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What Does the Number 666 Mean?

communicating with the unchurched

On a recent episode of Word Matters, Trevin Wax and I discussed a few different views on the freaky number 666. Let’s take a look at the passage in Revelation where we find this number, and then consider a few different options for the meaning of 666.

Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf and compels the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. It also performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in front of people. It deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs that it is permitted to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.

It was permitted to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And it makes everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, because it is the number of a person. Its number is 666. (Revelation 13:11-18, CSB)

It’s worth pointing out at the start here that “666” is not necessarily even the number, because “616” appears in the earliest manuscript we have of Revelation 13:18. “666” is most common among most manuscripts, but isn’t the only number we see. In the CSB, for example, “666” is in the text, but there is a footnote that says, “Other Gk mss read 616.” When translators of any Bible translation are trying to decide how to render a text like this, they’ll often lean toward the word or number that appears in the most manuscripts, but the earlier manuscripts do hold some weight because they might be closer in time to the originals.

So, with that in mind, let’s look at some of the major views. Note: There are dozens of other views on what “666” means, but these are probably the most popular and plausible.

What Does the Number 666 Mean?

1. 666 represents a person or symbol in the future.

This view is sometimes called the futurist view, because it views the “mark of the beast” as something that’s not yet happened, and relates to a future Antichrist who will prepare the way for Jesus’ return. John is talking about something in the future, and therefore 666 doesn’t represent anything that would apply to his own time. This is popular in many churches, and particularly holds weight with the dispensational-leaning crowds, who view almost all of Revelation as a depiction of future events.

Some theories have suggested that “the mark of the beast” could be some sort of worldwide currency or designation. So, they would say that this mark might be referring to a certain type of microchip that people would need to wear or own to spend money, or it might be a way of claiming citizenship or allegiance to a particular worldwide government. So, “666” might or might not be the literal number, but this “mark” has something to do with the future and is a sign that Christ would be returning soon.

So in short, this view holds that “666” is part of a key to unlocking when and how Jesus will return.

2. 666 represents Nero, the hostile Roman Caesar.

This view is sometimes called the preterist view, though that term carries some theological baggage with it—some preterists would deny the future return of Jesus, for example—but the idea here is that “666” is referring to a particular person or object in John’s time of writing the book. So the last view would say that the “mark of the beast” is something that’s occurring later in relation to a future Antichrist. This view situates 666 within the direct context of Revelation’s writing and immediate audience.

This is where the variant numbers of 666 and 616 come into play a little more. This takes a little explanation, but hang with me. Proponents of this view follow an approach called “gematria,” which is the practice of assigning numbers to letters. The idea, then, is that each letter in a name has a numerical value (like, B = 10 and T = 200), which gives your name a numerical value when all the letters are added up. So if G = 10 and O = 5 and D = 5, the word “God” would equal 20, and that’d be the numerical value of his name. So a Christian could say, “I worship the number of a being, and his number is 20.”

This view points to “666” representing Nero, the Roman Emperor who was notoriously evil and violent. In a few different ways, gematria points to N + E + R + O = 666. Nero might’ve been dead by the time Revelation was written (depending on if you affirm an AD 65 dating or AD 95), but his reputation was felt throughout Rome for long after his death. Depending on if John was using the Hebrew, Greek, or Latin spelling of “Nero” or “Ceasar Nero,” there are various ways you can add up the letters in his name to reach the numbers 666 or 616. This would make sense, since Nero certainly qualified as a beast who tried to thwart God’s purposes.

Proponents of this view also point out a few pieces of context in this passage. For example, it’s mentioned in Revelation 13 that this mark has something to do with buying and selling. This is similar to a point those of the first view make—it must have something to do with economy or government, Roman coins contained the face and name of the Emperor on them, and so John could be trying to get across the idea that Roman coins had the “mark of the beast,” Nero’s name, on them, and so Christians should beware of being too involved in the economic or governmental rule of an anti-God government. And depending on which side of the kingdom you’re on, it’s possible Nero’s name was spelled differently, thus meaning that manuscripts from different areas of the Roman Empire might use 616 instead of 666.

There’s so much more to say on this view, but basically: “666” represents Nero, and John is telling his audience to remember that Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not. You can’t have allegiances to both kingdoms.

3. 666 represents an unholy Trinity.

This view is often called the idealist or figurative view. Though similar to the last view in saying that “666” is symbolic, they would say that trying to add up the numbers to reveal someone’s name is a waste of time, because it’s easy to manipulate the numbers or spellings to add up to any number you want.

Instead, this view says that “666” has universal or symbolic significance. So it’s not about some future code to break before Jesus returns, but it’s also not a code to break to understand which person the number might represent.

Many proponents of this view would say that “666” is used intentionally in contrast to “777”—the number understood to be complete perfection. So God’s number is 777, and 666 is some sort of unholy Trinity, three numbers added together that are just short of 777, and thus just short of perfection. While sympathizing with both of the other views in saying that 666 represents something or someone anti-God, it’s a more generic contrast to God’s good purposes of redemption.

In his monumental commentary on Revelation, G.K. Beale says,

The repetition of six three times seems to indicate what might be called the “completeness of sinful incompleteness” found in the beast. The beast epitomizes imperfection, while appearing to achieve divine perfection. Three sixes parody the divine Trinity of three sevens. … the beast as a counterfeit Christ and the second beast as a counterfeit prophet. When believers successfully resist the beast’s deception, they avoid being identified with the essence of his name, which is imperfection personified.

My View

First off, we should remember that John uses numbers as symbols often—everyone should agree with that. The real issue is which numbers we should take “literally” and which are figurative or coded. But I think we too often see Revelation as purely a future prediction book, and we miss that it’s a book rooted in its time, like all books of the Bible. The author, John, is receiving a vision from God that certainly depicts some future events, but he’s still a man in a context with an audience.

The audience of Revelation is living under strong persecution in most places, and they’re being challenged by the government to bow down to Caesar, who believes himself to be divine. So I think much of Revelation is coming from and intended for that context. The hearers of Revelation weren’t passive listeners to a book that wasn’t really about them, but merely about some people in the future.

So all that said, I would lean toward a hybrid of views 2 and 3.

There is a code to broken here—John tells them to “calculate the number of the beast,” and points out that the number is in fact a name. So it seems that some sort of play on a person’s name in view here, and he tells them that those who have wisdom and understanding actually have the ability to decode that number and know who the person is. I lean toward a later date for Revelation (AD 95), so I believe it was likely written during Caesar Domitian’s time and not Nero’s, but there’s also some historical evidence that indicates that Nero was sort of the archetype of caesarian persecution, and Domitian was considered a type of Nero. In that sense, John could’ve been telling his audience that Nero and others like him are the “beast.”

I also think the third view comes into play. That 666 contrasts 777 as an “unholy Trinity” could be true at the same time as view 2, because John could be using a double-meaning here—and we shouldn’t put that past him, considering how symbolic and clever he is with language. So, the “mark of the beast” could also be making the point that Nero is part of the anti-Trinity. But with the 616 variant manuscript, it’s a little less likely to me, although there are some arguments out there showing that 616 could indicate imperfection or an unholy Trinity.

The big point is this: Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not. Don’t bow down to false gods or false governments, but rather place your hope in the triune God who is redeeming all things. Nothing can thwart him, and no beast can devour him.

Listen to this episode of Word Matters to hear Trevin’s view and more of our discussion.

This article originally appeared here.

How Well Do You Know the Short But Punchy Book of Jude?

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There is a book of the bible that seems easier to neglect than others. The reason for that neglect is not necessarily because of its content but because it’s so short. At only 25 verses and a little over 460 words long, the epistle of Jude is one of the shortest books of the entire Bible. Beware though of letting the shortness fool you into thinking that the Epistle of Jude is anything but hard-hitting. The creators behind the Bible Project provide the following video overview of this small but blunt letter.

Jude (Judah in Hebrew and Greek) was one of the four brothers of Jesus mentioned in the New Testament. Initially, the Lord’s brothers did not believe He was the Messiah but eventually did believe and became leaders and missionaries in the early church movement (Acts 1:14; 1 Cor 9:5). We are not sure what Christian community Jude was writing too, but the community seemed to be made up of Messianic Jews, due to the letter’s writing style, which assumes a deep knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures as well as other sources of ancient Jewish literature.

Verses 1 through 4 finds Jude exhorting this Christian community to “contend for the faith” because corrupt teachers had infiltrated the church. Ironically, Jude does not attack their message but instead, attacks their way of life. Specifically, these teachers were distorting God’s grace as a license to sin and thereby rejecting the authority of Jesus. In verses 5 through 10, Jude provides more weight to his argument by reminding his audience of particular judgments of God located in the Old Testament such as the ones elicited by the pre-creation rebellion of angels, the nation of Israel’s rebellion, and Sodom and Gomorrah.

Jude provides more judgment examples in verses 11 through 13 to show how sin can corrupt other people. The rebellions of Cain, Balaam, and Korah must have been hard hitting examples for Jude’s audience because those rebellions caused massive amounts of human suffering. In verses 17 through 19, Jude cites popular Jewish literature that foretold God’s judgment and ties those pronouncements to the words of the apostles who predicted the arrival and danger of false teachers.

In the closing verses of 20 through 25, Jude explains what it means to “contend for the faith.” He gives us three action items: 1) build our lives on the holy faith; 2) build ourselves on the foundation of prayer and; 3) stay alert for the return of Jesus. Thankfully, Jude reminds his audience (and us) that it is Christ Himself who will enable the Christian community to stand in the midst of hardship.

