No Rights. Journal of a Christ soldier.

Healthy Disagreement in the Body of Christ

There is such a thing as healthy, mature disagreement. I know there is. I have caught a glimpse of it a few times in my life and it is a beautiful thing. Unfortunately, it is not all that common. It feels like all I am seeing lately is the opposite. Honestly, I am tired of it! I have much more patience with the hateful rhetoric of unbelievers than I do with the childish in fighting of professing Christians. I absolutely hate the passive aggressiveness, the gossiping, the judgmental assumptions, the divisive complaining, the negative critiquing that are so prevalent with disagreements these days among Christian brothers and sisters. 

It is simply unrealistic to expect all believers to agree 100% on every theological point this side of heaven. (There are lots of good reasons for this fact.) Many of the great theologians that I respect most disagree with each other! But what I respect about them is the fact that they disagree in a Godly manner. One day we will be brought into complete harmony when it comes to our understanding of everything. Until then we must learn to love each in even when we disagree.

Assuming it is possible, how do we disagree to the glory of God? Here are a just few suggestions that I have learned from very wise people along the way:

1. Seek first to understand. Ask questions and then more questions. Finally, ask more questions. Jumping to conclusions and assuming what you do not know is easy to do but very unhelpful.
2. Look for common ground. Often times, disagreement is inflated by the sense that there is no common ground. If you can identify the strengths and common ground in opposing viewpoints it will help you shrink down the disagreement to its actual size. 
3. Discuss, don’t argue. Arguing causes people to build walls and get entrenched. When this happens emotion gets attached to the outcome of the conversation. This prevents any productive conversation. 
4. Respect each other. It is important to avoid negatively judging a person based on their viewpoint. Respect the fact the other people are just as intellectual, just as committed to God and God’s Word, just as spiritual as you are in spite of the fact that they disagree with you. 
5. Be Humble. The truth is you may be able to learn something from the person you disagree with. Understand that you are no more perfect than anyone else. You are just as prone to mistakes as anyone else. Humility is key to navigating through disagreement.
6. Avoid slander. When you disagree with someone it is important to protect their dignity and reputation. Talk through the disagreement face to face if that is appropriate. When you walk away, don’t speak negatively about the person to others in any way, shape or form. To do so is the opposite of love. If what you are saying about a person will cause others to think badly of them, then do not say it at all.

Here is the bottom line: It is possible for two or more well meaning, God loving, Spirit filled Christians who study God’s Word and seek God’s guidance over a particular secondary theological issue (meaning not primary to our salvation) to disagree. In fact, it is not only possible…it is common. That may be a hard pill to swallow. But it is an important point. If you believe something to the contrary then you will have a hard time giving any grace to those with whom you disagree.

Francis Schaeffer spoke well on this topic in his book, The Mark of A Christian…

“We should never come to such difference with true Christians without regret and without tears. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Believe me, evangelicals often have not shown it. We rush in, being very, very, pleased, it would seem at times, to find other people’s mistakes. We build ourselves up by tearing other people down. This can never show a real oneness among Christians.”   

When Jesus prayed for us to be one (John 17), I don’t believe He was expecting us to agree on every ministry method or theological point. I believe He meant for His followers, who are fully surrendered to His authority, to really love and care for each other. That necessarily means respecting each other through disagreement. We cannot allow disagreement to get in the way of the mission Jesus entrusted to us.The mission is simply too important!

Here is a much better article to read on this subject: When Christians Disagree

 

The Prayer of a Bible Teacher

Lord, I am not worthy to speak about You or Your Kingdom.

You are far too good to be represented by me, a sinful, weak minded, fool.  

Neither am I capable of speaking well or even effectively about You.

There is no way that I can give you the treatment that You deserve.

And yet you have chosen me and appointed to me this assignment.

 

So Lord, help me to remember that,

You are great and more than able to communicate through me.

You alone qualify me for this assignment.

And this is not a burden but rather an opportunity.

