beliefs.”

Well, God has led me to the mountain of sacrifice many times over the years. I count it as evidence of His continued grace and mercy, and desire to refine my faith. The decision that I face when I am there is the decision that I humbly lay at your feet just now. When God leads you to this mountain will you come down as Abraham having sacrificed what God asked or will you come down as a papist clinging to your tradition or “conviction” as if it were your means of attaining heaven. Abraham or the Pope, the choice is up to you.

What are we talking about?

My first introduction to the term Two Institutions, was approximately 3 years ago. Now, I'm quite sure the concepts were ingrained in my head since I was a wee little tike, but it wasn't until three years ago that I finally connected the dots. There are only two institutions mandated by God in scripture, the family and the church. Try as hard as you like and you will not find any others.

And that is where the problem begins. We live in a culture that will try and make an institution out of just about anything. Most notably we see this in the area of education. Most all universities are known as "institutions" of higher learning. This may be a topic for another day, but I find it interesting and not a coincidence that one of the original intentions of these "institutions" was to provide training and understanding of the real institutions. Once again we must face the fact that we are moving further and further away from the way it was designed to be.

Beginning in Genesis 1 we see the original institution of the family being mandated. God told Adam and Eve to reproduce themselves. Not spiritual reproduction but physical. Yes it is okay to say it, this is a sexual thing. God told Adam and Eve to have sex and populate the earth. If you are married, this is where you let out a hearty HALLELUJAH!! God told Adam and Eve to make a family. This is the first institution.

But God didn't stop with the reproduction part. The command wasn't go have a bunch of kids and be done with it. There was much more involved. If you look at Deuteronomy 6:4-9 you see that there was to be instruction by the family as well. It must be noted that the family is who God gave the command of instructing the children. In this passage God is telling the nation of Israel through Moses to impress Him (God) on the hearts of their children. It is interesting that the word picture here of impressing is that of whetting the appetite. God's command to His people was that whenever they presented the Word to their children(which was to be a continual thing done all throughout the day) they were to do it in such a way that it left the children craving it all day long. My prayer is that our families may return to that model and that our church's would encourage that style of teaching.

Many will see that and say that was ordained before the church was instituted. You would be right to say that. However, before we throw the baby out with the bath water, let's look and see what the Apostle Paul had to say about the institution of the family in Ephesians 6:4. Here we see Paul affirm what we have already seen in Deut. 6. God's intention is for the family to be the primary institution for Biblical instruction. A couple of notes on key words in this verse. The dictionary.com definition of exasperate is to annoy greatly. Pretty funny definition when we see the context of who Paul is speaking to here. We very rarely want to admit that we as parents annoy our children. I have two small boys and one on the way, and I can tell you without doubt that I cause my sons to melt down every day by annoying them. I will also confess that sometimes I do this on purpose. Either way our children will never allow us to get to the nurture and admonition stage of their spiritual development if we spend all of our time annoying them. We must love and encourage and be willing to admit when we do wrong to our kids. The word for nurture here is the Greek word paideia which literally means training and instruction. The word admonish here is not so much to be seen in terms of rebuking our kids, but it is to be seen as to warn them. Many times we rebuke and punish before we have ever trained and warned. What would our lives be like if God operated on that plan with us?

The point here is that God's design for the family is more than providing for the physical needs of our children. He has called to provide for their spiritual needs as well. And God has called us to be actively participating in that provision, not merely standing by while we watch someone else meet that need. Before we ever address the institution of the church we need to realize what God has called families to. It is more than we ask of them and more than they expect of themselves.

The Inconvenience of Grace

If there is one great casualty in the war for the hearts of God’s people, it is a proper understanding of Biblical terminology. Satan is a master at exploiting our thoughts and separating us from a proper understanding of such concepts as faith, love, and grace. At some point in the fight we allowed our understanding of grace to be affected by something other than God’s Word. I have seen this demonstrated so vividly in some churches where grace becomes a great inconvenience.

Now before you reach for the tar and feathers, hear me out. Grace as defined in the context of salvation is alive and well in all of but the most liberal of churches (most of whom would write us off based on our core beliefs). The aspect of grace that I see as being omitted or inconvenient in many ministries across this country is that which should play a prominent role in the work of sanctification. The phrase that best typifies this aspect of grace is, “this church really practices an environment of grace.”

