Calloused?

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.” Matthew 3:7-12 (NLT)

If we are not careful we can very easily be counter among the Pharisees and Sadducees.  Let me explain.  After you have walked with the Lord for some time and have attended numerous worship services, bible studies, seminars and the like, there is a tendency to become calloused of heart. A callous on your hand doesn’t happen overnight. It is the toughening of the skin that has been in use often, doing about the same thing until that skin becomes thicker and harder, protecting that part of your hand. It can be a painful experience but when complete you are able do the work without having to stop, think or even notice that your hand now has callouses.

Here is what it could look like for us. You go to a worship service and complain (maybe to another but usually to yourself) that was a “flat” service. The songs were weak, the message… I heard before, and the people in my row weren’t very friendly.  Hear this: It wasn’t the service that was flat… it was YOU. We go to worship God not be entertained, not to get a “warm fuzzy “, or even to be spiritually challenged. It is all about glorifying Him and not us. Now we can glean the above expressions but they are tertiary.  When we have the attitude of  “I know this already”, or “I got nothing out of it”, or my favorite, “I wasn’t fed” know that you have a calloused religious leader heart. (It is “Sad-u-See”) Just like the religious leaders we can hear it all, know it all, and have done it all. We have the attitude “we are safe, we are children of Abraham, (Christians)”.  So how to safeguard against Pharisaism and callousness of heart?

·      Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where you have become calloused, where you have become hard to what the Spirit would say to you in prayer, quiet time, through the worship service, small group and in fellowship.

·      Repent of anything that He reveals to you. Don’t be hypocritical or simply go through the motions.

·      Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God

·      Remember: you and I are one bad decision away from sabotaging our faith, our relationships, and our positive influence in others.

·      Allow the Holy Spirit to sift you. Removing the chaff from your life and revealing the wheat

·      Ask the Holy Spirit to baptize (immerse) and purge you in Him. To remove the spiritual dross and fill you fresh and overflowing

·      Humbly approach God and others with the attitude of a servant, knowing that you are unworthy to even untie each other’s shoelaces.

No matter how long you have been in the game, no matter your position or status you and I are entitled to nothing. We can only claim those things that are promised in His Word.  (See Phil. 2)

You Are Leaders Who Manage!

Exodus 18:14-23 (NLT) 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?” 15 Moses replied, “Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God. 16 When a dispute arises, they come to me, and I am the one who settles the case between the quarreling parties. I inform the people of God’s decrees and give them his instructions.” 17 “This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed. 18 “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself. 19 Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him. 20 Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives. 21 But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten. 22 They should always be available to solve the people’s common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you. 23 If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.” 24 Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice and followed his suggestions. 25 He chose capable men from all over Israel and appointed them as leaders over the people. He put them in charge of groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten. 26 These men were always available to solve the people’s common disputes. They brought the major cases to Moses, but they took care of the smaller matters themselves.

As life continues, we in ministry find ourselves drifting into a “leadership lull”. Meaning, we stop leading and land into a managing mode of operation. We forget to share the ministry, get bored with the lack of ministry movement and we stop leading and start simply managing. Here are some examples of both. Leaders will make decisions without needing the assistant of their leader. They look for ways to not only improve the ministry but are willing to make mistakes in the process. Leaders will look for others who too can expand the ministry. In other words, they are trying to reproduce themselves into the lives of other leaders. Managers will keep things as they are. They like the status quo and make sure things stay that way. Jethro called Moses out and reminded him of what he was called to be and do. Moses was not leading he drifted into trying to manage the Israelites by listening to all their issues. After a while it zapped him of energy, time and effectiveness. As a manager he was stuck and if allowed to continue would end up harming himself, his family and the people he was supposed to be leading. Some of you are great leaders and others are better managers. Over emphasize one over the other and you will have dysfunction and chaos.   So, wake up if you are slumbering or find yourself drifting. Pray for a new vision, new creative life and ways to minister. Know that I trust you, you don’t need my approval of the things you do. I want you to run with whatever God places on your heart.  Lead up and manage well.

Questions to chew on:

1.     What area/s in ministry are you currently stuck?

2.     When was the last time you prayed about your ministry and for the Holy Spirit to reveal new ways to care for your folks?

3.     What ministry task do you want to try but are afraid you might fail? Just do it!

4.     Who are you sharing your Jesus life with? Who are you discipling?

The Apple Tree Adage

So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!  Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. Hebrews 10:35-36 (NLT)

