Learning Leadership

Know the Context When Studying the Bible

Through my internship with Steve Elliott (I wrote about Steve in yesterday's post about him mentoring and discipling me) at Church Assistance Ministry (CAM) and teachings from classes at Fresno Pacific University, I am learning the value of knowing the “context” when studying the Bible.     

Steve first introduced this to me when he taught me to study the Bible. Then when we took the Biblical Perspectives 436 class, we were taught even more about the “Historical World” which we need to know and understand before we begin to study the Bible.

The importance of historical and literary context became very apparent when I led a Bible study in Steve’s absence several month's ago. As we started to dig into the book of Galatians to learn about how we should serve one another in love, I did my best to set up the historical context of the church setting, the city of Galatia, and the issues that Paul is addressing in his letter. Then we began to study Galatians 5:13 and how it was important to us as Christians to serve one another in love. As we started our discussion, it became very clear to me that I had not done an adequate job of setting up this context for my participants when one of them tried to apply the verse to salvation.

Galatians 5:13 is a doctrine statement about why we as Christians should use the freedom we have because of our faith to serve others in love instead of using that freedom to sin. But, because I had not correctly set up the context, a couple of the participants mistakenly thought Paul is writing about “freedom” and teaching about service to be a verse on salvation, not service. They began to ask questions about how we are still allowed to go to heaven if we do sin, or making statements on why they did not understand’s Paul’s statement about salvation.

This caused me to have to apologize, take a step back to re-introduce the verse with the emphasis of the passage on “service” not “salvation.” Once I had the group correctly oriented to looking at the verse as a service verse--not a verse about salvation--they were able to understand what Paul was communicating.

When studying the Bible, always be sure to do some research and understand the context of what you are reading. We all know that you can take what are called "sound bites" and fabricate entire sentences and messages. That is not what we want to do when studying the Bible. We want to study and discover what the Bible is communicating to us so we may apply it to our own lives and then share it with others.

Question: How do you study and understand context when studying the Bible or other pieces of literature?

Discipleship and Mentoring is a Key of any Organization

Within the context of teaching and equipping people, discipleship becomes a key part of the church teaching its people to live out their faith and share it with others.

In his book, The Essence of the Church, Craig Van Gelder stresses the importance of discipleship when he writes “Every believer is to grow into full maturity in Christ. Discipleship, though intensely personal, is corporate in character.”[1]

I personally have been impacted by discipleship. For over three years I have been discipled by a great man and a great leader. His name is Steve Elliott and he has been leading and training leaders for almost 40 years now. The time we spend together is extremely valuable and has played an important role in my growth as a man and leader.

I do believe this is something the church I attend, Enclave Community Church might be able to improve on. We are a church mixed with people who have been Christians a long time along with others who are very new in their faith. And I believe that we can improve by making mentors and disciples for the people who are still new in their faith.

Whether it is in a church, business, nonprofit, or government organization, I believe it is important that discipleship and mentoring be an important part of the young people's growth. Because discipleship and mentoring is key to any organization. 

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[1] The Essence of the Church, pg. 152

An Effective Church (part 5)

My classmate, Amy, shared a powerful story that serves as an example of how the church needs to be well led in order for that love to make it to the community.

Amy had been attending a church for several years when she decided that she wanted serve others. Instead of having the freedom for Amy to raise her hand, say she wanted to serve others, and be put to work, Amy instead had to go through an intense administrative process. She needed to fill out pages of paperwork for the church explaining what she wanted to do and why. Then she was required to meet with an associate pastor to go over her paperwork and discuss her desire to serve. Then she was required to wait for a phone call back from church about where she would be allowed to serve.

That call never came.

As a result, Amy visited another church where she again raised her hand saying that she wanted to offer her time to serve and help others who are in need. Immediately she was informed of several projects and initiatives the church already had in place, and she was allowed to pick the one she would like to give her time to. Amy currently spends time every week at a local school tutoring elementary school kids and teaching them good values.[1] Amy’s story shows the power of a well led church that has given its members the freedom to show God’s love to others.

Amy showing that love is exactly what we are called to do to our community: show Jesus’ love to others. Back to Van Gelder’s book, The Essence of the Church, where he informs us of what the church should look like to the outside the community by saying that, “The church is to demonstrate a new lifestyle before the world, one that breaks the cycle of anger, reaction, and revenge that characterizes the world’s practices. The core of this lifestyle is to be Christian service.Christians are to serve both fellow believers and unbelievers, even when they are hostile and mistreat us.”[2] Sometimes listening to others and serving them means we will have to sacrifice our time, attention, and money.

But if the church encourages us to get out and meet with people to show love, and the church equips us to do that, then it is the right thing to do in Jesus’ name. I do not know of any other activity or more important task of a member of the church than to talk with others about Jesus. There are many people in our communities who are lost, hurting, and who do not know Jesus. It is up to us to find ways to get out there to talk with people about Jesus because if our church is going to be effective in reaching the people in our neighborhood, talking with them is the core practice in making that happen.

As we have studied what it means to be an effective church today from the book of Acts and other examples, let us wrap up our time with the story after the story. The story after the story is that the early church, led by twelve men who had no priestly training or authority, went out to spread the good news of Jesus to the entire known world at that time. They traveled by road and boat, they taught in Temples and homes, and they fostered the growth of the early church to what it now is today: Christianity as the largest religion in the world. Because these men led their church well, focused on delivering solid Biblical teaching, and gave others ways to show God’s love, they helped to create what we now know as modern Christianity.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Graham, Billy. Storm Warning (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010), 164.

