the reluctant leader

A Mosque on Every Corner, the Power of Prayer & Other Reflections on Egypt

I'm sitting in he Dubai airport on my way from Cairo to Manila. A three hour and forty-five minute layover to reflect on my first trip to Egypt. Here are the top 10 thoughts bouncing around my exhausted mind.

1. THE POWER OF KINDNESS. While boarding our Dubai to Cairo flight, Pastor Shaddy Solomon and I were behind a burka-covered woman who was struggling to herd three small children onto the plane while dragging four oversized carry-ons. As Shaddy helped her with her heavy bags she said, "you must be a Christian." The obvious implication was that no man from her religion would lift a finger to help a woman. The kindness of God leads people to repentance (Romans 4:2). I hope we do a better job of demonstrating his kindness to our "cousins" in the Middle East.

2. THE PAIN OF POVERTY. I hate to admit it, but I think I have gotten used to the poverty in Manila. It doesn't bother me like it did 25 years ago. Cairo takes poverty to a whole new level, and my eyes and heart were reopened to the brutal pain of poverty. I hope I never get over it. God's word has so much to say about the poor. And most of it is about what we should do to help them.

3. THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL. Many prosperity preachers do more harm than good. Most Egyptian believers are poor in material goods but rich in faith, and there is much the wealthy West can learn from them.

4. SAUDI ARABIA FLAGS AT TAHRIR SQUARE. Difficult to understand how Egyptians can tolerate Saudi money meddling in their national politics. I can't imagine foreign flags at a political rally in DC or Manila, but they are ubiquitous in Tahrir Square.

5. NO PRIVATE FAITH. Muslim men are not ashamed to publicly express their faith. They kneel and pray five times a day in offices, malls, restaurants, sidewalks and every other place you can imagine. They don't do the personal private religion thing. All public. No shame. I wish Christian men would be so bold.

6. THE BEST BREAD IN THE WORLD! Man should not live on bread alone, but if he does, it should be fresh Egyptian bread.

7. A MOSQUE ON EVERY CORNER. Cairo has Mosques everywhere. And many were built with Saudi oil money. This fact reality tempts me to trade my wife's gas-guzzling truck for a Prius. (I'll keep my VW.)

8. CHRISTIAN SUPORT OF ISRAEL. Christians in the Middle East don't understand the Western church's blind support of the state of Israel, especially when Israel consistently persecutes Arabic-speaking Christians. I don't understand it either.

9. CHURCH AND STATE. When the church becomes more political than prophetic it loses it's voice.

10. THE POWER OF PRAYER. When Catholics, Coptics and Evangelicals pray together, something good is bound to happen. On our last night in Cairo, we attended a 2-hour prayer meeting at a Presbyterian church in Tahrir Square, along with 1500 believers from every church flavor in Egypt. This prayer meeting has been happening every Monday for over 10 years. All this prayer probably had something to do the original revolution, which seems to have been hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood. But prayer is more powerful than protest and while thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters were outside protesting, 1500 believers were inside praying for their nation. Who do you think ultimately wins that battle?

The Futility of Running from God

I recently read the Jonah story. Here's my quick chapter by chapter summary:

Chapter 1: WHEN WE RUN FROM GOD, WE RUN INTO TROUBLE. Because of Jonah's racism, he refused to preach to the hated Ninevites. So, he ran from God's call into triple danger: first a massive storm, then his fellow seafarers, then the giant fish that God provided. No matter how difficult and unfair God's calling might seem, running from God is never a smart move.

Chapter 2: NO MATTER HOW FAR WE RUN FROM GOD, IF WE CRY OUT FOR HELP, HE HEARS AND HELPS. Jonah cried out to God from the stomach of the fish in the bottom of the ocean, and God answered, causing the obedient fish to vomit the disobedient prophet on dry land. Jonah did not have to fix his mess before God would answer his prayer. Neither do we.