Three Principles I’ve Learned on the Journey With Cancer

communicating with the unchurched

Lord, I want to be ready to give a strong witness that I care more about where I’ll spend eternity than I do about the things of this earth.

These are words I had voiced in prayer to the Lord, seeking His guidance and strength to be an unashamed witness in whatever storms I may face in this life. I had watched people grasp for answers and alternative treatments while trying to grab a few more days, weeks, or months of life in the face of a terminal diagnosis, and I knew I wanted to live with an eternal focus fixed on Christ and the gain of heaven.

My opportunity came on September 16, 2016, when I heard my doctor tell me I had aggressive cancer. The prayers I had prayed for strength and courage to face life’s uncertainties had bolstered my faith and prepared me to bear witness to God’s goodness as I walked this difficult road. Over these last eight months, my wife Sheila and I have learned three principles that have proven true time and again during my diagnosis and treatment and over the whole course of our lives.

#1: TOTAL OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S WORD IS OUR ASSURANCE OF SALVATION AND THE BEST PREPARATION FOR THE STORMS THAT MAY COME.

I like to say that my doctor called on September 16, but God called on September 17. For years Sheila and I have walked through the MacArthur Daily Bible together. In the face of the news I received the previous day, I was met with these words on September 17 – “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3). That morning my wife and I settled on three prayer points during my cancer journey:
• That God would be glorified in the process
• That God would lead us to the right treatment
• That I would greatly love and serve my wife through the journey

We shared these points with friends and family as we sought the Lord in each area and surrendered to His will and His lordship over the details.

#2: PATIENT, PRAYING BELIEVERS ARE BLESSED BY GOD WITH STRENGTH FOR THE TRIAL.

Our path to treatment was not smooth, and God’s will is not always the road of least resistance. We came up against many roadblocks, detours, and delays – yet all were sovereignly used of God to answer that second prayer point and lead us to the best treatment option. After coming up short on my initial route for treatment, I began researching proton therapy and, more specifically, the pencil beam approach. I learned that Scripps in San Diego leads the way, but that a center in Knoxville (much closer to home) is one of five in the nation that specializes in the pencil beam therapy.

During my initial interview and marker placement in Knoxville, I was given a much more extensive and effective treatment plan than I had initially received in the early days after my diagnosis. As I spoke with the doctor in Knoxville, I could tell he “wasn’t from around these parts,” so I asked him about his background. As only God could ordain, my physician was in Knoxville for a brief time to help with their caseload – on loan from Scripps in San Diego. All the detours and delays had been part of God’s plan to increase faith, strengthen us for the trial, and put us in the exact spot for treatment – with a doctor on loan from the nation’s top pencil beam treatment facility! In addition to all of that, God moved on the hearts of His people, and my treatment was completely paid for in a way only He could orchestrate.

Though the delays with insurance companies and treatment facilities were frustrating, we could see the hand of God in each step. Keep trusting God as you pray and seek Him in the storms because I’m living proof that He gives strength to those who take Him at His Word.

#3: GOD IS SOVEREIGN, AND HE IS WORKING BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE STORM. WATCH FOR HIS HAND!

It’s been said that when you pick up your sword to fight for yourself, God puts His down. Cancer was not the only battle we faced over the past few months. While Sheila and I were in Knoxville for treatment, the town where we live and serve was devastated not once, but twice, by tornados, storms, and straight line winds. It was difficult for us to be so far away from Albany as our community was hurting and in turmoil. On top of that, the “storms” hit even closer to home when my younger daughter’s house was broken into. I couldn’t be right there for her within minutes, and this father felt helpless. I was tempted to pick up my sword to fight, but God kept reminding me, “I don’t need you in Albany. I’ve got Albany.”

In 2 Corinthians, Paul writes, “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (4:17). We are reminded that God controls the severity and duration of our trials, and He sees the end from the beginning. Warren Wiersbe notes, “God has His eye on the clock and His finger on the thermostat.” During this time, the Lord kept our focus outward on others and not merely inward on our own circumstances. A friend contacted us who knew of our hearts’ desire to give generously to others. This person allotted a sum of money for Sheila and me to give away at our discretion so that we could continue to experience the joy of giving, even through a trying season. At every turn, we watched God working in ways we had never imagined.

After all we’ve seen and experienced and learned from the Lord, there is one question that echoes in our minds: Are we more like Jesus today than we were on September 15, 2016 (the day before my diagnosis)? Clearly we have seen evidence of life change and growth in godliness in four areas:
1) We have a deeper intimacy with the Lord.
2) We have a deeper intimacy as a couple in our marriage.
3) We have a greater heart and ministry for the suffering.
4) We have a more keen understanding that every moment of time we have is like a diamond that is slipping through our fingers and can’t be regained. We must live intentionally.

God is true to His Word, He keeps His promises, and He never fails His children. It is our prayer that our testimony will challenge fellow believers to build their lives upon the rock, anchored to the Word of God by the power of God through the Spirit of God.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” – Matthew 7:24-27

This article originally appeared here.

Russell Moore and Key Evangelical Leaders: Criminal Justice System Doesn’t Work, Let’s Fix It

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Ravi Zacharias, Russell Moore, Samuel Rodriguez and Joni Eareckson Tada added their names to the “Justice Declaration” along with nearly 100 other Christian leaders. The Declaration provides a biblical framework for the church to respond to the growing incarceration crisis the U.S. faces and calls on the government to facilitate reform.

“We have a criminal justice system that doesn’t work and ought to be fixed,” ERLC President Russell Moore stated at the press conference on June 20, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Furthermore, Moore believes evangelical Christians should “be the first to say so.”

Prison Fellowship CEO James Ackerman invites Christians across the country to sign the Declaration. Articulating the dire need for criminal justice reform, Ackerman says, “The United States locks up more people than any other nation. In fact, the United States represents a mere 5 percent of the world’s population, but we house 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated population,” the Christian Post reports.

The Declaration may have been spurred by Attorney Gen. Jeff Sessions’ memorandum on criminal sentencing released in May. The memo essentially reverses a policy put in place by the Obama administration to steer prosecutors away from charging offenders who had not committed violent crimes with unfair minimum sentences. Republicans and Democrats alike voiced opposition to Sessions’ memo. Two conservative Republican senators, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah, teamed up with Democrat senators, Dick Durbin of Illinois and Cory Booker of New Jersey, to pen a letter expressing their concern over the memo. They said the sentencing guidelines put forth in the memo could “ruin families and have a corrosive effect on communities, and are not likely to reduce recidivism.”

Sessions defended his memo in an Op-Ed piece in the Washington Post. Referring to a goal to “make America safe again,” Sessions claims the Obama-era policy caused the country to lose momentum on an aggressive violent crime reduction trajectory it had been on for about 30 years.

The faith leaders at the press conference also gave their opinions on Sessions’ memo. Ackerman said, “We believe it removes from the judge the ability to do her or his job, which is to judge and consider the person in front of them—whether the person has repented for what they have done or whether they have taken steps to put themselves on the right path—and give them a sentence that is proportionate that the judge believes will…lead that person to behavior that is restorative and positive for the community.”

Christians leaders present at the press conference called for reforms at the state and federal level to give offenders in prison treatment for addictions or problems that could lead to recidivism. Additionally, the leaders called for greater efforts to help inmates gain the skills to be successful after they are released. Finally, they called on the church to minister to prisoners and their families who are also suffering from the incarceration.

10 Reasons Why You Should Underprogram Your Church

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Nearly every evangelical, when pressed, would insist that the church is people, not a place. A building is not a church. A set of programs is not a church. A structure is not a church. Christians together are the church. A local church is a local community of Christians covenanting together under the biblical pattern of sacraments, fellowship, discipleship, authority and mission.

But surely this is harder to say with integrity in the bloated attractional church… If the church is people, then the organizational machine in a local congregation should be considered expendable. The organization may dissolve but the church will remain, so long as the Spirit indwells his people.

Yet many of those doing the attractional model are very fearful of the organization dissolving. There are personal visions and aspirations at stake; there is money at stake; there are buildings involved; there are lots of programs that are considered successful. The enterprise is predicated upon the longevity, the bigness, the success of the enterprise.

The divide is illustrated even in the way these congregations multiply. A simple church can be more passionate about church planting, because a simpler church is easier to replicate and because it is seen as more preferable to send a growing number of people out to start a new work than to face the difficulty of accommodating more people in the original community. (This doesn’t mean the simple church doesn’t value the new people who come! It only means that they do not value institutional expansion as much as they value missional expansion.) The attractional church is evidently and increasingly passionate about satellite campuses, video venues, church branding and the leadership’s platforms in the public, “strategic partnerships” and the like. When an attractional church multiplies, the results more resemble franchises than church plants.

Attractional churches often believe they have something unique, something marketable, something within their organizational machine or presentation that can be sold, shared or otherwise disseminated in order to expand the reputation, influence—again, the brand—of the local church name and structure. When this happens, it puts more and more of a stake in the organization itself. The church is seen as synonymous with the organization, the name, the leaders, the production. Much is done, therefore, to keep this enterprise running and growing.

But a simple church sees all that will pass away in the age to come as expendable in the here and now.

As the attractional church accumulates more complexity, it becomes more rigid, despite all its claims to innovation and cultural relevance. And as more programmatic development takes place, the more inwardly focused the church must necessarily become. Compare the budgets of large attractional churches. How much is often dedicated to outward ministry, and how much, by contrast, goes to personnel, marketing and overhead? That a church could, as a recent example, spend more than $200,000 marketing the pastor’s latest book says a lot about which basket its eggs are in. That is a huge investment in the platform of the lead guy. The church has itself become synonymous with the pastor’s leadership, his voice, his personal “brand.” That is one of the hallmarks of the ever-complicating attractional church.

