by Thomas Johnston
As the culture in the West continues its dramatic shift away from any connection with a Christian world-view, we are challenged to continually readdress and redefine the role of the “pastor.” Historically, this has been a vocation in the sense of a compensated role, paid for by a self-supporting local church or a denominational group, and may have been either full time or part-time in those churches too small to support a pastor. While pastoral ministry continues to be a multifaceted reality in the sense of various aspects of the role, one thing has become clear: the 21st Century pastor in America must think and function like a missionary.
Gone are the days where the church was the center pole of community life and activity, where the pastor cared for and nurtured the flock which obediently attended the weekly services and activities that were normative of a neighborhood or town. We are the inheritors of a declining church, one with a lackluster witness to a powerful Christ. The generational decline in church participation will seemingly reach its lowest point in American history, beginning to parallel the decline a generation earlier in Europe. The Church in the West is in trouble. However, the church of Jesus Christ as portrayed in the Scripture is not.
So, we face a post-modern, post-Christian, pagan culture. Good, now that we’ve got that figured out, let’s get to work. We face nothing that has not been seen before by the Church throughout the ages. The shift we have to make in our thinking is that pastoral ministry is no longer providing chaplaincy services and care for a group who willing comes to our sacred edifices multiple times each week. Such a passive ministry died with Ozzie & Harriet and Lawrence Welk. (The times, they are ‘a changing.) No, now pastoral leadership must be what it has always been on the mission field – active and catalytic with a goal of making more and better disciples of Jesus Christ everywhere. It is a 24/7/365 activity engaged in by all Christians who have been prepared by their leaders (read: pastors) for such mission, one which is lived as a way of life. 21st Century pastors are missional leaders who train missionaries (Ephesians 4:11-12) – the people of the body, maturing them in Christ, equipping them for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17). These people become then The Ubiquitous Church – the church which is not a building, but a people who, as they engage in life, make disciples for Jesus Christ, everywhere they go, every minute of the day. Life becomes both the curriculum and means for discipleship, “as you go, make disciples” (Matthew 28:18-20).
Such missionary pastors should not see this as a financially lucrative career path. Ministry has never historically “paid well”, but it has likewise been understood that being a (foreign) missionary “paid” even less. But if we are to reach the West again for Christ we must adopt the mindset of a missionary and be willing to NOT be paid for the ministry we do! We can expect God to provide, but it may or may not come through the offering plate. Are you up to the task?
Friday, November 14, 2008
You're Not Pastoring Right
by Mike Chong Perkinson
As a young pastor, I was convinced that by being open, honest, and approachable, conflicts and difficulties could be resolved without the loss of relationship. In my youthful zeal was a quiet pride that believed I would be the first pastor to plant a church and not lose any of the initial people, while being able to manage the Board without major controversy. As I later learned, I was dead wrong. If the apostle Paul had problems with his churches, who am I kidding to think I won’t.
The events described below took place over about a year and a half in my first church plant. It was a quiet problem that festered and grew into full force after about six months. The major life of the conflict lasted about the same amount of time. The lessons I have acquired from the experience are enormous. I will discuss those at the end of the article.
The room was quiet and the faces somber. Once again, the Board of Directors found themselves smack dab in the middle of a rather heated discussion on my failure to pastor the church. We were a non-denominational church that had found itself growing and enjoying the blessings of our Lord’s favor. In the midst of our third year, the Board of Directors began to find itself divided over the issue of the church’s vision. One particular Board member, John (names have been changed), was deeply concerned that I was not carrying out the vision of the church. He was convinced this was the case because of personal issues I was not addressing. In his opinion, personal counseling was the only recourse for me, his senior pastor. What made the issue more painful for me was the friendship I had shared with John for the past eight years. He was not only an integral part of this particular church plant and a Board member, but was also with me in my previous ministry. For the past eight years, he was by my side as a support, prayer partner, and encourager. On top of this, he was a close friend.
Our Board of Directors was made up of myself - the senior pastor, the senior assistant pastor and Chairman of the Board, the head deacon, a congregational member (Steve), the head elder (John), another congregational member (who was our accountant), and sitting in without voting power was another assistant pastor. During this time of conflict, the Board was divided down the middle. The pastoral staff understood the problem to be personal. It was not so much that I was failing as a pastor, but John was hurt over the change in our relationship and was expressing it in the arena of theology, ecclesiologyand church philosophy.
John was able to convince Steve and our head deacon that something was wrong with my leadership and effectively spread the poison to some of our key leaders. Several people were commissioned by John to analyze my sermons and critique their content and spirituality. “Were they Biblical enough? Do the sermons feed you spiritually?” were the questions each person was asked to answer after every sermon. Quietly, but surely, a growing consensus developed that became concerned over my preaching and leadership. An unofficial task force to help me find my way back to personal wholeness and spirituality was created amongst this group of so-called concerned brothers and sisters. It was my worst nightmare in ministry. I already understood the issue of insecurity well enough without being scrutinized and challenged by my leadership.
The struggle lasted for over a year. At first, the Board meetings were only awkward. Over time, they became more discussion centered with little resolve. The meetings were like the cat who chases his tail. No matter how much we discussed something, we could never catch the tail. As the months passed, the meetings became more tense and confusing. Without question, it hurt the church’s direction for the year and realistically cost the church about two years of momentum. It is difficult to pastor a leadership when they are not sure they support you any more. No matter how hard I tried to mobilize our leadership during this period, a spirit of confusion and suspicion crippled my efforts. At this point, I began to doubt my ability as a pastor, often second guessing myself and hesitating on critical decisions.
“YOU ARE PREACHING MILK!”
In one heated meeting, John, with intense emotion, verbalized a pastor’s worse nightmare: “You are preaching milk to the congregation.” Although his words were not loud, the pain of the verbal blow was felt in the deepest fibers of my heart. I felt the emotion well up within me.
“Why was he was doing this?” was all I could think. I responded with a question, “Can you give me an example?” Before John could respond, Steve, one of our older Board members added another blow. He said, “Mike, it seems to me that your preaching is too deep and philosophical. Maybe you’re preaching too much meat; something seems to have changed in your preaching the past six months and I’m not sure what it is.”
If confusion was ever about us, it sure made itself present with his comment. “Which is it, am I preaching milk or meat that is too thick for our people to chew? I can’t be preaching milk and meat messages at the same time.”
John piped up and said, “You are no longer discipling people anymore. You have drifted away from the vision of the church.”
One of our staff pastors quickly interjected a question, “How do you define discipleship?”
“Well, it’s one-on-one mentoring, counseling, and teaching classes,” John replied.
I quickly, but gently asserted, “Isn’t that what we are doing now? After all, each of the pastors, including me, are discipling individuals, teaching classes, and counseling. Can you help me see where we are failing in the vision?”
John was speechless and slightly dumbfounded. He answered with slight resistance, “I guess you are doing it.”
Feeling relieved, but frustrated, I asked, “Then, what are you trying to say?” All he could do was answer with a generic criticism of something being wrong with the church.
“I QUIT”
Throughout this period of turmoil, I struggled deeply with my identity and ability. I was already quite familiar with an unwanted companion called insecurity before any of the conflict began. My greatest fear in life was that I would one day be exposed and found out to be far less than what people believed. All of the talent and giftedness people said I had would be discovered one day to be nothing more than a front for my weak and meager ability. The conflict began to awaken my fear in ways I had not known.
One day, I said to my staff, “I think I’m going to resign. It’s the only way I see to resolve the tension on the Board and keep the church from being hurt any more.”
My senior associate pastor quickly responded, “I don’t think you should resign. That would be a big mistake, Mike. You need to stand your ground and see this through. If any one resigns, John will need to.”
Those words stuck with me and gave me perspective during a time when I was having a hard time understanding why any of this was happening. We had been so effective in our communication with our leadership and Board members; so overly cautious in our relationships with our people; and quick to admit when we had made mistakes. “With all the honesty and transparency, why was any of this happening?”
A STRATEGY
This had gone on too long. I knew I was going to have to make a decision and act quickly. The only saving grace for me was my knowledge that John was hurt over the status of our relationship. I had taken this matter to him in private and even with some of my staff members. He admitted to some hurt, but would not agree that his hurt and personal counseling issues were clouding his perceptions.
He was a close friend who was in contact with me on a daily basis for some time. Unfortunately, due to the church’s quick growth, his recent marriage, and the birth of his daughter, our time together was drastically reduced to church functions and maybe a night out a month. It was clear not only to me, but the pastoral staff that this was the issue. Adding fuel to the fire was John’s recent struggle in his marriage that resulted in him going to counseling. Looking back, it would have been best to ask him to step down from the Board while he was in counseling. Mixing the pot with his personal issues and our relational change not only resulted in clouding his perceptions, but helped develop his conviction that I needed help too. He was convinced that I had personal issues that were affecting my ability to pastor. One of the issues was my inability to receive love or ask for help.
Understanding this to be the case, I decided to see how clear-headed John really was. I brought the pastoral staff together and told them of a plan to gauge his effectiveness on the Board. In our next Board meeting we were due to discuss salary increases for the pastors. John was well aware of how difficult it was for me to propose a raise for myself. I told the staff how I was going to propose everyone’s raise but mine to see if John would go for the bait. There was no question in my mind that I could manipulate him with this strategy to give me a raise. To keep myself accountable to my staff, I told them everything I was planning to do. I also made it clear to them that if John went for the bait I was going to have to remove him from the Board. The staff and I agreed that I can’t have someone on the Board who can be so easily manipulated.
A SAD SUCCESS
The Board meeting began with prayer. I reached for my notes and glanced quickly at my senior associate who nodded in support. I motioned that we proceed with staff salaries. Just as I had planned, I motioned for everyone’s increase, but mine. Much to my dismay, John took the bait hook, line, and sinker.
A gradual grin of pleasure was forming on his face as he said, “Wait a minute, I just happened to notice you did not motion for a raise for yourself.” He sat back in his chair with a look of satisfaction like a car thief who finds a car with the keys in the ignition.
“John, you know how hard it is for me to ask for a personal raise,” was my embarrassed reply.
“Then I motion to raise Mike in his salary,” John noted for the Board. Full of pleasure and self-satisfaction, he smiled and leaned back in his chair as if he had just proven his worth to me and the Board. He never wanted to be a “yes” man on the Board. With conviction and force he added, “You know, I’m not simply going to be a “yes” man to every thing. That was the original desire you had for the Board members and I’ll be sure to enforce it. And since, you have difficulty asking for a personal raise, I’m here to make sure we always do what is right and not always what you want.”
I sadly nodded my head in affirmation, conceding his apparent victory. The motion to raise the staff, including my raise was unanimously passed. I knew at that moment I had to carry out what was going to be a rather painful decision.
AFFECTS OF THE CONFLICT
Sadly enough, I had to ask John to resign from his position on the Board and as Head Elder. Of all the decisions I had made up to that point in my ministry career, it was the most painful for me personally.
The confusion caused by the past year had more impact on the people than I anticipated. For example, Steve came to my office one day ready to resign from his Board position. He was confused over how the Board was when it became evident to him and me how John had been influencing him. Over the course of the next few months, others in leadership came to realize on their own that the problem was John. However, we would lose our Head Deacon in the process. He turned in his resignation from the Board and as Head Deacon. With all that had happened, the damage to him was beyond repair at this point.
What made John’s position so ridiculous was his criticism of one particular woman in our leadership. She was someone who was being trained to be a counselor and working with our women. He felt she was spending too much time with me. He insinuated to many that I was playing favorites with her and that an affair was going on between us. She was one who demonstrated concern about me and was initially on John’s side. The affair accusation allowed her to see how convoluted John had become in his thinking. If the situation were different, I would have laughed over the false accusation. The only relief I could feel was knowing that people were beginning to see the truth for the first time in months.
I wish I could say the conflict came to a grinding halt when I served John the official papers from the Board that requested his resignation; such is sadly not the case. As anticipated, the request hurt him deeply. Reports of his dissatisfaction with the process and his attempts to rally dissenters and start a Bible study came across my desk. He was unsuccessful in gaining a following to support him in his position against me. Ironically, many in the church wanted to support him, but he would not receive it unless they saw things his way. My senior associate accompanied me in the meeting and comforted me after. It was the first time I broke down and cried at the end of a meeting.
It was difficult to continue pastoring after that ordeal. My passion for ministry diminished to some degree and my ability to lead was hesitant. Although, I did not harbor any bitterness or keep people at arm’s length; there was something in me that quietly removed itself from public access for the next few years. I could sense that something in me died. I had a two godly brothers and close friends that helped me process what had happened. They were a great support to me through wise counsel, friendship, and prayer. They helped me wrestle through the guilt of what felt like I had betrayed my friend and the frustration of failing as a pastor. The entire situation tapped my insecurity of not being good enough to handle the pastorate, or anything for that matter. Through constant dialogue with my friends and the Lord, I was able to release the hurt and allow the Lord to build me as a man of God. Ironically, as only the Lord can do, He took the situation and began to make life happen by working in the deeper recesses of my heart. From this, a new sense of confidence and passion began to spring up, coupled by a renewed vision to pastor.
As a young pastor, I was convinced that by being open, honest, and approachable, conflicts and difficulties could be resolved without the loss of relationship. In my youthful zeal was a quiet pride that believed I would be the first pastor to plant a church and not lose any of the initial people, while being able to manage the Board without major controversy. As I later learned, I was dead wrong. If the apostle Paul had problems with his churches, who am I kidding to think I won’t.
