Church Leadership- Know Your Spiritual Flow

We have all heard the phrase, “Garbage in, garbage out”, most of the time referring to what we either put into our mind or put into our body.  It was a phrase repeated to me numerous times as a kid to get me to think about what I was listening to and what I was watching. It has to do with flow, the progression of how thoughts, faith, ideas, emotions, and wisdom move through us.

I recently experienced an interesting, but expensive, illustration of this truth. We were having some plumbing problems in our house, popping in the lines, sudden dripping in some faucets, so we called our local, friendly, and did I mention expensive, plumber. He walked in the house and took a quick listen to what our aliments were and immediately said, “I know what your problem is…”.

“OK”

“It’s your PRV valve, where is your main water cut off in the house?’

“Wait, a what valve?”

“PRV”

“You got me, what is PRV?… and is it expensive?”

“It is your pressure reducing valve”

“You got me again, what is a pressure reducing valve?… and is it expensive?”

“The PRV regulates the water pressure coming in from the street, it really shouldn’t be higher than 70-75psi. Yours is probably too high, it is why you are having these sudden leaks, there is too much pressure pushing against the faucets and hoses.”

“Oh, Ok… and is it expensive?”

“Yes”

The problem I was having with the “outflow” in my faucets was that my “inflow” was too strong… and after the repair, I needed more “inflow” into my bank account because my “outflow” was more than I expected!

The spiritual flow in a church is similar. As church leaders, as shepherds and servants in our congregations, we need to be aware of the “flows”.  In the beginning the Bible says that the Spirit was “hovering over the face of the deep”. That imagery is powerful, the awesome Spirit of God not sitting or relaxing, but hovering, waiting to move in power at the Word of the Father.  The flow begins as the Father says, “let there be light”, now there is movement, an outflow of power and might and wisdom as the universe comes into being.  Flow can be a powerful thing, sometimes it is gentle like a creek, sometimes it is powerful like the images we have seen from the Japanese tsunami. We can feel flow, we can hear flow, we can see flow, because we as people can sense movements, even slight ones. You could call spiritual flow the feel of a church- energized, tired, worn out, a servant’s heart, stagnated, lethargic… all describe an issue with spiritual flow.

Spiritual flow however has more to do with the idea of discipleship than anything else.  It is opening ourselves up to allow God to pour into our spirit and our mind and then allowing that flow to go through us to others. In a church setting sometimes we can get really tangled up with how to understand if God is working in our midst, are we making an impact?, are we making progress?… lots of questions that can be hard to discern. Grabbing a hold of the idea of flow can help us understand the nature of what is happening spiritually.

Here are several truths about spiritual flow that we need to get:

1) Flow is movement- there is no more simple truth than that, you cannot have flow without movement (verb- to move along in a stream, to circulate, to proceed continuously and smoothly)

2) Flow has to have a force- there is no movement, no spiritual flow without a force acting upon our Spirit.  Newton’s first law of motion tells us a body at rest tends to stay at rest unless it is acted upon by an outside force. To create flow, we need a flow creator, a force to put our Spirit in motion. God is the flow creator!

3) Flow has to be nurtured- flow cannot remain constant without action to keep it going. Spiritual flow runs into all kinds of obstacles that seek to block it and slow it down. Sin, circumstances, the world, pain, suffering, disappointments, conflict, and many other things seek to block spiritual flow.  You have probably encountered many of these kinds of things. Sometimes we call them joy killers, faith stealers, but the idea is that they are obstacles to God having full access to work through us. Because we inevitably run into these things, the spiritual flow in our lives and in the life of our church needs to be nurtured.  Hebrews 11 tells us that faith has to be nurtured,

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Despite all circumstances we must believe that God is, He still exists, is there even when we don’t necessarily see Him and that He is still in the blessing and working business by rewarding those who diligently seek Him.  In Transformational Church, the writers share about our bent toward allowing life or circumstances to make us think otherwise:

“But sometimes the tendency is to focus so much on the negative that we essentially  act as if God no longer exists” (Transformational Church, p. 21)

4) Flow is fluid- spiritual life is not mapped out in blocks, it cannot be programmed or timed nor is it stiff and rigid. Like a river, spiritual flow has to rise, fall, turn, move, go over and around things. Spiritual flow changes and moves to fit the place it is given. Like liquid takes the shape of the vessel it is put in, so we to have to make a proper place for spiritual flow in our life.  Romans 12 tells us that if we are not to be like the world, but to allow ourselves to be open to God changing us into the image of Christ, the flow of the Spirit changing us as it moves through us.

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

5) Flow can be stopped- God intends for the flow to continue, our lives are to be more like rivers of spiritual life, yet often they more imitate reservoirs. A reservoir is a place where flow stops, is backed up and is not allowed to move at its’ own pace. Reservoirs are tightly controlled places and flow can’t happen in tightly controlled places. Flow can be stopped by unbelief, rebellion, a lack of following, a hard heart, a stubborn selfishness, or too tight a control on our spiritual life, an unwillingness to allow God to change us, a fear of growth into the unknown….any way in which we purposefully resist God’s work in us.

6) Flow is meant to be a blessing- Early civilizations understood that the flow of water was a life-giving place. Early societies and towns often popped up next to rivers, canals, coastlines. These were places that allowed them fresh drinking water, a way of movement, abundant sources of food. Spiritual flow is like that- it is meant to be life-giving as God works through us.

Let’s take a look at inflow in our spiritual lives and the life of the church. We could haggle about the order of which is most important, but the important part of inflow is that these things are moving into our lives.

