Category: Leadership

A Covenant and a Hope

On October 9, 2016

In Church Life, Leadership, Observations, Theoloical Thoughts

I have just finished a full day at the inaugural meeting of the Wesley Covenant Association (WCA). Before the meeting, there were all kinds of rumors and speculation about the purpose of the meeting. I knew that this was going to be a pivotal moment in the life of the denomination, so I decided to attend and hear it for myself.

What I heard in the various talks was a celebration of our covenant as United Methodists and especially clergy in the church and a message of hope. This hope is not based on organizational effort, but the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit.

Covenant

As an Elder in the United Methodist Church, I agreed to participate in a covenant with the rest of the Elders of the church and the church itself. I declared that I knew the general rules of the church and would keep them. I affirmed that I had studied the churches doctrines and found them in harmony with the Scriptures. I professed that I had studied the discipline and polity of the church, approved them and would support and maintain them (cf. The United Methodist Book of Discipline, ¶330.5.d).

This is the covenant I accepted and affirmed. If I come to the place where I can no longer abide by this covenant, then it behooves me to surrender my credentials and step out of the covenant. I expected that other clergy members would hold the covenant with the sincerity I have, but it does not seem to be the case. I fully expect to be held accountable to this covenant, such that if I violate it those appointed over me should confront me and, if possible correct me. As a matter of fact, not holding to this covenant is a chargeable offence in the Church (¶ 2702).

The WCA upholds this understanding of our covenant as clergy and as members of the Church. Upholding this covenant creates a bond of trust between the various members of the clergy and between the clergy and the church. This is what I long for. This is what I signed up for. For some, however, they expect to violate this covenant with impunity and a covenant that can be violated without consequences is no covenant at all. As the apostle Paul reminds us, “And in the case of an athlete, no one is crowned without competing according to the rules” (2 Timothy 2:5).

It seems that in many cases, national and international sports authorities care more about the rules of a game than many pastors and bishops care about the pledges of our covenant.

Hope

Hope is a central aspect of the Christian faith. It is our hope of salvation (1Th 5:8) that sustains us in difficult times (Heb 10:23). But we need to remember that hope is not in a political process, even one in the church. Our hope is set on God, God’s work through Jesus Christ and the ever dwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (1 Pe 1:13, 21).

We do not place our hope in bureaucratic policies or institutional pronouncements but in God. Because of this, I don’t pull out all the stops to protect the institution or imbue the ecclesiastical structure or the Book of Discipline with god-like status. It is simply a tool used by God for a season. It is a wonderful tool filled with the seeds of promise. I love this tool and appreciate all of the opportunities and privileges I have received because of it, but it is not the end all and be all of the kingdom of God.

In Luke 21 people commented to Jesus about the beauty and adornment of the temple, but he told them, “the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down” (Luke 21:6). Jesus didn’t completely denigrate the temple; he called it his “Father’s house,” and “a house of prayer for all nations.” Jesus emphasized the purpose of the temple, not the structure itself.

Likewise, John Wesley, an Anglican priest, knew that God was much bigger than the institution he knew and loved. He went about trying to renew the Church of England but trusted God’s work even when it took him outside the bounds of the institution. Eventually, the institution barred him from preaching in many of its churches, but the poor and working class people listen and came in droves.

For those of us who follow Jesus Christ in a Wesleyan way, we understand that about the institutional church. My hope and prayer is that the denomination called the United Methodist Church will renew its primitive devotion to God and the dedication of its founder. I long to see that day. But if it doesn’t happen, God is not handcuffed. God will raise up another tribe who will pray, proclaim and work for the kingdom of God.

You Shouldn’t Judge!

By admin

On August 27, 2015

In Church Life, Leadership, Navarre UMC, Observations

In recent months I have encountered an idea that gives credence to the age-old adage that as Christians we should never judge other individuals; NEVER. The problem with this sentiment is that it uses the word “judge” to condemn any kind of differentiation or attempt to hold someone accountable for their behavior. It has even been used to discourage any kind of standard to which people might be held. It is simply unscriptural.