Henry, Matthew. “Acts.” In The Definitive Bible Commentary, edited by Owen Collins, 1154-1184. London: HarperCollinsReligious, 1999.

NLT Study Bible. Carol Stream, Il: Tyndale House Publishers, 1998.

Stanley, Andy. “When Less is More.” Lecture, Catalyst West Conference at Mariners Church, Orange County, CA, April 23, 2010.

Roxburgh, Alan J. and M. Scott Boren. Introducing the Missional Church: What it is, Why it Matters, How to Become One. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2009.

Van Gelder, Craig. The Essence of the Church: A Community Created by the Spirit. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000.

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[1] Amy Berger, conversation with author, Fresno, CA, June 23, 2011.

[2] Craig Van Gelder, The Essence of the Church: A Community Created by the Spirit (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 153.

 

An Effective Church (part 4)

In addition to the church working hard to teach its current believers, another important role of the church is to find ways to share the gospel with others who are not currently believing or practicing Christians.

Again, let’s go back to chapter six of Acts where it shows us how the combination of a well led church with solid Bible teaching allows God’s love to be shown to the community. This early church shows us how we are able to reach out to the community and serve when the people already in the church have been correctly taught and equipped. Because of that taking place, the 12 apostles were able to quickly chose seven men who could fill the need to feed the widows.

Since the apostles were so strongly preaching and teaching, they were able to delegate to someone else the responsibility of taking care of the Greek-speaking believers and Hebrew-speaking believers. I realize that in this passage those widows were probably already part of the church, but the principle applies more generally. Someone who has been equipped and is able to serve people within the church can just as easily do the same for someone outside the church. We can sum up this entire story with verse 7 which says, “So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.”[1] Because the leaders of the early church were smart and disciplined enough to know they needed to do what only they could do, they were able to delegate the work of feeding the widows to seven other men who were just as capable (if not more than the apostles) of doing the job.

A key element of the church is to have the systems and processes in place so members have the freedom to listen to others and tell them about Jesus. The church should be structured with freedom for its members to do good works and use their gifts. And the essence of church members showing God’s love to the community starts with a simple act of listening to lost and hurting people in our neighborhood. When writing about what it means to be an effective church in our own neighborhood, Alan Roxburgh and M. Scott Boren believe, “. . . the real work involves sitting with the people, listening to their stories, and entering their world with an open mind and heart—not bringing predetermined decisions and goals to the table.”[2]

Listening to lost and hurting people needs to be the first thing that we do. People do not want easy answers to the difficult questions they are dealing with and confused by. People want a friend who will listen to them and know them for who they are.[3] As we have already learned, it takes teaching and equipping church members for them to know that they cannot always walk up to a stranger in Wal-Mart, share the story of Jesus, and expect to have a confession right there. Through solid teaching and equipping, church members will know how to become friends with others as a way to evangelize and live with them in community regardless of their differences. During or after listening to lost and hurting people, church members can show God’s love to them by offering assistance with food, free or low-cost counseling, vacation Bible school for their kids, or a health clinic for the homeless. But again, this all wraps back to our first point of the church needing to be well led to allow this to happen.

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[1] Acts 6:7

[2] Alan Roxburg and M. Scott Boren, Introducing the Missional Church: What it is, Why it Matters, How to Become One (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2009), 86.

[3] Ibid. 84

 

An Effective Church Needs to Have Great Teaching (part 3)

As we have already discussed, a key element of these early church leaders doing what only they could do was teaching, which is the second of three core elements the church needs to do to be effective.

Teaching in the church is important, and we can learn about how important it is from one of the greatest Bible teachers of our time, Billy Graham, when he powerfully declares, “Church is not for pretenders and performers. Church is a place for pastors to preach principles of faith in order to prepare believers to face the storms of life on the stage of an unbelieving world.”[1] That is a powerful statement from Billy Graham, a man who has preached in many countries and to millions of people.

Now, back to the story of our new church in Acts. We learn from this early description of the church in chapter six of Acts that teaching the word of God was so important that it was taking up all of the apostles’ time.[2] When a church is led well and has a pastor (or two) who is given the time and freedom to devote a large chunk of time to teaching the word of God, it will help to strengthen that church’s believers who attend regularly. To strengthen the current believers, the church needs to have strong teaching every Sunday. Church should be focused on teaching solid Biblical concepts that are addressed in the Bible, and they should be related and connected to our current culture today. This is not easy, but it is essential to developing and equipping current believers to more effectively live out their faith and share it with others who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus.

As a church we are to teach our community what it means to live with faith. We need to teach people how to pray, read the Bible, serve the poor, and paint a picture of what it means to authentically live out our faith. Through that teaching, people should be equipped for work of sharing their faith.

Just this past week, Pastor Brian at Enclave Community Church gave us some teaching about the importance of sharing our faith with others even if we do not have all the answers to people’s difficult questions. After teaching through the story of Phillip in Acts 8:26-40, Pastor Brian gave us an outline of six verses from the book of Romans we can use to share our faith with others. This is exactly the equipping that needs to be done for the people of the church so that they may be strengthened in their faith while also being more effective at sharing it But teaching does not have to be limited to Sunday morning sermons.

The importance of Christians participating in teaching environments can be emphasized through the church stressing the importance of being involved in a weekly Bible study. Or the church might hold conferences on specific topics or even conduct their own weekly teaching classes.

In the church I attend, Enclave Community Church, people come every week to listen to Pastor Brian teach. That might be the only Biblical teaching or Bible verses a person hears all week, which is why it is important that a church has great teaching for the people who come. If they only hear a 40 minute sermon once a week, then we need to make sure it is the best 40 minute sermon we can possibly produce.