Inflow:

1) Worship-  Some would say that worship is outflow, something that pours out of us toward God, and I would absolutely agree. In fact there are several things that work in cycle. But in the life of the church, the community of believers, there is not much else that pumps Spiritual life and excitement into the body like worship.  Think about the meaning of corporate worship versus private worship. In corporate worship there is a joining of voices, hearts, focus and intent. What flows in as people encounter the pleasure of God at His people worshiping Him is affirmation, joy, encouragement and hope. The connection to God in worship give us a reminder that God is real, alive and well, worthy of our worship. Our private worship, those times of loving God that come in our private times are more intensely personal, but the result is the same- we are open to God, with our hearts focused on God allowing Him to shine brightly into our hearts. But corporate worship adds one key element, the secure feeling of being among those who are like-minded, believing and verbally and visibly showing their faith through worship. There is that extra bit of encouragement that comes by being together with others who are loving God as well.  It is the “cord of three strands” concept from Ecclesiastes. Look at passage below and think about how it applies to corporate worship…

9 Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. 11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

The spiritual inflow of worship stops when we believe that corporate worship is meant for our pleasure or entertainment rather than connection with God.  It is hard for the Spirit of God to flow when our heart is focused on self rather than on the object of worship which is God. He alone is worthy of worship and when we give Him the honor that is due His name, we bless Him.

2 Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. 3 Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. 4 All the earth shall worship You And sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name.” … 8 Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise to be heard     Psalm 66

God flows through that kind of praise. If your corporate or private worship is anything other than an offering to God, then it can be seen as nothing more than a self-help exercise to make yourself happy. Those may seem like harsh words, but God will not share His honor, or His worship, with anyone else. As church leaders, how are we presenting the discipline of worship to people… as a meeting, as entertainment, or as a sacrifice, an offering that is given to the Lord?  How are we helping people to get outside of themselves to focus on God rather than on self? How are we challenging people to slow down and take the time to, in a heart-felt way, truly honor and bless the Lord?

2) Prayer- again to some this may seem like something that we dish out, but prayer in its’ most basic form is connection with God.  Jesus Christ gives us bold and confident access to the Father, He intercedes for us and that connection brings life into us… at least it should. Prayer is the place that we can bear our souls, not to complain or gripe about our life, but so that we can truly encounter God, be honest with God and allow Him to bring us help, healing, guidance and hope. That kind of inflow energizes a believer, it fills them with the good things of God, no  matter what their circumstances are on the outside.

Prayer becomes ineffective when it is dialog, us talking to God, but not listening for Him to speak to us.  Really, you can no longer classify it as prayer, since the essence of prayer of the desire to connect with God through the sacrifice of Christ. If we don’t allow God to talk  we cut ourselves off from everything that is good in prayer. Yes we may be able to get things off our chest for a moment, but nothing ever departs because we don’t allow God to replace it with any of His love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, healing…. And unfortunately this is the case all too often. Lots of talking, but no inflow in prayer. Make sure that prayer, whether personal or corporate takes time for inflow, intentionally taking time to listen and hear God. That is healthy spiritual inflow.

3) Bible study-There are times I believe that we have so overemphasized Bible study that we have made it the “first and greatest commandment”.  Bible study is both driven by and has the goal of loving God. We love God and want to discover more about who He is, how He works and how we are to live through His Spirit. It also has the goal of making us more like Christ, and more pleasing to Him, and as we learn more, falling deeper in love with God. That is the flow of Bible study, more than just learning facts, words and concepts. When we open our Bible we open ourselves to experience an inflow of truth, of righteousness, of conviction, of challenge, of hope and promise.

What inhibits spiritual inflow in Bible study is what I call dry knowledge. I have met many people over the years that are full of Bible knowledge, but very little of Jesus. They have a knowledge of Bible words, can tell you the order of the kings of the Southern Kingdom, but display no fruit of the Spirit. As leaders if we encourage people to study the Bible, we also have to share with them the goal of Bible study. As people we will naturally default to the easiest way to satisfy a standard or goal, left to our own devices, we believe the goal of Bible study is knowledge rather than life change. For many that is what we have set as the bar, “know your Bible”. But knowing our Bible does us little good unless we see and take the next step of allowing truth to flow into our lives and shape our heart into the image of Christ.

4) Fellowship- Spiritual inflow occurs as we live our Christianity out in community.  Many people see their Christianity as private, but it is meant to be anything but private, personal yes, but private no. The Bible is full of references to the corporate nature of our faith. Acts tells us that the church worshiped together, shared together, ate together, and generally supported one another, prayed for one another and ministered to one another. Inflow comes as we allow others to be an important part of our spiritual lives. God has equipped the body with a “diversity of gifts, but the same Spirit” (I Cor 12:4).  These differing gifts are meant to be a blessing to all, a way for each of us to minister to others, and when we allow others to use their gifts to bless us and help us, there is an inflow of the Spirit.

There are no self-sufficient Christians, and the belief that we don’t need others is a sign of pride. The Scriptures tell us that “God resists the proud” (James 4:6), that is another way of saying that there is no spiritual inflow for the proud!  As leaders are we encouraging the practice of fellowship, the use of spiritual gifts or are we promoting only an individualistic form of Christianity where everything is about being blessed, being fulfilled and going to heaven?  Here is another thought that constantly challenges me, as leaders are we modeling the need for others or are we trying to be completely self-sufficient?  Do you ever confess your need for others in the body of Christ?  Do you ever learn from other people in the church? Do you acknowledge the gifts of others?

If we desire our churches to have a great outflow in ministry and outreach, we have to monitor and promote the inflow into the life of the body. I love Jesus’ words in John 7 that speak to flow…

37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing  in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

There is an expectation that believers will have a great outflow, a river of living water pouring out of each believer. The Spirit overflowing and not just spilling out of our life, but flowing, moving like a river. What a beautiful picture of the life-giving Spirit flowing out of us and into others, blessing them with all the awesome things that God can accomplish in their lives. But we have to nurture the inflow, the filling of the Spirit into our lives. I pray for Jesus’ words to be fulfilled in every believer, every person with the Spirit flowing out of their heart, blessing this world with the presence and power of Jesus Christ.

