How Prepared Is The Church?

 10 Ways The Church Might Change:

Point 5 – Part 2

[In previous blogs I have outlined 10 possible changes the Church may face in the future. This is point 5 in the series: Church offices will be replaced by leadership built on relationships, not position.  Because of what one does, will one be respected or rejected. This will not be based on works, but on grace, mercy, and obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Leadership will be established by those who are willing to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and be obedient to that voice.]

I believe that revival in the 21^st Century Church will demand leadership built on relationship among the local brethren. That was also the pattern of the 1^st Century Church.  Paul, listening to the direction of the Holy Spirit, was lead to a city to evangelize or proclaim the gospel or “Good News” of redemption of Jesus Christ to a dying and degenerate world.  With new converts, Paul then led them through teaching and personal modeling in this new Christian lifestyle of “holiness”, “righteousness”, and walking in faith, grace, mercy, and acceptance that was foreign to their old ways of life and surrounding culture.  As they grew in this faith journey with Jesus led by the Holy Spirit, Paul then trained and equipped them for leadership, so when he left their area, they could stand on their own and grow in faith and in numbers.  He never controlled them, only equipped, trained, and encouraged them in their growing faith, in their studying of the Word of God which where Old Testament Scriptures, and relying on the Holy Spirit to interpret those in light of this new Christian culture for Jews and gentiles.

Can you image how grateful the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Galatians were to their inbreed leadership who were trained and equipped by Paul and other visiting apostles like Barnabas, Apollos, and Timothy for leading them into the knowledge of the salvation of their souls through the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross and the power of his resurrection, for developing, training, and equipping them to walk a life worthy of Christ Jesus, and release them into the gifting of the Holy Spirit for their personal growth and the edification of the entire body of believers? 

I know that my wife and I have been spiritual parents to three sets of youth throughout our lives.  They still call us Mamma B & Poppa B, but it gives us great pleasure to see their spiritual growth now that they are adults.  They have deep respect for us, and that respect is reciprocal as they continue to grow in Christ.  As spiritual parents, it is hard to describe the satisfaction of seeing the fruit of your investment. I can understand Paul’s letters to those he has trained and equipped as he sees them grow in their leadership skills.

When there is a revival, there is immediate growth, and often the need for leadership is great.  The proper training and equipping of the saints prior to a revival is a necessity, for once revival starts, there is no time for training because so much happens so quickly.  When the cause of evangelism begins to produce new babes in the Lord, those with leadership skills in properly nurturing and care, pastoral skills, are needed to develop and walk out this faith journey with these new converts.  As they grow, they needed grounded in the Word, thus the need for leaders with teaching skills. They need direction, guidance, and to learn to know the voice of the Holy Spirit and how to be obedient on their own, thus the need for a prophet.  Finally, there is a need for someone to pull it all together, to bring together the efforts of the evangelist, pastor, teacher, and prophet for the purpose of spiritual growth and unity in the body of Christ, thus the apostle. 

In a day where many are leaving the professional ministry due to burnout, the Church needs to reevaluate how it trains leaders and for what purpose if they truly want to see and be a part of revival.  The laity, the saints, need to be drawn out of their passive modes that we have enabled with, and train them for the works of service.  Then the Church will be ready for revival.

I truly believe that the Church as a whole has not yet seen revival because it is not ready for it. “Prepare ye the way” is a strong Biblical theme throughout the Bible.  The way is “prepared” before the major event occurs.  John, the Baptist, was the forerunner of the Messiah, “preparing the way”. The Church, the Bride of Christ, is to be without “spot and wrinkle” in preparation for the Groom’s, Jesus’, return.  I believe the Church is in a season of “preparation”, so that will require change.  Change in the way we train leadership; change in the way we worship together; change in our leadership structure; change in how we do “body” ministry; and change in our attitudes toward Christian brethren who do not practice their faith exactly the same way we do.

What is the Church going to do during this transitional time of preparation?  Are they going to continue their current attitude of doing nothing while clinging to past traditions, or are they going to embrace change no matter how radical it may look.

When, not it, world-wide revival hits, the Church needs to have prepared evangelists, pastors, teachers, prophets, and apostles by equipping them and releasing them to serve.  It is a monumental task, but world-wide revival is a monumental event. It is the event that will unify the church while removing its “spots and wrinkles” in preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the ultimate world-wide revival.