People who come to Enclave Community Church and hear Pastor Brian preach are there to listen and learn from what he says. They readily await his teaching with a pen and his outline sitting in their Bible while turned to the passage of text he is teaching through.

A great example of this is my friend Mike who started attending Enclave in January of 2010. Mike has a rough past due to methamphetamine and alcohol addictions. After reaching a low point in his life and with the help of family, friends, and his fiancé, Mike enlisted in the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center in Stockton, CA to help him get his life on track. As a result, Mike was able to get to know Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. Shortly after being released from the six month program in Stockton, Mike came back to live in Turlock and began attending Enclave in January of 2010. When I met Mike in March of 2010, I asked him his story and how he came to attend Enclave. (Asking questions and listening is a key part of showing love, which we will learn about later.) He shared his story of spending time in Stockton at the Rehabilitation Center, how he was now clean of drugs and alcohol, and that he had been to Enclave every single Sunday for the past three months since coming back to Turlock. In his Bible he had every one of Pastor Brian’s outlines marked up and filled with notes. Mike, as a new Christian, faithfully attended Enclave every single week to learn as much as he could about what it means to be a Christian man following Jesus.

But the story does not end there, after attending Enclave for a year and a half, Mike has started a group he calls the “Enclave Prayer Warriors.” Mike organizes this group to meet once a week to pray for the church, each other, and the church’s members. Because of the solid Biblical teaching from Pastor Brian and the discipleship from his small group and counseling he received through Enclave, he has now gone on to do his own ministry that is reaching out to even more people. Mike’s story is exactly the reason that church must have strong teaching for its believers.

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[1] Billy Graham, Storm Warning (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010), 164.

[2] Matthew Henry, “Acts,” in The Definitive Bible Commentary, ed. Owen Collins (London: HarperCollinsReligious, 1999), 1160.

 

An Effective Church Needs to be Led Well (part 2)

As we are looking at church effectiveness and comparing it to chapter six of Acts, there are some significant things the early church apostles did in order to lead the church well.

One is that these apostles knew exactly what tasks were most important for them to do and they did not deviate from those tasks. Three times in this passage we see the apostles say that their priority was to “teach” the word of God.[1] The setting for this passage is that the church had been experiencing tremendous growth. Just before Acts 5:42, the apostles had been arrested and flogged by Jewish religious leaders because they were teaching and follow Jesus’ ways. The religious leaders let the men go after having them flogged because they believed the apostles would no longer be important and relevant to the community and the culture at that time. However, we know that “every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: ‘Jesus is the Messiah.’”[2] Right from the beginning they knew what was most important to them, and they continued to do that.

Next in the story from Acts, the Greek-speaking believers complained because they believed their widows were being discriminated against in the food distribution compared to the Hebrew-speaking widows. The Greek-speaking believers had the attitude of “Hey, they are getting what we want/deserve, we won’t tolerate that.” With this in mind, we see the apostles react in an interesting way by quickly calling a meeting and bringing all the believers together—not just a few, not just the core leaders, and not just the people they know will agree with them. They call all the believers together, and they announce what is going to happen by making this bold declaration: “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”[3] What a bold statement! The apostles of the early church made an important executive decision. They knew what the church needed to do in order to be successful, they declared it, and they organized it. This means that if we want our church to be well led, we need to be slightly aristocratic in our leadership of the church. The Senior Pastor should have the freedom to make key decisions and lead well. He or she has been elected to lead the church and should be given the freedom to do that well.

But what about those 12 leaders gave them the ability to be leaders? Church expert Craig Van Gelder gives us a good description of church leaders in his book, The Essence of the Church, when he writes, “First, leaders in the church must have a mature Christian character. . . .Second, the Bible assumes that leaders in the church will be selected based on their gifts and skills. The Spirit gives spiritual gifts to all in the church. Some gifts relate directly to leadership.”[4] We see both of these statements from Van Gelder in relation to the leaders we have observed in chapter six of Acts. The apostles were very mature in their faith since 11 of them had spent three years with Jesus and had already endured some persecution because of their faith. These early leaders knew they preached and taught well, so they selected seven men to do the food ministry. They knew that effective leaders focus on doing one thing well, while ineffective leaders attempt to do everything and do nothing well.

This shows church leadership, staff, and members of the church the necessity of finding their areas of strength. When giving a talk on this same passage of scripture, Andy Stanley, pastor of one of the largest churches in America, North Point Community Church, states that we should, “Only do what only you can do. The less you do, the more you accomplish.”[5] Say what? Less is more? The essence of what Andy is teaching is that leaders in the church, in order to be effective, need to focus in on the few things that only they can do. These 12 apostles were clearly called to preach and teach based on the three years they spent with Jesus. These 12 men had been personally equipped by Jesus to be leaders of the early church, and no one else at that time had been as equipped or given as much authority as they had. Clearly they were called to preach and do nothing else. We see them leading the church by having the authority to make an important decision. They stayed focused to do only what they could do, and that allowed them to lead well, which is exactly what the church in our culture needs to do: lead well.

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[1] Acts 5:42, 6:3,4

[2] Acts 5:42

[3] Acts 6:2-4

[4] Craig Van Gelder, The Essence of the Church: A Community Created by the Spirit (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 181.

[5] Andy Stanley, “When Less is More” (lecture, Catalyst West Conference at Mariners Church, Orange County, CA, April 23, 2010).

 

An Effective Church (part 1)

Churches need to play a significant role in our community in order to save lost souls.

