What do I look for in a Pastor?

Greetings All,

     Another week, another message!  I so look forward to sending out these gems I glean from my reading of Christian authors.
     This week's "thought"  has to do with the trend in the church to court or win the approval of the movers and shakers in the world by conforming Christian ministry to standards people in the world would find more acceptable.  It addresses the attempt to make ministry more proper, legitimate, credible and well-received in the eyes of the world -- more professional.  And to a degree the thought may seem good. But it must be approached with caution, lest the faith be made into something it was never intended to be - just one among a plethora of other legitimate admirable professions to pursue.

     This thought comes to you from John Piper in one of his less-well-known books, "Brothers, We Are NOT Professionals."   It's a good reminder in a world that often seeks to pressure the Church to conform to its standards. Though written primarily to pastors, it has a message for every Christian. Try to understand what he's saying and I believe you will see the validity of his points.  And at the end, ask yourself: What do I look for in a pastor?  Enjoy.

     "We pastors are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry.  The mentality of the professional is not the mentality of the prophet. It is not the mentality of the slave of Christ. Professionalism has nothing to do with the essence and heart of the Christian ministry.  The more professional we long to be, the more spiritual death we will leave in our wake. For there is no professional childlikeness (Matt. 18:3); there is no professional tenderheartedness (Eph. 4:32); there is no professional panting after God (Ps. 42:1).  But our first business IS to pant after God in prayer. Our business IS to weep over our sins (James 4:9). Is there professional weeping?  Our business IS to strain forward to the holiness of Christ and the prize of the upward calling of God (Phil. 3:14); to pummel our bodies and subdue them lest we be castaways (I Cor. 9:27); to deny ourselves and take up the blood-spattered cross daily (Luke 9:23). How do you carry a cross professionally?  We have been crucified with Christ; yet now we live by faith in the one who loved us and gave Himself up for us (Gal. 2:20).  What is professional faith?

     We are to be filled not with wine but with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). How can you be drunk with Christ professionally? Then, wonder of wonders, we were given the gospel treasure to carry around in clay pots to show that the transcendent power belongs to God (II Cor. 4:7).  Is there a way to be a professional clay pot?  We are afflicted in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, persecuted but not destroyed, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus (professionally?) so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested (professionally?) in our bodies (II Cor. 4:9-11). I think God has exhibited us preachers as last of all in the world. We are fools for Christ's sake, but professionals are wise.  We are weak, but professionals are strong.  Professionals are held in honor, we are held in disrepute. We do not try to secure a professional lifestyle, but are ready to hunger and thirst and be ill-clad and homeless. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slaughtered, we try to conciliate; we have become the refuse of the world, the scum of the earth (I Cor. 4:9-13).  Or have we?

     Brothers, we are NOT professionals!  We are outcasts. We are aliens and exiles in the world (I Pet. 2:11).  Our citizenship is in heaven and we wait in eager expectation for the Lord (Phil. 3:20).  You cannot professionalize the love for His appearing without killing it.  And it IS being killed.  The aims of our ministry are eternal and spiritual. They are not shared by any of the professions. It is precisely by the failure to see this that we are dying. "The life-giving preacher," says Richard Cecil, "is a man of God, whose heart is ever athirst for God, whose soul is ever following hard after God, whose eye is single to God, and in whom, by the power of God's Spirit, the flesh and the world have been crucified and his ministry is like the generous flood of a life-giving river." 

     ...The professionalization of the ministry is a constant threat to the offense of the Gospel. It is a threat to the profoundly spiritual nature of our work. I have seen it often: the love of professionalism (the desire for equality in status and pay with the world's professionals) kills a man's belief that he is sent by God to save people from hell and make them Christ-exalting, spiritual aliens in this world. If the world sets the agenda for the professional man; God sets the agenda for the spiritual man. The strong wine of Jesus Christ explodes the wineskins of professionalism. There is an infinite difference between the pastor whose heart is set on being a professional and the pastor whose heart is set on being the aroma of Christ -- the fragrance of death to some and eternal life to others (II Cor. 2:15-16).  God deliver us from the professionalizers!

