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!

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.

The Taboo Subjects

We've all heard some form of the saying, "there are two things one should never discuss: religion and politics."
There's a lot of truth to that adage. Discussing them is a great way to kill a friendly conversation and make enemies. I have to ("get" to?) talk about religion all the time...it's my job! But even I stay as far from discussing politics as I can (except for with my closest friends and family). One reason is because I'm in the business of influence. Even though I do have strong feelings about some issues that have political ramifications, and even though I'm a news junkie and read quite a bit about political issues, it could—no, it would—hurt my influence on many people if I wade often into subjects of politics. I've learned this lesson the hard way. Few matters cause people to be more defensive than ideology—particularly when one's own ideology is being challenged. For example, homosexuality has become political. There was a time (not long ago) when one could have a discussion about it with someone without being labeled and written off as an extremist. Abortion...same thing. Immigration...ditto. Racism... unions... healthcare... guns... marijuana... the Middle East... tax issues... voting laws... Do I need to continue this list? I'm not talking about discussing whether someone should be a Democrat or Republican (a toxic issue to be sure). I'm saying that you can't even discuss issues without offense because they have become so politicized—particularly with millennials. I've never seen such an easily offended generation. Comedians like Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld say so. They won't even perform on college campuses any more. I've witnessed this extreme sensitivity first hand. Recently a college-aged person marched up to me after a sermon, visibly shaking, accusing me of xenophobia and bigotry against hispanics because I mentioned a story in the news of a frequently deported illegal immigrant with a criminal record who had killed a young woman in San Francisco! I didn't even mention his race or country of origin! Yeesh!

It seems being offended is the new moral high ground. People can feel superior over others if they are outraged at someone's insensitivity. It is the new piety. I can share the plight of a victim if I express indignation over their victimization. Then I can vicariously become a victim, too! And THAT is virtual sainthood to the typical millennial.

But the presidential race has just begun. And there's no incumbent running. That means candidates in both parties are spending ridiculous amounts of money to be noticed. This means debates, TV ads, and non-stop media coverage of the horse race will be served to us ad nauseam. Because of it's ubiquity, people are going to want to talk about it. WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN TO DO? You will no doubt have incognito ideologues on both sides of the political aisle asking you coded questions designed to peg you. Once you're pegged, you are labled and influence is virtually impossible. Even more, you will be tempted to rant on Facebook and other social media or on a blog like this one.

Usually we are left with two options: 1. Jump full in and get politically involved and passionate about a political solution, candidate, party; or 2. Disengage entirely.

I've always believed there must be another option.

There is.

I just read a great blog post entitled, "4 Principles for Political Engagement as a Christian." I don't think I could have written one myself that I agree with more. Take some time and read it. It's important that Believers have a well-thought-out strategy for their own involvement in politics. In the post, Jared C. Wilson combines biblical testimony, Christian History (who else, but Augustine?), and common sense to guide the Christian through the tumultuous waters in which we find ourselves these days.

I would only add one additional principle that Wilson touches on but doesn't say outright: Sincerely live out your faith for all to see. One thing that Christians have generally failed to do over the last several decades is to genuinely practice Christlikeness—no, I mean to really live like Jesus and practice his principles! Turn the other cheek, take the load the extra mile, love your enemies, have compassion on the beaten man, forgive 70x7, get up before dawn and go to a solitary place to pray, give your wealth to help the unfortunate, stay up late into the night helping the hurting, open not your mouth to defend yourself, seek and save the lost, don't worry about what you will wear, show meekness, humility, poverty of spirit, boldness to speak truth to hypocrites, and be willing to die for people who hate you. In this way we, "let [our] light[s] shine before others, so that they may see [our] good works and give glory to [our] Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). When we live like Christ, exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit-filled life, we become a sweet fragrance that can draw even the most jaded, easily offended, vicariously victimized millennial to Christ. Paul said, "against such [a lifestyle], there is no law" (Galatians 5:23), including any "laws" of political correctness. The big problem is, many Christians don't look like Christ. Generally speaking, they themselves can act entitled, be easily offended, and seem holier-than-thou. They don't tip well, don't treat people kindly, and look the other way when someone is in need. They are products of our cultural Christianity, and share it's primary doctrine: God exists to make me happy. This is, of course, a bastardization of our faith. It is a false gospel. Even worse, it is subversive to the true Gospel.

In a strange way, the fact that we are living in a post-Christian America has helped me to see these shortcomings in myself. God, change me. Let me be more concerned about looking like Christ, than looking for a political solution that can make Christians a political majority.

Ahhhh...Romans!

I’m gearing up for Romans!

So far, I’ve amassed 16 commentaries and 8 sets of study notes for Romans. Some of these include works by Swindoll, Sproul, Stott, MacArthur, McGee, Moo, Carroll, Luther, Constable, and E.F. Harrison, to name a few. Tony (Providence Jeff. City campus pastor) and BP have got a few more that I will be able to share as well!  Online commentaries are a great resource, too. There I will likely tap into works by divines like Calvin, Wesley, Charles Hodge, and Schaff among others. Even early church guys like Chrysostom, Thomas Aquinas, and Augustine have commentaries on Romans that are available online! Awesome.

Sketch of Luther translating the
NT into German in Wartburg Castle

I’m also dusting off my Greek resources and tools. My desk is a heap! A big, beautiful heap. I just want to be kidnapped and confined in Wartburg Castle (that’s a Luther reference) with my Bibles & books so that I can marinate alone in all the truth! Yikes!...I’m shaking my head trying to wake up from the preacher-nerd trance. This is the kind of studying that I love most.

The actual desk where Luther worked.

Ahhhh... Romans. I’ve been scared and intimidated, but since going public that we’re going to do it, I’m becoming more and more excited. While I was in seminary John MacArthur came to speak and was asked during a Q&A about preaching through Romans. He quipped that a pastor should not attempt such a feat until he is at least 45 years old! It occurred to me last year when I was sensing God’s pleasure regarding us doing Romans that...that’s my age. Coincidence?

Wartburg Castle today
(and yes, that's where Wartburg,
Tennessee got its name)

Seriously, here’s the danger that many pastors fail to avoid: getting too caught up in delicious theological detail. Romans is to expositors what the Great Smokies are to botanists: a rich garden of interesting discoveries waiting to be found. I’ve been surveying how other pastors have led their congregations through Paul’s great letter. Most of them focused on doctrine and quoted lots of old theologians (see my list of commentators above!) and bored their people to death! What a shame!!! In the words of Young Life founder Jim Rayburn, “It is a sin to bore kids with the Gospel.” I would say it is also sinful to bore adults with the Gospel. And that’s what Romans is essentially about: The Good News—why we need it, how we get it, who makes it happen, and what happens to the lives of those who find it. Is it practical? Oh yes...yes it is.

And it offers our church many great opportunities to invite friends. Something that makes Providence different is our dogged commitment to creating an environment where new folks will feel at home. We do this in order to remove barriers so that people can hear the Good News. We’re going to work extra to make sure this is the case during Romans. Providence folks: build relationships and bring your friends. We’ll do our job. You do yours!

And God will do his.