To serve lost souls churches must be effective, but what makes up an effective church? There are a few things that I believe the church should be and do in order to play a key role in saving souls and helping people authentically live as Christ followers. From my own personal experience of what God has done in my life, from reading the Bible, and from observing my own church, I believe there are three core elements that allow a church to be effective. I believe a church needs to be led well, it should have solid Bible-based teaching, and it should show love to the community. These three elements of an effective church in a community can be deduced from a small passage in the book of Acts that shows us how the early church performed ministry in an effective way. Let us start by taking a look into the early Christian church in chapter six of Acts.

In the book of Acts there is a lot happening. Jesus has died, risen from the dead, been taken up into heaven, the day of Pentecost comes and with it comes the Holy Spirit, and the apostle Peter delivers an amazing sermon that saves 3,000 souls. Then, the early apostles begin to experience some opposition from religious leaders.[1] The result is that the religious leaders release the apostles, and we can now read what they do after being released starting in Acts 5:42:[2]

And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.” But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend out time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.” Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Phillip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). These seven where presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them. So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted too.[3]

This passage of scripture contains massive implications for local churches today if we study it. When studying this passage it shows us 1) how and why the church should be led well; 2) how important biblical teaching is; and 3) how the combination of a well led church with solid teaching allows God’s love to be shown in the community. Rather than you simply trusting me about each these three observations from Acts, let us take some time to examine each of them. The starting point of the church ministering effectively to the community is by being led well.

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[1] Please note that when I use the word “apostles,” I am using it in the context of the 12 disciples (minus Judas) that are now the current leaders of the early church.

[2] The passage of scripture we are studying is Acts 5:42 through Acts 6:7. However, for simplicity sake, throughout this paper I will refer to the passage as “chapter six of Acts.”

[3] Acts 5:42-6:7 (New Living Translation)

 

Becoming Who We are with Others

While reading Becoming Who You Are by James Martin, SJ and Bridges to Contemplative Living by Barbara Brown Taylor we learn about how we can become who we truly are by spending time with others.

James Martin, SJ shares his personal experience of spending time reading Thomas Merton’s and Henri Nouwen’s personal journals which reveals their infallibilities when Martin writes, “This revelation of their flaws attracts as much as it repels some readers. For me, it is attractive. It helps me to feel closer to them and see more clearly how they grew spiritually and, likewise, how I am invited to grow as they did, even with my faults” (pg. 52). When Martin spends time with Merton and Nouwen, he is encouraged and moved along the path towards becoming the person who he truly is meant to be.

As a follower of Jesus I have also experienced the joy of knowing that I am becoming the person I am meant to be by spending time with others. When I spend time with the right people, they help to celebrate who I am as a person and encourage me to be true to myself. I have had some great friends who have always encouraged me in my faith (even if they don’t have a strong faith) and they have encouraged the new work I do as a result of my faith. As I have grown as a man and a leader—in that process discovering who I am and what my strengths are—I am extremely grateful for those who are my friends and aided my growth.

Question: How do you feel that you become who you are supposed to be by spending time with others? Does it depend who you are spending time with?

Becoming My True Self Through Prayer

I am intrigued by the perspective of James Martin, SJ and Thomas Merton (while reading their books, Becoming Who You Are and Bridges to Contemplative Living) when talking about the intricacy of prayer and becoming our true selves.

The main way I am learning from these readings that we become our true selves. Bridges to Contemplative Living tells us that we learn about our true selves through prayer because “the one thing needful is inner silence, not outer. And though this inner silence presupposes the ‘laying aside’ of images in prayer, the final effect of this negation is to assert with fresh vividness the ultimate value of all things and all persons” (pg. 27).

In my personal prayer life, I have had a similar, but limited experience of becoming my “true self.” That true self transformation has taken place over four or five years, and the main way that I allowed that transformation to take place through prayer. When coming to God with my thoughts, feelings, hurts, and desires, He has helped me see me for who I truly am. When asking Him to show me His will for my life, I learn to allow Him to lead and that has transformed me. I am grateful for that prayer time with God leading and showing me who I am deep down. If it was not for those times of prayer (which I still participate in to this day) I am not sure if I would have become the person I am today. 

Question: Do you pray? Why or why not?

 

Renewal Through Reading the Bible

Reading the books Bridges to Contemplative Living and Leaving Church has reminded me of my own personal renewal and rebirth as a result of reading the Bible.

Merton writes to us about how true Christianity is renewal when he declares “the rebirth of which Christ speaks is not a single event but a continuous dynamic of inner renewal. . . . True Christianity is growth in the life of the Spirit, a deepening of the new life, a continuous rebirth, in which the exterior and superficial life of the ego-self is discarded like an old snake skin and the mysterious, invisible self of the Spirit becomes more present and more active” (pg 20-21).

To be Christian is to be renewing ourselves from the inside based on Christ. I believe Merton’s thoughts are connected with Taylor’s testimony of how the physical condition of her Bible is “limp from long use” (pg 216).

One of the main ways that I have experienced renewal as a Christian is reading God’s word daily. Reading my Bible in my quiet time as a devotional, reading long chunks of scripture, and reading in deep study have helped me realize that the more I learn about the Bible, the more I still have to learn about the Bible. Our Bible is God’s word to us. It is the story of his love for us, and when we read about that love, it renews us. It has renewed me and reminded me of the love that God has for me, and it helps to equip me to go out and do work for him.

As leaders, we need to have ways that we renew our mind and body. Find something that renews you.

Question: What do you do that renews your mind and body? 

