Serving Those in the Church Who Struggle With Same-Sex Attraction

June 19, 2020

SAM ALLBERRY has been a pastor at St. Mary’s Church, Maidenhead, U.K., since 2008. Prior to that, he worked as the pastor for students at St. Ebbe’s Church, Oxford, U.K. Sam is a contributor to the website LivingOut.org, which seeks to biblically help those who struggle with same-sex attraction. He is the author of the book Is God Anti-Gay?

Sam was kind enough to answer some questions about his experiences with same-sex attraction (SSA), as well as provide insight into how the church can effectively serve those who struggle with SSA.

When did you become a Christian?

I became a Christian pretty much the same day as I turned 18. I’d been coming along to a church youth group for a few weeks; I’d heard the gospel and I had believed it. But I hadn’t yet consciously confessed Christ as Lord or given my life to him. The week of my 18th, I was on a youth retreat with a load of folks from the youth group. One of the leaders was asking me how I was finding things and whether I had grasped the gospel. When I said that I had, he pressed me as to what my response was. That was the first time I consciously thought, ‘Yes, I need to give myself to Christ; I want to follow him.’ I remember thinking very clearly that from that moment on I wanted to belong to Christ.

When did you first become aware of same-sex attraction?

I started to become aware around the age of 15 or 16. I remember experiencing some intense feelings of attachment to a particular friend, and feeling devastated when he first started dating girls. At the time, these feelings were all quite confusing: I didn’t really know what was going on or what it meant. It took me a couple of years to realize that this seemed to be something of a settled pattern of attraction that I needed to come to terms with.

You experienced same-sex attraction (SSA) at a relatively young age. Would you say that SSA is part of who you are?

I would say that, certainly for my adult life, it has been a significant part of what I’ve felt, and in that sense it has been a deep and personal issue to deal with and one that impacts on all sorts of areas. I’d be reluctant to say it is who I am as I’m not sure we are to see such feelings as part of our identity. It is a feature of my fallenness (one such of many) rather than of my God-given human identity.

You believe it is sinful to act on SSA. Do you struggle with the fact that God has made you in such a way that you experience SSA?

Yes, I believe Scripture is clear that it would not be right to act on these feelings; they contradict who God has made me to be. I don’t think it is fair to say that God has made me to experience SSA. It comes from my fallenness; a sign of what sin has made me rather than who God has made me. In our fallen state, we are all broken and skewed in every area and therefore including in our sexual desires. In that sense, none of us is straight! SSA seems to be a feature of my fallen desires. In that sense, it is ‘natural’ to me, but with the important insight that what is ‘natural’ is itself warped. So I wouldn’t say, ‘This is how God made me.’ But I do know that he is sovereign over this, as in all things, and so therefore my continuing battle with these feelings is (for as long as I experience it) part of his good plan for me and something that good can come out of. I don’t like this particular battle, but I am thankful for how God has used it in my life.

Mack Tomlinson | How to Pray in the Corporate Prayer Meeting

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Top 10 Ways to Learn to Pray Together

Mark Howell

June 19, 2020

Praying together at the end of a small group meeting is one of the real challenges for almost every small group. The very common fear of public speaking (number #1 fear for many) is compounded by the unspoken belief held by many that it’s important to speak an unfamiliar dialect when praying (a thee and thou palooza).

What can a leader do (who may have their own struggle) to help members learn to pray together? Here are my top 10 ideas:

Distribute index cards and pens and ask each person to write out a simple one sentence prayer request. Swap cards and read them aloud.
Ask each person to fill in the blank and say one thing they’re thankful for: “God, I’m thankful for my ______________.”
Pull a chair into the middle of the room and suggest that since Jesus said, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them (Matthew 18:20),” in tonight’s meeting let’s speak to Jesus as if He was right in that chair.
Sentence prayers with no conjunctions (and). One idea only. For example, “God help me with __________.” “God I’m thankful for _______________.” “God be with Dean tonight in a way he can sense.”
Ground rule: You can only pray for a personal concern tonight. Nothing for your sister’s husband’s co-worker’s daughter.
Ask your members to pair up or get in groups of three. I’ve written much more about this idea in The Power of a Spiritual Training Partner.
Read Psalm 8 from a modern translation. Move the group outdoors and ask each person to thank God for a specific aspect of nature.
Choose a verse about prayer (for example, Philippians 4:6-7). Print it for each member. Talk about each phrase. Ask each member to complete the phrase: “I’m most anxious about ______________.” Then, simply express it to God: “God, I’m anxious about _____________. Thank you for being a God who cares.”
Many of the Psalms are actually prayers. Have each member choose a section of a Psalm they can identify with to share as their own prayer.
Print copies of Psalm 61 (or a Psalm of your own choice) from The Message. Have your members read it aloud together.

