the reluctant leader

When All You Have Is Not Enough

A mob of hungry people. Seven biscuits. A couple of sardines. That's not even almost enough food. But that's all they had. What do you do when all you have is not enough?

The story of Jesus feeding the 4000 offers some answers to what we should do when there is more month than money. Here's a summary of the story.

Mark 8:1 Large crowd had nothing to eat.

Mark 8:2 Jesus had compassion.

Mark 8:4 Disciples had no clue what to do.

Mark 8:5 After pooling their resources they had a grand total of seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. Not much for 4000 hungry people.

So, what do you do when you don't have enough, when the words "few" and "small" describe your opportunities and your income? When I don't have enough, I usually complain or swim in self-pity. But there has to be a better way. Watch Jesus and learn.

Mark 8:6,7 Jesus took the seven loaves and the few small fish and GAVE THANKS, then He GAVE THEM AWAY to the hungry people.

Try THANKFULNESS and GENEROSITY next time your all is not enough. First give thanks to God, then give some of what little you have to someone who has even less. If we learn to give thanks for the too small and the too little, we might just see that small and little multiply until it is more than enough.

Mark 8:8 The people came to Jesus famished and left full, with bags of leftovers.

Rubber Ban Shooters & 5 Ministry Tension Points

Last week I spoke to 250 female pastors and pastor's wives at the New Zealand Assembly of God national conference. My previous blog is my confessional from that meeting.

Here's a blog version of my message to those female leaders:

Remember shooting rubber bands at your friends in elementary school? If you stretch the rubber band too much, it breaks and stings your finger. If you don't stretch it enough it will not fly all the way to the target. If you stretch it and aim it properly, you can hit the second grade bully three rows over and the clueless substitute teacher will never know who the sniper was. The trick is to keep the right amount of tension on the rubber band.

Managing tension in a healthy way - that's what leadership longevity is all about.

Here are 5 tension points that leaders - male and female, young and old - must learn to manage. Too much tension and we snap. Too little tension and we accomplish nothing.

1. MINISTRY & FAMILY. This tension transcends nations, cultures, ages, and careers. No matter if you are a businessman or a pastor, you will have to deal with this one. We can't afford to sacrifice our families on the altars of temporal success. Consider Hebrews 11:7. "By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his FAMILY." Noah's calling enabled him to save his family, and in saving his family, he saved the world. We do not have to choose between family and ministry. God has called us to do both. Is family or ministry first in your life?

2. LOCAL & INTERNATIONAL. According to Acts 1:8 we were given the power of the Holy Spirit so we can reach "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth" not just so we can have a spine-tingling religious experience. As we build strong local churches, we must not forget the nations. This local/international tension creates difficult personnel, time, and money decisions. I believe God wants every church to be a house of prayer for all nations. Is your church local or global?

3. ESTABLISHED & EMERGING LEADERS. My generation knows how to teach and lead the next generation. But if we are serious about reaching the ends of the earth, we must learn how to listen to and lead with the next generation. Leading the next generation and leading with the next generation are not the same. Leading with and listening to the next generation will cause tension. Accept it and manage it. What are you doing to intentionally connect with other generations?

4. UNITY & DIVERSITY. Heaven is described as "a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language..." (Revelation 7:9) Diversity in heaven is a beautiful thing, but on earth diversity causes tension. Diversity will pull us apart unless we make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit. Jesus had diversity in his genealogy. Do you have diversity in your church?

5. CAMPUS & CHURCH. We are called to plant churches and we are called to reach campuses. Building the church by reaching employed adults helps the financial bottom line. Growing the church by reaching the campus costs money - lots of money. And students don't generally give a lot in the offerings. No matter the cost, we must do both - it's a calling, not a preference. What are you doing to reach the campus?

I pray God will give us wisdom to lead through these and other tensions you will certainly face in the coming years.

The Most Intimidating Crowd I've Ever Faced

That was the most intimidating crowd I have ever spoken to. I felt like a lion in a den of Daniels, like Samson at a barbershop, like a blade of grass facing a Weed Wacker.

I am a professional public speaker. I fly all over the world to speak in front of small groups and large crowds and everything in between. I've been doing the this for thirty years. I rarely get nervous because of an audience. But yesterday I was beyond nervous. I was totally intimidated by those 250 people in the pews in front of me. To put it in Tennessee English: I was scared spitless.