The Little Church That Could- Leading and Working in the Small Church

Our sanctuary seats about 8,000 people… and we come close to filling it twice on Sunday.

We recently bought an NBA arena to hold the 40,000 plus that attend every weekend.

We baptized over a thousand new believers this year.

We had 1,200 kids at Vacation Bible School this summer.

According to Outreach magazine, the 100 largest churches in America have a combined average attendance of over one million people each weekend.

If any of these sound familiar then you might attend one of the thousands of mega churches in the United States. These large churches dominate the Christian scene- their pastors preach at large conferences, their ministries are written about in papers both religious and secular, they are the focus of magazine articles and books, their strategies are turned into best sellers….

As Paul Harvey would say, “and now for the rest of the story”….

The Hartford Institute says that the median church in America has about 75 attenders on an any given weekend.  About 60-65% of the churches in the US have less than 100 in attendance. The majority of churches are single staff member churches, with only a senior pastor as ministerial staff working with volunteers. Most annual church budgets hover around the $100,00 mark, about the same figure as a weekly offering at the average mega church. And multiple articles tell us that the large churches keep getting larger and the small church keeps getting smaller.

The numbers, the sheer size of the mega churches, can make the “average” church pastor and congregation seem small, ineffective and sometimes, if they let it, insignificant. But there is loads of good news for the smaller church, and that is what I want to focus on in this article.  Now, this is not an article bashing the large church or complaining about the mega church or bemoaning the fact that members are leaving the small church to go to the larger churches. Let’s set the record straight, large is not bad, small is not good, we so badly need to get over the jealousy and pride and get on with doing Kingdom work and ministry.

The most common issues or problems that the smaller church runs into are:

• limited number of workers for ministry
• inadequate budget for ministry or additional staff
• inability to keep up facilities to current or modern appearances
• lack of children or youth to attract younger families
• discouragement among the congregation

There are a lot of issues and problems facing the smaller church today, and this is meant to be the first in a series of articles that is meant to help and encourage small church leaders and members. The last point of the above list is where I would like to begin, because from what I have seen of the smaller church, discouragement is one of the largest issues facing the smaller church.

I have always liked the children’s story The Little Engine that Could. It’s a story about a train that is stranded and needs an engine to pull it over the mountain. The little blue engine takes on the task and this little single engine train has to work hard to make it over a mountain. While the train is heavy and the mountain is steep, the little engine makes it over the top by repeating the phrase “I think I can, I think I can”.  It makes for a cute and encouraging children’s story.

Unfortunately, many churches today are repeating the opposite phrase when it comes to reaching the community and experiencing growth- ”I don’t think we can, I don’t think we can”.  Have talked to a couple of churches recently and this mantra, while not explicitly stated, comes through in our conversations.

“We just haven’t been able to reach people here in this area”.  “It’s hard to reach people here”.  “If only we had (people, space, workers, etc) we could grow”.  You could probably fill in your own phrase that you have heard, or said, at different times from frustrated pastors or discouraged church members.

The focus often times shifts to the larger churches in the area. “We can’t compete with what they do”.  ”We can’t offer all the ministries they do”.  ”They do their style of worship, our people won’t accept it”.  All of these thing are probably true for the smaller church, they probably can’t offer the full buffet menu of specialty ministries and programs of the mega church in their area. Indeed they probably can’t compete with the quality of ministries, facilities and leadership of the larger church.

But that is no excuse to excuse yourself from ministry or to sit in a pity party about what you can’t do and they can.

As a confession, this is where I get very frustrated with the smaller church sometimes. It seems when we talk about growth or reaching the community, we are quick with an excuse, a reason why we don’t penetrate the darkness of our communities, when in reality, the small church has access to every resource they need.  Sometimes what is required first is an attitude adjustment to be more like The Little Engine That Could.

Rather than looking at all that is not, all that you don’t have… turn 180° and see what it is that you do have.

1) God expects us to believe for great things…

At one time, your church was birthed with a vision, a purpose from the Lord to expand His Kingdom, penetrate the darkness of your community and make disciples of all nations. Now over the years, people change, facilities may change, numbers of people and sizes of budgets may get smaller, even locations may change, but the basic purpose of the church does not.

You are meant to see all these things accomplished- see the community blessed by God’s presence in you, watch lives change as people embrace Jesus as their Savior, minister to the ‘least of these’.  If your vision has been diminished to something less than this, maybe your vision is now to try to survive, to hold onto your past, to keep the doors open and the heat on… then you need to hear God’s call to you all over again because God never called the church to merely survive, but to thrive under His guidance and with His power.

In the Book of Numbers the people were about to experience a great blessing from God, their own land, their own inheritance of a land flowing with milk and honey. Think of it as your church incorporating new believers from your community and seeing God pour out blessings one upon another, seeing that God-given vision fulfilled.  But the people rejected the possibility that God could work, could overcome the people of the land, and refused to move forward. Listen to how the people reacted to encouragement to believe God could fulfill the vision of a new land…

Numbers 14  7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’  9 Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.” 10 And all the congregation said to stone them with stones.

Now God responds to the disbelief of the people…

Numbers 14   10 And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel. 11 Then the Lord said to Moses: “How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

Because the people refused to believe that God could, that God would be on their side, God was insulted and grieved at their questioning of His character. Hear that and let that sink in. When we say, “we can’t”, “it can’t happen”, “we could never do that”, “we’re just a small church”…. we aren’t saying anything about us other than we lack faith, but we are making a large statement about the God we serve- we are saying God is not strong enough, powerful enough, loving enough, to make it happen.  God does not like that, not one bit.  God expects us to believe Him, believe that He is all that He says He is and is willing to work to accomplish the vision He places in us.

