Congregational Government & Satan, Part 2

Psalm 18:27 "You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty."

Accusations and Anger can give the devil a foothold.

This article is a continuation of an earlier post in which I replied to James MacDonald's declaration that congregational government was from Satan. If you haven't yet, it might be helpful to read Part I.

Recently, James MacDonald replied to my comment on his blog, in which he declared that congregational government was from Satan. The comment is as follows:

“Congregational government was developed to protect a church from bad elders, but in reality there is no protection from that. …... creating an unbiblical system to guard against that may comfort the fears of the laity but it grieves the heart of God. Scripture provides no antidote for the blessing of God upon prideful selfish shepherds."

The more and more we look at scripture as a whole, the closer we come to real wisdom and truth. I will do my best with this short article. Let us begin today with McDonald's last sentence, which states that there is no antidote for the blessings of God upon a prideful, selfish shepherd. If that shepherd is a preaching pastor, then a passage from Philippians would seem to support his statement.

It is found in Philippians 1:15-18

“It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.  The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.” NIV

While Brother James might have be accurate if he had declared that there is no “organizational biblical system” to deal with prideful shepherds, there is a God-designed system. A friend of mine recently reminded me of that God-designed “relational system,” which is for all people, including pastors and elders. It is found in  Matthew 7: 3-5.

"Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye." ESV

When members of the body of Christ think that their pastor's prideful selfishness has become damaging to the church, they are to first examine themselves, and then challenge their pastor and/or other leaders. Since the pastor is an elder, they are to affirm their accusation by bringing 2 or 3 witnesses (I Timothy 5:19). Pastors and elders that are challenged in this way need to listen and respond accordingly. This includes submitting, not to a human leadership hierarchy, but to scripture and Christ.

Matthew 7 provides a peaceful system for working out problems.

I do believe that, after some reflection, Brother James would agree that this is the system designed by God for prideful, selfish leaders. Unfortunately, we both know that most people will talk behind the backs of their selfish pastors instead of challenging the preacher of the Word, partly because of the Philippians passage. However, I do not believe the passage in Philippians overshadows Matthew 7. It only means that it must be done very carefully and not at the expense of the gospel. Pastors should not be rendered useless from being challenged during the process.

 Challenges to the Matthew 7 System

The problem becomes more and more difficult as the church grows because some pastors have a strong preaching gift. As the pastor becomes prominent in his home region, then even famous regionally and nationally, the Philippians passage begins to overcome the instruction in Matthew.  What member in their right mind would want to emotionally damage a famous pastor? Who wants to live with that “stain”?

Ahh, but can we now use a congregational form of government to hold back the prideful, selfish pastor and elders, so no one individual will have to “take the blame”? (Sarcasm included).  I have been in congregational meetings where bands of people have shouted names at the pastor in front of everyone. Hearing of those kinds of meetings probably has brought James to declare “the format” as of the devil himself.

Snares of the Devil

In reality, the devil is fanning the flames of everyone’s sinful nature. He is working on of us all. He is working on selfish pastors who think God only speaks to them and who refuse to repent of their pride. He is working on members and elders who are afraid of following Matthew 7. He finds the most success in unregenerate minds, who, through the absence of Christ in their lives, want a moment of self gratification when they publicly lash out against their pastors in congregational meetings.

Friends, here is the bottom line. What we need are mature pastors and leaders, who through their study of the life of Christ, become “volunteers to servanthood"; they are not pushed into servanthood by a congregational system, but of their own decision to submit to the needs and visions of those they lead. When the lead pastor submits to the needs of his elders, then the elders will submit to the needs of the congregation. When this becomes a reality and not just a principle, then no one will worry about the congregational meeting.

Finally, exhort the people to act on Matthew 7, not just to know it. Show them how through experience.

Now what we need is a famous pastor to do it and preach it.

A Response to James MacDonald

How do you decide whose voice is heard in church government?

Recently James MacDonald posted on his blog an article entitled "Congregational Government is From Satan". I think it safe to say he stirred the pot and probably set a record for comments. As with any writer, there are always a few ready to declare his words as complete truth and use them to justify their poor behavior. Being that a bit dangerous to me, I had to post my comments. The following is my post to his bog and his gracious reply. You can find my post on June 11 and the post of hundreds of others at the blog of James MacDonald

James, thank you so much for sharing your heart on this subject.  Processing this article has been a very important exercise for me, and I am sure it will be for other church leaders as well. I agree with almost everything you say, but I believe there is a danger here.

