Limits?

If you love living on the edge, you should trying letting God take the reigns of your life. The thing to expect with God is the unexpected, and that’s the thrill of the Spirit-led life.

I’m not talking about the thrill extreme sports enthusiasts seek jumping out of airplanes at 10,000 feet with snowboards strapped to their feet. With God, it’s not about cheating death; it’s about altogether accepting it.

The excitement begins when we finally realize it’s not about our weakness but about His strength. With God, Gideon defeated an entire middle-eastern coalition of hundreds of thousands with just 300 men. With God, Moses freed over a million slaves from Egypt with nothing but a stick in his hand. With God, Paul, a Pharisee of Pharisees, went from hunting Christians to baffling the Jewish world in his defense of Jesus, the Christ. The point is God does immeasurably more than all we could ever ask or even imagine.

The thrill is being a part of God’s work, knowing by faith that He moved and you were there. As gruesome as it sounds, imagine David’s thrill carrying Goliath’s head and laying it down in front of Saul. David didn’t kill Goliath, and David knew it! God moved, and David was there. They did it together – the unimaginable!

I refuse to believe the unimaginable was reserved for those who lived thousands of years ago when Peter says it was our time that all the angels and prophets longed to look. We live in the time of the glories that follow the sufferings of the Christ (1 Pet.1:10-12). We live in the time of the Spirit, the time of “Christ in you” (Col. 1:27), the time when the power of God is at work within us (Eph. 3:20). No! There is no greater time in the history of all mankind than right now!

So how do we do it? How do we do the unimaginable with God?

The one common denominator among all the “greats” of the Bible is that they all had to step into the unreasonable unknown with total trust in God. Gideon had to send away over 30,000 men before he could fight with God, because God said his army was too big. Moses had to return to the land where he was a wanted man, and face the very man he had defied and who had the power to kill him at will. David had to stand before his brothers, his nation, a giant and the giant’s army alone. Paul had to renounce almost all he knew. And, Jesus had to work his way to Jerusalem to die on a cross.

None of it made sense at the time. No one knew any of the outcomes beforehand – except God. But these faithful stepped forward. The only question is, will we?

There is no limit to what God can do. The only limit is what we believe he can do.

The Kings Who Would Be Boys

“I will make boys their officials. Mere children will govern them.” -- Isa. 3:4

I wanted to draw your attention to this easily overlooked passage from this week’s Daily Bible reading. What God, through the prophet Isaiah, describes here is clearly an inversion of the proper order of things. Part of God’s punishment for his people’s continuing disobedience, it seems, was to give them, in essence, the leadership they deserved.

“Mere children will govern them..." Sound familiar?

We live in an age where boys rule. Whether it’s in our adolescent-driven, "gimme-gimme" consumer culture or our appalling lack of mature and principled leadership in the public square, we are a childish people.

It hasn’t been this way throughout our history. I’m reading David McCullough’s stirring biography of second president John Adams. The book and the HBO miniseries based on it are both marvelous on many levels and I wholeheartedly recommend them. As I read, I find myself comparing the leaders of that era with those of more recent ones and the differences are glaring.

One difference -- and it’s perhaps the central difference from which all others spring -- is this: The leaders of Adams’ day had a firm sense of the proper order of things. And at the top of that order was a sovereign God, a supreme judge to whom everyone would ultimately answer for how they used the gifts he’d given them, whether standing up for the true, the good and the just or in pursuing their own selfish ends. Even those, like Thomas Jefferson, who had unorthodox ideas about the creator, still acknowledged Him and ordered their lives accordingly.

Not to romanticize the past. These were flawed men who regularly failed to live up to their principles and often disagreed fiercely with each other. But their principles -- and the fact those principles were grounded in a transcendent moral order -- showed in their leadership.

We live in an age ruled by childish fantasies, one where extending adolescence indefinitely is for many the chief goal in life. Our leaders, with some exceptions, reflect this. Whether that’s God’s direct punishment or the natural byproduct of decades of bad choices or both, I don’t know. But I think we can be sure of one thing. Like the people of Judah and Israel, we are getting the leadership we deserve.

Be Shepherds of God's Flock (Part III)

One can see the Divine wisdom behind the model for church leadership if one steps back and takes in the full picture. Paul addresses the various functions in the early church in Ephesians 4. During this miraculously gifted age, the Lord equipped some to be "...apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up..."

The term "pastor" is synonymous with "overseer" and both terms refer to the office of the plurality of shepherds who are to pastor or oversee the flock (1 Tim. 3; Tit. 1). The evangelist is to "preach the word" (2 Tim. 4:2), and it requires great study, preparation and courage to speak God's oracles to a disobedient world. Both of these offices were created to prepare God's people to serve the community and become a close knit family -- the body of Christ in a broken and corrupt world.

Unfortunately, the most alarming tendency that I've seen in the Lord's church- and it has been exhibited to some degree in nearly every congregation that I've spent time with - is the evolution of the eldership to a man-made model. Many of today's elderships bear little resemblance to the divine pattern for leadership in the kingdom. The model that congregations seem to have adopted has been one more akin to the business world's "corporate" model of governance - a "board of directors" who meet from time to time, review budgets, attend to personnel actions, and issue decrees.

Are these elders "bad" men? Not at all. But they are often bound up in a failed model that is patterned after the business world. Even those men who are qualified and gifted as elders, and desire to shepherd according to God's plan, often find themselves restricted by a "corporate" model that fails to provide servant leadership to the congregation. The results of this leadership model is that our people are NOT prepared for works of service, and do NOT act as a family of God in the community.