It is an opportunity to be used by You for an eternal purpose.

Where else can I have such an opportunity?

 

Please forgive my unbelief and help me to walk by faith as I step to the front of the room.

Forgive any pride or vain attempts at personal glory.

Remind me that this is not about me and my reputation but about You and Your glory.

Speak powerfully and effectively through me, in spite of me.

Lord, here I am. Have your way through me. 

 

Sending Disciples...

In two words, our mission here at SIUC is this: "Sending Disciples". Everything we do is directed to that end. Every student will eventually graduate and go out to "infect" and "affect" this world in one way or the other. Our goal is make sure that our alumni will leave this university as fully devoted disciples committed to the mission of God where ever they may find themselves.

The following is a mission update from Leann, one of our alumni. Currently, she is on a mission project in the slums of Manilla. She is a great example of our goal!

                                

Life in the slums of Quezon City is always an adventure. This past week we went to the 711 down the street and ran into some of the street kids we know. Usually we get them a snack or something to drink, but that day we decided to invite them all to lunch at our place. These kids work on the streets begging or parking cars. They are all under the age of ten and most of them don't have parents, or their parents have abandoned them. They all came to our small place, and it was a party. Kids were everywhere, jumping around on everything, and having the time of their life's. They all took bathes and we sewed up the holes in their tattered clothes.

Something about those kids struck me, in a way I would not have expected. They are the poorest of the poor in this city. They have no place to lay their head, and they toil day and night just for a meal of rice. I imagined them being gaunt and gloomy. I imagined that there could be no hope left in their hearts. But somehow they have been preserved from the world. It is almost as if their situation doesn't bother them all that much. They enjoy life when it is good and plentiful, and they endure when times are hard. They survive these streets, not by the charity of a few people, but their community with each other. Street kids have got to be the most communal bunch I've ever met, and they have to be. Without each other they would never survive. Here in the Philippines people measure their profit and wealth in the number of friends they have.

I am learning a lot from street kids about how to do mission. If God sends us to those hard places, and he asks us to suffer, which He will; we cannot go alone. Just as God exists in the Triune community, we must exist and do mission as a part of a community. Seeking after God and the kingdom cannot be an individualized endeavor.

Another recent event that has shaken my worldview is the story of Dimples. Dimples is a little girl about the age of 4 who was abandoned by her parents. And when I say abandoned, I mean dropped off in the slums right outside our place and left. She was left because her mom and dad could not support her. Now my initial reaction would be to go hunt down the parents and send them to jail, but that is not how it works here in the slums. A small family that lives downstairs from us decided to take the girl into their home and family. They unofficially adopted her. This family also has a 4 year old daughter named KiKay. Her and Dimples instantly became best friends, or I guess sisters. I found out that this is pretty common in the slums. Everyone is taken in and cared for, especially the helpless like Dimples. I am so struck by the family that adopted Dimples, because they already have a hard time feeding their family. We often feed KiKay and Dimples because their family is so poor. So even in their lack of funds and resources, they took in an extra mouth to feed. And this is when it hit me, the family does not consider their financial poverty as a life or death situation, and they don't consider Dimples as just another mouth to feed. They see her as their daughter, as KiKay's sister, and as a person that cannot and should not be abandoned. They see her as God's creation. So often in the West, we look out for ourselves, and only ourselves. If our family is barely making it, then we are definitely not inviting others over to eat, else we might go hungry. But that doesn't seem to be an issue here in the slums. Everyone is welcomed because they also want to be welcomed; and everyone is treated as more than just a mouth to feed. They are treated as the great currency of joy and relationship. That family saw that it would be better to add a daughter and a sister to our family, even if it costs them a full meal everyday. I think Jesus sees us in this same way. Jesus looks at me and you and sees a hungry, lost, poor, abandoned child; and says it would be better to add you to my family even if it means that I will have to die for you. This love is unselfish, and full of compassion.  This love is how people survive in the slums.

