When to Listen to Your Wife

I had this excellent idea for a blog article . . . and I was going to write it today. I scribbled a few of the main points and it was shaping up nicely. Then I passed it by Joyce. She immediately threw it down and crushed it. Just like that.

She said, No, not a good idea. It’s too controversial, too offensive.

I said, What?! So what?! So what if it’s controversial. And why would it offend people?! Am I supposed to be afraid of offending people? Maybe some people need to be offended.

Some of the people who read your blog would be offended. It could end up hurting you.

Why would it offend them? Besides, some people would agree with me. Why should I be afraid to say something that’s offensive or controversial?

Well, you asked me what I think. You go ahead and write about that if you want, but I’m telling you it’s not a good idea.

I learned quite awhile ago that when Joyce tells me that something isn’t a good idea, it probably isn’t a good idea. No, I don’t have to listen to her counsel. I could do what I want and prove her wrong. Or, what I’ve seen more often, I could do what I want and prove her right. I remembered that I recently wrote to a few colleagues that Joyce is a primary counselor for me . . . she keeps my train from flying off the tracks. Joyce is much more careful than I am, far more empathetic with people and sometimes can see what I cannot. I seek her counsel because she is godly and wise, and I know that the Lord has provided her to me as a partner and helper.

So fine. My excellent idea is in the can . . . at least for today . . . to save for later . . . when putting my face in the fan might be really important, no matter what. But it can wait . . . until the time is right. And that’s when I might even pass it by Joyce again.

See What is Not Yet

Starting a new church—or strengthening any church—includes leaning into the obvious. I don’t mean quietly accepting the obvious. I mean Lean into it. OK, so you don’t have a building, a strong student ministry or high quality video and sound. Talk about it directly. It’s obvious to everyone. Challenge people to see something else. Challenge them to see what will be.

Church leaders absolutely must see the future and share it with passion. If they fail to compel people to see a strong future, then the church already is toast. Why? Because the church rises and falls on the quality of its leadership. A core leadership quality is getting people to see what is not yet. (Of course, after people see what you see, then you must deliver the vision to reality.)

A few objections and answers:

Objection: You don’t have a building of your own. I need a church that already has a building.

Answer: Right, we don’t have a building of our own. Maybe someday we’ll have a building and it’ll be used to honor the Lord. You can help us get there. And then you’ll look back and say, ‘I helped the church. Those were amazing days.’

Objection: You don’t have much of a ministry to students. I need a church that already has that.

Answer: You’re right. Someday we’ll have a really strong ministry for students. But we’ll help you disciple your sons and daughters. For now, you and your family get the privilege of working to plant a church that honors the Lord. And then you’ll look back and say, ‘I helped the church. Those were amazing days.’

Objection: You don’t have very good video during your services and the sound quality really isn’t great. I need a church that already has that.

Answer: Right, we don’t have very good video. And audiophiles are disappointed. But we expect to get there. And you can help us. And then you’ll look back and say, ‘I helped the church. Those were amazing days.’

Maybe you really want to say, Shut up! Quit being such a baby. Stop whining and being so selfish. Give something instead of only taking. (Nah, don’t say that.)

So, planters and pastors building a stronger church need to lead eyes away from what is not yet and help people see what will be. Church planters need spiritual pioneers, the brave souls who get it.

At the same time, there always are people who throw doubts on the work. Maybe this is good answer for them: If you can’t see what we’re trying to build, then don’t help us. But you’ll miss the blessing that comes with throwing yourself into building the Lord’s church. If you do join us, you’ll look back and say, ‘I helped the church. Those were amazing days.’

Another Adultery . . . and Devoted Pastors

I just received word of a pastor I know who’s stuck in adultery with a church staff member. It’s been going on for many months. And for all those months, there he was, looking cool and talking cool in a growing, thriving and edgy church, preaching the Scriptures week after week and casting vision for church planting and multi-site campuses . . . all the while engaging in a secret sexual affair. He’s a husband and a father and was a pastor. And he drove his life over a cliff.

Sex led to his fall, but some seductions are more subtle. For some, it’s the intoxication of money, or power, or prestige or maybe the praise of men or who knows what. Any of them can lead to a slow eroding corrosion or a sudden collapse. Doesn’t matter which way. At their center is nothing but wood, hay and straw.

This is why it’s a privilege to welcome faithful pastors into the FiveStone Churches work of church planting, church renewal and church strengthening. It’s been one year since FiveStone Churches launched as a network focused on character as the proving ground for ministry leadership. Gifting obviously is important, but it must be secondary to the qualifications described for eldership in 1 Timothy 3-4 and in Titus 1. We’re committed to Christ as the foundation of the church and to building on His foundation with precious stones—1 Corinthians 3:11-13. We look to Christ to define those stones. He defined them for us in the description of the good shepherd—John 10:1-18.

The stones are Integrity, Authenticity, Trust, Leadership, Service. We put them together this way:

Integrity proves Authenticity.

Authenticity leads to Trust.

Trust leads to Leadership.

Leaders Serve.

And that’s why I appreciate faithful pastors. They love the Lord and humbly serve the Lord’s church year after year after year.

I remember listening to Moody radio when George Sweeting was honored for his years as president of the Moody Bible Institute. One comment during the tribute sticks in my mind: George Sweeting never caused us to be ashamed. It doesn’t mean he was perfect or even very good on some days. But it rang true as an overall tenor of his life. That tribute is richer than any other success. It is possible to live that way. That’s gold, silver and precious stones.

