Priorities for Growing Leadership

We're walking through the book of Acts. The church is on a roll. Despite the Ananias and Sapphira scandal, the growth of this Jesus movement continued! Acts 5: ¹⁴And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women. Next, the apostles were jailed and beaten by the Jewish religious elite. But they rejoiced they were counted worthy to suffer for Jesus. They didn’t shrink away or retreat, they kept the foot on the gas. Chapter 5 ends, ⁴²And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. Which resulted in growth. Chapter 6 begins: ¹Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, That’s a good thing! Notice Luke did NOT say “converts” or “attendees" were increasing. He said “disciples.” What’s a disciple? Someone who has followed Jesus, who is being changed by Jesus, and is on mission with Jesus. By use of the term disciple, Luke is making clear that their primary concern is not the quantity of followers, it is the quality. But it's obvious they do want to increase in number! 

I want to clarify something. At Providence, we have said our goal is not to be a megachurch. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to increase in number! We do! We are actually going for world conquest! If we are the kind of church God wants us to be, we WILL grow. The question is HOW do we want to grow? Our strategy is to make disciples and plant churches that make disciples. We just planted Bridge Church, we are already looking to plant another. We’re praying for a planter and for God to show us where the next plant will be. 

As we pick up in Acts, there is only ONE church, and it’s in Jerusalem. They will be planting churches soon, but God has to push them out of the nest with persecution as we shall see. But for now there is only one huge megachurch. And with size comes problems! Look: "...a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution (Luke 6:1b)." Here’s what’s happening: Widows in that patriarchal culture were in a vulnerable place. Without a husband they often couldn’t get a decent job, had very few rights, and many times they suffered. There was no government welfare and as Jesus pointed out, those in the religious establishment took advantage of them. So, as has almost always been the case, the church stepped in to meet the need—it was a great way to be the hands and feet of Jesus. But by addressing this need a faction that had formed in the church was revealed: the Greek-speaking, popular-culture-embracing “worldly” Jews who are now Christians (the Hellenists), are feeling like the more traditional, Hebrew speaking, Bible-thumping Jews are apparently getting more of the benevolence help! What is it about money and stuff?! I’ll say it again, money is a great tool for God, but it is such a temptation for problems. And fallen human beings are as they always have been: given to envy and jealousy, tempted to team up and divide, tend to get their feelings hurt—especially when stuff is being given away. Suddenly there’s a problem that could really divide the church. It’s a terrible thing when a church—a family of believers—choose sides and stop trusting each other. It’s hard to recover. It’s important for the leadership to deal with it openly and swiftly, and that’s exactly what they do:  ²And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve [where we get the word “deacon”] tables." The apostles, who were essentially the elders of this first church, were wise in seeing the temptation of being distracted from their primary responsibility—proclaiming God’s Word. I must say, the Devil works really hard to get pastors to do just that—be distracted by doing everything else! Is there any wonder why there is such a lack of transformational preaching today and why so many Christians and churches are so weak? Hear what Paul said to the young pastor, Timothy:

2 Timothy 4:1-5 

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (Note: I don’t think there has ever been a generation that better fit this description than ours!) 
As for you, always be sober-minded, (note: that means to be aware of what’s going on, but be steady and not sucked in to fads and trends. The NIV renders it, “Keep your head,” and the HCSB, “be serious.” Be disciplined.) endure suffering, (note: because there is suffering involved, trust me!) do the work of an evangelist, (note: that means share the gospel and plead for people to believe and surrender to Christ) fulfill your ministry.”

As awkward as it is for me to say it, my job is important! It must be fought for. For me, proclaiming his Word to the folks at Providence accurately, transformationally, evangelistically, and contagiously is at the top of the list. I admit there have been times when other things have taken precedent—good things—and God was not pleased. At risk of sounding self-serving, I make an appeal to any church members (at Providence or any other): allow your teaching pastor to do what God has called him to do for the church and to keep the priority high. Help him by hiring staff that can do other duties that are also important and allow them to do that. Help him by not having unreasonable expectations. Help him by also sharing with him the ministry needs of people in your church. That’s what the first church did. 

The apostles continued: Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty (Acts 6:3). That is a great description of what is required for leadership in ministry. Notice it’s all character-related, not skill-, experience-, personality-, or knowledge-related. We MUST select leaders—particularly elders and deacons—with the same criteria. Other criteria might be helpful, but these are essential: 

1. They must have a good reputation. Their past—their good name—matters. 

2. They must be full of the Holy Spirit. Their spirituality—their daily walk with the Lord and the visibility of the fruit of the Spirit—matters. 

3. They must be wise. The practical outworking of their faith in wise living matters. You can have knowledge and intelligence without having wisdom. 

These things matter most. The apostles continued: But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). They said this because it takes time to pray. And it takes time to preach. I speak from experience. I know some aren’t going to understand and it sounds self-serving for me to say it, but it’s important that the primary teacher/preacher of any church dedicate much time for prayer and preparation for preaching. I am thankful that I had a pastor that took these priorities seriously, and I am here because of him. I have seen many pastors who didn’t take ample time for these most important duties and their churches suffered: they were weakened and sometimes divided as the Gospel was not pre-eminent. I have also seen churches drift away from sound doctrine when the Word was not central. It is a shame, and both the pastors and their churches are to blame. My doctoral dissertation makes the case that sincere and relevant biblical proclamation is the hope for the church in postmodern America. All churches need praying, Word-preaching pastors.