The last thing I want to share is about the nightly Bible studies that have been happening among the youth in Damayang Lagi. We have been studying some of the main stories in the Old Testament. We gather together some of the most unlikely kids. I never thought that I would lead a Bible study with street kids, drug dealers, drug users, homosexuals, and homeless guys. Our house is full of the most unlikely people. I look at these young kids and I can only imagine that Jesus would have picked these same guys to be his disciples. Just the other night we went around asking some of the D-town boys to come to Bible study, and they declined cause they had been using crack, but promised to come next week. One of the guys in our study is usually drunk, and half of the guys sleep over after Bible study because they are homeless and usually sleep on the street. I'm not even sure how we attracted these kinds of people haha! But I know Jesus is after them, furiously seeking to save them. After all these experiences, it has become more real to me that the gospel truly is good news to the poor, and a stumbling block to the rich. 

Thank you all again for your prayers and support!

Leann
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The Foundation of Great Leadership

"If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine."

GOD

What does God really want from us as leadersin His Kingdom? Is it our time? Our money? Our abilities and assets? Is it all of the above? I am in the middle of leading a 4 week training course for up and coming student leaders. So this question is fresh on my mind. The answer to the question is the absolute foundation of what it means to be a leader in the body of Christ. It is the key to effective and healthy leadership.

The answer to the question can be found in Psalm 50. In this Psalm, God rebukes His people, but not for their sacrifices. It seems that they were fulfilling the letter of the law when it comes to their sacrifices. God's rebuke has to do with their posture before Him. They were not living in dependence. And they were not thanking Him for sustaining them. What God wanted from them was simply to call on Him and lean on Him rather than themselves.

Before we dismiss this passage as yet another time the Isrealites failed in the Old Testament, we need to look to our own lives. Who do we look to for help 9 times out of 10? Do we try and tough it out and solve our own problems? Do we rely on our friends and relatives? Or do we first and foremost depend on God to save us and sustain us? Personally, I really struggle with this. I find myself regularly trying to solve my own problems and help myself. Going to God is not my first reaction when trouble comes along. But He is the only one who can and will give me the perfect help that I need. 

Independency is so common in the world of leadership. We are concerned about our image. We want to establish ourselves. We think more highly of ourselves than we should. We don't want to burden others or God with our problems. So we don't ask for help. We do our jobs with our own resources. We view dependence as weakness. And yet we are surprised when we burn out? In a very true sense, dependence is strength in the Kingdom of God because God is strong. The most effective leaders in God's Kingdom live their lives in dependence on God and live out of His resources rather than their own. They call on Him in their day of trouble and He delievers them. And God gets the glory for delivering them. This is how it is supposed to work. When we try and deliver ourselves we are trying to claim the glory for ourselves. 

This passage reminds me of my two year old son. He is completely dependent on my wife and I. He has nothing to offer us. We do not need anything from him. But he depends on us for his life. Yet he tries to take care of himself all the time. He tries to get a drink by himself and spills it all over the floor of the kitchen. He tries to climb up our bookshelf to reach that toy on the top shelf and falls. All he has to do is ask. And we will help. All we want from him is to ask us for help and be thankful. We want his love and trust. This is how it is with God. All we have to do is ask Him for help. We must recognize that we need His help and that He has all the resources that we need. He will help us in the way we truly need help. And He will get the glory as He does. All He asks of us is that we depend on Him and then give Him thanks when He helps. 

Dependence and thankfulness...these are the foundation of great leadership in God's Kingdom.

 

Discipleship Strategy 101: Disciple the disciplers first.

“Shoot at everything and you hit nothing.” At least, you hit nothing very well. (Unless we are talking about nuclear missiles, I guess) This little proverbial nugget has roots in almost every language:

 In French it is: Qui trop embrasse, mal etreint, "he who embraces too much, has a weak grasp". In Romainian it is: Cine aleargă după doi iepuri nu prinde niciunul, "Who runs after two rabbits will catch none". In Greek it is: Πολυτεχνίτης και ερημοσπίτης, "He who knows a lot of crafts lives in an empty house".