The Christian Dilemma: Relationships Versus Religion

 10 Ways The Church Might Change:

Point 5 – Part I

[In previous blogs I have outlined 10 possible changes the Church may face in the future. This is point 5 in the series: Church offices will be replaced by leadership built on relationships, not position.  Because of what one does, will one be respected or rejected. This will not be based on works, but on grace, mercy, and obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Leadership will be established by those who are willing to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and be obedient to that voice.]

“The Word of the Lord”, the voice, is greater than the messenger.  “The Word of the Lord” can be written, as in the Bible, or spoken, as in a sermon, a testimony, or a prophetic utterance.  The message is always more important than the messenger. Ask John the Baptist who is “least in the kingdom of God” according to scripture, yet he was the messenger of a profound message ushering in the Messiah, the Priestly King, the Son of God.  The same is with relationship in relation to leadership in the kingdom of God. The relationship is more important than any office or position.

Even though Jesus built relationships with each of his twelve disciples, they had trouble at first understanding this principle, for they wanted to know who would be positioned on Jesus’ left and right when establishing rank in the kingdom of God.  Positioning of rank is secondary in comparison to the relationship one has with the person.  Your relationship to Jesus Christ is always more important than any position you hold in his kingdom or in church, yet we have twisted that principle when it comes to church leadership.  In our current church structure position and influence based on profession and offices trump relationships. Church “boards” are often composed of people with job positions and titles: ie. elders, deacons, pastors, pastoral staff, etc.  Often “boards” do not function out of relationships as brethren in Christ, but out of politics by position.  Church politics supersede the washing of one another’s feet when it comes to church business meetings. Like the Jewish Sanhedrin of old, they often become instruments of passing judgment rather than extending grace. I know; I have attended and been part of them on both the passing and the receiving of judgment!

I believe the 21^st Century Church will be confronted by the Holy Spirit on how it conducts it’s “business”. American churches often follow American business models when conducting church budget operating out of projected budgets rather than having “storehouses” (Malachi 3:10). Almost every local church seems to always be begging for money to meet its budget rather than operating fiscally from a “storehouse” mentality. Joseph’s recorded wisdom of storing 7 years of plenty for seven years of famine not only saved the Egyptian empire but made it great and powerful. A large part of many church budgets go toward financing staff and building maintenance. Benevolence and missions has remained only a small percentage of most church budgets.  Often we have treated benevolence and missions as a tithing, only 10% of the budget for things outside our institutional needs.  The way a church conducts its business tell a lot about its ministry.

Twice I have been part of a small home church where almost all of our tithing went to benevolences and missions since we had no staff nor building.  We bought “underwear” as Christmas gifts for the needy families in our group.  Because we had “relationships” with them on an everyday basis, we knew their needs, not only spiritually but physically.  “Relationships” were central to all we did or accomplished since we had not become an “organization” or an “institution” with “institutional needs”. 

I grew up at New Fairview Church of the Brethren where the “free ministry” of seven uncompensated “elders” with lifetime commitments lead their congregation. Their commitment not based on monetary pay has allowed their congregation to give large portions of their finances to benevolent needs and missions, and I have never heard of their leadership ever being in need. The only difference between their leadership and those professional “pastors” in their denomination is pay and benefits.  Another difference is in respect.  New Fairview people respect their leaders because they have committed their lives and ministry to them physically and spiritually for life.  There is consistency in leadership because it is home grown, built on relationships, with a lifetime commitment.  They do not have a “professional” change in leadership every five to ten years. Their change comes upon the death of older elders, and a “calling” of new leadership from amongst their ranks.

In the next blog we will continue to look at this theme in light of the 21^st Century Church

The Christian Dilemma: Relationships Versus Religion

10 Ways The Church Might Change: Point 4 – Part I

[In previous blogs I have outlined 10 possible changes the Church may face in the future. This is point 4 in the series: Relationships will replace religion. Religious programs, westernized theology, and methodology will be challenged, torn down and replaced by the global movement of the Holy Spirit bringing unity, not division. Denominations and religious sects will vanish, being replaced through relationships with the Holy Spirit and between brothers and sisters in the Lord. The Apostolic will return ushering unity in theology, purpose, direction, and doctrine.  Truly there has been and is only ONE Church, the body of Christ, the priesthood of believers in Jesus Christ.]