     God, give us tears for our sins.  Forgive us for being so shallow in prayer, so thin in our grasp of holy truths, so content amid perishing neighbors, so empty of passion and earnestness in all our conversations.  Restore to us the childlike joy of our salvation.  Frighten us with the awesome holiness and power of Him who can cast both soul and body into hell (Matt. 10:28). Cause us to hold to the cross with fear and trembling as our hope-filled and offensive tree of life.  Grant us nothing, absolutely nothing, the way the world views it.  May Christ be all in all (Col. 3:11). Banish professionalism from our midst, Oh God, and in its place put passionate prayer, poverty of spirit, hunger for God, rigorous study of holy things, white-hot devotion to Jesus Christ, utter indifference to all material gain, and unremitting labor to rescue the perishing, perfect the saints, and glorify our sovereign Lord. Humble us, O God, under your mighty hand, and let us rise -- not as professionals, but as witnesses and partakers of the sufferings of Christ. In His awesome name. Amen." 

     Some of us (myself included) have lost elements of the passion we once had when we started out in the ministry.  In some cases wisdom has thankfully tempered a lopsided zeal, a blatant omission of duty, or a pride-motivated (rather than Christ-motivated) passion for service.  But in other cases the passion that drove us into the ministry can get driven out of us by the ministry -- sometimes by the expectations placed upon us that we need to be more like the successful worldly professionals around us.

     Yet other times it may even be due to the pastors themselves adopting the subtle worldly idea that ministry is a "profession" rather than a "calling."  One that is to be carried out even if there are no "competitive benefit packages."  Yes, carried out even if it were to mean persecution, the loss of all our possessions, or even our life (Hebrews 11:32-40 / Rev. 2:8-10).  Piper's point is well taken --  professionalization of the ministry can (and has) brought spiritual apathy to the church.  Maybe it's time to consider afresh what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and remember that the call to follow Jesus is a call to serve Him for His sake, at whatever the cost, no matter what comes our way as a result -- something most of the professionals I know would not be inclined to do in their particular professions.

In His Service, Pastor Jeff

Here & Now: Americans – Disassociated from Religion

Greetings All,

     This week's thought is about the growing number of "nones" in American society.  According to a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News Survey, younger Americans don’t value patriotism, having children, or organized religion as much as young people two decades ago. These are the so-called “Nones” whose religious affiliation “none.”  And since the early 1990s the number of them have tripled.

     Below is an interview involving Derek Thompson, senior editor at “The Atlantic” about why this has happened, taken from NPR's - Here & Now:  Americans – Disassociated from Religion. It really is very thought provoking and worth the read - especially if you know young adults who have left the church, or distanced themselves from all forms of organized religion (some sections condensed and clarified due to discussion format). Enjoy.

     Host: You write that more than 9 out of 10 Americans belonged to an organized religion throughout the 60s, 70s, 80s, but then came the 1990s. You spoke to a sociology and religion professor at Notre Dame. What did he tell you about what happened in the 1990s?

     Derek: The rise of the religiously non-affiliated, otherwise called the “Nones,” is an incredibly modern phenomenon in the US… that took off in the early 1990s.  So I asked him.  What happened in the early 1990s?  He said, “Historically speaking there's sort of 3 events we have to key in on.”  The first, is the association between the Republican Party and the Christian right.  That did not necessarily exist in the 1960s and earlier.  It was instead, a reaction to a series of things that happened in the late 60s early 70s.  The sexual revolution, the Roe versus Wade decision, the nationalization of no-fault divorce laws, and the Bob Jones University case where it lost their tax-exempt status over its ban on interracial dating.  Because of all those things the Christian right sort of jumped into politics and merged with the Republican Party in a way that, I think, offended a lot of moderates and liberals, who then began to detach from both organized religion and Republicans.  That's number one.  Second, is the end of the Cold War. For the previous, say, 40 years, there had been an association between those who didn’t believe in God (the communists) and “the evil empire.” Once the Cold War was over, being godless wasn't necessarily considered as evil [as it had been].  And third, I think after 911, during the Bush years, a new association – not between godlessness and the evil empire, but rather, between religion and zealotry (at the national level with the USA, or at the international level with al Qaeda) fed into the rise of religious non-affiliation.