The events described below took place over about a year and a half in my first church plant. It was a quiet problem that festered and grew into full force after about six months. The major life of the conflict lasted about the same amount of time. The lessons I have acquired from the experience are enormous. I will discuss those at the end of the article.
The room was quiet and the faces somber. Once again, the Board of Directors found themselves smack dab in the middle of a rather heated discussion on my failure to pastor the church. We were a non-denominational church that had found itself growing and enjoying the blessings of our Lord’s favor. In the midst of our third year, the Board of Directors began to find itself divided over the issue of the church’s vision. One particular Board member, John (names have been changed), was deeply concerned that I was not carrying out the vision of the church. He was convinced this was the case because of personal issues I was not addressing. In his opinion, personal counseling was the only recourse for me, his senior pastor. What made the issue more painful for me was the friendship I had shared with John for the past eight years. He was not only an integral part of this particular church plant and a Board member, but was also with me in my previous ministry. For the past eight years, he was by my side as a support, prayer partner, and encourager. On top of this, he was a close friend.
Our Board of Directors was made up of myself - the senior pastor, the senior assistant pastor and Chairman of the Board, the head deacon, a congregational member (Steve), the head elder (John), another congregational member (who was our accountant), and sitting in without voting power was another assistant pastor. During this time of conflict, the Board was divided down the middle. The pastoral staff understood the problem to be personal. It was not so much that I was failing as a pastor, but John was hurt over the change in our relationship and was expressing it in the arena of theology, ecclesiologyand church philosophy.
John was able to convince Steve and our head deacon that something was wrong with my leadership and effectively spread the poison to some of our key leaders. Several people were commissioned by John to analyze my sermons and critique their content and spirituality. “Were they Biblical enough? Do the sermons feed you spiritually?” were the questions each person was asked to answer after every sermon. Quietly, but surely, a growing consensus developed that became concerned over my preaching and leadership. An unofficial task force to help me find my way back to personal wholeness and spirituality was created amongst this group of so-called concerned brothers and sisters. It was my worst nightmare in ministry. I already understood the issue of insecurity well enough without being scrutinized and challenged by my leadership.
The struggle lasted for over a year. At first, the Board meetings were only awkward. Over time, they became more discussion centered with little resolve. The meetings were like the cat who chases his tail. No matter how much we discussed something, we could never catch the tail. As the months passed, the meetings became more tense and confusing. Without question, it hurt the church’s direction for the year and realistically cost the church about two years of momentum. It is difficult to pastor a leadership when they are not sure they support you any more. No matter how hard I tried to mobilize our leadership during this period, a spirit of confusion and suspicion crippled my efforts. At this point, I began to doubt my ability as a pastor, often second guessing myself and hesitating on critical decisions.
“YOU ARE PREACHING MILK!”
In one heated meeting, John, with intense emotion, verbalized a pastor’s worse nightmare: “You are preaching milk to the congregation.” Although his words were not loud, the pain of the verbal blow was felt in the deepest fibers of my heart. I felt the emotion well up within me.
“Why was he was doing this?” was all I could think. I responded with a question, “Can you give me an example?” Before John could respond, Steve, one of our older Board members added another blow. He said, “Mike, it seems to me that your preaching is too deep and philosophical. Maybe you’re preaching too much meat; something seems to have changed in your preaching the past six months and I’m not sure what it is.”
If confusion was ever about us, it sure made itself present with his comment. “Which is it, am I preaching milk or meat that is too thick for our people to chew? I can’t be preaching milk and meat messages at the same time.”
John piped up and said, “You are no longer discipling people anymore. You have drifted away from the vision of the church.”
One of our staff pastors quickly interjected a question, “How do you define discipleship?”
“Well, it’s one-on-one mentoring, counseling, and teaching classes,” John replied.
I quickly, but gently asserted, “Isn’t that what we are doing now? After all, each of the pastors, including me, are discipling individuals, teaching classes, and counseling. Can you help me see where we are failing in the vision?”
John was speechless and slightly dumbfounded. He answered with slight resistance, “I guess you are doing it.”
Feeling relieved, but frustrated, I asked, “Then, what are you trying to say?” All he could do was answer with a generic criticism of something being wrong with the church.
“I QUIT”
Throughout this period of turmoil, I struggled deeply with my identity and ability. I was already quite familiar with an unwanted companion called insecurity before any of the conflict began. My greatest fear in life was that I would one day be exposed and found out to be far less than what people believed. All of the talent and giftedness people said I had would be discovered one day to be nothing more than a front for my weak and meager ability. The conflict began to awaken my fear in ways I had not known.
One day, I said to my staff, “I think I’m going to resign. It’s the only way I see to resolve the tension on the Board and keep the church from being hurt any more.”
My senior associate pastor quickly responded, “I don’t think you should resign. That would be a big mistake, Mike. You need to stand your ground and see this through. If any one resigns, John will need to.”
Those words stuck with me and gave me perspective during a time when I was having a hard time understanding why any of this was happening. We had been so effective in our communication with our leadership and Board members; so overly cautious in our relationships with our people; and quick to admit when we had made mistakes. “With all the honesty and transparency, why was any of this happening?”
A STRATEGY
This had gone on too long. I knew I was going to have to make a decision and act quickly. The only saving grace for me was my knowledge that John was hurt over the status of our relationship. I had taken this matter to him in private and even with some of my staff members. He admitted to some hurt, but would not agree that his hurt and personal counseling issues were clouding his perceptions.
He was a close friend who was in contact with me on a daily basis for some time. Unfortunately, due to the church’s quick growth, his recent marriage, and the birth of his daughter, our time together was drastically reduced to church functions and maybe a night out a month. It was clear not only to me, but the pastoral staff that this was the issue. Adding fuel to the fire was John’s recent struggle in his marriage that resulted in him going to counseling. Looking back, it would have been best to ask him to step down from the Board while he was in counseling. Mixing the pot with his personal issues and our relational change not only resulted in clouding his perceptions, but helped develop his conviction that I needed help too. He was convinced that I had personal issues that were affecting my ability to pastor. One of the issues was my inability to receive love or ask for help.
Understanding this to be the case, I decided to see how clear-headed John really was. I brought the pastoral staff together and told them of a plan to gauge his effectiveness on the Board. In our next Board meeting we were due to discuss salary increases for the pastors. John was well aware of how difficult it was for me to propose a raise for myself. I told the staff how I was going to propose everyone’s raise but mine to see if John would go for the bait. There was no question in my mind that I could manipulate him with this strategy to give me a raise. To keep myself accountable to my staff, I told them everything I was planning to do. I also made it clear to them that if John went for the bait I was going to have to remove him from the Board. The staff and I agreed that I can’t have someone on the Board who can be so easily manipulated.
A SAD SUCCESS
The Board meeting began with prayer. I reached for my notes and glanced quickly at my senior associate who nodded in support. I motioned that we proceed with staff salaries. Just as I had planned, I motioned for everyone’s increase, but mine. Much to my dismay, John took the bait hook, line, and sinker.
A gradual grin of pleasure was forming on his face as he said, “Wait a minute, I just happened to notice you did not motion for a raise for yourself.” He sat back in his chair with a look of satisfaction like a car thief who finds a car with the keys in the ignition.
“John, you know how hard it is for me to ask for a personal raise,” was my embarrassed reply.
“Then I motion to raise Mike in his salary,” John noted for the Board. Full of pleasure and self-satisfaction, he smiled and leaned back in his chair as if he had just proven his worth to me and the Board. He never wanted to be a “yes” man on the Board. With conviction and force he added, “You know, I’m not simply going to be a “yes” man to every thing. That was the original desire you had for the Board members and I’ll be sure to enforce it. And since, you have difficulty asking for a personal raise, I’m here to make sure we always do what is right and not always what you want.”
I sadly nodded my head in affirmation, conceding his apparent victory. The motion to raise the staff, including my raise was unanimously passed. I knew at that moment I had to carry out what was going to be a rather painful decision.
AFFECTS OF THE CONFLICT
Sadly enough, I had to ask John to resign from his position on the Board and as Head Elder. Of all the decisions I had made up to that point in my ministry career, it was the most painful for me personally.
The confusion caused by the past year had more impact on the people than I anticipated. For example, Steve came to my office one day ready to resign from his Board position. He was confused over how the Board was when it became evident to him and me how John had been influencing him. Over the course of the next few months, others in leadership came to realize on their own that the problem was John. However, we would lose our Head Deacon in the process. He turned in his resignation from the Board and as Head Deacon. With all that had happened, the damage to him was beyond repair at this point.
What made John’s position so ridiculous was his criticism of one particular woman in our leadership. She was someone who was being trained to be a counselor and working with our women. He felt she was spending too much time with me. He insinuated to many that I was playing favorites with her and that an affair was going on between us. She was one who demonstrated concern about me and was initially on John’s side. The affair accusation allowed her to see how convoluted John had become in his thinking. If the situation were different, I would have laughed over the false accusation. The only relief I could feel was knowing that people were beginning to see the truth for the first time in months.
I wish I could say the conflict came to a grinding halt when I served John the official papers from the Board that requested his resignation; such is sadly not the case. As anticipated, the request hurt him deeply. Reports of his dissatisfaction with the process and his attempts to rally dissenters and start a Bible study came across my desk. He was unsuccessful in gaining a following to support him in his position against me. Ironically, many in the church wanted to support him, but he would not receive it unless they saw things his way. My senior associate accompanied me in the meeting and comforted me after. It was the first time I broke down and cried at the end of a meeting.
It was difficult to continue pastoring after that ordeal. My passion for ministry diminished to some degree and my ability to lead was hesitant. Although, I did not harbor any bitterness or keep people at arm’s length; there was something in me that quietly removed itself from public access for the next few years. I could sense that something in me died. I had a two godly brothers and close friends that helped me process what had happened. They were a great support to me through wise counsel, friendship, and prayer. They helped me wrestle through the guilt of what felt like I had betrayed my friend and the frustration of failing as a pastor. The entire situation tapped my insecurity of not being good enough to handle the pastorate, or anything for that matter. Through constant dialogue with my friends and the Lord, I was able to release the hurt and allow the Lord to build me as a man of God. Ironically, as only the Lord can do, He took the situation and began to make life happen by working in the deeper recesses of my heart. From this, a new sense of confidence and passion began to spring up, coupled by a renewed vision to pastor.
To this day, contact between John and I is minimal. The rift has not been resolved to the degree I believe the Lord would desire. However, the wisdom I have gained from the experience is invaluable. The following is a summary of what the Lord taught me through this experience:
- Conflict is not always about theological or philosophical issues, but often can be centered on hurts or disillusionment people have with a person(s) or within themselves. I would not call this “personality-centered conflict” as Keith Huttenlocker does, but “person-centered conflict.” By this, I am suggesting people project their own hurts and issues on to people or situations to work out their hurt or frustrations.
- No matter how much you prepare your people to handle conflict, it is inevitable. Preparation helps a church work through conflict better and even overcome a great deal of it, but does not guarantee that all conflict will be resolved. Unfortunately, we live in a fallen world.
- As pastors, conflict taps deep personal issues in us which can be the basis for our actions if we are not prayerfully aware of them. For example, my fear was that, over time, people would come to realize I was not very godly or gifted. John and Steve’s criticism of my preaching confirmed my fear. I could have responded to this by exercising my authority and removing them from the Board or shrunk back in defeat. Either choice would have been a reaction to my fear and not a response to a problem the church was having.
- Facing a conflict is often about facing the issue or fear in our own souls as well as dealing with the present conflict.
- Conflict often causes us to choose sides and release our grip on the pursuit of truth and righteousness. We tend to forget, especially when hurt, that what really matters is the Kingdom of God and our obedience to our Lord. Instead, we opt to get our point across at the expense of the Kingdom of God and His people. I have learned, it’s less important to be right on an issue than it is to be right in my heart. By this, I am not implying that right and wrong does not matter, but that our pursuit of being right must be internal (within our hearts) before we try and resolve issues between people.
- Pastoring is not about how successful I am, but about pleasing our Lord Jesus. As a result, if I am not able to forgive people and release them unto the Lord, then I have radically missed the mark as a man of God.
The Pastor as Father
by Benjamin Israel Robinson
“Your sons will take the place of your fathers; you will make them princes throughout the land.” Psalm 45:16, NIV
I remember the thrill of being a senior in college. I felt as though things were coming together for me, I was beginning to see connections between theology and psychology and science and history and I began to develop a sense of learnedness and expertise. This led to conflict between my parents and me. I was a free thinker, no longer constrained by their limited and shallow view of the world, and I was unafraid to assert myself at their expense.
On New Years Eve night, 1997, I was about to take my brothers to a youth rally in San Jose when my younger brother began to argue with my father. They went back and forth and the discussion grew more and more heated. I was getting frustrated because we were running late. Finally, I looked at my brother and said, “you’re dead wrong,” and then proceeded to tell him why. Then, in a rare moment of bold indignation, I pointed my finger at my father and said, “and you’re wrong too,” and then proceeded to tell him why. When I finished I looked at my brothers and said, “Get in the car, let’s go,” and so we went.
For a moment I felt righteous, as though I had done a great thing by setting them both straight. But that sense of righteousness quickly morphed into a sense of remorse and godly sorrow as the conviction of the Holy Spirit infiltrated my heart. I felt terrible all the way to our destination. When we arrived, I took my brother aside and told him that we needed to call dad and make up with him before going into the service. We found a phone and I spoke first. “Dad, I was wrong to point my finger at you and tell you that you were wrong. That is not my place and I sincerely apologize.” Then my brother took the phone and apologized also. It was a deep moment of reconciliation between us and our father.