The Facebook generation is all about relationships. My generation, the Mr. Roger’s generation sang “Won’t you be my neighbor” with a regional, community, neighborly view of the world. The Facebook generation asks, “Won’t you be my friend” with a world-wide linear view of the world.  Being “part” of something and being accepted is very important to this generation.  Relationships are of the essence.  When in your twenties, relationships are key to one’s social life, for one faces friendships, break ups, relational commitments that are short term and long term, and acceptance and rejection at all different social levels.  Everyone wants to be a part of something and accepted by someone.

So if relationships are the key to understanding this generation, then the church needs to look away from things that appear to them only as being religious and begin to establish relationships instead. Today’s 20-30 year old really doesn’t care if a church is pre-tribulation, post-trib, or mid-trib in its eschatology, or if it is Calvinistic or Armenian in its orthodoxy. They can’t tell you the differences that make Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, Evangelical, Fundamental, Eastern Orthodox, or Roman Catholic unique and separate in theology and make up.  In fact, they don’t care, because it is all religion to them, yet the church still spends much of its energy and assets in redefining their labels, heritages, and traditions.  When is the church going to realize that it is all religion? No one wants to get involved in the inner bickerings of religious sects, but one has to if drawn into local church settings.  What people want is relationships over religious activities.

Looking back over my 50 years as a Christian, religious activities have come and gone.  The events are only remembered if recorded as part of a local church’s history. On the other hand Christian relationships established over the years still remain. That says something about relationships.

The internet and the world-wide-web have forced us to look again at relationships and church.  Through internet web sites you can get all the religion you want: church web sites of services, programs, and times, blogs and opinions about theology, access to church libraries even with ancient manuscripts, videos and podcasts of sermons, even Christian chat rooms for fellowship, but the internet now also offers advancement in technical communication skills through emails, twittering, texting, emailing, Skyping, FaceTiming, Google +’ing, etc.  Relationships from the past are easily restored. I now play “Words With Friends”, alias Scrabble in old term technology, with old college friends, retirees, friends living hundreds of miles away, and even relatives.  I don’t have to have them “over to my house” to play “board games”; I can do it on my computer, Kindle, Ipad, or smart phone while watching TV, talking to my wife, and struggling with a conventional crossword puzzle while sitting in my lazyboy chair in my own livingroom.

The way high-tech America does relationships is being redefined. It is hard for me to imagine, but even if someone comes “over to my house”, they sit on different chairs “texting” one another while in the same room! Looking face to face in someone’s eyes is not a pre-requisite that you have their attention. 

So if the Church wants to reach the “world” for Jesus, it will have to re-examine how it is going to communicate with that world to be effective.  Global Revival will be communicated in a different format than my grandparents could even imagine when listening to radio preachers or watching a Billy Graham Crusade on their television.  The internet only relays data, information, electronically across the world.  The Holy Spirit can do more drawing like minded, kindred spirits, toward one another. That’s true fellowship, true relationships. 

The way Christians “relate” to one another is the key to revival. My earlier blogs about I John 3:16 and the relationship of “laying down your life for your brethren” addresses this issue. Christians must also figure out how to “relate” to non-Christians so they do not come across as “religious” but “relational” by providing grace, mercy, and unconditional love to those they communicate with.

Bottom Line: Church – We got to dump all our religious garbage that the world really doesn’t care about, nor find appealing, nor want in their lives, and start building relationships. We talk about having a “personal relationship” with Jesus, but what kind of “personal relationships” do we have with other Christian and non-Christian brothers and sisters.  The answer to that question will show us where we are in being willing to be part of a global revival.

The Two Diagonal Planes of the Cross – Part II?

10 Ways The Church Might Change: Point 2

[In previous blogs I have outlined 10 possible changes the Church may face in the future. This is point 2 in the series: The Church has worked hard on its vertical relationship with God through worship and praise (John 3:16).  Now it will be forced to work on the horizontal relationship of brother/sister to brother/sister in redefining how the family of God functions (IJohn 3:16). Where those two planes intersect is at the center of the Cross, thus reinforcing that the Cross is the center of the Christian experience. There is where the Church will find the Presence of God!]

In the last blog, I explained the two diagonal planes of the Cross: vertical being man’s relationship with his God and horizontal being man’s relationship to man.  Both were broken by sin, but restored by the shed blood of Jesus on the Cross.  He hung against these intersecting points, playing the price for sin and reconciling or restoring man’s relationship with his God and with man. In this blog, I would like to examine the horizontal plane, and what it would take to restore man’s relationship with man in Christianity and in the Church as a whole.