Let me begin with your statement: "Sadly, though, this has led in many congregations to the Eldership of all believers—where each person, regardless of training, giftedness, fruitfulness, experience, etc., considers their thoughts about the future of a given congregation to be of equivalent value."

James, the other side of this statement is the premise by many pastors, and even many lay elders, that the opinion of anyone who is not an elder has NO value.

The best biblical example that shows us how we should listen to lay people when it comes to vision and direction is found in Acts 9-11. God called a new believer, Saul, to lead the biggest vision change in the history of the church—explaining that the gospel was for even the Gentiles. He also used a godly man, Ananias, to help Saul understand and confirm this vision.

However, it took years for the church leaders to embrace this change. Peter, the "chairman of the elder board" did not embrace it until God helped him through a vision on a roof in Joppa. He then began to ponder whether Paul and Ananias were right, and it was not until the evidence of the Holy Spirit was undeniable in the body of Cornelius's church group in Caesarea that Peter actually agreed with it. The key here this: Where was the final place that the Holy Spirit worked to confirm the vision for Peter? It was in the congregation.

It does not matter that the sovereignty of God provided Paul a few years to develop as an apostle while the church elders processed the whole idea. The fact remains that many pastors and lay elders overlook the significance of what God is doing in the lives of people in congregations and how God is prompting opinions and vision in each person's life.

I agree with your biblical foundation of what God intended for leadership in the church. Unfortunately, I vividly remember one visit to a congregational meeting at a church in conflict. We were only there to watch, but it did not take long to see who was producing the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The pastors and elders leading this meeting were totally out of line. The fruit of the spirit in the congregation must have finally worn them down, because after about an hour, and to everyone’s shock, they all stood up, threw their church keys on the table, walked out, and left the church. From what I know today, this church is recovering nicely.

In my opinion, the verses to which you refer in Hebrews were meant for the congregation! They were not spoken to leaders so they could use the verses to lord over their people. I am not saying you do James; I do not know you … but I know of a few who have.

So how does one put the right value on an opinion? When it comes to “ the future of a given congregation,” I coach people to submit to their leaders, but  always follow the fruit of the Spirit, no matter where that leads. If the leaders display good fruit in the process, making sure that God is not working through the opinion of the opposition, then that will be the day when leadership is at its best.

Photo courtesy of Irargerich.

 

Just Do It (For His Kingdom)

Romans 12:8 If it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do so cheerfully.  1 Corinthians 12:28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles...those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.

The Inconspicuous Leader

We need good leaders both in public and "behind the scenes."

You have had a couple of weeks to ponder the question I left with you earlier: "Why do you do what you do?" or "Why do you lead the people you lead?" To answer this question myself, I lead because God gave me a strong sense of what it takes to "inspire others to reach their full potential in the pursuit of a common vision." You might question whether this statement is too bold, as I have never accomplished any extraordinarily public vision. However, I will not apologize for it. So far, God has not given me a highly public vision of leadership. Indeed, you too might not have a vision of leadership that will catch and captivate the public eye—and you don’t need one. We need good leaders in conspicuous and inconspicuous places.

 The Highly Visible Purpose
 
However, while you personally do not have to be conspicuous, I would suggest that your purpose be highly visible. In other words, the type of leadership that you’re involved in doesn’t have to be something that the general public would label as overwhelmingly significant, but you should always explain your vision to those under your leadership. When I have embraced the right vision, been given the right authority, and been inspired with the right purpose, God has blessed my leadership.

Even the most mundane tasks of our leadership should become "spiritual"
when we become Christians.

But what if you are a Christian business person leading unbelievers? Why would you explain your Kingdom purpose to them, and isn’t that just a waste of time? I don't think so. I cannot help but compare those times that my unbelieving employees listened to what God was doing in my life with 1 Cor 7:14: "For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband." When I chose to share my God-given purpose with those I was leading, even my unbelieving employees found contentment in the company leader's morals and had a positive reaction to them.

 Reflect and Respond
 
Have you identified a kingdom purpose and told the peo.ple you lead what it is? Was it the truth? Remember that, for the most part, the extent to which your followers believe you is a fairly accurate measure your kingdom purpose’s truth. Show me a Christian businessman who laments this hard economy with his employees yet spends freely on his own pleasures, and I’ll find unimpressed and uninspired followers. In this scenario, the businessman’s kingdom purpose might be in question—if he even has one.