If you are unsure of what I am referring to, let me list a few distinguishing characteristics of churches that practice an “environment of grace.”

1.) A recognition of God’s sovereignty – Isaiah 40:10-28

2.) A recognition that every good thing that happens in ministry is a result of His unmerited favor – James 1:16-18

3.) A recognition that the unmerited favor God shows us must be in turn shown to those around us – Col 4:2-6

So then a church that practices an environment of grace doesn’t focus itself on numbers games, gimmicks, high-pressure altar calls, or motivation by guilt. A church that practices an environment of grace seeks to motivate its people with the Word of God, through the Spirit of God, while demonstrating the Love of God. Show me a church like that and I will show you a church that can make the "enemy of our souls tremble".

“Grace binds you with far stronger cords than the cords of duty or obligation can bind you. Grace is free, but when once you take it, you are bound forever to the Giver and bound to catch the spirit of the Giver. Like produces like. Grace makes you gracious, the Giver makes you give.”
-E. Stanley Jones

What's wrong with us? Part 2

What's wrong with us? We are not operating from a biblical model. We are not operating in conjunction with the two institutions. In a blog post in March, Dr. Albert Mohler touched on this subject. One key comment from the article that Dr. Mohler referenced is that there was once a time when family time and church time were one and the same. Why is that not the case today? Instead of pointing fingers, I feel each side needs to look at themselves in the mirror.

Why would families avoid the church? I'll give three brief suggestions. One, the church today cares more about competition than authentic community. Second, the church today cares more about numerical growth than the Glory of God. Finally, the church today cares more about the name on the door than the banner of Christ. The very church that Christ shed His blood to redeem has become a harlot bride being led away by self concious, self absorbed men and sometimes women. When people know that they are nothing more than a name on a roster they will go somewhere else to find that they matter.

This by no means lets the family off the hook. We live in a narcissistic society that communicates loudly that you can have what you want when you want it. Unfortunately, families bring this mindset with them into the church. When the church fails to meet their needs, they will go somewhere else to have their needs met.

What should break our hearts is that instead of teaming together to combat our culture, the two institutions remain at odds. Churches would rather blame families for not being supportive. Families would rather blame the church for not solving their problems. All the while the real culprit is working his plan. We must quit being naive enough to believe that Satan isn't satisfied with the institutions at odds. It is way beyond time to partner together to combat the forces of darkness that seek to defile the Bride of Christ. The Two Institutions matter so much to Christ that He gave His life for them. We must share that passion.

What's wrong with us? Part 1

My love of scripture probably began while participating in Bible drills when I was a kid. Every Sunday night while I was in 4th, 5th and 6th grade, our team of drillers would meet to practice and prepare for our church, associational and state competitions. I'm not sure if it was fueled by my competitive nature or not, but I was a state winner in 4th grade and a state winner perfect in 5th and 6th grade, which is as close to perfection as I'll ever come on earth. Many lessons and memories from Bible drills have stuck with me, but one stands above the rest. On the cover of the pamphlet provided by our state association each year was this verse:

2 Timothy 2:15 "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth."

The context of that verse is simple. Timothy was struggling and Paul was writing to encourage him to not forsake the teaching of sound doctrine. People were looking to Timothy to equip them and Timothy needed to be up to the task. As a young man, this verse was impressed upon me to see the need for studying God's Word for myself. Pity that isn't the case today.

Oh, many in ministry will claim that this is their desire. They will tell you that they want nothing more than to know that their people are participating in daily study. However, if this is really a desire then why are we not equipping our people to do just that? There is too much evidence out there to suggest that people today are not engaging in study themselves. Most notably is the statistic from the North American Mission Board that shows that 80% of students abandon their faith at some point after graduation from high school.

My fear is that when we see a stat like the one above it causes us to preach louder and make the Christian do and don't lists longer. We feel like we in ministry are who must fix the problem. The problem with that is we still haven't realized what the problem is. Until we realize that we are not in control and then relinquish that control and do ministry from a Biblical model we will never see change.


This is the first in a two part series.