So the Jerusalem church affirmed the idea, and chose seven men who all had Greek (rather than Hebrew) names, indicating they were probably Hellenists, and Luke wants us to know that one of them was not even racially Jewish! That brought some diversity to the leadership. What was the result of this organizational move? "And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith" (Acts 6:7). Wow! We've seen "added," and "multiplied," and now "multiplied greatly!" Christ’s church just keeps reaching more people—including some Jewish priests! God’s Word is powerful! Don’t you want to be a part of a church like that? 

I think we can if our churches recognize three priorities:

1. The ministry of the Word is important. 

For my part (and any pastors who preach), it takes dedicated prayer and preparation. This takes time (and discipline to set aside ample time) for these purposes. I have seen various surveys that show that the average pastor spends as little as 6 minutes a week in prayer. There’s your answer to the question, “Why are so many churches dying?” A prayerless pastor is powerless. I have also known pastors who brag that they need only two or three hours to prepare a sermon. I had a pastor friend who told me proudly that he only needed to prepare for 30 minutes! I would rue the day I stood to proclaim God's Word so unprepared. I actually have nightmares of standing up and not being prepared! Seriously, I ask the people of Providence to hold me accountable to do my job well. I ask them to pray for me, and to never let me (or anyone else who may have my job) take this lightly by cutting corners, compromising doctrinally, diminishing the Gospel, or being out-of-touch. If I do, they should replace me. 

For your part, make hearing the Word a priority, hear with your heart what God is saying to you (not some preacher), and apply what you hear (James 1:22). Even if the sermon isn't as polished or interesting or inspiring or in-depth or even accurate as you would like, God can still speak. I visited about 10 churches this past summer and got something out of every sermon I heard. Sometimes the problem is the receiver not the quarterback.

2. Choosing good leaders is important. Five tips from the passage we just read: 

• We must organize to meet people’s needs and ministry priorities. 
• We must insist on character qualifications first. 
• We should choose leaders with a process that includes every member’s voice. 
• We must encourage diversity in leadership (e.g. race, age, and religious background).
• We must intentionally grow disciples to lead God’s growing church.

3. Quantitative growth is important, but quality is more! 

In fact, quantitative growth won’t happen (or happen sustainably) if we are not growing people spiritually. Yes, quality is more important than quantity BECAUSE QUALITY (making disciples) RESULTS IN QUANTITY. A church might be able to grow numerically for a while, but without quality, it will not last. That’s the main reason the bigger-is-better, numerical-growth-at-all-costs, mega-church model often fails. The charismatic lead pastor will leave or die or fail morally. The big show on Sunday services will eventually lose it’s wow factor. Eventually the breadth will require depth. So let’s make disciples. That starts with you. Are you a disciple? Have you followed Jesus? Are you being changed by Jesus (that means growing—are you closer to Jesus—more like Jesus than you were a year ago)? Are you on mission with Jesus? That means you’re praying and seeking to be used by God to influence others. IS THAT YOU? If that’s not you, it can be. I pray it will be. Will you ask God to make you a disciple? See, Disciples make disciples. Disciple-making churches plant churches. Don’t be an attender. Don’t be a fan. Be a DISCIPLE. World conquest will be the result!

Disciple-Makers or Demon Deacons?

I'm writing this post knowing that it's not an exciting issue for most people. But it actually is, if you love God's church, think it should be conformed to the instructions God gave us for church in the New Testament, and love seeing more people leading in his church (which equals growth of his church). 

First, it is not the goal of Providence Church to be a megachurch or to have bragging rights because we are the largest church in town. That's just vain. Our goal is to utilize our time and resources in order that through us God will make disciples of as many people as possible and have the largest impact on this world. That means it's more about quality (disciple-making) than quantity (converts or attendees). That's because real disciples are on mission and reproduce themselves. That said, we have for 10 years struggled to break the 1000-attendee barrier. It's not an uncommon thing, and it's not necessarily a bad thing (if we are planting churches and making, growing, and unleashing disciples). I am convinced that there is a correlation between the size of a disciple-making church and the impact it can have in this world. For many reasons (that I will not expound upon here) and in our context, I think that the "sweet spot" number is 1500 to 2000 people. There are some practical factors that can determine whether we grow that large, like: our building's size, our lack of parking space, our leadership structure, as well as our culture of inviting and welcoming and encouraging new people, and caring for those already in the family. These factors, and to a greater degree our struggle to grow, has caused our elders to pray and think and read and discuss solutions. 

Several things are obvious: 

1. We need more space. This can be accomplished in several ways: multiple services, different campuses, larger facilities (either by constructing more or moving to another location), or getting rid of people by planting new churches. NONE of these are easy. 

2. We need more, capable leaders. After all, we are in the people business. An essential ingredient to making disciples is disciple-makers. These should be raised up IN THE CHURCH, or we are not accomplishing our mission.

3. We need more resources. Specifically, money. Because there are many practical necessities for disciple-making and church planting. 

Let me deal with the first and last of these quickly: 

1) The space problem is real, especially regarding parking and children's ministry space. Yes, the auditorium is tight at times, but that's not our primary problem. We have and are trying to accommodate for this until we're able to plant a church and build more space.

3) As people grow more mature spiritually, they are obedient to God and give more. We have started classes to help people manage their money better, and we have significantly paid down our debt (I have not given up hope that we will retire it). This frees up significant amounts of money each month.

