Are you and your church known for your negatives or positives?

Posted on December 29, 2010 by Biblical Guy

 

If so, what will you accomplish, or what will be your focus? 

A true Christian leader who is called by God will always point others to Christ and His fold, not to themselves, because, it is God’s power that leads¾not the ways or trends of the world. We will have the desire to learn, develop, and implement the skills of good leadership and gladly take the risk in doing so. The essential framework and prime purposes in building a healthy church are to glorify Christ, to worship and enjoy Him, and not to please our comforts or ideas. We are to shine before Him by knowing Him, by holding His truth, and by growing in Him so we can make Him known in a dark world! 

Jesus gathers us together as a church to be with one another for mutual support and protection. How can you be more careful not to follow bad shepherds and those who would hurt you? 

The Church is the body of believers whose duty it is to shine the Light of our Lord as a witness for Him. His character is the Light we follow and proclaim. Christ is the Priest, Head, Lord, and Prime Shepherd of the Church. He is the object of and reason for our gathering and functioning. It is all about Him, not about us as leaders; we merely point to Him! This is how God’s Glory descended into the Tabernacle of old and today into our churches. Our purpose now is to point to His glory, as the Church is the light of the world. Christ is the pattern we follow and emulate and the future for our lives. Proclaiming the Church as a lamp stand is saying the Church is significant as the true place of reverence to God, and Christianity is the true practice of Judaism (Gen. 1:3; Ex. 25:31-40; 1 Kings 7:49; Zech. 4:2; Matt. 5:14-16; 18:20; 28:20; John 1:4-5; 8:12; 14:18; Acts 26:13; Eph. 1:10; 5:8-13; Phil. 2:15; 1 John 1:4-5; Rev. 1:9-20; 2:9; 3:9). 

What does it mean to you to shine before God? How does holding His truth help you shine and make Him known in a dark world? How is your light shining before others?  

Here are some more questions to seek in prayer: As a leader, how do you connect, inspire and equip? How would others characterize you as such? What do you need to learn and overcome to be better for our Lord’s glory? Keep in mind that we all need renovation and renewal; I know I do!  

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Does Jesus control your church?

Posted on December 23, 2010 by Biblical Guy

Or, do you or others think you do? 

What characterizes leadership in the church? It follows pretty much the same concepts as those stated above with the addition of being godly, faithful, and Fruitful for our Lord’s glory. The best example is found in John, chapter ten, where Jesus is called our “Good Shepherd” (See the Bible study on this passage at www.intothyword.organd preach on it!). The Christian Leader is a Shepherd, the person whose job it was to guard and care for the sheep—in this case, indicating God’s people. Just as the actual sheepherder who owned the sheep had a vested interest in them and would do all it took to protect them, as his family’s livelihood depended on them, God anoints such leaders for His people. In contrast, a hired person had no vested interest and as soon as danger would come, they would scram (Gen. 31:39; Num. 27:15-23; 1 Sam. 17:34-37; 2 Sam. 5:2; Psalm 78:71-72; Isa. 63:11; Jer. 3:15; Ezek. 34:1-24; John 10:1-21). 

The question is, are you a sheep under His care or one that is out on the lamb (pun intended),on the run? 

Although the comparison is not meant to be condescending, nor are we ever to be arrogant, we are called sheep because they are notoriously stupid animals and need a good, caring leader. They can’t survive on their own; they show us that without God, we are just like them. They are totally dependent upon their caregiver, the shepherd. A sheep that gets out and lives on its own will starve or eat poisonous plants because it will not go where the gppd food is. It will hurt itself by rubbing itself to death on a tree or falling down and breaking its leg or falling off a cliff. Sheep need constant care and attention and the sheep that skips out on that care will die. As shepherds, we are the ones who are to graciously shield those for whom we are responsible, even laying our life on the line against predators and rustlers, which today indicate false teachers and egomaniac leaders.(Psalm 77:20; 78:52; 100:3). 

We shepherd others through our relationship with Jesus Christ! Why do we have a responsibility to be watchful and aware of people who would fleece and hurt the people in our churches? How can we do this better? 

We have life, joyful abundance, the personal favor of God and real fellowship with Him, a purpose and meaning for our daily lives, and eternal life to come. For us to be in the safety of His sheepfold, the “pen” for our faith, we not only need to be in Christ, but we also have to obey Him. This will be the result of our intimate relationship with Him. We know Him; He knows us, and we do what He says. We follow His example as we lead others for and to Him. We are concerned with what concerns Him, and we act accordingly. Like sheep, we cannot lead ourselves or others without being forever lost and unfed. Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are the sheep (1 Sam. 17:34-36; John 2:19; 3: 1-16; 6:51).