I think I like the French translation the best. The meaning is simple enough. We need to focus in order to be effective. It’s the old quality over quantity thing. Attempting to do it all usually ends with us doing nothing very well.

This principle is particularly applicable to ministry situations. Although many of us may recognize the wisdom of this principle we all struggle to apply it. The problem for us is not in the aiming at something specific in ministry, the problem is in the not aiming at many other things. This principle necessarily requires us to NOT aim at many things. These other things (or people) we must not aim at are usually all good opportunities. They are simply not the best or right things (or people) to aim at. The principle calls for focus and strategy. 

None of this is easy, of course. Applying this principle in our ministry life means saying no, possibly hurting feelings and maybe even losing some good opportunities. People may even talk badly about us as a result. Honestly, it is much easier to have our ministry focus and aim at everything else too. This strategy requires no difficult conversations or discipline even if it is impossible to really live out in the end.

There are so many good opportunities in the ministry world. There are so many good things that we could be doing for God’s Kingdom. There are so many people out there with real needs. We desperately want to please everyone and do everything that seems good to do. This is understandable. It is a noble desire. However, doing everything is always impossible for only one person. Only the most foolish pride would disagree with that. Anyway, it is never God’s will for any one person to attempt to do more than they can actually do.

Jesus faced this very same dilemma. In Mark chapter 1:32-34 we find Jesus in Capernaum healing crowds of people. The text says that the whole town gathered at his door after sunset. Talk about opportunity! Filled with compassion, Jesus healed “many”. It is interesting that the text does not use the word, “all”. Jesus healed “many” not “all”. Then it says that Jesus went out very early in the morning to pray. This was likely the only time he had free from people wanting something from him. His quiet prayer was shattered by the disciples frantically trying to find him. There were more to heal. There were more people for Jesus to care for and serve. Jesus was behind schedule in their minds. Yet, Jesus turns and leaves that town. It sounds cold. It sounds like He didn't care about those who were left desperate and unhealed. But this is simply not true.

Jesus went into prayer tired and worn down. He came out of that time telling the disciples about His purpose. I am not sure what Jesus heard from the Father in that time of prayer. But I suspect that it was an encouragement to stay true to the vision. There was a master plan, a strategy.  Jesus could have stayed right there in Capernaum. I am sure that thousands would have brought their sick and needy to his door day after day, month after month, year after year. But that was not the plan. God did not want Jesus to heal them "all". That would have only served some. The plan was to bring salvation to the entire world.

It may seem cruel to focus on only some in our church or ministry. Developing a discipleship strategy that deliberately leaves some out may seem cold. However, if those we focus on will go on to minister to others then it makes complete sense. The reality is that many are not ready to minister to or disciple others. Some will not be ready for a long time. So we focus on those that can and will go on to care for and disciple others. We focus on the leaders because we cannot help everyone ourselves. We disciple the disciplers first so that we can reach them all (by God's grace).  

The secret seems to lie in the acceptance of our own limitations. Jesus knew that he was only on earth for a certain amount of time. He was the God of unlimited power and yet He accepted His limitations on earth. So instead of discipling everyone equally, He focused on those that could lead the ministry after He was gone. He focused on the leaders because He knew that is what the masses really needed. These leaders would go on to disciple and teach others to disciple. Jesus accepted His limitations and planned accordingly. The result was world changing. Jesus did not ignore the crowds. He preached to the crowds. He fed the crowds. He healed the sick. But He gave the lion share of His time to the disciples. He said no to some so that more would be benefitted.

Creating and using a discipleship strategy is not easy. It means saying no to some good people. But, in the end, saying no to some means saying yes to even more.

