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Are you Led by the Spirit?

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Biblical Guy

Being led by the Spirit is not a Pentecostal or charismatic endeavor; it is not about speaking in tongues or some esoteric Baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is not a special anointing or a blessing or a gift we receive from God or an emissary of His, most of whom are, more often than not, false anyway. Rather, pure and true from God’s Word, being led by the Spirit means we are empowered by Him and this is primarily evidenced by who and how we are. The Fruit of the Spirit is the quintessential template and means to recognize His lead, and that Christ has taken root in us and thus is alive and well in our congregation. Such a lead will greatly affect your relationships, family, work, school, church, and life in general; this is the real, effectual fruit that shows Christ’s impact, plan, and power to others, especially to non-Christians. So; are you led by the Spirit or led by your own means? If by the Spirit, how is this working in your church? How is Christ displayed and glorified?

We can master the entire Bible, go to seminary, read all of the great Christian books, and even be totally transformed by the Word; but, if nothing comes from the Spirit—God’s work in us—it is empty and of no real value!

Our faith must have a response to it! Yes we may be saved, but what good is it if we do not have gratitude or allow the continual, effectual work of the Spirit within us? To do nothing with our faith development means we are not being transformed and not being led or empowered by the Fruit of the Spirit. Do not let this happen to you or your church!

The Christian life can be a difficult journey! We live in a fallen world corrupted by sin. Consequently, all that we do is imperfect and a struggle. We make choices that affect the direction in which we proceed in life and in relationships. In so doing, we affect others around us in both positive and negative ways. Yet, when our efforts and motivations are centered upon being righteous, we will be doing as we are called to do, and even be blessed for it.

Filed under: Building a Fruitful Church | Tagged: accountable, anointing, Baptism of the Holy Spirit, charismatic, Christian life, Christian Virtues, effective, empowered, evidence, faith, flow of the Spirit, Fruit of the Spirit, fruitful, God's Word, grow, journey, judgment, Led by the Spirit, Ministry, Pentecostal, relationships, response, responsibility, rotten fruit, salvation, stretch beyond | Leave a comment »

We are Called to Stretch and Grow beyond what we Think we can Do!

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Biblical Guy

It grieves our Lord deeply when we reject Him or turn from Him and His ways. He is especially grieved when we seek the tantalizations the world has to offer and ignore His wonder and blessings. As our Lord showed us by example, we are to follow up by caring for His people—our brothers and sisters in the Lord. This is a call to rescue, like a lifeguard rescuing a person who is drowning. People all around us are drowning in a sea of lost hope; your church can be the instrument God uses to offer them the lifeline of hope. This purpose can be accomplished by our working production of Fruit, praying, and example with humility, sensitivity, persistence, and by going out of our way for them.

Ministry is not just the proclamation of the Gospel; it is the example of the Gospel!

This is what it means to be in Christ; He is lived out in the lives of believers as they show real compassion for individuals. If we are not doing this, we are not doing ministry. We are to not only care in word, but also in deeds; even if we have to confront someone, we are always to do it in love and within the parameters of the Fruit of the Spirit. Thus, when we see someone start to stray, we are to come along side him/her in love and help him/her back to His path. We are to show His love and our genuine concern by being willing and able to help out beyond our comfort zone and cultural considerations. Do not wait; we are called to care and to care now!

Filed under: Building a Fruitful Church, Leadership Issues | Tagged: accountable, Christian life, Christian Virtues, Church Leadership, effective, evidence, Example, faith, flow of the Spirit, Fruit of the Spirit, fruitful, grow, judgment, Ministry, Research, responsibility, rotten fruit, salvation, stretch beyond | Leave a comment »

How is the Flow of the Spirit in your Church and Leaders?

