Thoughts on Life and Leading

October 20, 2013

Critical of the Church? Better Think Twice.

It seems to be a popular trend right now for some pastors to criticize the church, especially churches other than their own. Conferences are being held for the sole purpose of pointing out the faults of other Christians. I have heard several messages recently that focused on how wrong other churches are. The blogosphere is buzzing with accusations of false doctrine.

While it is our responsibility to expose theological error and to correct heresy, there is little to be accomplished by targeting one another.

Before we put a bull’s eye on a church, let’s be reminded of a few important truths:

The church is the Body of Christ. (I Corinthians 12:27)

The church is His Bride. (Revelation 19:7)

The church is His Body. (Ephesians 5:22-23)

The church is His Flock. (I Peter 5:2)

The church is His Building. (I Corinthians 3:9)

The church is His Household. (Ephesians 2:19)

The way I see it, Jesus takes the Church very personally. He loves the Church and gave Himself for it. If you go against the Church, you are going against God. We don’t want to do that. What God does to those who go against Him and His church? “But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.” (II Peter 2:3b)

My point? It is best not to mess with something or someone whom the Lord values very much.

Rather than criticizing each other, our time would be better spent:

Praying for each other.

Preaching the Good News of Jesus.

Building up the Church.

Fighting our enemy, the devil.

Removing the log from our own eyes. (Luke 6:42 “How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”)

One final point: When we turn on one another, the devil is thrilled; his job gets easier. What do you say we make his job harder?

October 13, 2013

No One is Expendable

At a summer youth event for the organization that I serve, I was talking with a guest speaker who was visiting us from out of state. He remarked about our diversity of leaders and how the mutual respect among us was obvious. He remarked about how some of our key leaders did not fit the typical mold of our denomination. Specifically, he said, “You guys come from different nationalities and cultures. You speak different languages. You have leaders that are all inked and pierced up. How do you get everyone to accept each other so well?” I gave a pretty straight answer: “We’re not big enough to eliminate people because they are different from us.”

His reaction surprised me. He said, “We aren’t either; we just don’t know it.”

I most certainly did not mean by this answer that we have low standards for leaders or that we will let anyone lead. I simply meant that we are a relatively small organization and if we eliminate leaders because they don’t look or dress or act like me, we will cease to exist. People are not expendable. One definition of expendable is: Considered to be not worth keeping or maintaining (dictionary.com). We can’t throw people away. We need every qualified leader we can get. Our leaders are very qualified. They love Jesus with all their hearts and live exemplary lives. They happen to not fit the mold that some people have established.

Our guest finished the conversation by saying, “Some of your best leaders wouldn’t get the time of day in the state where I serve. We have some things to learn.”

We may raise a few eyebrows and be accused of being desperate. That’s ok – we are desperate – to see young lives changed. We are willing to do whatever it takes to see that happen.

October 9, 2013

A Humbling Stroll Down Memory Lane

Tonight, we attended a sing-along with a group of people from our tribe, the Church of God. We sang the songs from the old red back hymnal, the stuff of my parents’ generation. I went because I was invited. I much prefer more modern music and more updated forms of worship. But tonight wasn’t about me; it was about my heritage.

On the way to the event, I told my wife what song they would sing first – I nailed it. The leader announced page 393, “When We All Get to Heaven”. This stuff runs deep in my blood! As we sang these songs, both Letha and I laughed a little, thinking about our childhood, and we cried a little, thinking about our loved ones. It was more emotional that I thought it would be. I haven’t heard some of those songs since I was a kid but I knew every word.

As much as I enjoyed this evening, I do not believe that we need to go back to the way things were. In fact, that is impossible. People who try to do that get trapped in the past. But there is great value in having roots. Our heritage is very important; it helps to steer us toward a great future.

I am glad we attended the event tonight. I am not looking back, I am moving forward as fast as I can. But tonight was an important glance in my rear view mirror. I am better because of it.

September 26, 2013

Stretching the Truth for the Sake of the Ministry

We’ve all done it:

We exaggerate numbers.

We fudge on details.

We knowingly mislead people for personal gain.

We say things we don’t mean.

Maybe worse than all of this, preachers sometimes stretch the truth for the sake of making a point while preaching. Not only is this accepted as normal, many times this kind of behavior is rewarded. Some of the most beloved preachers are full of baloney! It is considered as charisma!

Most people may think this type of behavior is harmless, especially since everyone seems to do it. My question for Christian leaders is, why? Why do we feel it necessary to stretch the truth for the sake of the ministry?

Maybe…

We want to appear better than we are. We feel insecure about our performance. We are in competition with someone else and we need the upper hand. There are short-term advantages to stretching the truth.

Our job may be in jeopardy. People respond to sensationalism. And a myriad of other reasons.

There are some important facts about stretching the truth that we should realize:

God knows the truth and expects it out of you.
People can spot a phony a mile away. They may appear that they are OK with it, but they will ultimately not trust you. People hate to be deceived.
Your conscience will and should bother you when you lie.
The blessings of God will be limited if you insist on deception.
You reap what you sow. Deceivers will be deceived by others.

God makes it clear. Integrity is not optional. Ephesians 4:25 says, “So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.” (NLT) It can’t get any clearer – we are supposed to tell the truth.

Christians, let’s do better. Our integrity is a stake. We must be authentic. People can see through our deception. And worse, God knows when we are being dishonest.

If we commit to be honest in our dealings with other people, God will bless our work for Him and we will be able to measure the long-term positive results. We are doing His work, after all.