There are some objections to this idea:

Some accuse this method of treating people like projects. I say yes and no. Yes, it means investing in some key people as projects in order to develop their gifts and send them out to minister to others. But these people are not projects in an impersonal sense. Just the opposite. Jesus dearly loved the disciples. They were specially favored but also specially commissioned. More was expected of them because more was given to them.

Others may say that this method is impersonal and lacks compassion. I disagree. Choosing to strategically invest in some does not mean that we do not care about others. Exactly the opposite is true. If the leaders are not cared for the whole ministry collapses.  Then everyone loses out. Loving the masses means choosing to do what is best for them. Investing in the leaders is often the best way to build the very ministry that feeds all of the people.

The Greatest Joy Possible In Ministry....

I know how I was as a student. I think I have a fairly sober (but still imperfect) view of my own spiritual/emotional maturity both now and then. In college I was a natural leader. I know God had given me gifts. I had great passion and I stubbornly pursued God’s glory with those gifts in spite of my many flaws. God took my young, immature and raw abilities and molded them into the leader that I am now.  And I have had a fairly good ministry over the years I think. God has given me the opportunity to influence the lives of a lot of students over the past 13 years. This really does bring me a lot of joy. But here is the real kicker: I have recently discovered that this is not the apex of joy to be found in ministry.

We have 3-4 students in our chapter right now that are gifted beyond anything I have ever seen in the college age world. These students have more maturity, passion and gifts than I ever had. They are truly remarkable creations. God has crafted them into wonderful men and women. They are more gifted in leadership than I ever was. They have more passion and more maturity for their age than I ever did. And like I said….God has used me to have a pretty influential ministry over the years. These students are different. They must be set apart for something really great. I am not sure what yet, but I do know that it will be greater than anything I have accomplished in ministry thus far. 

And that’s it. I really think this is the greatest joy possible in ministry… to know that God is using me to shape and influence leaders that will out shine me in Kingdom influence! I mean these students are going to be used by God to do great things for His kingdom. Much greater things than I am destined for. Of this I am more than sure. God has entrusted them to me for a time? I am not sure why. But He is using me to influence them along the path to their God sized destiny. This is an unspeakable joy. It is an honor and a privilege that I do not deserve at all. God is amazing. That’s all I can say.    

Getting Older Without Becoming Cynical

A ministry colleague recently asked me for my input on a particular subject that he was going to speak about in another country. Apparently, senior staff in this country struggle with becoming cynical over time. They tend to fall into a "going through the motions" attitude after some years on staff. They lose their love for Jesus and students, and staff life becomes just a job for them.  As I formulated my response, I ended up challenging myself more than anything (which often happens when I sit down to write anything with God’s help). The following is my response to this request…


1. Focus on the Investment
 
One thing that always helps me keep up my motivation/passion in ministry is to think of my time with students in terms of an investment. Financial investments multiply over time (with some luck). When you invest money into a particular stock you can’t help but watch its progress. When it does well you get excited. You have something personally invested and so this stock’s performance means something to you. Similarly, it really stokes my fire to disciple a student and then watch them go on to disciple and influence others. It’s kind of like watching your stocks gain interest. You never get tired of watching them grow and when they do grow and gain you want to invest even more. It is addictive! Investing in students for me is addictive. When I see my little efforts being multiplied by God I want to invest more and more! Now that I have been on staff a while...I am planning on putting up a map on the wall to track all my investments. I am going to put push-pins in all of the places where students are working that I have personally discipled. It will be a visual reminder that God is using me to change the world.
 