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What is the condition of your church?

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Biblical Guy

 

God is in unity and in perfect love, He calls us to be so in community to identity with His purpose, plan, and call to have a proper concept of God and work collectively as a church as we are the body of Christ. To do so, we must increase in faith and thinking so Christ is all and working in and through us all (John 14:10; 1 Cor. 1:10-13; 12:25; Gal. 5:20; Eph. 4:12-16). 

Is there a posture of prayer? With the focus upon God and His way and concerns (Psalm 121:1; 123:1; 123:1; Matt. 26:39; Mark 7:34; John 11:41).   

The key to a successful Christian life, ministry, and church is prayer. There is no way around it (Psalm 2:7; John 12:41; Philip. 2:11). 

Is there “Complete unity?” God calls us as leaders of His Church to carry out His plans and accomplish His mission of reproducing communities of Christ-formed authentic disciples. We do this by equipping our people to know and teach Christ’s redemptive reign as missionaries sent by God, to be real and visibly live and proclaim Christ’s Kingdom to the world.  

Love and unity is the model we are to use to show God’s love to the world, because our unity has an evangelistic intention and example!  

Our infighting and often bitter divisions destroy churches and create an extreme bad witness. When we do not, our un-forgiveness becomes malice and actually grieves the Holy Spirit! We should be clear on this. A healthy Christian is one who puts aside the malicious traits of an evil, sinful nature, and embraces others in love. What comes out of love is the release of our feelings of betrayal and hurt. The Christian is called to model kindness, love, empathy, and compassion; out of these, forgiveness will flow. God wants us to get with it, to wake up, and seize the wonders and opportunities He gives us. An unforgiving attitude, and its ugly rotten fruits, will choke us off from His wonders (John 13:34-35; 15:13-17; 17:1-26; Gal. 5:22; Phil. 1:23; 1 Thess. 4:17; 1 John 2:10; 3:14-16)!  

We pass on the example of our relationship to Christ as His display. When we act in good character and live rightly as His representatives, we prove His name. When we act in the flesh, we prove the world and show our disobedience and disrespect, even profaning His Name. The call to make every effort indicates that we are to pay close attention to Christ and take the spiritual initiative and be productive with our faith and lives! Always be willing to acknowledge the difference between what is counterfeit and what is true Truth and be willing to repent and seek forgiveness when you are wrong! True Christianity and its practice never retires or becomes counter-productive (John 16:33; 21:18-19; 1 Cor. 10:31; 2 Pet. 1:12-21). 

God hates unfaithfulness, betrayal, treachery, disloyalty, deceit, disobedience, faithlessness, contempt and evil, and pride and dysfunction—which is treason against our Holy Lord. Thus, He deals more harshly with those who are apostate—who know the Truth and yet reject it or fight against Him—more than with those who are pagans and fight against Him, as He justly should (Psalm 41:9; Matt. 26:25; Luke 9:5; 10:11; John 13:18) 

We have to see the glorious position that is given to us by what Christ has done for us. Then, we will see the joy (James 1:2-4) and then the hope (Heb. 6:18-19) that we have. God’s purity gives us who are not pure an undeserved gift of grace by His love. This is given even though our sinful nature is very much alive and in play. Then, we see that our Lord God is pure and we are sin. However, we have to also see that what we may think is love is not; the will of our hearts may think that we can do as we please since we are in Christ, but that definition of love is simply wrong. This is not love; it is annoying noise, a form of relativism, perhaps even evil. Such thinking and behavior equal a life that is meaningless and produces little to no fruit or real, effectual love.

 

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What is Leadership?

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Biblical Guy

 

Leadership is not a science and cannot be thoroughly defined, because it is more of an art and is dependent on people and situations. However, there are key characteristics that we can define. It does not happen just as a gift or a talent; if a person has a natural ability, he or she still must learn what it is and means. Additionally, a person who has no natural ability can still rise to the occasion as so many in history have.

 

A basic description of leadership is the duty and call of the person who is in charge to take charge with courage and character, and to risk leading his/her people where they need to go and how they need to be led.

It is a position that seeks vision, opportunities, and needs and then motivates others to get it done through the resources, talents, and time they can contribute. It points toward a reliable and trustworthy pathfinder to the road that others can follow by example and instruction. It is the ability to initiate, empower, equip, and train, but it does not stop there, because a good leader also prepares his/her people by his/her example as he/she guides, inspires, supports, influences, and positively challenges the team for the mission or task at hand. It will be obvious that the person is meant to be there if they accomplish this by enhancing the quality of the mission’s direction by mature control of the individuals and/or the organization as a whole. It is not about personality or charisma; it is more about being a positive and motivating “coach” who loves what he/she does so that people feel cared for and inspired to step up and move forward for mutual benefit and positive goals and outcomes. 