Do you believe the following statement: "If you are a Christian and you have been given the spiritual gift of leadership, then all of your leadership life is spiritual”? I have found that about half of Christian leaders believe it and half don't. In fact, I can remember a time when I didn’t believe it. In those days, I divided my life into two categories: work in the world and work at church. However, I eventually realized that God gave me the gift of leadership so I could use it ALL the time. It was only then that I began to understand that what I did in my business life was for a kingdom purpose, and therefore, so was ALL of my life in leadership. 

"The Bible leaves no doubt that there is a special reward for those who preach the gospel, whether they do so voluntarily or, like Jonah, are compelled." 

The Bible leaves no doubt that there is a special reward for those who preach the gospel, whether they do so voluntarily or, like Jonah, are compelled. However, I suspect the reward for business people who have a similar intensity toward a kingdom purpose for their business might just enjoy more eternal rewards than the minister who preach with self-serving motives (please, pastors, no letters!). Let us use all our leadership life for His kingdom—24/7.Just do it, for Him, all the time.


Photos courtesy of Bareknuckleyellow and Theogeo.

Go Deep & Alone in Prayer

1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. Matthew 6:5  And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites.... But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Throughout their time on earth, God continues to shape the lives of His leaders, and He is still shaping my time with Him. Today, I want to focus on a kind of growth that can occur from your deep moments with God during prayer. I am not encouraging you to duplicate my experience; however, I am suggesting a way and time to approach God that you might not necessarily think of trying. Here are two approaches to my time with the Lord that have helped me hear Him better. I hope they might help you.

 The First Approach

 For five out of the last 8 days I have been awakened at 3 am with an uncommon level of alertness. Wondering what to do, each night I left the bedroom and went to the family room couch, figuring the difference would spur some sleepiness. Each time it did not, and each time I turned the light on and spent some time in scripture and equal time in prayer. Similarly, for a period of time in the 1990's He would "awake" me at 4 am, nudging me to meet with Him. I could not help remembering those days; thus, considered my recent "awakenings" at 3 am ( Each night I awakened within 15 minutes of 3 am.) nudges from God who wanted to speak with me.

If this happened to you, your first thought would probably be similar to mine: "How am I going to make up the sleep I lose if I have this devotion time?" You can probably guess what happened to quite that protest. Each of the days that God prompted me awake, I felt rested at my office, and I even felt a sense of God's presence when, on those same days, I had to deal with some difficult people. Friends, our Lord is faithful and knows what we need. However, He wants you to tell Him, preferably when you and He are alone. 

"Our Lord is faithful and knows what we need. However, He wants you to tell Him, preferably when you and He are alone." 

In our American culture, it is very hard to find that time alone to spend with God. If you are having a hard time finding time in your day for this kind of prayer, try setting your alarm for 3 am, get out of the bedroom, and find a room where you can be alone. I will guarantee you will wake up in the morning rested, and better prepared for the day.

The Second Approach

My second experience in prayer came recently after exiting my shower. I sat on the edge of my bed and began to pray. Not paying attention to the fact I had not dressed yet, I just began to speak to the Lord about life. Only a few sentences into my prayer, I began to feel an increasingly emotion of shame and/or embarrassment before Him as I realized the extent of my exposure. I can now understand why Adam hid from the Lord in the Garden of Eden. However, even in this state of embarrassment, I continued to pray.

 Soon, my embarrassment turned to learning as I began to realize the depth of God's grace in my life. My physical exposure taught me about my spiritual nakedness before Him. As I prayed, I continued to learn and experience this truth. Then I began to wonder why He would be so gracious as to continue to listen to me. Yet I knew He was listening to me; indeed, He began to challenge me to apply His listening grace to a person who has inflicted much pain in my own life. My planned behavior was being changed. 

God hears our prayers even when we feel alone.

Every time I pray, I don’t get the same immediate assurance that he is listening. However, in the previous incidences, my ability to repel my own sinful nature did have a positive impact, as He "turned His ear" toward me and let me sense that He was there. These prayer times remain a reminder of how He knows me completely, yet He continues to make himself available to listen to me. If you think about it, this really goes against every human instinct.

 Transforming Your Prayer Life

There are three things that I think you can learn from my experience.

1. He is always near us.
2. He listens to those whose lives are lived within His favor. 
3.  Deep prayer improves our behavior. 

As a practical example, I cannot remember a meeting that began with extended prayer and that ended with guilt and remorse over behavior in the meeting. However, I can remember many meetings when just the opposite took place. Friends, I know that prayer spurs us on toward more good behavior, good behavior spurs on more righteousness, and more righteousness keeps the ear of our Lord turned toward us. If you would like to understand this a bit more, begin to pray alone, and then maybe even pray naked.

How Deep of a Pile of Grace Are You Standing In?