 

Finding my Identity in God

Finding my identity in God has been a unique and difficult experience over the past several years.

I have struggled through thinking my identity was to become a professional golfer, to be a leader of a nonprofit, then to a teacher/writer of leadership, and now a loyal servant of God. I feel my experience is similar to Thomas Merton’s statement that, “To work out our own identity in God. . . is a labor that requires sacrifice and anguish, risk and many tears” (Bridges to Contemplative Living, pg. 15).

The turning point for me with this was when I began praying very diligently about two to three years ago for God to show me His will for my life. I told God that I wanted to do great things for Him, that I was prepared, and that I was wiling to sacrifice whatever He wanted for that benefit. I even came to a place in my prayer time that I was offering myself to Him to live in celibacy if that is what He wanted in order for me to make the greatest impact.

As I have struggled with this more, I have come to realize more and more that my identity in God is less of what I “do” for Him and more of what I “am.” When spending some time with Dave Benton, a radio host for 101.5 FM KAMB, he made a statement that still sits in my head as clear as it was when he voiced it months ago. I asked him how he was doing with a position change he had experienced, and he quickly replied “I do my job, I am not my job.”

Dave shared that his identity and my identity should not be in the work we do for God but in who we are as a child of God.

Question: In what or who do you find your identity? 

 

Growing From Time with Others

Reading Leaving Church and Bridges to Contemplative Living remindes me of something I shy away from: crowds.

Because I am naturally an introverted person, it is my tendency to feel at peace and enjoy life when I am by myself. Before dating my girlfriend, Jen, I often spent my Sabbath days totally by myself reading, watching movies, running a few errands, or even going to the movie theater alone.

I admire the atmosphere of my night class at Fresno Pacific University because we have a great time when we are together. We all get along very well and share common interests while also respecting our differences. One thing that I feel has aided my spiritual growth is the “group environment” we share through this Spiritual Formation class and our Thursday evenings which we spend together. I care about you as classmates and enjoy hearing about your ministry, goals, and dreams. (Rock on Steve with preaching and Jennifer with prophetic ministry!) In addition to our time together, developing a deep relationship with my girlfriend, Jen, over the past 18 months has also helped me feel more connected to others. I have learned to enjoy the situation of having a steady companion, a best-friend, and a partner to share life with. It has been nice to know that someone is always around, always there, and always supportive (which goes both ways, from me back to her too).

Like I said, even though I am naturally introverted, I feel that I am growing spiritually by learning to enjoy time with you as classmates and my girlfriend. 

 

Nobody is Watching

Nobody is watching,

but,

we always think someone is.

That's why we shop for clothes, try them on many times, pay large amounts of money for them, and make sure we wear our nicest clothes when we go out in public.

It's why we get embarrassed when we make a mistake in front of others, or when we drop a bottle of milk in the grocery store.

Nobody is watching.

We think it's a big deal when a newspaper article is written about us (good or bad) and we get nervous.

Nobody is watching.

We think it's a big deal when we go to a fundraising luncheon/dinner/banquet and we coincidentally are sat next to the Mayor or another well known leader.  We think people will see us sitting with this influential person and think we are also influential.

Nobody is watching.

We might think it's a big deal to be a "published author" who has books which can be purchased around the world. We think we'll new be famous and well-known. The next Rick Warren.

Nobody is watching.

A local newspaper writes an article about the great work your organization is doing and you think it's going to increase the visibility of your organization.  You think many people will call your organization to learn more and want to work with you as a result of the article in the paper. 

Nobody is watching.

In that local newspaper article your name as the "CEO" or "President" is mentioned and you think you're now a known leader in your community.  You believe it's good to be transparent in your work at your organization as the leader.  And you now think this will put you on that platform.

Nobody is watching.

You believe that if you can get recognized as a leader in your industry you'll be choosen to speak at conferences to share your success.  If your organization is successful, you hope you'll be recognized as the leader and given credit for all the things that have gone right at your company,

but, 

nobody is watching.

Jesus is a Leader (part 4)

Ultimately, leadership is sacrifice.

The size of a leader is often measured by the amount of sacrifice given for the benefit of his or her followers. Jesus meets this standard in a way no one else ever has because He sacrificed Himself for us. He came and died on the cross for our sins so that we could be made holy and join Him in heaven. Nowhere else throughout the Gospel of Matthew is this more clear than when Jesus is giving a prayer of Thanksgiving: “Come to me, all of you where are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”[1] This is something very different than the things at that time.

Throughout most of Jewish history political leaders put more and more burdens on the people. Even religious leaders at that time put burdens on the people telling them religion was about laws and laws on top of the laws that they needed to follow to be holy and go to heaven. Yet, here is a man with no official title offering to give the people rest if they would only bring their burdens to Him. Jesus was here to serve through sacrifice, to carry the load they could not carry on their own. Billy Graham hammers this point home when he writes, “Jesus, by example, tells us that every true leader should be a helper, a servant, or even a bondslave. This is a command, not a suggestion, and applies with special force to leaders.”[2]

Now that we know Jesus is a leader who teaches, equips, and serves through sacrifice we need to see how that applies to our lives. What are we to do (regardless if we are a Christian or not) in response to the fact that Jesus works hard to teach, equip others to carry on ministry, and serves us through the sacrifice of Himself on the cross? How do we respond to that in a way that honors Him and teaches, equips, and serves others through sacrifice? For me personally, I seek to teach others just as Jesus did through my blog where I post articles six days a week. While at work at United Way, I have worked hard to equip a new co-worker in our department on how to fundraise efficiently from companies in our area. And I serve through sacrifice with my girlfriend, Jen, by seeking to meet her needs of love, respect, and time on a daily basis. None of these are easy, but when it comes to following Jesus as a teacher, equipper, and a servant through sacrifice, it calls for a strong person dedicated to that process.