I John 3:16 states: “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” I know that United States Marines have been taught this principle, and it is the backbone of unity in their military unit to the point they won’t even allow a dead body to remain on the battlefield to be marred by the enemy. The enforcement of that principle is central to that secular military force, but in Christianity and in the Church I find that principle to be a paradox, for Christians are known for shooting, criticizing, and shunning their wounded, not laying down their lives for them.  I must admit, as a Christian of 50 years, I have more fingers on my right hand than I have Christians who I know who would be willing to lay down their lives for me, not criticize me, but accept me with “unconditional love” in spite my short comings even though I am a Christian. 

How can this healing, this breach of fellowship and acceptance among believers, brethren, in Jesus Christ ever become a reality, for it must become a reality as a prerequisite for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, when his Bride, the Church, will be without spot and wrinkle.  This is the essence, I believe, of the next true global revival that will be established on this earth.  Here are some things that must be done:

I remember when the American Church in the last century faced its racial prejudices when I was at a national Men’s Prayer Rally called “Standing In The Gap” sponsored by Promise Keepers that filled up the Mall from the Capitol Building to the Washington Monument in Washington, DC.  Whites were asking their native American Indian brethren and Black brethren whom they mistreated through slavery or slaughter for forgiveness. It was a beginning, but now the Church needs to begin:

- to embrace one another as brethren, in the same family, the family of God, the Church, not by denominational sectarian labels that divide and emphasize our differences rather than what we have in common: Jesus!  Inbred fighting and bickering is a cancer, a sickness, a disease the Church must rid itself of. The Church knows the true meaning of “RECONCILIATION” in theory, in intellect, but finds it had to practice it in practicality among its brethren. “Let’s not just be hearers of the word, BUT DOERS.” Let’s practice reconciliation among ourselves.

-  to embrace one another beyond our hypocritical phony tolerance image of each other, but begin to extend GRACE, unmerited FAVOR, unconditional LOVE to other brethren of different doctrinal persuasion rather than fighting for one’s elite cause of self-righteousness as if our exclusive group is the only one that has the correct light and understanding of Christian truth and Biblical interpretation. Jesus supersedes denominational doctrine!

- to embrace the five fold in this generation, recognizing the need for the apostolic.  The apostle, in the New Testament Biblical sense “saw over” what the Holy Spirit was doing and recorded it in the Bible as the Acts of the Apostles book. They did not “oversee”, lord over, or control as worldly ruler do, but only “saw over” what the Holy Spirit was doing and were faithfully obedient to what they heard and saw.  That is what the Epistles is all about.  With the restoration of the apostolic will come apostolic teaching bringing unity of doctrine which also kept the Church together in the first century.

- to embrace the importance of “relationships” within the body of Christ, not positions.  The strength of a local body of Christ is built on their relationships.  The pulling together of resources, the equipping, training, and mentoring one another, and the releasing of one another to fulfill their destiny and calling in Jesus Christ is the fabric of that strength.

-  to recognize the trappings of American culture. Americans are too busy to reach out to others or get involved. We are too busy taking their kids to soccer, baseball, and football practice, ballet, dance, or gymnastics, school programs, church programs, and civic programs. Our children’s relationships are built around school friends and Facebook friends in an attempt to be popular. We have to teach our children to love the unlovely, build relationships that will last, not superficial popular ones, and how to build relationships properly. 

These are just a few ideas of how to start the I John 3:16 process of laying down our lives for the brethren.  In order to experience revival to this and following generations we must embrace these concepts if we are to be an effective twenty-first century Church.

Shepherding And Social Networking: Can The Church Capitalize On This New Technology?

How Do You Prepare God’s People For Works of Service? Part VIII

If shepherding is nurturing, caring, and developing, and social networking and new technology is influencing our current society, the church just needs to look reexamine how it shepherds. I read this week that Google is thinking of invading the television business with major capital investments because the 18 to 34 year olds are beginning to watch their entertainment on their smart phones, or IPad devices rather than having to sit in their family rooms in front of their televisions sets.  This “mobile” society is about to see another paradigm shift away from traditional family time, traditions, and cultures and the way we are use to do things.