Posted on September 11, 2010 by Biblical Guy

We are also duty-bound to be diligent in taking and receiving His flow of the Spirit, not for our salvation, but to grow in life and ministry. These benefits are the reasons we are given this precious opportunity to have the Fruit of the Spirit. God’s love working in us needs to be known and then applied to be effective and real to us and to those around us. If we know them and then do nothing with them, they are as useless as having health insurance but not using it when you get sick. The same is true with trying to apply a Fruit without understanding what it is and how it is to be used. We would be inflicted with an imitation or a skewed and perhaps even rotten fruit as His marvelous fruit would go unnoticed and unused. It is like never filling out the forms and starting the benefits. Not knowing God’s precepts means we would not be able to apply them, because what we are applying is not of Him!

We have both privileges and responsibilities in our Lord. God has given us gifts, abilities, and promises that we are not to store when needed. When they are needed, they are for us to persistently use!

Such benefits given will not only profit us in our intimate relationship to Christ, but also empower us to build much heartier relationships with others, too. So, do not be shortsighted concerning your faith and the opportunities Christ has and will still bring. If we do not have a desire to pursue the will of God, we have to ask ourselves why? and what is in the way? Most, if not all of the time, it is the desire of sin that blocks us. Sometimes we may not recognize sin and rather rationalize it away. This happens especially when our view of Christ and/or our involvement in discipleship is ignored or “dumbed down.” We seek things that tickle our ears but that require no due diligence on our part. Our election is proven by our obedience and growth in Christ!

This is the willingness to live out the Christian life we claim we are living. It is the actual implementation of His precepts into our daily lives, because these precepts are better than anything we could have planned on our own.

We must have a life that matches what we say we believe; faith is the quintessential tool to make this happen both individually and collectively with one another in a church. This is where we take what we have learned and believe and put it into action in our relationships and opportunities. The practice of the Fruit of the Spirit means that our faith and our deeds do not operate independently of each other. To make this happen further, we must have a mind that is focused, to the best of our ability, on God’s precepts and character. Instead of filling our mind with needless junk, let us fill it up with things that will help us grow in our faith. Instead of a romance novel or a cheap magazine, pick up a good book, a classic, a book to help you grow; read the ultimate Book, His Word, the Bible. If you are willing to grow closer to God, then fill your mind with things and ideas that are pleasing to Him (Psalm 34:4-6; Rom. 12:1-3; 1 Cor. 2:16; James 2:18; 1 Peter 2:1-2).

Filed under: Leadership Issues | Tagged: accountable, Christian Virtues, Church Leadership, effective, Example, faith, flow of the Spirit, Fruit of the Spirit, fruitful, judgment, Ministry, Research, responsibility, rotten fruit, salvation | Leave a comment »

How Fruitful is your Church and Leaders?

Posted on September 11, 2010 by Biblical Guy

A lack of Fruit is what Christ was so concerned about with the leaders of His day (just read Matthew 23) and why He spoke so much about this and that the coming judgment for our actions and responsibility. We will be held accountable as followers and especially as leaders; thus, we have to know what we are called to do. It starts with knowing Christ and then learning how He wants us to operate. Saved? Yes!

To say this another way, as the Book of James asks us, what good is our faith if we misuse it or do nothing with it?

Galatians, chapter five, gives us a key template to the Christian life and how to do ministry. And guess what; the churches that are Fruitful—as in the out flowing of the Fruit of the Spirit—are the ones that grow more, not only in numbers, but in faith and things that matter to our Lord! Just look how we will be judged in the eternity to come; our reward will not depend on how well and how often we exercised our gifts, but how well we produced the crop of effectual Fruit. Yes, the gifts and jobs of ministry are important; but the Fruit is the essential essence of our call. This is what is fundamental and indispensable for a capable leader and for an effective church!

We are Called to Emulate Christian Virtues!

The sad fact is that the average Christian does not make the Fruit of the Spirit a priority in his/her life; this should cause us intense concern. And, even worse off are our leaders! This is why I believe we have so many thorn-bush churches and few fruit-stand churches. I am not saying those who do not practice the Fruit are not saved, because it is not for me or anyone to judge salvation; nevertheless, we should be deeply disturbed by this, for we are known by our Fruit! And, if there is no effective Fruit displayed from a person who claims Christ as Lord, then that person is detached from the nutrients of the Vine (John 15)! If your church is not displaying love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, the question becomes, “is Christ there?” The evidence says “no,” or at the very least “knocking at the door trying to get in!”