Cast Compelling Vision

There are many reasons—some good reasons—why people won’t get involved in a church plant or, for that matter, an existing church. Any number of reasons will keep people away in the days before a public launch of a new church. Maybe the core group doesn’t have enough people with young children. Or maybe the group has too many people older than 40. Or maybe the plant doesn’t yet have a someone to lead a children’s ministry. Whatever.

In the face of many objections, we know two things for sure:

1. The Lord loves His church and wants it to flourish by making, baptizing and teaching disciples of Jesus Christ;

2. Compelling vision for a life-giving church knocks down self-centered objections.

Whatever the reason for not joining a church plant, it’s really bad if people won’t join because the church planting pastor fails to cast compelling vision. That’s inexcusable.

So, the question is: Why do we need another church around here? The planting pastor must have a compelling reason for a new church. If he has a compelling reason, then objections will fall and there will be people eager to join the work. People need to get a grip on the vision for something better than what they have. Whether they’re spending their evenings and Sundays watching TV or drinking beer or even attending church, compelling vision for the Lord’s church casts out shallow living.

There are churches everywhere. Some do good work. But some others are dead placeholders. They’re often led by the comfortable who seek the uninspired to give money to the ineffective. Jesus demands something different and something more. His church rises and falls on the quality of her leadership.

I was sitting with a senior pastor who was stuck in a dormant church filled with people who had no heart or understanding of the purpose of the church. Tears welled in his eyes as we agreed, There must be more than this.

Church leaders must lead to different and more. Whatever the pastor’s failures in casting compelling vision for the church, he finally saw the picture. He needed either to resign as pastor or cast compelling vision that shakes the church’s cage. That would stir some people to try to kick him out. Even so, in the midst of that rejection, there will be others who will want him to stay and lead them to fulfill the church’s mission.

Those who stay are the people who can renew a church or plant a new church that becomes a life-giving work. It starts with a leader who casts compelling vision for the Lord's glory. That vision fuels others for the work of ministry in the local church. And that is simply supernatural.

Give Me No Pudgy Christians, Give Me Pioneers

When it comes to church planting, I’ll always take one pioneer over 20 pudgy Christians. Pioneers are the drivers of church planting. (Yes, of course I know that the Lord powers the work, but He works through pioneers to plant churches.)

Church planters must have spiritual pioneers. If a few spiritual pioneers join the work, then the plant has a good dose of the right stuff for a healthy and strong church.

A pioneer is different from an ordinary person. A pioneer doesn’t demand commonly expected conveniences and comforts. He knows the road will be bumpy and dirty. There won’t be air conditioning or hot showers. No refrigerators and no microwave ovens. Pioneers build their own shelters and hunt their own food. They expect hardship.

Pioneers aren’t pioneers because they love hardship, but because they have vision for something better than what they left behind. They look to the reward. They endure hardship because they can see the picture of the future they’re building. They want a hand in building that future. They’re excited to do the heavy lifting.

It’s the same with spiritual pioneers.

The very best Christians are excited about church planting. They may not actually be the ones go out to plant a church, but they understand that church is not about their comfort. It’s not about cushy chairs and eye-popping videos. It’s not about giggly passion for a rock star preacher or infatuation with Broadway-quality stage production. Church is about hard-edged, dusty and bumpy disciple-making for the fame of the Lord.

There’s nothing better in this world than throwing yourself into the work of a life-giving church. That church is defined by making, baptizing and teaching disciples of Jesus Christ. Spiritual pioneers get that. And they infect others with the vision. That’s why church planters—from the get-go of their work—need to look for spiritual pioneers.

Brooks Atkinson, who was a movie critic and journalist, had a comment on what made America great: This nation was built by men who took risks—pioneers who were not afraid of the wilderness, business men who were not afraid of failure, scientists who were not afraid of the truth, thinkers who were not afraid of progress, dreamers who were not afraid of action.

In church planting, that quote might look like this: The church is built by men and women who take risks. They're pioneers. They're preachers with no fear of rejection, fanatics with no fear of failure, seekers unafraid of the truth, leaders driven by spiritual progress, visionaries brave enough to act.

What the Lord could do with a holy handful of spiritual pioneers. Acts 4:29-31. The Lord honors the proclamation of His Word. He wants pioneers to deliver it and live it.

New 5Stone Partner: Calvary Bible Church

FiveStone Churches is delighted to welcome Calvary Bible Church in Ypsilanti, Mich. as a partner church to the FiveStone network. Calvary is a vibrant congregation that is making, baptizing and teaching disciples of Jesus Christ.

Brian Jones, Calvary’s senior pastor, also will join the Elders Council governing board of FiveStone Churches.

So . . . what’s Brian about in local church ministry?

I love studying the Scriptures and helping people understand and apply them to their lives, he said.
 
And why join FiveStone Churches? It’s rooted in our four core commitments: Edify, Protect, Encourage and Support church leaders. Check out Brian’s comments:

Starting a new church can be lonely as you form your core group and are doing all kinds of ministry. It’s difficult to improve your skills in evangelism, preaching, discipleship and administration without mentors who can pass on to you what they've learned.
 
Having done all these things alone, I know the power of participating in a network of like-minded churches. Calvary’s relationship with FiveStone Churches will give us an opportunity to help plant new churches.

And, because FiveStone connects us with leaders of other established churches, we hope to learn from those who are serving the Lord skillfully and to pass on what we've learned as well. We're excited to be part of this new network for the glory of God.