To begin with, Jesus did not mean that we should never draw distinctions or make evaluations of people’s behavior. Jesus’ command comes in a context where he assumes that we will make judgments. This discourse, known as The Sermon on the Mount, is a seminal piece of Jesus’ teaching. Jesus says:

“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” (Matthew 7:1–2)

Four verses later, he says we should not “give what is holy to dogs or throw our pearls before swine,” It sounds to me that we are to make judgments about who are dogs or pigs; not very flattering.

In the same chapter, Jesus tells people “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15–16).

Here, Jesus tells us to evaluate the character of people by observing their behavior and then take appropriate action. To be sure, we are to keep in mind the warnings of the rest of the sermon and make these evaluations with humility and care, but we are to make them nevertheless.

Paul also tells people to make judgments about people. Notice the advice he gives the people of Corinth:

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral persons— not at all meaning the immoral of this world, or the greedy and robbers, or idolaters, since you would then need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother or sister who is sexually immoral or greedy, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber. Do not even eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging those outside? Is it not those who are inside that you are to judge? God will judge those outside. “Drive out the wicked person from among you.”

(1 Corinthians 5:9–13; emphasis added)

Paul is very clear that if there are people in the church who are committing open sin, they are to be confronted. By the way, Paul was not contradicting Jesus!

Later, Paul gives specific guidelines about who can be considered acceptable as leaders in a congregation (1 Tim 3:1-7). He says that those who violate the guidelines should not be considered for leadership in the local church. The next verses show that these guidelines extend even to lay leaders of the church.

Paul says nothing about the person’s standing before God or their salvation. He simply says that people who have been haphazard about their lives and business should not be considered for leadership in the church. I assume that people who had shown repentance and demonstrated a change of heart could be considered.

In our present context it is necessary and even judicious to make evaluations of people who are placed in leadership in the church. We already do this with our church’s Safe Sanctuary policy when we run background checks and reference checks. In deed, every candidate for ministry on our conference submits to an in depth background check and a battery of psychological evaluations, in addition to the rigorous theological and biblical examinations they go through. If candidates can not demonstrate readiness for ministry, they are not allowed to continue.

The examinations have nothing to do with a person’s standing before God, they are simply the standards a person must meet to work with our vulnerable populations or to be ordained ministers in our denomination.

Likewise, when it comes to leaders in our congregation there should be certain standards as well. A person in a leadership position should be a member of the church and striving to keep their vows of membership. They should be on board with the mission and vision of the church and involved in worship and discipleship. They should also demonstrate their commitment to the church through regular giving.

Why? A sports team would never allow a person to play who did not show up at practice, work on their individual conditioning and lived in a manner that casts dispersion on the team. If those things can be expected of athletes who do little to promote the well-being of the planet, why would the church of the living God expect less?

When we establish standards it does not mean that we are judging anyone, it means we care about the results we want. If we want teams and committees in our church that help us carry on the mission of the church, why would we put people on those who show no interest in contributing to that mission?

We serve a God who is infinite in mercy and love, but God also cares deeply about justice and righteousness. God does not care about one set of ideals or the other, but both of them. And God seems to indicate that we should care about those things too; with ample doses of humility and love.

“THE CHURCH IS ACTING TOO MUCH LIKE A BUSINESS.”

By admin

On October 18, 2014

In Church Life, Leadership, Navarre UMC, Newsletter Articles

That is a phrase that I hear often in church circles. As I have listened to people who make the statement I usually hear a few different concerns.

The first concern usually happens when accountability is inserted into the culture of the church. When someone expects the church to hold people and groups accountable for their actions or in-actions, some do not like it and want to say the church is not a business.

A second time when this statement is heard is when the church gets so serious about its mission that it deliberately plans for growth. Some believe that ideas like leadership, strategic planning or goal setting belong in the boardroom and not in the church.

Another time when this accusation gets bandied about is when the church institutes processes or policies that people are not used to. For example policies about room use or procedures for scheduling meetings.

