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.

Church- What it Ain’t

I may not know what love is, but I know what it ain’t

One of Josh Turner‘s earliest songs, along with “Long Black Train”, was a song titled, “What It Ain’t“.  The lyrics to the song talk about a man who has been surprised by the actions of his girl who “loved” him. His response to her is that he may not know what love is, but what she is doing to him, ain’t love (with all apologies to my English teachers past, I know, ain’t ain’t a word… but it gets the point across). Here are the lyrics

I might not know what love is But I know what it ain’t

It ain’t layin’ in the dark and wonderin’ why she hasn’t called And now it’s 2 am
It ain’t driving by her house to find her wrapped up in the arms of you ex-best friend
It ain’t bold face lies or alibis that cannot be explained
I might not know what love is But I know what it ain’t

You say you could Show me how to love
Baby there’s one thing  You can be sure of
I wouldn’t treat you wrong cause I’ve been on The hurting side of pain
I might not know what love is but I know what it aint

It ain’t showing up for dinner with a rose and chardonnay, Then drinkin’ by yourself
It ain’t a postcard from Hawaii sayin’ we can still be friends, But I met someone else
It ain’t bold face lies or alibis that cannot be explained,

I might not know what love is But I know what it ain’t

It ain’t a mink coat, forty pairs of shoes, two 14 carat anklets on my Mastercard
It ain’t walkin’ in a pawn shop, recognizing her engagement ring she swore she lost
It ain’t bold face lies or alibis that cannot be explained
I might not know what love is But I know what it ain’t

This poor guy is now sitting on the outside of his, now former,  relationship looking in and recognizing that what he has been told is not what he has experienced. He may not be the perfect mate, he may not understand all there is to know about love, but he knows that this is not it. She has left him for another man, spent his money, lied to him about her engagement ring, all things that do not scream “I love you”.  She said she loved him, but what happened didn’t match up with her words…. you know where I am going with this…. and often that is the case with the church.

There are millions on the outside of the church looking in. They hear about the church, what the church is supposed to be, and amazingly most everyone knows the basics about what the church is supposed to be about- loving God and loving people.  We have to give the world a little credit, they are not ignorant about the church, they know that people that go to church are supposed to be kind, loving, forgiving– much like they picture Jesus being.   And yet are often left disappointed and disillusioned by “what it ain’t”.

The song lyrics point out some obvious things that are not love or loving. You don’t have to be an expert at love to know that running off to Hawaii with someone else is not showing love. You don’t have to a lot about love to know that lying to someone is not showing love.

In the same way, there are some really obvious things that happen in the church that scream to the world that we are not loving and not Christ-like.  Even the most casual observer of the church or even the most casual reader of the Bible can see that there are some things about the church that should be obvious, open and seen clearly.

So in the spirit of “What It Ain’t”— the world may not know all about the Bible, they may not have a personal relationship with Jesus, they may not be able to tell you the difference between Moses and Matthew, but they know “What It Ain’t”…

1) When the church fails to love the least in the world

How clear does the Bible need to make it that God’s people are supposed to take care of the poor and less fortunate. From the Old Testament law to the Gospels to Paul’s epistles– take care of the hungry, the sick, the needy.

Leviticus 19  9 ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God.

I John 3  17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

There are many verses that tell us that God sees it as important and necessary that the church, God’s people, show His concern for their fellow man. It’s also obvious to the world. As a pastor, it is interesting to me how someone with no church connection, no mom or dad that goes to the church, no children in Sunday School, can find their way to a church when there is a need.  Why?  Because somehow they know we are the people that are supposed to care, supposed to help them, supposed to show them some love when this world has beat them down.

If I have heard it once, I have heard it a thousand times, “but pastor, they are just taking advantage of us” or something like it. People in the church complaining about having to take care of the needy. When does the Bible say that the world should earn our love or earn our help? Did we earn our salvation?  Do we earn God’s blessings and answers to prayer? So why do we expect the world to earn the blessings of getting a meal or a little food?