Read more about Brian Jones on the Our Leadership Team page on the FiveStone Churches website: http://www.fivestonechurches.org/AboutUs/Our-Leadership-Team.aspx.
 
And check out Calvary Bible Church's website for more about the church, as well as an article about the FiveStone Churches relationship: http://calvarybible.org/category/ministries/missions/

The Uncrushable Deacon Brown

Many in the church were kicking against the elders’ leadership. Among them was a deacon—I’ll call him Deacon Brown—who was causing much grief. He spread dissention and assaulted the character of each of the elders. He said the elders were like Pharisees, accusing each of them of lording over people and refusing to hear criticism. He consistently leveled these charges, among others, during the five years he was in the church. (How he won the privilege of serving as a deacon is a mystery.)

Deacon Brown rejected the elders’ admonitions to live at peace in the church. He exasperated the senior pastor, who spent many hours absorbing his criticisms. He supervised the count of the Sunday offering and stood stiff, solemn and scowling at the rear of the worship center as the ushers gathered the offering bags.

And he had cancer. He hated his life and wanted to die, but didn’t. He lived alone with his atheist, hateful father. He despised his singleness and was bitter about a relationship with a woman that, 10 years earlier, ended badly. He was intelligent and articulate, smarter and more insightful than most in the church. There was wheat hidden somewhere in all the chaff he was throwing around. At least that’s what the senior pastor told me.

Every elders meeting included an hour-long discussion of how to handle Deacon Brown. In my exasperation, I finally said the man was sucking the energy and joy and vision out of the elders. The elders had tried patient endurance, exhortation and admonition. It was time for a strong rebuke. Deacon Brown was taking the elders away from others of the congregation who genuinely needed and wanted shepherding.

The Lord sometimes hurts a man to get his attention. This man’s been hurt several times, but he’s not getting better. The Lord can repeatedly hurt a man until he gets sick of himself. That’s when he might turn to the Lord in broken repentance. The elders need to help him understand that principle.

The senior pastor mocked the thought. In an excellent eastern European Arnold Schwarzenegger voice, he said, I will crush you until you love me. It was really funny. It also was pathetically wrong.

The Scriptures teach that people love their sin so much that they often refuse to come to the light. John 3:19 is one example, coming on the heels of the beautiful offer of John 3:16. They need to turn from love of their sin to a desperate sickness of it. How do they get there?

Isaiah 26:9-10 describes one way: My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the Lord.

But, sadly, the elders changed nothing. Deacon Brown continued his way and soon left the church. He kicked at all of us on his way out.

Take Joy in the Progress of God's People

How do you fight discouragement in leading the Lord’s church? There are several ways, of course. Among them: Get alone with the Lord; get alone with a godly, mature friend who will tell you the truth; examine yourself by asking some hard questions. How about this as well: Take joy in the progress of God’s people.

We all know the many sin problems in the church. We’re sometimes confused about the best way to handle those who deal out trouble, and trouble is consistently present in one form or another. Add to that the complexity of managing your own responses, and trouble can lead to discouragement.

Bottom line is that church leaders must be committed to courageously handle sin problems—including their own—and take joy in the progress of God’s people in the process. If you don’t determine to remember the progress of God’s people, then you’re getting ripe for a descent into debilitating discouragement. That’s a lethargy that hits when the clock’s alarm sounds in the morning, but you just don’t have the energy to get out of bed. It’s the deadness in prayer and the reluctance to open the Scriptures. It’s avoiding people who have hurt you and it’s the refusal to forgive and move on. It puts a distance between you and the Lord and it cripples your spiritual effectiveness in ministry.

The mature leader accepts the bumps and lumps of relationships as a reality of body life in the local church. And it’s not only about everybody else in the church. Each of us disappoints and falls in many ways. Even the best leaders fall . . . but they get up, learn from the fall and continue the work.

Get up. Take note not only of where a person is on the maturity and sanctification scale, but also remember where he started. Don’t focus only on his failures and sins, but also look for and commit to remember marks of his spiritual growth and maturity. Remember the person’s spiritual condition when you first laid eyes on him. Paul noted in Philippians 1:6 that the Lord was not done working when he saved us through Christ. Paul knew and remembered that salvation was only the beginning. The Lord is faithful to continue working with each of us, relentlessly and patiently shaping us to be more like Jesus.

Disciples of Christ are being transformed into the image of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18). The transformational fight against sin often is painful and sometimes brings out ugly responses, even in the local church. But, in the face of opposition, disappointment and pain, leaders are to lean into sin problems and take joy in the progress of God’s people. Remember, though, to take joy in your own progress as well.

I’m reminded of a critic who complained that a man in the church really wasn’t much of a Christian. Well, he’s in process, just like each of us. And we’re working with him. You should have seen him a year ago. Yikes. He’s grown a lot since then. That's a reason for joy.

Skip Church? Get Fined, Flogged, Executed

How about these penalties for skipping church:

• First absence – pay a fine;
• Second absence – get a flogging;
• Third absence – execution.

Really? Really. That’s one way to fill the church. Those were the rules for church attendance in the mid-1700s in colonial America, according to Twilight at Monticello: The Final Years of Thomas Jefferson. The rules were set by the Church of England, but were rarely enforced in the colonies, says writer Alan Pell Crawford. Good. Even so, church attendance was pretty standard in those days. And here I thought the church would be filled when the Lord blesses persistent prayer, passionate Bible preaching, honoring worship and lives radically committed to Him regardless of cost. But there’s a vast difference, isn’t there, between getting people in the seats because they must be there and getting people in the seats who want to be there.

