Fun Stuff

The Best Gift of All

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The gift was big and heavy. It rattled and clanked, but I had no clue what was inside the box. I waited my turn, then made quick work of the wrapping paper to uncover a brand new REI camping tent. It was the deluxe kind with two sleeping rooms, aluminum poles, a tall frame even I could stand in, and a “garage” attachment for extra storage.

Our first tent was nearly a decade old. It had been fine during those early years of marriage, but as our family grew, so did our need for a bigger tent. My wife had picked out the perfect gift to spend family time together and enjoy the great outdoors.

After testing out the tent in the backyard and making sure we had all the pieces, we were ready for our first real adventure. We drove to the beach and found the site we would call “home” for several days. We made many memories exploring, swimming, building sand castles, cooking s’mores, and crossing paths with a skunk family. (Thankfully no one got sprayed!) Our time was special, but by the end of the week, we were all ready to sleep in a warm bed again, surrounded by four sturdy walls. Tents are a great place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

That tent reminds me of a much greater Christmas gift. Two thousand years ago, God did the unthinkable. He pitched a tent and lived among us. John 1:14 says “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

When Jesus was born, the creator came to earth and set up camp. He preached the gospel, healed the sick, raised the dead, lived a perfect life, and invited twelve disciples to watch him up close and personal. He was tempted and suffered in every way like us, yet never sinned. Then he went to the cross, taking the punishment for our guilt, and rising again on the third day.

But where is Jesus now? He is no longer the lowly infant of Bethlehem. He is the sovereign king of heaven, building a permanent home for all who trust in him. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3).

The king accepted a tent on earth so we can enjoy a mansion in heaven. That is the story of Christmas.

A Merry Christmas to you and your family. Many local churches will be holding a candlelight service tonight for Christmas Eve. Why not attend one? It’s a great way to gather with friends and celebrate the best gift of all – God’s own Son.

Question: What Christmas tradition helps your family celebrate the true meaning of Christmas? Share your thoughts by clicking here.

This article first appeared in our local newspaper, The Hi Desert Star.

Shepherding

I See That Hand

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One of the first decisions I faced as pastor was how I would conduct the invitation at the close of our worship service.

Many members in our traditional Southern Baptist church were accustomed to an “altar call,” but to be honest, I had never seen this done in an effective, biblical way. I was aware of the dangers of a drawn out, highly emotional appeal that could manipulate people or give false hope. There was no way I was going to tolerate endless refrains of “Just As I Am” and melodramatic statements from the pulpit like “No One Looking Around” and “I See That Hand.”

At the same time, the gospel does demand a response. I knew I needed to provide some kind of opportunity and clear instructions for people to put their faith in Christ. I just wasn’t sure what.

For the first couple years, we concluded the service with a simple “hymn of response,” and I hardly pushed the invitation at all. I cringed at the thought of someone walking down the aisle and making a spectacle. However, some of our folks yearned for more. As I listened to their pleas and asked their reasoning, I realized that many were looking more for an opportunity to pray with a leader than a full blown evangelistic crusade.

As I grew in confidence and better understood the needs of my people, I finally began to develop our closing invitation. These links by Justin Taylor and this article by Nathan Finn also gave me a historical and theological framework to build on.

Personally, I still feel there is too much theological baggage and risk of manipulation in formal altar calls. Instead, we make several provisions for people to respond to the gospel:

  • Weave the gospel through the worship service
  • Present the gospel during the sermon with a sense of urgency, and invite people to repent and believe right where they are sitting
  • At the end of the service, welcome people to come talk with a leader
  • Have a leader available up front, plus myself in the foyer as people leave
  • Have a space on our Guest Information card where people can express their interest to receive Christ
  • Equip believers to look for opportunities and share the gospel with people around them

Invitations are a sensitive issue, and each church will no doubt do things a little differently. But whatever we do, we must be clear that walking down an aisle or praying a sinners prayer does not actually save anyone. It is a matter of faith and repentance in the finished work of Jesus Christ, and only He can accurately know our heart.

On a side note, our church is also more cautious about baptizing new converts than many churches. Not because we don’t want more baptisms, but because we want to celebrate genuine regeneration and minimize false conversion experiences. In the short-term, our baptism numbers may appear lower than other churches our size, but in the long-run, we have a much higher retention rate and ratio of baptisms to committed members. And that is something to truly celebrate.

Question: How do you think a church should communicate the gospel and give opportunity to respond without manipulation? Share your thoughts by clicking here.

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Prayer

Teach Us to Pray

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As Jesus whispered “Amen” and opened his eyes, his disciples were already standing there with a request. “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1).

There are many topics we need to cover in leadership development, but prayer is one of the most critical. Apparently, John the Baptist taught his followers to pray, and now Jesus’ disciples want a piece of the action too. Are we modeling prayer to our people? Are we teaching them how to pray, and giving them opportunities to practice this spiritual discipline?