The simple church, on the other hand, while still maintaining biblical order and structure, is freer and more agile in its attempts to treat the congregation like a body, not a machine. It has different means of measurement, different gauges of success. As the attractional church is overtaken by the business model, where quantifiable results are expected in short periods of time, the simple church adopts an approach to church growth that is more reflective of farming, of cultivation. While the attractional church expects its proven methods and powerful programs to produce results, the simple church focuses simply on the long-term investments in growth and trusts the Spirit to produce growth in his time.

The simple church follows the direction not of the shifting winds of the culture but of the surprising currents of the Spirit. Its attention is not first to the newspaper but to the gospel. Therefore, it is able to cast off that which entangles it, even the religious nets of its own devising for the fishing for men, and follow Christ wherever he may go. The simple church is missionally much more nimble than the attractional church.

Why You Should Underprogram Your Church

Having hopefully established the value of church simplification, here are 10 further thoughts to reiterate and elaborate on the concept of under-programming:

1. You can do a lot of things in a mediocre way, or you can do a few things extremely well.

The overprogrammed church struggles with the pursuit of excellence because its energy and focus are so scattershot. Do you remember when McDonald’s offered pizza? I do, but I’d rather not. They realized pretty quickly they ought to stick to the classic McDonald’s fare. They could not pull off pizza like restaurants dedicated to pizza could. Similarly, the church needs to stick to what the Bible actually tells us to do, and what the Bible actually tells us to do is not very complicated. It’s difficult, sure. But not complicated.

2. Overprogramming creates an illusion of fruitfulness that may just be busyness.

A bustling crowd may not be spiritually changed or engaged in mission at all. And as our flesh cries out for works, many times filling our programs with eager, even servant-minded people is a way to appeal to self-righteousness. Like those breathless bones rustling about in Ezekiel 37, the activity may signal a life that isn’t real. An overprogrammed church creates an illusion of fruitfulness that belies reality.

3. Overprogramming is a detriment to single-mindedness in a community.

If we’re all busy engaging our interests in pursuits of different things, we will have a harder time enjoying the “one accord” prescribed by the New Testament. The continued compartmentalization and segmenting of the church is not healthy either. It is harder to be the church when we are sequestered out into programs or groups centered on specific demographics or interests. If we can’t engage in mission with brothers and sisters who may not share our age, social status, or personal hobbies and interests, we miss out on the important enjoyment together of the Christ we have in common.

4. Overprogramming runs the risk of turning a church into a host of extracurricular activities, mirroring the “type A family” mode of suburban achievers.

The church can become a grocery store or merely a more spiritual YMCA—perfect for people who want religious activities on their calendar. The more we turn the church into a provider of goods and services, the more we aid and abet the consumeristic spirituality of our congregation, and the more we feed their self-righteous moralism and their relegating of their faith to a “to do” item in their weekly schedule.

5. Overprogramming dilutes actual ministry effectiveness.

It can overextend leaders, increase administration, tax the time of church members, and sap financial and material resources from churches.

6. Overprogramming leads to segmentation among ages, life stages and affinities, which can create divisions in a church body.

Certainly there are legitimate reasons for gathering according to “likenesses,” but many times increasing the number of programs means increasing the ways and frequencies of these separations. Pervasive segmentation is not good for church unity or spiritual growth. It also tempts a church to begin catering to a particular demographic as more valuable than others, determining that market share among demographics with cultural currency (or actual currency!) is preferable to ministry among other groups. This kind of thinking is antithetical to that of Christ’s mission to the least, last and lost.

7. Overprogramming stifles mission.

The more we are engaged within the four walls of the church or simply within the “walls” of a church program, the less we are engaged in being salt and light. Overprogramming reduces access to and opportunities with my neighbors.

8. Overprogramming reduces margin in the lives of church members.

It’s a fast track to burnout for both volunteers and attendees, and it implicitly pushes out Sabbath rest.

9. Overprogramming gets a church further away from the New Testament vision of the local church.

Here’s a good test: Take a look at a typical overprogrammed church’s calendar and see how many of the activities resemble things seen in the New Testament. This doesn’t mean that every extrabiblical program is an invalid expression of biblical commands and expectations. But many are. And many of the ones that aren’t serve largely as distractions from the few things the Bible actually calls us to do.

10. Overprogramming is usually the result of unself-reflective reflex reactions to perceived needs, and an inability to kill sacred cows that are actually already dead.

Always ask “Should we?” before you ask “Can we?” Always ask “Will this please God?” before you ask “Will this please our people?” Always ask “Will this meet a need?” before you ask “Will this meet a demand?”

As in all things, every church needs someone in the room where the thinking caps are kept, with the authorization to say, “That’s not a good idea.”

And while y’all are in that room, let that guy take up the thinking caps and hand out the shepherds’ staffs.

(excerpted from Jared C. Wilson, The Prodigal Church: A Gentle Manifesto Against the Status Quo)

This article originally appeared here.

When a Pastor’s Kid Doubts Her Faith

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My dad tells this story from when I was five years old. He was teaching me and my two sisters about the Garden of Eden. In the middle of the story, I interrupted, “Wait, if God didn’t want Adam and Eve to eat from the tree, why’d he put it in the garden?” And thus my impulsively inquisitive nature reared its head.

Such questions and concerns have never quite left me. I’ve always felt the need to ask why? until I get a sufficient answer. I consider this a gift now. Curiosity and questioning are what have led me to deeper truths about God and about myself and others. But when you grow up as a pastor’s daughter, there are expectations.

My father, Max, has been the pastor of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio for almost 30 years—my entire life. I do not know life apart from church and apart from being a visible member of the church. For the most part, this has been a wonderful and enriching place for me and my growth as a believer in Jesus. But somewhere along the way, while being raised in front of the congregation’s eye, I began to carry the weight of expectations. I needed to act a certain way. I need to look a certain way. And, I needed to believe a certain way. My faith needed to be strong like my mother’s and father’s. It needed to match my poised exterior.

So I kept my doubts to myself. I talked to my parents about them, but few others. I grew inward in my faith. I kept it private for fear of others knowing that I asked questions like that one when I was five years old.

In the church of my childhood, and still today, there is a prayer time at the end of the service. Several members of the congregation called “prayer partners” line the front of the auditorium, and the rest of the church body is invited to come forward for prayer. No one told me I shouldn’t go forward for prayer during that time, but because I had internalized those faith expectations, I didn’t think I was allowed to. I never even considered it. Not once.

What would people think if I, Andrea Lucado, went forward for prayer? They would think my prayer life was not strong enough on its own. They would think something was wrong with me or my family. I saved the prayer partners for those who were brave enough to be prayed over in public.

I wonder if this happens to other pastors’ kids. If somehow in the midst of all of the church people we know, we end up living private spiritual lives. I had quiet times. I read and studied and prayed, but I did so alone.

I lived my private spiritual life for as long as I could, until it didn’t work anymore. Until the doubts grew overwhelming.

I moved to Oxford the fall after I graduated college. I went there for a master’s program in English literature at a school called Oxford-Brookes. During the year I was there, the questions that had been rumbling beneath the surface came out in full bloom. The world of Oxford academia will do that to you. Being plucked out of the Bible Belt and dropped into post-Christian Europe will do that to you. Being the only Christian in your class for the first time in your life will do that to you.

Why do I believe what I believe?

Would I still be a Christian if I had not been raised in a Christian home?

Why do the atheists and agnostics I know seem more peaceful and loving than many of the Christians I know?

These questions swirled round and round in my head. My nights turned restless with them. And my quiet times, the ones I had been faithfully keeping since high school? They turned, well, quiet. So quiet that they only echoed my own voice back to me. “Anyone out there? Anyone out there? Anyone?”

What I wanted instead, what I needed, wasn’t God, but someone, a physical real-person someone, to show me the way. I wanted to talk to someone who I knew was talking to God, even if I couldn’t or just didn’t want to.

I found that in a friend in Oxford. He was kind. He was fun. And his faith was not in turmoil as mine was. He had a steadiness to him that I craved. We didn’t talk much about my own faith. We went on walks and ate out at restaurants and drank tea on my couch to keep our hands warm in the winter months. It seemed that being near him was exactly what I needed that year. I needed to simply talk to someone who was talking to God.

The people who talk to God, as I learned, can do a lot for you and for your faith if you let them. I once heard author and pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber speak. During the question and answer session at the end, a guy stood up and said, “I had faith and it was strong, but now I’m doubting. I feel weak in my faith. What should I do?”

Bolz-Weber’s suggestion? “You can take a break now. Let someone else on the pew be strong for you.”

I like this idea of giving each other permission to take a break from trying and let the others on the pew be strong for us for a little while. This is not something I gave myself permission to do growing up as a pastor’s daughter, but it is something I am a strong advocate for now.

I left Oxford with a deeper faith than I had when I arrived. The restless nights eventually led to a knowing and a peace, largely due to that friend and a few others on the pew I let be strong for me for a while.

I still find it difficult to go forward in church for prayer. I default to keeping up appearances and appearing strong and fine, but I’m getting there. God has been gentle and patient with me and I hope that one day, when the pastor calls for the time of prayer, I’ll be the first running down the aisle.

This article originally appeared here.

Do You Need a Worship Producer?

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A few weeks ago I wrote about my experience playing keyboard at Eastside Church in Fullerton, Calif. I mentioned their worship producer, Jill Gille (or, as she’s referred to at their website, the “Director of Weekend Experiences”), and had the question “just what does a worship producer do?”