Chapter 3: GOD GIVES SECOND CHANCES. God gave his runaway prophet a second chance, and God gave the idolatrous Ninevites a second chance. I'm thankful that God has given me so many second chances.

Chapter 4: GOD IS GRACIOUS, COMPASSIONATE, AND FORGIVING; WE ARE JUDGMENTAL, HARSH, AND SELFISH. In the end, Jonah was angry that God extended grace, compassion and forgiveness to people who did not deserve it. We tend do celebrate the grace God gives us, and complain about the grace he gives those we don't like.

Have you run from God lately? How did that work out for you? It is never too late to run back to Him.

Upper Room Joy vs Frontline Sacrifice

From Upper Room Joy to Frontline Sacrifice: 3 Essentials of Healthy Church Culture

One of the most important, but elusive, tasks of church leadership is creating and maintaining a healthy church culture. What I call church culture, some people call environment, atmosphere, or vibe. No matter what you call it, it is vital that church leaders create good environments.

No matter if you are leading a new church plant or an old established church, a mega church or mini church, a western church or third world church, an urban church or a rural church, an attractional church or a missional church... no matter what kind of church you are leading, if you want a healthy church culture you will need to constantly over-emphasize the following:

1. VIBRANT SPIRITUALITY. Seems silly to even list this one, but countless times throughout history organizations and churches that start out deeply spiritual end up spiritually dead. When I say spirituality I do not mean spooky, cooky, scary, or weird. Vibrant spirituality is Christ-centered and Spirit-empowered, not experience-seeking and out-of-control. Many churches have traded spiritual transcendence for cultural relevance or unbiblical mysticism. Both are bad trades.

2. GLOBAL MISSION. Yes, the presence of the Holy Spirit makes our meetings exciting, but that's not the point. The purpose of Holy Spirit power is to prepare us for mission. (see Acts 1:8) If we want healthy churches, we will have to lead people from upper room joy to front line sacrifice, from personal devotion to global mission. A healthy local church, requires a global mission. Jesus told his original followers to makes disciples, not just in their local communities, but in all nations. Jesus called them to a global mission, and he calls us to no less.

3. COMPASSIONATE COMMUNITY. I have observed some deeply spiritual people pursue a global mission, and leave piles of body bags in their wakes. This happens when we are more concerned about mission than people. Remember, Jesus died for lost people not for religious experiences and mission statements. The people are the mission.

Random Acts of Green & the Real St Patrick

My waiter at Nero's Cafe had green hair today and my barista wore a goofy green top hat.

Beyond the random acts of green, what should we know about St. Patrick and his day?

Fifteen hundred years ago Ireland was an idol-worshipping, slave-trading nation of savage pagans. In just one generation Ireland was transformed into a godly nation known for its scholars and missionaries.

The best-selling book “How the Irish Saved Civilization” tells how this national transformation was primarily the work of one man, Patrick. During his thirty years of missionary work in Ireland, Patrick helped establish over 700 churches and schools and trained over 3000 ministers. But his ministry went beyond just church work. He also helped transform government reform laws that brought the end of slavery in Ireland.

I guess he did more than wear green hats, drink green beer, and sponsor parades.

Instead of merely going green today, why not celebrate St Patrick's Day the way Patrick would, by MAKING DISCIPLES?

"Go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28).

Patrick did. We can too.

When Life is Not Fair

I tweeted the following a few hours ago: While reading the book of Job this morning, I had this thought: MY LIFE IS GOOD. #thankful #fb

Yep, I'm reading the book of Job this week. Not my favorite book of the Bible, but I always gain new insight every time I read about Job's catastrophic struggles, his self-righteous friends and his amazing God. After reading Job, I always end up very thankful. If you feel that life is not fair, then I suggest a strong dose of Job.

Here are some thoughts I blogged after reading Job a few years ago, about the time that Typhoon Ondoy baptized Manila in flood waters, destroying homes, wiping out businesses and taking lives.