We like to quote that verse, “if a person does not work, they should not eat”(2 Thess 3:10), and usually the people that like to quote that verse have good jobs, plenty of money and haven’t missed a meal in their entire life. We’ve worked for our food and shelter, why can’t everybody?  That is not how God sees it. In Leviticus God tells the farmer, don’t harvest all of that crop you’ve worked so hard to grow, leave some of it for those less fortunate. In I John, God tells us that if we have the world’s good we have to use some of it for those in need.

It is unfortunate that in a country that, even in our recession, is amazingly rich, we give so little to the less fortunate. So many churches don’t help feed the poor, in our country or anywhere else. We have in some senses become cynical about helping anyone, believing that “they will  just use it on drugs”, “are lazy”, “don’t deserve it” and you can fill in more excuses you have heard about why we should not or do not help people.

Yet, when we walk into these same churches, they have air conditioning, they have stained glass, they have hundreds of dollars of Sunday School materials laying around not used, spend money on meals for themselves, trips for themselves… and yet it is an inconvenience to care for the needy.  According to God, that ain’t church, that ain’t being His people, that ain’t representing His love to the world.

So when we then invite someone to our church and they scoff at us, we feel persecuted, rejected and wonder why the community does not like us. But be careful, because if you reject the hungry, the needy, the less fortunate, it may not be only the community that does not like you….

Matt 25  41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44 Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’

That ain’t where I want to be.

2) When the church fights among itself

It has gotten to the point that a church having a fight, firing a pastor, having a split, is just par for the course anymore. No one seems surprised when the church down the street becomes the church down the street and across town. When First Baptist becomes First Baptist and Second Baptist. When the church becomes known for fighting over everything, and no one seems to believe that there is something wrong, then something is wrong. The world knows that we are supposed to be a people of love, and fighting ain’t a part of love, splitting ain’t a part of love, accusing and gossiping ain’t a part of love.

When someone in the church says with a smile, “nothing like a good church fight”- well let’s just say it is no wonder the world looks at us and shrugs its shoulders. Again, the Bible tells us over and over again that there should be unity, there should be no division, that there should be no grumbling or complaining, that love for one another is the proof that we are Jesus’ disciples… and we look surprised when someone doesn’t believe that being a Christian and going to church means anything.  They see fighting in their homes, at the bar, in their workplaces, they experience road rage, they see name calling and back stabbing on TV, so why should they want to go to church to “worship a God of love and peace” if they are going to get more of the same there?  Who wants to get up early on Sunday morning to experience more conflict and more hatred and more name calling and more rejection?  I can sleep in and get all of that I want in the world.

Church ain’t a place for being mean and hateful, it is a place of reconciliation and forgiveness. How are we supposed to offer forgiveness to the rest of the world, if we won’t forgive one another?  How can we reconcile the world to Christ like we are supposed to if we cannot live in peace with our fellow Christians….

2 Cor 5  18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

Some of our older generations have grown up in stable families, families that stuck together even when there was fighting, abuse, neglect, when momma didn’t love daddy. Those families stayed together because that is what you did. Today’s younger generations don’t have that, they are growing up in a world of divorce, of momma calling the police if daddy hits her, their families don’t stay together. They equate fighting and discord with pain, separation and rejection.

So when they see the church fighting amongst itself, well let’s just say, it ain’t what they are looking for nor what they need. It is little wonder some of these young people and young families, when they finally come to the church, walk right back out when they hear about the first church fight, when they take on a position of leadership and get criticized to death.  They need peace. They need to be loved. They need some place that offers them hope in a world rife with pain and division.

I was at a church years ago, we had been working with this teenager about coming to Christ. For months he had visited off and on, our youth leader would pick him up and take him home. Often he would talk about his home situation. His mom, twice divorced, had her boyfriend living with them. They would scream, yell, insult and hit one another frequently. This young man finally comes to Christ, embraces the love of God…. until one night. He is waiting for the youth leader to get done cleaning up his room and he is sitting across from the office, when two church leaders (not just members, but a deacon and a sunday school leader) start bickering over how some money (about $75) was spent. The argument escalates and becomes personal. Yelling, screaming, accusations, insults…. just like he saw at home.  He walked out the door and walked home, never to return. We tried to get him to come back, but in his own words “I don’t need two places where I see that crap, I can hang out with my friends and not see that stuff ever again”.  He knew what it ain’t and watching two bickering church people ain’t what it is about. I believe that soul was worth more that $75.

