the reluctant leader

The Power of Preaching, for Good and for Evil

I'm back in Manila and back online, after a 2 week trip.

While reading The One Year Book of Christian History this morning, I was struck by the power of preaching, for better and sometimes for worse.

The book had a long quote from "the most effective sermon of all time" preached by Pope Urban II more than 900 years ago, but still remembered and acted on today. Perhaps no sermon ever preached has done so much to shape modern history, except for sermons preached by Jesus himself.

Imagine a sermon that was not even available on a podcast, still having an impact 900 years later. Most sermons today don't have an impact 90 minutes later.

In the sermon, Pope U2 (that's Urban the 2nd, not the Irish rockers or country singing cousin Keith) used a brilliantly evil combination of racism, pride, greed, exaggeration, heresy, hatred and fear to rally the "Christians" to take up arms and to go battle against the accursed Turks to...

...avenge these wrongs...if you would save your souls, then come forward to the defense of Christ. Labor for everlasting reward...you will earn the right to absolution from all your sins, and heaven is assured to any who may fall in this worthy undertaking...the wealth of your enemies is  yours...

This sermon started what was probably the lowest point in church history - The First Crusade.

Those Crusaders were doers of the word. Problem was the "word" they responded to was twisted and distorted by the preacher.

I wish modern believers would be doers of the word like those Crusaders who were willing to sacrifice all to obey what they thought was God's will.

But first I wish they would be like the Bereans of Acts 17:11 who, ...were more of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

May God make us all the kind of believers who eagerly receive and act on the Word, but also who study and examine the word daily.

How do you know if the pastor or TV preacher is preaching truth? By examining the Scriptures yourself daily. You have the Holy Spirit living inside of you, and He will lead and guide you into all truth as you study and obey God's word.

My Greatest Fear

Know what scares me most these days?

Pride.

Here’s why. 

I am part of a growing church and ministry that seems to have God's blessing. Open doors abound. Opportunity are everywhere. Favor. Blessing. Expansion.

Yea, we’ve been through some tough times - made some mistakes, faced some hard decisions. Learned a lifetime of lessons. Had to cling to the grace of God.

But now, so many people are getting saved. Changed lives. Restored families. Redeemed relationships. Live and ministry is good.

Right now, we are starting over 50 new churches in a dozen nations. I know that’s nothing compared to the Baptists, AoG, Foursquare and others. But for us, that’s huge.

Our missionaries and church planters are dedicated to the Gospel of Christ. They are humble, and they are bold. And more and more men and women are signing up to plant churches all over the world.

We have talented young leaders - lots of them.  They are so smart and creative. Their hearts beat for the campuses of the world. I love working with next generation leaders.

But I worry about pride - not an obsessive worry – a deep concern. I am concerned about pride in my life. Also in our young leaders, in our old leaders and in our future leaders.

Pride, the invisible killer of all things spiritual.

There are so many varieties: self-righteousness, arrogance, insolence, spiritual pride, conceit, boasting, and more.   

Pride is elusive - hard to detect, harder to catch. Unless, of course, we see it in someone else - then it’s easy to spot. It’s only elusive when it’s in us.

That’s why we need to constantly and deliberately humble ourselves before God and one another. We need to stay open to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the correction of friends.

In tough times we tend to stay on our faces before God. But when all seems well, we act like we don’t really need God, and pride sneaks up.

Beware, especially in times of promotion, peace, blessing, abundance and growth – the invisible killer is lurking and stalking.

*** Pix of our latest Metro Manila church plant HERE***

5 Foundational Priorities of a Spirit-Formed Church

Been traveling too much to blog lately. Fly to Singapore in a couple of hours, but thought I better throw something up here so both my readers would not think I died or got kidnapped. Don't want Nancy Grace flashing my mug shot and asking the world to help find the missing missionary...

A couple of weeks ago about 50 Every Nation pastors and leaders met with Pastor Jack Hayford for two days of food, fellowship, teaching and training. On my other blog I wrote about the time with Pastor Jack and the EN pastors.

Here are some notes Pastor Jack gave us, but never actually talked about. Ran out of time, I guess. Jack's notes are bold italics. My comments follow his points.

5 Foundational Priorities of a Spirit-Formed Church

1. A Vibrant Prayer Meeting – It does not matter what percentage of the church is present, as long as the prayer time is passionate and focused.
My comment: It also does not matter how loud or how long the prayer meeting is. Volume and length are Pharisaical measuring tools. God is more concerned that our prayers are biblical, sincere and faith-filled.

2. A Commitment to Prioritizing Worship – It’s not about the talent and giftedness of the music team, but the “heart-quest” for God.
My comment: It is also not about the music style. God does not prefer the latest Hillsongs to ancient hymns. He is not attracted to a certain music style. Heart - it's about having a heart after God.

3. A Central Focus on the Scriptures – Both studying and responding to the Word of God that leads to transformation.
My comment: Does not matter if you are pentecostal or conversational in your delivery, as long as the Word is communicated. God anoints His word, not my style.

4. Evangelistic Action: Shining as a Beacon in the Darkness – Through a consistent presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, declaring the whole message of the whole Gospel to mankind.
My comment: For us, this means engaging our community and culture through long-term relationships, not random acts of ambush evangelism on misc strangers.

5. Community Sensitive: Serving Social Needs – Glorifying the Father includes the Church demonstrating deeds, which reveal God’s heart of compassion through corporate action.
My comment: The early apostles told Paul to "remember the poor" (Gal2:10) as he planted churches among the Gentiles. We should do the same. No matter what place or people we are called to, we must remember the poor as we do life and ministry.