These are just a few ideas. There are many, many more that will help leaders and members who struggle with this powerful aspect of group life. Do you have one that’s worked for you? Use the comments to share it with the rest of us!

From Riots to Revival: George Floyd Ave Turns Into Outdoor Church

Megan Briggs

June 19, 2020

The street corner of Chicago and 38th in Minneapolis where George Floyd died a few weeks ago has gone from a place of tragedy and unrest to a place of revival. Not only has the atmosphere of the area shifted, it’s also gotten a new name. Chicago Ave has been renamed George Floyd Ave. Dr. Charles Karuku and his wife, Lindsey, are leading believers from different churches and locations as they minister to the people showing up to pay their respects to the late Floyd.

The Karukus, an interracial couple living in Minneapolis, hope that what started as a tragedy would transform into a global revival. Charles is the senior pastor of International Outreach Church in Burnsville, Minnesota. He and Lindsey have been setting up an outdoor service each evening this week as people travel to the George Floyd Memorial.

Calling their effort Unity Revival Minneapolis, the Karukus have set up a Facebook page that now has over 1800 followers. Speaking to CBN, Charles said God had been preparing the couple to lead the movement even before Floyd’s death. “I was on a 40-day fast that ended the day after George Floyd was killed,” Dr. Charles told CBN. “When we started the fast, the Lord told us that, on the day of Pentecost, He would do a big thing. We did not know what it would be, so we kept praying and fasting. The day we ended the fast, the riots broke out.”

Instead of running from the riots, the couple decided to go to the place where Floyd was killed and preach the gospel. The movement they started is focused on personal evangelism. They send people in pairs to evangelize to those gathered at the memorial site.

Every day there have been “hundreds of people” coming to Christ, the couple said in a Facebook video. They say it’s been “exciting to see the body of Christ be active.” Being the organizers, the Karukus see their role as providing an opportunity for people who want to do something to address the wound the incident has reopened in the United States. They are seeing people coming “from all over the country, even other parts of the world” to do what they can to help.

Charles says, “Jesus Christ brings us together, and through Jesus Christ we can be united one to another. Because reconciliation starts first with God and then one with another.”

Lindsey says trying to address racial reconciliation without Jesus is often fruitless. “It’s easy to pick out the problems, but we the body of Christ, for this particular problem, we have the solution. And the solution is Jesus Christ. And so until we bring him on the scene and we involve him in these things, it doesn’t matter what we’re doing or who we’re talking to, nothing’s ever going to change.”

Videos of people being baptized and giving their lives to Christ can be seen on Facebook. The Karukus also say people are receiving “words of knowledge” and other miraculous things. Charles described someone telling the crowd that there was someone there who has “an aunt in another state who is praying for you.” Someone else in the crowd received that word and asked “how did you know?” Charles points to the story of the woman at the well with Jesus in John 4 to explain this sign.

At an outdoor service at the memorial on June 17, ministers led the crowd in worship and Charles spoke to them. To honor the memory of George Floyd, Charles asked the crowd to observe a moment of silence and take a knee. Then he preached about forgiveness.

The couple hopes that the riots the country is experiencing will turn into revival meetings like the ones they are facilitating in Minneapolis. “What started on May 25 with the death of George Floyd, it has spread everywhere in the world. And the whole rioting and protesting that started from Minneapolis and spread–can you imagine God turning that around and making it to be a revival spreading from Minneapolis to the rest of the world? That would be a huge miracle. A riot turned into a revival.”

Rural Church Accounts for 200+ Oregon Coronavirus Cases

Stephanie Martin

June 19, 2020

Coronavirus infections are spiking in Oregon, where health officials announced this week that 236 new cases of the disease are linked to a single church in the town of La Grande, Oregon. That’s now the largest outbreak in the state, which has temporarily put all applications for reopening on hold.