Colonial America had this piece upside down and backwards. The church isn’t supposed to persecute people for skipping worship services. The unbelieving, Christ-hating culture is supposed to persecute people for attending worship services. That should be obvious, but somehow church leaders missed it. I’m guessing that dissenters to the common view in those days were not received well.

The common picture of the good-old-days of colonial Christian gentility, morality and quiet godliness gets an extreme makeover when reading about how things really were back then. How about these: taverns were commonly built before churches, and leading men in the community entertained themselves with binge drinking parties marked by gambling for large stakes with cards or dice or billiards. (If the leading men were doing that, what was everybody else doing?) And, in 1748, the Virginia legislature decided it was unlawful to cut out a person’s tongue, pluck out an eye, or bite a nose or lip. And, oh yes, no kicking or stomping. Thank you for the legislative guidance.

In the midst of today's freedom to attend or skip worship services, there seem to be a lot of weeds in the church. Weeds are people who attend church for all kinds of curious reasons, but not out of love for Christ. The church may require a solid season of persecution to clear out the weeds, to separate those devoted to Christ from those who attend church for any number of other reasons. Bring it on. That’s preferable to the colonial American culture of Christianity that forced weeds into the church. Or in today's American church—leaning on marketing methodologies, psychologies, slick personalities or the traditions of men—luring people into the church for the wrong reasons. They lead to comfortable gatherings overrun by a lot of weeds.

But take courage. Even if cleansing persecution is long-delayed, Christ will sort it out. Matthew 13:24-30. We just need to do our job, as did the apostle Paul. Philippians 1:15-18.

My Money, My Church

Yes, Virginia, money really is a source of all kinds of evil. 1 Timothy 6:7-10. It’s true in the world’s ways and, sadly, it can be true in the local church.

Consider the leader who personally funded a chunk of a church’s expansion project . . . and then assumed that the contribution exempted him from the scrutiny that goes along with the role of elder.

Or the church leader who personally gave the church planting pastor a giant bucket of money so the pastor could buy a house in the community. Then, one year later, he led the key leaders to give a large salary increase to the pastor. But, within three months of that salary increase, he engineered the pastor’s humiliating removal.

I always figured that a senior pastor who meets the qualifications of an elder and who can lead and preach should be allowed to keep his job. But the elder chairman said the pastor had personality problems. Like what? He’s tough to get along with and some people don’t like him.

OK, let’s see, he’s not having an affair, he didn’t steal money from the church and he didn’t punch anybody. He planted the church, he’s a good preacher and the church’s numbers are growing. And you want to fire him because he’s hard to get along with and some people don’t like him? Then let’s get him some help to fix this. But you don’t fire him.

But he engineered the pastor’s removal anyway and was oh-so-pleased that the church kept growing despite the removal. That’s proof, some say, that the decision was righteous. I’m not convinced. The Lord Jesus loves his church so much that He tolerates all kinds of problems so the church carries on. Psalm 7:11. Only the Lord clearly sees whether the firing and the process were composed of gold, silver and precious stones or wood, hay and straw. But, of course, eventually He will make it clear to all. 1 Corinthians 3:12-13.

Then there’s the church that’s shark-like hungry for cash. Large contributors can be welcomed to the decision-making table, but are expected to keep the money flowing in order to be heard. I spoke the other day with an elder-qualified, financially wealthy man who sadly told me of that pain. When discussing issues in the church, he received the subtle yet unmistakable sense that he needed to keep up the giving pace in order to be heard. I consistently got the message: ‘So, when is your next big contribution coming in?’ He’s now off the elder board and out of that church.

It’s painful. It’s disappointing. It’s not what the Lord wants for leadership in His church. And yet, there it is. So what do you do?

You do what the fired pastor did and you do what the wealthy elder did. You move on, you learn what’s needed and you leave the consequences to the Lord. The pastor got up, got some biblical counsel and is back in pastoral ministry in a local church. Proverbs 24:16. The wealthy elder moved on to another church where his wealth is not a litmus test for his usefulness as an elder. James 2:1.

Of course, what matters at the end of it all is recognition from the One who knows. Well done, good and faithful servant. Matthew 25:21.

A Cheerful Leader who Gave Small

There we were, four elders of a local church trying to figure out whether George should become an elder. George, sitting with his wife and us, discussed his life and ministry. He turned the discussion to his handling of money and said: We’re not under the Old Testament law, so there’s no requirement for me to give 10 percent of my income to the church. I’m free to give what I want. God loves a cheerful giver. And I do that.

Right. 2 Corinthians 9:7. So tell us, what percentage of your income do you give to the church?

I give maybe 2 or 3 percent.

We’re free of the law, so why you don’t give way more than 10 percent? Why not 28 percent or 85 percent or whatever? You’re right when you said we’re free of the Old Testament 10 percent law. We can give what we want. So why not give more? Why give so much less than 10 percent?

Well, I’m free to give what I want. God loves a cheerful giver and I’m glad to give what I give.

Yes, that's right. We’re free to give whatever we want and we need to be glad to give. But George, it seems that a lot of people who give very little financial support to the church use their freedom in Christ as the reason. You’re free to give less, but you’re also free to give more. Why is it that your freedom in Christ leads you to give so much less than 10 percent? Shouldn't your joy in your freedom lead you to give more than that?