     Host: This is so fascinating.  I mean, take the end of the Cold War reasoning.  You know people (as you remind us) could suddenly say: “Well I don't I don't belong to a church” and not be thought to be communists, which previously they might have been. And then after the al Qaeda attacks, there were people wanting to distance from organized religion, and there was also the scandal in the Catholic Church.

     Derek: Absolutely!

     Host: So, who is doing this non-affiliation?  Is it one specific demographic?

     Derek: Yes. The group that is most pulling away from organized religion over the last 20 to 30 years are young white liberals.  Young white liberals are the ones that are leading the rise in the “Nones.” You don't see a similar dramatic increase from the Blacks and Hispanics.  It is being led by young white liberals who see that the Republican Party has become more and more entrenched with the evangelical movement. Distancing themselves is their way of saying: “I’m not a Republican.”   By proxy, by rejecting the Republican Party, a lot of young whites (I think) feel like they have to reject organized religion as well.  And so, what's ironic to me is that there was this thesis from the late 19^th century that said that religion was going to lose its halo effect because of science. Science was going to drive God from the public square.  But, in fact, in the last 30 years, there's been no grand scientific revolution to make people lose their faith in God.  Science hasn't driven God from the public square, politics has!  And it’s particularly driven religion from the public square for young white millennial's.

     Host: Well, we should clarify that there are many young white millennial's who are very active in churches, or temples, or mosque.  We know that.

     Derek: Absolutely.  But also there is another factor.  Which is that when young people nowadays are delaying having their families, and having their own individual lives for longer, by the time they settle down they may not have time for activities on Sunday morning, or Saturday morning, because they have gyms to go to, and they’ve got this other kind of schedule that's interesting.

     Host: Yeah.  But then you also write about what may be one of the paradoxical downsides.  I mean obviously very religious people might worry about this from a different perspective, but you know, it becomes harder to have a social life without an institution to attend.

     Derek: Yeah, I think that’s a good point. I should add that Christian Smith listed a lot of non-political reasons why religious non-affiliation might be growing, including as you mention, maybe rising divorce, delayed adulthood, etc.  You know, it seems to me that religion isn't just theism. It's not just a belief in God.  It's a bundle. It's a community. It's a theory of how the world works. It's a way of finding individual peace. And I find that a lot of people who have rejected the organized religion bundle shop for individual pieces of that bundle à la carte.  So, you know, maybe their work is a religion, or their politics is a religion, and spin class is a church, and not looking at your phone for a few hours is akin to a digital Sabbath. So, it's interesting to me that although so many millions of Americans have abandoned organized religion, they have only sought to recreate it everywhere they look. They've given up God to a certain extent, only to seek him out everywhere else.” 

     We could surely add other things -- like the Jimmy Swaggert and James Baker scandal in evangelicalism, the misuse of funds and gifts given to ministries, and many other things -- that may have soured people against organized religion.  Yet, regardless of what led to it (and I do believe they are right in suggesting that the end of the cold war, a far too close an association with one political party, and religious zealotry involving violence are to blame) we are left with what we are to do about it?  And the fact that people have come up with all sorts of religious substitutes for organized religion suggests that if we could learn from our mistakes as we move forward, some may be drawn back -- since it the desires for religious expression seems hidden in human nature, even when we try to repress it.

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

How an Atheist Journalist became a Christian Believer

Greetings All,

     This weeks "thought" is the story of one many's journey from atheism to faith in Jesus. It is the story of Peter Hitchen's - a British journalist whose well-known brother Christopher was sometimes called the "arch-atheist."  I found it well-written, helpful, and intriguing, and thought I would pass it on to you as well.  So, without any further introduction I offer it to you. Enjoy.