Another situation that could prompt someone to make a statement like the above is when church leaders begin to learn best practices from others and try to adapt the principles in their own church.

All of these complaints could be boiled down to two primary ideas: the business card is usually played when a church tries to use it resources to best of its ability or when the church gets purposeful about its mission.

People everywhere have come to expect efficiency and great customer service in every area of their lives. When they go to a department store, they expect to be treated with courtesy and get a fair price on the articles they purchase. Of course, that would not be possible if the store did not expect its employees to be courteous and knowledgeable of the items they stock. If the store did not take care to plan and create a strategy for providing its wares, the customers would nit find the items they had become accustomed to and they would shop somewhere else. If the store did not make efforts to learn from other retailers and nurture its suppliers, its customers would wind up paying much more for their items.

Retailers (and other businesses) work tirelessly to create efficient, well-managed and pleasant environments in which people could buy their stuff. Imagine that! All that work and effort to make money and provide things that will decay and fall apart.

Shouldn’t the church put at least as much effort into making sure the world sees, hears and experiences the greatest news every before heard? Of course we should! Secular businesses spend thousands of hours and millions of dollars just to make money. Church should invest all it can to ensure that people have the opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus Christ and grow in their relationship with God.

I don’t think I could say
it any better that Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church. One of Hybels’ senior staff members once presented a case study to the Harvard Business School. As part of the defense of the case study, Bill was invited to come answer questions from the students. During the question and answer session a student made the remark that he didn’t think pastors should blend business practices with spiritual things. Bill took a deep breath, uttered a silent prayer and said:

“You know, I find it very interesting that you’re here in one of the best schools in the history of education, learning the very latest and greatest leadership and management disciplines so that you can graduate from here and join a secular company to help them set records manufacturing and selling widgets, soap, or software. There’s nothing wrong with that. People can benefit from using all that stuff so you might as well do your best to get it into their hands. But still, it’s only stuff. It isn’t going to transform anybody’s life in a deeply significant way. It isn’t going to change the world or determine anybody’s eternal destiny.

“What you have to understand is that some of us church leaders believe to the core of our beings that the local church is the hope of the world. We really believe that. We believe that the church is the only God-anointed agency in society that stewards the transforming message of the love of Christ. We believe that the church addresses every human being’s deepest need. We believe that the church can lead people into a whole new way of living and loving and serving, and can thereby transform society.

“You also need to realize that some of us church leaders live daily with the realization that the eternal destinies of people in our communities hang in the balance. That’s why we are so determined to get our visions right and live out our values and come up with effective strategies. We truly believe that it matters that we attain our goals . It matters that we align our staffs and leverage our resources. We believe that the success or failure of our churches directly affects people’s lives here today and for eternity. We believe this to our depths. We’d take bullets for it.”

I continued, “That’s why we make no apology for learning and applying best practice principles as God leads us in our churches. How could we do otherwise? The church is the hope of the world.” Courageous Leadership (p. 69-70)

Indeed! The church ought to learn all it can about the best practices of the best organizations on the planet and then deploy them for God’s use. Even Israel plundered the Egyptiansas they left for the promised land (Ex 12:36).

Entitlement

By admin

On April 26, 2014

In Church Life, Leadership, Navarre UMC, Observations

I have recently been thing about the whole concept of entitlement because of some reading I have been doing about the millennial generation. Having an entitlement mentality is believing that I should have certain privileges or options just because of who I am, or sometimes just because I exist in this place or time. Often times in our American culture the “privileges” become “rights.”

As much research has shown Millennials (those born between 1981 and 2004) a very entitled generation. They grew up in the era where everyone got a trophy just for showing up. But one of the things I have notices is that all of us have some level of entitlement.

People have entitlements based on a number of things:

Status in life
Income
Age (young or old)
Longevity in an organization
Amount given to an organization

This happens at many levels in church life. I have heard in 29 years of church life and they all revolve around the statement, “You should follow my advice and do things my way because I:

Have been a faithful member for X years.
Give a great deal of money to the church.
Am a charter member.
Sit on the board.
Am a member.
Am elderly
Am a future leader of the church
Am a business owner, military officer
Have an advanced degree

I could go on and on.

