Reflect and Renew

The Blog of Pastor Alan Cassady

Far Right

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On June 9, 2016

In Church Life, Navarre UMC, Observations, Theoloical Thoughts

The other day I was reading one of the hundreds of articles posted during the United Methodist General Conference. As I read the article, I frequently ran across the term “far right.” The more I read and tried to understand the writer’s perspective, I discovered he was referring to me; not by name but generally.

Why did the author use the term “far right?” It was clear that it was employed in a pejorative sense to label certain people who had not just a differing opinion, but an opinion which, in that writer’s view, was out of touch and extreme.

So what does it mean to say that I and many others are “far right” in our views?

I believe the in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. I think that they contain everything the is necessary for faith and godliness. I would not say that I believe everything in the Bible is true, but that what it contains is the truth when interpreted in the way the author(s) intended it to be understood.

I believe a person who has submitted themselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, has an obligation to read and understand the Scriptures and to receive those words as binding. That implies that I do my best to interpret the passage in light of the historical and cultural context of the time and translating that to our own time.

In that way, we can appropriate the Scriptures of our faith in a way that is consistent and brings glory to God. If that makes me “far right,” then I guess that is where I will stand.

I also believe that when I became an elder in The United Methodist Church took vows to uphold the doctrine and teachings of the church; that pledge meant something. The bishop asked if I had read and studied the doctrines of the church and agreed that they were in line with the teachings of Scripture. I promised to keep those rules, not because I feared punishment, but for the sake of my conscience.

If that understanding of my vows and commitments to the church makes me “far right,” again here I stand.

In reality, I don’t see those positions as far right, except as people try to distinguish people from one another in a political way. I see them as standing in the center of faith and practice.

In that sense, to be “far right” means I make Scripture speak to things it never intended to address and expect people to adhere to rules or laws that go beyond the plain sense of Scripture (among other things). It also means I expect people to believe more doctrine than our Articles of Religion say, and that violators should be held accountable for any infringement, intentional or not.

In the same way, I believe far left means that I put little stock in what ancient writings say. They are mere suggestions about how to order our lives. Our polity and promises, likewise are simple ideas on how to get along in big tent of Methodism. My vows just state my intentions up to that point, and I am free to break them if I deem them unjust (or inconvenient).

Maybe I am naive, but I think we should limit labels like far right and far left and faithfully live and teach the Scriptures we have received and the vows we took.

Grace

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On March 24, 2016

In Church Life, Navarre UMC, Newsletter Articles, Theoloical Thoughts, Uncategorized

Later this month, I will have the privilege of teaching at our Conference Licensing School. This is a multi-day school which prepares people to receive their first appointments as pastors in our Conference. In fact, Navarre will host one day of the school.

I will be teaching the class on Wesleyan Theology. In preparing for that class, I was reminded of one of the significant contributions of John Wesley to Evangelical theology; the doctrine of grace.

To be sure every denomination and system of theology has an understanding of grace, but Wesley’s unique contribution has stood the test of time and continues to inspire people.

Grace has been popularly defined as “God’s unmerited favor toward us.” That definition deserves to be pondered over and over. By unmerited we mean that this grace is given without regard to any action or achievement on our part. To merit something is to deserve or be worthy of something. God’s favor is bestowed with complete disregard to the recipient’s worth; you might even say, in spite of the recipient’s worth.

To have favor is to show kindness toward someone. When we stand in someone’s favor we stand in a
privileged position. We could be in that position because we have supported the person or because we have benefited the person in some way.

The idea of grace is that through no worth in ourselves God has bestowed his favor on us. There was (is) nothing in us or about us that would cause God to owe us anything. I like to tell people grace means God likes us and there is nothing we can do about it. John Wesley put it this way:

All the blessings which God hath bestowed upon man, are of his mere grace, bounty, or favour; his
free, undeserved favour; favour altogether undeserved; man having no claim to the least of his mercies.[1]

 

The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, which is the one official guide of United Methodist doctrine says,

“By grace we mean the undeserved, unmerited, and loving action of God in human existence through
the ever-present Holy Spirit.”[2]

 

That, however, is only the first aspect of grace from a Wesleyan perspective. Wesley said that grace give us the ability to respond to God as well. In other words, God’s favor gives us the ability to do what God requires. Randy Maddox, of Duke Divinity School, calls this “responsible grace.” God gives us the ability to respond and that in turn makes us responsible before God.