Also, growth in members also results in more giving.

That leaves number 2. How do we raise up leaders who are capable and accountable to, and passionate about making disciples and planting churches? We must be intentional about this. We recognized (again) the need for our current staff and leaders to raise up "replacements" for themselves and recruit and train more who will "own" the ministries of Providence. These leaders must be identified as equals to the staff (much the same way as our non-staff elders are equals to Jesse and me).

About a year ago, I read a book entitled, RetroChristianity: Reclaiming the Forgotten Faith by Michael J. Svigel. Unbeknownst to me, Jesse was reading it for a class about the same time. In the book, Svigel accurately describes the simple structure of the early church, consisting of elders AND deacons, that remained basically the same and allowed the church to grow exponentially for the first few centuries. That is, until the Roman Emperor became a Christian and the church exchanged the simple structure it began with for a much more complex structure that more resembled Roman society. Corruption and stunted growth followed, ushering in the dark ages.

Jesse wrote me an email early in 2016 dropping the idea of calling this new categorization of leaders, deacons. My first reaction to this suggestion was not positive. I've dealt with "demon" deacons before (and not the Wake Forest University variety)! It usually wasn't pleasant. Deacons tend to be winners of a church popularity contest vote who, instead of serving, become the Mayberry town council-type complainers and troublemakers—dividers, not disciple-makers. I re-read the scriptural passages about deacons, and read germane sections of RetroChristianity again. I realized that what Jesse had said was true: the only biblical name for the type of leaders we were wanting to establish is "deacon." 

After much discussion, Jesse and I made the case to the elders so that we could all pray together about this. After much more deliberation, we decided to put it before the church. Here is the white paper we wrote about the new (to us) office.

After much prayer, we presented to the church that we wanted to establish the office of deacon at Providence. Of course there was some pushback. We totally expected it. In fact, it was not as much or as fierce as we expected. And all was lovingly delivered. All those who struggled with establishing deacons at Providence had churched backgrounds where deacons were not defined and determined biblically. This had resulted in problems for the church. 

In addition to the white paper (which answers most questions), I answered a few emails and had additional conversations with people. For example, here is part of one email reply to a member who is (like me and many others in our church and area) from a Baptist background (I've hidden the name of the recipient). In addition to having some bad personal experiences with deacons in a traditional church, he was struggling with the idea of women deacons.

Hey brother,
I appreciate your email so much. I love you and I LOVE your commitment to the Bible. I assure you there will never be a day while our current elders are alive where we compromise the clear teaching of Scripture, and I hope we put measures in place for the future leaders of Providence to have the same commitment. I am thankful for you for lots of reasons, including because you are a convicted conservative, evangelical, protestant, Christian. SO AM I. Even though we are not affiliated with a denomination, we are certainly "baptistic" regarding doctrine. I'm proud of my Baptist heritage (well, most of it anyway :) )! Truth is, we from Baptist backgrounds must forget some of what we have been taught about deacons, and look to the Scriptures alone for the definition. While baptists get most things right, many of them miss the biblical role for deacons. That has everything to do with Baptist history in the United States.
In Baptist churches, deacons have over the centuries become "rulers" rather than "servants" as they were intended to be in the New Testament. Baptist churches in the USA usually began in small communities, in rural areas, or on the frontier, and hardly EVER had a full-time pastor when they began. Most of them had itinerate or "circuit" preachers who would alternate between 2 to 4 different small churches! Because there was a shortage of pastors/preachers/elders (they considered these terms to be synonymous) and didn't have a plurality of elders, the deacons operated as the ruling "board" of the church. If a church was able to grow enough, they would eventually celebrate the day that they could hire a full-time pastor. But the power vested in the deacon board never changed. That's why virtually all Baptist pastors have stories of having trouble with "the Deacon board" of their churches (I know you have experienced this!). The deacons had become a ruling board, rather than what the NT intended: a group of leading servants who served under the authority of the elders. Most conservative scholars agree that the word sometimes translated "wives" in 1Tim.3:11 should be translated "women" and refers to women deacons. I quoted John MacArthur in the "white paper" and I could bore you to tears with the many conservative commentaries and early church fathers who were convinced of this interpretation. Here's just one more from the great conservative Baptist Charles Haddon Spurgeon's favorite scholarly resource: Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible:"their wives" — rather, “the women,” that is, the deaconesses. For there is no reason that special rules should be laid down as to the wives of the deacons, and not also as to the wives of the bishops or overseers. Moreover, if the wives of the deacons were meant, there seems no reason for the omission of “their” (not in the Greek). Also the Greek for “even so” (the same as for “likewise,” 1 Timothy 3:8, and “in like manner,” 1 Timothy 2:9), denotes a transition to another class of persons. Further, there were doubtless deaconesses at Ephesus, such as Phoebe was at Cenchrea (Romans 16:1, “servant,” Greek, “deaconess”), yet no mention is made of them in this Epistle if not here; whereas, supposing them to be meant here, the third chapter embraces in due proportion all the persons in the service of the Church. Naturally after specifying the qualifications of the deacon, Paul passes to those of the kindred office, the deaconess. 