When we went into the service, the pastor recognized us and said, “The Robinson boys are here. Why don’t you guys come up here and lead us in some worship!” My brothers and I took the platform – Mark on the drums, Joshua on the bass, and I on the keyboard – and we led the gathered congregation into a powerful time of worship. But I asked myself after it was all over, “how could I have gone up to that platform and led God’s people in worship if I had not first been reconciled to my father?”
This is a good example of the way in which the church is supposed to function. The church is a household, not a corporation. Households are governed by parents; corporations are run by administrators. The pastor functions in the church the way a father functions in a household. Paul would insist on this in his letter to the Corinthians: “Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 4:15, NIV)
Dallas Willard laments that the church of the West has omitted discipleship from the great commission and replaced it with conversion. He calls this The Great Omission, as his book is aptly titled. We don’t have to stretch our intellects to see his point; committed Christianity is at an all-time low in America. I read somewhere that the average ‘faithful’ American church attender goes to church twice a month. The epidemic of ‘church-hopping’ plagues American Christianity (can you imagine first century disciples Rabbi-hopping?) to the extent that true discipleship is practically non-existent in the church of America.
I see this in the congregation that I pastor and it makes my skin crawl. I had a guy come to me a few months ago and ask my permission to go through a particular process at another local church and I asked him why he felt he needed my permission. He responded, “because you’re my pastor.” I looked at him in disbelief and said, “I am? The only reason I ask that is because you’ve never allowed me to pastor you. You come to church once every three months, you have yet to submit yourself to any discipleship process here in the church, and now you’re asking my permission to submit yourself to a process at another church?” I didn’t say that to him to beat him up, but to encourage him to plug in at his new church and seriously commit to discipleship there.
But I must confess that there is a degree of anger and of indignation that I feel about the whole thing. What’s up with American, consumerist Christians? How many sermons do I have to preach on discipleship to convince people to do this thing right? At times I’ve found myself down-right pissed off at people who are content with a form of godliness, a shell of a Christian life devoid of any real substance. I call ‘em flash fried believers, they’ve been seared on the outside so they look cooked, but on the inside they’re as rare and uncooked as raw meat. They have experienced enough of the power of God to alter their outward appearance, but they haven’t allowed the heat of the gospel to cook them through and through.
One day I said, “God change these people’s hearts! Get a hold of these hard hearted, hecka fake, supposed Christians that don’t want anything deeper than their little pathetic wannabe Christian life.” God loves those complaining sessions, doesn’t he? When I look back on them, I picture him laughing. In my experience he never joins me in my criticism of others. He never jumps in and says, “Yeah, those people are fake, huh?” Instead, he always calls me to change. On this particular day he said to me, “Benjamin, your people will never submit to discipleship until you teach them that you are their father. You must teach them that you are their father!”
I was terrified by this prospect. Tell them that I am their father? How arrogant! How awkward! How presumptuous! I can’t do that. It’s not the way I roll. I would never take it upon myself to assume the role of fatherhood in someone’s life, even if I’ve been invited to do so. Matter of fact, there were already a few young men in the church who called me “Dad,” but I couldn’t bring myself to call them sons. I always responded with the egalitarian “brother.” It didn’t make any sense to me at all.
It doesn’t make sense unless you begin to see the church as a household. In a household it is imperative for the father to assert himself as such. If the father is unsure about his status in the house, the kids take over and order goes out the window. If the father doesn’t correct and instruct the children, the children begin to correct and instruct each other, and they even begin to correct and instruct the parents! At some point the father has to become secure enough in his identity to establish the order of the house. To do so is not controlling and tyrannical, but rather it creates a sense of safety and harmony in the household that everyone appreciates.
A few weeks after the Lord began to lay this on my heart, I got my first opportunity to test it. It was Sunday morning and at the close of the service one of the young women in the congregation came to the altar and began wailing and crying, as if in deep agony. I instantly received a strong impression that she was crying for her daddy and that I was to go over and put my arms around her and be that daddy. This was very awkward for me. I don’t put my hands on young ladies at the altar, and if I do lay hands, I do so very carefully and tactfully. I want to avoid the very appearance of evil. But I felt strongly that this was what the Lord wanted me to do. So I (fearfully and awkwardly) went over and wrapped my arms around her. “Father, allow her to feel that she is in your arms right now,” I prayed.
I thought that was good enough, but God wasn’t finished. “Tell her that you’re her father,” the Lord spoke to my heart. “And tell her that she’s your daughter.” I can’t tell you how much fear I felt at that moment. How can I just tell this woman that I’m her father? I’m barely old enough to be her older brother, much less her father! But God said to tell her that I’m her father! So I told her, “I know that you’ve never had a relationship with your father. But I want you to know that you’re not fatherless. I’m your father. I’ll be a covering for you.” With tears in her eyes she looked at me and said, “When I was at the altar I was crying out in my heart, ‘Lord, why won’t you hug me? I need you to hug me!’ Then you came over and prayed, ‘Lord let her feel that your love through my arms right now.’ For the first time in my life,” she continued, “I felt like I was being held by my heavenly father.”
That moment revolutionized my life. I always thought it was pride to assert my authority or position in the church. But in this situation I realized that had I not obeyed God and stepped forward to be the father that he’s called me to be, this young lady would have walked away from the altar as empty as she came. This situation confronted me with the fact that if I do not become secure in my identification with the fatherhood of God, a whole generation of sons and daughters will remain fatherless.
The calling of every pastor is to manifest the fatherhood of God in the lives of every member of the local household; the church. The one barrier that keeps us from doing so is insecurity. Insecurity is self-doubt that connects itself to my sense of identity. Insecurity means that I still need to be fathered – it means that I need a father to come alongside me and tell me who I am. Because I am still looking to be fathered, I can’t be the father that the members of my congregation need me to be. And so the fatherhood deficit in my own life gets transferred into the lives of every member of my congregation, and the sons and daughters never prophesy.
“Your sons will take the place of your fathers,” says God through the psalmist. To this point you have lived your life in search of a father. But now you will live your life in search of sons. Till now you have looked into the eyes of fathers and cried out, “Do you know who I am?” But from this day forward you will look into the eyes of sons and cry out, “Do you know who you are?” You have lived to be fathered, now you will live to be a father. You have longed to be made a prince, now you will long to make princes. There’s a whole generation of sons out there for whom the world is waiting. You will make them princes in all the earth! And it starts with the embrace of the calling; I am no longer a boy in need of a father. I will continue to be teachable and pursue instruction, but I will also recognize that God has done something in me that is reproducible now and he’s called me to reproduce. I am a pastor, and that means that I’m also a father.
“Your sons will take the place of your fathers; you will make them princes throughout the land.” Psalm 45:16, NIV
I remember the thrill of being a senior in college. I felt as though things were coming together for me, I was beginning to see connections between theology and psychology and science and history and I began to develop a sense of learnedness and expertise. This led to conflict between my parents and me. I was a free thinker, no longer constrained by their limited and shallow view of the world, and I was unafraid to assert myself at their expense.
On New Years Eve night, 1997, I was about to take my brothers to a youth rally in San Jose when my younger brother began to argue with my father. They went back and forth and the discussion grew more and more heated. I was getting frustrated because we were running late. Finally, I looked at my brother and said, “you’re dead wrong,” and then proceeded to tell him why. Then, in a rare moment of bold indignation, I pointed my finger at my father and said, “and you’re wrong too,” and then proceeded to tell him why. When I finished I looked at my brothers and said, “Get in the car, let’s go,” and so we went.
For a moment I felt righteous, as though I had done a great thing by setting them both straight. But that sense of righteousness quickly morphed into a sense of remorse and godly sorrow as the conviction of the Holy Spirit infiltrated my heart. I felt terrible all the way to our destination. When we arrived, I took my brother aside and told him that we needed to call dad and make up with him before going into the service. We found a phone and I spoke first. “Dad, I was wrong to point my finger at you and tell you that you were wrong. That is not my place and I sincerely apologize.” Then my brother took the phone and apologized also. It was a deep moment of reconciliation between us and our father.
When we went into the service, the pastor recognized us and said, “The Robinson boys are here. Why don’t you guys come up here and lead us in some worship!” My brothers and I took the platform – Mark on the drums, Joshua on the bass, and I on the keyboard – and we led the gathered congregation into a powerful time of worship. But I asked myself after it was all over, “how could I have gone up to that platform and led God’s people in worship if I had not first been reconciled to my father?”
This is a good example of the way in which the church is supposed to function. The church is a household, not a corporation. Households are governed by parents; corporations are run by administrators. The pastor functions in the church the way a father functions in a household. Paul would insist on this in his letter to the Corinthians: “Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 4:15, NIV)
Dallas Willard laments that the church of the West has omitted discipleship from the great commission and replaced it with conversion. He calls this The Great Omission, as his book is aptly titled. We don’t have to stretch our intellects to see his point; committed Christianity is at an all-time low in America. I read somewhere that the average ‘faithful’ American church attender goes to church twice a month. The epidemic of ‘church-hopping’ plagues American Christianity (can you imagine first century disciples Rabbi-hopping?) to the extent that true discipleship is practically non-existent in the church of America.
I see this in the congregation that I pastor and it makes my skin crawl. I had a guy come to me a few months ago and ask my permission to go through a particular process at another local church and I asked him why he felt he needed my permission. He responded, “because you’re my pastor.” I looked at him in disbelief and said, “I am? The only reason I ask that is because you’ve never allowed me to pastor you. You come to church once every three months, you have yet to submit yourself to any discipleship process here in the church, and now you’re asking my permission to submit yourself to a process at another church?” I didn’t say that to him to beat him up, but to encourage him to plug in at his new church and seriously commit to discipleship there.
But I must confess that there is a degree of anger and of indignation that I feel about the whole thing. What’s up with American, consumerist Christians? How many sermons do I have to preach on discipleship to convince people to do this thing right? At times I’ve found myself down-right pissed off at people who are content with a form of godliness, a shell of a Christian life devoid of any real substance. I call ‘em flash fried believers, they’ve been seared on the outside so they look cooked, but on the inside they’re as rare and uncooked as raw meat. They have experienced enough of the power of God to alter their outward appearance, but they haven’t allowed the heat of the gospel to cook them through and through.
One day I said, “God change these people’s hearts! Get a hold of these hard hearted, hecka fake, supposed Christians that don’t want anything deeper than their little pathetic wannabe Christian life.” God loves those complaining sessions, doesn’t he? When I look back on them, I picture him laughing. In my experience he never joins me in my criticism of others. He never jumps in and says, “Yeah, those people are fake, huh?” Instead, he always calls me to change. On this particular day he said to me, “Benjamin, your people will never submit to discipleship until you teach them that you are their father. You must teach them that you are their father!”
I was terrified by this prospect. Tell them that I am their father? How arrogant! How awkward! How presumptuous! I can’t do that. It’s not the way I roll. I would never take it upon myself to assume the role of fatherhood in someone’s life, even if I’ve been invited to do so. Matter of fact, there were already a few young men in the church who called me “Dad,” but I couldn’t bring myself to call them sons. I always responded with the egalitarian “brother.” It didn’t make any sense to me at all.
It doesn’t make sense unless you begin to see the church as a household. In a household it is imperative for the father to assert himself as such. If the father is unsure about his status in the house, the kids take over and order goes out the window. If the father doesn’t correct and instruct the children, the children begin to correct and instruct each other, and they even begin to correct and instruct the parents! At some point the father has to become secure enough in his identity to establish the order of the house. To do so is not controlling and tyrannical, but rather it creates a sense of safety and harmony in the household that everyone appreciates.
A few weeks after the Lord began to lay this on my heart, I got my first opportunity to test it. It was Sunday morning and at the close of the service one of the young women in the congregation came to the altar and began wailing and crying, as if in deep agony. I instantly received a strong impression that she was crying for her daddy and that I was to go over and put my arms around her and be that daddy. This was very awkward for me. I don’t put my hands on young ladies at the altar, and if I do lay hands, I do so very carefully and tactfully. I want to avoid the very appearance of evil. But I felt strongly that this was what the Lord wanted me to do. So I (fearfully and awkwardly) went over and wrapped my arms around her. “Father, allow her to feel that she is in your arms right now,” I prayed.
I thought that was good enough, but God wasn’t finished. “Tell her that you’re her father,” the Lord spoke to my heart. “And tell her that she’s your daughter.” I can’t tell you how much fear I felt at that moment. How can I just tell this woman that I’m her father? I’m barely old enough to be her older brother, much less her father! But God said to tell her that I’m her father! So I told her, “I know that you’ve never had a relationship with your father. But I want you to know that you’re not fatherless. I’m your father. I’ll be a covering for you.” With tears in her eyes she looked at me and said, “When I was at the altar I was crying out in my heart, ‘Lord, why won’t you hug me? I need you to hug me!’ Then you came over and prayed, ‘Lord let her feel that your love through my arms right now.’ For the first time in my life,” she continued, “I felt like I was being held by my heavenly father.”
That moment revolutionized my life. I always thought it was pride to assert my authority or position in the church. But in this situation I realized that had I not obeyed God and stepped forward to be the father that he’s called me to be, this young lady would have walked away from the altar as empty as she came. This situation confronted me with the fact that if I do not become secure in my identification with the fatherhood of God, a whole generation of sons and daughters will remain fatherless.
