by Mike Chong Perkinson
Josh McDowell, author and lecturer, says these revealing words about himself:
Almost every dysfunction is a truth out of balance. I had lost hope of ever being in control of my life. The dominant childhood feeling for me was to be important. My dominant fear was the fear of dying without being important. I believe it motivated me in a lot of the books, videos, films, to say ‘yes,’ and talk about myself. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, ‘And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ That gave me courage. If I always do what I’ve always done, I’ll always be what I’ve always been. I’ve asked God to bring me to the point where my outer ‘no’ will be an inner ‘no’, and my outer ‘yes’ will be an inner ‘yes’.
“God showed me I need to live this out, so that I can be a healthy person. I must deny myself, those patterns of response that are unpleasing to God. In the last few years, I’ve seen more things in my life that I don’t like, but I’ve never been more excited because I’m growing. I’m really becoming free. If we’re all supposed to be perfect, we wouldn’t need unconditional love. So often in the church, when you look good, when you have no problems, they applaud you. When you go to Alcoholics Anonymous, if you have a problem, they applaud you. In the church we often look good and get worse. In Alcoholics Anonymous you look worse, and get better. I’m getting better. It’s my response to mature in the Holy Spirit. I thank God that He’s alive and working in my life. (Taken from Alan Nelson, Broken In The Right Places, pp. 198-199)
One of the greatest struggles we face as leaders, for that matter as Christians, is that our fallen human nature, motivated by fear, causes us to lean upon ourselves and draw upon our own soul strength, upon our talent, gifts, knowledge, magnetism, eloquence or cleverness. All too often our ministry endeavors are self-serving as Josh McDowell so honestly states. We do it to feel better, relieve guilt, find identity, to feel important, be needed, etc. In contrast, ministry in its purest form give life rather than taking life. Ministry in Christ takes the attention off of oneself, providing life. However, neurotic service (takes life) indicates a desire or need for attention and may result from guilt or a need for approval rather than selfless love. Maybe we should call this the parasitic leadership. As Tom Johnston says, “a protégé wants what is in your heart and parasite wants what is in your hand.”
Recognizing that our inner worlds and outer worlds are not always in harmony is a challenge for all of us. Acting holy and mastering the behaviors is much easier than overcoming the internal world of motivation. For example, you know whether or not you’re really a servant by the way you react in your heart when you’re treated like one. As leaders, we embrace the ideology of being servants for Christ, understanding it conceptually. In reality, we tend to live from our fear and insecurity rather than the grace, freedom and love in Christ. The true test of whether or not we are genuine, authentic servants of God, and not just people who want a place for ourselves, is when we get down to the simple task of serving. Those who are servants are really interested in serving Christ by serving the other. The gain of the Kingdom is their objective. Jesus flows through us for His gain. Those who are not are more interested in how and where they serve, not to mention with whom they serve. Self-gain is baptized in scriptural language and is their objective. We use Jesus for personal gain.
Who am I when I am alone with God? Who am I when no one is looking? Is my inner world and outer world the same? Or, at least moving in the direction of being the same? Am I growing in Christ’s love or simply growing in my duties? How would our spouse’s truly describe our life in Christ? How would our children describe our life in Christ?
Our style of leadership, based in Jesus, is “incarnational.” An old adage typifies my point: “Every man has three names; one his father and mother give him; one others call him; and one he acquires himself.” What is the name you and I are acquiring for ourselves? Incarnational leadership means one must lead primarily out of who one is and not what one knows, who one knows, what one can do, or how one can do it. Henri Nouwen says it well: “Christian leadership is not a leadership of power and control, but a leadership of powerlessness and humility in which the suffering servant of God, Jesus Christ, is made manifest. I, obviously, am not speaking about a psychologically weak leadership in which the Christian leader is simply the passive victim of the manipulations of his milieu. No, I am speaking of a leadership in which power is constantly abandoned in favor of love.” (In The Name of Jesus, p. 63) We are then, to be just like Jesus, who became a man, humbling Himself and being of no reputation, and being obedient to the point of death. Unless we allow the power of God to impact us, the reality of His presence will be circumvented. Jesus must be in us, in order for Him to be given away.
It is precisely the lack of humility (motivated by fear) before God that is the root cause of nearly all leadership problems. For example, if the power resources transcend the character strength of the individual, collapse or a moral lapse is inevitable. Simply, God does not work through us greatly until we recognize our impotence. The lyrics of an old song reinforce my point, “If you want to be great in God’s Kingdom learn to be the servant of all.”