Trust me, there is not a single early church father of the first five centuries that disagrees with this interpretation. It was not until much later when it was translated or interpreted "wives of deacons." I know what you're thinking. "No conservative believes women can be deacons." I know! I have felt the same way! And I still do regarding churches where deacons [unbiblically] are rulers! Again, we want the office of deacon to be what the New Testament intends: servants. I think it is more important to bring our church in line with what the Bible really teaches than to hold to man-made tradition. Please know that there is no biblical case for women elders (who ARE the ruling body of the church) and that Providence will not compromise regarding the Bible's teaching. I give you my word on this. So unless we see something in the Bible that suggests that we should change our practice to conform better to the Bible, we will not change it. I am thankful that we have a men-led church. In most churches I know, most volunteer and leadership positions are filled by women. However, we actually have more men involved in all aspects of leadership (including traditionally woman-dominated positions, like children's ministry and worship) than any other church I know percentage-wise. That's due in part to our focus on men being the leaders God has called them to be. This is in no wise a put-down for women! God loves strong women and we want them to serve in the church in myriad ways.
Brother, the decision is not made yet. The elders are presenting the idea to the whole church so that we can all pray about it, study what God's Word says, and then vote on it. 
Sincerely,
Chad

There it is. Exciting stuff, right? I actually think so. We MUST raise up new leaders if we want to make more disciples and plant churches. I think God is trustworthy to build HIS church. As we conform it to the description given in the New Testament, we are trusting HIM to do so.

Does Questioning God Equate to Stumbling?

You would think that if there was ever a time when no one questioned who Jesus was, it would be while Jesus was on earth in the midst of his public ministry (as we are studying in Luke right now). Even Jesus’ enemies didn’t doubt him. He had healed a paralyzed man in their presence. Jewish leaders had even appealed on behalf of a friendly centurion—and Jesus healed his servant. And the pièce de résistance: we last saw Jesus in Nain, giving life to a dead man who’s body was about to be buried—a widow’s only son—in Luke 7. Now THAT’s not something you see every day (I'm being facetious, of course). The witnesses freaked: ¹⁶Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” The passage we studied last week ended: ¹⁷And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country. Needless to say, Jesus is a celebrity—probably the most talked-about person in all the Middle East. There’s not a whole lot of doubt going on. Jewish leaders are wondering what to DO with him, but even they don’t question him. 

But there is a guy in Israel who does. And he is the last person you might think would: John Baptizer. 

Remember him? He used to be the biggest celebrity in Israel. Besides being Jesus’ cousin who leaped in his mom’s womb when a pregnant Mary visited, he’s the one who introduced Jesus to the world. He had all the prophet credentials: the right heritage (his dad was a priest), a great story (miraculous birth from elderly mom), the right prophetic persona, he was even prophesied about himself. People came from everywhere to hear him and be baptized. Jesus even took some of John's disciples to be his own. When Jesus’ popularity eclipsed John's, he’s the one who said, “He must increase…” Remember?! Well, what happened to John? Truth is he fell victim to one of the classic blunders for preachers: he got political.

I blogged about this in January. He essentially weighed in on Herod's skanky marriage to his brother's wife (who happened to also be his niece), Herodias. Apparently, this convoluted and immoral arrangement was concocted in order to bolster an image of bloodline-legitimacy to placate the Jews so the Herods could stay in power. And it was by a thin, brittle thread that Jewish sensitivities were kept tamped down. The Herods (Herod Antipas and Herodias—there are several more in this intertwined family tree!) knew this, and when John Baptizer started meddlin' he had to be silenced. No one wanted him shut down more than Herodias, whose ambition was unquenchable! She was a woman you did not want to offend! Today politics presents preachers with a target-rich environment! Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Wow. Have there ever been two morally worse people, offered by the two dominant parties from whom it appears the president will come?! See I just lost some of you, making my point!

So, John Baptizer, once famous, is (according to Matthew) now in prison for getting political—doing what I just did: pointing out the moral flaws of some in power. 

Now, while sitting in prison, John hears reports about Jesus who is on a roll! Just delivered a great sermon, he healed a centurion’s servant in absentia, and just revived a dead young man. 

St. John the Baptist in the Prison by Spanish painter

Juan Fernández de Navarrete (1565-70).

Luke 7: ¹⁸The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, ¹⁹calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 

This is interesting! Scholars have argued: is John doubting or is he trying to push Jesus to do something—perhaps get on with the rest of the prophesies about the Messiah (the conquest and reigning as King parts), perhaps just get John out of prison so that together they can join forces. We must admit, it’s hard to go from “who’s who” to “who’s that” to “who cares”! John who once had all attention now sits forgotten! He’s gotten what he asked for—decrease!  But this isn’t working out like he thought. Sometimes decrease hurts! Sometimes it makes us question.

There are many times and many different ways I’ve seen similar things happen. 

• Perhaps someone you love died and you grieved deeply and questioned God.

• Anthony told me about a pastor he knows who lost both legs to diabetes. He's in pain, discouraged, and…questioning God.

• I know many who have left ministry for one reason or another because of questions. That causes others to question.

• Last week a woman came to my office struggling with a real family issue. She's asking: “I’m doing the right thing... Why am I not feeling blessed?”

• Some of you finding out decrease isn’t fun. ~I know a family trying to do the right thing financially and all heck broke loose. Sickness, kid problems, a parent dying. Why?

• Perhaps you're saying: Marriage wasn’t supposed to be like this! This is hard. 

Some of you asking God: “Are you really the one? ‘Cause from my view it ain’t working.”

And it’s happened to me. I’ve told you about a period of crisis I had while in college. I was completely not expecting my religion classes to undermine my faith. College wasn’t supposed to be like this. I was thinking I was going to a Christian place where I was going to grow! Now I was questioning almost everything!