I don’t know. No one’s ever talked to me like this before. I need to think about it.

George thought about it and, to his credit, started giving more generously to the church. After strenuous discussion among the existing elders, George was affirmed. But George was not an effective elder and, within two years, blew out of the church.

Here’s the leadership principle: An elder must give generously to the church. You cannot have an elder who does not give generously.

George wasn’t giving small because he was enduring a tough patch in life. He was giving small as a matter of personal principle. He simply liked giving small and used freedom from the law as his defense. A probe of his giving pattern revealed his spiritual problem.

Giving, especially for elders in the church, is to be generous, sacrificial and willing. If a man’s not willing, then he shouldn’t give. But if a man won’t give generously, sacrificially and willingly, then he should not seek the office of elder. After all, a man who wants the office must grasp the importance of sharing the burdens of the congregation and serving as an example to the congregation; 1 Peter 5:3.

Is God a Jerk . . . or What?

Published in The Blackbird Press, a discussion of God's goodness in the midst of pain, suffering and loss:

http://blackbirdpress.org/philosophy-2/is-god-a-jerk-or-what

This Passion's for You

A church leader told me this week that it’s really good for pastors to gin up their Passion, Mission and Vision. But, guess what, it’s not just for pastors. Anyone leading in the local church must have the three. If any one of the three is missing, then the leader better look for something else to do in the church. All leaders--vocational and non-vocational--must be fired up about their individual ministries. They must have internal Passion, a clear Mission and an intended Vision. The three are contagious to others and are core to dynamic ministry throughout the local church.

As they inspire others, pastors and other leaders should take care they don't mimic the guy in this pic: A Leader too Passionate. They need to lead the congregation to be passionate, mission-oriented visionaries for their individual ministry assignments . . . just like Jesus, or like the apostle Paul.

So . . . an effective leader knows what drives him (Passion), knows what to do (Mission) and sees the picture of the future (Vision). The Scriptures have many examples of the principle of Passion, Mission and Vision. Check out the example first set by Jesus, followed by the example set by the apostle Paul.

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Passion of Jesus
• Jesus’ passion was for His Father; it was rooted and based in the purposes of His Father. Jesus’ passion for His Father drove Him to do whatever the Father wanted. Matthew 26:39 and Matthew 26:42 and John 8:28-29.
• Jesus’ passion was in direct opposition to the passion of the leaders who opposed Him. John 12:43.
• Jesus had no passion for the approval of people. He had supernatural  love for people but, unlike his opponents, He was not driven by a desire to win their approval. John 2:23-25; John 5:41-44.

Mission of Jesus
• Jesus was called to make the Father known. John 17:3-4; John 17:25-26.
• Jesus was called to seek the lost, endure the cross and rise from the dead. Luke 19:10; Matthew 16:21; Mark 10:32-34; Hebrews 12:2.

Vision of Jesus
• Jesus envisioned the church (the called-out ones). Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 5:25; Ephesians 5:29.
• Jesus envisioned the relationship the called-out ones should have with one another. John 13:15 ; John 13:34; John 15:12.

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Passion of Paul
• Paul had an intense desire to know God deeply. Philippians 3.
• Paul had an intense desire for others to come to salvation through Jesus Christ and to live for Him. Romans 9:2-3; Colossians 1:3-14.

Mission of Paul
• Paul relentlessly worked to fulfill the Great Commission by planting life-giving churches. Matthew 28:19-20; The Book of Acts.

Vision of Paul
• Paul envisioned disciples of Christ who would honor the Lord, bear fruit, and grow in their relationship to Him. 1 Corinthians 1:12-13; Colossians 1:9-12.

Get It: Passion, Mission, Vision

Some leaders flounder around in their churches, and wonder why their ministries lack dynamic effect in the lives of their people. Many of these leaders love the Lord and  want to serve Him. But there’s something missing. Maybe it’s Passion, Mission and Vision.

See if the following squares with the Scriptures: Effective leadership in the local church requires more than godliness and gifting. An effective leader sees himself accurately, knows what to do and why, and gives himself to getting it done.

Why and for what? If the leader is walking well with the Lord, the leader’s Passion, Mission and Vision is about the Lord. It’s about the fame of Jesus and the glory of the Lord. After all, what does the leader have that he has not received? (1 Corinthians 4:7) If the leader is proud about his gifting and accomplishments, then he may as well boast about the color of his hair or the fine function of his kidneys.

Bottom line is that the effective leader knows what drives him (Passion); knows what he’s called to do (Mission); and sees a picture of the fulfilled future (Vision).

Passion
It’s what excites, sparks interest, raises energy and leads to intense desire to pursue. It is zeal and enthusiastic devotion.

Psalm 119:139 -- My zeal has consumed me . . .

Psalm 69:9 -- . . . zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.

Isaiah 26:11 -- Oh Lord, your hand is lifted up and yet they do not see it. They see Your zeal for the people and are put to shame . . .

John 2:17 -- His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for Your house will consume me.’

Romans 10:2 -- . . . they have a zeal for God, but not according with knowledge.

Mission
It’s what I am to do; it’s a specific project and work; it’s the battles—internal and external—that must be fought and won in order for the mission to be accomplished.