The problem with all of these statements is that they go completely counter to the spirit of Jesus who,

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.

When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

– Philippians 2:6–8 (NLT)

The focus of an entitlement attitude is what I want to happen rather than the mission God has sent us to accomplish. That kind of entitlement is found in us all.

As an individual, I have certain preferences myself. But those preferences must be subservient to the mission of the church and the methods it will take to accomplish that mission in our current cultural context. It is a sad idea but often the perceived privilege of membership trumps the mission every time.

But what if, as leaders, we could cultivate that opposite attitude. What if we were to say, “Whatever it takes for the mission”?

Honestly, there would be a lot of negative consequences, but a lot of positive ones as well. I think the world has not seen this kind of attitude in the church in a long time. But, what if it began with you and m

Deep Change

By admin

On March 9, 2013

In Leadership, Lent, Observations

"Deep change… is a spiritual process". that is a quote not from a popular Christian author or preacher, but a business consultant. Robert Quinn is a professor in the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. I don’t know anything about his religious life, but he has hit on a core life truth here. Change at the fundamental level of our lives (and our organizations) is indeed a spiritual process. Real change involves a fundamental realignment of our core values and outlook (worldview).

Many of us struggle with breaking bad habits such as over eating or over spending or addictions, because we try changing surface behaviors without changing the underlying emotional and psychological realities of our lives. The same is true of our walk with Christ. Often we come to Christ and have a sincere desire to change and become more like Jesus, but we never allow the Gospel in all its fullness to penetrate the deep places of our hearts. We become content with superficial or ornamental changes and always wonder why we keep falling into the same sins or poor choices.

For change to take place, we must allow the message of Christ to sink so deeply in our lives that our basic and fundamental assumptions about ourselves, the world and others is radically transformed, but that takes time and effort. It takes time to soak in the Word of God, build relationships with other Christians and reflect on the implications of Gospel for our lives. but, as we do everything about us will begin the change, slowly but steadily. That is the kind of change I want.

Fear and Pride–Lead like Jesus

By admin

On May 5, 2011

In Devotions, Leadership

I have been simply amazed at how appropriate The Lead Like Jesus Devotional have been for me the last few Months. Here is another one I wanted to share with you.

DAY 119 | April 29, 2011

Fear and pride distort our ability to see the world from God’s perspective. When our own interests loom larger than God, our thinking becomes too narrow; focusing solely on other people can lead to worry. We need God’s Spirit and His truth to bring clarity to our vision and perspective to our thinking if we are to see as He sees and lead like Jesus. What difference will seeking God’s perspective make in your life today?

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path…. The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. Psalm 119:105, 130

Prayer

Lord, I confess that fear and pride cloud my vision. Thank You that Your words bring light and understanding when I look at the world from Your perspective. Help me to see beyond myself and see others as You see them. Most of all, help me see You in every situation, so that I can lead like Jesus. In Your Name, Amen.

A Leadership Devotional

By admin

On April 15, 2011

In Devotions, Discipleship, Leadership

This devotional thought comes from Ken Blanchard’s “Lead Like Jesus” email devotional. It was worth sharing with you all!

Click the image below to go to the website and sign up for these devotions and other information.

DAY 105 | April 15, 2011

What does God expect of you as a leader? He doesn’t keep it a secret. First and foremost, He asks for your wholehearted devotion, a devotion that flows out in a life of obedience, love and service. He looks for men and women who fear Him alone, who do what He tells them to do, and who serve Him wholeheartedly. As God seeks someone for His next leadership assignment, will He find someone who meets His requirements when He looks at you?

And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? Deuteronomy 10:12-13

Prayer

Lord, I want to be a leader You can use, like Moses, like Jesus. Shape my heart and my soul to meet your standards. Help me keep first things first today, fearing, loving and serving You, walking in Your ways and observing Your commands. Thank You for remaking me in Jesus’ image. In Jesus; Name, Amen.