I am in Napier, New Zealand speaking to 600 Kiwi pastors at the Assembly of God national conference. I preached to the whole group the opening night. No problem. But those 250 staring at me in the second morning elective session had me shaking like a leaf in a typhoon.

I have spoken in many nations, many denominations, many cultures, but never to a group like this one.

On the way to the podium, I prayed in desperation, "God help me. Please!"

None of my best messages seemed appropriate for this group.

I continued my prayer: "God, you know my eschatological position doesn't allow me to predict a date for the rapture, but if it be thy will, now would be a great time to beam me up. And please hurry!"

God did not answer my prayer; the rapture did not happen.

So there I am, standing in front of 250 FEMALE pastors and pastor's WIVES. Yes, because of some strange cosmic mistake or a disturbance in the force, I'm the speaker at the WOMAN'S session.

I guess there is a first time for everything.

I have no messages in my iPad for women in general, female pastors, or pastor's wives. So, I preached a leadership message that I have preached to leaders (mostly men) all over the world.

I honestly had no clue if I had hit the mark or not. But to my great relief, several women approached me after my message with slight variations of this line:
"Thank you for speaking to us like leaders, rather than giving us the typical condescending woman's meeting message."

Lesson of the week: All leaders face the same obstacles, so I should speak to leaders - male and female leaders, young and old leaders - like they are leaders. And if I treat them like leaders, there is a good chance they will act like leaders and lead.

Seven Deadly Sins of the Pulpit

I was digging through an old notebook this morning, looking for notes on Ephesians 1 for my sermon this weekend at Bethel Franklin. I did not find what I was looking for, but I did find piles of vintage Steve Murrell sermons. This blog is a summary of a sermon I preached at Victory-Manila in November, 2004. Not sure where the original idea come from, but I think it was inspired by a conversation with Rice Broocks.

__________

It is increasingly common today to hear parts of the gospel proclaimed. The same was happening in the early church. In Acts 20:26,27 Paul says to the Ephesian church elders, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you.  For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the WHOLE WILL OF GOD. (Acts 20:26, 27)

Unlike many modern preachers, Paul refused to edit out the difficult parts of the message. He insisted on preaching the whole gospel.

In 604, Pope Gregory wrote about the "Seven Deadly Sins" which included pride, gluttony, envy, lust, anger, greed, and laziness. In the spirit of the Pope's top seven, here's my list of "Seven Deadly Sins of the Pulpit." 

1. PREACHING CHRIST WITHOUT THE CROSS. No cost Christianity. Paul determined to know and preach nothing except Christ and Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2). Today it seems we preach everything but Christ and the cross, causing many to live as enemies of the cross (Philippians 3:18).

2. PREACHING SALVATION WITHOUT SANCTIFICATION. No change Christianity. So many claim Christ today with no evidence or change in their lives, and the pulpit is at least partially to blame.

3. PREACHING DECISIONS WITHOUT DISCIPLESHIP. No commitment Christianity. I know we are getting crowds and decisions, but are we making disciples?

4. PREACHING LOVE WITHOUT LORDSHIP. No compliance Christianity. Jesus is Lord, and because He is Lord, he heals, delivers, provides, and saves.  

5. PREACHING PROSPERITY WITHOUT PURPOSE. No cause Christianity. God blesses us so that we can be a blessing.

6. PREACHING BLESSING WITHOUT BIRTHRIGHT. No covenant Christianity. Esau threw away his birthright and still expected a blessing. It does not work that way. If we want the blessing, we must accept the covenantal responsibilities that go with the birthright. 

7. PREACHING REVIVAL WITHOUT REFORMATION. No transformation Christianity. We are called to be salt and light, to impact individuals and cultures, families and nations. The gospel is supposed to be transformational.

I have certainly been guilty of all of above at different times in my life as a preacher. As I have matured, hopefully, I'm being more and more faithful to preaching the WHOLE WILL OF GOD. How about you?    

 

Faith is a Journey

While preparing for my Easter sermon, I read John 20 over and over and over. Finally, I decided not to try to convince my audience to believe in the resurrection of Christ, but to talk about the journey of faith. For some the faith journey is quick. Others take it slowly. Most are somewhere between fast and slow.