Examples:
• Abraham’s mission: leave the city of Ur and settle elsewhere
• Pharaoh’s mission: keep the Hebrew people in bondage
• Moses’ mission: free the Hebrew people    
• Nehemiah’s mission: rebuild the walls of Jerusalem   
• Esther’s mission: save the Jewish people from extermination

Vision
It’s a picture of a fulfilled future; it’s what something looks like when it’s up and running and completed with excellence. When the mission is achieved, here’s what it looks like. Accomplishing the mission leads to fulfillment of the vision.

Examples:
• Abraham’s vision:  a son and a great nation
• Pharaoh’s vision: more pyramids
• Moses’ vision: God-honoring and free Hebrew people
• Nehemiah’s vision: Jews in Jerusalem who bring honor—not reproach—to God’s name.
• Esther’s vision: God-honoring and free Jewish people

One Way to Shrink the Church

One church drifts as numbers slip month after month. Another sees visitors who never return. (They’re One and Done People.) Another church has zero traction, so it sits in comfort in the same place . . . and gets visits from Christians who flutter from one church to another as they cycle through the community. The churches have no energy . . . no converts . . . no baptisms. Drift, drip, decline.

Besides the obvious nasty sin problems that infect leaders and others in the church, there’s one problem that’s easily seen and lays directly at the feet of the preaching pastor and the church’s other key leaders. It’s failure to cast Compelling Vision.

The church’s vision—the picture of the preferred future—is easy. Jesus gave it to us. The church is to make, baptize and teach disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). I sat with two senior pastors this week who have read the latest how-to books about vision and techniques to grow the church. Yet one church is stagnant and the other is in a spiral of decline.

Maybe there’s some value in the vision books, but vision isn’t a mystery. The trouble is that the vision some pastors are selling isn’t very compelling. Their vision doesn’t move people to dump their little distractions to pick up devotion to Jesus Christ and his church. So, when the guy who sleeps late on Sunday morning and hollows out a seat in front of his TV set asks, Why should I show up at your church?, no one has a compelling answer. Even when that guy does show up on Easter or Christmas, there's no compelling reason for him to come back on any ordinary Sunday.

The preacher and the church’s leaders need a fire in the gut that sparks intensity in the church. Christ is better than football, movies, bars, sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll. He’s better than a cool job, the fancy house, the hot car and the perfect lawn. He’s better than religion . . . and all that’s connected to it. Problem is, some preachers and church leaders have no fire, no unction. Maybe they're so beaten down that they've lost their first love. They’ve become spiritually flabby, leading to a comatose drifting and the eventual death of the local church.

What drew people to John the Baptist’s ministry? Hear from A.B. Bruce from the book The Training of the Twelve: If the followers of John were at all like himself, they were men who hungered and thirsted after real righteousness, being sick of the righteousness then in vogue. They said Amen in their hearts to the preacher’s withering exposure of the hollowness of current religious profession and the worthlessness of fashionable good works, and sighed for a sanctity other than that of pharisaic superstition and ostentation.

It’s that same intensity that drove Paul. Everything is minuscule in comparison to the value of knowing Christ . . . Philippians 4:8.

Certainly John and Paul were unafraid to cast a withering exposure of the worthless distractions in life and in the religiosity of their culture. Most thinking people long for something more. They sigh in their spirits and say, There must be more than this. And there is. It’s Christ. And the ones who get that picture embrace the amazing privilege of worshipping and serving the great Savior in His church (Colossians 3:23-24).

It starts with an enduring fire in a few. They’re unafraid to cast a Compelling Vision of something more in this life. That’s a key responsibility of the preacher and all of the church’s teachers and leaders.

Grid Q5: Relational Ability

Staff ministry leaders need to rightly handle all kinds of people, even the dull, boring, angry and annoying. They also must be effective in various working environments—solo, one-on-one and in various types and sizes of groups. Everyone has favored and best-suited working environments, but it’s important to get an advance sense of a candidate’s abilities and preferences before he ends up in a key staff leadership position. Why? To see if he’ll mesh in the church’s culture and if he’ll grate against the requirements of the ministry leadership position. Also, of course, to discern a sin problem that will undermine his ministry and cause him to outright fail or to damage the church. Relational ability is deeply connected to integrity, spiritual maturity and godliness.

Here are a few items that help get at the root of the issue:

• Describe a circumstance when you’ve successfully solved complex people problems.
• Are you an empathetic person, i.e. Can you authentically weep with those who weep and can you rejoice with those who rejoice? (Romans 12:15)
• Are you partial—or are you tempted to be partial—to those who are financially wealthy, powerful, influential, prominent or physically attractive? (Proverbs 24:23-26; Acts 10:34; James 2)
• And the flipside of partiality, but equally harmful: Do you disdain—or are you tempted to disdain—those who are financially wealthy, powerful, influential, prominent or physically attractive?

Oftentimes it’s not possible to know what a man will do until a tough reality stands before him. Is the church in a financial crunch? Is there something to be gained by laughing at a coarse joke told by a powerful person in the church? Then playing in partiality for the wealthy and the powerful is an ugly temptation. Has a wealthy or powerful person from the past hurt you or caused immense harm in the church? Then there may be an overwhelming temptation to disdain warm relationships with people who enjoy wealth, power, influence or prominence. Only one who is unusually principled and strong can discern the motives of his own heart, clearly foresee the fruit of his own actions and turn away from the temptation.