Some of the more popular aspects of Wesley’s understanding of grace are found in the ways we experience that grace.

Wesley said that God’s grace works in our lives even before we are conscious of him. We experience this as God’s prevenient grace, the grace that comes before salvation. This grace restores a measure of our free will and a measure of conscience as well. It gives us our first desire to please God. As Randy Maddox would say, it gives us the ability to respond to God.

When we respond to this grace in repentance, God’s grace continues to work in our lives as forgiveness and moves us to accept his pardoning love. Responding to this justifying grace produces a real change in our hearts, we are born again and begin a new relationship with God. We are also given an assurance that we are, in fact, God’s children.

Immediately after the reception of this grace, the Holy Spirit begins to work in our lives leading us to grow in maturity through sanctifying grace. Our experience of grace from this point on leads us to do good works and serve God’s mission in the world with the aim of becoming mature or prefect in
love.

Grace comes to us through many different channels, but some of them Wesley deemed “ordinary means of grace.” These were the normal ways God uses to convey his grace. They included prayer, reading scripture, Holy Communion, Christian fellowship, worship, and fasting. God uses these ordinary means to convey his grace to us. To be sure God is limited in the ways his grace can come to us, but these are the ordinary ways.

We shortly celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, so what do afterwards? I would urge to settle into the ordinary pattern of life by drawing on God’s grace to be come a fully developing follower of Jesus Christ. Seek God out, for if we do he his promise,“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord…” (Jeremiah 29:13–14a [ESV]).

Pastor Alan

[1] John Wesley, The Works of John Wesley, Third Edition., vol. 5 (London: Wesleyan Methodist
Book Room, 1872), 7.

[2] United Methodist Publishing House (2013-01-01). The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2012 (Kindle Locations 1806-1807). United Methodist Publishing House. Kindle Edition.

 

Promises, Promises

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On October 3, 2015

In Church Life, Navarre UMC, Newsletter Articles, Sermons

We are all know about promises. Promises we made or that were made to us. Promises that were broken or that we broke. If our kids or grandkids want to make sure we will do something they will often ask, “Do you promise?” But what is a promise?

Webster’s Dictionary says a promise is, “a declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified’” or a “reason to expect something”. When someone promises us to do something or to refrain for doing something we have an expectation that it will happen just as promised.
Often a promise is all that is needed to settle a conflict.

To make a vow is similar to a promise, except it is a much more formal and public way of doing so. We
are all familiar with wedding vows. Those vows are public promises to act in certain ways toward the person we marry. Such promises should not be taken lightly; vows are like that. In our marriage vows we promise to love, honor and cherish our mate as part of our obedience to God.

God and Promises

We really love God’s promises us. He has promised to care for us as he does the birds of the air. He has
promised to welcome us into heaven. He has promised to never leave us.

But what about our promises to God? When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we made many
implied promises. We promised singular allegiance to God. We promised to be faithful and obedient. We promised to give Jesus full reign and veto power in our lives. Wait, what?

In the scriptures, vows made to God are taken very serious indeed:

When a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. — Numbers 30:2

 

 If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not postpone fulfilling it; for the Lord your
God will surely require it of you, and you would incur guilt. But if you refrain from vowing, you will not incur guilt. Whatever your lips utter you must diligently perform, just as you have freely vowed to the Lord your God with your own mouth. — Deuteronomy 23:21–23

 

When you make a vow toGod, do not delay fulfilling it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill whatyou vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and notfulfill it. — Ecclesiastes 5:4–5

 

God takes vows seriously. But as humans, we often do not. We make promises, give our word, and then back out of those vows if they become difficult or inconvenient. We often break promises and
commitments without a regret in the world. In Psalm 15, one of the marks of a righteous person is that they, “who stand by their oath even to their hurt” (Psalm 15:4c). righteous people keep their promises even when doing so causes them difficulty.

In Disciple Bible Study, Bishop Wilkie gives us the definition of a covenant, a formal vow; it is choosing to be bound in a time of strength, so that in a time of weakness we can not be unbound. That is the way it is with marriage. In front of our friends and relatives, on the happiest day of our lives, we make
promises which many people give witness to. Truth be told, anyone who has attended our wedding has the right to call us on the carpet if we violate our vows, because they witnessed the covenant.