First of all, big churches aren’t the only churches who need a worship producer. A few years ago when I was the music director at a church of about 300 I found myself in a typical scenario: I was so consumed with making sure the singers and band were on track right before the service I didn’t have the bandwidth to worry about much else.

After a trip to one of those megachurch worship conferences we learned about the concept of a “worship producer.” One of my friends, Joe, took up the mantle, so I’ve asked him to create a list of what he did each week as producer:

Overall Goal: Protect/Enhance the Worship Experience.
I basically just kept my antennas up for anything that would negatively impact the worship service.

Prep:

  • Come early to make sure the tech team is ready to go.
  • Sound system on BEFORE rehearsal.
  • Mics checked BEFORE rehearsal.
  • Videos tested BEFORE rehearsal—does each video play successfully with audio?

Rehearsal:

  • Ensure the sound was not too loud for our group (this can range anywhere from 85-105 db depending on your congregation).
  • Make sure the sound is loud enough (if you have electric guitars, you at least need to be in the low 90 dbs). This is normally a problem for newbie sound guys to have the sound too low. When the sound is too low, it sounds muddy because you’re hearing stage monitors instead of hearing the house speakers.
  • Ensure the MIX was good—can I hear all the parts well? Is any one part too loud?
  • Ensure the words used for media are on time OR EARLY! Late words are death to congregational singing.

Room Considerations:

  • Check the room temperature.
  • Pick up any trash on the floor.
  • Are the chairs straight?
  • Are any of the tables dirty?
  • Check for any annoying lights coming in through the windows.
  • Is the stage clean? Band members often leave coffee cups and other trash on stage during practice.
  • Are the aisles wide enough? (We set up chairs each week.) Sometimes seats and rows are put too close together and no one can get in or out.
  • Keep the doors closed while rehearsing—only people directly participating in the service should be in the room to prevent distraction.

Do you have a worship producer at your church? Please add your thoughts in the comments below.

This article originally appeared here.

Small Group Leaders: This One Thing Could Transform Your Groups

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When someone shares transparently in the group about struggles, hurt or doubt, it’s best for the group to listen. When someone is facing a crisis, it’s not the moment to say, “You just need to trust in the Lord. Don’t you know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose?” This advice, while 100 percent correct, will actually do more harm than good to a hurting, grieving person. Before becoming ready to hear advice, the person first must know that God’s people will help bear the burden. He or she is longing for a listening ear—not a quick response of an often-quoted scripture passage.

Healing takes place in the silence of skilled listening and love. God is the sensitive Healer, and He desires that His people listen to others. Listening is so powerful; it works wonders because it causes people to feel special, loved and cared for. When someone shares a huge need, we must allow God to flow in a very special way and manifest Himself. Just be quiet. Be silent before God, and allow Jesus to minister to that person’s needs.

After the burden is shared, there should be a moment of silent understanding. As group members empathize with the person, godly counsel will ensue: “Joan, I can relate to your fears and doubts brought on by your friend’s cancer. When my brother faced brain cancer, I felt those same fears. I wrestled for days, wondering why God would allow this disease to strike my family. But then God showed me…” The scales of past wounds will peel away, and the new creature in Christ will appear as the cell group ministers through empathetic listening.

It’s this shared understanding that is so important: not just one person is listening, but the entire group is involved. When a person is truly listened to, grace and love follows and blesses everyone involved.

The Life group leaders should advise the group to listen, rather than quickly responding with pat answers. The leader must demonstrate, however, what she wants others to do by her own actions. People won’t necessarily follow words, but they will follow actions. Preparing a healing community may take some time, but it’s worth the wait. Healing through listening is God’s powerful tool to heal a lost and hurting world.

Listening opens the door for encouragement. Small-group leaders bring healing by tuning their ears for the slightest reason to give praise. If there’s even a hint of excellence, a great small-group leader will spot it and acknowledge it. The enemy seeks to accuse each of us through lies that discourage. He might whisper to one group member, No one respects you. You don’t know the Bible well enough. You wouldn’t dare make that comment. The small-group leader is God’s agent to offer a word of encouragement that will bless the person abundantly and help them to speak up. Listening and encouragement are so essential for healing to take place.

This article originally appeared here.

How the Opioid Epidemic Is Affecting Kids

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There is an opioid epidemic in the United States. The amount of prescription opioids sold—like oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone—and the number of people who have died due to overdose has nearly quadrupled since 1999.

Reports show that in 2015, over 2.5 million people abused or were dependent on opioids (including prescriptions and heroin). 33,000 people died from an overdose that year. This accounted for 63 percent of all drug overdose deaths. 91 people a day die from opioid overdose.

According to the Kasier Family Foundation, overdose death varies greatly by state. In 2015, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island and West Virginia had the highest rates of overdose (23 per 1,000 people). The District of Columbia, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi and New Hampshire had the largest increase in death rates (34 percent or more) between 2014 and 2015.

This epidemic is not only affecting parents, but children as well. At least 2 million children each year have a parent who uses illicit drugs, including opioids. It affects many children even before they are born. Between 2007 and 2012 an estimated 21,000 pregnant women annually abused opioids during their pregnancy.

Opioid abuse by parents obviously puts their children’s health and safety at risk.  Infants with mothers who used drugs or alcohol during pregnancy are more likely to have physical, behavioral and cognitive problems. Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a post-birth withdrawal syndrome caused by prenatal exposure to opioids and causes tremors, excessive crying, poor feeding and rapid breathing. NAS increased by 300 percent between 1999 and 2013. Opioid abuse also results in ineffective and inconsistent parenting leading to inadequate nutrition, supervision and nurturing.

It has also increased the number of children entering foster care. Parents abusing opioids are more likely to abuse and neglect their children, which results in them being placed in foster care. In 2005, 22 percent of children who entered foster care did so because of parental drug abuse…in 2015 it had risen to 32 percent.

This addiction affects children and families from all walks of life. There may be parents in your ministry struggling with this. They go to work, church, their kid’s sports game and may even seem like the perfect parents—until they get caught trying to fill a fraudulent prescription. The longer someone is actively struggling with an addiction to painkillers, the more signs there will be. Some of the most common signs are drowsiness, lack of hygiene, frequent flu-like symptoms, weigh loss and changes in energy level.

It’s important that we are prepared to point them to sources of professional help like this Drug Rehab Centre in London and hold them up in prayer.

This article originally appeared here.

5 Life and Leadership Lessons I Learned From Dave Ramsey

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This year I decided to tread new waters and launch a new venture to develop leaders: a leadership podcast, featuring conversations with some of America’s top voices in faith, business, media and sports.

From Fox News’ chief religion correspondent, to Auburn’s football head coach and the former president and CEO of Walmart U.S., each episode features a guest with a unique perspective on life, faith and leadership.

Recently, I had the honor of talking with Dave Ramsey. When it comes to biblical financial wisdom, no one has had more reach or impact than Dave. Through his national radio broadcast, books and financial management university, he helps thousands of people find financial peace and freedom every day.

Here are five lessons on life and money I learned talking with him.

1. Success is all about the size of your legacy, not the size of your stuff.

In a world obsessed with names, brands and money, it’s easy to confuse success with a pile of stuff. After all, what more tangible evidence can you ask for than the material stuff your hard-earned money can buy? Yet, according to Dave, true success is ultimately about leaving a legacy. It’s about that which will outlive you.

What kind of business are you leaving behind? Is it a business with a vision and mission to bless your employees and customers and glorify God with the excellence of your work?

What type of church has your leadership helped form? Does your congregation love each other and the Gospel of Jesus more than the day you first started pastoring?

And—most important—what kind of family have you raised? Are your children godly and involved in ministry? Have you cultivated a relationship of love and service with your spouse?

We should measure our success by the kind of legacy—and not the amount of stuff—we are leaving behind.

2. Communication about finances is a key to marital success.

You’d be surprised to learn that money problems in marriage are rarely ever about money itself. They are instead conflicts regarding value systems in the household. As Matthew 6:21 declares, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Finances force couples to communicate ultimately about their hearts’ desires. When couples understand this truth, they can see financial discussions as an opportunity to strengthen the marriage bond of trust and intimacy.

3. Use the Bible as a guide for financial direction.

When it comes to our daily financial decisions, there is no other book in the world packed with more wisdom than the Bible. The Bible mentions money and possessions 2,350 times, charting the path to good stewardship and financial success. Financial advisors and plans are extremely important—and you should always seek help when in financial trouble—but only in the Scriptures will you find the wisdom to wealth and leave a lasting legacy in a healthy, life-giving way.

4. The best way to escape debt is to get angry about it.

No one wanders out of debt. The only way to defeat debt is with having debt management plan, passionate intentionality, determination and hard work. In other words: You have to get angry about debt, and concentrate your energies on eradicating every shred of it. Perhaps the most effective method of getting rid of debt is the “Debt Snowball” method. While you pay the monthly minimum on every debt, you attack the smallest loan with vengeance until it’s gone, and then move to the next and so forth. Each win—no matter how small it may seem—will uplift your spirit and move you closer to financial freedom.

5. Financial success is marked by budgeting and high-quality relationships

As obvious as it might sound, the best way to avoid debt is to avoid overspending. Determine a budget at the beginning of each month and stick to it. Manage your money; don’t let money manage you. And always surround yourself with people who will encourage you toward financial success. Scripture says, “Bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33). If you want financial freedom—for yourself and your family—you have to walk out of the relational environments that lead to debt and financial compromise.

In the end, never forget that every “good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). Both in plenty and in want, trust God’s provision, imitating His kind generosity toward us.

This article originally appeared here.

Why Are Some Churches More Evangelistic Than Others?