Lighthouse Pentecostal Church in rural northeastern Union County reportedly held worship services in April and May, despite restrictions on large gatherings. According to one source, the church recently deleted from its Facebook page a video of “hundreds of worshipers singing, dancing, and jumping around” on May 24. Another newspaper states that Lighthouse recently held a wedding and a graduation ceremony—both of which had more than 100 attendees.

Testing at La Grande Oregon Church Yields 66% Positive Results

When Union County held a COVID-19 testing clinic at Lighthouse last weekend, two-thirds of the 356 people screened tested positive. Five patients with ties to the congregation are now hospitalized due to the virus. Contact tracing, quarantine, and follow-up will be key in stemming the outbreak, according to Dr. Thomas Jeanne, deputy state epidemiologist.

Carrie Brogoitti, a public health administrator, says the church “continues to be very responsive and is taking appropriate steps to ensure the health and safety of their congregation.” But she adds that all community members must cooperate with safety guidelines. “We don’t have a reliable treatment or vaccine,” she says, “so the tools we have to use are the preventative measures.”

At a meeting on Wednesday, community officials recommended rolling back to “phase one” restrictions and wearing face masks. Gary Bell, LaGrande’s police chief, admits that some people want “more heavy-handed enforcement action” but says that’s “really difficult” now. “These are good people,” he adds.

Lighthouse Pastor: ‘We did…the right thing’

Pastor James Parker addressed church members via Facebook video earlier this week. “Our fruit will show that what we did is the right thing,” he said. “And more people need to do what we did. And the more people that do the right thing, the easier it’s going to be for the rest of the world to combat this, this pandemic that we’re going through.” Instead of hiding “from life’s circumstances,” he said, “you got to stand up on your feet and you got to face them. … That’s what we’ll continue to do.”

Dr. Jim Shames, a health official in another Oregon county, calls the outbreak at Lighthouse “very unfortunate” but “not terribly surprising.” Based on video he saw of worshipers singing and praising in close proximity indoors without masks, Shames says that type of interaction is “a perfect opportunity for COVID to spread.” By contrast, he notes, most protesters in Oregon are at least wearing face coverings and gathering outdoors.

What happened with Lighthouse shows the impact of every single public encounter during a pandemic, say health experts. The hundreds of worshipers who were possibly exposed to the virus at the church all have families, jobs, and loved ones, Shames points out. The disease “doesn’t just stop” at the church.

Chip and Joanna Ask Emmanuel Acho If It’s Good To Be ‘Color-Blind’

Jessica Lea

June 19, 2020

In his third installment of “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man,” former NFL player Emmanuel Acho talked to Chip and Joanna Gaines—and all five of their kids. When Chip and Joanna’s son, Drake, asked Acho if he had hope for the future “with all that’s going on in the world,” Acho said that he did, but only because of the people who are willing to listen.

“I do, because of a man like your dad,” Acho said to the kids, “because of a woman like your mom. But the only way to have hope for the future is if you all listen to these people [Chip and Joanna] and if these people listen to me and if I listen to them. Then I think we all have a lot of hope for the future.”

More Uncomfortable Conversations with Emmanuel Acho

Chip and Joanna have been discussing race with their five children and trying to get an idea of how their kids think about it. At one point, Chip had asked them: If you were at a gas station and saw a black man and white man, would you feel more threatened by one than the other?

Joanna told Acho, “And the kids all really quick said, ‘No. Why?’ Like in their mind, that wasn’t, they didn’t even think about that. And so later Chip and I were talking, and this whole idea of this color blind thing came up.” At first, Chip told Joanna he was proud because it seemed as though their kids were “color blind,” but then the two began debating whether or not being blind to other races was good. “In your opinion,” asked Joanna, “what’s the best way to move forward with this conversation?”

Should We Strive to Be ‘color blind’?

“I think that it’s best that we raise our kids to see color because there’s a beauty in color and there’s a beauty in culture,” said Acho, who believes trying to be “color blind” could even be dangerous. As an illustration of what he meant, Acho said he never had pets growing up, and his only experience with a dog was when one attacked his sister. So now he sees all dogs as threats, even though they are not.