Filed under: Leadership Issues | Tagged: accountable, Christian Virtues, Church Leadership, evidence, Example, faith, Fruit of the Spirit, fruitful, judgment, Ministry, Research, responsibility | Leave a comment »

The essential way to grow a church is to be faithful with our Fruit!

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Biblical Guy

Remember: Christ did not give up on us when things went from bad to worse with our sin. His grace, forgiveness, and perseverance came to us anyway!

A Fruitless Church is a Big Problem!

One of the main problems I have seen in the churches I have served and consulted for or have researched is the lack of Fruit from its leaders and members. We have to see this as a travesty before our Holy God. It can come from the over-focus on the personality of a leader who is prideful or a preoccupation with a trend, giving no regard to the percepts of the Word, or the basic lack of kindness when you visit such a church. Some churches are good at one or two of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit to the exclusion of the rest of the Fruits. Maybe you will see big smiles from the pastor who is a good teacher, but sometimes impatient and cold—perhaps even smug. This can be from focusing on the Gifts of the Spirit while ignoring His call and Fruit of the Spirit. We have church leaders and pastors concerned about being deliberate and intentional, thinking that “my church is exclusively my ministry; this is all about me.” They are all about building a legacy to themselves and how they want to build their church to and for themselves, something which they rationalize away using statistics, pop psychology, and business trends while ignoring the Word.

How many people, in an average, good church, practice the Fruit of the Spirit in that church? Well, we do not know yet. The initial research is all over the map from a mere twenty percent 20% to a quantity of eighty percent (80%) of church leaders who deem themselves fruitful. In the mean time, those under their leadership show a small deviation; a measly eighteen percent (18%) to an over seventy percent (70%) see their leaders as bearers of fruit. How many practice it at home? How many practice it at work? This is the research we are seeking. When we know what we are doing with our faith and fruit and see what Christ calls us to do, perhaps we can improve our church’s workplaces and our homes!

It seems, from our initial research (our partner the Schaeffer Institute) and experiences, that most Christians respond to their faith with a rear end firmly planted in a pew that goes nowhere near fruitful service or glory to Christ. They hold on to a will that does not allow conviction or change to their routine or life. Thus, church is just a club for comfort and not a “huddle” to strategize and put forward how to play the game of Christian life after receiving our orders from the Coach. We need to know that Christ calls us to change our minds like we change the oil in the car. Look what Romans twelve tells us to do: “devote themselves to him; and avoiding conformity to the world.” In other words, we are to be changed, fruitful people so we can be change agents to others. Not to be infected by the world, but to help it along toward His purpose. We cannot do that when we are poured out to our will and desires only and not to our Lord. Oh, that we can be: “…conformed to his holy will”… “to think humbly”… “to exercise faithfully”… to mutual love, diligence, patience, hope, prayer, hospitality, compassion, and condescension …. “and becoming conduct towards all men”! Our devotion to Christ must be rooted in the mind and then let the Fruit translate it to the feet and the rest of our bodies in between—the body of us as human beings and a body of believers in relation to all those around us, which is our duty (Rom. 12:9-13).

Filed under: Church Growth Ideas | Tagged: atmosphere, Christianity, Church Development, Church Growth, Church Leadership, Church Leadership Development, Church Research, Example, faith, faithfulness, Fruit of the Spirit, fruitful, gentleness, Goodness, Gospel, joy, kindness, Leadership Development, love, mistreated, patience, peace, Research, self-control, unkindness | Leave a comment »

The Essential Role of Fruit in the Church

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Biblical Guy

Does your church have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control pouring from its leaders and most of its people, on your campus and into the streets where its people are? If not, something is terribly wrong!

Christianity is not just the proclamation of the Gospel; it is also the example of the Gospel!

This begs for a question: why do so many Christians see their faith as “on hold” until when it may be needed, and/or are doing nothing or just what they can get away with?

