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18-Nov-2010

Posted by : David

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Apostle Fight

Category : Leadership, church

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Galatians is Honest

In chapter 2 Paul recounts the time he had to rebuke Peter and Barnabus in front of everybody at the church in Antioch.  This episode is important for a number of reasons:

1.  No apostle is greater than the gospel. Christianity does not elevate its human leaders to demi-gods who can make God’s teachings whatever they want to be.  They can not change the gospel without great consequence — just like everyone else.

2.  Just because Peter validated Paul’s gospel (spoke about earlier in chapter 2) that doesn’t mean Paul couldn’t stand up to him when he saw something wrong.

3.  Peter and Barnabus’ sin was not just elitist and racist (it was).  More importantly, it fell short of the gospel.  Paul easily could have yelled at these two and said, “Don’t you know your being a religious bigot?”  Rather, he said, “Your conduct is not in step with the truth of the gospel.” Their separation rejected the fact that God had brought Jews and non-Jews together by his death and resurrection.

4.  “Discipleship” is a convenient excuse to look down on other people. Peter and Barnabus clearly thought they were being better disciples of Jesus because they were MORE committed, not less.  They combined faith in Jesus with Jewish ritual purity.  Now Christians separate themselves and look down on other churches because they are not as “discipled” (read committed)as they are.

5.  Lastly the  content of EVERY rebuke should not say, “you broke a rule!” Rather, every admonition should identify where the gospel has been transgressed and it’s glaring hypocrisy.  (See point 3)

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15-Nov-2010

Posted by : David

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Certain Men Came From MacArthur

Category : Leadership, christian culture, church

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Blame James?

In his letter to the Galatian churches (modern Turkey) Paul recounts how certain men came from James to the church in Antioch and led Peter and Barnabas astray (head leaders of the new Christian movement).  But was James the one to blame?

James was (sort of) the chairman of the elders at Jerusalem.  He wrote the letter that tells us that faith without works is dead.  Under his leadership some men got riled up about non-Jews and their obedience to Jewish rules.  Yet, these “certain men from James” misrepresented the Christian faith in spite of James, not because of him.

Under-Cutting Good

And this is often the case with strong leaders.  Their followers, enamored with their leader’s teaching, end up under-cutting the leader’s good intention.  They think their faith is based on Christ, but really they are not looking to the Bible, but what their teacher says, or what they think their teacher would say.

The Current Epidemic

And this is epidemic in the church today, especially among those who say their care most about the truth of Bible.

I have benefited greatly from the teaching of John MacArthur.  I listened to his radio program in college when I traveled 30 minutes to work.  His book, The Gospel According to Jesus, was very helpful to me.  But whenever I run into people who like MacArthur, I usually want to run the other way.  I have experienced many of them to be narrow, petty, and mean towards people who disagree with them.

But it’s not MacArthur’s fault.  This has been happening for centuries: “Each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:13).  Now men, thinking they follow Jesus, are functionally saying, “I follow MacArthur, I follow Piper, I follow Driscoll, I follow Bell, I follow Stanley, I follow Keller, etc..”

Pay the Price | Be Aware

This is one of the prices of leadership: even the people that love us most can do our teaching the most harm.  But leaders must be aware of this dynamic and, like Paul to the Corinthians, squash the factions that come from our influence.

Because in this world, even when we do good, evil is right there with us.

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10-Nov-2010

Posted by : David

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How Fear Controls Us

Category : Christian Life, life

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In the last post I looked at the definition of Christian freedom — the freedom from fear.  The importance of this cannot be overstated because fear is our biggest slave master; and here are our top 5 greatest fears:

Our greatest fears (adapted from Marcus Buckingham):

1. The Fear of Death — So we have a need for security

2. The Fear of Being Alone — So we have a need for community

3. The Fear of the Future — So we have a need for clarity

4. The Fear of Chaos — So we have a need for authority

5. The Fear of Insignificance — so we have a need for respect.

Think of how these fears guide our life!  Our hearts respond to everyone of these fears in different ways, and each individual responds to one fear more than others. (For instance, I am more afraid of insignificance than I am of death).  And our response is often driven by unbelief, which leads to captivity.

Some of us are so afraid of death that we become overly obsessed about health, germs, and safety, consequently choosing who we will help based on security and not based on love.

Some of us are so afraid of insignificance that any criticism feels like an attack and we lose relationships when people challenge us.

The Answer to All Our Fears

In just these two examples we can see the slavery of fear.  And redemption from this captivity is part of Jesus’ main work — “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). If we work through those five fears with the eyes of faith — we can see that Jesus is the answer to them all:

1. He is our security, even in death, because Jesus took away the condemnation in death.

2. He is our community — He promises never to leave us or forsake us

3. He is our future — He controls the future and has prepared a place for us

4. He is our authority — all authority on heaven and earth is His.  He is accomplishing all things according to His plan.

5. He is our significance — Jesus alone validates and justifies our life.

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08-Nov-2010

Posted by : David

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What Freedom Means

Category : Christian Life, life

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We can’t underestimate the importance of freedom in our lives.  Freedom is one of the top reasons that Jesus came to earth. “It is for freedom that Christ has set you free” (Galatians 5:1).