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Invite a friend to church.

What could be so hard about that, right?

But we all know it’s more complicated than that.

I don’t know what word you like to use. Maybe the term evangelism is a little old school, but we all know what it means. So, for this post let’s go with it.

Gary Greeno is the bi-vocational interim pastor of Horizon Christian Fellowship in Stockton, Calif. And as a coach, Gary also leads one of the top high school programs in Northern California.

Here’s a glimpse of Gary’s story in his own words.

“I absolutely love coaching high school basketball, and also lead a Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ club in addition to teaching math. God has given me a real platform where I’m at in the community. At the same time, I feel very strongly that for this season God has called me to pastor this church.”

That’s so cool and it’s as real as it gets. Gary asked me a great question. “What’s the best way to get a church to be evangelistic?”

I’ll share our exchange with you.

Before we hit the first point, I want to acknowledge how much we need the power, presence and favor of God. Without that, there is no plan or leadership wisdom that matters much for eternity.

The following are five strategic questions to help you lead toward greater evangelism.

Five Helpful Questions:

1) Are you proud of your church?

Make sure your Sunday morning experience is something you and your congregation are proud of. If your congregation isn’t proud of their church, no matter how much they love Jesus, they won’t invite people.

Sunday morning doesn’t have to be big and flashy, it needs to be real and done with the excellence your church is capable of. It’s not always about money, it’s far more often about paying attention to details.

There is a lot involved in a great Sunday experience, so start with your children’s ministry and the actual worship service. Answer how you can improve those and then improve other elements one at a time.

2) Do you model the example?

The pastor, staff, board and key leaders need to set the example you want the congregation to follow.

The specific method doesn’t matter near as much as the fact that you are modeling personal evangelism in some way.

If your method is “invest and invite.” Great. Then invest in new friendships and invite them to church. If your method is to personally lead people to Jesus, then model that example.

Let the congregation know by telling stories one to one, in groups and meetings, and from the stage.

3) Can you un-clutter your church calendar?

If you are too busy and the church calendar is too busy, I can nearly promise you that evangelism will never rise to the top priority.

We are gifted at creating wonderful church programs that keep us so busy we don’t have time to do the mission of the church.

What can you cut from your programming that will allow your congregation to breathe enough to make new friends and invite them to church?

Yes, there is more to it than that. Lots of prayer to begin with, and your congregation needs to care about those who are lost.

But we don’t need to overcomplicate evangelism. We either lean in or we don’t. It’s not about performance, it’s about passion.

4) Do you welcome guests with amazing hospitality?

If I can be blatantly candid, there two types of hospitality: surface friendly and genuinely welcoming. One results from training, the other comes from the heart. In one case, it’s what the ushers and greeters read in a manual, and in the other, it comes from a love they have for people.

Don’t get me wrong. We need the manuals and training. We really do. But our job as leaders is to encourage and inspire the deeper reason to reach more people. It’s certainly not about numbers. It’s the fact that each person matters to God and therefore matters to us!

When we genuinely love people, it’s nearly irresistible.

5) Do you understand the law of numbers?

Not everyone will invite people to church. Not everyone will share their faith. Don’t be discouraged by that. Lead and encourage as if everyone will, because you just never know who may respond to the Holy Spirit’s prompts.

You can be encouraged to know that if about 20 percent of your church brought friends on a regular basis (not every Sunday, but regularly), your church would grow like crazy. If 50 percent invited friends regularly, you wouldn’t have room to hold all your guests! What an awesome problem!

If about 20 percent of your church shared their faith regularly, whoa, that would be amazing! I’m not suggesting that you lower your expectations. I want you to understand the law of numbers.

This will help prevent discouragement, and if you surpass these numbers (break the laws), you have all the more reason to be encouraged.


When it’s all said and done. If one person comes to faith, everything you do is worth it. Let’s work and pray for more, but one is worth it.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” – Matthew 9:37-38

This article originally appeared here.

Two Words That Summarize the Entire Bible

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A few days ago I said that you and I are at risk of becoming too familiar with the Bible and the stories in it. I think there’s another area where you and I are at risk in our Christian faith:

We read the Bible too quickly.

We need to slow down and pay attention to every single word, because there are words and phrases that tell huge stories. If we breeze by them, we could miss something powerful that the Lord is trying to teach us.

In today’s video clip, there are two words from the book of Jonah that summarize the entire biblical narrative.

If you’re feeling discouraged, if you’re struggling in your faith, if the lies of the Enemy have gotten to your soul—you need to listen to these two words.

Watch the Clip

Read the Transcript

“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah,” what does it say next? “The second time.” That’s a summary of the entire biblical story. Everything in the entire biblical story, from Genesis to Revelation, is in those two words: second time. Think about this. Adam and Eve in an act of outrageous, self-oriented rebellion against God, disobeyed him. And, yes, they faced the consequences from the disobedience, but God’s immediate response if you read the rest of Genesis 3 as well is, “I’m going to fix this.” His immediate response is, “This is not going to be the end of the story. There’s going to be a second time. And I’m going to send a second Adam. And he will stand in the place where the first Adam stood, and that second Adam is going to face the tempter again, but that second Adam won’t disobey. He’ll obey. And I’m sending that second Adam for you so you will have a second time.”

Everything that God did, all of those weird stories in the Old Testament, all of that lapping of history, was marching the world to the right moment when the second Adam would come and he would radically alter the narrative. You could literally write an entire book on those two words. And listen, the fact that second time is in your Bible is God’s grace for you. Because God wants you to understand: There is no finality of action that can’t be turned around by the glory of God’s grace. Did you hear what I said? There is no finality of human decision, behavior or action that can’t be turned around by the grace of Jesus. Praise him, praise him, praise him. If that doesn’t excite you, you are seriously comatose.

I mean, this is the stuff that gets me up in the morning. Because I’m a bit of a bean-head. There are times when I can be so incredibly impatient. There are times when I can be so full of myself. I will confess. There are times when I debate, that’s a nice word for “argue,” with my wife, when I know she’s right, and I just don’t want to admit it. And I’ll go through the whole process of arguing with her, knowing at the end I’m going to have to say, “I’m sorry for talking to you that way. You were right.” That’s how stubborn I can be.

And so, can we seriously look at ourselves, who we are, and say, “I have independently in myself all the potential I need to be what I’m supposed to be and do what I’m supposed to do.” There’s no way you can honestly know yourself and say that. I mean think about it. How many of you would be quite comfortable with me playing a public recording of everything you said in the last two months? I mean, let’s be serious here. How many of you would love for me to scroll your thoughts on a PowerPoint screen over the last month? I mean there are moments when we could show you your video and you would be drop dead embarrassed. You’d say, “Seriously, I did that? I can’t believe it.”

And that’s why the hope of the universe is in those two words: second time. Jesus came so we would have a second time. I love this. The story of the Bible is all about fresh starts and new beginnings. And don’t you listen to the lies of the enemy when he whispers in your ear, “You’re done. This is the big one. You’re not going to come back from this.” It’s a filthy, horrible, spiritually paralyzing lie. It’s amazing to me that God has any patience with Jonah at all. This is the Lord Almighty. This is the one who sits on the throne of the universe. This is the one who actually holds Jonah’s body together. It’s his sovereign glory that keeps him having any kind of sanity. He is literally—every breath is being sustained by the one that he shook his fist to and says, “There’s no way I’m going to do what you want me to do.” And he tries his best to go to the other end of the universe.

It’s stunning that God would say to that man, “I’m going to give you another chance.” I will tell you, I don’t have that character in me. I wish I did. There are moments when I’m just tired of it and I say, “I’m done. I’m done with your mess. I don’t want to deal with it anymore.” It’s never done. God doesn’t have a border, you cross it and there’s no more grace for you. Praise him for that. That means there’s no human being so broken, there’s no sin so deep and great that it lives outside of the restoring second chance, fresh starts, new beginnings grace of the Lord. I got to get off these two words or I’m going to be in trouble. Just don’t get me started.

It’s the heart of the biblical story. You can turn from that sin that’s got you down. You can break the power of addiction. You can restore that disastrous relationship. Not because you have anything in you, but because God has glory inside of him. That’s it.

This resource is from Paul Tripp Ministries. For additional resources, visit www.paultripp.com. Used with permission.

Read this next: Paul Tripp on Practical and Profound Advice on How to Live Out Awe

Church in North Carolina Gains Attention of UN Refugee Agency as They Set Aside Fears to Help Refugees

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June 20 is World Refugee Day, a day set aside to bring awareness to the growing refugee crisis that is shaping up to define our age. This year, a Baptist church in North Carolina has garnered the attention of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) as they set aside their fears in order to obey a biblical command to help others.

“It is my faith in God that shapes a commitment to refugees,” says Pastor Bill Bigger of Hope Valley Baptist Church in Durham, North Carolina.

The church converted a brick building on their property, fittingly named Hope House, into a place where refugees arriving in the country can find shelter. Their members are also reaching out in other ways to help, doing things like teaching English and donating time and resources to keep the house running.

“We certainly heard folks concerned about whether these folks will be dangerous or whether refugees are coming to take over, to create Sharia law to take over our way of life and defeat us from the inside out,” Pastor Bigger told UNHCR.

The church took about four or five months to discuss and discern whether or not to help the refugees. During this time, Pastor Bigger preached on the biblical principles of “helping the stranger and to be a neighbor to people no matter their backgrounds.”

After answering a lot of questions, including addressing his congregation’s concern with the vetting process, Bigger said when put to a vote, 84 percent of the church approved of the project to help refugees. Hope House opened in March of this year.