How an Atheist Journalist became a Christian Believer

     "The story of Peter Hitchens' adult conversion to Christianity traced a very different path to that of his arch-atheist brother Christopher.  Christopher Hitchens, along with Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Richard Dawkins was one of the so-called “four horsemen of the New Atheism” that led the charge against religion around the turn of the century. As a professional journalist, Christopher Hitchens was possibly the most eloquent of the four, and his wit and humor accomplished more for the cause than the bluster of the other three combined.

     Christopher Hitchens' popularity was so great that atheists and Christian apologists alike mourned his passing in 2011, as did his brother, Peter. Peter, also a journalist, was an outspoken atheist like his brother. Despite their similar professions, views, and upbringing, the two brothers were always at odds, practically since childhood Though both were raised in a nominal faith, they began their slide into atheism in early adulthood.

     Peter’s journey toward atheism began when he was still in boarding school at the age of 15. He chose to make his rebellion against religion and all of the conventions of his upbringing official by the ceremonial burning of his Bible – a gift from his parents - in the school yard.  After burning the book, he intentionally began to do the things he had always been instructed were wrong: using foul language, mocking the weak, lying, stealing, using drugs and betraying friends and family members. Peter describes the cultural mindset that he believes led him and his brother away from organized religion:

     “I have passed through the same atheist revelation that most self-confident British members of my generation - I was born in 1951 – have experienced. We were sure that we, and our civilization, had grown out of the nursery myths of God, angels and Heaven. We had modern medicine, penicillin, jet engines, the Welfare State, the United Nations and  'science', which explained everything that needed to be explained.”

     It was not, however, a tragedy or desperate turn of events that caused Peter Hitchens to turn back to his childhood faith. As he grew out of his young rebellion and into his established trade of journalism, he became modestly successful. He enjoyed a pleasant relationship with his girlfriend, and was able to pursue his interests and distractions such as holidays on the continent.  His youthful Marxist convictions had been overturned by his experience as a journalist in Soviet Russia and seeing the tragedy brought on by the atheistic state. As he settled into his adult routine, he fell back into attendance of Anglican church from time to time. This was not out of a sense of religious conviction, but rather out of respect for British tradition. But as he did so, he began to recognize that the faithful men of history who had preceded him were no more foolish for their faith. In fact, their convictions had added to their brilliance as statesmen, artists, scientists and so on.

     Staring at the picture Hitchens felt sudden and true conviction.  It was staring at the picture of one such artist – Rogier van der Weyden’s Last Judgment – that Hitchens felt sudden and true conviction. Seeing the naked figures as they fled the fires of hell, all of his intentional rebellion and misdeeds came back to his mind, and with them, the realization that his life was a testament to the truth found in the painting before him: that misdeeds required justice, and that if anyone required saving from this justice, it was he.  It was on the heels of this sobering incident that Christmas came, and with it, a much more uplifting experience. For many years, Hitchens had feigned disdain for the Christmas season, however now he began to truly enjoy the caroling and joy that came along with the seasonal celebration.

     Following this, Hitchens held his wedding in a church, became baptized, and generally began to participate in church affairs, even as his confidence in political solutions to world problems began to dwindle and fade.  Becoming a Christian in the world of journalism has no small amount of stigma attached to it, and given his formerly radical stances, Hitchens tried to conceal his growing faith from his friends and colleagues.  However, as the years passed, Hitchens began to make his Christian faith part of his identity as a journalist, and especially as his brother achieved fame for his atheist stance, to distance himself from his now-famed sibling. This has ultimately had the effect of carving out a unique niche for Hitchens who now uses his position as a journalist to campaign for the various causes his worldview leads him to embrace."

     (Hitchens’ story may be found in his book: The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith.)

     It's a testimony to ponder, for he challenges us to think through the ultimate issues of life.  I often say atheists are not people who have asked all the questions, or have all the answers, but people who haven't asked enough questions. That is, enough, "where, or how, did this come to be?" questions.  Why is there so much order and beauty in the world?  What purpose does it have?  Where does that inner sense of justice come from? How is it that our DNA (biological matter) has information imprinted upon it?  Where did this information come from? How does order come out of chaos? How does design come about apart from a Designer?  How does one explain that something came from nothing, or that "being" came from "non-being"?  How does one explain miracles or paranormal activity in a world that is supposedly came about from little more than chemical reactions over time?  And on and on the list could go ...  To me atheism requires a far greater leap of faith than belief in a Creator.  That's why so few people (given the world population) jump onto a bandwagon so poorly constructed.