But what, exactly, does freedom mean?

The Options

Freedom could mean the ability to do what we want.  This certainly would be freedom.  But God is not calling us to do whatever we want.  We can’t escape His moral law and somehow think that there won’t be consequences.  If we lie, or steal, or murder, or lust there will be consequences.  Freedom isn’t this.

Some define freedom as the ability to do as we ought.  Again this is an ok definition — we now are free so we can do the things that we were created to do.  But it still lacks, because we are gold mixed with impurities.  Yes, we have the power to do as we ought, but we don’t ALWAYS do right because sin is still residing in us.

Other churches peg freedom as an emotional expression during the music portion of a worship service. Freedom in this definition is raising hands, or waving a flag, or singing loud.  While I applaud anyone who can be uninhibited when the congregation is singing, this really is a silly definition of freedom — not very compelling.

True Freedom

So what does freedom mean? Freedom is no longer having to obey fear. Fear is no longer our master.  We are uninhibited to be bold, to step out in faith, to risk.  Irreligion produces fear because the weight of guilt and having to trust in yourself is too much for our fragile souls.  Religion produces fear because we are afraid that we haven’t done everything right, that the slightest error may restrain the hand of God’s blessing.

But Christ has set us free from fear. Tomorrow I will look at all the ways that fear controls our life, and how Jesus releases these chains.

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03-Nov-2010

Posted by : David

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Planters and Plumbers

Category : Leadership, church

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I Started My Church Like A Plumber Starts A Business

When a plumber goes to work for himself the whole business is built around his expertise.  He might be a great plumber, but he probably won’t be a great at billing, scheduling, payroll, hiring, etc.

His business can be enough for him to make his own living, but there certainly won’t be anything remarkable about the BUSINESS.  He may be a remarkable plumber, but the business will never really become much more than a little organization built around his expertise.

The Hub Of Our Churches

Most guys now, including me, are starting churches around their skill and passion.  Their church thrives on their ability to skillfully do their work.

When people ask us why we are planting a church, we will probably say something about lost people or something, but what we really mean is we want to put our skills to the test to reach people. Nothing is wrong with this because men should seek out an avenue to use their skill, and if they can’t do it in an established church then, by all means, start a new one.

But that leaves lots of pitfalls.  Many of us are discovering that our skill can only get us so far. Some self-employed pastors make it farther than others in their church start, but ultimately the church will plateau.  It’s just a matter of when, not if.

But maybe a guy like me who started a church and organized it around my gifting can find a new way.  Maybe my skill and expertise don’t have to be the hub anymore.  Of course, I don’t think I made my gifting the hub intentionally, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t do it.

The New Way

And the new way is to make the need of a certain group of people in your area the hub of your church.  Your church should thrive or die on everyone’s ability to meet that need.  And if everyone is involved, and meeting that need better than anyone else, then the results are incredible.

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01-Nov-2010

Posted by : David

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A Post on Politics

Category : Politics

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Two major rallys happened this fall in Washington D.C.: Glenn Beck’s and the Stewart/Colbert rally this past weekend.  To me these rallies were remarkably similar. Of course they had their major differences.  One was very conservative, the other not.  One was serious, one had a serious message cloaked in comedy.

But at the core they are both critiques of the media, and they both claim to “see through” the other side.

First, they both critique the media.  They are fighting the bias in the media.  And neither of them are wrong.

But even more than this, both sides seem to think they understand what their opponents are up to better than their opponents.  They are both paranoid and cynical.  Whenever we think that we understand someone better than they know themselves, then we are on some dangerous territory. It’s so dangerous because we have an easy way to dismiss them.

We think, “Until they understand themselves like I understand them then we can’t make progress.” But that is just molding them into our image.  It’s not understanding, it is judgment, and it’s a plague. No progress can be made because both sides are talking past each other.

And I don’t think either of them care to understand.  Why?  Because it’s not safe to understand the other side.  To really listen and understand takes humility.  And humility and the pursuit of power never go together.

America is fragmented, and both groups want to make it whole.  One under the banner of small government, the other under the banner of civility.  But America won’t ever be whole, but that doesn’t mean progress can’t be made.  But judging (and yes I am judging!) from the sureties of both sides progress seems a long way off.

But I to am on dangerous ground, because I seem to think that I understand these groups better than they do.

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27-Oct-2010

Posted by : David

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You Can’t Please Everyone

Category : Leadership

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Bill Cosby once quipped, “I don’t know the secret to success, but the secret to failure is to try to please everybody.” One of my blind spots is that I have tried to be bold and beige.  Oops.

Knowing that you can’t please everybody takes guts.  You will incur the wrath of the people who you are not trying to reach.  Here is a big reason:

Everybody has a belief system that they know to be correct and that everyone else should follow. It’s nonsense to think that you are impartial and unbiased.  Thinking impartiality exists is itself a belief system that you think other people should subscribe to.  We are much more committed to our cultural assumptions then we think.