2. Always keep learning because things keep changing
 
I have seen older people in ministry go down two very different roads over time in terms of their ability to reach college age students. I have seen some become very irrelevant and unable to minister to students. However, I have see others remain just as relevant if not even more relevant to college age students. I really think the difference is directly related to our willingness to learn. It is very easy to become irrelevant. All you have to do is stay the same. We are missionaries. As each generation of students changes (and they do keep changing) we must learn the culture all over again in order to stay relevant. The more committed to being a learner we are the more relevant we will be. If we don’t change how we do ministry to fit the new generation of students then we will quickly lose touch. But a learning attitude in general is very healthy for our long-term ministry life. Many top leadership resources I have read talk about this in detail. We need to keep forcing ourselves to learn. Not only is this good for the grey matter in our brains…it keeps us engaged, growing and renewed. Learning breeds ideas and creativity and this leads to passion and fulfillment. So read books, take classes, go to seminars....assume that you always have something more to learn.....because you do. This helps us fight off the cynicism and ugly pride that can come from a stagnant ministry life. There will never be a point where we are 100% competent in ministry because things keep on changing constantly! So change or die.
 
3. Cherish the break through moments because they don't happen all the time
 
I have learned that not everyone I meet with or teach to leaves my presence better than they were before. The fact is many remain relatively unchanged in spite of my best efforts to help them develop. Of course, we must press on because we can trust that God will use us to bring about changes that we cannot always see. There are times though, when God allows us to see a break though....a moment when a student hears and applies something we say and has a real spiritual breakthrough as a result. Cherish these moments. They are few and far between but they do wonders to refill your passion tank. I have a file that I keep of encouraging/thankful words that students say to me. When I hit the wall...I go to that file. A former student just sent me an e-mail today telling me what an influence I had on him in college. This e-mail is going in the file! These messages help me to keep pressing forward in times when it does not seem like anything is happening of worth. 
 
4. We exist for God's glory not our own
 
The bottom line of it all is this....our existence on this earth is for God's glory. To live is Christ as Paul expressed. This life is not really about us or our happiness. When I am having trouble pressing on I try my best to remind myself of this fundamental truth. I am not here on this earth to earn a comfortable income, win popularity contests or be the best in my career. I am here to serve God and bring Him glory. InterVarsity for me is simply the present means to this end. I believe that cynicism comes as a result of forgetting why we are still breathing. We have a purpose in this world....and it is to bring God glory. That is an amazing and deeply challenging thought. So I must ask myself each day…is this really my goal, is this my intention and purpose. Am I attempting to bring Him glory or am I merely trying to get by? This tends to keep me on my toes.
 

Courageous Leadership Interview: Jehoiada and family

 

 

Jehoiada and his wife, Jehoshabeath, literally changed an entire nation in their own lifetimes. Their decisive action turned Judah away from the bloody corruption and empty paganism that was inherent to Queen Athaliah's reign. They risked their own lives to be agents of change for the Most High God. They were courageous leaders.

The following is an interview with these two lesser-known Biblical heroes. Their story is found in 2 Chronicles 22 - 24.

1. Your decision to hide Joash from Athaliah and later to essentially lead a military coup as you installed him as the king of Judah was incredibly risky. Had you been found out at any stage of your efforts you would have certainly been executed. Why take such a great personal risk? Why not let God work it all out? After all, you have a family to care for and protect.

Jehoiada: Yes, I do have a family. I dearly love my wife. My son Zechariah is one of the greatest joys in my life. And you are right, I do have a responsibility to care for and protect them. But that is exactly why I took such a great risk. Some things in life are more important than life. Living to an old age is not worth anything if you have to compromise your faith and values to get there. Anyway, what kind of a father or husband would I be if I passed up the opportunity to reverse the Godless evil and brutality that was leading our nation? How could I look my son in the eye and tell him to be brave and to do good in this world if I myself did not have the heart to follow my own advice.  Also, there were many more lives at stake here than just that of my family. Athaliah’s leadership was leading multitudes away from the one true God into darkness. Her brutal self-interest was corrupting our nation and would certainly have invited God’s judgment had it been allowed to continue. So to answer your question, why take such a risk, I would have to say that the greater risk would have been to do nothing. Doing nothing is often the greatest risk of all.

2. In the process of putting Joash into power, you took charge of a lot of people. A lot of things had to happen simultaneously in order for your plan to work. Mistakes were not an option. How did you manage to lead so many so well under such circumstances?