The Little Engine that Could only had one advantage- He believed. He wasn’t the biggest engine, the strongest engine, the latest model, but he believed. You may not be the biggest church, have the latest technology, the most workers, but you can believe. If we take God out of the equation, then we can only expect things as big as we are, and that leaves the smaller church believing very little. Take a fresh look at who God is and expand your vision to include the “God-factor”.

2) God is at work to accomplish His work…

Hear Jesus’ words…

John 5  17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”

The smaller church often looks at their numbers and says that we are few. They look at the same people working three or four positions, and says we don’t have enough.  We feel like our position is to work for God, and because we don’t have all the people we feel like we need to accomplish the work, we have failed or fallen short in pleasing God.

No matter the size of the church, we don’t work for God, but with God. It takes on a whole different feel when we see ourselves as God’s fellow workers, rather than those trying to finish an assigned task for God. We don’t dig the ditch for God, God has a shovel right along side us digging away. We don’t teach a class for God, the Holy Spirit is right there teaching the hearts of people right along with you giving you words to say and open hearts to receive and wisdom for them to understand. We don’t witness for God, God is there revealing Himself to the lost.

John 15  26 ”But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

I love this passage.  Look at it again, who is the first witness?  Who is the first to testify of Jesus’ life, death, burial and resurrection?  It is not us. It says that “you also” will bear witness– the Spirit is the primary worker, we are the “also”. To work with God means that no matter the church size, God is the primary worker and we need to believe that He is working, and we also have to get busy working alongside Him.

No matter what the task is at hand for the smaller church, we are not working alone and we are not working as a smaller church, but as co-workers with a big God.

The Little Engine that Could did what other trains did not do. Unless we have a vision for God working alongside us, we will give up and give over to discouragement that says we few in this little church cannot. Yet if we see God at work in our community, if we can catch the vision that God is seeking out the lost, comforting the grieving, healing the hurting… and this is already happening around you, it opens us up to believe that no matter how many we are, we are laboring with the one who can do all things. God is working, He is doing His part. Do we believe it?  Can we see it?  What will we do about it?

3) Faith without works, kills the smaller church…

I have rarely run into a church that does not claim it wants to grow. Most churches know the rhetoric, we want to reach people for Christ.  Yet, and painfully so, few are doing the hard work to reach people.

Believing that God can work, is one part of the equation. God wants us to believe and will work in us. Jesus said on several occasions that He worked in accordance with the faith of the people…

Matthew 9  28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.”

Matthew 15  28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Faith pleases God (Heb 11:6), but it is faith that leads to action that truly changes things. Unfortunately we have often confused rhetoric with faith. Rhetoric, knowing the right phrases to say and the right words to use, is not faith. Saying that you want to reach people is rhetoric, actually sharing Christ with the lost is faith. Saying that you believe your church can make a difference is rhetoric, taking your Saturday morning to feed the hungry is faith. We could go on and on, because we all have heard the rhetoric, it sounds good around the church, it makes us feel better because we are saying the right things and we feel like we believe the right things. This is particularly true in churches where very little is happening.

Filling the smaller church with rhetoric and the right words has also made them complacent and ineffective.  It seems that we have emphasized that right beliefs are more important than right actions. As long as we believe the right things, and can say the right things in church, than we are alright with God… right?. James tells us a different story…

James 2  15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by myworks. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe–and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

What kills most smaller churches is a lack of doing. “We are old”. “We’ve tried things in the past”.  And so we excuse ourselves from doing and fall back on the fact that we believe the right things. Yet if we don’t do, our faith is dead. It is why many smaller churches are referred to as dying churches. There is a lack of doing, a lack of actual ministry. Read the Great Commission again, “Go and make disciples…”, notice it has no asterisk attached. There is no disclaimer about the size of your church or budget or location. The Christian faith is a doing faith, a working faith, a faith that requires ministry and giving and sharing and praying and touching… and it dies when it is left on the bookshelves and in the pews and in the words of people.

The Little Engine that Could didn’t make it up the mountain because it said the right things. It encouraged itself with the right words “I think I can, I think I can”, but it accompanied its’ words with work, hard work. Work that caused sweat and used up energy and caused strain. The smaller church cannot die for a lack of trying, for a lack of doing ministry. Maybe you can’t do everything the mega church can, but so what. At this point God has not called you to do all those things, but it should not stop you from doing work, the hard work that you can do. Size does not stop you from witnessing to the lost. Size does not stop you from working in your community. Size does not stop you from working with God to comfort the hurting or feeding the hungry.

I like what Steve Sjogren says in his book Conspiracy of Kindness, that too many churches are stuck on Ready, Aim… but never Fire. We talk a good talk, talk about what we should do, but never do it. In the words of Nike, “Just Do It”. Get to the work at hand.

The smaller church often says it cannot get enough workers… lets close this article with this thought.

How many of you in the smaller church does it take to make a difference?  One, two, three?  Taking into consideration that God is already working, that we can believe that God wants to do great things…. start with you. If no one will go with you, don’t worry, God is with you. If no one else will help, God will help. If you are waiting for consensus, if you are waiting for everyone to believe like you do, if you are waiting until everyone gets up to work beside you… you will watch the smaller church die a slow, agonizing death. There are thousands of smaller churches that God is wanting to work through… to be the engine to the Little Church that Could, to climb that mountain of reaching into the darkness and growing the Kingdom of God, to climb the mountain out of the valley of ineffectiveness to the peak of joy in serving with God, to climb the mountain out of discouragement and disillusionment, and to the heights of seeing God do great things in your midst.