The Hetier family, refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, are featured in the video below. The family, consisting of mother Odette, 16-year-old John and 13-year-old Mariam, fled their home in 2011 and were living in Kenya before making it to North Carolina. The family moved into Hope House after Odette fell ill earlier this year.

CNN put together an informative article on the dire state of refugees this World Refugee Day. Briefly, this is worst refugee crisis the world has ever seen. The UN estimates that over 65 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes. To put this in perspective, “that’s like the entire population of the UK or France, or about as many as everyone in New York state, Texas and Florida,” CNN reports. Additionally, more than half of all refugees are children.

People are forced to flee their homelands for a variety of reasons, including war, famine and persecution. As countries unaffected by these traumas struggle to help, only 1 percent of refugees are settled in any given year. In 2016, for instance, only 150,000 refugees were resettled.

When presented with the question, “Should we concern ourselves with caring for our own?” Pastor Bigger said, “It’s not an ‘either-or’ but a ‘both-and.’”

3 Things Christians Do That Non-Christians Despise

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Spend two minutes talking to almost anyone outside the Christian faith and you’re almost certain to hear a list of complaints they have about Christians.

The problem has been around awhile. As Mahatma Ghandi famously (and sadly) said: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

He’s not alone.

The problem with many non-Christians isn’t that they don’t know any Christians. The challenge is they do.

So what gives?

Many Christians would tell you we have an image problem: We’re treated unfairly, we’re being persecuted or we’re just badly misunderstood.

I’m not so sure.

It’s not so much that Christians have an image problem. It’s far more likely that we have an integrity problem.

Do we get misunderstood on some issues? Of course. But that’s outside our control.

There are more than a few issues entirely within our control that give us a bad name with people outside Christianity.

Here are three things Christians do that non-Christians despise.

1. Judge

It doesn’t take long for non-Christians to tell you how much they hate the way Christians judge other people.

Another two minutes on social media will reveal Christians and preachers condemning unchurched people for their sexual habits and preferences, life-style choices and even political views. I doubt this is what Jesus had in mind when he gave his life in love for the world.

Disclosure: Without the mercy and intervention of Christ, I’m very judgmental. And years ago, I realized how devastating judgment and criticism can be to others. So I’m waging a life-long battle against it. Confessing it, repenting of it almost daily.

I realized years ago that very few people get judged into life change. Far more get loved into it.

It also occurred to me that the presence of judgment almost always guarantees an absence of love.

Think about it through the lens of your marriage, a friendship or even someone you work with: It is virtually impossible to love someone and judge someone at the same time.

But wait, you ask: What if they’re making a mistake and I need to correct them?

First of all, look at your mistakes and the depth of your sin, and deal with your issues first. In the process, you’ll encounter a loving God who forgives you despite your rather egregious sin.

And having been loved, you can love others.

I try to remember this rule: If I’m judging someone, I’m not loving them. You can’t judge someone and love them at the same time.

What would happen if Christians stopped judging the world (isn’t that God’s job?) and started loving it instead?

I believe that’s what Jesus did.

2. Be Hypocritical

There’s a word for Christians who say one thing and do another. The word is hypocrite.

It’s far easier to call someone else a hypocrite than it is to admit you’re one.

The truth is that as much as I hate it, I’m a hypocrite. My walk doesn’t always match my talk. That’s why I don’t have a fish on my car. When I’m in a hurry and my natural impatience surfaces, the last thing some person God loves needs to see is a Christian cut him off.

Of course, it’s worse than that. I’m not always a loving husband, kind father, steadfast son, patient boss or even compassionate friend. Like you, I’m a mixture of good and not-really-that good evil.

What did Paul say? Nothing good lives in me. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 7:18). That could be a life-verse for me. Well, actually, it kind of is.

Sanctification is a process that never ends.

I am not who I want to be (yet). I am not who God wants me to be. But I’m different. I’m changing. And Christ is at work in me.

I believe that’s the reality for every person who calls Jesus Savior.

So what do imperfect Christians do? I mean just deciding you’re not going to make mistakes never keeps you from making mistakes.

I think the answer is simple: You watch what you say.

Don’t pretend to be something or someone you’re not.

I find the more humility I add to my words, the smaller the gap is between who I am and who I say I am.

When you admit your shortcomings, you build a bridge between you and others. Owning your sin is different than living in it; confession is never an excuse for complacency.

So what do you do if you live in the tension between what you usually say or want to say and what you do?

I think you change both.

You change how you live through the power of Christ day by day (getting better), and at the same time, you change how you talk about your faith, yourself and how you live (adding more honestly and humility to your words). I wrote about things modern Pharisees say today in this post (the Pharisees were an ultra-religious group Jesus strongly criticized).

Want a quick fix for hypocrisy? Accelerate your walk. Humble your talk.

Nothing closes the gap between word and action faster than that.

3. Stink at Friendship

Friendship is hard.

We all have ideas of finding the perfect friends with whom we’ll never disagree, share 1,000 common interests and ride off into the sunset with.

Well, very few human relationships ever work that way. Even in marriage, the best marriages are almost always ones in which people have overcome deep and real obstacles to find a powerful love that’s far deeper than emotion.

Perhaps the first obstacle between non-Christians and Christians is that relatively few Christians actively pursue meaningful friendships with people who don’t share their faith. Between churches that offer programs five nights a week (leaving little time for Christians to make friends outside the church) and Christians who are afraid of the world, many Christians don’t pursue authentic relationships with non-Christians.

Which means much of the interaction non-Christians have is situational and observational rather than truly relational. They observe Christians in life and at work, notices traces of judgment and hypocrisy, and draw all kinds of conclusions. I get that.

But Jesus went so much deeper than that. Jesus pursued friendships with people who were different than him. Whose lifestyles were far different than anything God had in mind for them (or for people in relationship with him).

Yet Jesus was their friend. He went to their house for dinner. They traveled together. They shared moments and meals and life.

It scandalized the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, and sadly, when it’s practiced authentically, it still scandalizes most of us today.

Think about it. When was the last time you hung out with a hooker?

When was the last time you had someone who’s not your skin color, not your political persuasion and doesn’t share your value system over for dinner, or when was the last time you broke bread with an addict (who’s not in recovery)?

Often when Christians do pursue ‘friendships’ with people far from God, it’s more of a project than it is a friendship.

But people aren’t projects; people are people. People can smell it a mile away if you see them as a project, not a person.

Which leads us to another tension in our friendships with those outside the Christian faith.

Some Christians do have relationships with unchurched people. So: How exactly do you talk about faith?

Great question!

Most of us swing to one extreme or the other: Either we always talk about faith, or we never talk about it. Both are mistakes.

Always talk about faith, and you’re turning the relationship into a project. Never talk about, and you miss the most important thing in life.

Real friendships always drill down on real issues, and few things are more significant than the meaning of life.

How do you talk about it? Naturally, organically, in the context of your story is a great place to start.

Real friendships are like that.

Want a simpler place than that to begin? Try this. Just like the person. As my friend Reggie Joiner says, people will never believe you love them if they feel you don’t like them.

Boom.

What Do You Think?

Anything you see that people who are not Christians despise about Christians?

If you’re a Christian, what helps you overcome these issues, and what other issues do you struggle with?

This article originally appeared here.

Plumb Lines for The Summit Church

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This is what he showed me:
The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb,
with a plumb line in his hand.
Amos 7:7

Plumb lines are a series of short, pithy statements that we, at the Summit, use as rallying points—both for our staff and for the entire church. They are a way to encapsulate our theology and philosophy in short, memorable phrases. These 16 statements form the core of our DNA as a church.

1. The gospel is not just the diving board; it’s the pool.
2. We judge our success by sending capacity, not seating capacity.
3. The church is not an audience; it’s an army.
4. People are the mission.
5. Prayer doesn’t just fuel the ministry; prayer is the ministry.
6. Live sufficiently, give extravagantly.
7. The local church is God’s “Plan A.”
8. Where trust exists, God moves.
9. The church should reflect the diversity of its community and declare the diversity of the Kingdom.
10. Stay where you are, serve where you live, be the church in your community.
11. Discipleship happens in relationships.
12. The best ministry ideas are in the congregation.
13. We are led by the Spirit, taught by the Word.
14. When life cuts us, we want to bleed God’s Word.
15. The one takes priority over the 99.
16. The question is no longer if you’re called; it’s only where and how.

If you’re curious to see some of our past “plumb lines” (some of which stayed the course and others of which were laid to rest), check out this post from 2011: 35 Values I Wished I Had Possessed When I Started Pastoring 10 Years Ago.

This article originally appeared here.

20 Relics of the Church Past

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This article will get me in trouble.

It began with a simple and informal poll on social media followed by several direct conversations. The question I asked was basic: “What did you have or do in your church 10 years ago that you don’t have or do today?”

The top 20 responses were, for me at least, a fascinating mix of the expected and the surprises. They are ranked in order of frequency.