More broadly, this story reveals five essential elements of discipleship. All leadership development must be…

  • Didactic. A disciple (Gk. mathetes) is fundamentally a “student” or “follower.” A learner must hear and grasp content. He must be taught. Jesus granted his disciples’ request by teaching them information. He took words and ideas and organized them into logical sentences and paragraphs to convey truth. We must do the same, with structure and order to what we teach our disciples.
  • Relational. Discipleship is more than just transmitting information. It involves people, and must be in the context of loving relationships. It was only after spending time with Jesus and seeing him pray that his disciples even thought to ask the question “teach us to pray.” They spent much time eating together, talking together, doing ministry together, and seeing how a biblical worldview operates in the milieu of everyday life. Likewise, we must be selective with our time and make sure we are accessible to those we are equipping.
  • Conversational. I love the question-and-answer format of this passage in Luke 11. Sure, there are extended sermons in the Gospels and Acts, but much of the teaching of the New Testament was in the form of dialogue. Jesus talked with his disciples, not just at them. He asked them questions and invited them to do the same. (Cf. Paul’s method in Acts 17:2, 17). A good mentor will look for teachable moments and learn to draw out even the quietest students through intentional conversations.
  • Practical. When the disciples asked “teach us to pray,” they weren’t saying, “teach us the importance of prayer.” They knew that already. They were begging Jesus to teach them how to pray. They wanted practical help in the labor of prayer. And that is precisely what Jesus gave them: specific instructions in the kind of balanced prayer that God answers.
  • Patient. A student will rarely master content the first time around. It can take days, weeks, or even years, to understand and put into practice what was taught. This is due to a variety of reasons including the process of human memory, frequent distractions, and just plain hardheartedness. In the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples had the perfect opportunity to apply Christ’s teaching on prayer, yet instead they were “sleeping for sorrow” (Luke 22:45). Nevertheless, a short time later, we find these same men gathered together, “devoted to … prayers” (Acts 2:42). Yes! They were finally getting it! By the time we get to the epistles of John and Peter, we discover beautiful examples of bold prayer in the Spirit (1 Peter 1:3-5; 5:10-11; 1 John 5:14). Teaching requires patience, lest we grow discouraged by the early failures of our learners. But in the end, we can expect steady and marked progress. A disciple, when he is fully trained, will become like his teacher (Lk. 6:40).

Question: Who has been an example and inspiration to you in prayer? What lessons did you learn? Share your thoughts by clicking here.

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Shepherding

The Goal of Missions

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ImageThis month combines two of my favorite subjects: Christmas and missions.

Missions was on the heart of God the very night Jesus was born. While angels shouted “glory to God” to a few Jewish shepherds outside Bethlehem, a star lit up the sky a thousand miles away announcing His arrival to the Gentiles.

The Christmas story reminds us that the goal of missions is worship. God wants more people to know His Son and to worship Him. When the wise men finished their long journey, they immediately laid gifts at the feet of Jesus, fell down, and worshiped Him (Matt. 2:11).

Of course, missions has always been central to God’s rescue plan. He is jealous for His Name (Ex. 20:5) and wants His glory to be spread among all nations (Ps. 96:3). He desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4).

Each December, our church joins thousands of other Southern Baptist churches to pray for global missions and give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. We also feature missions videos each Sunday morning and will host a missions banquet on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 15 to meet one of our IMB missionaries. What better way to celebrate the advent of Christ?

In the haste of the holidays, pray that more people will hear of Christ and worship Him. Immanuel. God with Us.

Question: How can a church or family weave missions into their Christmas traditions? Share your thoughts by clicking here.

Leadership

We Have Liftoff

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Space ShuttleToday I’m starting a new blog called “Pass the Cloak.”

I’ve been itching to get back into blogging, and with the New Year just around the corner, this seems like the perfect time.

All my past posts from The Desert Chronicle and Life Under the Sun have been archived here as well. I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to transfer all my old posts from Blogger over to WordPress.

The title of this blog “Pass the Cloak” is inspired by a story in 2 Kings. After years of hard and faithful ministry, the prophet Elijah finishes well. He is whisked away on a whirlwind and chariots of fire. Meanwhile, as the dust settles, we see Elisha left behind. He quietly picks up Elijah’s cloak, returns to the bank of the Jordan River, lowers the cloak, and experiences the very same spirit and power of God demonstrated by his mentor:

“Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, ‘Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?’ And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over” (2 Kings 2:14).

Elijah’s time on earth had come to an end. But his legacy and message would live on through his disciple Elisha.

That passage, like this blog, is a challenge for church leaders to effectively “pass the cloak” to the next generation. Our time is so short. As Paul told Timothy, we must “entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).

Who am I writing for? First of all, for men in our own church who are growing as leaders. I want an online platform for discussion. Secondly, for pastors of other churches — to encourage and equip them to develop leaders in their own congregations. Thirdly, for students in the CBU Applied Theology program. But even more broadly, for anyone on the web who has an interest in spiritual issues and Christian leadership.

I hope you’ll stop by regularly and join the conversation! You can also follow this blog by RSS feed or click near the top-right of this page to “Subscribe By Email.”

Question: What ministry issues and leadership topics would you like to see on this blog? Share your thoughts by clicking here.

Thoughts on Life and Leadership