God bless the smaller church….

Finding a little more joy in our Christianity

“The Joy of the Lord is our Strength”

“This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,”

As believers in Jesus Christ, one of the main things that is to mark our life is joy. When the fruits of the Spirit are listed in Galatians 5, joy is the second one on the list, right behind love. Joy is a quality of our life that comes from a relationship with Christ. As people who have had our past forgiven, our future secured and our present marked by the presence of God in our life- joy should be a major part of our character.

So…. why is it that so many people and so many churches are not marked by joy?  Why is there more backbiting, ill-will and complaining than there is rejoicing? Why are Christians not known for their joy? How can we really have love without having great joy?  I love my wife, and it gives me great joy to be in love. I love my kids, and they bring me a lot of joy. If we love God, why do we not have great joy?  Let’s explore a few possibilities…

We lack spiritual life

This is the most obvious, if we were people filled with the Spirit we would display the fruit of the Spirit. Simple, but powerful. The Spirit, when He works through us, will bring joy into our lives. A kind of permanent expectation of good and anticipation of blessing, the feeling that even when things are not right, I am safe, content and full. James says to “count it all joy brethren when you face various trials…”, and so many fuss and fume at this verse because they are not happy.  But we misread the verse, it does not say be happy, it says to account for every situation in life with joy. We can use the fruit of joy as you walk through every situation in life. And that joy can only come through a life filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

We have often confused the American way of life with our Christian walk. We seem to understand our Christianity in the same way we evaluate our success in life. If we have stuff, then we are content, happy. If we have what the TV says we should have, then we are alright. If we can keep up with our friends and complain about those who have more, then all is right with the world. We stress out when we don’t have what we think we “ought” to have or can’t afford what we want. Satisfaction or joy equals having- having things, having status, having a raise, having the ability to buy… God says that joy, the fulfilling kind of joy that floods our hearts, comes from Him.

Is it any wonder then when people come into the church, and rather than adding to the joy of the gathering of God’s people, they bring their worldly frustration with them. hey come in not quite satisfied in life, and since they can’t get what they want out of the world, they demand that the church make them happy. Here is what is sounds like…

“If you don’t sing _________ music, I’m leaving”

“Don’t move my Sunday School class, we like our room”

“Nobody came to visit me (usually meaning that only two or three came or the “right” people didn’t come)”

“I don’t like how we’ve changed  ___________________ (name your issue)”

There are numerous ways we say it, but it all means the same thing. If the church, the people, the processes, the organization, doesn’t fulfill me, then I will just not be a happy camper. Too many church-going people are empty vessels, grasping at any straw for the church to make them happy in this world. But that is not the purpose of the church. It is our personal spiritual life, our intimate walk with God, that is meant to flow joy into our life. Our relationship with God, the filling of the Holy Spirit, is the key.

When the prodigal son departed his father’s house, he squandered his life on wild living thinking that it would bring him happiness. Eventually the Bible says that he “came to himself”, it might better be understood that he be-came sick of himself and his pursuits to find happiness.  He thought that if he just went back to his father and became a servant that he would be happier than where he found himself in life. If today you find yourself trying to grab ahold of happiness or joy by filling yourself with the world, then think of the prodigal son– you really would be happier being a servant in your Heavenly Father’s house.  That relationship with the Father is what would bring him joy, it did not matter the position, just a relationship would solve the problem. The same is true of us today, our relationship with the Father is the key to joyful living.

Self versus Serving

It was my first Sunday at the first full-time church I pastored out of seminary. I had just preached my first sermon and was standing at the door receiving people when a man walked up and said just as flatly and as deadpan as he could, “I’d hate to have your job, trying to keep this bunch happy. I wish you well.”.  Since there were another twenty to thirty people behind him, I shook his hand graciously and muttered something about him praying for me and went on. That afternoon I thought about what he said, and it disturbed me. Was it really my job to try to “keep this bunch happy”?  It had never really occurred to me that it was the job of the pastor to keep people happy.

Jesus never tried to keep people happy. He called them to follow, pray, serve, but never did He change His mission to keep folks happy, in fact it never really seemed to concern Him all that much when people chose to not follow Him. I am sure it did at some level, but you never saw him beg or plead for people to stay with Him.

Our world is rife with the entitlement mentality, the idea that people are entitled to the American dream of home ownership, a car to drive, a good income, free this and free that. We feel like we are owed… by somebody. When we carry this mentality into the church, then we feel like the church owes us, or more realistically God owes us- a short worship service, low requirements, no demands on my giving, get my way with things…. after all God should be happy that we attend church.

When we are demanding, we are rarely happy.  Ever heard an eight-year-old whine for something in a store- do they sound happy?  Are they filled with joy?  And when they get whatever they are whining for… does the whining end there?  No, it just encourages them to whine for the next thing, figuring that they will get their way.

If you find yourself being a person that asks a lot from the world around you, feeling that you are owed happiness… then you will be a person who is rarely full of joy. On the flip side, if you are a person who is willing to serve others, give to others the way Jesus did, you will find the joy you are looking for.

I have often heard Jesus described with the words from Isaiah, that He was a “man of sorrows”. People use this to justify their own dour outlook on life and their refusal to be satisfied with anything. Yes, Jesus was a person acquainted with sorrows, and pain, and sadness… but look at Hebrews 12

2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The “joy set before Him”…. those are amazing words, and considering that we are talking about the cross, the death penalty. they are even more amazing. He found joy, looked forward to joy, as He served sinful people by dying their death on a cruel cross so that they could experience life, peace… and joy. He counted it joy. He looked through the lens of His relationship with the Father and saw that serving others would bring them, and Him, the greatest amount of joy. His alternative was to, as the Devil tried to tempt Him to do, take on the earth as His Kingdom. Rather than self, He served. And He found great joy.