Because Jesus sacrificed for us, the least we can do is return the favor by doing the same things He did to teach, equip, and serve others through sacrifice.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Graham, Billy, The Holy Spirit. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1978.

Hauer, Christian A., and William A. Young. An Introduction to the Bible. 7^th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008.

Hiebert, Dr. D. Edmond “Jesus the Master Teacher,” In Called to Teach, edited by David Ewert, 21-37. Fresno, CA: Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies, 1980.

Hutchison, John C. “Servanthood: Jesus’ Countercultural Call to Christian Leaders,” Bibliotheca Sacra 166 (January-March 2009): 53-69.

Maxwell, John C. The Maxwell Leadership Bible, 2^nd ed. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2007.

Smillie, Gene R. “Jesus’ Response to the Question of His Authority in Matthew 21,” Bibliotheca Sacra 162 (October-December 2005): 459-469.

Swindoll, Charles R. The Living Insights Study Bible, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996.

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[1] Matt. 11:28-30

[2] Billy Graham, The Holy Spirit (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1978), 202.

 

Jesus is a Leader (part 3)

Jesus is an amazing teacher, but He also needs to be able to equip others with His message and skills so they can go where He cannot go.

He knows that He could not do everything all on His own—He needs a team to help Him reach as many people as possible. Because Jesus knows this He starts early to develop a team of 12 men who would carry on His ministry and take His message literally to the ends of the earth. Earlier I mentioned that Jesus gives a one sentence sermon as soon as he arrives in Galilee. What I did not tell you is what His first action is after that message.

The first thing that we observe Jesus doing after He is tempted for 40 days in the desert is gathering four disciples. Jesus gets baptized by John the Baptist, He is tempted by the devil in the desert, then He preaches “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”[1] Then, we see Jesus start to gather His team before teaching any more than that one sentence or performing any miracles. In Jesus’ time, it was traditional for a teacher to wait for disciples and pupils to come to him, desiring to learn. However, Jesus goes against the common rules of that day (as He did with so many other things) and He goes to men and calls them to Him. He goes to their places of work and asks them to be His disciples.

We can make two observations on the significance of Jesus picking at least some of His disciples at this time: 1) To make sure His disciples have as many opportunities as possible to watch Him perform his ministry while learning in that process; and, 2) He knows these men will be carrying on His ministry so every moment of time He spends with them is precious.[2] At a later time in Matthew, we see Jesus coming to a key point in his ministry when He can no longer expect his 12 disciples to tag along and watch Him. Instead they need to also be dong the work.

A key part of the Gospel of Matthew is the end of chapter nine until the end of chapter ten. Jesus’ ministry is starting to gain significant momentum as He shows great teaching with authority and heals many people. In Matthew 9:18-21 many people are reaching out to Jesus for help faster than He can help them. Jesus heals a dead girl, a bleeding woman, and as He is traveling somewhere else, two blind men begin following Him asking Him to heal them. So, Jesus heals them and as soon as the two blind men leave, a demon possessed man who cannot speak is brought to Jesus. People are being brought to Jesus faster than He can heal them, and this is when we begin to see the equipping part of His ministry.

At this time, Jesus is traveling throughout towns and villages (by foot I might add) teaching in synagogues.[3] This is when we see Him start to lead His disciples. Jesus is doing as much of the ministry on His own that He can, but He needs help. This is a turning point in Jesus’ ministry because He now equips His disciples to go out. They have seen Him do His ministry of teaching and healing people. Now it is their turn to give it a try and do their best to multiply Jesus’ efforts. Jesus describes this scenario when He says, “ ‘The harvest is great, but the works are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.’ Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness.”[4] After this, Jesus gives His disciples advice on what to do, who to stay with while on their trip, how to rely on their faith, who to serve, what to take with them, what to expect, and what to beware of. Leadership expert John Maxwell comments on this passage of scripture observing, “Leaders must develop others to reach their potential. No one did this better than Jesus.

Even though He has not finished training His disciples, He sends them out to exercise their gifts. At some point we need to end the lecture and send them out to try what they have learned.”[5] Jesus makes a strategic move by sending out His disciples to begin doing their work before He died. This gives them time to practice with their teacher and mentor watching, while they can perfect and hone their ministry with Jesus’ help. The disciples have watched Jesus do His ministry, and now it is their time to go out and do it. And based on the text of Matthew, Jesus does everything He can to include His disciples in the ministry He is doing through teaching and healing so the disciples can observe and learn. Then Jesus takes additional time to equip them for the work they were about to do.

At the end of the Gospel of Matthew we see Jesus’ last words which are often called the “Great Commission.” In the Great Commission, Jesus encourages His disciples to take what they have learned and share it with the entire world. Jesus wants them to disciple others just as Jesus had disciple’d them: to baptize people in Jesus’ name and to teach the new Christians to obey all of Jesus’ commands. Jesus’ focus of equipping His disciples to go out and do great works is a key part of His leadership, but it is not the only part because He also is a servant through sacrifice.

Question: How do you equip others for work? 

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[1] Matt. 4:17

[2] The book of Matthew does not tell us if Jesus chose all of His disciples at this time before delivering the Sermon on the Mount. We do know for sure, that Jesus at least picked four of His disciples before delivering His Sermon on the Mount.