My age group attends High School and College Class reunions because we have “lost contact” with almost everyone after graduation except for a select few.  That is not true with the younger age group, for they stay in contact through social media formats and tools.  By becoming “friends” they communicate through Facebook and join “circles” to keep in touch with different groups in their social strata. Every time they are on Facebook, they expose what they are saying and doing. You can almost “monitor” what is happening in their life just by following them on Facebook, or Twitter, or other forms of social media. They expose their backgrounds, share current pictures, and post daily comments.  Even the Foursquare software program allows you to “check in” and gain rewards when you notify where you are currently located. All this information and data about people is available, and they are not even in your physical presence.

Mentoring is most effective when done 24/7, but who can be with the one they are mentoring in their Christian growth when you are not in their presence.  Today that can become a reality.  If you are discipling or mentoring a younger believer in the Lord, you can monitor their social patterns, where they hang out, where they shop, who they communicate with, their interests, hobbies, etc. Availability is crucial in a successful mentoring program, and today’s technologies make that possible with smart phones, that not only let you talk to one another, but also see one another. One being mentored can easily and immediately contact their mentor orally, visually, or through written communications like texting or tweeting. If one needs help, prayer, or advice, contact and help can be immediate.  Interactivity is a key to successful social network connectivity.

So shepherding can now be 24/7 and connectivity almost instant.  Part of the Smartphone culture is the need to react to the ding, ping, or sound effect that comes from our phone. It is almost like an immediate response, and instant reaction. Connectivity and availability is crucial.

The danger lies what one does with all this data and information about a person.  In the 1970’s the Shepherding Movement from the Fort Lauderdale Five was birthed out of the need to help younger Christians mature under the direction of older more mature Christians. We have learned through them that unfortunately, it is so easy for the mentor to fall into a “control” mode, guiding every decision of the young Christian rather than teaching them how to make decisions on their own. So far, social networking is not about “control” but “contact” and “communication”, the transfer of information from one to another. That “loose” relationship can actually be a healthy one, for you have to allow everyone to “work out their own salvation”, to “walk their own spiritual walk”, and learn to “hear the Holy Spirit for themselves”, because eventually they will have to walk and stand on their own and hopefully mentor others in future journeys.

The church needs to embrace the power of social networking because it has permeated our American culture. The question is what to do with it, how to effectively use it as a tool for communicating the gospel, and communicating with others in guiding them in their spiritual walk. Many churches are making websites basically to “advertise” their worship service and available services, but they must learn how to make their sites interactive.  If Facebook is only a tool to post information about their church and there is no interactive communication happening on that page, then the church has missed the mark of what social networking is all about.

So pastoral/shepherding skills may manifest themselves in new forms as we enter this social media culture of the twenty-first century. The challenge for the church is how to be open to change, technology, and new mindsets of thought and communication.  

If We Could Only Be Like Little Children

The Faith Of A Child; The Theology Of An Adult

An inquisitive event occurred at the church I was attending on Sunday.  The Pastor gave a sermon on Justification By Faith.  In an attempt to show an unbiased look both sides of the “Once Saved Always Saved” versus “You Can Lose Your Salvation” arguments although he let you knew what side he favored because “it was his responsibility to portray the ‘truth’”, a woman broke into the flow of debate, not to ask a question, nor to give an opinion.  She wanted to share a testimony.

Her testimony was that she had had headaches and back pain during the service.  Someone from the children’s department asked if she would come and let the children pray for her.  She complied. The teacher of the children’s class had been teaching the children how to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit themselves. As the children honed in on that still small voice, they began to minister to this lady. By the time they were done, she was pain free.  Here she was now telling the adults about this experience as the children released their "child like faith".

That is the beauty of being a child: having child like faith. Adults were discussing “faith”, debating theology, trying to figure out how faith works while justifying their theological positions. The children? They just practiced their faith!  The adults came to no conclusions that united them while the children produced results, a healing!

When is the adult church going to allow the passions of the children of God to arise, that of an evangelist, a shepherd, a teacher, a prophet, and an apostle, and release the children of God to freely exercise them?  The Holy Spirit resides in the temple of God, the bodies of believers in Jesus Christ. Church, let’s allow that spirit to arise, manifest itself, and be released in resurrected life and freedom! 

When is the adult church going to learn it doesn’t have to be theologically correct or kosher all the time; they just need to have faith in Jesus and listen to his Holy Spirit speaking?  Every religious sect thinks the theological “truth” has been revealed to them, and the rest of Christendom is incorrect or missing an element of that truth? Why does the adult church feel it has to “justify the truth” rather than live by the principle of “justification of faith”? Faith in what?