We can experience the same. If we demand less and give more. If we expect fewer things and give more things. If we talk a little less and listen a little more. If we can concern ourselves more with what we give to others rather than what others give us. If we can share more and take less.  Then we will find the joy our life is intended to have, because we will truly have found the joy of sharing in the life of Jesus.

Listen to the words from James 4, it spells out rather clearly why so many churches are not in unity, not filled with joy…

1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

What causes the disunity and lack of joy… desires, wants, coveting, wrong motives, selfishness.  The world tells us that to be happy you have to take care of #1 first and foremost- get what you want, any way you have to get it, and happiness will be yours. God says that way of thinking will only lead to a lack of satisfaction, fractures in your relationships, disunity with your family in Christ, and a lack of blessing from Him.

The church should be the most joyful place on earth. We should be more joyful and happier than the folks in the bars, the people who go fishing on Sunday morning, the success seeker who just got a raise because they stabbed their co-worker in the back….   where is the joy of the Lord?  And, listen, if we don’t exhibit joy in our life, why would that guy want to stop fishing on Sunday morning?  Would you want to give  up something that made you happy to join a group of people who act as if they are generally unhappy?

Our joy can be a great witness to a world that is dying for a taste of what it means to be happy. Reclaim the joy that is yours. Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit and let the fruit of joy flow through your life. It will make you feel better and will be a great witness to those you encounter every day.

Handling Trouble in the Church

The Body of Christ is joined together, not by ligaments and tendons, but by love and service.

I have spoken with three pastors and one church member this past week, all who are dealing with different levels of trouble within the church they serve. Having been in the ministry for more than a couple of years, this is not my first go ’round with trouble in a church. But ask me, or any of these folks I talked to this past week,  if we want this to be the last time we hear about it, absolutely.

Some say that conflict is good for the church, but I would tend to disagree. We will dig into this in a minute, but dealing with sin in the church, purging out evil within the church, is not conflict or trouble, but a spiritual necessity.  However, dealing with personality conflicts, control issues, power struggles, resistance to change and things like it are trouble that hinder the churches ability to carry out its mission.

Now let’s lay some groundwork for this.

Philippians 1    ²⁷ Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel

Ephesians 4    1  I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, ² with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, ³ endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

We will look at a couple of other Scriptures in a minute, but these two verses speak to a common theme when we talk about a body of believers working together instead of against one another.

The apostle Paul frames both of these passages with the concept that unity among believers has to do with valuing the gospel above ourselves.  The idea here is that we consider our conduct, our relationships against the standard of the gospel. To have our conduct worthy of the gospel is to reflect the truth of the gospel in all that we do. Paul encouraged the churches to live a life with one another that reflected the love, grace, peace and righteousness that the gospel requires.

The opposing view or way of conducting ourselves is to do as we please, regardless of what the gospel calls for. We just “do it our way”.  If we don’t like something, we have no problem running someone down, gossiping about a leader, embellishing a situation to get people to rally to your point of view– you get the idea. We also have no problem creating problems over things that really just don’t matter. How many church fights have been over carpet, paint, rooms, instruments or music styles?  Comparatively, very few church splits are over whether or not Jesus is Lord or whether or not we are to be about the Great Commission. I have heard, and been a part of, a church that fought over whether the church was winning too many people and the change that it was bringing.  That is an issue of control slipping away from the few who love to have their way with things.

So if in the end the carpet is the color you like, the music is the style you like and the people there are who you like… is your conduct worthy of the gospel?  Have we achieved and maintained conduct that is worthy of the sinless death, burial and resurrection of Jesus? 

The main problem comes, as has been shared with me this past week, when church members fail to care if they are conducting themselves as true followers of Christ. Their concern is not being a body of Christ living worthy of the gospel, but being a place that they can do what they want, when they want, how they want. Simply put, that is the height of pride, arrogance and selfishness. The church is no longer about Christ, about worship, about love, it merely becomes of wad of selfish people trying to be Lord of the body of Christ.

That may seem harsh, but I don’t think Jesus is impressed with people who try to take His spot as the head of the body. That includes church members and church leaders. There is only one head, that is Jesus, and His body is meant to reflect His character and the His sacrifice. We are to live worthy of the calling, worthy of the gospel, to set the bar high above ourselves.

That is the first step in handling trouble in the church, keep the bar high.  Often when conflict breaks out, everyone chooses up sides and the fighting begins. Look at Jesus’ character when he was falsely accused, arrested and tried. He never stooped to the level of His accusers, neither should we. As followers of Christ, we should never become “accusers of our brethren” (Rev 12:10).  This is a tough thing because every survival instinct in us tells us to dig in and put up our fists. But to truly handle difficulty in a worthy manner, we need to keep the standard of our conduct high. Don’t be intimidated into making rash statements or quick decisions.  Be very careful of your words and make your decisions carefully. No matter how loud they yell or threaten, keep your integrity. Don’t look to win the fight, seek to keep your Christ-likeness. This will greatly aggravate those who wish to fight, because you refuse to feed their anger. If they accuse you, they can only accuse you of following Christ.

Here is a practical tip- when someone comes to you with an accusation or a complaint against someone, don’t participate. Say, “you know, we really have a lot more important things to deal with than talking negatively about one another” or “I don’t repeat things that tear down others, why don’t you pray for them instead”. Whatever you have to do, let them know directly that you will not lower your standards, even to let them vent.

Proverbs 19   1  Better is the poor who walks in his integrity,  Than one who is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.