The calling of every pastor is to manifest the fatherhood of God in the lives of every member of the local household; the church. The one barrier that keeps us from doing so is insecurity. Insecurity is self-doubt that connects itself to my sense of identity. Insecurity means that I still need to be fathered – it means that I need a father to come alongside me and tell me who I am. Because I am still looking to be fathered, I can’t be the father that the members of my congregation need me to be. And so the fatherhood deficit in my own life gets transferred into the lives of every member of my congregation, and the sons and daughters never prophesy.
“Your sons will take the place of your fathers,” says God through the psalmist. To this point you have lived your life in search of a father. But now you will live your life in search of sons. Till now you have looked into the eyes of fathers and cried out, “Do you know who I am?” But from this day forward you will look into the eyes of sons and cry out, “Do you know who you are?” You have lived to be fathered, now you will live to be a father. You have longed to be made a prince, now you will long to make princes. There’s a whole generation of sons out there for whom the world is waiting. You will make them princes in all the earth! And it starts with the embrace of the calling; I am no longer a boy in need of a father. I will continue to be teachable and pursue instruction, but I will also recognize that God has done something in me that is reproducible now and he’s called me to reproduce. I am a pastor, and that means that I’m also a father.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Where's the Baby?
by Mike Perkinson
Imagine a newly married couple moving into their home with dreams and aspirations of a joy-filled future. As they cross the threshold with life exploding in their hearts they stop in the entry to look at each other and dream about a home full of little ones running around, interrupting the quiet, disrupting the order and filling the home with vibrant life. The young wife wipes away a tear and her husband embraces her as they enter their new home with great expectation of life to come.
With great anticipation the young couple begins to plan for their new life. They make their way to the bedrooms and begin to think through how each will become a nursery. Each bedroom will house a little life and so the young couple begins to make plans for how each room will look, deciding that one will be for a boy and the other for a girl. After all, they’ve always wanted one boy and one girl. The décor is selected for each room, the clothes are purchased, the colleges selected and their careers are mapped out.
The young couple sits down at the end of a rather exhausting day of planning, systematizing and organizing. They look at each other with great expectancy and now wait for the life to come. Each day passes with no signs of a baby and as the months go by the couple adds to the nurseries, studies up on parenting, and prays daily for the life to come about. After months of waiting and now growing rather discouraged, they invest more in the décor of the nursery, in learning about babies and childhood development and even fast and pray in hope of life to come. All to no avail, the couple gives up on the pursuit and settles for their life without little ones. All of the efforts to make life happen were noble, right and highly organized. However, they forgot one very important part of the process. Life cannot be organized into existence.
In our ecclesiological nursery we find pastors and leaders dressing up the room, organizing the systems, learning theology and anthropology and every other -ology that exists – all in hopes of making life happen. Like the young couple, pastors often forget one very important thing. Life cannot be organized into existence. If we are not pregnant with life than no matter how much we decorate the nursery, organize the systems, study theology and fallen human nature, and market the dream, the baby will not come.
In America, we have some of the nicest and best-organized churches (nurseries) in the world. And yet, some are oddly missing the one thing that makes the nursery vibrant – the baby. The question of the hour is: Are we pregnant with the life of our God, bursting forth from our innermost being? Is there a baby on the way? If so, then by all means plan your nursery. After all, once life happens we then organize and facilitate systems that allow that life to grow and mature. Is life happening in you? Your family? Your leadership? Your spiritual community? Do we find the love of our Father compelling us to move out into the highways and by-ways and passionately and lovingly provide life to a broken and fallen world?
Life happens where the Incarnate One is present in the life of His people that love Him with all their hearts, love their neighbors as they love themselves and make disciples as they live life – being the ubiquitous church – the Church that is the Church anywhere, everywhere and all the time.
And so dear co-laborer, are you pregnant with life? After all, we can only give away the comfort we have received (2 Corinthians 1:3-4.) Maybe that is why so many of us have been reduced to giving formulas, systems and nursery décor because we have lost our relationship with our God as His sons and daughters.
Forgive me for being so simple but I’d like to encourage you to go back and commune with your Father and let His life and love nurture you and form the life of His Son in you. Let Him make you pregnant with His life that will express itself in our broken world, filling it with hope, salvation, restoration and love.
Those pregnant with life find themselves loving God whole-heartedly – making life in the Kingdom their aim, pleasing the One who makes life possible. Those pregnant with life love others as they love themselves, facilitating a life of relationship that gives birth to community that is based in reconciliation, restoration and hope. Those pregnant with life find themselves living the abundant life (John 10:10) that makes disciples, giving from the overflow of their relationship with God (Psalm 23:5.) May God create His life in us so that the world may come to know the life and power that is in our Christ and may our nurseries, systems and organizations help to develop and mature into fully devoted disciples of Christ. May God fill our nurseries with His life!
Imagine a newly married couple moving into their home with dreams and aspirations of a joy-filled future. As they cross the threshold with life exploding in their hearts they stop in the entry to look at each other and dream about a home full of little ones running around, interrupting the quiet, disrupting the order and filling the home with vibrant life. The young wife wipes away a tear and her husband embraces her as they enter their new home with great expectation of life to come.
With great anticipation the young couple begins to plan for their new life. They make their way to the bedrooms and begin to think through how each will become a nursery. Each bedroom will house a little life and so the young couple begins to make plans for how each room will look, deciding that one will be for a boy and the other for a girl. After all, they’ve always wanted one boy and one girl. The décor is selected for each room, the clothes are purchased, the colleges selected and their careers are mapped out.
The young couple sits down at the end of a rather exhausting day of planning, systematizing and organizing. They look at each other with great expectancy and now wait for the life to come. Each day passes with no signs of a baby and as the months go by the couple adds to the nurseries, studies up on parenting, and prays daily for the life to come about. After months of waiting and now growing rather discouraged, they invest more in the décor of the nursery, in learning about babies and childhood development and even fast and pray in hope of life to come. All to no avail, the couple gives up on the pursuit and settles for their life without little ones. All of the efforts to make life happen were noble, right and highly organized. However, they forgot one very important part of the process. Life cannot be organized into existence.
In our ecclesiological nursery we find pastors and leaders dressing up the room, organizing the systems, learning theology and anthropology and every other -ology that exists – all in hopes of making life happen. Like the young couple, pastors often forget one very important thing. Life cannot be organized into existence. If we are not pregnant with life than no matter how much we decorate the nursery, organize the systems, study theology and fallen human nature, and market the dream, the baby will not come.
In America, we have some of the nicest and best-organized churches (nurseries) in the world. And yet, some are oddly missing the one thing that makes the nursery vibrant – the baby. The question of the hour is: Are we pregnant with the life of our God, bursting forth from our innermost being? Is there a baby on the way? If so, then by all means plan your nursery. After all, once life happens we then organize and facilitate systems that allow that life to grow and mature. Is life happening in you? Your family? Your leadership? Your spiritual community? Do we find the love of our Father compelling us to move out into the highways and by-ways and passionately and lovingly provide life to a broken and fallen world?
Life happens where the Incarnate One is present in the life of His people that love Him with all their hearts, love their neighbors as they love themselves and make disciples as they live life – being the ubiquitous church – the Church that is the Church anywhere, everywhere and all the time.
And so dear co-laborer, are you pregnant with life? After all, we can only give away the comfort we have received (2 Corinthians 1:3-4.) Maybe that is why so many of us have been reduced to giving formulas, systems and nursery décor because we have lost our relationship with our God as His sons and daughters.
Forgive me for being so simple but I’d like to encourage you to go back and commune with your Father and let His life and love nurture you and form the life of His Son in you. Let Him make you pregnant with His life that will express itself in our broken world, filling it with hope, salvation, restoration and love.
Those pregnant with life find themselves loving God whole-heartedly – making life in the Kingdom their aim, pleasing the One who makes life possible. Those pregnant with life love others as they love themselves, facilitating a life of relationship that gives birth to community that is based in reconciliation, restoration and hope. Those pregnant with life find themselves living the abundant life (John 10:10) that makes disciples, giving from the overflow of their relationship with God (Psalm 23:5.) May God create His life in us so that the world may come to know the life and power that is in our Christ and may our nurseries, systems and organizations help to develop and mature into fully devoted disciples of Christ. May God fill our nurseries with His life!
Generations
by Tom Johnston
It is said that, in any nation, the Christian faith is always just one generation away from annihilation. If the parents of one generation fail to transmit the faith to those who follow behind them, then the witness for Christ in that land will evaporate, and dissipate like a mist. Are we in the West now on the brink of this reality coming to pass? Are we truly at (or past) the “point of no return,” where the Church will not thrive, but continue its massive decline until little, or nothing, remains of a once vibrant witness it held forth?
The statics are shocking to say the least. It appears that we have not even reached the numerical equivalent of our own children in this generation. Only three percent of the Millennial generation have a positive view of the Church – and it seems that number is the same for those young people inside the Church! The Vatican released figures a few months ago that those in America who claim Roman Catholic heritage born since 1980 have less than a 10% participation rate, with only about 4% of all Americans in this age group calling themselves “Christian.” Our own personal surveys and interviews with pastors and Christian leaders indicates that few, if any, pastors and leaders have a regular structured discipleship time with their spouse or as a family during any given week. However, while the statics are grim, all is not lost.
We are raising a call, not for a new generation of spiritual children, but of spiritual parents – men and women of faith who will take responsibility for developing in the faith those who follow behind, starting with their own families. That’s right, you don’t get to export it if it doesn’t work at home (1 Timothy 3:4, based on Deuteronomy 6:4-7.) The New Testament metaphor for leadership is quite often parenting: Jesus, Peter, James, John all refer affectionately to their spiritual “children,” not in any form of condescension, but in the sense of giving life to another. Being a life-giving spiritual parent is the call of every Christian, and is much more biblically aligned than the positional, titular corporate role functions most often embrace by leaders in the Western Church.
So, who are you giving life to, spiritually? Who are you fathering or mothering in the faith? Who are you strengthening and encouraging, building and nurturing? Who do you have relationship with that you desire to pour spiritual life into, like Paul did with the Galatians:
my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! (Galatians 4:19)
We will never have another generation of Christians in this country unless we take responsibility to disciple and mentor those who follow behind. We cannot subrogate our personal responsibility before God, passing it off to the institution of the Church, relying on someone else or some program to disciple our own children. Nor can we entrust the development of next generation leaders to the classroom alone. Timothy and Titus had Paul, not a DVD or a syllabus. Apollos had Pricilla and Aquila to “more correctly” instruct him in the Way (Acts 18:26.) It is through the “curriculum of life” that someone learns how to follow Christ in discipleship, how to treat their spouse, how to raise their children. It happens “on the way,” each and every day, as people walk together with Jesus.
So, what will it be? Will the Church in the West decline and fail? Will she become like Europe has? Indeed we will, unless each of us takes on the challenge of discipleship – first of ourselves, then of our families and then those whom the Lord leads us to through relationship. Be a life-giver. The time is now. The choice is yours.
It is said that, in any nation, the Christian faith is always just one generation away from annihilation. If the parents of one generation fail to transmit the faith to those who follow behind them, then the witness for Christ in that land will evaporate, and dissipate like a mist. Are we in the West now on the brink of this reality coming to pass? Are we truly at (or past) the “point of no return,” where the Church will not thrive, but continue its massive decline until little, or nothing, remains of a once vibrant witness it held forth?
The statics are shocking to say the least. It appears that we have not even reached the numerical equivalent of our own children in this generation. Only three percent of the Millennial generation have a positive view of the Church – and it seems that number is the same for those young people inside the Church! The Vatican released figures a few months ago that those in America who claim Roman Catholic heritage born since 1980 have less than a 10% participation rate, with only about 4% of all Americans in this age group calling themselves “Christian.” Our own personal surveys and interviews with pastors and Christian leaders indicates that few, if any, pastors and leaders have a regular structured discipleship time with their spouse or as a family during any given week. However, while the statics are grim, all is not lost.
We are raising a call, not for a new generation of spiritual children, but of spiritual parents – men and women of faith who will take responsibility for developing in the faith those who follow behind, starting with their own families. That’s right, you don’t get to export it if it doesn’t work at home (1 Timothy 3:4, based on Deuteronomy 6:4-7.) The New Testament metaphor for leadership is quite often parenting: Jesus, Peter, James, John all refer affectionately to their spiritual “children,” not in any form of condescension, but in the sense of giving life to another. Being a life-giving spiritual parent is the call of every Christian, and is much more biblically aligned than the positional, titular corporate role functions most often embrace by leaders in the Western Church.
So, who are you giving life to, spiritually? Who are you fathering or mothering in the faith? Who are you strengthening and encouraging, building and nurturing? Who do you have relationship with that you desire to pour spiritual life into, like Paul did with the Galatians:
my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! (Galatians 4:19)
We will never have another generation of Christians in this country unless we take responsibility to disciple and mentor those who follow behind. We cannot subrogate our personal responsibility before God, passing it off to the institution of the Church, relying on someone else or some program to disciple our own children. Nor can we entrust the development of next generation leaders to the classroom alone. Timothy and Titus had Paul, not a DVD or a syllabus. Apollos had Pricilla and Aquila to “more correctly” instruct him in the Way (Acts 18:26.) It is through the “curriculum of life” that someone learns how to follow Christ in discipleship, how to treat their spouse, how to raise their children. It happens “on the way,” each and every day, as people walk together with Jesus.
So, what will it be? Will the Church in the West decline and fail? Will she become like Europe has? Indeed we will, unless each of us takes on the challenge of discipleship – first of ourselves, then of our families and then those whom the Lord leads us to through relationship. Be a life-giver. The time is now. The choice is yours.