Luke 17:3-5 If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him." The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we  a  have peace with God through our  Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

In my last article, I told you about a major mistake I made, so today I want to write about how to manage mistakes, to think about mistakes in a productive way. 

Reflecting on your mistakes can be difficult, but it is important.

If you’re like most people, you don’t want to talk or even think about your mistakes; however, knowing how to manage them is a very important part of understanding how to lead. Your awareness of where you stand before God is of more value for your own leadership progress than anything you learn from a dozen leadership books. 

And how do you gain that awareness? Through reflecting and studying your own leadership moments—positive ones as well as mistakes. In fact, I would go as far as to say that your future leadership depends on your reflection on and study of yourself. 

"In fact, I would go so far as to say that your future leadership depends on your reflection on and study of yourself."

When reflecting on your mistakes, it’s important to think about:

1. How God has treated you when you’ve made mistakes.
2. How your earthly leaders have treated you when you’ve made mistakes.
3. How you treat others when you make mistakes. 

Today, we’ll focus on how looking at how God treats you when you make mistakes influences the other two areas.

How God has Treated You When You’ve Made Mistakes

You all probably agree that, while mistakes can result from sin, not every mistake is a sin. However, I think we all can also agree on the fact that sin mistakes are worse than simple errors. Because of this, it’s important to reflect on how God responds to us when we make sin mistakes. By doing this, we can gain great insight into how we should respond to ourselves, as well as others, when we make mistakes.

In today’s first scripture passage, the disciples could not believe that when someone committed a sin mistake against them, they were (and we are also) to respond with a grace that is virtually unlimited. It did not make any sense to the disciples then, and it certainly would not make sense to many of the leaders we know today. 

Our theology of leadership is not one of unlimited mistakes. Of course, this passage discusses a heart that can forgive without limit, not a command to overlook all the mistakes that those who work with you make. After all, God does not instruct us to overlook everything. In 1 Corinthians 5 (NIV), Paul instructs the church to "expel the wicked man from among you,” a strong consequence for wrongdoing.

However, in a sub point of our second scripture, God gently tells us that he is accepting us IN SPITE of the fact that we’re standing in a pile of mistakes. The "grace in which we now stand" begs a question and an answer. The question for today is: "How deep are you in?” Do you believe God accepted you when you were ankle deep or when you were in over your head? The fact is—we all were, and still are, in over our heads.

How “Deep We Think We Are In” Affects How We Manage Others

There are leaders who realize that we’re in over our heads and leaders who think they are in ankle deep. How deep you and I think we are in will ultimately reveal how we handle and manage people. When we realize the enormity of our mistakes and subsequent enormity of God’s grace, we’re less likely to be like Matthew 18’s unforgiving servant, who was unwilling to forgive his debtor little despite the fact he had been forgiven much. 

 Leaders must realize the enormity of God's gra

However, how we view the mistakes of our childhoods also has a great impact on how we view our and others’ mistakes today. I cannot write nor comment about how your childhood has shaped your view of mistakes, but I do suspect some leaders probably need to be counseled as a result of their history. I think a few of you should think about that.

But whether the wounding occurs in childhood or adulthood, a wounded leader can negatively affect those he leads. A few years ago, I met with a pastor prior to presenting a seminar at his church. He told me that he won’t take any more action in his church because of the beating he took after making a rather simple decision. He told me his church had become graceless. Places where leaders are wounded probably precede environments where "people shoot their wounded.” It can become a vicious circle.

However, environments based on grace look just the opposite. Early last August, Google admitted it made a mistake when it shut down its highly promoted "Wave" email network. As far as I can tell, no one got fired; they did not need someone to take the role of the sacrificial lamb and "pay the price.” In fact, you may have heard of Google’s work environment, where brainstorming and mistakes are encouraged. It does not matter whether Google’s leadership understands the theology of their graceful environment, or whether they are Christian or not. This environment helps the company succeed because grace is truth.

 So how deep a grace pile do you think you are in? Are you up to your knees, up to your eyeballs, or in over your head? Would your heart toward the mistakes of others be the same depth as the pile you think you are in?

I challenge you to think about it.


Photos courtesy of Mararie and Phillie Casablanca

Are You in the Lap of Whom You Love?

John 21:15-17 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to them, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep."

There comes a time in every man's life where his wife gets the best of him. Last year, after I had a few days of vacation, she enticed me to go to the pet store to "look”— yeah, right—"look"?