 

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The Slippery Slope PIII

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Biblical Guy

Not being Good!

Goodness is the Fruit with which virtue and the rest of the characters combine to produce endearment. It is the character that makes people liked and even loved by others. When we as a church are not being good, such as refusing to care, being unforgiving, not operating in the Spirit and Fruit, it leads to dissention and strife. When we fight against one another, we have to see how hurtful and even pathetic it is in God’s eyes!

By the Spirit’s empowerment, we can model the character of Christ. We can be positively responsive to others; God is concerned with how we are with one another as well as how we are with Him.

We readily confess our faithfulness on Sunday, but by Monday, our confession is gone. We desire God to be a blessing machine, while we are impatient and disrespectful to what He wants us to learn. When we have confidence in God and in His plan and purpose for our lives, we can then act on faith

(Prov. 25:22; Matt. 7:12; 19:16; Luke 6:27, 35; Rom. 8:28-39; 12:17; 2 Cor. 5:20; 1 Pet. 3:11; 2 Pet. 1:2-12).

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Other Significant Growth Factors that come from these top Seven

Posted on March 6, 2010 by Biblical Guy

That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5: 19

8. Healthy churches that are growing in Christ have leaders who focus on Christ and serve Him. Their leadership style is not by will; it is by being a servant. “Servant Leadership” is modeled and practiced.

9. Healthy churches that are growing in Christ have people that are disciplined and growing in Christ. This is the reason they are loving and caring, practicing the “one another” passages. They are enamored by God’s presence in their church and life, and thus place Christ first, acting on His character and call! They are not selfish or inwardly focused, but care for others and focus on their community and world.

10. Healthy churches that are growing in Christ have a system of pastoral care. They train their staff and leaders to immediately respond when they hear of a church member in need. They hire licensed, qualified people and/or train and assign trained deacons or care workers; also, a key person is in charge.

11. Healthy churches that are growing in Christ have effective evangelism, stewardship, and discipleship. These programs come from those top seven factors! As people are transformed, they can be taught and motivated. They also tend to spend at least one-third of their resources of budget and talent in outreach and missions.

12. Healthy churches that are growing in Christ have a well thought out, biblically empowered vision and mission statement. This is clearly defined by a purpose that points to Christ, and strategies on what God has called them to do and be. In addition, the people know this and are willing to act on it. It is one thing to write it out, but another thing to act it out. The vision does not lead the church; rather, it s a motto that encapsulates the work of the Spirit and the precepts of Scripture that calls, empowers, and employs the church. A vision is a sign to show what is happening and help others see the direction of the church so they know where to go. A vision will not motivate or lead, just as placing a label for soda on a can of water does not make it a soda.

13. Healthy churches that are growing in Christ tend to organize and mobilize their people according to their Spiritual Gifts! The people are more content and motivated so serve in a team manner when they serve in their area of their giftedness. The quarrels and apathy will dry up as the energies are redirected and channeled in a godly way. People will function less in their own strength and more in the power of the Holy Spirit.

14. Healthy churches that are growing in Christ empower the people in their care. They are training, discipling, recognizing, and encouraging their people, especially those in critical roles. They do not see or use volunteers just as helpers or as people to control and manipulate, but as the essential tools and prime resources with which to glorify God, enablers of the goals of missions and needs to be reached. These churches see the pastor as the trainer for the congregation. If the senior pastor feels they do not have the gifts and abilities to equip and train others to do ministry (what the biblical principle of a “pastor” is), the church hires or build teams around them that do! If the training is not done, the church will fail! Some pastors are great teachers, but cannot do anything else. A pastor must operate in his gifted area, and encourage others who will compensate for him in the areas where he is weak or does not have the time.

15. Healthy churches that are growing in Christ are willing to and do confront sin, evil, gossip, slander, manipulators, and heresy in the church—immediately! The leadership puts down gossip and solves conflict quickly. Healthy churches move ahead in purpose and unity.

16. Healthy churches that are growing in Christ have pastors who are real, joyful, and authentic, and lead healthy, disciplined lives. Their leaders are learning and growing in community with one another, willing to go beyond their prejudices and fears and embrace Christ. They are willing to publicly repent, apologize for past mistakes, make improvements, and change. They do not have thick skin as much as loving hearts, and they give people grace and room to grow. They are not afraid to step on the toes of others, but remain loving, listening, and firmly uncompromising to the Word.

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