  1. Sunday evening services. It is amazing how quickly these services have disappeared. Except for Sunday evening services that are an alternative to and replica of the Sunday morning services, there are fewer and fewer churches meeting on Sunday evening.
  2. The stand-and-greet time. A discussion of this issue generated much banter and controversy at this blog several months ago. But the respondents told us it clearly was a practice falling out of favor.
  3. Suits and ties. Ten years ago, church members expected the males on the platform to wear a suit and tie. Casual dress is now the norm in most churches.
  4. The organ. This instrument was a standard in many churches 10 years ago. It is now unusual to see an organ still played in worship services.
  5. Print newsletters. The digital world has come to churches. Most church members are fine receiving information digitally today.
  6. Prolonged and frequent business meetings. Many churches decided to limit the amount of time for business meetings because they became a platform for the most negative and contentious members. One church leader called it their “monthly fist fight.”
  7. The name of “Sunday school” for the groups in the church. As the traditional name has fallen out of favor, it has been replaced with community groups, life groups, home groups and many other names typically ending in “groups.”
  8. Choirs. Many churches have moved from choirs to praise teams and instrumentalists.
  9. The parlor. I didn’t see this one coming. The parlor is a room for special occasions, such as a reception or a bride’s dressing room. One church leader called it “the most unused sacred cow in our church.”
  10. Weekly visitation in homes. Uninvited guests are no longer as welcome in homes as they once were. Several leaders told us the home visitation program did more harm than good.
  11. Hymnals. Hymnals have been replaced with projected words on a screen by many churches.
  12. Wednesday night fellowship meals. Indeed, many churches in the past had paid cooks on staff.
  13. Casual approach to recruiting children’s workers. Today most churches do fairly extensive background checks before they allow someone to work in the children’s ministry.
  14. Program-driven philosophy of ministry. In the past, many churches determined most of their entire schedule by programs resourced by denominations and other providers. The programs drove the ministries and the schedule.
  15. Large pulpits. The big pulpit has been replaced with smaller pulpits or stands.
  16. Special music/anthems. This item was another one that caught me by surprise. But, as I reflect on the many churches I visit, I see why it was a common response.
  17. Food pantry. Many churches have disbanded their food pantries and, instead, contribute to a community food bank. The local church leaders simply did not have the expertise to discern if needs were real.
  18. King James Version. This one was another surprise to me, because I have been in very few KJV churches the past 25 years.
  19. Office hours for ministry staff. Again, I had not expected this response, but it does make sense. If someone wants to meet with a pastor or other staff member, he or she is likely to make an appointment rather than drop by during prescribed office hours.
  20. Land lines. Some churches have done away with them altogether.

Thanks to those who participated in this survey. And now…let the discussion begin.

This article originally appeared here.

7 Habits of Highly Effective Worship Pastors

communicating with the unchurched

Whenever you lead worship, do people leave talking about your talent? Or are they amazed by the greatness of God?

I don’t know about you, but that’s my goal—to lead people to a place of encounter with Jesus.

Then, get out of the way.

Last week, my post “10 Habits of Highly Effective Drummers” really seemed to resonate with people.

We all want to know what habits will get us where we want to be. The same is true for worship leaders.

How can you develop yourself more fully? What should you really be working on?

Seven Habits You Can Develop as a Worship Leader

When I think of effective worship leaders that I’ve known, this is what comes to mind:

1. They Study God’s Word

They are people of the Word. When they begin to sense boredom with the Bible, they know the problem is with their own heart. They press in to the truth. They realize they can’t lead where they’re not going.

2. They Equip People for Ministry

Effective worship pastors don’t just focus on the advancement of their careers. They advance others. They find joy in sharing the spotlight.

They don’t simply lead worship, but inspire others to lead as well. Their life is about equipping, not just doing.

3. They Serve Within the Vision of the House

Don’t get me wrong. Worship pastors are vision oriented, but they realize that in order to have an effective team, everyone has to serve the same vision.

They execute the lead pastor’s vision because they know God has appointed him or her to lead.

4. They Build Teams

Great worship pastors make room. They recruit others. They get people involved. They are constantly building, growing, expanding.

5. They Cast Vision

To be led by a great worship pastor means that you are infused with vision. You know the “why” behind the “what.” If you’re not sick of hearing your own vision, you don’t share it enough.

6. They Love to Worship

There’s a difference between loving to lead worship and loving to worship. Nothing wrong with either, but something is wrong when you’re a professional worship leader who doesn’t love to worship.

The best worship leaders guard against this. They answer altar calls. They cry in the presence of God. They worship in secret.

7. They Study the People They Lead

Effective worship leaders aren’t just great singers and musicians. They have people skills. They are experts at serving the people they lead.

Never stop loving people. Never stop crying out to God. Never lose your innocent dependence on His strength.

Your church doesn’t need more talent on stage. They need more invisibility.

Success as a worship leader isn’t just about improving yourself, your methods or shining a greater spotlight on your talent. It’s about loving Jesus first, serving your church with excellence and making disciples wherever you’re sent. Join the FREE, 20-part email course, “Next Level Worship Leading” [link:http://davidsantistevan.com/nlwl] to take your leadership to the next level.

Nine Lessons for Pastors Facing Leadership Conflict

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Two years into our church plant, we faced our first major crisis. Two elders left the church, but not before raising some serious accusations against me as the pastor. Suddenly, our young church had entered into the murky, dark, choppy waters of leadership conflict. As you might expect, the resignation of these two elders led to a series of very difficult members’ meetings.

But God was with us. There were many instances of his kindness, but one in particular stands out. On the Sunday morning of what would be the most difficult members’ meeting for me, God sent Rod and his wife Joy, who were vacationing in the area, to visit our church. Rod was a pastor and, just the year before, had walked through an amazingly similar period of conflict in his church. Two elders leaving. Accusations. Conflict. Rod’s encouragements and wisdom during the week that followed were grace to me, a young pastor just struggling to keep his head above water in a sea of conflict. Joy ministered to my hurting wife.

Recently, I had the opportunity to counsel a pastor facing a leadership conflict in his church, and I was reminded of how frequently churches are afflicted.

Leadership conflict in the church is tough. It’s scary, disorienting, confusing and damaging. And every church experiences it. Jesus spoke of false prophets who would come in among the disciples (Matt. 7:15–20). Likewise, Paul warned the Ephesian elders that wolves would arise from among them and would not spare the flock (Acts 20:29–30). Confronting such threats necessarily involves conflict.

Then there are the less sinister, but still frequently destructive, Paul-and-Barnabas-type disagreements. Satan uses these to harm churches. Pastors need to be vigilant to do all they can to avoid leadership conflict, but they also need to respond wisely to leadership conflict when it comes.

Looking back, here are nine lessons I took away from our church’s experience of conflict.

1. Preach God’s Word faithfully.

As pastors, our most basic responsibility is to preach the Word (2 Tim. 4:2). But in the midst of controversy we can easily be side-tracked and put sermon preparation on the back-burner. One of the first questions an older pastor asked me when he learned I was facing conflict in the church was “How are your sermons?” He wanted me to avoid the pitfall many pastors fall into of thinking they have an excuse not to prepare.

Brothers, the battle will affect our emotions, and that will, at times, make sermon preparation difficult. But our people still need to hear God’s Word. Our people also need to hear the voice of a faithful under-shepherd, particularly if other voices are calling for their attention.

Finally, pastors themselves need to spend time with God through his Word. David strengthened himself in the Lord when his own men spoke of stoning him after their wives and children had been taken captive by the Amalekites (1 Sam. 30:6). Each week, our sermon preparation gives us the opportunity to do the same thing.

2. Pray fervently.

In leadership conflict, the struggle is almost always personal. Pastors are forced to confront human opponents when the health of the church is at stake.

But ultimately, we need to remember that Satan is at work in every instance of church conflict. He intends for the conflict to divide the church. He intends for church members to be wounded and disillusioned. If possible, he intends to dishonor Christ’s name in the community.

And here’s the thing. Satan is so much smarter and stronger than we are. When he requested of the Lord to sift Peter (Luke 22:31), Satan wasn’t in any doubt as to whether or not he would be successful. He just needed permission. Faced with such an enemy, our responsibility as shepherds is to humble ourselves in prayer and to ask Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep (Heb. 13:20), to fight for his people.

3. Love your people.

In conflict, subtle insinuations, vague accusations and even overt lies combine to present church members with a carnival mirror’s reflection of their pastor.

How can they sift the true from the false? Pastors, it’s our responsibility to love our people so well that they truly know us. If, as a pattern of ministry, we hide in our studies and refuse to interact with fellow church members, they won’t know us and so won’t be equipped to recognize slander when conflict comes.

How are we to love our people? In a hundred ways. But one avenue of love is essential—hospitality. Elders must be hospitable (1 Tim. 3:2). Hospitality is a wonderful means of discipleship, but it also prepares our people for conflict. By loving our people and inviting them into our homes so that they can truly know us, we equip them to recognize the carnival mirror distortions for what they are.

4. Meditate on Matthew 5 and Romans 12.

During our church’s conflict, I was helped immensely by meditating on Matthew 5 and Romans 12. These two chapters contain crazy commands like “love your enemies” and “never avenge yourselves.” In short, they contain God’s wisdom for how to relate to others—even to those who oppose us.

Satan uses leadership conflict to stir up factions in the church. Pastors often fall into the trap of defending themselves vocally and even launching counterattacks against the opposition. They rally people to their cause and demand their rights. Though this feels justified, the end result is almost always more strife and more confusion. People are forced to choose between the pastor and the opposition—a difficult choice when both sides are actively sinning.

But if we embrace God’s wisdom by loving our enemies, enduring suffering patiently and never avenging ourselves, then our people will have a clear choice between those who are following God’s Word, even when it is personally costly, and those who are not.

5. Remember: You are a bad person.

Often in leadership conflict, the opposition makes vague allegations against a pastor. Lacking a smoking gun like adultery or embezzlement, they focus on issues like pride, impatience or anger, arguing the pastor is unfit for ministry.

Meanwhile, the basic message we pastors hear is: “You’re a very bad person.” These public accusations wound deeply; they hurt our wives and families, as well.

Though we must acknowledge that we struggle with pride, anger and impatience—does any pastor not?—we still feel unfairly judged. In the flesh, our temptation is to respond in kind. We want to vindicate ourselves and hurl our own criticisms. But the gospel frees us to turn the other cheek (Matt. 5:39).