You know how it goes. They ask if you want to hold the mutt just to get you hooked long enough for them to ring the register. And after that register rang up entirely too much money, we left with the only kind of dog we would ever buy—a peek-a-poo, a white little lap dog, two months old and full of energy. I broke my policy of no impulse buying, so there was no surprise when I woke up the next morning with a bout of buyer’s remorse.

"My love for my dog is growing, and I am learning something about God's love from my dog."

 From Buyer’s Remorse to Lesson in Love

God can teach us about him through even the simplest everyday activitie

The dog is incredibly cute. However, though I’m glad I own a cute dog instead of an ugly dog, the fact that this puppy is cute didn’t generate any of my love for it, at least none that I can think of. Indeed, I can't really say I became a dog owner for any good reason other than to show off the dog when company comes over. But now that we’ve had the dog for a while, I’ve witnessed a strange phenomenon. My love for my dog is growing, and I am learning something about God’s love from my dog.

These are some things that I have observed about my dog:

• Generally, he sits on the lap of the person who feeds him the most often. While my wife wins that award hands down, she once spent 10 days in Florida helping my parents. During her absence, our dog began to sense that I was now his food source. It was then when I won my first affection from him.
• He has an absolute need to lick the face of whoever is holding him.
• He loves the person who plays with him. Nothing excites him more that to play “tug of war” or “fetch the bone."
• He naturally rebels against the very people who feed and play with him. He really tries to obey us, but many times he fails. Sometimes, when we let him out, he does not return when called. Sometimes, even though we say “don’t bite,” he nips us in play.

Many times I have cradled this dog in my arms, stared at him, and wondered why my love for him has grown so much. He has done nothing tangible for the household—in fact, he consumes cash through his need for shots and grooming. Yet his existence has brought us joy, partly because we know he loves us.

The Distance Between Our Minds and the Mind of Christ

There is a lesson in this leader’s journey of love for his dog. I have recognized that the distance between the capabilities of my mind and my dog’s mind is far less than the distance between my mind and the mind of Christ. Yet I admit that up to this very word I type, I have been straining to know what specific lesson God is teaching me through this dog. Now, I think I have it. 


While the distance between our minds and the mind of Christ is great, He keeps loving us because we bring Him joy. 

God loves when we sit in his lap.

We bring Him joy when:

1. We sit on His lap.
2. We honorably play with the talents and gifts He gave us.

Then, in the same way that my love for my dog endures through His disobedience, so does God’s love endure with us. So far, my dog has only brought me temporary sadness when he rebels. My sadness is always temporary because my memories of his disobedience always dissipate the moment he returns and jumps on my lap.

As leaders we might apply these truths:

1. Love your followers like God loves us and like you love your dog.
2. Let your anger, sadness, and memory of wrongs dissipate quickly when your followers return to you.

I am sure God will bring me to a new level of understanding of Him through my interaction with my dog. In the meantime, my dog will remind me to remain in the lap of God so that my life will bring Him joy.

Whose lap are you on right now?

Good Leaders Drink--A Lot

Hebrews 6:7-8 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and produces a crop useful for those whom it is farmed receives the blessings of God. (8) But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

There is no doubt that some of you thought today’s title was the prelude to a discussion on Christian liberty. Some of you might even be having a bad day and were hoping you could use this article to justify having a beer right about now. After all, even Paul encouraged Timothy to take a bit of wine for his stomach.


Sorry my friends, not today! Our Scripture has nothing to do with alcohol and everything to do with thirst—drinking and growing as a useful servant of God. While the location of this parable is likely the result of its supporting a larger theological truth, today we will focus specifically on what its content is encouraging us to do.

Do You Absorb the Rain?

Are you thirsty right now? What are you thirsty for? How much of the things of God are you drinking? As a professing Christian, you are indwelled with the Holy Spirit, which can be likened to an internal storm that rains daily within you. It is up to you whether to absorb the rain, the things of God, or to become like an unbeliever, who has no access to the power of its moisture. Both the believer and the unbeliever know that if you stand in the rain, your clothes will get wet. However, only the believer knows that you must tilt your head back, open your mouth, and even stick your tongues out to absorb the things of God. There is no "filling up" within an unbeliever.

Believers must not shield themselves from absorbing the things of God.

Our passage says that God provides this rain "often." And just like farmers can tell when the ground has absorbed the rain by its yield, we can tell when we “stick our tongue out” by examining our crops. After a close inspection, would we say that what we are producing has value to those around us? Is our crop only for our own consumption or is there enough for those with whom God has surrounded us? Those of us who have a kingdom purpose for our activities might find it easier to identify individuals who might greatly benefit from the crop we have produced. Those who don't have a kingdom purpose might look at what we have and sense that it has as much value as a thorn bush—it’s not worthy of passing along to anyone.