Notice this crisis John is having comes right after the example of the centurion. Almost in contrast: The guy who has no real reason to believe does. The one who has every reason to believe is struggling.

Well, John's two disciples came to Jesus.

²⁰And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” ²¹In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. ²²And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: [He quotes from Is. 35 and 51] the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. In effect, Jesus says: “Go remind John what the Old Testament says the Messiah will be about and tell him what you’ve seen happen before your eyes. 

Now, I notice that Jesus stops short of quoting the “set the captives free” part of those messianic prophesies.

He ends:  ²³And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” The word translated "offended" is the Greek word, skandalon (where we get the English word, "scandal.") which literally means "a cause for stumbling." Jesus is saying, don't stumble over me. Don't see me as a scandal and be offended to the point of losing faith!

So what?

1. It’s normal to question when things get hard. Don’t beat yourself up. Next time remember you’re in good company. John Baptizer was the greatest man born!

2. It’s good to be a healthy skeptic. Have spiritual curiosity. Take what you hear and read seriously. There are two wrong extremes: 1. Never question anything. You’ll be the one who, when faced with questions will say, “My pastor said…” or “My church believes…” It prevents you from engaging others and sets you up for a fall. 

That was one of the things that rattled me so badly when in college. I had never had to think critically. I just believed what I was told. I guess that's good…until someone persuasively told me lies.

What’s good is to be firm on the essentials. Know there are things you don’t question: God’s existence, Jesus’ full deity & humanity, salvation by grace. But there are so many other nonessentials that are still important, and nuances of even the essentials which bear checking out. Let me tell you, I have a list of Bible verses that are in the category “I don’t understand”! But many of these have become some of my favorites, giving me a more glorious understanding of Christ and his will!

The other extreme is 2. to have a spirit of disbelief. I’ve known people who took pride in their agnosticism or atheism. They made this their identity. They didn’t want to believe, therefore, they simply refused to give faith a chance. 

3. Sometimes we just need to suck it up. Not to be crass, but that’s basically the answer Jesus gives John. “John, Not only am I NOT going to come alleviate your suffering and jailbreak you, you are going to be beheaded because of a stripper. There’s no happy ending to your time on earth. 

Oh…and you’ll be blessed if you will trust me and stay the course. Suck it up and finish strong. Don’t stumble because of me.” 

So to finish the story of my period of doubt in college… I was in a tailspin of doubt. I walked to the apartment of a man who discipled me (a former missionary and athlete who was also my former student minister) and we drove to Pizza Hut. I confessed to him that I was struggling with doubt and told him why. I basically repeated the arguments my professor made that the Bible was full of errors. What I got was not understanding or pity…it was a trip to the woodshed! After hearing me out, his reply went something like this:

"Chad, you mean to tell me that you have seen God do so much in your life and through you and you are this quick to doubt him? You mean to tell me this Bible that you have loved and believed, where you have heard God speak to you as he has to people for 2000 years you are going to so quickly not believe anymore because of some pointy-headed, pseudo intellectual professor who gives a lecture with some cherry-picked arguments that don't stand the test of scrutiny? I feel like I may have wasted my time with you! I've seen new Christians in Africa go back to their Muslim families who pounded them with much more than what you've heard from that professor—and they stood firm!"

Truth is, he was wise in not coddling me. He knew me well and knew I was an athlete and he gave me a firm kick in the proverbial pants. And that was exactly what I needed! My face turned red as he spoke, because he was SO right. 

"Let me ask you a couple of questions," he said. "How many people do you think that professor has led to Jesus with those opinions? Do you know of anyone he's led to Christ, despite having hundreds of lost students in his classes studying the Bible?" I didn't answer, but I didn't know of any. I did, however, know of several who became hardened in their disbelief. He continued, "What kind of fruit do you see in his life? And have you gone to the library or to your pastor or anywhere else to look at the abundant scholarship that refutes all that he is teaching?" Again I didn't answer. Because he was right. I had not.

He did with me what I believe Jesus did with John: showed tough love to a guy who, in his heart, knew better. He knew I wasn't stumbling...I was questioning. 

My friend didn't just wound me. I don't want to leave the wrong impression. He pursued me afterward to affirm me, pray for me and help me find the truth. He is still my friend today—and I will never be able to thank him enough.

I love that as John's disciples were walking away, Jesus shouted many complements about John for all the crowd to hear. Among those was this: that there had never been a man born of woman who was greater than John. Pretty cool. 

Blessed are the Self-Examining

We’ve been observing Jesus’ “Sermon on the Plain,” that he would have called, “How to be Blessed.” Jesus deconstructs what the world says "blessed" means and says true blessing (happiness, contentment) comes if you’re poor, hungry, weeping, and hated for his sake. Then he gave us the key to the whole thing: Radical Love. That’s the meat of his sermon and what sets his movement apart from all others. We are to love radically. Even our enemies. If we live love this way blessedness is a natural outflow of our lives, meaning, we experience great joy HERE (not to mention eternity)! Jesus makes us consider something quite un-American: quantity does not equal quality. You see, we think more money, more stuff, more power, more fame, friends, fans, FOR SELF equals better life. But according to Jesus, that is a lie. Instead what you usually get is stress, broken relationships, a bad attitude, and maybe even health problems. If you're a Kool-Aid drinker, you will eventually figure this out, perhaps on your deathbed or (certainly) when you die. At that time you may even wonder: “Why didn’t somebody warn me about what I was doing?” Someone has. His name is Jesus. Heed his words. If you do not, infinite misery will be your ultimate reward (according to Jesus, anyway).