When we baptize our children or become members of the church we make vows to God and the rest of
the congregation reaffirms the vows they made. This is not a light thing; we are making promises to God. In these promises, God has every right to expect us to fulfill our vows, and so do our brothers and sister.

So it is with our vows of membership in the church. First, we declare that we have renounced evil
and sin in our lives. We confess Jesus as Lord and Savior and promise to serve him all our days. We also promise to faithful the the universal church, the body of Christ in every place and represent Jesus everywhere we go. We promise that our loyalty to Christ will be lived out in the context of the United
Methodist Church, as specifically the congregation we are formally joining.

Finally, comes the five vows we take to live out our membership covenant in specific ways; by our
prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. In other words, we are not free to define what church member is, our vows have done that for us. We have promised God and the other members of the church that we will uphold this local expression of the Body of Christ through our heartfelt prayers, our faithful and frequent attendance, our financial gifts, our service, and by bearing witness to the world about the good of God.

So how do we find the strength to fulfill the vows we made? We find that strength in the vows themselves and in our brothers and sisters around us. Every time we think about our church and our vows; every time we hear others take those vows we are reminded of our promises and that gives us strength. Our sisters and brothers in Christ are there to help to, because they also made vows. They can be our source of strength when our is waning.

We also draw strength from God’s grace. In fact it is only by God’s grace that we can keep any of these vows and, as the membership vows state it is all, “according to grace given” us.

In the month of October, we will take a look at these vows in particular and discover the strength and grace they offer to us as we live out our connection to Christ.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

You Shouldn’t Judge!

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On August 27, 2015

In Church Life, Leadership, Navarre UMC, Observations

judge_weirdIn 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.

Reflections on the Supreme Court’s Decision on Same-Sex Marriage

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On June 30, 2015

In Church Life, Navarre UMC, Observations, Uncategorized

This past week the Supreme Court announced that gay couples deserved equal treatment with respect to marriage. The reactions to this decision have been varied and filled with emotion. A friend and colleague, Brian Miller tweeted, “We find joy in State rulings. We find despair in State rulings. It has never been & will never be the Kingdom of primary citizenship.”

That is a very important notion to remember. Dr. Tim Tennent, President of Asbury Theological Seminary echoed a similar sentiment in a June 29th Tweet and a June 28th blog post, when he said, “We may no longer expect the state to uphold Christian morality. But we have every right to expect the church to do so.”

As Christians we must understand that we take our lead from Scripture first and foremost. We do not look to the culture to define any moral position for us.
By the same token, we should not be surprised when a civil authority does not uphold our morals for us. Why would we expect such a thing? Throughout history, the Church has been grateful when the civil authorities created laws which coincide with biblical positions, but it has never expected it. The Church through the ages has always looked to Scripture for its moral mandates.

The early church understood they lived in a world that often was hostile to Christian virtues and morals. In Roman society, it was acceptable to expose infants to the elements as a way of discarding unwanted or disabled children. The church, in many instances took these children in and cared for them.

I am reminded of a portion of The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus (A.D. 130) in which an anonymous disciple tries to explain (in Chapter 5) the manner of life of Christians. He describes the Christian manner of life like this:

As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonoured, and yet in their very dishonour are glorified.

In the current situation it is important to understand a few important things:

1. The state does not speak for the church
People in non-western countries know this intuitively. They don’t expect the state to prop up their Christian convictions with legislation. In the west there are still many vestiges of civil religion and for the most part that is what Christians depend on. When those vestiges are threatened, angry rhetoric fills social media and the public square. This happens because we expect the state to do what the church should do in its witness. In many nations, the witness of the church is not supported by the state, the church bears witness by itself. When the Church takes its responsibility seriously to bear witness to the truth of Scripture it is fulfilling its mission in the world.

In the U. S. we have tended to let the state bear witness so we would not have to. Then when the state refuses to prop up our notions of morality, we rant and rave about decline of values in America. I wonder what would happen if instead of unleashing angry rhetoric we simply and effectively lived out our values.

2. Nothing changes about the mission of the church.
Ed Stetzer, president of Life Way Research said it this way, “Gay marriage is now legal. The sky has not fallen, churches have not been padlocked, and we must live on mission.” In reality, the decision changes nothing about the mission of the church. We are still to make disciples of Jesus Christ. That is important to remember.
I remember seeing an interview with a Chinese online entrepreneur. He was asked, don’t you worry about that the government’s internet restrictions will hurt your business? He said he chose to focus on the things he could do and not on the things he couldn’t do.