All of this to say, we must be honest before God and before some trusted brothers and sisters in Christ, confessing our sins and allowing God to daily transform our hearts into the Image of His Son. It is one thing to be positionally saved through Christ’s atoning work. It is another to be relationally saved in Christ, abiding in the Vine daily as He stretches the capacity of our hearts to reflect His life, love and nature (Galatians 2:20; 5:22-23). And so, let’s abandon power in favor of love. Just in case it is not obvious enough yet, start at home. Live Jesus with your family. Our ministry begins with Jesus and me (son/daughter), Jesus and my family (servant), and Jesus and my calling (servant and steward). Redeemed life begins from the heart, resulting in a transformed individual radically in love with Christ, loving others as they love themselves, and reproducing the life and love of Jesus in others (making disciples).
Monday, November 26, 2007
Flow
by Tom Johnston
When it comes to ministry, we try so hard. We want to “make it happen,” or “git `er done.” While I admit hard work is part of ministry – and life in general – the most fruitful times we experience are the result of not our action alone, but rather when we are acting in concert with God. I call it being in the flow.
There is a convergence which comes when, by our obedience, we are in the God-authored place/circumstance/situation of service and we are functioning in the grace empowerment on our life – that God-authored combination of our personal wiring, experience, spiritual gifting, and natural talents. When this happens, we are flowing with and in the Spirit of God, working seamlessly, and often effortlessly, with Him, and He through us. Jesus said it this way –
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. John 5:19-20 ESV
God’s grace on a life is not just for salvation, but for the empowerment of destiny – and produces the unique contribution to the Kingdom economy only that individual can make. This empowerment of God by His grace, and the consequent destiny should determine our assignment – the place of service we are engaged in. When it grace empowerment and assignment match, we can flow with the Spirit, doing the Father’s will, and bear much fruit for His glory.
So, how can we be “in the flow” consistently? Jesus gives us several keys, both from His words and His life-pattern. First, let’s take a look at how he wraps it all together. He sums it up in the Vine & Branches metaphor and calls it abiding:
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 14:4-5 ESV
The “abiding” is not action-oriented, but relationally-oriented. It is a state of being in Christ, not a state of doing for Christ. The vital life of Jesus flows into us from our regular and continual communion with Him as we abide in Him through the Spirit. This is Jesus’ pattern:
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. Mark 1:35-39 ESV
Jesus went from one place of prayer, one place of communion with the Father, to another – and in between He spoke the truth, brought healing to the sick, forgiveness and acceptance to the “sinners,” broke demonic powers, delivered justice to the oppressed and spoke prophetic rebuke to the religious elite. He was always abiding, He was constantly in concert with the Father, constantly “in the flow.”
My encouragement is for us all to spend more time communing with Him through reflective prayer informed by the Scripture, so that as we move through our day, we can be in the flow, guided and empowered by the Spirit. I would also encourage us to reflect on our current ministry assignment – does it fit our grace empowerment, or is there some change needed – in us or the circumstance or way of ministry – that needs to come so that we can flow with the Spirit, bearing much fruit for the Father.
May the Lord teach you how you specifically can abide in Him, and may you flow in your grace for His glory.
When it comes to ministry, we try so hard. We want to “make it happen,” or “git `er done.” While I admit hard work is part of ministry – and life in general – the most fruitful times we experience are the result of not our action alone, but rather when we are acting in concert with God. I call it being in the flow.
There is a convergence which comes when, by our obedience, we are in the God-authored place/circumstance/situation of service and we are functioning in the grace empowerment on our life – that God-authored combination of our personal wiring, experience, spiritual gifting, and natural talents. When this happens, we are flowing with and in the Spirit of God, working seamlessly, and often effortlessly, with Him, and He through us. Jesus said it this way –
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. John 5:19-20 ESV
God’s grace on a life is not just for salvation, but for the empowerment of destiny – and produces the unique contribution to the Kingdom economy only that individual can make. This empowerment of God by His grace, and the consequent destiny should determine our assignment – the place of service we are engaged in. When it grace empowerment and assignment match, we can flow with the Spirit, doing the Father’s will, and bear much fruit for His glory.