     As many scientists are now acknowledging, the scientific evidence strongly and ultimately points in the direction of intelligent design, and thus ultimately to the reality of a Creator.  But for the atheist there's a downside to acknowledging a Creator -- a downside which has lead many to adopt atheism instead.  It's not any profound "no-God" or "anti-God" evidence. It's not the supposed "God-particle."  It's the fact that people intuitively know that if there is a Creator (who has placed the fingerprint of his beauty, wisdom, orderliness, design, power, justice and the like, on all he has made) it suggests there had to have been a purpose in creating, and a specific plan for those that were created to inhabit what he made. A plan that includes how we should  live and interact with him and each other, and treat what has been created and given to us as a gift.

     Which means that faith in a Creator ultimately leads one to believe there must be some sort of ethical expectations; righteousness and sin issues (do and don't issues); morality and justice issues.  In atheism anything goes, for if life simply evolved from nothing (an impossibility by the way), then it has no meaning. There is no true basis for law, justice, right or wrong, or morality issues. Without a Creator there is no intelligent basis for absolutes.  In creationism, however, life becomes infused with meaning and purpose and divine expectations cannot be avoided.

     What joy, meaning, and value is infused into life simply by acknowledging a Creator, Pastor Jeff

Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory

Greetings All,

     Yesterday I received a book in the mail sent to me by a wise old friend. As one who loves to climb mountains, the title captured my attention when I opened the package: "Canoeing the Mountains," by Tod Bolsinger. Yet, the secondary title clued me into the fact that it probably was not what I initially thought - "Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory."

     As I read the first chapter I felt like the author had been a fly on the wall in many of my conversations in recent years!  He even mouthed some of the exact phrases I had used!  So, today, I let you in on an issue that has been weighing on me (and many others in ministry) for at least the past decade or longer - trying to minister in a post-Christian (often anti-Christian) culture.  This selection below is just to give you a taste of what he will address in the rest of his book -- offering hope for a breakthrough where many seem to have run into what FEELS like an impenetrable wall we were not trained or equipped to break through. Enjoy.

     "One night after a long day of meetings, an older pastor let out a heavy sigh. He was nearing retirement, and we were working together on a project that was supposed to reorganize our entire denomination in order to help our church better minister in a changing world. And that changing world weighed on him.  He remembered well how not that long ago life was different. He stirred his drink and said to me, 'You know, when I began my ministry in a church in Alabama, I never worried about church growth or worship attendance or evangelism. Back then, if a man didn't come to church on Sunday, his boss asked him about it at work on Monday.'

     Sociologists and theologians refer to this recently passed period as 'Christendom.' The seventeen-hundred-year-long era with Christianity at the privileged center of western cultural life. Christendom gave us 'blue laws' and the Ten Commandments in school [and prayer in schools]. It gave us 'under God' in the pledge of allegiance and exhortations to Bible reading in the national newspapers. (I have a copy of the Los Angeles Times from December 1963 that has stories on the Warren Commission (investigating the assassination of John F. Kennedy), the nine-thousand-member Hollywood Presbyterian Church, and a list of daily Bible readings for the upcoming week.  Can you even imagine the Los Angeles Times exhorting people to read their Bibles today?) It was the day every "city father" laid out the town square with the courthouse, the library, and a First Church of _______ within the center of the city.  For most of us these days are long gone. (For some of us, that is good news indeed. Did you notice the reference to 'man' in my friends statement?)

     In our day (unlike then) cities are now considering using eminent domain laws to replace churches with tax-revenue generating big-box stores, Sundays are more about soccer and Starbucks than about Sabbath, Christian student groups are getting derecognized on university campuses, the fastest growing religious affiliation among young adults is 'none,' there is no moral consensus built on Christian tradition (even among Christians), and even a funeral in a conservative beach town is more likely to be a Hawaiian style 'paddle out' than a gathering in a sanctuary.  As we see all this we know that Christendom as a marker of society has passed.