The next part of his short sermon continues like this: Jesus says if we love radically like this, we will not focus on others’ wrongs, but our focus will be on bettering ourselves. Jesus wants his disciples to do self-examination. Read it yourself (Luke 6): 

³⁷“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; 

Why is he saying this? Because the religious types of his day were all about pointing fingers at everyone else, and they missed the glaring problems they themselves had. Jesus wants his disciples to be different. 

Are we different? 

He continues:  

forgive, and you will be forgiven; ³⁸give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” 

This is so cool. If you love radically, you will experience MORE radical love than you gave. It's better than some Christian form of Karma. It's more like investing a little and getting A LOT. 

But that's not all: by examining yourself, you will more effectively lead others. Read his next words:

³⁹He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. 

Jesus’ point: I want you to have an influence...like me. And I want those you teach to have influence!

⁴¹Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴²How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye. 

It's a hilarious analogy Jesus makes! His point: work on yourself first! Then you will naturally have a positive influence on others. But if you don’t work on yourself, no one will take you seriously and you’ll only do damage. You’ll drive people away from good...and away from God.

This would be a good principle for parents to consider.

Jesus is saying when we sincerely follow him and share his values (not the world's), love radically, and focus on improving ourselves; that THAT’s powerfully infectious—and it changes the world for the good. 

⁴³“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, ⁴⁴for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 

Did you catch that? Radical love that considers our own need for improvement first, bears all kinds of good fruit!

What's "fruit"? 

The Bible speaks of three kinds of spiritual fruit: 

1. The fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) is a list of the attributes of the Holy Spirit-filled life of a Christian. That's what shows to others. 

2. Fruit can mean the results of our work or lifestyle as we seek to make a difference for good. For example, our kids are, in a sense, the fruit of our parenting. One's house and possessions are the fruit of one's livelihood. Spiritually speaking, the fruit of a godly life might be a good reputation. There are many examples.

But there’s another thing “fruit” means, that really captures the metaphor: 

3. Fruit is the reproductive part of a plant. This, applied, means we will reproduce more disciples. So if we want to see the world changed, followers of Christ must bear fruit...and we will. Living like Christ said, is infectious.

⁴⁵The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Here's the bottom line: As Christ's disciple your first responsibility is to love radically. Be self-LESS. YOU think and pray about how YOU can be more like Christ…how you can LOVE more like Christ. And you know what? Your words will follow. People will hear the gospel...and see it in your love. Like a peach tree full of beautiful, ripe peaches blesses those who comes to it for food, Christians who love and live the blessed life, bless others.

Imagine a world where all Christians examine their own hearts and actions first, and then love everyone else radically! Sound like a fairy tale? No. That’s Christ's plan. Heaven will be like that—and many more people will be there to enjoy it!

Imagine a church like that! What if we love and serve each other as brothers and sisters…what if we love the world and decrease self in order that God might increase, what if we give so that more churches can be planted that make more disciples! 

Imagine a family like that! A marriage like that! In my 29 years of ministry, I have seen that the top reason for struggling or failed marriages is this: selfishness. Tara Havely and other professional counselors have confirmed this anecdotal evidence. 

Do you know how this all starts? You being honest and searching yourself. Ask God, "What is my log?" Stop loving yourself first, admit your log, and ask God to change you. 

Try it.

Whirlwind Week and Weather

Wow, the last week has been crazy (mostly good!).

I spoke last weekend at the Tennessee State Fellowship of Christian Athletes College Advance, where hundreds of students from dozens of colleges and universities met together for a weekend of spiritual growth and encouragement. I was feeling a bit nostalgic when I began with them, as I thought about how much the TN FCA College Advance has influenced my life. I was a broken high schooler in 1984 when my dad took me along to the Advance to hear Dave Busby, a victim of polio who had cystic fibrosis. He talked about being a disciple—the first time in my life I heard about this pursuit that would change my life. In 1987 I was in college when Alan Duncan (who was effectively discipling me) spoke at the Advance. Among other things, it was the first time I was faced with implications of God's sovereignty (thanks Jeff Joslin!). Fast forward to 1996 (20 years ago) when I was asked to be the Advance speaker. My wife was (very) pregnant with my daughter (Duncan), who was born just two weeks later. Incidentally, I was on pins-and-needles the whole time, afraid Darla was going to go into labor while I was so far away (we lived in Johnson City and the Advance was near Nashville) and this was before cell phones! Some of the leaders played a cruel joke on me: they told me I had an emergency phone call about my wife! Panic stricken, I started running for my truck! I was going to leave right then, without my bags, and let them figure out who would speak at the rest of the Advance! They thought it was funny. I didn't. Anyway, at this year's Advance, my daughter Duncan was there in attendance! Crazy.

In short, the Advance went very well I think. What did I talk about? The ultimate pursuit: Discipleship. Yep.

There have been a handful of times when I have witnessed an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. One of these times happened at this Advance. It had nothing to do with me. The unofficial theme of the weekend was sexual purity and forgiveness of sexual sin. It was hugely on-the-mark for this group. During the last large-group worship meeting on Saturday evening, Marvin Mumford was leading the musical worship time before I was to speak, when everything broke. People began weeping and praying and confessing sin and crying out to Jesus. It was remarkable. I didn't really know what to do! I was just praying it was for real. I asked an old buddy (Lance Brown), "What should I do?" He assured me that some of the guys he brought from Vanderbilt were being legitimately impacted by God, and pulled me out of the room to pray. Good move. I determined to press on and finish the last trait of a disciple. And I think God continued to speak.