If we have “faith” in Jesus’ power to heal, then let’s just do it: heal!  If we have “faith” in Jesus’ power to forgive, then let’s just do it: forgive!  If we have “faith” in the body of Christ, then let’s just practice IJohn 3:16 and “lay down our lives for our brethren”: let’s just do it! If we have “faith” in “rebirth”, then let’s allow the Holy Spirit to rebirth! If we believer in sanctification, then let’s allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in caring, nurturing, and developing our fellow believers into the image of Jesus Christ!  If we “faith” that God speaks to his children, then let’s listen and be obedient to what we have seen and heard.

When, as adults, are we ready to scrap our prearranged, highly organized, well orchestrated, music and oral ensembles we call worship services, and allow the children of God who attend to just be “children” who want to play, to romp, to sing, to dance, to be free to skip around bear footed, even puddle hop, and maybe even make mud pies while getting dirty instead of always appearing pristine clean? When are we going to allow their passions in Jesus to arise, to help “develop” towards maturing in Christ-likeness, and to release them to be free in the destiny God has for them instead of prohibiting them, holding them back, and controlling them?

I recently observed a parent, who when haggard by their children’s noises of just being kids, playing, sibling rivalries, vying for parental attention, and being fidgety under the strains of having to be in an adult world while still being kids, completely shut down their activity to have “order” for the sake of adult sanity, suppressing any child like life in them for quietness and control. As adults, we do that all the time to our children rather than joining them.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come unto me,” and “unless you are like a little child, you can not enter the kingdom of heaven.”  I want to enter the lifestyle of that kingdom; I want to be a child again; I want to be able to come and jump into the lap of Jesus! Then I got to divert back to my spiritual childhood with child like faith. I got to quit debating, quit trying to be correct, quit trying to always be a portrayer of truth to prove that I am righteous, and just be a kid again!  In an adult world kids are never right; in a kid’s world they just want the adults to join them in experiencing life.

I just want to heal, to forgive, to love, to respect, to honor, to worship, to grow, grow up to be like Jesus! I just want to experieince continual rebirth, to care, nurture, and develop others, to walk our the Word of God in my daily life, live it, to develop my inner ear to hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, to be able to envision the Church as a bride without spot or wrinkle prepared for its wedding day.  As a kid, I want to play, imitating my Father. Ironically, as an adult I have learned to “play church”, but as a child I want to be the church; I just want the freedom and release to just do it!

Leadership: Position or Service? Dependent or Independent?

What We Do Rather Than Who We Are Is Important

I believe a leader is a person who has people following for the purpose of their equipping, growing, and nurturing with the ultimate goal of their release into independence, standing on their own, and begin equipping others to reproduce themselves. Leaderhip IS NOT creating a following of dependency on you.

I know a church that has seen the size of their eldership dwindle substantially over the years and not replace them. They are a church where on Sundays the staff and elders do everything the congregation hardly anything: Leads worship, gives the announcements, greetings, and offertory, and sermon.  If there is ministry to be done during the service in the front of the church, the elders are called to do it because the senior pastor wants to expose his elders to his people.  Being an usher is the only non-staff exposure of the morning, but the staff church administrator does the rest.

In a church that was strongly prophetic in the 1990’s who trained their people to hear God for themselves and developed prophetic presbyteries, today hardly a prophetic utterance is given during any service.  The sanctuary is full, yet I cannot reiterate anyone’s testimony of their salvation experience since I have never heard it.  I have no idea what God is doing among his people, for there is no time for them to share testimonies of what God is currently doing in their lives.  A large amount of time is given for announcements of upcoming church programs and activities, but not for the saints to share what Jesus is doing in their lives. 

The pastor of this church told the congregation that his goals for this coming year was to enlarge the elder base of his church and begin training leaders.  He threw out the comments to the men of the congregation, “Where are you?” implying that they should be coming forth as leaders. One fallacy of this mindset is that if you enabled a congregation to be passive, don’t expect them to become aggressive leaders. If they can’t serve unless they are staff, don’t expect them to serve as leaders.

Those attending Sunday church service have been “enabled” to not do or initiate anything on their own, only follow what has been preprogrammed by the staff: sing along following projected lyrics to loud music where only the lead singer and his backup band can be heard, stand when told, be seated when told, give financially when told, and greet one another when told, then sit quietly but look inventive during the sermon given by staff. It is like those in the congregation are puppets on a string.

