One of the unique characteristics of a true leader is that he continually makes way for someone else to step into leadership and be even more effective than he has been. While these blogs are not long enough to allow details for each one, here are a few examples to consider:
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There is no quality so beautiful in a leader than genuine humility. This quality is not just that the leader has lowliness of spirit and modesty in words, but they demonstrate a true interest in the welfare of other people – their spiritual upbuilding and maturity. In the context of caring for the flock of God, Peter says, “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another” (1 Peter 5:5). Peter is not insinuating that humility can be put on and off when we feel it should be worn. It is perfectly expressed by Jesus in John 13:4 when “He laid aside His outer garments and taking a towel, tied (gird) it around His waist” to serve others. It was an outer expression in service of the inner life (See Philippians 2:6-8).
When you and I serve in the capacity of a leader, is humility demonstrated with the ease and consistency of an inner walk with Christ – the humblest of all servants? If not, we misrepresent the person we claim to serve and we hinder the work of the Spirit in us and through the church. It’s not often that I deviate from our general topic of church planting and renewal and related subjects to focus on a deep concern, but this is an exception. For several years I have observed and listened to the broken hearts of a church that has gone awry because the pastor has put himself above everyone else, including leadership and “qualified elders”. Sadly, this is one of many like it.
Church growth and expansion depends on biblical, godly leaders (I am including the pastor(s) along with the elders and deacons). Paul never concerned himself with building projects, numbers, or money (except the collection for the poor from Corinth). His primary concern was establishing spiritual, healthy leaders. After investing nearly three years in the church and elders at Ephesus, Paul gathered these leaders for one last time before going back to Jerusalem and eventually to Rome where he was beheaded. Along with reminders of all he had done with them over that time, he sternly warns them; “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock” (Acts 20:28). Paul got even more specific lest they misunderstand his warning; “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you…from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them” (20:29). From this warning we gain valuable insights that every leader and church must use to measure how effectively their leaders are leading. 1. Is there humility with a pastor/leader so that he is willing to evaluate himself and allow others to also evaluate his effectiveness as a leader? This includes being willing to accept biblical criticism and correction. 2. A true leader is also a shepherd. He is concerned for the welfare of the flock and whether his leadership is promoting spiritual unity, maturity and ministry by every member, irrespective of their age (Ephesians 4:11-16). 3. Leaders must realize that apart from a daily, close walk with the Lord, they too can be self-deceived and the enemy of God’s work and purpose for the church. 4. Self-deception results in the leaders making themselves the center instead of Christ. They will promote persons who say “yes” to their wants rather than following the model of Christ and the wisdom He has placed in the body as a whole. 5. The delusion becomes catastrophic! Laodicea was a church that thought they were very much alive and “needed nothing”, but Jesus’ evaluation was that they were “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17). If you are a pastor, elder, deacon, or even a church member, I plead with you for the sake of Christ and His church, and for His purpose for the church in this world, to humbly let the Lord, the Head of His church, examine and correct leadership that has left the biblical model. It will be a painful process, but every bit worth aligning with the example Christ has left us. There is a great motivation to “GO” to the ends of the earth with the gospel of God’s grace. It is by hearing or reading about what God is already doing among the unreached people groups of the world. There needs to be a tsunami hitting the church today that will shake us out of our lethargy and self-centeredness. This is what happened in the Early Church. So great was the movement of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the gospel that the leaders in Jerusalem had a special gathering of the church to verify what was really taking place. “And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.” (Acts 15:12).
There seems to be a double purpose to the “signs and wonders God had done”; first to bring with conviction the gospel to the Gentiles and secondly, to convince the Jewish church in Jerusalem that God was doing exactly what He told them would take place when the Spirit came (Acts 1:8). The church in Jerusalem recognized what God was doing and changed their thinking, their methods, and became ready and willing for the Spirit to send them out to other people groups - Gentiles (Acts 13:2-4; 15:40). What will it take for the church today to “lift up our eyes” and see what God is already doing? Let’s “GO” and join God in the work He is already doing! Even though Paul was not among the eleven disciples at the end of Jesus life here on earth, he clearly understood the details of the Great Commission. Notice Paul’s words to the saints in Rome. “I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”” (Romans 15:20–21). Paul was very clear about the audience he wanted to reach, which was right in line with the instructions Jesus gave His disciples (see the Scriptures we cited yesterday). This was one of the primary keys to Paul’s effectiveness in his ministry – to reach those who had not heard the gospel. Paul was undaunted by the voices of opposition. There were men at Corinth who were “false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:13) who wanted to derail Paul from his single focus in preaching the gospel and establishing strong churches. To this very point Paul says, “Our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged, so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you” (2 Corinthians 10:15–16).