That ain’t church.

Do you have the proper mix in your church?

Years ago I was a bartender. My job was to mix drinks, and mix them the right way so that the proper taste and texture of the drink satisfied the customer. Too much sour or too much alcohol could ruin the taste of a drink. Too much ice or too little carbonation in a drink could ruin the texture of a drink. Mixing properly was a key to being a good bartender.

Groups of people are the same way, you have to have the right mix of people in order for the group to “taste” right, to function and work the right way.  In a business this might be the right mix of management to employees and the right balance of experienced employees to new employees. It might be the right mix of personalities. However, dysfunction seems to be the norm in most groups of people. We all have probably seen what happens to a group when there is a clash of personalities,  too many dominant personalities and there is constant conflict, too many passive personalities and nothing gets done, too many detailed oriented people and it gets bogged down in small issues, too many visionaries and everyone daydreams without getting the work done.

The church is no different. It may be a spiritual group, focused around the person of Jesus Christ, but it is still a group of humans growing and developing into the people God desires them to be. It too needs the right “mix” to function properly.  If the church is dysfunctional, the wrong mix of people, then its’ effectiveness will come up short of what God could do with it. People are the instrument that God chooses to work through, and groups of people (that is the church) are the funnel through which God pours His Spirit, His power and His love. Just like with a musical instrument, if it is out of tune, the note that it plays will not sound quite right, so too the church can be out of tune if we don’t pay attention to the right mix in the church.

There have been numerous articles and books written on church health, church growth, church renewal and church revitalization that talk about how the church can become better through programs or emphases, and all of these can be greatly beneficial. I want to take a step back from those and ask a question,  Does your church have the right mix of people to experience church growth or renewal?

I want to take a look at this from several perspectives…

God’s complete mix

1 Cor 12  18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased….  20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.

Each person in the church is part of God’s complete mix for the church.  Today in your church, there is a complete mix of people to do what God has called your particular body to do. Often churches are concerned that “we don’t have enough people to do what {insert name of larger church down the street} does”.  No you don’t, but God, at this time, has provided you everyone you need to do what He has called your church to do.

Let me ask a question, how many people do you need to reach people in your community for Christ?  Do you need a church of 200 to reach one person for Christ, no you just need one Christian who will do what God has called them to do.  Remember the parable of the talents, what the master was concerned with was what each servant did with what was given to them. Did they multiply the gift given to them or did they, as the one did, whine and complain about what they had? Is your church happy with who and how many God has given or are we complaining and waiting for the day God will give us more before we begin to do what God has called us to do?  We can’t wait for something or someone else- God has placed the people in church as He pleased… in order to please Him by doing what He has called you to do. That is true in a church of 10 or 1,000 or 10,000.

This Sunday take a look around your church. Take a look at the people sitting in the rows around you. First, thank God for all of them, He has placed them there as He pleased. Second, realize that this is the group, right now, that is expected to carry out God’s design for your church. You can’t wait for more people, nicer people, smarter people, better looking people, older people, younger people… these are the people, however imperfect, however many there are, that God has given to accomplish His purposes at this time.

This is also why you need to be keenly aware of who God adds, or takes away, from your group. He doesn’ t bring people to you unless there is a reason or strategic purpose for who they are and what they can do.

God’s functional mix

1 Cor 12  7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all…  11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

God has chosen a mix for the church to make it function correctly. Each person within the body has a spiritual gift, an enablement from God to do something in the church that will benefit the rest of the church body. You can notice the dysfunction begin to arise when the people in the church begin to focus on benefiting themselves instead of benefiting others. You hear , “I didn’t get much out of that”, “the church doesn’t visit me enough”, “I don’t like the (fill in the blank), so I an not going to (give, serve, come, attend, etc)”.  That is a dysfunctional mix. The people are not just out of place, but their function is not being performed.