So, how can we be “in the flow” consistently? Jesus gives us several keys, both from His words and His life-pattern. First, let’s take a look at how he wraps it all together. He sums it up in the Vine & Branches metaphor and calls it abiding:
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 14:4-5 ESV
The “abiding” is not action-oriented, but relationally-oriented. It is a state of being in Christ, not a state of doing for Christ. The vital life of Jesus flows into us from our regular and continual communion with Him as we abide in Him through the Spirit. This is Jesus’ pattern:
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. Mark 1:35-39 ESV
Jesus went from one place of prayer, one place of communion with the Father, to another – and in between He spoke the truth, brought healing to the sick, forgiveness and acceptance to the “sinners,” broke demonic powers, delivered justice to the oppressed and spoke prophetic rebuke to the religious elite. He was always abiding, He was constantly in concert with the Father, constantly “in the flow.”
My encouragement is for us all to spend more time communing with Him through reflective prayer informed by the Scripture, so that as we move through our day, we can be in the flow, guided and empowered by the Spirit. I would also encourage us to reflect on our current ministry assignment – does it fit our grace empowerment, or is there some change needed – in us or the circumstance or way of ministry – that needs to come so that we can flow with the Spirit, bearing much fruit for the Father.
May the Lord teach you how you specifically can abide in Him, and may you flow in your grace for His glory.
Monday, October 29, 2007
The Clock is Ticking
by Tom Johnston
Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. John 4: 35 ESV
This is an amazing scene: Jesus having had a dialog with the Samaritan woman, the disciples have returned from getting take-out food and are weirded-out by the fact that the Rabbi is talking to a woman – and not one of good reputation to boot! They are so wrapped up in the day-to-day of life and so stunned by Jesus breaking some serious social and religious taboos that they miss the fact that the entire village is now surging out of the town and coming up to see Jesus. They are so caught in their own moment that they fail to realize the work of the Father – Jesus’ “food” – which is at hand. They could not see the harvest before them, they were still looking for something in the future, specifically, the restoration of the Davidic Kingdom through Jesus. Looking for the Kingdom in the future, they missed the Kingdom in their now.
Are we like the disciples? Is the Church in the West so caught up in the concerns of day-to-day life (read: American Dream) that we miss seeing the harvest? Are we so caught up in the politico-religious Culture War in our country that we can’t see the white fields? Can it be that, looking to see people assured of eternity, we actually miss the opportunity to lovingly serve them in the now, and demonstrate for them the presence of God’s Kingdom rule on Earth? In many ways we need to have our eyes opened to see the potential harvest in our now.
It is our belief that in each generation there is a harvest of souls to be gathered, and it is Christ’s desire to see these people enter into His Kingdom community. But do we have time to see and engage the harvest? Are we so busy running like the rats in the proverbial race that we have no time for the harvest? As we shift our life from zero to 60 every morning are we zipping past the people whom Jesus is calling to Himself? Maybe we are plugging into our personal iPod-of-a-life and tuning everyone else out.
Or, are we placing are harvest hope (read: bets) on some cataclysmic future series of events which will drive people to Jesus? (Like His love isn’t enough to win their hearts?) Earthquakes, forest fires, tsunamis, stock market crashes, you know, God roughing us up a bit, so we get it. Sure would be a whole lot less work for us!
It could be we are still hoping to win the Culture War by electing the right candidates to office and passing laws which will Christianize everybody. Get the right people in the right places and – zingo – the next thing you know everybody is wearing a white shirt and tie and parting their hair on the right side of their head and it is 1957 all over again. God forbid we have to cross some social barriers to minister to unfriendly people who look different from us! Much easier to get the vote out and pass laws instead!
Here is the reality of it all – 7 out of 10 people within walking distance of you right now as your read this are not going to go into eternity knowing Jesus. You don’t need to meet anyone new to share Christ – you already know the harvest – maybe you just can’t see it. And those people that you know don’t need to be attacked by terrorists, struck by falling space junk or come to financial ruin so Jesus can get through to them. They just need us – Jesus’ people – His Church, to live like Him in front of them. His love embodied in our arms, our hands our words, our actions of service. Yes, some will still reject Him – but we will increase the population of the future Kingdom, and quite probably pull a little bit more of that future into our now.
The clock is ticking on this generation’s opportunity. May God open all of our eyes to see the harvest in our day – and that our harvest is ready now.
Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. John 4: 35 ESV
This is an amazing scene: Jesus having had a dialog with the Samaritan woman, the disciples have returned from getting take-out food and are weirded-out by the fact that the Rabbi is talking to a woman – and not one of good reputation to boot! They are so wrapped up in the day-to-day of life and so stunned by Jesus breaking some serious social and religious taboos that they miss the fact that the entire village is now surging out of the town and coming up to see Jesus. They are so caught in their own moment that they fail to realize the work of the Father – Jesus’ “food” – which is at hand. They could not see the harvest before them, they were still looking for something in the future, specifically, the restoration of the Davidic Kingdom through Jesus. Looking for the Kingdom in the future, they missed the Kingdom in their now.
Are we like the disciples? Is the Church in the West so caught up in the concerns of day-to-day life (read: American Dream) that we miss seeing the harvest? Are we so caught up in the politico-religious Culture War in our country that we can’t see the white fields? Can it be that, looking to see people assured of eternity, we actually miss the opportunity to lovingly serve them in the now, and demonstrate for them the presence of God’s Kingdom rule on Earth? In many ways we need to have our eyes opened to see the potential harvest in our now.
It is our belief that in each generation there is a harvest of souls to be gathered, and it is Christ’s desire to see these people enter into His Kingdom community. But do we have time to see and engage the harvest? Are we so busy running like the rats in the proverbial race that we have no time for the harvest? As we shift our life from zero to 60 every morning are we zipping past the people whom Jesus is calling to Himself? Maybe we are plugging into our personal iPod-of-a-life and tuning everyone else out.
Or, are we placing are harvest hope (read: bets) on some cataclysmic future series of events which will drive people to Jesus? (Like His love isn’t enough to win their hearts?) Earthquakes, forest fires, tsunamis, stock market crashes, you know, God roughing us up a bit, so we get it. Sure would be a whole lot less work for us!
It could be we are still hoping to win the Culture War by electing the right candidates to office and passing laws which will Christianize everybody. Get the right people in the right places and – zingo – the next thing you know everybody is wearing a white shirt and tie and parting their hair on the right side of their head and it is 1957 all over again. God forbid we have to cross some social barriers to minister to unfriendly people who look different from us! Much easier to get the vote out and pass laws instead!
Here is the reality of it all – 7 out of 10 people within walking distance of you right now as your read this are not going to go into eternity knowing Jesus. You don’t need to meet anyone new to share Christ – you already know the harvest – maybe you just can’t see it. And those people that you know don’t need to be attacked by terrorists, struck by falling space junk or come to financial ruin so Jesus can get through to them. They just need us – Jesus’ people – His Church, to live like Him in front of them. His love embodied in our arms, our hands our words, our actions of service. Yes, some will still reject Him – but we will increase the population of the future Kingdom, and quite probably pull a little bit more of that future into our now.
The clock is ticking on this generation’s opportunity. May God open all of our eyes to see the harvest in our day – and that our harvest is ready now.
Servant Leadership
by Mike Chong Perkinson
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. Mark 10:45
What you are shouts so loudly in my ears I cannot hear what you say. Emerson
Leadership Tension: One can do the right thing and do it poorly or one can do things right while doing the wrong thing. This is possibly why many ministries flounder.
It is said that a manager is one who gets things done right, while a leader is one who gets the right things done. Management follows good leadership. Let me use for example a group of people that are tearing up a field so that a baseball park might be built on it. No matter how good the management is, it is all worthless if the group of people are working on the wrong field. Leadership is the ability to find the right field. We are in great need of spiritual leaders; being busy is not our goal, but doing what is right and pleasing to the Lord for the benefit of the Kingdom is. As a result, the most effective leader is one who is willing to serve and be led by the Master Himself. We want people who are servant leaders and not leaders who simply want to be served. Keep in mind, we are never beyond a task (that is, above doing it). If our Master can lower Himself to the service of a slave as He washed the disciples’ feet; surely we can allow ourselves to not be above any task.
Five questions are in need of answering by us on a regular basis. They are:
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. Mark 10:45
What you are shouts so loudly in my ears I cannot hear what you say. Emerson
Leadership Tension: One can do the right thing and do it poorly or one can do things right while doing the wrong thing. This is possibly why many ministries flounder.