Have you or your church seriously looked at “lands beyond you”? Or have you been derailed from your purpose? Everything that Jesus and Paul said and did, point to this as part of why the church was left here on earth. Let me put it this way; every ministry within the church must mature and prepare the members of the church to ”GO” outside the church with the message of the gospel! “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).“And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.” (Mark 13:10).
“And Jesus said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” (Mark 1:38). “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15). “He said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” (Luke 4:43). Notice that Jesus’ command to “GO” was not without plenty of examples in His own ministry. Jesus did not stay in one town or village for long periods of time. As He went from place to place, He preached the gospel of the kingdom. Like Him, we must be constantly thinking about the next “ethnos” (people group) that has not heard the gospel of God’s grace. Tomorrow I will give you other Scriptures that makes this mindset so important. Then we will look at what is involved in the command to “GO”. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:38). Why are there so few workers who really sense the urgency of taking the gospel to the unreached? It is evident from Jesus' words that this need is met first by earnest prayer. God must move the heart with His call and place the burden on those called so they know God’s sending. Paul makes this point in Romans 10:15, “And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”Let us see God multiply those sent to proclaim the gospel by beginning to pray with much greater earnestness about the unreached and unsaved.
On another occasion, “Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:35–38).At two different events, churches in our area have gathered to specifically pray for our ministry in India, Myanmar and Thailand. We have witnessed God answering in unexpected ways. What would God do if this sense of urgency permeated the church everywhere so that earnest prayer was made “to the Lord of the harvest”?
In a general sense, there is a deep seated lethargy in the church today because we do not have eyes with spiritual insight. In most cases, it takes a “9/11” event for most to attend a prayer service. I am convinced that we really need what Paul prayed for in Ephesians 1:17-18, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.” The glorious hope we have is the gospel of God’s grace, and it is for every people group in the world. Yesterday, I said that we need to “lift up your eyes and see” (John 4:34). Spiritual vision drives our urgency in prayer! When this happens, there will be prayer gatherings everywhere earnestly asking the Lord to prepare and send out workers. There is an amazing connection that Jesus makes in John 4 between His conversation with the Samaritan woman and His comments to the disciples that follows. While their attention had been on food (physical needs), Jesus’ actions and words focused on the spiritual needs of an outcast. This was His food; doing “the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work” (John 4:34). For Jesus, there was no greater satisfying food than meeting the spiritual hunger of this woman.Jesus then tells His disciples that the harvest was coming really soon – four months! Then He makes a very startling statement; “Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest” (John 4:35). Allow me to put this in my own paraphrase, ‘get your eyes off material things and see that there is a spiritual harvest that is waiting to be reaped right now! The whiteness of the fields signifies that there is no time to waste. The harvest work must be done NOW!
The sense of urgency in Jesus’ words then are just as urgent today. I do not say this because we are surrounded by a world that is politically and economically falling apart. I say this because God the Father’s plan for the church is about to be completed, and He wants you and me fully engaged in the work that will complete HIS PLAN! “Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see.” This does not require money, education, organizations, or buildings. It only requires the eyes of your heart. The lessons in evangelism that Jesus gave His disciples were sprinkled throughout three and a half years with them. Coming from a very “Jewish” tradition, it was a shock to the disciple to see Jesus speaking with a Samaritan, much less a woman, “for Jews have no dealing with Samaritans” (John 4:9). When the disciples came back from “going into the city to buy food” (4:8), “they marveled that He was talking with a woman” (4:27). Was Jesus breaking tradition just for the ‘shock factor’, or was there something far greater He was pointing to?
This act of Jesus was a direct fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham; “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Later in the Early Church, this lesson is repeated in different ways to demonstrate that God has never, and will never, forget His promise. He wants the church on board with His plan that was from the beginning. As I go through this series on the “Great Commission”, I ask you to stand back from the few verses in Matthew 28:19-20 and see the “Bigger Picture” of God’s eternal plan. It did not begin when the church was birthed. It was always in the mind and heart of God, and we can trace from the very beginning and see the sign posts He placed along the way that clearly revealed His heart. |
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