If we are never around people of other colors, we will end up with false assumptions and not be able to discern true problems. White people won’t be able to tell the difference between “a black man that’s a threat and black man that’s just black.” On the other hand, said Acho, “A black person won’t be able to decipher between a white person that’s a racist and a white person who is just white and may happen to be racially ignorant.”

Have We Truly ‘come a long way’?

Joanna asked if Acho agreed with people who say, “We’ve come a long way,” in overcoming racism. He responded, “I would say that it is accurate, but it is incomplete.”

We don’t enslave people any more, and we don’t have laws blatantly enforcing segregation, so yes, we have come a long way. “However,” he said, “there is still such a long way to go.”

Acho alluded to the fact that June 12 was Loving Day, a day that commemorates when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down bans on interracial marriage. That was only 53 years ago. Acho also had a realization when he spent the previous night at a white friend’s home in Waco, Texas. Only 70 years ago, he would have been executed for that. “Just imagine that for a second,” he said.

The former NFL player made the point that history should be remembered, but not necessarily celebrated: “I think that we have racism so ingrained into our culture, we don’t even realize we are blind to it.” The blindness some people have is similar to people who don’t realize how badly they need glasses. “My white brothers and sisters, until they put their glasses on, they can’t see all the dimensions of life,” said Acho.

He attributes this “lack of sight” to why some people do not understand why black people have a problem with Confederate memorials. Said Acho, “Maybe having statues littered across campuses that I have to look at of men who would have oppressed and enslaved and potentially executed me, maybe that’s a problem.” He believes we have to do a better job of determining which heroes we should celebrate.

10 Ways to Pray for Your Church as It Reopens

Kent Annan

June 19, 2020

Throughout Scripture we are reminded that we serve a God who hears us. As you think through the reentry decision—should you go back to in-person church services?—and experience many emotions revolving around COVID-19, prayer can be a powerful tool. To pray for your church is one way to build unity when divisions arise. Prayer leads to peace.

Sometimes we approach prayer as a last resort, but it’s important to start with prayer. As you’re navigating relationships with people who hold various opinions on how and when churches should reopen, and you’re evaluating your own approach to in-person ministry, use prayer to guide you. “Be still and know I am God,” Psalm 46:10 says. A prayerful place will lead to deep thought and wisdom.

Remember: God is faithful and He gives wisdom to those who ask for it. Wisdom is one of the heart postures we need to take as believers when making decisions.

COVID-19 PRAYER PROMPTS

Sometimes it’s hard to find the words for prayer. It can be challenging to know where to start. Here are a few prayer prompts to adapt when seeking God’s guidance.

1. GOD, GRANT US HEALTH AND SAFETY.

Pray for your church: God, keep me, my family, my community, and my church family from all harm. Preserve our physical and mental health as we seek to serve you faithfully.

“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well” (3 John 1:2).

2. GOD, GRANT US HUMILITY.

Pray for your church: As I seek your will, clothe me with the humility that comes from you. As I seek wise counsel, teach me what it looks like to submit to you.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12).

3. GOD, GRANT US WISDOM.

Pray for your church: Lord, you are a gracious guide. Show me the paths that you have prepared and teach me to walk in your ways.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5).

4. GOD, GRANT US COURAGE.

Pray for your church: God, if you lead me to make decisions that may be unpopular, grant me courage to do what you’ve called and equipped me to do.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

5. GOD, GRANT US PATIENCE.

Pray for your church: During these stressful times, I pray that all of us in the church family would practice patience with one another.

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).

6. GOD, GRANT US UNITY.

Pray for your church: Within our body, Lord, people are of different minds about how to faithfully proceed. Grant us unity so that we might walk together in mind and thought.

“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10).

7. GOD, GRANT US RESOURCES.

Pray for your church: As we all–individuals and families and organizations–adjust to an ever-changing social and financial climate, I appeal to you to be the good provider who blesses us with all we need to be faithful to you.

“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (1 Corinthians 9:8).

8. GOD, GRANT US REFRESHMENT.

Pray for your church: God, many of us feel weary, but you are the one who refreshes souls. Protect my church family and church leaders from burnout and renew our hearts.