John 20 pictures three different individual paces in the faith journey: John, Mary Magdalene, and Thomas.

John - Immediate faith, with little understanding. Mary was first at the empty tomb, then John, then Peter. (John 20:1-9) All three saw the same scene. Mary believed the wrong thing. Peter was still processing. John "saw and believed" immediately. No questions. No doubts. Just faith. Immediate faith. Most faith journeys are not like John's. Most take a bit more time.

Mary Magdalene - second look faith, after a personal encounter with Jesus. Mary saw the same thing John saw. Yet she did not immediately believe Jesus was resurrected. She believed someone took his body. That seemed more logical. Then she saw the resurrected Jesus and thought he was the gardener. She asked the "gardener" if he knew where they had taken the body. Jesus called her name, "Mary" and she  recognized Him. Sometimes Jesus is right in front of us and we don't recognize Him. But when He calls our name, we realize He is alive and near. 

Thomas - eventual faith, after carefully examining the evidence. It was a week later before Thomas believed. Everyone else was on board, but he needed more evidence. He needed to see and touch. He had seen miracles for three years, but he needed more evidence before he would accept the resurrection. Finally when Jesus walked though a wall and showed Thomas his nail-scared hands, Thomas believed. Maybe that is what it takes for some, to see the evidence of his suffering on our behalf, then we believe.

It does not matter if you are like John and believe immediately with little evidence, or like Thomas needing more evidence, as long as you believe in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It is not the pace of our faith that matters, it is the object of our faith.

Discipleship is about helping people no matter where they are on the faith journey.

 

Believing in God is Not Enough

Last Sunday I started a sermon series on the Apostles' Creed. This ancient baptismal confession begins with I BELIEVE IN GOD...

Most people in the world today believe in God. But, do they believe in the God of the Bible, or a god of their own making?

Following are some statements by people who BELIEVE IN GOD.

"I believe in one God. I don’t believe in religion. I don’t believe in Christians or Muslims. I think it’s all the same God, and I don’t believe in Hell. But as far as God, of course I believe in God." -Jay-Z

"I believe that there are many paths to God, or many paths to the light. I certainly don’t believe there is only one way." -Oprah

“Sometimes I believe in God, sometimes I don’t. I think it’s 50-50 maybe. But ever since I’ve had cancer, I’ve been thinking about it more. And I find myself believing a bit more.” -Steve Jobs

“I believe in Jesus, I believe in God, I’m very spiritual, I pray. At the same time there isn’t one religion that doesn’t hate or speak against or be prejudiced against another racial group or religious group or sexual group. I guess you could say I’m a very religious woman who is confused about religion.” -Lady Gaga

Jay-Z, Oprah, Steve Jobs, and Lady Gaga all BELIEVE IN GOD. But is belief in God enough? I don't think so. And neither did James who wrote, You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that---and shudder. (James 2:19)

The demons James writes about not only believed in God, they believed in the true God, and they believed the truth about God. Yet, despite their belief, they were still demons.

Likewise, many today who BELIEVE IN GOD still live like demons. Belief, even right belief, is not enough. Believing in God simply qualifies a person to be a demon.

Belief or faith is one side of a two sided coin. The other side of the coin is repentance. Faith is turning to God. Repentance is turning from sin. We can't do one without the other. And that's why mere belief in God is not enough.

So, the question is not simply do you believe in God, but have you turned from sin and turned to God?

 

 

Creativity and Relevance Are Way Overrated

A few days ago I tweeted the following: Creativity and relevance are way overrated. If you want a healthy church you might want to try consistency and reliability.

That one got multiple re-tweets, upping my weekly re-tweet average from one to two. For those unfamiliar with the twitterverse, a re-tweet means the author of said tweet is both profound and important. A re-tweet brings much honor to the family name.

Back to the point. I am tired of watching sincerely dedicated pastors and church planters focus on things that ultimately don't matter and on things that don't transform lives, all in the name of being creative and relevant.

Creativity is fine and good, but it does not break the power of sin. Relevance appears to be hip and cool, but it does not restore broken relationships or heal broken bodies.