Being Wise with Your Crops
 
As a leader, how do you think this verse applies to you? "... From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48 NIV).

Size up the responsibilities and authority you have as a business or ministry leader, and then identify what parts of those responsibilities you have acquired on your own. If you agree that we have received it all from God, then we must ask ourselves if we have been trustworthy with ALL OF IT.


At this stage of my life, there are not many days that go by when I don’t lament the complete waste of portions of my life. If Christ had come during those periods of my life, what I had produced for Him would have been an embarrassment. While I would have been spared, my crops He would have burned.


Friends, the value of what you have grown will be directly proportional to how much of the Word of God that you have tasted. The more you taste of what is good, the more you feast on what you eat. The more you feast on God's word, the thirstier you get. The thirstier you get, the more you drink. The more often you drink, the more the Holy Spirit demonstrates His power through you and what you produce.


So while the law says "Don't drink and drive," I say, “Just drink—a lot.”

Leadership Style? Your Choice.

Phillipians 2:3-8 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others mores significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours through Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

A Note: I really need to be careful with this article. There have been so many quality writings on leadership style by so many honorable men that I hesitate to share what I believe. However, I share with the hope and prayer that what I write will help someone break out of a stagnant life in leadership. I truly hope it will help someone grow.

Let me begin by getting the hard part on paper. The hard part is this: many leaders use the idea of "leadership style" as an excuse for their lack of leadership. They need to make an excuse for what they don't have—or what they don't understand—so they classify their own behavior as legitimate and call it "their style.” They would like to believe that their style is a different, yet still legitimate, form of leadership.

This is just not true. While there may be different ways of living out one’s personality that can be considered style, the underlying leadership principle looks the same. To illustrate, I ask, Have you seen many different “styles” of humility? I don't know about you, but all the examples of humility I’ve seen have been the same. They all resemble an aspect of today’s scripture reading; they always look like Christ. When I watch a leader primarily focused on things that benefit others before themselves, I see a servant; I see Christ. Like humility, these examples of leadership are always the same; they always look like Christ.
 
Don't Carry Unnecessary Weight

You will hear excuses of “style” far more often in the ministry world than the business world. Why? Because pastors often believe that God’s call to preach the gospel often comes with the ability AND responsibility to lead and govern the congregation. Thus, pastors who adopt this view carry a weight on their shoulders that God never intended. As they bang their heads against the ceiling of their leadership ability, the weight of this burden makes them weary. As a result, many of them quit. This is the major reason the average American church has less than 100 attendees.

While business leaders can make the same excuse for their ineffective leadership, the stakes are not quite as high; business leaders don't experience the same kind of "eternal" weight. Notice I said "ineffective leadership,” not "unprofitable leadership.” Those who use un-Christ-like leadership can still make a ton of money.
 
Leadership is Often About the Skills You Don’t Have
 
Effective leaders are Christ-like leaders because they don’t focus on themselves; they focus on others. I am aware that my own ability to grow in business has more to do with what I lack than any aspect of my personality or style. The last two employees I interviewed have in them what I believe we current leaders lack. Thus, they are an important component for our future growth.

"I am aware that my own ability to grow in business has more to do with what I lack than any aspect of my personality or style."

Leadership 101 is not a choice of style; it is simply a choice. While the "art and science of leadership” is fairly complex, the first decision in a leader's life is very simple. Will you lead like the example Christ modeled, or will you lead with what the world tempts you with? You can find clues to the path you have chosen by examining 5 areas of your leadership:

1. What you focus on as a leader
2. Why people primarily follow and listen to you
   
3. The quality of the work your followers produce individually
4. Your impact on the people you lead
5. The resulting attitude toward your leadership

I will unpack these five areas in the articles to come. However, might I exhort you to ponder these areas of your life and see if you come to any interesting conclusions about your current approach to leadership? My guess is that your answers will have nothing to do with your style or personality

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons

What is Your Moral Imperative?

Excerpt from "The Future of Management" by Gary Hame, Ranked #1 Influential Business Thinker--Wall Street Journal  Initiative, creativity, and passion are gifts....They cannot be commanded. If you are a CEO, you won't get these gifts by exhorting people to work harder, or by ordering them to love their customers and kill their competitors. You'll only elicit these capabilities when you ask...What kind of purpose would merit the best of everyone who works here? What lofty cause would inspire folks to give generously of their talents....It takes more than breathless exhortation, it takes a moral Imperative.