“He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3).

9. GOD, GRANT US LOVE AND SUPPORT.

Pray for your church: Lord, I pray for the individuals, families, and leaders of my church. Give us the time, opportunity, and grace to love and be loved.

“Do everything in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14).

10. GOD, MEET THE NEEDS OF THOSE OF WHICH I’M NOT AWARE.

Pray for your church: Jesus, you know every hair on our heads. I ask that you would meet the needs of others of which I’m not even aware. Thank you for your gracious care.

“We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26).

PRAY FOR YOUR CHURCH

Prayers matter to God, and your church needs them now more than ever. As you and your church make decisions about reopening the church, continue to lift them up.

Final prayer: God, thank you for hearing when we call on you and for knowing what we need, even before we do. Thank you for your Spirit who “intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

Jamie Aten, Ph.D. is the Founder and Executive Director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute and Blanchard Chair of Humanitarian & Disaster Leadership at Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). His most recent book is A Walking Disaster: What Surviving Katrina and Cancer Taught Me About Faith and Resilience (Templeton Press).

This article originally appeared here.

Ten Things Every Racial Bridge-Builder Should Know

Tasha Morrison

June 19, 2020

It’s easy to say that we want diversity in our homes, our neighborhoods and our MOPS groups, but it’s another thing to intentionally do it. We want to share some practical tips to help move you from just wanting it to actually practicing being a racial bridge-builder. Tasha Morrison, founder of Be the Bridge, shares some great insight and practical first steps to fostering diversity within our lives. For more resources and connections, check out bethebridge.com.

10 Ways to Be a Racial Bridge-Builder

1. Become a student, and educate yourself on the issues.

-Read from various authors on the issues of race and reconciliation.
-Learn from others who don’t look like you.
-Don’t expect others to do the work for you.
-Understand racism from a systemic structure. Ask questions if you don’t understand the systems.

2. Pray for opportunities.

-Don’t expect opportunities to only come to you.
-Step out of your comfort zone to find opportunities. Be brave.
-Look for opportunities in your day-to-day life.
-Think outside the box.

3. Research those you can learn from, and follow them on social media.

-Diversify whom you follow on your social media platforms.

4. Surround yourself with diversity.

-Visit churches, gym classes, restaurants, playgrounds and grocery stores.
-Try out new types of media like magazines, TV shows and movies.
-Add more diverse events to your calendar such as concerts, plays, community and civic events.

5. Listen.

-One of the most difficult things for many people is to listen to others who don’t think like themselves.
-Don’t get caught up in pride and being right; practice humility.
-Don’t let political views drive you.
-Practice good listening skills – listen without speaking at times, ask questions for what you don’t understand.

6. Learn from minorities.

-Sadly, not many are willing to learn from minorities. Our experiences are all different, but all valid in the conversation.
-Remember minorities are the experts in their experiences and history.
-Try to see the world from a dissimilar perspective.

7. Notice and take responsibility for negative stereotypes you hold.

-Pay attention to how media perpetuates stereotypes.
-Be honest with yourself. Pray against the stereotypes, confess and repent of your own sins.

8. Acknowledge truth.

-We must own our history as a country despite how horrific or how shameful it may be. We must lament it, confess it and repent of it so healing may begin.
-Stop defending injustice.
-Just because you’ve never experienced racism personally doesn’t mean that someone else hasn’t.
-Acknowledge any privileges you may have, and use them for good. Give your power to lift others up.

9. Stand as an ally for the marginalized.

-Hold those around you accountable for what they say.
-Bridge building needs collective and active participation. The problem will not solve itself.

10. Model reconciliation in your own relationships.

-These issues are not for the government to solve. The government can play a role, but the Church must embrace the process toward reconciliation.
-We can’t take others where we are not willing to go ourselves. Lead by example.

This article about being a racial bridge-builder originally appeared The MOPS Blog here.

Never Waste a Good Sermon: 6 Ways to Re-Purpose Your Message Content

Brandon Cox

June 19, 2020

I think we should never waste a good sermon!

Do you ever get that post-sermon, anti-climactic feeling that all of your research, all of your writing, all of your preparation just got burned up in a single half-hour shot?