September 5, 2013

11 Reasons NOT to Give Tithes

The word “tithe” mean “tenth”. It is a biblical principle that indicates that people are supposed to offer 10% of their income to the church. 10%! That’s a huge percentage. Like you, I can think of many reasons why I should not give away that much of my money!

Here are just a few:

1. I need that money. I need to pay bills; my family has needs. I’m in debt over my head. I am responsible to take care of my financial obligations. If I give tithes, I may not be able to do so.

2. I need to save for the future. Who knows what tomorrow holds? Anything could happen…and I need to be prepared for an unknown future.

3. What if something bad happens? My car could break down or our refrigerator might stop working. If I pay tithes, I might get stuck in a bad spot.

4. I don’t like everything that happens in our church. The pastor doesn’t always do things that way I want him to. I’m not sure where all the money goes. The staff probably makes too much money. I think they waste a lot of resources. I could go on and on…

5. Tithing is an Old Testament concept. Jesus never said, “Thou shalt tithe”. In the New Testament, we are free to do whatever we think is best. Tithing is legalism. We are no longer bound by the Old Testament rules.

6. I don’t have enough money. It’s simple: I already run short of money. Common sense says that if I give money away, I’ll have less. One day, when I get rich, I will tithe.

7. I don’t feel called to give tithe. Generosity is not my spiritual gift. The Bible clearly says that some people have the spiritual gift of generosity. I don’t have that gift!

8. Let the rich people take care of the church. They could write one check and pay all the church bills. That way, those of us who have less wouldn’t have to deal with that responsibility.

9. I know of too many crooked preachers and churches. I’ve heard too many stories about Mercedes Benz and vacation homes in Vegas. There is no way I’m helping that preacher get rich!

10. I pay my tithes in different ways, like volunteering to serve at church and singing in the choir. If I give ten percent of my time, that’s the same thing.

11. God doesn’t need my money – He owns everything.

I trust by now, you understand that this is a parody. Pardon my sarcasm. The above are all reasons that I have heard as to why some people don’t give tithes. And any excuse will do. The truth is, among a hundred other good reasons, other people will be blessed if you do tithe. That should be enough – helping other people. Helping them to find Christ, to serve God, to find healing for their marriage and family, to have something to eat, to know that God loves them.

It’s simple. Just give God your 10%. You will like the results.

August 29, 2013

The Problem with Guilt-Free Church

I saw a billboard the other day advertising a church in the community. In huge letters, it said: “Guilt-Free, Grace-Full!” Having grown up in a spiritual atmosphere where guilt was used like a hammer against those trying to make spiritual progress, I find myself paying attention when I see a sign like that. I realize that many churches use guilt to control people and to get the kind of response they need in order to stay in operation. No one wants to be put on a guilt trip and most people will no longer tolerate that kind of treatment from church leaders.

But there is a problem with a guilt-free church: We are all guilty.

Our culture loves to deflect blame. We love to point at someone else: our parents, the government, our spouse – anyone but me! There is a significant move within the evangelical community to remove the sense of guilt from the lives of people. We don’t want anyone to feel badly about themselves. This is basically because so many people reject personal responsibility. But we ARE responsible. We have all sinned (Romans 3:23).

Here are some things to consider:

1. A feeling of “guilt” is required in order to be forgiven.

By guilt, I do not mean that we should beat ourselves up or feel as though we are hopeless. One of the definitions for guilt is: “a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime, wrong, etc.” (dictionary.com) We must come to terms with our sin. This “guilt” can be defined as godly sorrow. An old fashioned church word for this is “conviction”. II Corinthians 7:10 says, “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” (NKJV) Worldly sorrow is the destructive kind of guilt – godly sorrow produces repentance, which leads to salvation. We must first be aware that we are sinners; then we can be saved.

2. If there is no guilt, there can be no grace.

Back in the 80’s one of the more popular Bible verses I heard was “There is therefore now no condemnation…” (Romans 8:1) This verse was used to cover people who desired to do whatever they wanted, but did not want any of the associated guilt. The problem was, many people forgot the rest of the verse…”for those who are in Christ”. Once Christ forgives sin, there is no guilt; but until he does, we are guilty! As much as some church leaders would like to be “all grace all the time”, be aware that God’s grace only covers those who confess their sins to Him. According to Scripture, not everyone is going to heaven, only those whose sins are forgiven. Pastors cannot let people off the hook for their sins. Churches who do this may enjoy growth for a season but the end results will be empty lives.

3. People deserve all of the truth.

Just because a dessert says it is “guilt free” that does not mean there are no calories. We can tell people that they will only feel good about themselves if they come to our church. But when the Word of God is preached and the Spirit of God is involved, conviction will take place. This is painful; people avoid it. But we should never remove the opportunity to for people to repent.

4. Don’t force guilt or grace.

These are properties of God; allow Him to do His work in the lives of people. Churches and pastors should preach the truth in love. They should not condemn or judge. Neither should they exonerate or liberate. This is the work of God. The church is only a conduit through which God works.

Think it over. The next time you feel guilty about something, don’t dismiss it as a guilt trip. Don’t find a preacher who will tell you how awesome you are. Pray and ask God to reveal any wicked way within you, and if He shows you something, repent and accept His free gift of grace!

Psalms 139:23-24 “Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”

August 21, 2013

People-Growing (for church leaders)

God has called us into the most wonderful work in the world! Much of what we do can be compared to what a farmer does. He grows crops; we grow people. He reaps a harvest of grain or vegetables; we reap a crop of souls.

Like farmers, pastors must know the purpose of their work and we must be willing to do whatever it takes to produce disciples. Fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) is not an option for today’s church leader!