 
In 2003 I spent 10 days teaching current pastors and aspiring students at The Evangelical College of Theology in Sierra Leon, the poorest country on earth. On the final day, as I finished teaching, one seasoned pastor and one student approached me together to express their gratitude for “transform[ing] their lives.”

Seeing that I was a bit uncomfortable with that statement, they proceeded to explain further, saying that I had "washed away their prejudice toward business people.” They told me that a wave of surprise had raced through the college when the students learned that an American businessman was coming to teach.

"You see, we have become to despise business people," they clarified.

Anyone who has seen the movie Blood Diamond might understand how even the local pastors could become full of contempt for business people as they experienced a very trying ten years of civil war. In fact, in such a circumstance, it is easy to see how exploited populations might view business people as the creators of their despair.

However, such a trying economic climate also deeply affects ministry. After 5 more trips to West Africa, it is became evident to me that in poor, developing countries, the pastor often becomes the community leader and spokesman for its people, so he feels responsible for teaching social justice. Thus, the pastor’s positional influence becomes so great that many of the unemployed view the pastorate as a means of escaping poverty and gaining power. Because of this, the motivation to become a pastor expands, but the quality of the pastor declines.

From Africa to North America

It’s easy to think of these issues as African issues—as interesting, but in no way relevant to us in North America. However, that’s not the case. Consider for a moment what would happen if our economy continued to decline. What would be the resulting attitude toward business leaders like many of us? What would be the resulting motives of additional temptations of the aspiring pastor or ministry leader?

If our economy does continue to decline, could what I experienced in Africa eventually happen here? Could our economy decline to the point that our Christian business owners are despised? Oh, I hope not! But what can we do? I do believe that the respect and influence of business leaders could decline proportionally to the increase in unemployment. Similarly, I believe the respect and influence of ministry leaders would increase during these conditions. I think this could happen simply for this reason: as the distance between the rich and poor increases, and as more people find themselves in an unemployed and helpless condition, their view of those who remain financially content will diminish, whether or not the financially sound deserve this reputation.

If you don't know what kind of kingdom vision to have, start with a moral imperative. Begin by inserting the DNA of "helping the helpless" into your company and life vision.

Kingdom Vision & Your Moral Imperative

And it is here, my friends, that the author and speaker Gary Hamill consciously or unconsciously articulated the solution: we as Christian business people must have a vision that is kingdom minded so that if and when economic decline occurs, we won't be despised for our success. And if our economy would recover from this decline, I believe we would be even better off.

If you don't know what kind of kingdom vision to have, start with a moral imperative. Begin by inserting the DNA of "helping the helpless" into your company and life vision. You will enjoy the benefits of obedience while your character will point those who watch you to the gospel.

Why do You Do What You Do?

1 Corinthians  9:16  Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the  gospel! (17) If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not  voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed  to me.

It is with pleasure that I can report that my recent, second trip to Nigeria has borne much fruit. My partner, Jeff Witzke, and I were rewarded by the many pastors and leaders we taught who told us how they were blessed by our teachings on leadership and finance. We both spoke to pastors and students graduating from their first year of training at Rev. Ebenezer Oke's Life Development Centre. My charge to those graduates was the same as my challenge to you today: “Why do you do what you do?”

This is a valid question for ministry leaders and business leaders, and so I ask again: why do you do what you do? Is it your calling? Is it for selfish ambition? Are you “compelled to” out of obedience? Is it simply out of love for what you are doing? Or do you dislike what you are doing and continue to do it because you feel you are just stuck?

Compelled to Preach the Gospel

There are two things I dislike, no, detest: heat and humidity. I still await the day that the Lord will use me in northern Wisconsin in the winter. In the meantime, I continue to travel and teach while experiencing what I detest. In the first few days of each of my last three trips to Africa, I have inwardly committed never to come back. Along with the heat and humidity, I feel the poverty intensely—an overwhelming and potent feeling of helplessness. Why go back? What can one average American leader/teacher do?

"As a leader, I share one thing with Paul—I return to Africa because I am compelled to do so." 


Paul laments his lost rights as an apostle when he states in 1 Corinthians 9:17, “Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.” As a leader, I share one thing with Paul—I return to Africa because I am compelled to do so. I wish I could boast and say that I do it voluntarily. That would be a lie. I, like Paul, worry about rejecting the powerful inner work of the Holy Spirit in my life. Woe to me if I do not return when I am able.