Like an engine with many moving parts that needs to work together in symmetry and synergy in order to produce the full power potential of the engine, the church needs all of its’ parts to work to achieve its’ full effectiveness. If you have ever watched a NASCAR race, the engines are extremely powerful, producing a great deal of horsepower and speed, at the same time they are also very fragile, just a small part or small problem and the car cannot compete in the race. One small hose, one piston, one tire, one spring, equals a big problem, the car becomes dysfunctional.  The parts have to work together and they have to work together for the length of the race. The reason the church is not making as large an impact in the community as it could and as it should, is that we have a lot of parts that are not performing their function. We have to challenge the church, as a whole and each person individually, to accept their role, perform their function, so God can work the maximum through us. The world needs no less and God expects no less.

As a church we need to emphasize that when we come to Christ we are not just saved individually, but that we are placed, baptized into, the body of Christ, given a spiritual gift and expected to function as a part of the body of Christ.  To not make this a part of the expectations of each Christian we create selfish Christians who believe that a relationship with Christ is all about them be blessed and all about them going to heaven…. sound familiar?

The Spiritual/Social Mix

This is the one aspect that is missing in many, if not most, of our churches. At a conference I attended, I heard Ed Young, pastor at Fellowship Church in Texas, say that for a church to be truly healthy it needed three groups of people in it.

a) The veteran Christian. The experienced disciple of Christ.

b) The newly converted, the just-recently-came-to-Christ.

c) The “not yet” people, those who are on the outside of the Kingdom.

As I have explored this idea, it makes such perfect Biblical sense. Each of these groups needs the others, and when they function right, God’s great power is shown.

a) The mature Christians need the newly saved to remind them of the joy of their salvation. David even prayed for God to restore to him his God-given joy. One of the reasons many churches feel “dead” is that they have not seen or been visually reminded of new life in a long while. If your church has not baptized people recently, then you can easily begin to lose your joy. The mature also need the newly saved to pour their life into, to share their knowledge, their experiences to help disciple and grow these who have not experienced as much of the Christ-life.

Mature Christians also need the “not yet”. To some that may seem strange, but the existence of the “not yet” people give the mature Christian a purpose for being here, and Paul says (I Cor 14:23-25) that we should expect unbelievers in our midst. To accomplish the task Jesus set forth for us- to disciple the nations. Without a purpose, particularly and outward purpose like this, a group can become selfish, self-centered, focused only on its’ own good, arguing over small things… wait…. does that sound familiar. Too many churches have simply forgotten that we have a purpose greater than ourselves. The church is not our earthly reward for being a Christian, it is a mission vehicle for God to make disciples of the nations.

b) The newly saved need the mature Christians to be their examples of what the Christian life is supposed to be like. (that should be a wake up call for many who have been around the church for many years, but fail to take their lifestyle seriously) Who else do they have to look to in order to understand what Christianity is supposed to be like. When I first came to Christ in my early 20’s, it was the nurturing of a couple of Godly Sunday School teachers that helped cement me in the faith and help me to understand and answer my questions.  Each Christian has a responsiblity to help other believers to grow in their walk.

The newly saved also have the closest contact with the “not yet” group. They are their first line of witness and often it is through these new Christians that some in the “not yet” group first come into contact with the church. The newly saved still have the significant portion of their relationships with those outside the church, and are full of excitement about their faith to reach these closest to them.

c) The “not yet” needs both of the other groups to share the gospel with them. They need to see it, hear it, and in some ways experience it in order to accept it. Those who are Christians need to make room for the “not yets” and give them the time, space, patience and understanding in order for them to come to Christ.  Could it be that the reason some of our churches don’t have this group in them is because we don’t allow them the room to be “not yets”?  Do we pressure them to act like us, think like us, have political views like us, before they even understand what a Christian life looks like?  If we don’t allow room for this group in our midst, how will we ever really win them?  Now don’t misunderstand, the “not yets” are not our church leaders or teachers, but certainly should be fellowshipping with us, bringing their kids to our events, be a part of projects, work days, they can serve food, many things, in our midst… so they can come to see what it is like to be a follower of Christ. Then the church gets to see God do an amazing thing, transform the life of an individual. His power and glory revealed in a life changed.

So, thinking about the mix of your church– do you have the right mix?  Are you out of balance somewhere?  Is your church not experiencing the full joy and power of God because your mix is dysfunctional in some way?

God has a design, a mix, for the church. It meant to be a mix that functions well, mixes well and ultimately brings him honor.  Check out your church this Sunday, are you mixing like God intends?

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.