It is said that a manager is one who gets things done right, while a leader is one who gets the right things done. Management follows good leadership. Let me use for example a group of people that are tearing up a field so that a baseball park might be built on it. No matter how good the management is, it is all worthless if the group of people are working on the wrong field. Leadership is the ability to find the right field. We are in great need of spiritual leaders; being busy is not our goal, but doing what is right and pleasing to the Lord for the benefit of the Kingdom is. As a result, the most effective leader is one who is willing to serve and be led by the Master Himself. We want people who are servant leaders and not leaders who simply want to be served. Keep in mind, we are never beyond a task (that is, above doing it). If our Master can lower Himself to the service of a slave as He washed the disciples’ feet; surely we can allow ourselves to not be above any task.
Five questions are in need of answering by us on a regular basis. They are:
What are we leading/managing? Too often we lead a structure and not people. We are more interested in building a ministry than doing ministry with people. Our focus is always to build people and not our ministry. I realize this is obvious, but people are the ministry. The following is the way I seek to build people (taken from Matthew 5:13-16):
“Light the lamp” -- Help people light their lamps through the Holy Spirit. This is the stage of salvation and healing. Many who come to you, even those who know the Lord, are dry and without life and in tremendous need of healing.
“Let your light shine” -- Help people practice individual spirituality in their private life. We want people to grow as Christians from the inside out.
“Set it on a lampstand” -- Help people share the reality of God’s work in their life to everyone they come in contact with by word and deed. This tends to come more naturally when people’s lives are changed. This sets us up for our “virus” approach to evangelism. We desire to infect people with Jesus. The best way to do this is to catch the “virus” of Jesus ourselves and be the church anywhere, everywhere, and all the time.
Why are we leading? This should be brought before the Lord on a regular basis. He will purify our motives as we grow as leaders. Practically, if you discover you are leading out of an incorrect motive, don’t quit. Let God purify you as you lead. The single greatest need of spiritual leaders today is to ignore the voice of flesh that beckons us to be noticed and successful and learn to hear the voice of God that beckons for us to be humble and for Christ to be noticed.
Where is the leadership going to take you? Do we really know where we are trying to take the people? Keep in mind, it is ludicrous that others can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there. This does not imply that you have to be an alcoholic to minister to alcoholics. Rather, it clarifies for us the key of being servants and broken before God. Are you actually living out what you are leading? The destination is more than systems and numbers, it is about character and the forming of Christ in people.
What are the values we embrace? And do they fall in line with what we are doing? All too often, people will do the opposite of what they profess to value. For example, they say they believe in servant leadership, but rarely serve when the opportunity comes. We know we are actually servants in our hearts the moment we are treated like one and we are ok with it.
Is the ministry growing? This is where the American success mindset has really impacted us. We tend to believe that growth is best monitored by numerical increase. Always remember, a large ministry does not mean anything more than a large ministry. It does not necessarily mean the people are growing in Christ. By this, I am not suggesting we do not want more people to get saved nor am I being critical of large ministries. Remember big is not better. Small is not better. Better is better. Our focus is not get to bigger, but to grow big people. We will let the Lord take care of the increase. Here is the criterion I use to determine if my ministry is growing or not:
Are people’s relationships with God stabilizing? Before we can change the world, we need to see God change the world of individuals.
Are people’s relationships with each other growing?
Is concern for the lost and broken increasing in the fellowship? Are they beginning to reach out?
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. As Acts 2:47 seems to indicate, people coming to Christ is a by-product of our relationship with Jesus – the lived way with Christ, with others and for others.
May we all become servant leaders, who desire nothing more or less than living our lives to the King and His Kingdom. To help us prepare our hearts for such I offer you this prayer.
THE SERVANT LEADERS’ PRAYER
Don’t give us blessings--give us grace to be unquestionably obedient to Your every last command and desire.
Don’t give us status--give us a place to serve.
Don’t give us things for our use--use us.
Don’t give us a mansion to live in--give us a springboard to take Christ’s love to the whole world.
Don’t give us good jobs--put us to work.
Don’t give us pleasure--give us perspective.
Don’t give us satisfaction--teach us sacrifice.
Don’t give us entertainment--enable us.
Don’t give us good salaries--give us strength to do Your will.
Our great joy in life is in pleasing our Lord--and there is no other joy comparable.
- Gordon Aeschiman
God raise up servant leaders!
Tell me what you think. Let’s talk about it.
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