The Lost Art Of Discipleship

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

- Matthew 28:19-20 NASB

These words were the last thing that Jesus uttered before He returned to heaven. We all know them as the "Great Commission". In this charge, Christ laid out a specific plan for what He wanted his followers to do. There is no ambiguity, there is no second guessing. Jesus wanted those who followed behind Him to make disciples. Yet, despite the self-explanatory nature of Jesus command, for many churches this passage becomes the "Great Omission"


While many churches like to think that they are accomplishing this task, the hard facts are that they are failing miserably. According to Avery Willis, author of the Master Life Discipleship Program:

"... the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention reported losing 569,636 in discipleship training enrollment. That is 25% in one year! Ed Young presented the situation at the SBC Pastor’s Conference and said that the churches are losing six out of eight young people when they graduate from high school.When he asked a CEO to evaluate the statistics of the SBC he said, “You are going out of business.”"

So lets be clear in our understanding and define discipleship. Discipleship is a process. This process can be summarized in three steps:

1. Conversion - this step although not mentioned specifically here is implied (Luke 14:27)

2. Baptism - a believer must outwardly identify himself with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection (Roman6:1-11)

3. Teaching - a believer must be taught to understand and practice what is commanded in God's word (I Timothy 4:12-13, II Timothy 3:16)


When I was coming along the emphasis was on soul-winning. We would pass out tracts, knock on doors, have revivals, do bus campaigns all with the goal of getting students to pray a prayer. Today, I see many churches that emphasize education. They have fellowship groups, huddle groups, accountability groups, ad infinitum. These churches train, and equip people until truth is coming out their ears; yet they fail to practice the evangelistic exercise of their faith. Both of these approaches ignore the "whole counsel of Scripture" and are therefore wrong.

If we are to return our churches back to a biblical model, one of the first things that we have to do is get back to the fundamentals and one of the first among these is making disciples. This process takes time and is not easily measured with numbers. In fact, we may not see the whole impact of our adherence to this command until we stand before the Lord. Then, hopefully, we will hear Him say,

'Well done, good and faithful (not fruitful) servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
- Matthew 25:21 NIV

At Least US News & World Report Gets It!

I felt compelled to follow-up my previous post by recommending that you read an interview conducted by U.S. News and World Report with Dr. Stephen Prothero head of the department of religion at Boston University. Here is the article. I hate to say it but its pretty bad that a secular periodical and a state university religion professor has to point out what many "Bible Believing" churches refuse to admit.

At Least The Medievals Had An Excuse

It's amazing what you can find on the shelves of your local Christian bookstore. What is even more amazing is the variety of shapes, sizes, colors, themes, and translations of Bibles available in the English language. If there is a subculture of any significance some publishing house somewhere will produce a bible for you. Don't get me wrong, I think that the availability of God's Word is an awesome thing. What does concern me, however, is that despite the easy access to the Truth, there is an alarming rise in Biblical illiteracy. The impact of this phenomena is evidenced in research conducted by the Barna Group. In an article from June 6, 2006 entitled, "Half of Americans Say Faith Has "Greatly Transformed" Their Life", Mr. Barna writes,

"The faith journey of Americans is also clearly influenced by their age. "While we cannot tell if the distinction in people's journey is due to life stage or to cultural shifts over time, it is obvious that people under 25 are substantially less likely to have undergone serious change as a result of time spent reading the Bible. With America already struggling from serious biblical illiteracy, the noticeable absence of the Bible in the lives of our youngest adults is likely to generate dramatic consequences in the decades to come."

It is patently obvious that there are external spiritual forces at work seeking to weaken families and churches by keeping them out of God's word. Despite the modern believers ignorance of spiritual warfare (which I will leave for another post), one of the greatest contributors to Biblical illiteracy is the church itself.

In a methodology reminiscent of the medieval roman church, many modern congregations and their leaders put greater emphasis on tradition than on the teaching of God's word. There are literally thousands of believers every Sunday who sit under the preaching of authoritarian pastors who have taken it upon themselves to be the sole arbiter of Scriptural interpretation. And why not? Most of these same believers even if not discouraged from personal Bible study would still be content to hear pastor so and so delineate for them, "thus sayeth the Lord". In an article entitled, "The Nature and Function of Theology", Gordon-Conwell seminary professor Dr. David Wells states,

"By a strange quirk of logic we have, therefore, come to repeat the errors we chastised the liberals and Roman Catholics for committing. On the one hand, by our historical amnesia we break our continuity with historic Christian faith as did the liberals and, on the other, we accord to some preachers a magisterial authority in interpreting Scripture not unlike Roman Catholics do!"