Brother pastors, our basic message is that we are so bad that the Son of God had to come to earth and die on a cross because of our sin. In ourselves, we are bad people who desperately need the grace of God. Leadership conflict and the accusations that often accompany it give us an opportunity to humbly acknowledge our faults and ask for our people’s prayers.

This isn’t to say that we will never have to defend ourselves against scandalous lies and accusations; after all, Satan is the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10). I also don’t think we’re wise to confess sins we haven’t actually committed. I simply want to highlight how difficult it is to convince a congregation that the pastor is swollen with pride when he’s humbly acknowledging his faults and shortcomings. Honest humility disarms many a personal attack while also giving our people an example worth following.

6. Embrace suffering.

Paul encouraged fearful Timothy to “share in suffering as a good solider of Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:3). That’s good advice because there’s much suffering in pastoral ministry. Leadership conflict, in particular, is painful. It’s hard to sit through a members’ meeting and listen to distorted or dishonest representations of your character.

In these moments, it can be tempting to give into grumbling and complaining. But we need to remember that this is our job. In calling us to be his undershepherds, God has called us to suffering. Part of our job as undershepherds is to be bitten by wolves so that the sheep aren’t. By God’s grace, our willingness to be chewed on by the opposition without quitting or sinfully responding may be the means God uses to preserve the church from division and perhaps even destruction.

7. Don’t throw away the playbook.

In their book Redeeming Church Conflicts, Kara Barthel and David Edling warn: “One of the biggest mistakes people make in church conflict is to fail to trust Scripture.”

Conflict often sends the church into a flurry. As certain members panic, other strong leaders in the congregation rise up and take matters into their own hands. They set up meetings with both parties and determine for themselves who’s to blame. The result is more disorder and division.

What happened? They forgot the “playbook.” They forgot God’s instructions for dealing with conflict in the church. God has given us church discipline to guide us through the murky waters of conflict in the church. It’s especially important for the church to follow church discipline when the conflict involves an elder.

There isn’t space in this article to go into the Bible’s teaching on church discipline. But it’s vital that both we and our churches are committed to practicing biblical discipline. Once again, the Devil is smarter than we are. If we forsake God’s guidance on resolving conflicts in the church, we’ll find ourselves unwittingly following Satan’s.

8. Be quick to grant forgiveness.

It’s true that Satan is looking to harm the entire church. But pastor, Satan is especially gunning for you. He knows you’re hurting and he knows the ease with which bitterness takes root in the human heart. It can be so tempting to relive painful interactions with opponents and mentally dress them down, saying things that you wish you had said. Satan is happy to load us up with such imaginations.

But while vengeful thoughts taste sweet in our mouths, they quickly turn our stomachs bitter. If we become embittered, we sin and tempt God to remove his hand of blessing from our ministry. What should we do? We must forgive—freely and fully—just as God has forgiven us (Eph. 4:32).

Even if our opponents never acknowledge their wrongs and even if they refuse to repent or reconcile, we can still forgive. God has forgiven us for far more than we’ll ever have to forgive anyone else. We can entrust our enemies to God, correct them gently and pray for their repentance (2 Tim. 2:25).

Even if we ultimately have to lead the congregation to use its authority to remove unrepentant opponents from church membership, we can do so without animosity. Church discipline should always be done in love and with tears. In short, bitterness enslaves, but gospel-forgiveness liberates. And when we forgive, we discover as Corrie Ten Boom did, that to forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you.

9. Be thankful.

It isn’t natural to feel thankful as we endure conflict. But that’s because we tend to focus on momentary suffering rather than the privilege of serving as undershepherds of King Jesus.

Brothers, we don’t deserve easy ministries. We deserve hell.

But in wondrous love, God has met us with grace through the gospel. We’ve been redeemed—and on top of that, we’ve been privileged to serve the Lord as pastors.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul repeatedly chronicles the suffering he endured while serving as a minister of the gospel. Take some time and read through 2 Corinthians 4:7–12, 6:1–10 and 11:16–33. Mind-blowing suffering.

And yet, listen to the apostle’s perspective in 2 Corinthians 4:1: “Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.”

Brothers, we’re not pastors because we’re worthy. We’re pastors because God is merciful. In Christ, all we ever receive from God is mercy. Even the disorienting, depressing and dark seasons of ministry are mercy. The light and momentary afflictions are producing in us “an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17)—and we have every reason to be grateful.

CONCLUSION

Leadership conflict in the church is hard. There’s no question. But as pastors, we can rejoice in the reality that God’s grace and wisdom are enough to sustain us. We can endure because we know that in due season we will reap, if we do not give up (Gal. 6:9).

My own church has experienced God’s grace over the last year and a half. I can’t say we’ve completely recovered, but I can say God has been kind to us. He has brought us through. He has given our church new elders who are faithfully shepherding the flock. He continues to sustain and provide for our young church, and he continues to teach us that, at all times. He is enough.

Originally published in 9marks.org and reprinted by permission.

3 Things Every Leader Should Be Doing

communicating with the unchurched

Learning

Leaders are learners. When we stop learning, we’ll soon quit leading…leading well at least. The thing that I’ve learned from some of the best leaders I’ve ever been around is that they’re willing to learn from anyone. It doesn’t have to be an “expert” in a field or even a leader, but they’re willing to learn from those they lead and those that have something to teach.

I think one of the reasons we often fail at learning is because we get prideful in our leading. We can get so busy with the day to day that we’re unwilling to slow down, humble ourselves, and seek counsel and seek leadership wisdom.

Leveraging

When I think about the leaders that I’ve learned the most from, I see that they are always willing to leverage those around them. If someone knows a department better, they let them do it. If someone around them has experience with a certain situation, they seek counsel or let them take care of it.

This is a big part of empowering leadership. So often we think empowering others is telling them how to do something, but it’s usually found more in letting those we lead leverage their gifts and experiences as only they can. They’ll only be empowered to grow when they’re leveraged to lead themselves.

Looking

I’m so grateful for the leaders that I’ve followed that were looking for future leaders and even replacements for themselves. Good leaders don’t create organizations or followers, they create leaders. We should always be on the lookout for leaders, for people that could possibly one day be alongside of us.

It’s much easier, too, to look for current leaders and bring them in than it is to look for potential leaders and develop them. Great leaders DEVELOP leaders, not just hire them. Development requires time and patience, but it’s worth it.

By no means am I saying that all great leaders are the same. That’s crazy. I do think, though, that these three things are usually done by great leaders.

What would you add?

This article originally appeared here.

Muslims Hide Christians From ISIS-Affiliated-Militants in the Philippines

ISIS Marawi Philippines
In this June 8, 2017 photo, a baby girl watches a soldier at a military checkpoint in Marawi city, southern Philippines. It’s unclear how many people remain trapped in Marawi as government troops battle Muslim militants led by the so-called "Maute" group but army officers have put the figure this week at anywhere from 150 to 1,000. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

In May, ISIS-affiliated militants took control of Marawi, a Muslim-majority city in the Philippines. Since that time, Muslim citizens of that city have been hiding Christians who are under threat of being exterminated by the militants bent on turning Marawi into a caliphate.

On Tuesday, June 13, 2017, three Christians who had been hiding in their Muslim employer’s basement since the militant invasion in May escaped to the Philippine-military-controlled area of the city. Speaking to the police and The New York Times, these three men told their story of hiding from the militants and just narrowly escaping death. One of the men, Nick Andilig, said the militants “claimed to be ISIS out on mission to cleanse the city.”

Ian Torres said while they were hiding with two other people—a man and his pregnant wife—they could only hear what was going on outside. “We heard them shouting ‘Allahu akbar’ and asking neighbors about religion… If they could not answer questions about Quran verses, gunfire immediately followed.”

Torres and Andilig were part of a group of five workers from Iligan City, about 25 miles north of Marawi. The group was hired to do renovation work on a house owned by a prominent trader, who happened to be Muslim. Andilig called their employer “a good Muslim” and recounted how he saved their lives by hiding the five of them in his basement and then telling militants there were no Christians in his house. The employer escaped afterward, leaving food for the workers. After the food ran out and forays into the war-ravaged city were becoming more difficult, the five workers decided to attempt fleeing. However, the man and wife, who is seven-months-pregnant, decided to wait it out since running would likely prove too difficult.

Andilig said, “We…told ourselves that our fate was with the Lord.”

This is not the only story of Muslims helping Christians in Marawi either. The New York Times article also tells the story of five Christian construction workers being hidden and protected by five Muslim police officers for almost three weeks. The officers had an opportunity to flee the city, which is being bombed as the Philippine military attempts to take it back, but decided to stay so they could protect the Christians in their care.

Officer Lidasan says the militants are “not real Muslims” because “real Muslims will not hurt people unprovoked, regardless of religion.”

After getting word that the army was going to bomb their hideout area, the officers and the Christians made their escape, just barely making it out of the fighting zone. A few of them were wounded, including Mr. Aleko, a Christian. Despite this, Aleko says “I thank God for these officers” and his chance at a “second life.”

Muslims and Christians living in harmony is not a rare thing in Marawi. In fact, religious harmony has become expected in several nations throughout southeast Asia. Andilig testified to this fact by saying, “I have many friends who are Muslim… It was never a problem in the past.”

Judging by the statements made about “good” and “real” Muslims, it’s apparent that the militants are seen as anomalies to Islam. They do not practice their faith as others do in the region. That’s not to say there haven’t been any problems in the past, but this new breed of ISIS-inspired, violence-inducing Islam is concerning.

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