Jehoiada: Leading people is never easy. Leading people under the threat of death is that much harder. What I had going for me was that everyone agreed that something drastic needed to be done. The people just needed to be organized so that their intentions could be translated into reality. The trick was getting everyone to work together seamlessly. There is no way I could have pulled this off by myself. Recruiting and leading the leaders was the most important part of this plan. I recruited them first. These were the people who were either influential or who held positions of influence and power. These were the most logical people to start with. Together with them we set off to recruit the multitudes of people that we would need to create an overwhelming majority. In other words, I used my position and influence to lead the leaders first. I delegated well and gave clear directions to these leaders. This was not a time for being passive or wishy-washy. This was a time for decisive action. I stuck to the plan and lead through these leaders.

3. Once Joash was in power and Athaliah was overthrown, you had to make a really hard and controversial choice as to what to do with Athaliah. Talk about that.

Jehoiada: Killing another human being is never a good thing. However, I do believe that there are times when it is justified. Athaliah killed a number of people. Not only that she led our country and people into spiritual darkness. Her crimes were many. She deserved the death penalty. Also she was simply too great of a risk to put in prison. There is no doubt someone that she could have manipulated to help her get back into power. We could not leave this potential open. So we made a public example of her. It was important, in order to bring about lasting change, to make sure every possible ember of the old way was completely stamped out. Sometimes leaders have to make very difficult decisions. That is leadership. Not making the decision is always the worst decision. Problems do not naturally go away, they almost always get worse. Leaders have to make the right and best decision for the people regardless of the cost. That is what I did. I do not regret it at all.

4. Since the overthrow, you have mentored and advised King Joash. He has led great religious reforms no doubt because of your influence. Describe your relationship with the King since putting him into power.

Jehoiada: I consider Joash to be one of my very on children. My wife and I have been his only real parents ever since we saved him from Athaliah. He has had a tragic and turbulent life to be sure.  However, I am very pleased with how he has turned out. He and I spend a lot of time together. He is very curious and teachable. My goal has always been to do more than simply lead the nation through him. My goal has always been to protect him from the inherent and power temptations that come with his position. Being the absolute ruler of a nation is no easy task. It is too much power for one person alone to carry. I have tried to help shoulder this power and responsibility with him. So far things have worked out well. Of course I have my own son and family to take care of as well. I have made sure to not neglect them. Zechariah has turned out to be quite a God fearing warrior himself. Zechariah and Joash do not get a long well. I am afraid of how things might turn out for them after I am gone. I am not sure if Joash has the will power to continue to resist the corrupting influence of his position alone. My hope and prayer is that he and Zechariah will form a lasting alliance after I am gone.

Post Script:

Unfortunately there is not a happy ending to this story. In the years following the death of Jehoiada, Joash slowly gave in to the influence of other princes in the kingdom. Falling for their flattering attention, King Joash began to lead the nation away from God back into the dark pagan religious practices of the past. Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son, followed in his father’s footsteps and way of life. He courageously stood up to the King. He confronted the King and called him out on his sin. Tragically, Joash killed Zechariah. Shortly after this, the Lord brought judgment on Joash for all his treachery and brought an end to his life.

This story reminds us that everyone lives and everyone dies. But not everyone lives and dies the same. Circumstances in life present opportunity as well as obstacles. Courageous leaders are the ones who choose to do the right thing regardless of the risk or personal cost. These are the heroes of the faith who live and die well.

 

The Lies of Success

The day after a student retreat is always uncomfortable for me. I want to rest and take the day off. However, my mind is almost always stuck, relentlessly going over the conference moment by moment. It is hard to rest. It is hard to disconnect from all that has happened. This is especially true today. This weekend conference was very different from others that I have experienced. Our chapter sharing time was like none other. I have never experienced a group of students so radically motivated to serve God in such sacrificial ways. Students shared about Bible studies they were going to start, non-Christians they were going to share the gospel with and even career decisions. Several students expressed commitments to go into full time ministry. (I think I am actually going to have to talk some students out of full time ministry...as strange as that sounds!) In fact, I just got a text from yet another student who is going to move back into the dorms in order to be a better witness.

