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.