It would be far more ideal to leave church on Sunday believing there was still much to come of the results of your preaching, even after the lights are turned off and the doors locked.

No, we should never waste a good sermon.

Here are at least six ways to stretch the reach of a good sermon beyond the single weekend service…

Blog your points, one at a time.

A full sermon transcript or manuscript is probably too long for a blog post, but one point with its explanation is just the right size. So if you’re presenting three or four major truths this Sunday, write three or four corresponding blog posts during the following week.

And if you’re not sure about the difference between writing a good sermon point and writing an effective blog post, let me offer this advice…

Write the title as if it will stand all alone—a blog post title needs to hint at what is contained in the post.
Write the first line as if it determines whether the reader will go any further, because it does.
Write the first paragraph to get people to take the next step, which isn’t what you think it is.

If you expect people to keep reading straight through your blog post, you’re still thinking of it too much like a sermon. When reading web copy, most readers do something different—they scroll to the end.

At the end, they’ll figure out whether the post is worth reading or not. Therefore…

Close with a strong, confident call to action and sign-off.
Between the first paragraph and closing paragraph, present your content.
Try to break it up with subheadings, bullet points and occasional illustrations.
Share it bravely. The world needs it!

Use brief quotes and verses as social media messages.

Scan your sermon notes and separate out five or six sentences that are strong on their own. Share them as single sentence status posts and then, sometimes, turn them into an image with a tool like Canva.

It’s popular to brand them with your church logo and make them look professionally designed, but I still think there’s great strength in just shooting from the hip and dropping truth into your social networks without being polished.

Use the video.

When I was in college, I had to preach a sermon on camera. Then, I had to watch it and sit down with my preaching professor so he could critique it with me. This was extremely helpful…and excruciatingly painful.

It still is painful to see myself on video—that’s human nature. But it’s worth it. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a thousand pictures, and video is growing in popularity at a rapid rate with the advancement of mobile web platforms.

So, share your sermon video as a whole, and in pieces by using smaller clips as brief posts.

Create a podcast.

It’s fairly easy to use your sermon audio to create a podcast. Almost every church website solution will have some kind of rss or itunes feed capabilities, so with a few steps, you can be sharing your sermons as a podcast.

You may wonder why podcasting matters so much, but there’s a reason why it’s such a rapidly growing trend. People “subscribe” to podcasts. So rather than popping in and out, as with blogs, people usually form a pretty faithful community around a podcast and they’ll listen to every new episode.

Turn a good sermon into a small group study.

Our Community Pastor takes my notes and creates a discussion guide to go along with them. Then, some of our small groups download those notes from our small group studies page and use them in their group meetings.

It’s likely that in less than 20 minutes, you could breeze through your notes and create two or three strong discussion questions after each point. Then, offer it for download.

Create ebooks from a good sermon series.

Save your finished notes as a pdf file, add a nice cover and then offer them as free downloads. Some people like to read content on web pages while others prefer to read longer form content as downloadable, portable files.

You can even publish them to Kindle with a bit of preparation, or give them away as lead magnets to people when they subscribe to your church’s email list.

Here’s the bottom line…

The gospel is the greatest content on the planet, and we pastors write and say a lot of words about it every week.

It’s a shame for that knowledge to go to waste. Utilize modern technology and social distribution points to extend the message and fill every conversational space with the truth and glory of God!

This article about how to get the most from a good sermon originally appeared here.

10 Ways to Spot Your Own Arrogance

Chuck Lawless

June 18, 2020

I’m writing this post for me as much as for anyone. In the past months, I’ve re-read Jim Collins’ How the Mighty Fall and Tim Irwin’s Derailed. Both of these gripping studies review the process of decline in leaders and organizations, especially in leaders who perhaps once thought themselves invincible.

These studies challenge me because I know I’m prideful. I also know that “pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18, HCSB).

With me, use these potential markers of arrogance to avoid such a fall.

Marker #1: You believe few people are as smart as you are.

Not many people actually say these words, but honest leaders must admit they sometimes think this way.

Some reveal this thinking by their ridicule of anybody else “not quite up to my level.” Others assume they should be part of almost every discussion, regardless of the topic.

If you assume few people can teach you anything, that assumption should cause you to evaluate your heart.