But until someone demonstrates deep integrity that proves authenticity, you never know what that person will do in extreme difficulty. For the book, Auschwitz, author Laurence Rees interviewed many former Nazis and those who survived the death camp in Poland during World War II. Rees repeatedly noted that extraordinary circumstances and their accompanying pressures squeeze out the reality that lurks in a person’s heart, revealing either a horrific ugliness or a golden excellence.

Rees wrote: Just as water exists as water only within a certain temperature range and is steam or ice in others, so human beings can become different people according to extremes of circumstances. And, while interviewing a formerly devoted Nazi, Rees pressed the man about why so many people went along with the horrors of the regime. The man’s annoyed response: The trouble with the world today is that people who have never been tested go around making judgments about people who have.

That’s why, in the church, it’s crucial to ask the right questions, in the right way, with a thoughtful discernment, to get the right person in church leadership.

Grid Q4: Integrity

Everybody likes the idea of integrity. Not as many like the reality of the quality’s requirements. You can point to a success or list a position of influence but, if they haven’t been gained and maintained through integrity, then those successes and power points are no better than wood, hay and stubble.

Integrity is a key measure of a person’s qualification for ministry leadership in the local church. Integrity is a big deal because it’s a principle—a basic belief that governs behavior—in the Christian life. Integrity can be tough to discern because some people are very good at pretending to be more than they are.

The cool facts of integrity prove the authenticity of a claim. A plastic cup, for example, is not a crystal goblet. How do you know? A crystal goblet has specific characteristics that prove its authenticity. Crystal has a certain weight, a distinct ring when flicked with a finger and a specific look when held up to the light. Crystal is appreciated and cared for in a way that is distinctly different from plastic. A plastic cup lacks the characteristics of a crystal goblet. It lacks the marks of integrity that prove authenticity. It must not matter that a plastic cup loudly and persuasively claims to be a crystal goblet. It lacks the traits of crystal and, when added to the traits of plastic, mark it as an authentic plastic cup.

It’s much like that in a man of integrity, except he’s not inclined to claim crystal for himself (Proverbs 27:2). There’s a certain solidity demonstrated when you bump up to him in discussion, in matters that reveal heart and mind and spirit. He bears the marks of integrity that prove his authenticity as a mature and close follower of Christ. He’s authentic. He’s described in Psalm 15.

Getting a glimpse of a person’s integrity can be gained by asking a few key questions and listening thoughtfully to the answers. The person of integrity will have no worries about opening himself honestly in a discussion about integrity. He already knows Proverbs 10:9.

Here are several example questions:

• Do you do what you say you will do, even if it hurts you or causes you difficulty or pain?
• Do you ever pretend to be more than you are?
• Describe a difficult failure in your life.
• Do you accurately describe past successes or are you prone to exaggerate in order to impress others?
• What is the condition of your finances and your handling of money and possessions?

These answers to these questions and similar questions reveal whether a person is genuine and authentic, shades the truth to his advantage, is trustworthy or cunning, mean-spirited or charitable, or has allowed the Lord to teach him in failure.

Grid Q3: Emotional Health

Before entrusting someone to a key staff leadership slot in the local church, be sure to look for indicators of the person’s emotional health. No, it doesn't include probing into the hidden psychological ramifications of the candidate’s relationship with his father. It’s looking at specific behaviors, beliefs and attitudes that bring the greatest opportunity for ministry success that pleases the Lord.

Below are a few discussion points that can help determine how the person’s emotional health will affect the church’s ministry:

• What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses? (Can the candidate honestly and openly reveal himself? Discern whether there’s sinful pride in discussing strengths, or hiding for self-protection, or sinful self-deprecation—a reverse pride—in discussing weaknesses. Boasting about gifts and talents is like boasting about the color of your hair. 1 Corinthians 4:7.)
• Describe a circumstance where you exhibited self-control in your speech in relationship with others. (Although some people in the church spout off whatever criticism happens to be on their minds, Proverbs 18:2. A ministry leader does not enjoy the luxury of freedom of speech. Why? Because he has immense power to either preserve unity or cause dissension in the church through what he says about the ministry. He must exercise self-control in his speech and reserve more difficult discussions for those leaders who can make a healthy difference in the church.)
• Do you rejoice in the success and progress of others? Do you affirm someone else’s contributions to a project’s success? (A leader who fails to rejoice in the success of others is not worthy of followers. A leader who takes credit for the work of others is not worthy of followers. Those failures lead to simmering resentments that build over time and lead to a multitude of sins. Paul’s selfless leadership and generous commendations should be standard practice for leaders in the Lord’s church: 1 Corinthians 16:15-18; Colossians 1:3-8;  2 Thessalonians 1:3-4.)
• Can you forgive a person who has wronged you? How do you know whether you’ve forgiven a person? (It’s easy and proper to say, Of course, I forgive. Much harder to live forgiveness in daily difficulties. I like the answer from a senior pastor about how he knew he forgave an offense: Don’t wish ill will. Do something good for the person.)

The best results on the assessment grid’s Emotional Health scale comes from those who consistently—not perfectly—demonstrate personal discipline and Spirit-led self-control. They have excellent self-knowledge so that they accurately see themselves and their effect on others. They discern what’s motivating their own feelings and actions. They receive criticism and seek to grow in godliness. They freely affirm the strengths and successes of others. They can speak of their own strengths and weaknesses in leadership and in the Christian life.

The worst results: undisciplined, low self-control, weak self-awareness, highly defensive, secretly or overtly hostile to the success of others, inflated view of personal strengths and small understanding of personal weaknesses.