Here's my grandmother (affectionately known as, "Booboo").
She's sharp as a tack at 99 years young.

I left Middle Tennessee around 11PM and returned home around 3AM, getting Darla some roses for Valentine's Day on the way home. The next morning I went to church with my grandmother who turned 99 years old that day (yes, she's a Valentine baby!). After church we enjoyed a potluck birthday celebration with her church family and then spent a little time with our relatives at her house. Good times. She is a godly woman who has loved everyone more than herself. A disciple of Jesus Christ. She typed every paper my pastor grandfather wrote from college to his doctorate degree. I get the feeling she deserved the degrees!

Meanwhile, I was occasionally checking the weather reports that were calling for a quickly developing snow event. I hustled the family home and I jumped in the car and headed for Virginia (where I am as I write this) in order to try to beat the storm. Bad move. It began snowing right as I got out of Knoxville. It never let up. By Morristown, the Interstate slowed as the snow deepened. I jumped off before traffic stopped altogether and drove to 11E to miss the traffic jam as it was getting dark. The snow continued to pile up. I got back on the interstate near Greeneville (now there was very little traffic), and white-knuckled it all the way to my destination in Danville, VA. Yeesh! I quit counting the wrecks and stranded cars! Insane! Thank you, Lord, for your guidance.

The stately and huge chapel at Hargrave Military Institute
(obviously before the cadets arrived for the service).

Today I began speaking to the student body at Hargrave Military Academy, an all boys school in Chatham Virginia, for a three-day spiritual emphasis. This is a TOTALLY different type crowd than that of the College Advance. What is my subject? The ultimate pursuit: Discipleship.

I pray that my voice will hold out. I pray that I won't wreck the car I'm driving (roads are covered now with ice!). But more than anything, I pray that God will raise up some disciples—some radically committed followers of Christ—from this group of cadets.

God, do this!

Parenting Leaders

My kids and my godly and active 98-year-old grandmother. She still
plays the organ for her church. Talk about a woman who has made a
 difference! I am so thankful for her example and faithfulness to God.

I want to do everything I can to grow a strong family. This is my number one responsibility. If you're in a family, it's yours too. As a believer, I live to bring glory to God by making disciples. If I don't do that at home, what does this mean? I don't want to waste my life and I want my family to make a difference. Darla and I are raising our kids to be world-changers in their own ways, however God wants them to do that. Parenting is a huge challenge and we're not out of the woods yet! I recently told a friend that one probably shouldn't write a book about parenting until one's own kids are adults in order to be able to prove the strategy works. Ultimately, as with all other things, "it is God who works in us..." (Phil. 2:13), so we can't take any credit at all. It is with prayer and fear that I write (and preach) this! God please have mercy and provide grace to lead my family to walk in your ways.

We're currently walking through the gospel of Luke as a church. Of course, Jesus is the subject; and Luke's perspective on him is unique. Among other reasons, he's the only gentile Bible writer. He's also a keenly observant doctor, and a great story teller to boot.

Luke chapter 2 gives us the only inspired look at Jesus' childhood. That's it! Yeah, there are some apocryphal legends written much later…but none are reliable. And yeah, we can make some assumptions (some do)…but it’s conjecture. Here's everything we know about Jesus' childhood:

Luke 2:41-52 (ESV)

⁴¹Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. ⁴²And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. ⁴³And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, ⁴⁴but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, ⁴⁵and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. ⁴⁶After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” ⁴⁹And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” ⁵⁰And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. ⁵¹And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

⁵²And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

This passage isn’t so much overlooked, as it is missed in it’s intent. So many times growing up, I heard this story in Sunday school, along with the aid of felt boards and coloring pages. The focus was usually on the point that someone made a mistake. Must have been Mary and Joseph 'cause Jesus didn’t sin. Well, that’s not what it’s about. 

The PRIMARY reason the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to record was to show that Jesus–from age 12–understood who he actually was: the unique, begotten, Son of God. To claim to be God’s Son is to claim to be God. Throughout Jesus' life on earth he insisted he was the Son of God. The Jews understood that this meant Jesus was equating himself with God: "He was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God" (Jn 5:17-18).  This often made the Jews try to kill him, and that’s ultimately why they did. Luke records this in chapter 22 (NASB): 

^66…the Council of elders of the people assembled…saying, ⁶⁷“If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; ^…& they all said, “Are You the Son of God, then?” & He said to them, “Yes, I am.” ⁷¹Then they said, “What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”

That's the main thing Luke wanted us to know. Jesus claimed to be God. Because he was. He knew it from at least age 12. When he told Mary that she should've known he'd be in HIS Father's house, he wasn't using a metaphor, as in "God the Father of us all." He used a first-person singular possessive pronoun. "MY Father's house" (emphasis mine). "God really is my very Father and I am his literal Son."