[3] A synagogue is a type of community center where children attended schools, special events were held, where people came to hear the Bible read publicly and talk about it together.

[4] Matt. 9:37-10:1

[5] John C. Maxwell, The Maxwell Leadership Bible, 2^nd ed. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2007), 1191.

 

Jesus is a Leader (part 2)

When carefully studying the book of Matthew we notice how Matthew has carefully crafted his book into five distinct teaching “sermons” from Jesus.

Most of these sermons are separated with “When Jesus had finished giving these instructions”[1] or “When Jesus had finished telling these stories and illustrations.”[2] Clearly, the Apostle Matthew is focused on sharing the teachings of Jesus. He is so focused on this that since Matthew is a Jew, writing to Jews attempting to prove Jesus as being God’s son, he might have chosen to group these teachings in five sections as a way to parallel his gospel with the Pentateuch.[3] Matthew is leveraging the cultural heritage of Jews at that time for the benefit of the Jews who are familiar with the five books of law.

It can also be argued that this Gospel of Matthew has been written to add to and possibly replace those five books of law that the Jews so closely studied and memorized at that time. When writing about the five teachings included in the book of Matthew, Christian Hauer and William Young in their book, An Introduction to the Bible, explain, “Clearly this gospel [Matthew] is concerned. . . not only with proclaiming the authority of Jesus as teacher and preacher, but also with giving the content of his teaching. The fivefold division of the gospel seems patterned after the Five Books of Moses in the Tanak.”[4] As we now can see that Jesus is a teacher, how does his ability to teach related to the Pharisees, Sadducees, Rabbis, and religious teachers of that time?

We can make the assertion that Jesus has an incredible ability to teach simply based on the number of people who followed Him. As He teaches and performs miracles, more and more people begin to follow His teachings and learn from Him. This is evident in the reaction the crowds have after Jesus delivers His famous Sermon on the Mount where Matthew tells us, “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.”[5]

However, as you can imagine, there were lots of teachers at that time. How do we know to differentiate Jesus? What type of authority does Jesus have that allows Him to speak so powerfully and how is that related to the other priests, religious leaders, and rabbis of that day? Gene R. Smillie carefully articulates how this took place in his article, Jesus’ Response to the Question of His Authority in Matthew 21 when he writes: “By demonstrating Jesus’ superiority of His opponents in rabbinical debate Matthew revealed Jesus’ authority to teach (the particular activity in which He was engaged at the moment they challenged Him, 21:23), that is, to declare theological truth. One after another, the religious authorities of His day came at Him to test Him. One after another, they were defeated.”[6] And it was not just Jesus’ authority that gave Him the ability to teach and influence the people to change their lifestyles, it was the way he communicated His sayings in simple yet profound ways.

Any leader knows the importance of making his message simple and clear. Read any book on vision casting and that is one of the main topics the author will tell you to do. When commenting on the way Jesus taught parables, Bible teacher Chuck Swindoll asserts, “As you study Jesus’ method of communicating you will find this advice underlying it: make it clear. Make it simple. Emphasize the essentials. Forget about impressing others. Be content to leave some things unsaid.”[7] Any good leader does the hard work to break down his or her teachings into simple principles and stories that anyone can understand, especially the underprivileged, poor, and illiterate, which are the main audiences Jesus is teaching.

However, a leader being a great teacher is not enough to make that person a leader.

Question: How do you see Jesus? Do you see him as a leader and teacher? Why or why not? 

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[1] Matt. 13:53

[2] Matt. 11:1

[3] The Pentateuch consists of the first five books included in the Bible probably written by Moses. They are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. They were and still are the five books of laws that practicing religious Jews follow to this very day.

[4] Christian A. Hauer and William A. Young, An Introduction to the Bible. 7^th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008), 269.

[5] Matt. 7:28-29

[6] Gene R. Smillie, “Jesus’ Response to the Question of His Authority in Matthew 21,” Bibliotheca Sacra 162 (October-December 2005): 467.

[7] Charles R. Swindoll, The Living Insights Study Bible, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 1020.

 

Jesus is a Leader (part 1)

One of the most effective evangelists in history, Billy Graham, believes, “The central message of the Bible is Jesus Christ.”

But who is Jesus?

Over the next couple days I am going to focus on the question of “Who is Jesus” based on the Gospel of Matthew and my own personal experience with Jesus Christ. After studying the book of Matthew and reflecting on who Jesus is to me, I believe that Jesus is a leader who teaches, equips, and serves through sacrifice.

First, let us see how Jesus taught throughout the Gospel of Matthew.

When reading the Gospel of Matthew, I can’t help but notice that Jesus is a teacher. The Gospel of Matthew quickly moves through Jesus’ family heritage, how and where He was born, His baptism from John the Baptist, and the three temptations He faced. As soon as Jesus finishes his 40 days in the desert facing the three temptations, Jesus hears that John the Baptist has been arrested, and Jesus travels to the Sea of Galilee where Matthew tells us, “From then on Jesus began to preach.”[1] Up until this point in time, Jesus has not preached or performed any miracles.

The first action of ministry that the Gospel of Matthew records is that Jesus begins to preach. Matthew gives us a glimpse at Jesus’ first preached message which is only one sentence, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven in near.”[2] After this short one-sentence message, Jesus goes out to recruit His disciples. Jesus knows that He will need a group of devoted followers who will carry on His message after He is no longer on earth. We will discuss this topic later in more depth of how Jesus equipped His disciples through His teaching, so I don’t want to go too deep into that here.