What makes this abandonment of personal Biblical scholarship so insidious is that it destroys any accountability a Pastor should have and gives him a godlike status. Thus a cycle of congregational laziness and pastoral megalomania combine to create an atmosphere that would have Luther, Wycliffe, and Tyndale rolling over in their graves. If pastors are not willing to break this cycle in their churches, regardless of the consequences, then we may be well on our way to a second "Dark Age". Church members too have a duty to study the Bible and to appoint pastors that will equip them to this end. We have God's word and the Holy Spirit to teach it to us. Let it be said of the modern church what was said of the Berean church of old,

"Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." (Acts 17:11NASB)

Two Institutions Statement Of Faith

There are two God ordained institutions that should serve as the basis for society. We know these institutions as the Family and the Church. The models for how these institutions ought to work are laid out in Deuteronomy Chapter 6 (The Family) and in Acts 2:42 (The Church). The purpose for this blog is to inform you the reader how we as Christians have allowed Satan to distort our understanding of these institutions and how we can seek God's face to reclaim them as tools for building His kingdom.

At the "Diet of Worms" in 1521 when asked by representatives of Pope Leo X to recant his works, Martin Luther replied:

"Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason —I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other— my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe."

We are compelled by conscience to compare all things spiritual around us to the yardstick of God's Word. It is our sincere desire that this blog will inform and equip you to do such comparison as well. For us not to do so is, in the words of Luther, "neither right nor safe".

In case you are wondering what stripe of Christianity we are, here are our beliefs in a nutshell:

Sola Scriptura (Latin - by scripture alone) - The Bible is the only inspired and authoritative Word of God.

Sola Christus (Latin- by Christ alone) - Christ is the only mediator between God and man, and there is salvation through no other.

Sola Fide (Latin - by faith alone) - Justification is through faith only, not through good works.

Sola Gratia (Latin- by grace alone) - Salvation is by grace (God's unmerited favor) alone.

Soli Deo Gloria (Latin - Glory to God alone) - Only God in the three persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is worthy of glory.

These principles are a summary of the Cambridge Declaration which can be found in its entirety by clicking on this link.

Please stop by often. Leave your comments and email us if we can help you understand these concepts better.

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About Blake Hickman

Location: Raleigh, North Carolina

Profession: Pastor of Middle School Ministry

Education: B.S. in Religion Liberty University
M.A.C.E from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Area of Ministry: Middle-School Ministry

Hobbies: Spending time with my wife and kids, Reading, Alabama Football, Golf

Interesting Life Experiences: I'm really a pretty boring guy and I haven't done anything too interesting...yet.

My Favorite Theologians/Authors Are: CS Lewis, Chuck Swindoll, John Piper, JI Packer, AW Tozer, Kevin Leman, John Eldredge, Stephen Ambrose, James Bradley

A Secret Ambition of Mine: To see Alabama play in each SEC stadium.

About Mike Hall

Location: Raleigh, N. C.

Profession: Curriculum Development (Sunday School & Discipleship)

Education:
B. S. in Education - Piedmont Baptist College
M. A. in Counseling - SE Baptist Theological Seminary

Area of Ministry: Student Discipleship

Hobbies: Reading, Blogging, Skiing, Golf, Hunting, Fishing, Theological Discussions, N.C. State Football (Go Wolfpack!)

Interesting Life Experiences: I lived in Germany for about 2 years. While there I was a part time youth pastor and a student at the University of Wuerzburg. I speak conversational German. I also had the privilege of making regular pilgrimages to the Wartburg Castle where Martin Luther was exiled and translated the Bible into German.

My Favorite Theologians/Authors Are: Martin Luther, John Calvin, Carl F. H. Henry, J. Gresham Machen, C.H. Spurgeon, Roland Bainton, John MacArthur, C.S. Lewis, and any Puritan ever published (Owen, Baxter, Watson, Sibbes, Guthrie, Bunyan, etc.)

A Secret Ambition of Mine: To be granted an official coat of arms from the Chief Herald of Ireland or the Lord Lyon of Scotland

Contact

Snail Mail:

Mike Hall
P.O. Box 30531
Raleigh, NC 27622


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