I learned more about the elders from an elder's wife than I have from any elders that I've been around. Over a three year period, I watched as she single-handedly continued to serve the congregation with hospitality, love, teaching, sharing and faithfulness after her husband had passed away. I have no doubt that this couple understood exactly the role of an elder. It was apparent in their children, too. Both of their children and their spouses actively served in their congregations and were just as hospitable in serving and teaching.

As a restoration church, we must strive to fix this failed leadership model, but I fear it won't happen within the context of congregations that have become so "institutionalized" that they cannot effectively change. As we consider men for our shepherds, we have much to think about. Are these men exhibiting shepherding behavior right now? Are their wives true, spiritual partners in their hospitality, teaching and example?

At the Open Door Church, we have a wonderful opportunity to restore the Lord's perfect leadership plan for the congregation. That leadership plan includes assigning the right responsibilities and authority to evangelists, shepherds, and deacons as we move this work forward. It means realizing that these offices work as an interdependent team, not as a hierarchical governing structure. Restoring God's plan means recognizing the contributions of our great women and insuring that their roles accurately reflect the New Testament pattern. It means moving away from a "corporate" leadership model that has plagued many of our sister congregations.

Most of all it means being courageous. Join us at the Open Door church of Christ. We have a place for you.

Be Shepherds of God's Flock (Part II)

The shepherd of yesteryear -- almost unknown in industrialized, western nations -- was an important part of a community. Because sheep were valuable for a number of reasons (clothing, food, and even milk & cheese) it was the shepherd's duty to keep the flock healthy and safe. Moreover, the shepherd was a doctor, leader, an encourager, a servant and a guard to his flock.

Shepherds moved the sheep from field to field to ensure that they always had adequate food, water and safety. The shepherd usually worked with other shepherds in teams to oversee large flocks, and some would go ahead of the flock to prepare fields while others moved the flock along, while still others may have cleaned up behind the flock.

The work of the shepherd involved intimate knowledge of each sheep. There was an emotional attachment to each member of the flock because of their innocence and relative defenselessness. The sheep would often want to cuddle with the shepherd in quiet moments or at night while sleeping. Shepherds had to diagnose health problems and work to treat them proactively. They were not well paid for this work, so they had to truly love the animals and care for their well-being more than any compensation that might come from this vocation.

Is it any wonder that Peter and Jesus draw from the work of the shepherds of their day in describing the men who are to oversee the people of God? Peter's admonition to perform the work out of love for God and man rather than money (1 Pet. 3:3) and Jesus' use of terms such as "thieves, robbers...hirelings..." to describe imposters (John 10:8, 12), leaves no doubt that God wants men who are fully committed to the lives of the flock to serve in this capacity.

Truly, understanding the work of a shepherd sheds great light on the work of the men that we call the eldership. I've often wondered why we call these men elders (a term that refers to age), rather than shepherds (which is descriptive of their work). Thankfully, many congregations are moving to a more prominent use of the term "shepherd" in describing these men because of its rich meaning. The intimacy, the frequent communication, and the selfless service that men appointed to these positions are supposed to exhibit is more aptly bound up in the term shepherd. Jesus described himself as the "good shepherd" (John 10:14), and "I know my sheep and my sheep know me..."

Truly, the work of a shepherd/elder is crucial to the congregation.  The question is not whether or not God has structured His church to be successful, but whether or not we are living out the inspired model in our congregations.

Be Shepherds of God's Flock (Part I)

That each congregation of people in the Kingdom of Christ should be overseen by a group of men often referred to as "elders" is readily acknowledged by those with a restoration mindset. According to Paul, Titus was to "appoint" elders in every city (Tit. 1:5) using the Holy Spirit provided guidance given to him. Numerous epistles were written to the "elders and "saints" of the church in a city. While that guidance was miraculous in the first century, it has been set forth on the pages of inspiration by Paul for our benefit today (Tit. 1:6-9; 1 Tim. 3:1-7). When we prayerfully and Scripturally appoint elders today, the Holy Spirit is just as involved in the selection process as He was in the first century.

Having lived from coast to coast and worshiped in dozens of congregations, it is safe to say that our methods of appointing elders to these positions of sobering responsibility needs some work. Nevertheless, in this blog I want to focus on what elders should DO after they have been appointed to their work.

By far the most instructive passages in the New Testament regarding the work of elders are found in John 10, 1 Peter 5 and Acts 20. All refer to the work of elders as that of shepherding the community of God over which they have been placed by having reflected an image of the divine "picture" painted by the Scriptures -- both in qualifications and overall attitude and demeanor. In John 10, Jesus portrays Himself as the ultimate shepherd, and in 1 Pet 5:4, Peter refers to Him as the "Chief Shepherd." What better picture of a shepherd than the living example of Christ could we have?

The picture Paul paints in Acts 20 while in conversation with the Ephesian eldership is one of men who are wholeheartedly devoted to the truth, and who will protect the flock with their lives. Indeed, Jesus said: "...the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11). It is understandable that Paul would focus his attention on this aspect of the shepherd's work, since the biggest threat to his ministry was that of the Judiazing teachers who were perverting the gospel (Gal. 1:7). Protecting the flock from false doctrine is an important function of a congregation's shepherds. Indeed it is saving them from soul-threatening wolves (Acts 20:29). However, defense against false doctrine is not the ONLY function of shepherds. Indeed, to focus on this aspect of shepherding without fulfilling all of the other numerous functions of a shepherd would be like defending a group of people from one threat while neglecting them as they perish from starvation or other maladies.

A more well-rounded picture is painted by Peter in his first general epistle. Peter's description includes servant leadership, humility, being a living example, demonstrating loving care, and having an eagerness for the work itself (1 Pet. 5:1-4).

Make no mistake -- shepherding the flock is work!