Psalm 25   21   Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,  For I wait for You

Second step is to define the problem in light of the gospel. When we keep our standards high, we will look at an issue not from the light of how loud someone yells or how harshly they accuse or how ridiculous their position.  I pastored a church in Ohio where we were rebuilding the church facilities after they had been destroyed by a tornado. In a meeting with our leaders I told them not to be surprised when, after giving over a year of their lives to this project and spending over $1.8 million dollars, there would be people unhappy with the colors, layout, etc.. There were, and it hurt these wonderful servants of God who had sacrificed so much to make this happen. Why did we not spend hours trying to placate and satisfy those who complained?  Because the church wasn’t built for the comfort of those in it. It was built as a tool for us to reach people for Christ. And that we did. When we started seeing people come to faith in Christ, rededicate their lives to Christ and people getting involved in ministry, those little arguments seemed petty and small…which is what they are. And now years later, those arguements and complaints that seemed so important are but a faint memory, yet the people that have been and continue to be reached by this wonderful church are growing the Kindgom of God. Keep your framework the work of the gospel. Don’t allow arguing and fighting about preferences or whining about comfort or fussing about someone’s need not being met to change the framework of the mission of the church. Keep defining the problem in light of the gospel and don’t allow anyone to steal your focus by emptying the church of its’ meaning.  

Colossians 2   ⁶ As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, ⁷ rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.  ⁸ Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

Thirdly, fill yourself with grace and forgiveness. This does not mean become a doormat, it does mean that you overcome evil with good and that you stand strong on the side of good. You don’t have to be evil to be strong. Jesus vigorously stood up to the Pharisees to defend prostitutes, sinners, fishermen and the lame. He kept His focus on God’s love and extended grace to those in need, even to the ones who were crucifying Him.

Romans 12   ⁹ Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; ¹¹ not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; ¹² rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; ¹³ distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

When we do this we keep ourselves serving God rather than serving the fussing and feuding ones. What do I mean?  Look at the passage below from 2 Peter…

2 Peter 2     19….  for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.

When we fail to live in grace and forgiveness and rather live in their world of complaining and accusing, then we have become enslaved to conflict. I don’t know about you, but I refuse to be enslaved by anything except Jesus Christ. Like the three Hebrew children who refused to bow before the King’s statue, we should not be enslaved by anyone or any issue.  When it is time to speak up, speak up for what is right, but “let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” (Col 4:6- the verse is specifically written to instruct us to deal with those outside the faith, but does pertain to each other as well) Stand strong in your faith, in your integrity, not just in heat of the moment.

I was in a deacons meeting many years ago where we were talking about an issue in the church. One of the deacons was particularly aggravated at the person who brought up the issue and said that they would be speaking in the business meeting against the person. I gently reminded him that if he wished, he could speak against their proposal, but not against the person, for they had committed no sin. His anger burned and said, “I’ll say whatever I want to, whenever I want to.”  I not so gently reminded him that if he was the Christian that he professed to be, then he needed to follow the commands of Scripture which tell us “not to speak evil against a brother” (James 4:11). Again he tried to tell the deacon body that he was free to say anything he wanted. At that point I told him that if he spoke in the business meeting in the manner he was talking about here, that I would let the body know that he was making a personal and public accusation against a brother in Christ,  and would either ask him to repent or produce proof of sin.  Business meeting came and went, he never said a word.

Pray to keep yourself filled with grace and forgiveness, pray to overcome disunity with forgiveness and remember that the ultimate goal is to bring back the unity we have in the Holy Spirit, it is to restore those who are not following Christ according to His ways. Pray to continue to serve Christ and not just the trouble at hand.

This is in no way exhaustive. Large, hard to read books have been written on conflict resolution in the church. Unfortunately, they have been needed as the church loses its’ spiritual edge and becomes more of a human organization. But if we can follow some simple principles, we can conquer the trouble and move forward with the task at hand.

One last point. Unity and harmony is particularly needed today as we seek to reach our up and coming generations. Our oldest generations came from stable backgrounds, stable homes, stable jobs and dealt with conflict by sticking together no matter what. Husband and wife would stay together despite difficulty. A job was your job and the company kept you on so you could get your full pension. Our youngest generations did not grow up in this kind of world. They are children of conflict- broken families (sometimes two or three times over); violence in movies, games; TV shows that glorify backbiting, cheating, manipulation and hatred (see most reality TV shows).  When they come to the church, they don’t want to nor need to see conflict. Their tolerance level for conflict is very low. Rather than stick together through conflict, they just walk away. Who needs another place to experience conflict and fighting?

If we want to get serious about accomplishing the Great Commission, we need to get serious about truly loving one another within the church. That starts with a commitment to be a people who demonstrate the love of Jesus to one another rather than just tolerating one another until we don’t get our way. Eventually every church and every church member and every church leader has to ask themselves…

 ”Is this issue, is this fight, more important than conducting ourselves like Christ?”

“Is this problem worth losing ground in our mission to reach the world that Christ gave His life for?”

John 17    ²⁰ “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; ²¹ that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

John 13   ³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵ By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

 

Church Leaders Are First Good Followers

Everything rises and falls on leadership.

This is Super Bowl week and leadership is a great point of discussion. Most people see the quarterback, the most visible player on the team, and automatically assume that they are the leader of the team.  The majority of the time that is true. Other players will take their cue from the quarterback, in their work ethic, their confidence, their approach to the game and their performance on game day. Yet, when the quarterback is having an off day or gets injured or is just not performing well, if the team is going to win, others have to pick up their game.  Ultimately it is a team game. Quarterbacks don’t win games, teams win games.  Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are great quarterbacks, but they are only involved with one-third of the game. They play offense, not defense or special teams.

A church is similar, in some ways, to a football team.

As a Christian, I happen to believe that everything rises and falls on God, humbling ourselves to the realization that it is He who ultimately has the power to make the world go ’round.  But God chooses to work through leaders, people that He chooses for certain roles at certain times.  Now don’t stop reading because you don’t think you are a leader. Every Christian, no matter what station in life, is used by God to be a leader at some point.  We will get into that a little more here in a minute.