     Over the last ten years I have had one church leader after another whisper to me the same frustrated confession: 'Seminary didn't prepare me for this. I don't know if I can do it. I just don't know...'  A number of pastors are ready to throw in the towel. Studies show that if given the chance to do something else, most pastors would jump at it. Reportedly, upwards of fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry EVERY MONTH  [Every year more than 4000 churches in the U.S. close their doors, almost double the number from 20 years ago.] 

     A couple years ago I learned that three of my pastor friends around the country had resigned  -- on the same day. There were no affairs, no scandals, and no one was renouncing the faith. But three good, experienced pastors turned in resignations and walked away. One left church ministry altogether.  The details are as different as the pastors themselves, but the common thread is that they finally got worn down by trying to bring change to a church that was stuck and didn't know what to do. Their churches were stuck and declining, stuck and clinging to the past, stuck and lurching to quick fixes, trying to find an easy answer for what were clearly bigger challenges. What all three churches had in common was that they were mostly blaming the pastor for how bad it felt to be stuck.

'If only you could preach better.' 

'If only you were more pastoral and caring.' 

'If only our worship was more dynamic.' 

'Please, pastor, do something!'  (That is what we pay you for, isn't it?)

     And to make matters worse, the pastors don't know what to do either. As a seminary vice-president I am now charged with confronting this reality head-on. Our graduates were not trained for this day. When I went to seminary, we were trained in the skills that were necessary for supporting faith in Christendom.  When churches functioned primarily as vendors of religious services for a Christian culture, the primary leadership toolbox was:  1. TEACHING (for providing Christian education).  2. LITURGICS (for leading Christian services).  3. PASTORAL CARE (for offering Christian counsel and support).  In this changing world we need to add a new set of leadership tools..." 

     If you would like to know what those new and necessary tools are, you will need to purchase his book for yourself!  As a pastor who has lived long enough to see Christendom progressively and purposefully deconstructed, and replaced at almost every turn with secularized and post-Christian alternatives, it has been stretching.  I'm not one of the pastoral casualties he lists, but in all honesty there have been times I have come pretty close. In fact, given those statistics it may be time to start a "pastor support group" for those who feel they are on the verge of being one of those 1500 pastors every month who leave the ministry.

     I haven't had time to read far into his book, but I wanted to share the introductory chapter so people can know there is a voice of encouragement from someone who has his ear to the ground, and has himself been a pastor ministering in our post-Christian culture.   A culture where traditional styles of leadership and ministry (which garnered much fruit in the not-so-distant past) can actually be a hindrance and obstacle in the present. His word to pastors - "Start with conviction, stay calm, stay connected, and stay the course - even when navigating loss."

     Ministry has always required people to, "run the race with perseverance"  (Hebrews 12:1-2).  Yet today is one of those cultural seasons or times when like a runner in a marathon on a hot and humid day, people in ministry are encountering what in the Boston Marathon is called, "Heartbreak Hill" -- a long gradual incline at the 20 mile mark.  It's a "grueling test of endurance" as one writer puts it, which drives many to give up before the finish line.  A place where one must be mentally prepared, make adjustments, and persevere, or become a casualty.  If you happen to be at that place, maybe you might want to see what Bolsinger has to say.

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

The Time to Pray is Before the Shooting Starts

Greetings All,

     Today's "thought" comes from the Blog of Melissa Edgington entitled: yourmomhasablog.com  In light of a month that has seen so many needless shooting deaths and injuries, this post caught my attention. I know I sent out a thought on prayer last week, but I would like to follow it up this week with another -- dealing with the rush to pray (or at least promises to pray) AFTER heartbreaking situations occur.  I read Melissa's post and felt it was worth sharing.  I trust you will find it true and challenging. Enjoy.