There is a SECONDARY reason we have this story: 

The Temple is significant to God. This is a big deal and it is something that we don’t “get” today. Jesus was drawn to the temple, because the temple was, is (during Jesus' day), and will be important in God’s plan. When Jesus was left behind in Jerusalem, he went to the most logical place—God’s house—the central place of Jerusalem and the very reason they journeyed there for the Passover in the first place. Even more the temple was the center of earth for activity related to God. If one wanted to worship, seek, learn about or interact with God, this was the place to be. The temple pointed forward to Christ, it was the center of much of his ministry activity, and it's where he will return one day. There's more that I mentioned in the sermon and you can hear it here if you want. We will see more of the temple's role as we continue in Luke.

There is a TERTIARY (a third priority) reason I believe God revealed this story, and it happens to be the point that many feel is the most practical–and that's why I'm posting about it. It's what got the most discussion after the services. Several people asked for me to make it available. Here it is.

The home is key in the formation of a leader. We get a very honest snapshot of the family in which Jesus grew up. There are seven observations I made from Jesus’ family that I want to incorporate in my own family, and I encourage you to do so too. 

1. Devotion. Jesus was a part of a devout family that didn’t miss the passover and other customs of the faith. They made worship & religious observance a priority.

• Is your family marked by spiritual devotion? Is this your priority/identity? 

2. Community. Jesus’ family was well connected in their community of family, friends, and neighbors. All of this was faith-centric. So much so that Mary and Joseph assumed Jesus was in the band of them traveling together back to Nazareth. 

• Are you committed to building deep friendships and relationships with people who are positive influences? Where do you go for that? This doesn’t just happen. Relationships must be pursued. This is hard for Americans—we must see the importance of community and take initiative. Small groups, MANday Night, Engage, and many more opportunities exist at Providence.

3. Trust. There was apparently a lot of trust and freedom. Jesus was probably always in the right place and they didn’t become alarmed until a day after leaving Jerusalem. Now, all ended up ok, no one was at fault. If anyone, the parents should have made sure to check on him! He did the right thing by going to the one place they should known he’d be. Observation: they had a trust in him that resulted in freedom. 

• Trust begets freedom which begets more trust… This goes both ways. Kids, show yourselves honest and trustworthy, and parents will give more freedom. Parents, trust but verify and reward with freedom. Your job is to make disciples of your kids, unleashing them into the world to make a difference. That means parenting is in many ways the act of releasing. Catch them doing good. Sometimes let them fail. Point it out in love. Give them the privilege of consequences. Praise like crazy when they show character, honesty, trustworthiness. We brag & nag way too much about performance, not character!

4. Understanding Scripture. He was amazingly well-versed spiritually and engaging even as a pre-teen. No doubt his home was Bible-CENTERED. This is something a kid must have a hunger for themselves. And you can kindle the fire.

• Demonstrate a sincere love for the Bible. 

-Let them see you read it. -Let them hear you quote it -Let them see you live it out.

-When they’re young, read it to them. Discuss its meaning. (Jesus Storybook Bible)

-When they’re older take them to get their OWN Bible. (We spend hundreds on phones/games/clothes, let’s spend dozens on the greatest book..that changes lives.) 

-Encourage time alone with God. But NEVER force-feed or make this negative. 

-Don’t let someone else be the primary source for their Bible training. If they go to private school, let them teach you—you learn with them!

-Always talk about having a biblical worldview. And demonstrate having it. 

5. Learn from Mistakes. His parents didn’t communicate or check on him as they should have. They panicked, worried, and fretted as most parents do. They seem to shift the blame on him a bit. But Mary obviously “got it” later. She told Luke about it. She treasured it!

• You’re going to make mistakes. Utilize them! Don’t over-react or think you’ve doomed your kids. God has grace! He used imperfect parents to sharpen his Son, he will use you. Get over your mistakes and laugh about them later!

6. Obedience. After this episode, Jesus was submissive to his earthly parents. And his parents (Mary at least) told Luke about his full and complete obedience, in spite of the fact that he was God's son (read: "God in the flesh"). Imagine parenting THAT kid! 

• Like Jesus, submit to your parents! Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. " Honor your father and mother" (this is the first commandment with a promise), "that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land" (Eph 6:1–2). Until you’re independent, you’re under God’s command to submit. Unless they ask you to do something that God has forbidden, you only need to obey. You never get too old for this principle. The kind of submission may change, but you are always their child. Honor them! There are exceptions, but in virtually all cases, no one loves you more! This principle of obedience to parents has been ignored by our culture. 
Parents, it is important for you to be strong early. Kids need parents! You’ll have opportunities to be friends later (and much more so if your kids learn obedience).

7. Continued growth. You never finish growing. You never arrive. You can always be a better parent, just as you can be a better person. Your family isn't static. It's either getting healthier or growing toward dysfunction. Your kids aren't stuck in place, they're growing closer to Christ or running from him. 

• Never stop learning! Never quit. Never take a break. Always make things better. Always ask God to help you do your best. He will. Even the bad times will be used for his glory and your good.

The home is totally under attack in so many ways big and small. Fight for it. This is where leaders are made. Once again, there are no accidents with God. He wanted his Son raised in a spiritually-devout, community-connected, trust-based, Bible-centered-and-literate, authority-honoring, continually challenging/improving family, preferably with a mom & a dad. He went to great lengths to make this happen. Mary & Joseph were normal people who had challenges but had to make it work. You are too. You can too. Don’t buy the world’s lies about today’s new definition of family. In Jesus’ home there were important supports for spiritual growth. These are things that you can have in your home. This is how leaders are formed. This is how world-changers are forged.

Hear the whole message here from January 3, 2016 entitled, The Truth of Jesus' Childhood.