Is the Fruit of the Spirit in you and in your Church?

How many of us have ever ventured into a church that was filled with unkindness, where we were ignored or even mistreated and where the church seemed more like a thorn bush than a fruitful vine…a church filled with a bad atmosphere from the bad spiritual breaths of its people making smog instead of the sweet fragrance of God’s presence and love?

As a pastor, I have a tough battle to make sure my flock behaves so that Christ would be pleased. And of course, I need to set the tone. I can try my best to set an example so I am not a thorn bush, and I can teach; but I cannot make them behave! I can model, teach, disciple, urge, and pray. But, real, authentic Christian love comes solely from a real, authentic Christian formation. This is caused from the Fruit of the Spirit growing in each of us. If someone is not growing in the Lord, he/she is not willing or able to treat others with love and respect, nor is he/she able to model and do and be as Christ exemplified and taught. Care, compassion, and a real affection for others will be moot, love will be stifled, and kindness absent; and no matter how good the campus, teaching, or mission are, all that will be noticed is an annoying noise. The church will be an irritating and frustrating club of stubborn prideful people, devoid of harmony and brotherly love—devoid of Christ! Do we really want that? If not, what are you willing to do about it?

No one wants to come to a club where the people are angry, bitter, immoral, impure, corrupt, into idolatry and witchcraft, and full of hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness…and so forth!

These are the key words Paul talked about in Romans, chapter one. It is the same with a local church; who wants strife when care and friendship are called for and needed? People will come to a place where there is love and joy, where they are treated with kindness, cared for, allowed to work on themselves while being shown patience and the composure of Christ from the leaders. We need to know that we display Christ by our attitudes and actions. If we do not do this right from what Jesus modeled and taught, we will get our churches all skewed upside down and wrong. We will be the church of the thorn-bush, a fruit-stand devoid of fruit, a place of dysfunction instead of a church of Jesus Christ and His transforming power!

The Consequences of not Knowing the Bible

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Biblical Guy

The Church, as well as the airways, is becoming more and more filled with bad, false teaching from faulty models of biblical interpretation! At the same time, more and more Christians are not delving into the Bible for their spiritual nourishment, rather swapping it for “feel good” books that do not properly instruct and/or turning on the TV for the false teacher crowd—or else doing nothing at all for their spiritual growth. Bible studies, Bible based small groups where God’s Word is sought, delved into, discussed and used as challenge and talking points for a life that is transformed are shrinking and/or missing from most lives of Christians and absent from most church programs and happenings. Endeavors that remain are being attended less and are lacking value and promotion. Additionally, we have the problem of busyness; church leaders—even pastors—are too busy to bother with Bible reading, thus leading from pride and presumption. The people in the pew are so overwhelmed in life, work, family life, and even at church that the Bible, which could solve their problems by showing them their call and God’s precepts, is the last place examined. In many American churches, we have lost our instruction book to the detriment of the Christian community’s spiritual formation, as well as the ability to know and model Christ to the community and world at large, leaving the people in the pew spiritually bankrupt and the neighborhoods with bad models of Christ and thus unreached.

When we do not garner our spiritual nourishment from God’s Word, the Bible, and instead trade it for our whims and mind-sets, we cheat ourselves and weaken our churches, holding back Christ’s work in us and our church’s life; we neuter God’s potential work to those around us too.

Thus, we swap what is good, legal tender for that which is counterfeit and thus leave nothing in our spiritual wallets but confederate notes that are worthless and thus of no spiritual or fruitful value to spend for life and ministry. To counteract these evils and stop Bible illiteracy, we must feed from God’s glorious and wondrous buffet of precepts for our faith and knowledge.

This is actually easy; just take the time to read it through. It just takes minutes a day, less than half of a half-hour TV sitcom, to know our Lord and grow in Him for an effectual, transforming life and to dig out what He plainly and abundantly has for us so we have His spiritual spending power. Our reading of the Bible is not meant to merely learn its trivia; rather, we are to be rehabbed in Christ, be changed, renewed, and transformed. We must take this remarkable currency of His remarkable and astounding precepts and spend it for our spiritual improvement and then for kingdom building. But, what gets in the way of our good buffet and spiritual currency? Simply ignoring God by ignoring or misusing His Word.