The Time to Pray is Before the Shooting Starts

  I’ve noticed a disturbing trend among Christians. We are not a praying people.  Oh, we love the idea of prayer.  We love sharing memes about it and ranting on social media about prayer in schools. We love organizing prayer vigils after some awful tragedy has struck.  We follow the same predictable patterns of making prayer a low priority until we have absolutely no other recourse but to turn to the God of the Universe.

     As His children, we must start examining what it is that keeps us from prayer. Is it that we really don’t believe that God is in control? Or do we just not care what He does until He does something that negatively affects us? Do we really think that the best time to pray is after the mass shooting?

     At most prayer meetings, only a fraction of the church takes time to attend. It isn’t a time issue. Parents and grandparents alike can make it to every little league game, anytime, anywhere, with three or four kids in tow. In most cases it isn’t a matter of limited mobility or poor health. The majority of us are perfectly able to meet together to pray. We just don’t want to.

     Imagine how our communities and churches and schools might change if we approached the throne of God with an expectation that He will hear our prayers. With an excitement about what He will do with the pleas of His people.  Consider how things might be different if we had eyes to see how He uses our prayers to accomplish His will, if we had the faith to believe that prayer really matters.

     Imagine if we weren’t afraid to humble ourselves before our God, before our family and friends and fellow believers, if we marked prayer meetings on our calendars in ink, making it clear to our children that we make prayer with fellow believers a priority in our homes. Instead, most of us hear the words “prayer meeting” and tune out. Not for us. Not important. Not worth our time.

     We spend so much time worrying about the world our kids and grand-kids are growing up in, so many hours scheming and planning ways to shelter them, and so little time talking to the One who can actually change things. If you want to know the truth, it isn’t the youth of today or the evil governments or the wicked schemes of man that make me fear for the future. It’s the empty prayer meetings.

     “The Cinderella of the Church today is the prayer meeting. This handmaid of the Lord is unloved and unwooed because she is not dripping with pearls of intellectualism, nor glamorous with the silks of philosophy, neither is she enchanting with the tiara of psychology. She wears the homespuns of sincerity and humility and so is not afraid to kneel.” – Leonard Ravenhill

     After learning of the latest statistics on how few Christians there are that regularly share the gospel, or spend any significant time in prayer, a friend of mine once said (somewhat tongue-in-cheek, of course, regarding what motivates people): "The only mistake God made was that he didn't offer to give us five dollars for every person we share the Gospel with, or contract to pay us an hourly wage for time spent praying. Or better still, that He didn't make our salvation dependent on doing both."   I do often wonder how many more people would do those two things if they were financially reimbursed for the time and efforts. 

     Those are some pretty encouraging promises to be given from the One who has all power in heaven and earth!  Yet, given the commitment to prayer on the part of many Christians, you would never know Jesus had spoken such words!  Yet He did, not only because He intends to make good on them, but also to encourage and move us to pray.  One must ask: What will it take to get us to do so?  Could the carnage be stopped if God's people would flood the throne of grace with petitions for His intervention to prevent them, instead of prayers of comfort for those who have lost loved ones after the fact?  Because I believe Melissa is spot-on - The Time to Pray is Before the Shooting Starts.

     "Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, FOR THIS IS GOD'S WILL FOR YOU in Christ Jesus." (I Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Pastor Jeff

Thoughts on Leadership

Greetings All!

     This week's post is a collection of 25 quotes relating to leadership.  I post them for three reasons.  First, because it is my conviction that no matter who we are, someone is looking up to us as an example, or for guidance of one sort of another, which makes us a leader of sorts even when we don't have the title and didn't ask for the responsibility.  One does not have to be delegated the authority to carry out the role, and we can inadvertently carry out the role without even knowing we are!  The person simply trying to be an example to others is being a leader in their own right.

     The second reason I post them is because we can all gain insight and wisdom from leaders of the past who have shared what guided their leadership -- even if we don't consider ourselves to be one.  And last, I share it because as I looked hem over I was amazed how much current thought of leadership is little more than a confirmation (plagiarization of sorts) of the teaching of Jesus on the topic, or practical insights gained from His words and example, even when those giving the advice are not themselves Christians. I had many more than listed. I paired them down to 25. I offer them as the best of what I found.  If you have a favorite (or favorites) and have a chance, let me know which ones.  Enjoy.