Leadership in the church is a fine balance between authority and humility. Those who can walk that tightrope reflect the understanding that no person is truly a leader unto themselves, but is a follower placed in a position of leading others. That may not make sense to some, but when we think though this in light of the Kingdom of God, it makes perfect sense.

First, it is the Kingdom of God. God is the King, everyone else is, well, not the King.

Second, since we are not the King, then we all are servants of the King, taking our cue, our direction from Him.

Third, the King is the one who passes out the rewards for His people who follow His direction.

 Let’s think through our sports analogy here. For the teams playing in the Super Bowl, there is only one goal, win. Defeat the other team, send them home losers, hoist up the trophy and be champions. For one team, they will do that this week. They will take home the Lombardi Trophy and be proclaimed as NFL champions.  The team leaders are those who help them get there- the ones who make the key plays, the crucial catches, the right play calls, the big hit. Those are the players that will make the highlight reel.

The church is not much different. Our leaders are those that help the church achieve the goal- expand the Kingdom, make disciples of all nations, love God and love our neighbor. No matter what position you play, you can be on the highlight reel. We play as team and our goal is not to win a game but please the King.

Listen to Jesus, our leader, as He talked about how important it was to Him to please the Father…

John 8
²⁸ Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. ²⁹ And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.”

Jesus was the unquestioned leader of His disciples, yet He tells them, I do what I do to please the Father… always. He exercised authority, He led people, but yet was forthright that He was submitting Himself to the Father. The dynamic, powerful leader was a follower. That is the tightrope for any Christian leader, we have to lead, but at the same time, be aware that more than a leader we are to be a follower. Every Christian is called, as Jesus called His disciples to ‘Follow Me’, to be a person who submits themselves to the leadership of God. God then places you in a position of ministry somewhere in someway within the Kingdom, not necessarily where you choose or what you want to do, but where God desires to use the gifting and skills that He has placed within you.

The church has struggled with the issue from the beginning. Men wanting to insert their own leadership, as if they were actually in charge. The early church struggled with those who wanted to change the way people were saved, “they must be circumcised”. What did the church do?  They sought the leadership of the Holy Spirit. James concludes the matter by saying…

Acts 15
²⁸ For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things

Good to the Holy Spirit… and to us. God first, His leadership determining the theology for the church.

Paul was a powerful and strong leader of the early church. He set out on missionary journeys, faced death, confronted demons, healed the sick… and yet he was submissive to and sensitive to the direction God was giving him…

Acts 16
⁶ Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. ⁷ After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. ⁸ So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. ⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Notice that Paul tried to do what he wanted to do.  He wanted to go Bithynia, but God said “no”.  Could Paul have just gone anyway, I’m sure he could have. Would he have had the full power and blessing of God that he had enjoyed to this point, no. 

Church leaders come in many shapes and emerge at different times. The pastor, the deacon, the teacher, the committee chairperson are all recognized leaders with positions.  Yet, the Christian who does not hold a position within the church, but has a spiritual influence on their co-workers or neighbors or family members, is still a spiritual leader to the people they influence. The Christian who no one may know by name, is quiet in their mannerisms, yet has held a running conversation with the little lady at the pharmacy counter about Christ… they are a spiritual leader to that person.

Look at some examples…

* God uses Ananias to lead Paul- he prays for him, and Paul receives his sight again. Who was Ananias?  Who knows? But I am sure that Paul remembers his influence fondly. (Acts 9) That is spiritual leadership.

* God uses a young woman to teach his disciples about love- she pours an expensive bottle of perfume and Jesus says that what she did will be remembered forever. By example she leads the disciples, the “leaders” of the early church, to understand devotion and love. That is spiritual leadership.

* God used a prostitute to help Israel achieve military victory- Rahab gives aid to the spies of Israel and ultimately is remembered as a person of great faith. (Joshua 2, Hebrews 11)  That is spiritual leadership.

The idea that only the positional leaders within the church are leaders, the corporate model of looking at the church, has weakened the church as a whole. When only a handful of people are capable, gifted and responsible, then the body as a whole suffers.  Going back to our football analogy, what would happen if the rest of the team stopped playing to watch the quarterback play?  First, the defense, the “enemy” would eat him up. Secondly, who would he have to help him?  Who would block for him? Who would catch his beautiful spirals?  Result=defeat.

The same is true for the church. If we do not each take personal responsibility for being the leader God has designed us to be, then the whole church suffers. Your spiritual leadership, whether it is within the church or at your workplace, is crucial for the body of Christ to be effective. I have come to believe that it is one of the key reasons our churches have become less effective at reaching our communities and our world. 

We are fast to allow others to be responsible for doing all things to lead the church. The pastor is charged with equipping the body for ministry and shepherding the flock, but he is not the only spiritual leader. If the church sits back and says “let the pastor do it”, the body suffers, because we, as a group, have stopped following Christ and lean on one person to do the job of many. On the flip side, if the pastor stops equipping the body and tries to do all the leadership, then he stops leading people to follow Christ and calls them to follow him, and the body as a whole suffers.

If we are going to reverse many of the negative trends the church is facing, it will not come simply because we put together another program. The church has to use all of its’ people, and each Christian has to realize that they are a leader, feel the calling God has given them to be a leader in some place, in some way.

Everything does rise and fall on leadership, but it is not us looking to someone else to lead so we can sit back. It is each of us rising to the role of leadership that God has called us to so that the effectiveness of the Kingdom does not fall. Each person is important to the work of the Kingdom, and God intends to use each person to accomplish His work by following His leadership.

So what place of leadership, what role of leadership, what position of influence has God called you to… to be the Kingdom leader He desires you to be?