the reluctant leader

Pastor Awaiting Public Execution for Preaching the Gospel

Just got off the phone with Simon, one of our Every Nation missionaries in Asia. He was calling from NYC, where he had some meetings with the US State Department and the UN concerning human rights and religious freedom.

Simon always has great testimonies, amazing open doors and life & death prayer requests.

Along with his church planting duties, Simon oversees our ministry to North Korean refugees. Lately, he has been working with the State Dept and the UN, trying to get Son Jung Nam released from a North Korean prison, where he is awaiting public execution for preaching the Gospel.

Recently, Simon and underground believers helped Son Jung Nam’s daughter, “Sarah” escape to a safe house, where her life is no longer in danger.

Since the National Association of Evangelical (NAE) of America is beginning to work with the UN on human rights and humanitarian projects around the world, they flew Simon from Asia to DC to talk about human rights violations in China and North Korea.

At a special dinner meeting, Simon got to meet Ban Ki Moon, the United Nations Secretary General who, being Korean, has a deep concern for the plight of North Korean refugees.

Please pray for Simon and his family, and the special projects he leads – projects that we can’t give details about without jeopardizing lives. 

***Last 2 blogs on my "accidential missionary" site are about Bethel-Franklin's new bld and our church plant plans for SF.

Leadership is…Travel Agent or Tour Guide?

Spiritual leaders should function more like tour guides and less like travel agents.

It is possible to be a travel agent who specializes in tours to Rome, without ever actually going to Rome.

However, it is impossible to be a tour guide who specializes in tours to Rome, without going to Rome. 

Travel agents tell people how to get to places that they (the travel agents) may or may not have visited. They work in the office and point the way. 

Tour guides take others where they (the tour guides) have been many times before. They work on the ground and lead the way. 

First century Pharisees were “travel agent” leaders, sitting in the synagogue telling people how to live. Jesus told his followers to, obey them (Pharisees) and do everything they TELL you. But do not do what they DO, for they do not practice what they preach. (Mt23:3)

Jesus was a “tour guide” leader mixing with people and setting the example. His message was, follow me. (Mt4:19)

Paul was also a “tour guide” leader. His message was, follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. (1Cor11:1)

Jesus and Paul didn’t just sit in an office telling people where to go and what to do; they set the example and led the way. And people followed.  That’s biblical leadership. That’s discipleship. Unfortunately that’s rare in today’s church world.

What kind of leader are you? Do you lead like a travel agent or a tour guide? Do you lead primarily with words or action? Do you lead from an office or pulpit, or do you get involved in real life and lead by example?

Leading with words is a lot easier than leading by example. Problem is - it doesn’t work.

If you want to be a successful spiritual leader, then get out of the office and get with the people so you can lead by example.

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Change of plans: On my last reluctant leader blog I mentioned that I will be preaching a message on "Grace" at Bethel's Brentwood campus this weekend. I am still preaching, but it will be a world mission message. Hope to see some of you there.

Sin, Separation and the Grace of God

Because I use one of those paper clip sized iPods with no screen, I have no idea which podcast I was listening to this morning, but the mystery speaker made a good point about sin, grace and the Gospel.

He said something like this...

If you came to my house and saw a stack of bills on my desk, then picked one up and paid it - I would not know how to respond to you, unless I knew which bill and how much you paid.

If you paid my Blockbuster bill, then I would thank you for covering my $10 late fee, but I would forget about it by the end of the day, and go on with life as usual.

If you paid off the rest of my 30 year mortgage, then my response would be drastically different. I would not forget about it. I would remember what you did for me every time I walked in my house, and I would want to do something to express my gratefulness.

In the same way, if we suppose that the depth of our sin and separation from God is small, and thus the priced required was moderate, then our response to the Gospel will be lukewarm at best. We will "respond" to the Gospel one day, and live as if nothing significant happened the next.

But on the other hand, if we even begin to see the magnitude of our sin and the great priced paid to redeem us, then our response will be to live the rest of our lives as thanksgiving offerings to the One who paid our debt.

We will only understand and appreciate the grace of God to the degree that we understand the seriousness of our sin and our separation from God.

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I will be preaching this weekend at all 3 Sunday morning services (8:15, 10:00, 11:45) at the Brentwood campus of Bethel World Outreach Center. My topic will be the grace of God. I hope my message will help people understand and appreciate what Jesus did for us on the cross. Probably won't mention the above, but it got me thinking about the grace sermon I am preparing.

Tips From My Mentor

I was an idealistic clueless young missionary/church-planter in 1989 when the ministry that sent me overseas decentralized/dissolved/self-destructed, and I was suddenly spiritually homeless. I was fortunate to be “adopted” by a man and his wife who became friends and mentors.

Last week while in Northern California, I got to visit my friend and mentor – Emanuele Cannistraci, or “Pastor C” as I call him.

This guy’s been in ministry over 60 years and he seems to love his wife, his Lord and preaching more today than when I first met him.

As always, his energy was explosive, his laugh contagious and his wisdom profound.

I told him we were about to plant a new church in San Francisco and asked him for some advice. Here’s what he said – not exact quotes, but its the best my memory can come up with:

To be successful in ministry you just need to do four things:

1. Pray. You gotta depend on God. Too many churches don’t know how to pray any more.

2. Reach the lost. Don’t just minister to Christians. It doesn’t matter if you are an evangelist, you have to reach the lost.

3. Develop leaders. You can’t do it all yourself. You have to train others to lead. And, you have to pay your staff good salaries. So many pastors can’t figure out why their youth pastor or worship leader leaves and takes a job at another church. It’s usually because they are not paid enough. Train leaders and be generous to them.

4. Make it fun. Too many preachers condemn and beat the people. There’s no joy, no fun. There has to be joy. Serving God should be fun, not boring. You have to make it fun!

Thx, Pastor C. Not just for the church planting tips, but for the man you are and the life you live. I hope to be like you when I grow up.

***More on my Calif trip on my accidental missionary blog***