Thoughts on Leadership

1. "The true test of a leader is this: A respect for that person that is so deep that people will continue following their lead even when the official title and delegated authority have been taken away."

2. “I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.”  Ralph Nader

3. “Leaders must possess courage.  Yet do not be mistaken: Courage is not the absence of fear; courage is the determination not to let our very real fears paralyze us, hold us back, or scare us into silence and inactivity when words and actions are what is needed.”

4. “You aren’t fit to lead until you know how to follow.  If you want to become a remarkable leader, follow a leader of character, conviction, and vision. Don’t ask people to follow you until you’ve humbly followed someone else. Following is perhaps the most neglected development principle of remarkable leadership… Follow advice from those more knowledgeable.  Follow a vision bigger than yourself.  Follow someone you respect.  Follow the most noble person available.  Follow someone who is going somewhere.  Remarkable leaders are remarkable followers. Admiration of big-egoed-leaders degrades us all.  Worry less about becoming a remarkable leader and more about becoming a remarkable follower.”   Dan Rockwell

5. “The chief characteristic of Christian leaders, Jesus insisted, is humility not authority, and gentleness not power… The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve.”  John Stott

6. “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”   John C. Maxwell

7. “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”    Vince Lombardi

8. “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it...  I never failed, I just learned 10,000 ways that won't work.”   Henry Ford

9. “According to Scripture, virtually everything that truly qualifies a person for leadership is directly related to character.  It’s not about style, status, personal charisma, clout, or worldly measurements of success. Integrity is the main issue that makes the difference between a good leader and a bad one.”   John MacArthur

10. “Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it.”   Unknown

11. “True greatness, true leadership, is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you.”   J. Oswald Sanders

12. "My research debunks the myth that many people seem to have… that you become a leader by fighting your way to the top. Rather, you become a leader by helping others to the top.  Helping your employees is as important as, and many times more so than, trying to get the most work out of them."   William Cohen

13. "The first and most important choice a leader makes is the choice to serve, without which one's capacity to lead is severely limited."    Robert Greenleaf

14. “The ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can have.”   Sheryl Sandberg

15. "We must be silent before we can listen.  We must listen before we can learn.  We must learn before we can prepare.  We must prepare before we can serve.  We must serve before we can lead."   William Arthur Ward

16. “To change your life, you have to admit what’s not working. You have to humble yourself. You have to ask for help. You have to learn... Your ego will defend your current circumstances, but you cannot allow a fleeting feeling of shame to eclipse reason. You cannot live the rest of your life as you are just because you are too prideful to admit something isn’t right.”   Brianna Wiest

17. “If your objective is to be as good as you can be, then you’re going to want criticism.”  Ray Dalio

18. "If leadership serves only the leader, it will fail.  Ego satisfaction, financial gain, and status can all be valuable tools for a leader, but if they become the only motivations, they will eventually destroy a leader. Only when service for a common good is the primary purpose are you truly leading."   Sheila Murray Bethel

19. “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go but ought to be.”   Rosalynn Carter

20. "People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care."   John C. Maxwell

21. "When you get to be the president, there are the honors, the 21-gun salutes, all those things.  You have to remember it’s not for you.  It’s for the presidency…  It's amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”    President Harry S. Truman

22. "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."    John Wooden

23. “A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.”   Max Lucado

24. "Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain."   Ralph Waldo Emerson

25. "Servant leadership is all about making the goals clear and then rolling your sleeves up and doing whatever it takes to help people win.  In that situation, they don't work for you; you work for them."   Ken Blanchard

     So, what are the key characteristics of good leadership?  Humility, learning to be a follower, the heart of a servant, integrity, character, love, determination, a desire to see others excel, pushing beyond our fears, and many more. They are all virtues that anyone can apply to their lives.  And when we do, we may in some cases find people following our lead -- even when that wasn't our objective.

Living in His Grace, Pastor Jeff