I have done church for a long time. Sometimes I have been creative. Often I have not. But I have always tried my best to be consistent: to do what I say I will do, to stay faithful to the basics of the Faith.

Over the years, I'm sure there have been times when I looked relevant, and times when I did not. But I think my church is healthy today because relevant or not, I have been reliable (ie: authentic, genuine, trustworthy, dependable).

I know this is not an either/or situation. It is possible to be creative and relevant, and consistent and reliable at the same time. But too many pastors and preachers tend to go all OCD about creativity and seemingly forget that the power is in the gospel.

Question: I know you are creative and relevant, but are you consistently preaching the gospel?

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because IT IS THE POWER OF GOD for the salvation of everyone who believes... (Romans 1:16)

Three Controversial But Important Topics We Must Address

Pastors and ministers have countless topics to address and an unending stream questions to answer, but none are as important in 2012 as these:

1. The Exclusivity of Christ - Are all religions equal? Are there many paths to God? Or is Jesus the only way to God as stated in John 14:6? ("I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.")

2. The Authority of Scripture - Is the Bible trustworthy, or flawed? Is the Bible authoritative, or merely suggestive?

3. The Sanctity of Marriage - Does marriage still matter? Is marriage exclusively between one man and one woman? Is it ok to redefine marriage to fit in with contemporary cultural values?

These questions will not go away. If we don't address them, someone else will.

My Job as a Preacher Just Got Simpler

While reading a familiar scripture this morning, I think my job as a teacher/preacher just got clearer and simpler.

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"" -Isaiah 52:7

1. The job of the preacher is to "PROCLAIM salvation" not to debate, argue, appease, apologize, placate or politic. Simply proclaim the truth.

2. The job of the preacher is to "bring good NEWS" not to bring good advice. News is something that already happened, not something that might happen in the future. Salvation is the same as news, past event not future speculation.

3. The job of the preacher is to remind God's people that "GOD REIGNS." In difficult times people need to know that God controls the affairs of man. All of them. All the time. We also need to know He is in charge during the good times, lest we take credit for our own success.

7 Truths About the Gospel

After decades of being ignored and/or distorted, the gospel seems to be making a come-back in the Western Church, and that is a good trend. Pulpits that used to feature anemic man-centered self-help sermons are again aflame with powerful Christ-honoring gospel-centered preaching. This new generation of church planters, pastors and preachers are not ashamed of the gospel. Like Paul, they preach it over and over and over. They never get tired of it. Neither did Paul. He mentioned the word "gospel" six times in the first chapter of Romans, revealing seven truths about the gospel we are supposed to preach:

1. Paul was set apart for the gospel. (Rom 1:1) Paul was not primarily called to social justice, political reform or Christian education. While those are important, the gospel is central and essential. All the good that has been accomplished through our church in terms of social justice and helping the poor has been rooted in and empowered by the preaching of the gospel.

2. The gospel was promised beforehand by the prophets. (Rom 1:2) Paul did not create the gospel. His message was not new. He faithfully preached what the prophets of old had promised - a seamless continuity of God's message.  

3. Paul served God by preaching the gospel. (Rom 1:9) In some circles it is popular to question the validity of preaching the gospel unless it is rooted in relationship and preceded by improving social conditions. To Paul, preaching the gospel was serving God.

4. Paul was eager to preach the gospel. (Rom 1:15) Eager, enthusiastic, motivated, dedicated, committed. To the wise and the foolish, to the Greeks and non-Greeks, to those in Judea and in Rome. The gospel was central to Paul's calling and to his lifestyle. It was also the central cause of his persecution, but let's not dwell on that for now. 

5. Paul was not ashamed of the gospel. (Rom 1:16) Paul was ashamed of sin, but not the gospel. Today many Christians seem ashamed of the gospel, but comfortable with sin.

6. The gospel is the power of God for salvation. (Rom 1:16) Salvation requires the power of God, not the effort of man. Self-righteous good deeds are powerless. Life-changing power is only found in the gospel.

7. The gospel is about the righteousness of God. (Rom 1:17) God's righteousness is not earned or deserved. It is revealed, in the gospel.

Note to pastors and all believers who are making disciples in small groups: Be like Paul and PREACH THE GOSPEL, OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER.