Becoming a Better Follower.

It is often said that better leaders are needed in our churches, non-profits, and other ministries.  This is why the Church is not growing and moving forward as it should.

I get this complaint.  It has been around for centuries!  As a result, the Church offers education, discipleship, and a whole bevy of options for leadership training.  The Church as a whole is trying to address this need.  

In addition, I offer that there are too many examples of poor leadership.  People who use their power to manipulate and control.  People who don't lead to build the Kingdom, but instead lead to promote their own welfare and kingdom.  These examples of poor leadership should be rejected and dealt with to bring about repentance and transformation.  Thankfully, I believe these examples of poor leadership make up a small minority of instances in the Church.  Most folks in leadership are truly interested in seeing the gospel run freely through the local church and into the community.

With that in mind, I offer an observation.  

What if our greatest need is not better leaders, but better followers?

It should be obvious that being a good follower does not come natural to most of us.  I know it does not come naturally to me!  Particularly in the West, we see ourselves as individuals who should be respected because of our inherent importance.  For many of us, this means that we really don't like being told or even shown what to do, because we prefer to figure out our own way.  We want to be consulted and informed about everything, and we believe we have the final veto power on decisions made by those in leadership.

What does this look like in the church?

The truism that people ultimately vote with their feet and their pocketbooks.  Since we have the right to veto any leadership initiative, we do so by pulling back from involvement and giving our financial support.  Unfortunately, it also means that many actively try to undermine authentic leadership.  This leads to all kinds of issues and problems!  

What would better followers look like?

Followers who will let the leaders lead.  

Followers who offer perspective, but support the leader's/leadership's decisions.

Followers who pray for God to lead the leaders and for grace to support the leaders.

Followers who pray and ask for God's favor for others, period.

Followers who reject gossip and talking behind the leader's back.

Followers who dig in and do without complaint.

Followers who encourage.

Followers who know the hardship and responsibility of leadership.

Followers who teach others to be good followers.

I believe most churches would do well if somehow we could teach people how to be good followers.  Western individualism and human pride have made it difficult to be a good follower.

One last observation, I have never seen a church split because there were no leaders.  Competing leadership visions, yes.  Poor leadership, definitely.  Lack of humility, always.  Refusal to be a good follower, yes.  Maybe we need "followership training" in today's day and age just as much as we need "leadership training."

The Dividing Line: The Sufficiency of Scripture

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.

Instead, to suit their own desires,

they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say

what their itching ears want to hear.

They will turn their ears away from the truth and 

turn aside to myths."

2 Tim. 4: 3-4

I have spent much time over the past few years reflecting upon the state of the church in America and the West.  I have read broadly.  I have engaged with the news of the day.  I have sat with folks with whom I disagree about the proper and biblical way to deal with our current cultural directions.  I have tried to understand.  I have come to a conclusion.  

The defining issue in today's church 

remains the doctrine of scripture.

What does this mean?  Here are some diagnostic questions.

Do you believe that God has spoken clearly to reveal His character and will?  Do you believe that God's will on most moral issues is knowable?  Do you believe Jesus is who He said He is?

Why are these questions so important?  We have come to a point where "evangelical" believers don't share an understanding of how to answer them.  We are speaking past each other because many in "evangelical" churches and denominations have radically shifted their answers to these questions.

How so?

I can hear people saying often, "Christianity is all about Jesus.  All you have to do is believe in Him.  All this other moral and ethical teaching of scripture is not important.  It is all about Jesus."

Well, I could not agree more.  The problem is that many take Jesus so lightly!  Even among those who say it is all about Jesus there can be a dismissal of Jesus' life and teaching.

Jesus was all about promoting human flourishing.  He understood that humanity was in need of complete and total redemption.  He understood the sinful human condition.  He came to speak into that condition.  He came to live a perfect life and die an undeserved death to answer the greatest need of sinful humanity.  He came to define human flourishing in relationship to God and God's glory.  The result was incredible.

In Jesus is forgiveness, but also 
a changed heart, a renewed mind, and a clarity of purpose.

Changed.  Transformed.  Made new.  Renewed.  Revived.  Restored.

Don't those words sound great?  Jesus came to give us grace to live a life of human flourishing.  A life that we were meant to live.  A life of meaning and purpose.  A life in line with how we were created to be.

The question is what does such a life look like?  How do we define "human flourishing?" 

Here is the rub.  Here is where the importance of scripture comes in.  I have heard often, "It is all about love."  Well, love needs some definition.  Even as a culture, we have defined that "controlling" love can be abusive.  So, what is true love?  What are proper expressions of love?

Jesus defines love and he affirms that scripture defines 

the proper expressions and understanding of true love.