We can make five observations of why Jesus is a teacher: 1) He teaches large groups (such as the Sermon on the Mount); 2) He teaches small groups (such as the 12 disciples); 3) He is always alert for teaching opportunities (often using people’s questions as an opportunity to teach about more deeply rooted spiritual issues); 4) He teaches individuals (such as the many people who came up to him to ask him questions); and, 5) He teaches wherever he goes (such as the top of a mountain, on a sea shore, and from a boat).[3] That is the context of where Jesus teaches through his three years of ministry. He teaches many people in many areas with a mission to prove He is God’s son, heal the sick, and teach people how to get to heaven.

Now knowing that Jesus is a teacher who teaches many people in a variety of contexts, we can look closer at what He teaches and how it is structured throughout the Gospel of Matthew. 

(Part 2 will be posted tomorrow and continue our conversation about why I believe Jesus is a leader who teaches.)

Question: Based on your experience and knowledge of Jesus, do you think he is a teacher? Why or why not? 

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[1] Matt. 4:17 (New Living Translation)

[2] Matt. 4:17

[3] Dr. D. Edmond Hiebert, “Jesus the Master Teacher,” in Called to Teach, ed. David Ewert (Fresno, CA: Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies, 1980), 22-23.

 

Learning Outside the Classroom

A great summary of my reading in Leaving Church and Bridges to Contemplative Living is found on page 46 of Bridges to Contemplative Living where Thomas Merton writes, “The least of the work of learning is done in the classrooms” (pg. 46).

This thought is woven throughout Barbara Brown Taylor’s (author of Leaving Church) experience of rediscovering God, her faith, and her theology after she resigned from her pastor position. She has had time to wrestle with her faith, feel it, test it, and come to new conclusions. This is definitely not something she would have been able to do in a classroom because the only way her faith could have grown is by the work she did in real life and the reflection she has done along the way.  

In my own life, I truly enjoy the lessons I learn from the world instead of the classroom. For the past several years, I had a strong desire to no longer attend a formal college because I believed most of what was taught in college was not relevant to the “real world,” which can be true for some things. However, my learning in the world is greatly enhanced and accelerated when I am learning in a classroom as well. I need to learn to appreciate both in my spiritual life. This means that I take time to reflect on my faith and theology. 

Question: What have you learned outside of the classroom? 

 

How I Often Feel After Teaching

I am fortunate to have many great opportunities to teach the Bible, which I am enjoying thoroughly. Every Tuesday morning I am teaching leadership principles from the life of David, and about once a month I fill in for Steve Elliott (my internship supervisor) in his Bible study on Sundays for new believers.

After teaching, I often experience several feelings. The main feeling I often have is a feeling of satisfaction that I did the best I could to teach a lesson. Even though the lesson might not have been as clear or as smooth as I would have wanted, I am almost always grateful and satisfied for giving a lesson that I worked hard to prepare, practiced communicating, and then delivered to a group. If the teaching did not go well by my own estimation sometimes I feel depressed and sad that it did not go well. If the teaching went well, I feel glad that what I worked so hard to prepare was well received and accepted by the participants.

Overall, after teaching, I feel a sense of peace and gratitude for the privilege of teaching God’s word to people. Before teaching I always spend hours to prepare a lesson, I pray for my ability to deliver the content clearly, and I pray for the hearts of my participants to be able to learn and grow in their faith. Whatever that outcome is, I usually feel grateful that I had the opportunity to teach God’s word and hope that what I taught will be put to good use.

Question: How do you often feel after teaching?

It Is a Relationship, Not Religion

Recently I have been learning about the “religion” of church and the “power” that comes with being a leader in it.

However, you and I as mature Christians know that our faith is about the “relationship” we have with God. Things such as religious rituals and the influence that comes along with a leadership role in a church rarely improve the relationship that we have with Jesus. And that relationship is the primary thing God cares about.

Barbara Brown Taylor, author of the book, Leaving Church, experiences this as she describes her new look at church and her participation in the church community after she is no longer a lead pastor. Now, she is simply part of the larger community of believers who have a relationship with God. She is no longer in a position of influence or an important role in church. The only thing she has is a relationship with God, which is what our faith should be all about.

I too have found myself being caught up in the “influence” of being a leader in church. When I led our food ministry of feeding families for Thanksgiving, I often was recognized as a influential member at our church. But since I passed that role on to another leader, I am now just one of many people who attend church. As a result I get to focus on the relationship I have with God instead of focusing on the things I do for Him.

The Importance of Having a Handout When Teaching

Through the many teaching experiences I am learning the importance of having a handout when teaching. At times when I have taught in the past I prepared my outline and then expounded on the topic verbally either because I felt I did not have time to create a handout or that it was not necessary. However, now that I am teaching more and more, I am learning that having a handout is a key element when teaching.

When I have a handout when teaching, it shows my attendees that I have worked hard to prepare a lesson. They know I have put thought, time, effort, and sweat into a lesson just to get it typed onto a piece of paper with no typos.

When I have a handout, it shows my attendees where I am going. When they get a handout, they can visually see the topic we are going to discuss, the scripture verse we will study, and the application question towards the end of the lesson. Because they know where we are going before I even start teaching, it allows our teaching to go deeper and for us to move faster.

Now when I prepare any type of lesson I work hard to find the time to create a handout for the participants so they know I have worked hard on the lesson and so they can see where we are going. The results for me has been good feedback from participants and increased life change from attendees.

You can view many samples of my handouts from teachings on my Bible Studies page (all the resources on my Bible Studies page are given away for free, so use them as you wish). 

Question: What type of handout do you have when teaching?