What does Bible illiteracy give us? A failed church and a meaningless life!

As our churches give what they think are eloquent and edifying discourses, they are, in fact, delivering empty words and the image of a divine bell hop, not the Holy LORD whom we worship, lean on, and learn from and with whom we discourse. So, shallowness and pretentiousness have taken our churches hostage, leaving our pews filled with ignorant, hurt, disconnected children of God who do not know His love or His ways and who make pathetic faith decisions and bad life choices, creating more dysfunction and stress in their lives and homes, and a church that is inept, dysfunctional, and impotent, with an incapacity to know and glorify the very Lord we are to be all about.

Filed under: Leadership Issues | Tagged: anti-intellectualism, arrogant, Bible, Bible Illiteracy, Bible teacher, Biblical Illiteracy, biblical interpretation, Christian growth, churches, discipline, effectual teaching, false teaching, God’s Word, Illiteracy, pew sitters, problems, scholarly, seeker, sermonettes, shallow, transformed | Leave a comment »

How BIG of a Problem is Bible Illiteracy in the Church?

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Biblical Guy

These words may be strong, but they are true: From our research and experiences, we have discovered big problems in our churches, the sheepfold of God’s chosen and precious creation. The sheep are skinny and dumb! And, many of the shepherds tend to be merely puffed-up, directionless idiots leading their flock away from the prime pasturelands of our Lord rather to feed on the garbage plies of the world and in turn crafting obtuse sheep with bad nourishment and a lack of proper care. They are ignoring our great Shepherd and instead relying on the way of the wolf and not on the way of our Lord (Heb. 3:12-13.; 4:1-2; 5:11-6:3; James 1:22-25)!

We are seeking anti-intellectualism at one end of our church spectrum and shallow seeker-ness at the other. We are becoming overly scholarly to the determent of any impact from God’s Word, totally ignoring His precepts and replacing them with ours.

Both spectrums give mere “sermonettes” that have no substance or effectual teaching. They give no kind of challenge or discipline that is necessary for authentic Christian growth, thus creating small-minded pew sitters who can’t even find their way around the Bible or even know the difference between John the Baptist and John the Disciple. While other churches may say they are Bible and conservative orientated, they too have moved away from the Bible with a fixation on business and consumer models for ministry, seeking a consumer approach to church, relying on strategies for growth instead of the pursuit of love, trust, and obedience to our Lord. Or, they are, as James tells us, merely reading the Word, not doing as it says (James 1:22).

We are seeking anti-intellectualism at one end of our church spectrum and shallow seeker-ness at the other. We are becoming overly scholarly to the determent of any impact from God’s Word, totally ignoring His precepts and replacing them with ours. Both spectrums give mere “sermonettes” that have no substance or effectual teaching. They give no kind of challenge or discipline that is necessary for authentic Christian growth, thus creating small-minded pew sitters who can’t even find their way around the Bible or even know the difference between John the Baptist and John the Disciple. While other churches may say they are Bible and conservative orientated, they too have moved away from the Bible with a fixation on business and consumer models for ministry, seeking a consumer approach to church, relying on strategies for growth instead of the pursuit of love, trust, and obedience to our Lord. Or, they are, as James tells us, merely reading the Word, not doing as it says (James 1:22).

What does Bible illiteracy give us? A failed church and a meaningless life! It creates shallow Christians and pretentious, incompetent leaders. This is not about knowing Bible trivia, rather applying God precepts to our lives and church!

The result? Shallow people and a faithless church, moving away from the Bible and embracing anything but Him and His Word. I am not talking about liberalism, although this is a problem too. Rather, I allude to conservative and Reformed churches moving away from the centrality of Scripture and the disciplines to learn and grow, substituting cheap stories without substance, shallow messages without challenge, and pride replacing love and fruit to be the icing on the cake of pretentiousness.