The ministry here at SIUC is thriving in a way that I have never experienced and really never thought it would. It is amazing and humbling and exhilarating all wrapped up into one! God is clearly at work doing something big. It is far bigger than me. There is a work of God going on here that I have done nothing to create. Still, it is an especially dangerous time for me. I am a bit nervous to be very honest. The success of the ministry will lead people to think certain ways about me. People may be led to think that what is happening here has a lot to do with me. Outside observers may very well be tempted to think that what is happening here has to do with my gifts, my service, my experience and wisdom. The even bigger danger is that I will be tempted to start thinking this about myself. Pride is everywhere....crouching all around this success.

Personally, I think that success in ministry is similar to (but not the same as) success in life. There is much good that can come from it. Success can help guide others to a better way of doing things. Success can produce really good results in terms of wealth and products that will serve mankind. Success in ministry obviously brings about great spiritual fruit. However, success in ministry has a dark side just like success in life. There are lies that come along with success. If we are not careful they will take hold of us. The lies go something like this... "Wow, I really must know what I am doing...just look at the results!", "Hey, you should do things like me because I know how to do ministry better.", "God has given me such amazing gifts, I can't help but produce great results." ....and so on. The dark side of success is that place where we forget where success is really born and become convinced that we are the direct cause of that success. I have seen too many people in ministry get caught there. It is an ugly and unfortunate sight.

I can see these lies already beginning to take shape in my own heart. I am crazy excited about all that God is doing here at SIUC. But I am also very fearful of how this success will affect me personally. Pride is always a temptation for me. I don't want to forget that anything God does here is because of His power and choice not because of me. I am merely a steward. God has invited me to be a part of what He is doing. It is a great opportunity and blessing to be here. He is in no way dependant on me to work here. The truth of the matter is that God is working in spite of me. His glory is shown brightly through my weakness.

My prayer today is that I would not succumb to those whispering voices that want to turn me away from God and that I will never forget the truth about success!    

Where do good sermons come from?

“Make prayers out of your Bible devotions not sermons. A true prayer will preach much better anyway!” Eddie Gibbs

Those of us entrusted with the duty of preaching are responsible for bringing a fresh word from God to the people. We can only find that fresh Word from God in our personal study life. So the question is raised, “Is our personal study life for us or is it for those to whom we will preach?”  The answer is, of course, both. Our study life is where we find the content for our preaching. However, our personal study life is also our own personal lifeline. It is where we meet God and find all that we need to be all of who God wants us to be. God’s Word is meant for us first and then for those to whom we will preach. A Word from God is not fit to be preached until it has intersected with our own lives.

Therefore, we should first seek to make prayers out of our personal study time; not sermons. As we desperately wrestle with God’s word in our own sin filled lives, prayers are bound to be born. Our prayers will then bring life and color and power to our sermons. Our prayers will overflow into our preaching. As we preach sermons from our prayers the power of our own testimony will bear witness to the transformative truth that we offer.

Still, it is very possible to preach on a regular basis without a healthy personal study life. It is possible to draw our sermons from a different well altogether. We can lean on our past experiences, we can speak from our own knowledge and we can certainly borrow other people’s words to preach. This, however, is a shallow well filled with stagnant water, and it cannot maintain us or those we are preaching to for long.  Preaching without a healthy study life is much like surviving on a desert island by drinking our own urine. We can do it for a time but it cannot keep us alive for long. Without the credibility of our own lives our sermons are nothing more than another loud and empty voice in a deafening arena of propaganda.

So we seek God and press into Him to hear that fresh life giving Word for ourselves first and foremost. Once we have struggled in the Spirit to apply this Word to our own lives, it is finally fit to be preached.