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1. Bad things happen to seemingly good and innocent people. Four times Job is described by God as "blameless and upright" yet he experienced horrible suffering.

2. The devil is real and he comes to "steal, kill and destroy." Chapter 1 makes it clear that all Job's pain and loss was an act of the devil, not an act of God.

3. People experiencing bad times need good friends. When you have friends who are suffering, try doing what Job's friends did in Job 2:13 "Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was."

4. Good friends often give bad counsel. Unfortunately, after that week of silence, Job's friends opened their mouths and stuck both feet in, nasty sandals and all.

5. Some things can't be explained and some "why" questions can't be answered. The book of Job never answers the "why" question. But it does paint a good picture of "how" - how to find God in our pain and how to respond to calamity in a way that honors God.

6. We can find God in our pain and loss, if we do what Job did when he realized the extent of his loss - "then he fell to the ground in worship..." (Job 1:20) Do we only worship God in the good times?

7. In the end, the blessing of God caught up with and overtook Job. Most people don't press through and read the whole book of Job. But if you endure til the end, you will find that "the Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the former." (Job 42:12) And if we endure past our pain, we will find God in the end.

How to Experience the Nearness of God

Christmas morning. Sure is quit around here. Not like the joyful noisy early morning chaos when we had three small sons and way too many gifts under the tree. Those days are long gone. We now have three adult sons who are sleeping late today. And we have a grand total of five gifts under the tree.

On this peacefully silent Christmas morning I'm reading Acts and thinking about "Immanuel... GOD WITH US" (Matthew 1:23)

Do you ever feel far from God, like Emmanuel is not particularly close? We all do at times.

Acts 23:11 says, "The following night THE LORD STOOD NEAR Paul..."

Why did He STAND NEAR Paul and often seems to stand so far from us?

Maybe because we live such safe and comfortable lives that we don't think we need Him all that close all the time. Paul's life was so unsafe and uncomfortable that he needed God close in order to survive each day.

Here's what prompted the Lord to stand near Paul, this time...

"The dispute (between the Pharisees & Sadducees) became SO VIOLENT THAT THE COMMANDER WAS AFRAID PAUL WOULD BE TORN TO PIECES by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks. (Acts 23:10)

You want God near? Want to feel His presence?

Simple. Get out of your comfort zone, get on mission, take a step of faith and watch what happens - religious people will get mad and the Lord will stand near.

7 Elements of A Healthy Church

I have about 30 minutes for this blog while I wait for my Atlanta to Lima, Peru flight.

As usual I will hit the ground running - four days of training pastors and church planters. The goal of this trip is to help Peruvian pastors understand how to lead a healthy church.

For four days we will discuss and dissect the following seven essential elements for a healthy church.

1. DISCIPLESHIP PROCESS. A simple, duplicable, transferrable and Biblical discipleship process is the starting line if we want a healthy church rather than a religious crowd.

2. EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP. It is not enough for a church to have great leaders. In fact, a strong leader can be a weakness, if that leader is not empowering. Healthy churches empower multiple generations of leaders rather than creating a "Man of God Syndrome" where paid professionals do all the ministry.

3. ENGAGING WORSHIP SERVICES. This is much more than good music. Essential elements of inspiring and engaging worship services include: anointed songs, excellent music, dynamic preaching, theological depth, relevant communication, spiritual power, presence of God, relational connection.

4. FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURES. Too many church leaders act as if organizational excellence and spiritual life are mutually exclusive. On the contrary, well-developed ministry roles and clearly defined lines of authority actually enhance spiritual life.

5. MISSION ALIGNMENT. For a church that is part of network, fellowship, movement or denomination commitment to the corporate mission, vision and values is essential. For churches in Every Nation Ministries, that means a commitment to church planting, campus ministry and world mission.

6. HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS. It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of relationships. Key relationships that must be healthy include: the pastor and his wife and kids, the pastor and his peers, the pastor and his local leadership team, the pastor and his mentors.