Why I Do What I Do

I remember my last day teaching during this most recent trip. As I spoke to the pastors and students about their futures, I consciously could not believe the words that were coming out of my mouth, “wh …whe... when I return….” I could not believe what I was saying. Return? Here? Again? Then something else happened (again). At the end of this trip, like at the end of each, I gazed into the eyes of people hungry, not for the food of the stomach, but for the knowledge God gave us to deliver. The personal testimonies of gratitude given to us, as well as the hospitality of an African that it takes 10 Americans to match, raise a level of compassion within me that surpass the temperature and humidity. I love Rev. Ebenezer Oke and what he is doing at the Life Development Centre in Nigeria. I love every one of the Nigerians I met. And I feel great empathy when gazing intently into the eyes of their children, as I silently pray for God’s blessing upon their futures.

"At the end of this trip, like at the end of each, I gazed into the eyes of people hungry, not for the food of the stomach, but for the knowledge God gave us to deliver."

Eventually, I basked in the air conditioning of the British Airways 747 as it began our trip home. On the one hand, I found contentment in enduring another trip to an environment I detest. On the other hand, I found great guilt in comparing what I “endured” to the price Christ suffered and paid for me, or even to the daily challenge of Rev. Ebenezer Oke and those he leads. In the big picture, we as Americans have yet to suffer for Christ.

That is why I do what I do, and I thank God for each of you who help me do it.

Let there be NO guilt if you have not traveled to Africa. However, I must ask you again: Why do you do what you do?

Training for the Right Race?

1 Corinthians  9:24-27 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

This weekend, I watched a quite famous fishing tournament on television. Many of you know the Bassmaster Classic tournament. It is the super bowl of the fresh water fishing world, especially in the southern half of the United States. It is a grueling, multi-day bass tournament. The simple goal of the tournament is to identify the person who catches the heaviest string of legally-caught bass. Those in this tournament have found themselves at this level after investing thousands of hours of time and energy.

Before the Lord got a grip on me, my dream was to become a professional bass fisherman. My desire was to own a high-performance bass boat and fish tournaments, maybe even to make some money doing so. I bought different books on fishing patterns and studied what boats the pros used, as well as what their strategies looked like in terms of equipment, type of presentation, and the kinds of lures they used. My fishing really improved. Today I have a fair amount of confidence every time I fish.

"In addition to quality equipment an lures, the truly exceptional and famous fishermen have something extra you cannot buy--patience and mental toughness."

In addition to quality equipment and lures, the truly exceptional and famous fishermen have something extra you cannot buy—patience and mental toughness. You can only get that on the water, with a lot of time and training. Even with the most determined mind, this patience and mental toughness can be an elusive thing, never to be fully attained. In our verse today, Paul speaks of the training intensity that a runner must experience to attain the prize. Picture the amount of time, stress and pain the mind and body must go through to acquire the mental toughness to win a marathon or the Bassmaster Classic: getting up before dawn, running or fishing in the rain, trying to keep good balance while running or casting endlessly into the wind. Is that the kind of intensity Paul wants of us when he declares, "No, I beat my body and make it my slave"? 

Training for the Leadership Race

By now, I suspect you are beginning to get the point of this exhortation for leaders. Friends, if you are a leader, you are in a race. My question to you is: how is your training going? Paul states that his training as an apostle is not "aimless,” and yours shouldn’t be either. If you are a business person reading this, how are you learning to improve your leadership? Are you going to financial seminars thinking that you will learn how to lead people? How about some of you pastors and ministry leaders out there? Are you going to theology conferences thinking you can become better leaders? Folks, I will admit that studying how to catch walleye might bring some benefit to the bass fisherman. However, to become an effective bass fisherman, you need to study bass!

"If you want to be a better leader, study leadership!"

And so it is with leadership—if you want to be a better leader, study leadership! Spend time talking leadership with other leaders; go to leadership classes; brainstorm with those you lead to discover what they need to improve performance. As their leader, set those you lead up for success! If you want the prize for leadership, don't just train when you have extra time or when the sun is shining. Try doing it when the waves are high and your boat is blowing all over the place!

Striving for the Prize

Is leadership one of the races you signed up for? I would suspect that it is, since you still subscribe to this exhortation of mine. I would also think leadership might not be your only race. In fact, many of us are in more than one race. If this is true for you, it only means you need to be a bit more intentional about the specifics of your training program. You need to effectively cross train so that you’re fit and prepared for all the races you run.

Paul knew that more than one person was going to get the "prize" he was training for. He just emphasized the importance of strict training by highlighting the satisfaction of getting our prize. When we do so, we will share with him an enduring crown that no one can take away.

Just remember that training is necessary in pursuit of our prize.