I want to remind you and reflect upon a question that I asked a while ago. I posed the same question to a group of conference attendees this past weekend. Simply: What is the fruit of the apple tree? The answers to this question explode with both the seemingly obvious and the attempt of either true wisdom and depth or revealed ignorance.  The common answer is of course, “an apple”. Not apple pie, applesauce, or apple turnovers, “because they feed people”.  The real fruit of an apple tree is another apple tree. An even better answer would be many apple orchards growing all over the world.  But for our purposes let’s stick with another tree as the correct answer.  I believe we spend too much time trying to beautify the one apple tree. We water it, fertilize it, clear it of any known enemies and make it a huge priority of both time and effort. Once the tree has rich looking fruit, green leaves and healthy branches, we feel like we have achieved something great. It is a good achievement to have a healthy tree, don’t get me wrong, but as you will see it falls short of the kingdom goal. I spoke with an associate pastor who informed me that his congregation runs about 30 people on average every weekend.  They are a solid close-knit group; they love each other, do life together, serve and give a nice percentage to missions. He was very proud at his church and how nice the fruit and the leaves look. He would deem his church as being healthy.  Of course since you know me well enough, you know I challenged his church health diagnosis. I asked how long the the senior pastor has been at his church? 20 years!  I was really hoping he would have said one or two years but not twenty.  This is another example of the apple tree adage. Churches stay small for numerous reasons and not all are negative, but often it is because the vision is neither cast nor caught and rarely revisited.  Since waves (sorry for changing metaphors) come in sets, and as a surfer your goal is to catch the best wave possible and ride it until you believe it is time to pull out and paddle for the next wave. More often than not, leaders do not know how to recognize when the wave is coming, they can’t surf it or if they do catch a wave they are too tired to paddle out to the next set.  

Here is how all this verbiage can apply to you.

·      Remember you are to be planting more apple tress. (Reproducing the life of Jesus that is in your life into the life of someone else.)

·      Ask the Lord to reveal whom you should be mentoring.

·      Be very intentional of what you pass on to those you are discipling

·      Realize that what is good now and what works now will atrophy and most likely not work tomorrow

·      Never be content with yesterday’s results. Celebrate them, but strive to hone or better your skills for both your current and future ministry opportunities

·      Evaluate the fruit in your life. Ask those close to you examine the fruit with you. Is it “manmade” or Holy Spirit produced?

·      Look for the “forests, the orchards” and not be satisfied with just one beautiful “tree” 

·      Ride the next big wave of God’s power and grace and teach others how to recognize His wave sets.

You and I have been called and given more than we will ever need to encourage, equip and empower others towards a healthy life in Christ and for the furtherance of His kingdom.  The vital question for all of us to answer: Will we walk confidently, patiently, and striving to do God’s will so we can receive what He has promised to do in and through us?

I look forward to seeing your life answer and the fruit trees you will partner with God to produce.

Ministry Metaphors

I always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. As I pray to our God and Father about you, I think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ. I know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people. 1 Thessalonians 1:2-4 (NLT) I want you to know how special you are to the Lord, to me and to this ministry. Keep your eyes focused on the prize! Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20 (NLT)

I want to highlight and remind you of the two ministry metaphors that we discussed on Saturday so that it doesn’t get lost in the midst of your busy lives, but instead motivates you towards abundant life for Him.

More Trees!

Donald McGavran, the father of the modern church growth movement, who asked a life compelling question: “What is the fruit of an apple tree?” Most would say, “an apple.” But McGavran, believes: “the true fruit of an apple tree is not an apple, but another apple tree.” With that said, the true fruit of a small group is not a new member, but another group. The fruit of a teacher is not a well-informed student, but another teacher.  I want to empower others who in turn empower others. Jesus is the one who will multiply our ministry’s, our task is to simply share what we have received, to pass on what we have gleaned with the expectation that they will pass on what they have gleaned from us.  You pass on your loaves and fish to Jesus who in turn multiplies it in the lives of others.

So who are you praying about that will carry on your ministry and take it even further? Who will be the trees you plant in your forest? Make a list of all the ministry principles that you gleaned through the years. You will be surprised at how many you come up with.  You really do have more life transforming ministry ammunition then you think.

What are you doing?

It’s the story of two stonemasons who have the same skills; the same experience, and do exactly the same work. A passerby approaches the first stonemason and asks, “What are you doing?” He looks up and replies, “Can’t you see? I am laying bricks, one on top of the other. The stones are heavy, and lifting them can be backbreaking. I’m not even sure if this project will be completed in my lifetime. “It’s rather monotonous, that’s for sure.”  About thirty feet away, the passerby approaches a second stonemason and asks him the same question. He looks up and replies, “Can’t you see? I’m building a cathedral. Actually, the work is sometimes monotonous, and it can be incredibly hard. I am not even sure if it will be completed in my lifetime. But I’m building a cathedral! While listening to this man’s words and looking into his eyes, the contagious energy of the stonemason floods into the passerby’s heart.

The point of the story is obvious, easy to communicate, and yet rarely understood: people aren’t inspired by the task of bricklaying. They want to build cathedrals. When people complain about the tedium of placing one brick upon another, the solution is not to grant them more money, nor necessarily to change anything about how they carry out their task. First and foremost impress upon them that they are building a cathedral; paint a picture for them as to what their ministry could look like.

·       Teach vision until they are able to teach the vision.

·       Show them that are part of something significant for the kingdom of God and not just another ministry at church.

·       Repeat the latter two bullet points

I look forward to seeing the fruit that your lives produce in others and the transformation that is necessary for spiritual growth.