7. FINANCES. Money does not make a church healthy, but an unbiblical view of money will make a church unhealthy. Integrity, generosity and wisdom are the foundations if healthy money management in a church context.

That's it. Gotta run to gate A7...

Divine Hide & Seek (The Gospel in Genesis)

While doing the Purple Book this morning (for the thousandth time), I got stuck on question #7 in chapter 1: "How did Adam and Eve react after their eyes were opened and hey realized they were naked?"

The answer to that question is found in Genesis 3:7-10,15.

1. They covered up, or "made coverings for themselves" (vs 7)

2. "They hid from the Lord God" (vs 8)

3. They were afraid of God (vs 10)

Fallen human nature is the same yesterday, today and forever. Thousands of years later our first reaction to sin, guilt and shame is still to cover up and hide. Hiding from an all-knowing invisible God is not the smartest move ever.

While Adam and Eve were hiding, God was seeking. He walked the garden calling them by name and giving them an opportunity to come clean about their sin. Rather than confessing and repenting, they passed the blame and rationalized.

The good news is that while man continues to sin, run and hide - God continues to pursue, because while it is human nature to cover up and hide, it is God's nature to seek and save.

That's the gospel in Genesis.

Every Nation (Not Yet, But Soon)

Now in Singapore at one of our favorite meetings of the year: the Every Nation Asia Pastors Equipping Conference (APEC).

The next four days we have the privilege meeting with amazing leaders, pastors, missionaries and church planters from 25 nations including:
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Cambodia
China
Guam (USA)
Hawaii (USA)
India
Indonesia
Japan
Laos
Macau
Malaysia
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nepal
New Zealand
Philippines
Singapore
South Korea
South Africa
Taiwan
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
Vietnam

Because of our security protocols I will not be able to tweet or blog about many of the testimonies that I will hear this week, but I ask you to pray for our Asia leaders this week.

We are not in EVERY NATION yet, but we pray that God will send workers for the harvest in every nation. Maybe you are the answer to that prayer for one of the nations.

Leadership Lessons From Underground Chinese Pastors

My recent trip to China inspired me to come out of a self-imposed blog retirement. Why? Basically because what I observed and learned must be recorded, at least to remind me of the kind of leader I am supposed to be...

My first trip to China was over twenty years ago. It was quite an adventure; it felt kinda James Bond-ish. Along with a few Filipino pastors, I smuggled Bibles across the border and secretly delivered them to couriers who delivered them to pastors in rural areas of China.

Our training in Hong Kong was intense. Our mission was eternal. Our cargo was priceless. Our Chinese contacts were risking their freedom to accept our smuggled Bibles. We were risking being yelled at and sent back to Hong Kong. If caught, we would be deported; they would end up in prison.

Much has changed since my first trip to China. Each time I return I am impressed with all God is doing in a land that has tried so hard to keep Him out.

I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet, but I felt a strong prophetic word as I taught fifty Chinese pastors last week. Here's the word: "Years ago thousands of pastors and missionaries came to China from all over the world to smuggle Bibles and to teach the Chinese church. In the coming years thousands of pastors and church leaders will come to China from many nations, not to teach, but to learn from the Chinese church."

They seemed puzzled why people would come to China to learn from them. That response only underlined the accuracy of the word I delivered.

Here are two lessons I think the church in every nation can learn from Chinese church leaders:

1. HUMILITY. The Chinese church leaders are not so impressed with themselves that they can't learn from others. Many of us are way too impressed with our ministries, our theology, our programs, our buildings, our books and our budgets to learn from others.

2. HUNGER. Every time I visit my friends in China I am impressed and convicted by their spiritual hunger. They want more worship, more prayer, more teaching, more training, more grace... Too many of us in the West are overfed and have need of nothing. We need to learn spiritual hunger.

What about you - are you humble and hungry, or self-confident and full?