What's Wrong With Legitimacy?
by Mark Overmyer
Recently, I was thinking through some challenges with a church planter. In our conversation I was reminded how every baby church strives for legitimacy. Ninety nine out of a hundred people who ask the planter, “How’s it going?” are looking for indicators that would verify the viability of the new enterprise. The church planter realizes that his baby church is like a house of cards. And so not wanting to admit the truth, often the planter is left mumbling something about attendance at their most recent event and the inquirer is hopefully satisfied. Have you noticed how even the websites of baby churches can be deceiving? It’s always better on paper than it is in reality. Is this church going to make it? When visitors and attendees insinuate this question by asking about available programs and/or facilities, church planters encounter that familiar old knot in the stomach and the gulp that familiar gulp. Sure we trust that Jesus will build His church and this spiritual promise quenches the burning question for a moment. But often we are moved to do something about it as well. But what to do? We reason that, “If we could just have a quality children’s program we could attract families. If our audio & visuals were higher quality, visitors would return. If we had more people we could achieve ‘critical mass.'" And so we pursue, often with brilliant innovation and generous financial investment, all the factors that we’ve come to know will contribute to legitimacy. Not a bad approach, but I must say it’s a few degrees off-center of the Great Commission.
The bull’s-eye Jesus drew was different. It’s no wonder, because legitimacy was never a concern of Jesus. Viability was never in doubt for the Master. For him the target was fruitfulness (see John 15.) And to hit this mark, we can afford no distractions and no preoccupations with personal or corporate validation.
Think about how different “fruitfulness” is from “legitimacy” when it comes to the focus of a church planting team or a church leadership team. Legitimacy in a new church is marked by attendance, growth, and programming excellence. And, trust me on this; these can be achieved without any spiritual fruit. Fruitfulness is evidenced by the effects of the ministry of the Word and the Holy Spirit when the “branch abides in the vine.” Fruitfulness is the result of sowing eternal Gospel truth through conversation, music, study, preaching, serving, etc. The seed germinates, takes root, sprouts and grows. The effect (i.e. fruit) is repentance, healing, reconciliation, recovery, new priorities, sacrificial service, loving community.... essentially obedience. Brainstorm your own lists: What demonstrates legitimacy in a church? What demonstrates fruitfulness?
The Spirit led me to brainstorm these lists with my church planter friend. After we filled a page of two columns, I asked him, “Which of these did you sign up for when you were called to ministry?” and “For which of these would your leaders to give their lives?” Since that table conversation, I’ve thought of another question: If you could have only one or the other from a member of your church which would you want: attendance at church services or obedience to Jesus Christ? Clearly we want both. And some thoughtful readers are already asking why can’t we have both attendance AND obedience, legitimacy AND fruitfulness?
If legitimacy in a church plant is primarily affirmed by strong attendance and if fruitfulness is primarily affirmed in a church by obedience, then which is most important to you the church planter or church leader? Don’t say “BOTH!” Which one, really? The question is meant to challenge us to consider where we spend the most time, effort, money, research, planning, conference-attending, and intercession. If we are honest, we would have to admit that we are conditioned to lead toward legitimacy more so than fruitfulness. In order to have both (which I strongly desire and advocate) there is a chronology that works best. If you focus on fruitfulness it will tend to lead to legitimacy. Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35, NIV) But if you start with legitimacy, you may or may not end up fruitful.
Think about this. I’ve found this to be profound for me. So much of Jesus’ ministry example seemed to even undermine legitimacy. His ministry was a threat to the establishment. He didn’t seem to mind. In fact, in validating his messiahship the text says he is “like one from whom men hide their faces.” Think of the bag-lady of the inner city, the homeless man on the park bench. This was the class of human being that Jesus identified himself as – almost as a badge of his messiahship - “despised and rejected by men.” I love how every time he gathered a crowd he seemed to quickly retreat from the same. Then there was his ascension a mere 40 days following his resurrection. (Talk about killing the marketing momentum!) Legitimacy was securely in hand, and he seemed to let it sift away. Because he knew that the Holy Spirit would come and empower his Church to bear fruit.
How do we resist the subtle but real pressure to lead toward legitimacy and focus on fruitfulness instead? It takes vigilance, creativity and a commitment to always keep before your people the wonderful sense of adventure and risk that is inherent in following Jesus and being a partner in his enterprise.
I don’t know who he was, but I like what he said:
"If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea." - Antione de Saint-Exupery
On the agenda of the leaders’ meeting at one of our churches is the need to mow the now jungle-like weed patch at the front of the property. No one would argue with the need. The impression left on passersby is that the people who worship here don’t care about the message their sloppiness sends. If a church’s legitimacy is important, then the leadership task includes recruiting, coordinating, and gentle coaxing of overworked deacons whose capacity for volunteering always seems to outstrip their follow-through. Pastors call this part of their job description “administration.” Few of them like it – but it must be done. The leader who wants to maintain a good impression in the community will recruit wisely, coordinate carefully and coax convincingly and may even offer to pick up an extra gallon of gas for the mower in order to prod lovingly. But how far will those efforts get the deacons down the path of fruitfulness? Look at the quote above again: don't herd people… don't assign them tasks… but rather teach them to long… What if the pastor instead taught them to long for Kingdom fruitfulness?
Follow me now: Since the most exciting part of ministry is life-change, how might the pastor teach even a deacon to make every effort to be on the front row with an unobstructed view of miraculous supernatural life change? You could paint pictures, share stories, or cast a vision for what kingdom ministry looks like. You could ask him/her, “Has anyone ever taken the time to value you through conversation? to include you by asking your opinion?, or to trust you by asking for your help? Who might you bless with the same? Can they run a string trimmer or drive a lawn tractor? Who might you share the mowing task with as a means for ministry? Could you imagine sharing a prayer before starting up the mower and the string trimmer? Could you imagine taking a lemonade break halfway through and asking some simple conversation launching questions?"
A vigilant, creative pastor might even offer to make the lemonade! But please, please leave out only two glasses. Let the deacon do the ministry and you pray while they talk.
When you focus on leadership toward fruitfulness, the strategizing and the planning takes a whole new tack. And when someone longs for the endless immensity of the sea, you can’t keep them away from the wood or the work, because to get out to sea, they must build a boat.
Recently, I was thinking through some challenges with a church planter. In our conversation I was reminded how every baby church strives for legitimacy. Ninety nine out of a hundred people who ask the planter, “How’s it going?” are looking for indicators that would verify the viability of the new enterprise. The church planter realizes that his baby church is like a house of cards. And so not wanting to admit the truth, often the planter is left mumbling something about attendance at their most recent event and the inquirer is hopefully satisfied. Have you noticed how even the websites of baby churches can be deceiving? It’s always better on paper than it is in reality. Is this church going to make it? When visitors and attendees insinuate this question by asking about available programs and/or facilities, church planters encounter that familiar old knot in the stomach and the gulp that familiar gulp. Sure we trust that Jesus will build His church and this spiritual promise quenches the burning question for a moment. But often we are moved to do something about it as well. But what to do? We reason that, “If we could just have a quality children’s program we could attract families. If our audio & visuals were higher quality, visitors would return. If we had more people we could achieve ‘critical mass.'" And so we pursue, often with brilliant innovation and generous financial investment, all the factors that we’ve come to know will contribute to legitimacy. Not a bad approach, but I must say it’s a few degrees off-center of the Great Commission.
The bull’s-eye Jesus drew was different. It’s no wonder, because legitimacy was never a concern of Jesus. Viability was never in doubt for the Master. For him the target was fruitfulness (see John 15.) And to hit this mark, we can afford no distractions and no preoccupations with personal or corporate validation.
Think about how different “fruitfulness” is from “legitimacy” when it comes to the focus of a church planting team or a church leadership team. Legitimacy in a new church is marked by attendance, growth, and programming excellence. And, trust me on this; these can be achieved without any spiritual fruit. Fruitfulness is evidenced by the effects of the ministry of the Word and the Holy Spirit when the “branch abides in the vine.” Fruitfulness is the result of sowing eternal Gospel truth through conversation, music, study, preaching, serving, etc. The seed germinates, takes root, sprouts and grows. The effect (i.e. fruit) is repentance, healing, reconciliation, recovery, new priorities, sacrificial service, loving community.... essentially obedience. Brainstorm your own lists: What demonstrates legitimacy in a church? What demonstrates fruitfulness?
The Spirit led me to brainstorm these lists with my church planter friend. After we filled a page of two columns, I asked him, “Which of these did you sign up for when you were called to ministry?” and “For which of these would your leaders to give their lives?” Since that table conversation, I’ve thought of another question: If you could have only one or the other from a member of your church which would you want: attendance at church services or obedience to Jesus Christ? Clearly we want both. And some thoughtful readers are already asking why can’t we have both attendance AND obedience, legitimacy AND fruitfulness?
If legitimacy in a church plant is primarily affirmed by strong attendance and if fruitfulness is primarily affirmed in a church by obedience, then which is most important to you the church planter or church leader? Don’t say “BOTH!” Which one, really? The question is meant to challenge us to consider where we spend the most time, effort, money, research, planning, conference-attending, and intercession. If we are honest, we would have to admit that we are conditioned to lead toward legitimacy more so than fruitfulness. In order to have both (which I strongly desire and advocate) there is a chronology that works best. If you focus on fruitfulness it will tend to lead to legitimacy. Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35, NIV) But if you start with legitimacy, you may or may not end up fruitful.
Think about this. I’ve found this to be profound for me. So much of Jesus’ ministry example seemed to even undermine legitimacy. His ministry was a threat to the establishment. He didn’t seem to mind. In fact, in validating his messiahship the text says he is “like one from whom men hide their faces.” Think of the bag-lady of the inner city, the homeless man on the park bench. This was the class of human being that Jesus identified himself as – almost as a badge of his messiahship - “despised and rejected by men.” I love how every time he gathered a crowd he seemed to quickly retreat from the same. Then there was his ascension a mere 40 days following his resurrection. (Talk about killing the marketing momentum!) Legitimacy was securely in hand, and he seemed to let it sift away. Because he knew that the Holy Spirit would come and empower his Church to bear fruit.
How do we resist the subtle but real pressure to lead toward legitimacy and focus on fruitfulness instead? It takes vigilance, creativity and a commitment to always keep before your people the wonderful sense of adventure and risk that is inherent in following Jesus and being a partner in his enterprise.
I don’t know who he was, but I like what he said:
"If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea." - Antione de Saint-Exupery
On the agenda of the leaders’ meeting at one of our churches is the need to mow the now jungle-like weed patch at the front of the property. No one would argue with the need. The impression left on passersby is that the people who worship here don’t care about the message their sloppiness sends. If a church’s legitimacy is important, then the leadership task includes recruiting, coordinating, and gentle coaxing of overworked deacons whose capacity for volunteering always seems to outstrip their follow-through. Pastors call this part of their job description “administration.” Few of them like it – but it must be done. The leader who wants to maintain a good impression in the community will recruit wisely, coordinate carefully and coax convincingly and may even offer to pick up an extra gallon of gas for the mower in order to prod lovingly. But how far will those efforts get the deacons down the path of fruitfulness? Look at the quote above again: don't herd people… don't assign them tasks… but rather teach them to long… What if the pastor instead taught them to long for Kingdom fruitfulness?
Follow me now: Since the most exciting part of ministry is life-change, how might the pastor teach even a deacon to make every effort to be on the front row with an unobstructed view of miraculous supernatural life change? You could paint pictures, share stories, or cast a vision for what kingdom ministry looks like. You could ask him/her, “Has anyone ever taken the time to value you through conversation? to include you by asking your opinion?, or to trust you by asking for your help? Who might you bless with the same? Can they run a string trimmer or drive a lawn tractor? Who might you share the mowing task with as a means for ministry? Could you imagine sharing a prayer before starting up the mower and the string trimmer? Could you imagine taking a lemonade break halfway through and asking some simple conversation launching questions?"
A vigilant, creative pastor might even offer to make the lemonade! But please, please leave out only two glasses. Let the deacon do the ministry and you pray while they talk.
When you focus on leadership toward fruitfulness, the strategizing and the planning takes a whole new tack. And when someone longs for the endless immensity of the sea, you can’t keep them away from the wood or the work, because to get out to sea, they must build a boat.
Friday, June 27, 2008
A Tale of Two Kingdoms
by Tom Johnston
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9, ESV)
Amazing, isn’t it? God the Father has delivered us from the spiritual chains of our own sin, freed us from our spiritual blindness. What amazes me more is that so many who claim Christ still walk under the sway of the dark dominion.
The previous several verses speak to the issue quite plainly:
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (Colossians 1:9-12)
First, it seems that St. Paul considered that it was possible for us to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, in a way that is a blessing to him, in a way that bears both the fruit of the Spirit and the fruit of brining transformation to those who are yet to know Christ. To that end he prayed for his disciples in Colossae – who were confronted with heretical teaching. What he prays for is their ability to have spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that God’s will would be known. Such knowledge allowed the Colossians to live in a manner worthy of their calling in Christ. He also speaks the blessing of divine strength and power, allowing the Colossian Christians to maintain their joy as they walk in patient endurance. It seems that Paul is convinced that such discernment and empowerment was essential for the Colossians to walk effectively with Christ.
Discernment and empowerment. Interesting. Two things which it seems that the Church in the West lacks. This would explain a lot, as it seems many Christians have little ability to endure, to maintain their joy in the midst of trial and difficulty – and to stand amidst the swirl of ideas and influences in a culture dominated by the spirit of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4). This lack of wise discernment and accompanying absence of spiritual virility allows people who are positionally in the Kingdom of God to functionally be trapped in their thought patterns, attitudes and behaviors found in the dominion of darkness. Freed, but acting like slaves. Sons and daughters of the Most High God, but living like spiritual paupers. Having regained their sight, but living in a cloud of befuddling darkens. The “sins stats” in our culture bear this out – most Christians have lives which diverge little from the rest of the population. They remain as partial prisoners of self, of sin, of hell.
Like Paul we need to pray for each of us to have spiritual insight, the ability to make wise choices in every area of life. We need the Spirit’s transforming enlightenment and consequent empowerment to live a life which in its totality is an act of worship before God (Romans 12:1-2). Until people come to a deep understanding of who they are in Christ – their new-birth identity in Him, they remain heavily influenced by darkness. Where we are not renewed in our thinking and transformed in our hearts – in those areas hell can still hold dominion. This need not be.
Dozens of Christian people we know – friends, family, fellow church members – continue to walk as if they are still under the dark dominion. May God so move our hearts that we will pray for them without ceasing, that they may know the freedom which Christ has purchased for them. May God make us just bold and brave enough to go on some very necessary rescue missions, carrying on the spirit-liberating ministry of Jesus, bringing the light of God’s love, acceptance and forgiveness to darkened minds. This is the heart of the Revolution – no prisoners.
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9, ESV)
Amazing, isn’t it? God the Father has delivered us from the spiritual chains of our own sin, freed us from our spiritual blindness. What amazes me more is that so many who claim Christ still walk under the sway of the dark dominion.
The previous several verses speak to the issue quite plainly:
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (Colossians 1:9-12)
First, it seems that St. Paul considered that it was possible for us to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, in a way that is a blessing to him, in a way that bears both the fruit of the Spirit and the fruit of brining transformation to those who are yet to know Christ. To that end he prayed for his disciples in Colossae – who were confronted with heretical teaching. What he prays for is their ability to have spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that God’s will would be known. Such knowledge allowed the Colossians to live in a manner worthy of their calling in Christ. He also speaks the blessing of divine strength and power, allowing the Colossian Christians to maintain their joy as they walk in patient endurance. It seems that Paul is convinced that such discernment and empowerment was essential for the Colossians to walk effectively with Christ.
Discernment and empowerment. Interesting. Two things which it seems that the Church in the West lacks. This would explain a lot, as it seems many Christians have little ability to endure, to maintain their joy in the midst of trial and difficulty – and to stand amidst the swirl of ideas and influences in a culture dominated by the spirit of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4). This lack of wise discernment and accompanying absence of spiritual virility allows people who are positionally in the Kingdom of God to functionally be trapped in their thought patterns, attitudes and behaviors found in the dominion of darkness. Freed, but acting like slaves. Sons and daughters of the Most High God, but living like spiritual paupers. Having regained their sight, but living in a cloud of befuddling darkens. The “sins stats” in our culture bear this out – most Christians have lives which diverge little from the rest of the population. They remain as partial prisoners of self, of sin, of hell.
Like Paul we need to pray for each of us to have spiritual insight, the ability to make wise choices in every area of life. We need the Spirit’s transforming enlightenment and consequent empowerment to live a life which in its totality is an act of worship before God (Romans 12:1-2). Until people come to a deep understanding of who they are in Christ – their new-birth identity in Him, they remain heavily influenced by darkness. Where we are not renewed in our thinking and transformed in our hearts – in those areas hell can still hold dominion. This need not be.
Dozens of Christian people we know – friends, family, fellow church members – continue to walk as if they are still under the dark dominion. May God so move our hearts that we will pray for them without ceasing, that they may know the freedom which Christ has purchased for them. May God make us just bold and brave enough to go on some very necessary rescue missions, carrying on the spirit-liberating ministry of Jesus, bringing the light of God’s love, acceptance and forgiveness to darkened minds. This is the heart of the Revolution – no prisoners.
When Worlds Collide
by Mike Chong Perkinson
The Gospel of Mark paints a rather clear picture of two contrasting ways of life. Jesus sternly rebukes Peter at one point in the narrative for not thinking the things of God but of the things of men (Mark 8:33). Here we see the contrasting values set in opposition, two orientations of life: what God wills for people and what people want for themselves.
At the beginning of the journey to Jerusalem (8:22-10:52), Jesus teaches these contradictory standards to His disciples. The disciples resist the teachings at every point, but eventually come to submit to them. The journey can then be pictured as a clash of values between Jesus, who teaches what God wills for people, and the disciples who exemplify what people want for themselves. On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus prophecies three times to the disciples about his impending persecution and death (8:31-9:1; 9:30-50; 10:32-45). After each prophecy, the disciples demonstrate that do not understand the nature and depth of the prophetic word or accept his teaching. After each of these prophetic moments, Jesus takes some time to teach the disciples the values of the rule of God that underlie his words and actions.
Kingdom Values
After the first prophecy, Jesus says: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (8:35) After the second prophecy, Jesus says: “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (9:35) After the third prophecy, Jesus says: “And whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (10:44-45) Let me break them down for you:
1. In order to save your life you must lose it.
2. The pursuit of status is not the standard for God’s people.
3. To have power one must be a servant and relinquish the pursuit of power for oneself.
There is a sharp line of demarcation that Jesus is drawing between acquisition (saving) and relinquishing (losing). Let me explain: people who follow the world’s standards seek to acquire status and power for themselves. This way of life is motivated by fear.
In contrast, people who follow Jesus’ standards receive the blessings of the Kingdom and are willing to relinquish life, status, and power in order to bring the good news of the Kingdom to others. This way of life is only made possible by faith and is motivated by love. It is through the empowering of the Holy Spirit that we find such a life possible. Mark portrays in rather dramatic fashion that only two ways of life are possible: “saving one’s life out of fear” or “losing one’s life for others.” The characteristics for these two opposing modes of life can be stated as follows in this diagram:
Jesus embodies “what God wills for people.” He brings healing, drives out the demonic, forgives sin, and ultimately dies for the mission. In stark contrast we find the religious leaders, who exemplify “what people want for themselves.” They are afraid of losing their position and aggrandize themselves at the expense of the people. The disciples, in Mark’s narrative, are caught in the middle and vacillate between the two positions. The dissonance they feel is due to their struggle in following Jesus to promote the good news of the Kingdom of God or following Jesus to acquire status and power for themselves.
May we become a people that are motivated by love and not by fear. May we choose to reject our human need to acquire status, reputation, and power for ourselves and give our lives to the One who gave His life for us so that His life, healing and salvation would shine through us, the Church, His Bride.
The Gospel of Mark paints a rather clear picture of two contrasting ways of life. Jesus sternly rebukes Peter at one point in the narrative for not thinking the things of God but of the things of men (Mark 8:33). Here we see the contrasting values set in opposition, two orientations of life: what God wills for people and what people want for themselves.
At the beginning of the journey to Jerusalem (8:22-10:52), Jesus teaches these contradictory standards to His disciples. The disciples resist the teachings at every point, but eventually come to submit to them. The journey can then be pictured as a clash of values between Jesus, who teaches what God wills for people, and the disciples who exemplify what people want for themselves. On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus prophecies three times to the disciples about his impending persecution and death (8:31-9:1; 9:30-50; 10:32-45). After each prophecy, the disciples demonstrate that do not understand the nature and depth of the prophetic word or accept his teaching. After each of these prophetic moments, Jesus takes some time to teach the disciples the values of the rule of God that underlie his words and actions.
Kingdom Values
After the first prophecy, Jesus says: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (8:35) After the second prophecy, Jesus says: “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (9:35) After the third prophecy, Jesus says: “And whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (10:44-45) Let me break them down for you:
1. In order to save your life you must lose it.
2. The pursuit of status is not the standard for God’s people.
3. To have power one must be a servant and relinquish the pursuit of power for oneself.
There is a sharp line of demarcation that Jesus is drawing between acquisition (saving) and relinquishing (losing). Let me explain: people who follow the world’s standards seek to acquire status and power for themselves. This way of life is motivated by fear.
In contrast, people who follow Jesus’ standards receive the blessings of the Kingdom and are willing to relinquish life, status, and power in order to bring the good news of the Kingdom to others. This way of life is only made possible by faith and is motivated by love. It is through the empowering of the Holy Spirit that we find such a life possible. Mark portrays in rather dramatic fashion that only two ways of life are possible: “saving one’s life out of fear” or “losing one’s life for others.” The characteristics for these two opposing modes of life can be stated as follows in this diagram:
Jesus embodies “what God wills for people.” He brings healing, drives out the demonic, forgives sin, and ultimately dies for the mission. In stark contrast we find the religious leaders, who exemplify “what people want for themselves.” They are afraid of losing their position and aggrandize themselves at the expense of the people. The disciples, in Mark’s narrative, are caught in the middle and vacillate between the two positions. The dissonance they feel is due to their struggle in following Jesus to promote the good news of the Kingdom of God or following Jesus to acquire status and power for themselves.
May we become a people that are motivated by love and not by fear. May we choose to reject our human need to acquire status, reputation, and power for ourselves and give our lives to the One who gave His life for us so that His life, healing and salvation would shine through us, the Church, His Bride.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Relational Tidbits for the Revolution
by Mike Chong Perkinson
Ministry comes at us at hundred miles an hour with no give or grace or willingness to stop when we need a breather. It is easy for us to find ourselves swallowed by the machinery and demands of ministry and thrown into the vast wasteland of pastoral burnout. In my simple way of processing life and ministry, I have often wondered why that is for pastors and why it was for me.
One of the things I have come to believe is that 95% of all ministry issues fall into the landscape of personal. In other words, there is so much of what we do that is motivated by personal need, insecurity, guilt, and fear. There have been times in my ministry life that I have found myself not being able to say “no” to someone because of guilt and insecurity. There have also been times I have said “yes” because of a need to be needed and affirmed as a pastor. I have found myself wrestling with people’s suggestions because I interpreted them as a personal assault to my authority, ability and leadership. Rather than hearing their heart, I took up the offense and then proceeded to dismantle the theology and philosophy of the person, wounding them as I defended my wounded honor.
Is it possible that at the basis of most of our internal and relational conflict is this tension of taking up the offense and making it personal? Is it possible that most of our struggles are personal or relational? We then argue this out in the ring of theology or philosophy of ministry, with little success in reconciling the differences. Relationships break, the name of Jesus is marred in our faith community and neighborhood as we try to move on and proclaim a reconciling and loving God while we are not able to do the same with His people.
When we take things personally we make life about us. We seek to prove our position, defend our actions and demonstrate our rightness. When we make it personal we are choosing to take up an offense, to take what was stated, not stated, done or not done and make it more about us rather than about His Kingdom and His people.
But what do we do if it really is personal on the part of the other person? Well, first of all it takes two to fight and so if you are being summoned into the ring to square off, one of the greatest ways to stop a fight is not get in the ring. It’s like marriage, it only takes one spouse to stop the fight but it always takes two to fight.
Let me explain, if someone is personally hurt by you and they come to you to vent a concern about the church, your leadership style, theology, etc., then the wise and mature leader would hear the heart of the other more than the words they are conveying and choose to not take up the offense. It is good to remember that people tend to project their personal issues on theological or ministerial concerns. One of the clearest signs that you are dealing with a personal issue is when a person attacks your motives. The best we can do as human beings is assess the behavior of the other. Motive or heart is the place where the Holy Spirit deals with us. When someone attacks your motives, the first reaction is to defend it which only solidifies their suspicion about you. Rather than defend simply ask them why they would say that about you.
Keep in mind that you are dealing with people and not machines. People are quite able to think and process information, but when a personal offense is involved the processing becomes far less cerebral and far more personal. No matter how well you articulate the issue or defend your position, if the other person is hurt there will not be resolve on the matter.
I know of a man who left a church over a rather intense theological matter. The individual was an elder and on the board of this particular church. During one of the bible studies he attended for the eldership, he noticed a theological view of scripture that came to surface that was not in agreement with his. He approached the pastor, who is some 30 years younger than the gentleman, to discuss the issue. In their conversation, the theological matter gave way to what became, at least it was rather apparent to me, a personal matter. The issue of respect came up and the younger pastor did not feel the elder’s respect. In turn, the elder was rather shocked to be treated in such a way that diminished his personhood and dignity; after all he was an elder and older. The individual eventually resigned his position from the board and as an elder and left the church. As I read the letter of resignation that explained his reasoning for leaving the church what was most dominant was not the theological issue, although significant, but the personal one. The language of the letter was official, but it contained far more words of personal hurt than did it theological disagreement.
Let me take a moment and provide for you some practical application steps to consider as you live as a peacemaker amongst the people of God (Matthew 5:9, we are most like God when we are making peace).
Ministry comes at us at hundred miles an hour with no give or grace or willingness to stop when we need a breather. It is easy for us to find ourselves swallowed by the machinery and demands of ministry and thrown into the vast wasteland of pastoral burnout. In my simple way of processing life and ministry, I have often wondered why that is for pastors and why it was for me.
One of the things I have come to believe is that 95% of all ministry issues fall into the landscape of personal. In other words, there is so much of what we do that is motivated by personal need, insecurity, guilt, and fear. There have been times in my ministry life that I have found myself not being able to say “no” to someone because of guilt and insecurity. There have also been times I have said “yes” because of a need to be needed and affirmed as a pastor. I have found myself wrestling with people’s suggestions because I interpreted them as a personal assault to my authority, ability and leadership. Rather than hearing their heart, I took up the offense and then proceeded to dismantle the theology and philosophy of the person, wounding them as I defended my wounded honor.
Is it possible that at the basis of most of our internal and relational conflict is this tension of taking up the offense and making it personal? Is it possible that most of our struggles are personal or relational? We then argue this out in the ring of theology or philosophy of ministry, with little success in reconciling the differences. Relationships break, the name of Jesus is marred in our faith community and neighborhood as we try to move on and proclaim a reconciling and loving God while we are not able to do the same with His people.
When we take things personally we make life about us. We seek to prove our position, defend our actions and demonstrate our rightness. When we make it personal we are choosing to take up an offense, to take what was stated, not stated, done or not done and make it more about us rather than about His Kingdom and His people.
But what do we do if it really is personal on the part of the other person? Well, first of all it takes two to fight and so if you are being summoned into the ring to square off, one of the greatest ways to stop a fight is not get in the ring. It’s like marriage, it only takes one spouse to stop the fight but it always takes two to fight.
Let me explain, if someone is personally hurt by you and they come to you to vent a concern about the church, your leadership style, theology, etc., then the wise and mature leader would hear the heart of the other more than the words they are conveying and choose to not take up the offense. It is good to remember that people tend to project their personal issues on theological or ministerial concerns. One of the clearest signs that you are dealing with a personal issue is when a person attacks your motives. The best we can do as human beings is assess the behavior of the other. Motive or heart is the place where the Holy Spirit deals with us. When someone attacks your motives, the first reaction is to defend it which only solidifies their suspicion about you. Rather than defend simply ask them why they would say that about you.
Keep in mind that you are dealing with people and not machines. People are quite able to think and process information, but when a personal offense is involved the processing becomes far less cerebral and far more personal. No matter how well you articulate the issue or defend your position, if the other person is hurt there will not be resolve on the matter.
I know of a man who left a church over a rather intense theological matter. The individual was an elder and on the board of this particular church. During one of the bible studies he attended for the eldership, he noticed a theological view of scripture that came to surface that was not in agreement with his. He approached the pastor, who is some 30 years younger than the gentleman, to discuss the issue. In their conversation, the theological matter gave way to what became, at least it was rather apparent to me, a personal matter. The issue of respect came up and the younger pastor did not feel the elder’s respect. In turn, the elder was rather shocked to be treated in such a way that diminished his personhood and dignity; after all he was an elder and older. The individual eventually resigned his position from the board and as an elder and left the church. As I read the letter of resignation that explained his reasoning for leaving the church what was most dominant was not the theological issue, although significant, but the personal one. The language of the letter was official, but it contained far more words of personal hurt than did it theological disagreement.
Let me take a moment and provide for you some practical application steps to consider as you live as a peacemaker amongst the people of God (Matthew 5:9, we are most like God when we are making peace).
- Listen to your heart to see if there is hurt or reaction in you that is personal.
- If so, repent and choose to not take up the offense even if the person is being rude. Out-love them.
- Listen to their heart for any area of pain and ask, “Have I disappointed or hurt you in any way?” or “It sounds like you are disappointed or hurt by me, can you tell me how I have done this?”
Here are a few helpful phrases I have utilized to help us move into what the person is really saying, while it facilitates communication and Kingdom unity:
- I’m so glad you came and took the time to talk to me about this.
- One of the greatest aspects of Kingdom living is brothers/sisters dealing honestly and unifying around the stuff that matters.
- Your tone seems angry, are you ok? Did I do something that made you angry?
- You keep referring to stuff I’m doing or not doing, can you help me understand what you are saying?
- What would you like to see happen? Different?
- How would you feel if I was not able to do what you are asking?
- You’ve made mention of my motives, help me understand the action you are talking about that makes you feel that my motive is what you say it is?
I pray we find ourselves released from those things that would lead to spiritual death and division in the body of Christ. May our hearts be enlarged to see the parameters of the Kingdom as God sees them; to pursue righteousness with a zeal that expresses inclusion and not exclusion to those of different persuasions or opinions; and an openness to consider the possibility that personal matters sometimes become more important than those of the Kingdom. May we all be so daring! So real! So holy!
Focus for Fruitfulness
by Tom Johnston
In 2 Timothy 2:1-7, Paul advises Timothy, his son in the faith, how to transmit his faith in Christ to future generations of disciples. Five key principles of the pastoral ministry can be found in this passage:
In 2 Timothy 2:1-7, Paul advises Timothy, his son in the faith, how to transmit his faith in Christ to future generations of disciples. Five key principles of the pastoral ministry can be found in this passage:
- Grace empowerment – the source of Timothy’s strength for life and ministry flows from the grace he has been given in Christ. It is on and through this grace that he can securely build his disciples and local church. This unique gift is central to his generational multiplication of disciples. Very often we try to emulate others who we see as being “successful” and we wander from the uniqueness that God has placed in us by His sovereign design. Stay in your grace!
- Focus – Paul uses the analogy of military service to remind Timothy to maintain his focus and not to become distracted by other things. Focus keeps us in the pathway of Jesus, key to both the life of a disciple and the disciple-maker. Keeping the “main thing the main thing” is essential. With so much cultural encrustation on the church in the West today, and on pastoral ministry, it is easy to stray from the simplicity of the “Irreducible Core” of loving God, loving others and making disciples.
- Parameters – An athlete has a certain set of parameters of competition within his or her sport. Similarly, the disciple and disciple-maker are also defined by a set of parameters: what a relationship with Christ requires of us, and what a relationship in Christ looks like, as described by the New Testament. These boundaries in our life and ministries keep us safe and keep us from sliding in directors Jesus has not called us to go.
- Effort – Fruitful farming requires effort. Becoming fruitful disciples and seeing a harvest of souls demands the same. Effort is required for someone to grow in Christ – we must apply ourselves to pursuing Jesus. Making disciples requires a similar effort – involvement in the life of others. A church is not established by accident. In 1Corinthians 3:6, Paul planted the Corinth church, Apollos watered it, but God gave the growth. God reserves things for us to do that He will not do, and reserves things for Himself to do that we cannot do. Effort on our part is exponentially empowered by effort on His part.
- Contemplation – Reflection on the part of a disciple brings wisdom into his or her life. Contemplation on the part of the disciple-maker brings God’s wisdom and insight on how to develop someone in Christ. Reflection by the church planter allows him or her to assess the planting project in the light of God’s Spirit, making adjustments as needed. Such reflection allows the disciple, the disciple-maker, and the church planter to anchor and secure his or her life and ministry in the only thing that is unchanging – the person of Jesus Christ.
As you process this, may the Lord show you ways to expand His tribe, and make you bear much fruit, and thereby glorify our Father in heaven!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Beyond the Wineskin
by Tom Johnston
I don’t know about you, but I don’t go to Starbucks for the paper cup. I go for the coffee. For me, it’s all about the contents of that cup, not the 10% recycled cup or the 30% recycled sleeve. I will not buy more Starbucks if they make the cup more cool looking. In fact, by taking a minimalistic approach to the packaging of their product, Starbucks actually is making a bold marking statement: our product is so good you will pay way too much for our really good coffee in this simple paper cup. And they are right. In a society that focuses on the externals of life, the appearance of things, they have masterfully highlighted the quality of the content by the use of a simple package.
So, what’s with the Church in the West? Why are we so focused on the form-factor of our churches – how cool and relevant our services are, how hot the worship is, how high the production values are? Are we trying to “sell” people something based on package? And what is it that we are trying to sell anyway? Jesus? An experience with Him? Salvation? The Kingdom of God? Membership in our local church? Our spiritual goods and services? And why are we trying to “sell” or market anyway? Christianity is not a vendible commodity – it’s a relationship with the Living God. So, what’s with that?
In Matthew 9 Jesus uses the metaphor of the wine and the wineskin to discuss the form and content of the Kingdom. The focus is on the wine – the content – not the wineskin. What Jesus was doing was new, and he needed a new form-factor, the Church, to hold what He was going to do through the New Covenant. He didn’t want it lost.
Isn’t it ironic that the main focus on the wineskin today quite possibly emerges from the fact that we have lost the strong, potent, high quality, life-transforming content (read: vibrant life of Christ) originally given to us? We are trying to “market” heavily, focusing on the externals because the substance of Christ in our lives, our families and our churches is so watered down.
At Praxis, we feel it is time for the Church in the West to move beyond the “wineskin” and focus on the “wine” – seeing Christ formed in people (Galatians 4:19). We don’t think the New Testament validates any particular way of “doing church,” simply because the focus is on the wine – the Spirit-empowered abundant life of Christ flowing in every disciple. If we have such content in our people, families and churches, I doubt people would care about the cup we held it all in. How we do our services is totally secondary to who we are in Him. Big churches aren’t better. Small churches aren't better. Mega or Micro doesn’t matter. Postmodern or ancient tradition doesn’t matter. What matters is that better is better, and by better we mean churches which are aflame with the Holy Spirit, filled with the life of Jesus Christ. We think that this kind of content will draw people regardless of the packaging. Starbucks has this figured out; we hope the Church can get it too.
All this writing has made me thirsty. Time for a venti skinny White Chocolate Mocha with whip.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t go to Starbucks for the paper cup. I go for the coffee. For me, it’s all about the contents of that cup, not the 10% recycled cup or the 30% recycled sleeve. I will not buy more Starbucks if they make the cup more cool looking. In fact, by taking a minimalistic approach to the packaging of their product, Starbucks actually is making a bold marking statement: our product is so good you will pay way too much for our really good coffee in this simple paper cup. And they are right. In a society that focuses on the externals of life, the appearance of things, they have masterfully highlighted the quality of the content by the use of a simple package.
So, what’s with the Church in the West? Why are we so focused on the form-factor of our churches – how cool and relevant our services are, how hot the worship is, how high the production values are? Are we trying to “sell” people something based on package? And what is it that we are trying to sell anyway? Jesus? An experience with Him? Salvation? The Kingdom of God? Membership in our local church? Our spiritual goods and services? And why are we trying to “sell” or market anyway? Christianity is not a vendible commodity – it’s a relationship with the Living God. So, what’s with that?
In Matthew 9 Jesus uses the metaphor of the wine and the wineskin to discuss the form and content of the Kingdom. The focus is on the wine – the content – not the wineskin. What Jesus was doing was new, and he needed a new form-factor, the Church, to hold what He was going to do through the New Covenant. He didn’t want it lost.
Isn’t it ironic that the main focus on the wineskin today quite possibly emerges from the fact that we have lost the strong, potent, high quality, life-transforming content (read: vibrant life of Christ) originally given to us? We are trying to “market” heavily, focusing on the externals because the substance of Christ in our lives, our families and our churches is so watered down.
At Praxis, we feel it is time for the Church in the West to move beyond the “wineskin” and focus on the “wine” – seeing Christ formed in people (Galatians 4:19). We don’t think the New Testament validates any particular way of “doing church,” simply because the focus is on the wine – the Spirit-empowered abundant life of Christ flowing in every disciple. If we have such content in our people, families and churches, I doubt people would care about the cup we held it all in. How we do our services is totally secondary to who we are in Him. Big churches aren’t better. Small churches aren't better. Mega or Micro doesn’t matter. Postmodern or ancient tradition doesn’t matter. What matters is that better is better, and by better we mean churches which are aflame with the Holy Spirit, filled with the life of Jesus Christ. We think that this kind of content will draw people regardless of the packaging. Starbucks has this figured out; we hope the Church can get it too.
All this writing has made me thirsty. Time for a venti skinny White Chocolate Mocha with whip.
Organic Relational Assessment
by Mike Chong Perkinson
There are so many assessment tools for us to consider as leaders. The majority of these tools are good and helpful and we applaud any leader that desires to purify and enhance their ministry effectiveness.
Like any tool that is created for our use there are underlying presuppositions that frame the creation of the tool. The tool measures what it believes is important or vital for growth. For example, if you are interested in simple numerical growth, then seeing growth in one’s attendance and tithe quantifies the success of our ministry.
Another way of saying this is the value of our ministry objectives is most clearly observed by what we measure. What we measure reveals what we value. And what we measure determines whether we view our ministry as a product that we package for consumers or a process where we develop people into fully functioning disciples of Christ.
Now having said that let me also clarify that I do believe where an organism is alive and healthy, growth and multiplication is a natural by-product. Living organisms grow and multiply. However, living organisms do not necessarily continue to grow in size. Life always brings life.
Oddly enough one of the areas we do not assess is the spiritual development of our people – seeing Christ formed in them (Galatians 4:19) “that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:28). Legalism assesses behaviors and verifies spirituality by completing a checklist of behaviors. Organic spirituality assesses the heart and motivation behind the behavior by looking at the fruit of one’s life as expressed in Galatians 5:22-23. North American Christianity has many believers that have mastered the behaviors of religion without the heart (Fruit of the Spirit) of our Father.
With that in mind, let me offer a simple criterion I use to determine if my ministry is growing.
Are people’s relationships with God growing? Before we can change the world, we need to see God change the world of individuals. More simply, are people loving God with their whole heart, basing their lives around the values of the Kingdom and seeking to honor God with every facet of their lives (Matthew 6:33).
Are people’s relationships with each other growing? Of course this means at home first. Our churches are only as strong as our families. Jesus tells us that we are most like God when we are peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). The children of God make peace and where there is peace, relationships flourish. We serve a reconciling God and have been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-20) and so, the greatest evidence of His transforming love in us is that we love one another (John 13:34-35; I John 4:7-8). “We are most like beasts when we kill. We are most like men when we judge. We are most like God when we forgive” (Anonymous). Scripture says “God is love.” Love is active and can best be described as giving and forgiving.
Is concern for the lost and broken increasing in our spiritual community? Are they beginning to reach out? Is their heart breaking over pain, sin, death, disease, etc.? Love is active and cannot refrain itself from acting out. For example, when a person falls in love their heart is quickly moved to find ways to be with the one they love. When a person is full of God’s heart they find themselves loving what and who He loves. His heart in us moves us to care for the broken, the lost, the blind, the sick, the hungry, etc. One of the phrases we use at our church is that we are called to “love the hell out of people.”
Are we beginning to reproduce ourselves? This will involve discipleship of Christians and non-Christians. Where the presence of the Lord is, life will happen. What this means is that if people are captured by God’s love they will find themselves wanting to pass on that love. Our role as pastors and leaders is then to “equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:12), helping our people pass on what has been given to them (2 Timothy 2:2).
May God help us return to the values of His Kingdom as we press on to see His Kingdom extended in our land as we simplify our lives around the “Irreducible Core” of loving God, loving others and making disciples. May you find a tremendous harvest as you make disciples.
There are so many assessment tools for us to consider as leaders. The majority of these tools are good and helpful and we applaud any leader that desires to purify and enhance their ministry effectiveness.
Like any tool that is created for our use there are underlying presuppositions that frame the creation of the tool. The tool measures what it believes is important or vital for growth. For example, if you are interested in simple numerical growth, then seeing growth in one’s attendance and tithe quantifies the success of our ministry.
Another way of saying this is the value of our ministry objectives is most clearly observed by what we measure. What we measure reveals what we value. And what we measure determines whether we view our ministry as a product that we package for consumers or a process where we develop people into fully functioning disciples of Christ.
Now having said that let me also clarify that I do believe where an organism is alive and healthy, growth and multiplication is a natural by-product. Living organisms grow and multiply. However, living organisms do not necessarily continue to grow in size. Life always brings life.
Oddly enough one of the areas we do not assess is the spiritual development of our people – seeing Christ formed in them (Galatians 4:19) “that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:28). Legalism assesses behaviors and verifies spirituality by completing a checklist of behaviors. Organic spirituality assesses the heart and motivation behind the behavior by looking at the fruit of one’s life as expressed in Galatians 5:22-23. North American Christianity has many believers that have mastered the behaviors of religion without the heart (Fruit of the Spirit) of our Father.
With that in mind, let me offer a simple criterion I use to determine if my ministry is growing.
Are people’s relationships with God growing? Before we can change the world, we need to see God change the world of individuals. More simply, are people loving God with their whole heart, basing their lives around the values of the Kingdom and seeking to honor God with every facet of their lives (Matthew 6:33).
Are people’s relationships with each other growing? Of course this means at home first. Our churches are only as strong as our families. Jesus tells us that we are most like God when we are peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). The children of God make peace and where there is peace, relationships flourish. We serve a reconciling God and have been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-20) and so, the greatest evidence of His transforming love in us is that we love one another (John 13:34-35; I John 4:7-8). “We are most like beasts when we kill. We are most like men when we judge. We are most like God when we forgive” (Anonymous). Scripture says “God is love.” Love is active and can best be described as giving and forgiving.
Is concern for the lost and broken increasing in our spiritual community? Are they beginning to reach out? Is their heart breaking over pain, sin, death, disease, etc.? Love is active and cannot refrain itself from acting out. For example, when a person falls in love their heart is quickly moved to find ways to be with the one they love. When a person is full of God’s heart they find themselves loving what and who He loves. His heart in us moves us to care for the broken, the lost, the blind, the sick, the hungry, etc. One of the phrases we use at our church is that we are called to “love the hell out of people.”
Are we beginning to reproduce ourselves? This will involve discipleship of Christians and non-Christians. Where the presence of the Lord is, life will happen. What this means is that if people are captured by God’s love they will find themselves wanting to pass on that love. Our role as pastors and leaders is then to “equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:12), helping our people pass on what has been given to them (2 Timothy 2:2).
May God help us return to the values of His Kingdom as we press on to see His Kingdom extended in our land as we simplify our lives around the “Irreducible Core” of loving God, loving others and making disciples. May you find a tremendous harvest as you make disciples.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Every Home a Church
by Mike Chong Perkinson
There is massive shift in our ecclesiological world today. New ideas, models and implementation strategies are being birthed in the hope of reaching the world for our King. I applaud such efforts. Also motivating our ecclesiological landscape is the apparent frustration of pastors and leaders and often fruitless ministry (at least when it comes to making disciples that follow Christ) as well as, the ever changing cultural climate.
All of this is leading many followers of Christ back to some basic and powerful practices like searching the Scriptures, praying, talking and confessing with other believers and partnering (koinonia) with other believers to see the Kingdom of God extended in our land. Good things always happen when the saints seek God, search the Scriptures, and pray.
One of the major and more unnoticed thrusts in our ecclesiological world is the quiet exodus of many followers of Christ from the traditional Sunday gathering to the house church format. One might call this our modern day monastic movement.
I whole heartedly agree with the house church movement. We all need to become a house church movement. Before you write me off here, read the rest of the article.
The church I pastor is in the midst of a capital stewardship campaign. That’s right - helping our people become better stewards of God’s Kingdom resources and asking them to pray for God’s mind on what they should give to our campaign to help us complete Phase 2 of our building project. But wait, you said you were a house church guy?
During our corporate worship service last November, I stated some bold and shocking words to our congregation in the midst of a passionate vision cast. I emphatically declared, “I am not asking you to commit to the church. Rather, I am asking you to be the church. As a matter of fact, I am hoping that we start a house church movement. That’s right, a movement where every home is a church. And for us to have every home become a church, our leadership is committed to equip you to become the priest and priestess of your home (I Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:5-6).”
My long time friend and mentor, Don Smith, married my wife and I a long time ago in a land far away. One of the things Don said at the conclusion of our ceremony was, “Mike is now the pastor of worlds smallest church of 2.” Those words burned into my soul as I realized that I am a priest of my home and my wife as well. Our home needed to become a sanctuary, a church, where we lived out Jesus day to day.
Every home needs to become a church, where moms and dads first live out the irreducible core (loving God, loving others and make disciples), being examples and models of Christ as we raise up our children in the ways of our God.
This means that every pastor and leader needs to equip the saints to become the priests of their homes and live Christ in the everyday world. I am suspicious that maybe more of our ecclesiological energy should be spent on equipping the saints to do this.
And so, I challenge you to not simply join a church or ask your people to join your church. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with this. Relationship involves a covenant as is most wonderfully modeled in the New Covenant written in blood. What I am strongly asserting is that we become the church and start with our homes.
May every home become a church, every child discipled first by mom and dad, every pastor and leader a disciple maker and every church a disciple making church.
Father God, release your Kingdom and your power for your glory and for your purpose as every home becomes a church!
There is massive shift in our ecclesiological world today. New ideas, models and implementation strategies are being birthed in the hope of reaching the world for our King. I applaud such efforts. Also motivating our ecclesiological landscape is the apparent frustration of pastors and leaders and often fruitless ministry (at least when it comes to making disciples that follow Christ) as well as, the ever changing cultural climate.
All of this is leading many followers of Christ back to some basic and powerful practices like searching the Scriptures, praying, talking and confessing with other believers and partnering (koinonia) with other believers to see the Kingdom of God extended in our land. Good things always happen when the saints seek God, search the Scriptures, and pray.
One of the major and more unnoticed thrusts in our ecclesiological world is the quiet exodus of many followers of Christ from the traditional Sunday gathering to the house church format. One might call this our modern day monastic movement.
I whole heartedly agree with the house church movement. We all need to become a house church movement. Before you write me off here, read the rest of the article.
The church I pastor is in the midst of a capital stewardship campaign. That’s right - helping our people become better stewards of God’s Kingdom resources and asking them to pray for God’s mind on what they should give to our campaign to help us complete Phase 2 of our building project. But wait, you said you were a house church guy?
During our corporate worship service last November, I stated some bold and shocking words to our congregation in the midst of a passionate vision cast. I emphatically declared, “I am not asking you to commit to the church. Rather, I am asking you to be the church. As a matter of fact, I am hoping that we start a house church movement. That’s right, a movement where every home is a church. And for us to have every home become a church, our leadership is committed to equip you to become the priest and priestess of your home (I Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:5-6).”
My long time friend and mentor, Don Smith, married my wife and I a long time ago in a land far away. One of the things Don said at the conclusion of our ceremony was, “Mike is now the pastor of worlds smallest church of 2.” Those words burned into my soul as I realized that I am a priest of my home and my wife as well. Our home needed to become a sanctuary, a church, where we lived out Jesus day to day.
Every home needs to become a church, where moms and dads first live out the irreducible core (loving God, loving others and make disciples), being examples and models of Christ as we raise up our children in the ways of our God.
This means that every pastor and leader needs to equip the saints to become the priests of their homes and live Christ in the everyday world. I am suspicious that maybe more of our ecclesiological energy should be spent on equipping the saints to do this.
And so, I challenge you to not simply join a church or ask your people to join your church. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with this. Relationship involves a covenant as is most wonderfully modeled in the New Covenant written in blood. What I am strongly asserting is that we become the church and start with our homes.
May every home become a church, every child discipled first by mom and dad, every pastor and leader a disciple maker and every church a disciple making church.
Father God, release your Kingdom and your power for your glory and for your purpose as every home becomes a church!
More Than Skin Deep
by Tom Johnston
The debate in church development circles often centers around what models of ministry, what programs and/or what church structures have the most pragmatic effect – in other words, what brings the most people into the general worship services of the church. These issues of “wineskin” drive much of the debate, and consequently our focus becomes the constant redevelopment and upgrading of our wineskin.
The pragmatic drive for results, informed by a consumer-driven worldview of marketing cause-and-effect, makes us focus on the externals of church life and ministry, rather than the internal life of Christ in the Spirit. It is the “new wine” of the Spirit’s work – rebirth/conversion, transformation/sanctification, empowerment for mission – on which we should be focusing. It is the reality of Christ being formed in us which must take preeminence, with finding culturally appropriate ways of “doing church” flowing from that. We place the cart before the horse, and in the case of the church, the wineskin before the wine. Our efforts to make the New Wine of Christ Jesus attractive to the American spiritual consumer has degenerated to attempts at upgraded packaging. Yet all we really need is a good vintage of the Spirit flowing within our local church community - the life of Christ richly abundant, displayed in our lives. Such a vintage is irresistible.
In a recent development session with a number of pastors, a friend of mine shared an observation about the Apostles in Acts 4. When challenged by the elders and the scribes to no longer speak of Jesus, they replied:
Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. Acts 4:19b-20, ESV
They were so captivated by Christ, so inebriated in His Spirit that they could not help themselves – they had to talk about Jesus. So in love with Him, they could not keep their mouths shut. Their inhibitions gone, lost in Christ’s love, they didn’t care what would happen to them – rather they were compelled to speak of Him. We see, as an example of the outcome of this intoxication in the Spirit, what was already taking place in their community in the end of Acts 2, in verse 47:
praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
The outcome of their lives, overflowing with Jesus, was praise, the favor of others, and a rich and continuous harvest of souls. From there they made it work – they wrapped the structure around what they needed, they improvised a wineskin to contain the wine.
May the Lord shift our focus from manufacturing and upgrading our wineskins to a renewed focus on working with Him in producing the New Wine, in ourselves and our congregations. Such a life-giving vintage of the Spirit displayed in our church communities is irresistible to people, regardless of the packaging.
The debate in church development circles often centers around what models of ministry, what programs and/or what church structures have the most pragmatic effect – in other words, what brings the most people into the general worship services of the church. These issues of “wineskin” drive much of the debate, and consequently our focus becomes the constant redevelopment and upgrading of our wineskin.
The pragmatic drive for results, informed by a consumer-driven worldview of marketing cause-and-effect, makes us focus on the externals of church life and ministry, rather than the internal life of Christ in the Spirit. It is the “new wine” of the Spirit’s work – rebirth/conversion, transformation/sanctification, empowerment for mission – on which we should be focusing. It is the reality of Christ being formed in us which must take preeminence, with finding culturally appropriate ways of “doing church” flowing from that. We place the cart before the horse, and in the case of the church, the wineskin before the wine. Our efforts to make the New Wine of Christ Jesus attractive to the American spiritual consumer has degenerated to attempts at upgraded packaging. Yet all we really need is a good vintage of the Spirit flowing within our local church community - the life of Christ richly abundant, displayed in our lives. Such a vintage is irresistible.
In a recent development session with a number of pastors, a friend of mine shared an observation about the Apostles in Acts 4. When challenged by the elders and the scribes to no longer speak of Jesus, they replied:
Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. Acts 4:19b-20, ESV
They were so captivated by Christ, so inebriated in His Spirit that they could not help themselves – they had to talk about Jesus. So in love with Him, they could not keep their mouths shut. Their inhibitions gone, lost in Christ’s love, they didn’t care what would happen to them – rather they were compelled to speak of Him. We see, as an example of the outcome of this intoxication in the Spirit, what was already taking place in their community in the end of Acts 2, in verse 47:
praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
The outcome of their lives, overflowing with Jesus, was praise, the favor of others, and a rich and continuous harvest of souls. From there they made it work – they wrapped the structure around what they needed, they improvised a wineskin to contain the wine.
May the Lord shift our focus from manufacturing and upgrading our wineskins to a renewed focus on working with Him in producing the New Wine, in ourselves and our congregations. Such a life-giving vintage of the Spirit displayed in our church communities is irresistible to people, regardless of the packaging.
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