Take for instance Willowcreek Community Church near Chicago.  They challenged the assumption that church was for church people and Sunday services were for worship. They pioneered their time on the weekend to reach people far from God.  They have reached alot of people.  They have made alot of people mad.

There is a church in my town that has grown rapidly because they are decidedly Calvinistic; they don’t pretend they are someone they are not.  They love John MacArthur, John Piper, and dislike seeker churches.  They have challenged the assumption that a church has to be atheological in order to be vibrant. They make a certain group of people happy.  They make a certain group mad.

Who is right?  I’ll leave that for you to decide.  But what is true is that both churches, because of their focus, necessarily exclude others.  Is that okay?  I hope I am learning to be courageous enough to ask, “Who would I like to reach?  If I reach these people who does that exclude? Am I ready to incure their judgment?”

Do something bold, not beige, but, remember to count the cost.

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25-Oct-2010

Posted by : David

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Important Enough To Fail

Category : life

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A Better Question

Usually we ask the question: “What can I do with my life that will make me happy and successful?”  I don’t think anything is wrong with this question, but a better question exists.

What can I give my life to that is worth trying and failing?

The first question connects our vocation with its importance to us.  The second question demonstrates the importance of the vocation, in and of itself. This is much better for your soul, and for society.

If you are a teacher — is setting up your students to for success in the future something worth failing at?  If you are a pastor — is helping people trust Jesus and see them grow in Him worth trying and failing?  In business — is the sale of your product or service important enough that if it didn’t work, it was worth the effort?

If so then you have found something that can bear the weight of your life and will transform society.  Your heart will break under the weight of your vocation if your work is meant to do something for you.  If your job has to make you happy, give you fulfillment, then it will constantly disappoint.  But if your life is in service of something that, even when it disappoints, it is important enough to persevere, and maybe even give your life, then truly you are close to finding something that is good in and of itself.

So is what you are doing right now that is worth trying and failing?  Is it worth your perseverance because it is a good in and of itself?  Because if it is worth your failure, then it is also worth trying again.

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21-Oct-2010

Posted by : David

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If I Could Go Back

Category : Leadership

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Advice From The Future

I have been in full-time, vocational ministry for almost a decade.  If I could go back 10 years and give one piece of advice to my 22- year-old self here is what I would say:

Never seek the approval of religious people.

A religious person is almost impossible to please.  They are motivated by correctness; being right.  For a religious person, wrongness (as they perceive it) is dangerous.  If love covers a multitude of sins, then fear will look for any transgression.

They feel incredibly righteous when they blindly harm you.  Since you are the problem they must reject you, or belittle you.  You are the bad guy and they are good.  They congratulate themselves on how well they have behaved, all the while they are trying to make you pay for your failure, whether by fighting or withdrawing. They are unmerciful, because mercy is not their concern — purity is — and they think God has tapped them to call fouls as to what is pure and not pure.

They love those who love them, approve of those with whom they agree.  They can not listen, they can only evaluate.  Judgment is on their tongues, planks cover their eyes. Outwardly they are put together, but inwardly they rage. Lost people can stay lost; the found need a better church.

Why Seek This Approval?

Why would I seek the approval of these people?  Because I was one of them.  I wanted to be a Pharisee of Pharisees.  I wanted religious people to see and celebrate my zeal for God, my knowledge of the Bible, my purity, the way God had gifted me.  I wanted to be seen as part of the solution, not part of the problem.

But God, mercifully, showed me grave error.  My righteousness was the problem, my goodness a filthy rag.  Love is now the driving ethic, not purity — because it was love that put a pure man on the cross for the filthy — stained by sin and a damnable goodness.

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20-Oct-2010

Posted by : David

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On Satanic Attack

Category : Christian Life

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The attacks of Satan are legion, but they are veiled.  Some attacks can and do physically manifest themselves, but I am sure that is not how our enemy would choose to do his work.  It is too public, too scary; it might drive people to God.  He has better means.

He has your sense of goodness; what you think you deserve. He whispers in your mind about your rights.

Sure Satan has his accusations, and he uses them with great skill.  But he also has your pride.  What could be more powerful to the devil then your high self-opinion?  An accusation may tear you down, but you may look to the cross.  But your pride will destroy you in the future and God will oppose you in the present.  What could be more sinister?

If Satan can not appeal to your pride then certainly he will accuse you of your sin.  But what of it? Tell your adversary that it is even worse than what he says.  Recently a thought entered my mind about how selfishly ambitious I am in the Christian ministry.  This is sin.  Is it true?  Absolutely.

Can I say that my motives are as white as snow when it comes to preaching, pastoring, and leading people to Jesus?  I cannot.  My ministry ambitions are gold mixed with impurities.  (That is why there has been fire and the testing of my faith.  The gold is purified by the impurities being burned away).  But every accusation about the quality of my motive in ministry is a ploy –  a trick to get me to think that my motives and purity are what qualify me for ministry.  By God they are not!

Jesus Christ qualifies me for ministry; my motives are often worse than I even think, but His grace covers all my sin.  I am great sinner who is extravagantly loved.  I possess nothing for ministry except that which has been given to me, to speak and act in the name of Jesus Christ.

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