I contend that just because they are following everything the people on the platform are telling them to do; the people on the platform are not necessarily true leaders just because they are being followed.  What is the purpose of leadership? According to Ephesians 4 it is to “equip the saints for the work of service.” The goal for leadership should be to equip those following them to replace them!  Reproduction should be the goal!  If you are producing dependent robots on your command, you will just get robots who know nothing else but follow your command. They will not be able to stand, mature, on their own.  One of the main goals of the five fold is to bring maturity, Christ-likeness, to believers: develop a believer into the fullness of Jesus Christ, not create religious robots.

If leadership is leading through service, not dictation, followers will imitate their modeling of service toward maturity, and eventually have to be “released” to stand on their own.  Leadership through service, not dictation, reproduces leadership.  I contend that the Christian church fails miserably in equipping the saints for the work of service opting to trust and rely on their paid professional staff producing complacency.  Those in the congregation will never develop toward maturity if they are not allowed to participate, initiate, and serve one another. 

“Thank You Notes To Blessing Bowls”

Josephine Jean Downs: A wonderful wife, caring mother, phenominal mother-in-law, loving sister, and great friend. THANK YOU Jean!A Tribute To Josephine Jean Downs

About a month ago, my mother-in-law, Josephine Jean Down, passed away at the age of 76.  Her memorial service was filled with people who had something of a rarity in common: They all had received a “Thank You Card” from her sometime in their lives.

Thank You Cards are getting to be a rarity during the electronic email age we are now in. To receive a hand written, hand held Thank You Card through snail mail is becoming an obsolete practice.  Jean, sent people Thank You Notes for every imaginable act of kindness.  She even sent my son a thank You Note for sending her a Thank You Note.  “Gratitude” was never overlooked by her; “Appreciation” was always expressed.  In a day when even polite “thank-yous” are becoming an anomaly, taking time to craft a hand written expression of appreciation is a gift of love. 

Her other “gift” was her Blessing Bowl: a ceramic bowl that contain over two hundred two-inch squares of paper that recorded things she saw as blessings: a meal with Donald & Judy, a visit from one of her grand children, a kind word a person had toward her, nothing small or what seemed uneventful was missed. She recorded them all, in thankfulness, in minute writing on two-inch squares. Often at the end of many of the squares was a reminder: Send a Thank-You Note.  She has taught me to take nothing for granted and to be thankful for all things, no matter how insignificant they may seem.  In the hecticness of our day, we are blinded to the blessing that are around us due to the blur of our constant activity, demands on our time, and multi-tasking endeavors.

She was also a seed sower. When healthy she greeted everyone by name, introducing everyone to each other, birthing new relationships between people.  Although usually quiet in nature, she would place gospel tracts with every meal she got at a restaurant, introducing herself to her waitress, learning her waitress’ name, then introducing her by name to the others around the table.  In little ways she would sow her faith by establishing relationships.  I am sure in heaven she is at the pearly gate with St. Peter, introducing him to everyone she knew or met who is also entering heaven on a first name basis!

What is ironic about all this is that her life had been a life often of extreme darkness from depression. She had faced several institutionalizations, had ECT, electro-shock-therapy, administered to her several times, and would often slip into depressive moods of consuming darkness.  Even in her darkness, she introduced people to each other on a first name basis, thanked anyone who brought even a small ray of light into her life, and added more two-inch squares to her blessing bowl at the end of the day.  Often she would read those blessings from that bowl when in the maelstrom of depression to remind herself how blessed she was!

The Bible says that “darkness can not consume the light”. Her life has become her legacy of that truth. We who are so blessed need to record it in thankfulness; we who live in the light of life need to reach out to those whose lives are engulfed in darkness; we who have so much to be thankful about need to start expressing that thankfulness towards others; and we who are networking with so many need to never lose the first names of those with whom we are in contact no matter how shallow the relationships.

As the pastor giving her eulogy pointed out: Like the women who gave the vial of perfume which she poured over Jesus feet and washed it with her hair, to this women the Bible records as “she did what she could”!  Jean “did what she could” never knowing the powerful influence she had on others.  Out of her darkness she gave light; out of her depression she gave others hope; when losing her identity to mental illness she never lost the identity of those around her always knowing them on a first name basis.  She was truly an extraordinary person who “did what she could”!

A challenge to all of us to duplicate!