Jesus began his ministry by affirming the importance of scripture.  To deny the authority of the bible is to deny the authority of Jesus.  As he states in Matthew 5: 17-18

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets;

I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, 

not the smallest letter,

not the least stroke of a pen,

will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

The winds of cultural thought have turned against the authority of scripture to define love, marriage, truth, and righteousness.  As a culture, we will reap the whirlwind from these cultural tides.

What I don't get is how churches and many "religious teachers" think they should join in our cultural destruction.  God is not mocked.  In other words, 

beware of any church or teacher that does not take scripture seriously.

In our fallen condition, even believers might differ in interpretation.  Yet, truly redeemed folks agree on 98-99% of all doctrine.  Those minor points in which we disagree are really not important.  They are like an intramural scrimmage.  We have way more important things to deal with.

Like what?

Our culture, our friends, our families are often not flourishing.  Many are living in darkness and walking into increasing darkness.  It is not loving to encourage people to walk deeper into sin.  In doing so, we are encouraging folks to live in pain, struggle, brokenness, and death.

In other words, Christians and Christianity cannot approve of what scripture defines as sin.  These are the marks of a false church and false faith.  Doing so it not loving.  It is the opposite of love.  

It is time for the Church to be the Church.  
It is time for believers to be believers.
It is time to learn, to believe, and to embrace what scripture says.

                                                    "Jesus and the Pharisees"
                                                    Jacob Jordaens 1593-1678 

Wolves Among the Sheep

"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, 

among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, 

to shepherd the Church of God which He purchased with His own blood.  

I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, 

not sparing the flock;

and from among your own selves men will arise, 
speaking perverse things, 
to draw away the disciples after them."
Acts 20: 28-30

Did you catch the meaning of the end of the section of scripture?

The Ephesian church leaders had among themselves those who would lead the church astray.

How is this possible?  Did not Paul train them and help install them?  Yes.  Right after Paul made this statement, did not these same leaders kneel down and pray with Paul?  Yes they did.

"By their fruits you will recognize them." 

Matt 7:20.  

In life and ministry it matters how you run the race and how you finish.

The Christian life is meant to be a life marked by dependent faith in Christ.  It is marked by authentic humility expressed in repentance and faith.  Have you noticed how often church leadership is not marked by these traits?  In particular, leadership that goes wrong is not marked by these traits!

Living in a fallen world means that we must 

always be on guard against the schemes of the evil one. 

He is a liar, a murderer (the root of all anger, jealousy, lack of love), and a pretender to authentic grace.  His schemes include placing false assurance into the hearts of some in hope that they will later wreck the mission and testimony of the church through their pride.

Again I ask, what does this mean?  Should we not join a church since it might be a mixed crew?  No!  It is important to join a church.  

Joining the church means willingly submitting to the order and authority of the local church.  It does not mean that you will agree with every decision made by the church, but that you will work to maintain the peace and purity of the church through healthy discussion, quick repentance when you wrong someone, and quick forgiveness when wronged.  It means that you willingly allow the Elders to speak the gospel into your life.  Most importantly, it also means that you are willingly ingrafted into the a local expression of the body of Christ.  It was an assumed condition for the Jews of Jesus' time.  It is important!

Yet, we should not be surprised or shocked when the behavior of others turns ugly.  We live in a fallen world!  We should not allow ugly behavior to continue in the name of being nice.  If we do so, we are encouraging and allowing evil.  We should lovingly confront and encourage repentance and faith.  Often the response will be repentance.  It might take time, but it will be so.  

Other times the response will be a striking out at you for mentioning their sin.

Does this surprise you?  Remember we live in a fallen world.

By their fruits you will recognize them.  

One who refuses to repent from obvious sin should be treated as an unbeliever.  In other words, they need to hear the gospel.  Repentance, faith, trust in Christ, confession of sin, and walking in grace and truth should be lovingly proclaimed and announced.

The Church is God's wonderful means of grace into this fallen world.  We are to model dependent faith upon Jesus.  We do not have it all together, but we point to and follow the One who does.  May the Lord purify and refine His bride to reflect and illustrate such dependent, repentant faith.

It has been too long...

For everything there is a season,

and a time for every matter under heaven.

Ecc. 3:1

It has really been too long since I last wrote.  Jesus has been very present and faithful to me over this year.  Yet, until recently, I have not felt like writing.  I have kept up with life and ministry, but I have not sat down to actively think through writing.

My hope and prayer is that my lethargy about writing and thinking is done.  A difficult season of life is now ended.  A new season of life is beginning.   

I take great comfort in this fact.  I also take great comfort that just as natural seasons change, I can feel that I am entering into a new season of life and ministry.  

I feel emotionally and spiritually healthy.  I feel like my personal journey through the wilderness is over.  I feel creative, released, free.  It is good.  I testify to the awesome grace and loving-kindness of the Lord.  It is real.  It has been sufficient for me.