Most people, of course, are somewhere in between the best and the worst. But significant, and sometimes hidden, emotional health problems can torpedo a leader’s ministry and damage the church.

Do yourself a favor. Lead with wisdom and discernment. Get a handle on the candidate’s emotional health before handing over the keys to ministry leadership. Acts 20:28.

Grid Q2: Doctrine and Ministry Compatibility

Each church and each church network is steeped in a culture. That culture includes assumptions that define acceptable and rejected behaviors, beliefs and attitudes. Some of the specifics are never spoken but they’re easily observable. A pastor friend, who didn’t fit with the culture of behaviors and attitudes of his church’s key leaders, sadly complained to me, These are the guys I hated in junior high school. That’s says it all. He didn’t fit with the culture, he failed to influence any element of the culture, and he’s out.

Before hiring a man or woman into a key leadership slot, it’s honoring to the Lord to take care in the process. Leaders are not dealing with car parts carelessly and thoughtlessly placed and then ripped out and tossed aside. The Lord expects his leaders to be strong and decisive, but leaders also must handle his people respectfully and thoughtfully; Luke 22:24-30.

That’s where process is key.  An assessment grid is a useful tool in the process of staff hiring. But Hey, the guy is a gifted communicator or Wow, he’s an amazing worship leader.

Leaders anxious to fill long-empty slots in their ministry team might be seduced into thinking that a candidate’s up-front gifting proves under-the-surface development and depth. Of course, no leader wants to admit that gifting dims discernment. So, just to be sure, it’s wise to create a biblical—not psychological—assessment process to get to know a candidate. A thoughtful assessment should include many categories. A primary category: Doctrine and Ministry Compatibility with the specific church or church network.

Here are some of the 16 topics included in the Doctrine and Ministry Compatibility category of the FiveStone Churches Pastor Assessment Grid:

• Open Theism versus Omniscience
• Creation versus Theistic Evolution versus Evolution
• the Blessed Hope (Titus 2:13)
• Sovereign Election versus Human Choice in salvation

Include discussion of other arenas for anyone in a vocational, pastoral position in the local church. Example: Describe the pastor’s role and other individual roles in leading the local congregation, i.e. plurality of leaders model versus Moses model.

From these topics and others, the church’s leaders should get a good handle on how well the candidate fits the doctrine and ministry culture of the local church. An individual’s public gifting must never blind the leaders to the price that will be extracted from the church if the candidate’s doctrine and ministry commitments do not match the church’s culture.

Future articles about assessing candidates will look at topics such as emotional health, relational ability, personal integrity and vision.

Grid Q1: Relationship with the Lord

I’m working with a pastor to help him get a better picture of himself . . . and to help him serve most effectively in the local church.

What do you look at when you’re measuring a man and his ministry? Try an assessment grid. But there’s a guiding principle in using such a grid: Never use it as an adversary, but use it as a fellow brother in the fight for the good of the church and the building up of the Lord’s servant leader.

Below are core categories taken from the FiveStone Churches Pastor Assessment Grid:

• Relationship with the Lord
• Doctrine and Ministry Compatibility (with the specific church and church network)
• Emotional Health
• Relational Ability
• Marriage and Sons and Daughters Relationships
• Personal Integrity
• Vision and Philosophy of Ministry
• Spiritual Gifts and Natural Talents
• Knowledge and Understanding of Church Planting and Church Growth
• Concluding Inferences (garnered from all of the previous information)

Relationship with the Lord
Listen closely to the man’s salvation experience. How clearly does he tell the story
and what is revealed when he tells it? Does his experience square with the Scriptures’ teaching on salvation? A man who can clearly and joyfully tell share own salvation likely can share the gospel with an unbeliever. Listen as he describes his personal devotions in Bible study. Consider factors such as frequency, intensity, systems and study tools. Ask him about his life in prayer and meditation. Is meditation OK? What’s the difference between prayer and meditation? Ask him to describe the hardest, breaking experiences that he’s been through as a believer and as an unbeliever and ask him to explain how they have affected his relationship with the Lord and with others. How does he serve others as a result of his relationship with the Lord and the knowledge of His ways. Does he have a heart for the poor and the disadvantaged? What does he do that reveals he cares for the poor and disadvantaged?

If handled skillfully and thoughtfully, those few discussion points can paint a pretty good picture of the man’s relationship with the Lord.

Some men seem to have an uncommon closeness to the Lord that is revealed in the fruit of regular and deep devotions. That man exhibits large evidence of communion with the Lord. How? The Scriptures are not merely spoken from his lips but they are imbedded in his thinking, in how he processes the everyday activities and common problems of life. He exhibits the fruit of the Spirit not perfectly, of course, but consistently. When he falls, he gets back up and goes on to be better. He’s driven by His relationship with the Lord rather than what many in church world might describe as Success. He has an obvious understanding of and reliance upon the Lord’s ways.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are others (even in pastoral ministry or in leadership of a local church) who cannot clearly and biblically articulate their own salvation experience. Or sometimes their testimony is mechanical and cold. They have irregular and perfunctory devotions, what I call 10-minute Croutons. They seem to have little communion with the Lord. The Scriptures do not drive their thinking or, of course, their behavior. They often are strong in themselves. There’s little or no understanding of and reliance upon the Lord’s ways.

Most of us range in the middle portion of the spectrum in our relationship with the Lord. But it’s crucial to know. There’s nothing good in self-deception. It never fails that, as I assess others, I always end up assessing myself. James 1:22-25.