The Problem of Eisegesis

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Biblical Guy

One of the great tragedies of the church today is “bad teaching,” not just false teaching form the TV preacher crowd, but sloppy teaching and eisegesis from the Conservative and Evangelical even Reformed pulpits. That fewer and fewer pastors are using and reading the Bible. Fewer and fewer Christians are living the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ than ever before. As Christians living in America today, we tend to be more concerned with who is coming to our church—and how many are coming—and less concerned with making disciples, which we are called first and foremost to do.

The Problem of Eisegesis

http://www.churchleadership.org/apps/articles/default.asp?articleid=67933&columnid=4624

I believe that the lack of Bible study and Bible knowledge is one of the root causes of the problems that most Christians face, because without this knowledge, we are unable to make healthy and wise decisions. It is also one of the root problems that our churches face. Our churches are riddled with conflict and strife thereby pushing people away when we are called to be a light in darkness, salt to a flavorless world, and a haven of rest. Yet, we choose to ignore our call and rather place our focus upon our selfish needs and quests, with “sermonettes for Christianettes” when it needs to be upon the foot of the cross, who Christ is, and what He did for us as revealed in His Word.

Filed under: Leadership Issues | Tagged: bad teaching, Bible knowledge, conflict, Eisegesis, false teaching, Problem | Leave a comment »

Goals are very important to setting up objectives!

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Biblical Guy

It’s that time of the church year were staff are struggling to come up with and mange programs and budgets…here are some time test tips that work!

Goals are also are crucial fortargeting opportunities and action plans, and strategizing on going from one point to another in personal life as well as ministry. Goals are tools to assist growth and to better our call to Christ and our service to one another. However, goals are not the focus, nor are they the ministry. Too many churches put all of the “eggs in the one basket” of goals, ignoring everything else in ministry care and love. Concentrating on goals as the principle endeavor causes them to become an idol of worship, not the tool they should be. Guard against allowing goals to cause myopia so that everything and everyone else is ignored! At the same time, make sure the plans are not so loose that there is no direction or purpose. Either situation is counterproductive!

These are basic goal setting exercises, which can be used in all phases and aspects of the church, from the mission statements of the Pastor and elders, to those of the nursery workers.

Ask questions and listen carefully. Will Rogers once said, “The greatest compliment you can pay a person is to ask them a question and then listen to their response.” The key is to be a good listener and build relationships, and, after listening, to make sure something will be done about it. Do not just listen and walk away. If there is a problem, find a solution!

List all the goals that come to mind, and then start to prioritize those goals.

Plan for a year!

1.Use your annual church calendar for your planning cycle.

2.The leadership of the church needs to set aside time to plan the entire year, listing all the major activities. This will show the big picture. Provide a good daily management tool for the church, such as a controlling calendar that creates clear church communication of events, resources, programs, and facilities.

3.Involve as many as possible in the planning! Conduct surveys, have a church meeting, have each committee submit its input, randomly ask questions by calling and visiting members. Do not ignore anyone–have an “open door policy.”

4.The typical church is made up of factions with opposing philosophies, loyalties, turf conflicts, differing perspectives, and agendas. Identify and listen to the key “opinionated people” in your church in each faction. The leadership of the church is not always in charge or on the board! Know whom the real movers and leaders in your church are by observing that they have followers and others who listen to them. Leaders function as either movers or blockers. Sometimes members do not have the time to serve officially, or they have the “gift” of dissention and strife. Alternatively, they may be too shy or humble to be in leadership. Whatever the reason, be sensitive and listen, build relationships and bridges! You goal is to get them on board in a Godly direction, to let them see the big picture, and to get their input and then strategize on how to work tighter, together.

5.Make sure you find and listen to the people who have left the church because they usually have key information. Do not just go to them just for information, but try to build a bridge and solve the issues to bring them back! If you wait more than three months after a person or family leaves, it may be too late to bring them back but not too late to listen to them!

…more tips here:

http://www.churchleadership.org/articles_view.asp?articleid=41898&columnid=4540

Filed under: Church Growth Ideas | Leave a comment »

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