The same sentiment exists in churches all over the world who are persecuted for their faith. In the face of persecution, the church is still the church and the church bears witness to Jesus Christ who is the Lord of the world. The Supreme Court’s decision does not prevent us from doing what God has called us to do, bearing witness to Jesus Christ.

3. The Law of the land is not necessarily the moral vision of the NT
The Early church understood this better than we do. In the Roman empire there were many acceptable practices that the early church found unethical. Whether it was same sex relationships, the exposure of infants, slavery, prostitution, or gladiatorial games. The church found itself in a society that accepted practices which flew in the face of their moral understandings. Yet, as the church lived out its commitment to the moral vision of Scripture, they bore witness to a different way of life and had a profound impact on society. And the same thing can happen today. What if we expended the same amount energy on making our marriages and relationship better as we expended decrying the fact that the state doesn’t support our moral vision?

As Christians we cannot expect the state to uphold our moral values, so we should not be surprised when the state creates laws that are in conflict with the moral principles we hold. In a fallen, world it is vitally important that we as Christians live out a New Testament morality. We don’t do it, not to transform society, we do it because we have made Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives. And just maybe, by doing that we will make a difference even in a fallen world.

Pastor Alan

God Questions: Do all roads lead to Heaven?

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On May 10, 2015

In Church Life, Missions, Navarre UMC, Sermons

Here are some additional resources for understanding the material presented this morning.

Getting to Know Islam

Understanding Ramadan

A general website on world religions adherents.com

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

Is the Bible True?

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On May 2, 2015

In Bible, Bible Translation, Church Life, Interpretation, Navarre UMC, Sermons

This Weeks sermon in the God questions series relates to the reliability of the Bible. Below I have listed some links to videos which provide some more background on the subject. These videos come from Seedbed.com, an electronic publishing ministry of Asbury Theological Seminary. They are part of seedbed’s series entitled, The Seven Minute Seminary. Check out other videos on this site.

Dr. Bill Mounce discusses the reliability of modern translations.

Dr. Bill Mounce answers the question, “Can we Trust the Bible?”

Dr. Bill Mounce discusses the “lost” gospels.

Dr. Ben Witherington discusses the authors of the Gospels.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

Evidence for the Fine-tuning of the Universe

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On April 26, 2015

In Creation, Navarre UMC, Sermons

Below I have placed some links to supplemental materials used in the sermon today (4-26-15) with particular reference to the fine-tuning of the universe.

William Lane Craig – Reasonable Faith
Fine tuning of the Universe
Kalam Cosmological Argument
Moral Argument
Hugh Ross – Reasons to Believe
Fine-tuning of the Universe

Finding Jesus

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On March 27, 2015

In Interpretation, Lent, Navarre UMC

christ-mosaic-hagiasophiaWell, Easter is almost here. How do I know? Mainstream media are doing docudramas on Jesus. Every year at this time, Newsweek, Time, PBS or some other mainstream outlet produces a show, article or mini-series on Jesus, the church or the gospels. This year is no exception, except for the opportunity to learn.

This year CNN has produced a mini-series entitled, Finding Jesus. They look at various subjects relating to the life of Jesus using various scientific and historical methods of investigation. (Here is a link to information about the series.)

This particular series has been of great invest to me because Dr. Ben Witherington, III of Asbury Theological Seminary is one of the guest scholars who contributed to the series. I had the opportunity to travel to Israel and Turkey last year with him.

What makes this series so interesting for me is that after each episode, Dr. Witherington blogs about the episode. In this way he is able to bring additional insights about the subject.

Dr. Witherington’s posts:

Episode 1 – The Shroud of Turin
Episode 2 – John the Baptist
Episode 3 – Judas
Episode 4 – James

The episode that intrigued me most was about the discover of an ancient document experts called the Gospel of Judas. The episode shows three distinct phases of scholarly study of this ancient document. Our culture is so prone to grab the first headline that comes out about almost anything. The show chronicles the work of scholarship as it continues to analyze and learn over time. Sound bites may be exciting and fun, but they almost never tell the whole story.

During this Easter season take the time to explore and learn a little more from this series. It is important to understand that this series looks at Jesus not from a biblical perspective and an historical one. So take the time to learn some new insights into the history of Jesus and his times.

Pastor Alan

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

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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).

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