Marker #2: Your first reaction to negative is to be defensive or to cast blame on others.

If anything adverse (e.g., a lack of growth in the organization, a divided leadership team, a failed program) is always somebody else’s fault, you might see yourself as above such declines.

In Jim Collins’ words, you may join falling leaders who explain away negative data and “blame external factors for setbacks rather than accept responsibility.”[i]

Marker #3: Titles matter to you.

Check your signature line on your email. Look at your company’s letterhead and website. Read the bio you send to others who have invited you to speak.

Consider your reaction when someone introduces you without noting your title. Think about how you introduce yourself. If your title has become your first name, you’ve crossed the line.

Marker #4: You assume your organization cannot fail.

The bottom line for you is this: Your organization cannot fail because you don’t fail. You are intelligent enough to figure out the solutions.

Your track record is so filled with successes that failure is unimaginable. And, even if your organization struggles, you can simply replace your co-workers; after all, you are convinced that finding people who want to work for you will not be difficult.

Marker #5: Not knowing “insider information” bothers you.

Arrogance is characterized not only by a belief that we know almost everything, but also by a desire to know the “scoop” before others do. The most important people, we think, deserve to have the details first.

If you get frustrated when you’re not in the information’s inner circle, you may well be dealing with arrogance.

Two Gentle Ways to Care for Wounded People

Chris Surber

June 18, 2020

Have you ever felt attacked as a church leader? Surely every leader has been unfairly injured, unexpectedly pounced on, or had their best efforts to help just plain disregarded. A few years ago I found a little black cat clinging to life in the middle of winter. He was sitting outside my office with a paw frozen to a patch of ice with open wounds meowing as if to say “please, please help me.”

My secretary and I took him in the church and she gave him entire stick of butter. It was all that we could find to feed him and gladly ate every bit of it. She asked if I was going to keep him for the kids. Just as I looked at him and said “I don’t even like cats” he began to purr and rub up against my hand, forcing me to pet him. We gently loved him to nourish the cat back to health.

Still, fluffy had spent the better part of his life unhealthy and unloved. He didn’t like to be touched. He had no knowledge of how to receive love and affection. I still bear a scar that he gave me while making a futile attempt to brush his tangled hair. It is to me a constant reminder that no matter how much you want to nurture and love another being, love cannot be reciprocated unless it is first received. Here are two essential principles about handling wounded people.

1. Increase in Humility.

If you are anything like me, being attacked makes you angry. Attack can come in many forms. When people decide you don’t measure-up it can even make you question your love for God’s people. Sometimes attack comes from so close that it may make a church leader question if the potential trouble we face it is even worth it. Perhaps a family member, who knows of your imperfections, announces their conviction that you are a hypocrite. Speaking to his disciples, Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” (Mark 6:4, ESV) The closer an attacker or a slanderer is to you relationally the more pain the attack will likely cause. The Apostles were attacked. Jesus was slandered, spat upon, and crucified by those He came to shower with love.

When attack comes, breathe through the anger then give it God – through tears of anguish if necessary. Ask God if there is any truth in the accusation. If there is, learn from the attack, attempt reconciliation with your accuser. Trust God with the results. If there no truth, trust God and cling to Christ for comfort and strength. Allow attack to increase your humility. If they attacked Jesus how humbled ought we to be to be counted worthy of similar attack? “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.” (John 15:20, ESV)

The Senior Pastor and the Small Group Ministry: An Interview with Bill Search

Rick Howerton

June 18, 2020

One of my dear friends, Bill Search has been gracious enough to allow me to interview him. Most of you will know Bill from his years in small group ministry. He spearheaded small groups at one of the premiere churches in the country,Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Or, you may know Bill as the author of Simple Small Groups, a fantastic groups book he wrote some time ago. Last year Bill accepted God’s call to the Senior Pastor position at Rolling Hills Church, a mega-church in El Dorado Hills, California.

I asked Bill if I could interview him concerning the roll of the senior pastor in groups ministry as well as giving us insights as to how the senior pastor and the small groups pastor relate to one another.

Here goes…

Rick: Bill, would you give us a quick rundown of your ministry history?

Bill: I’ve served three churches ranging from 1000 to 20,000. During my 15 years of ministry I’ve worn many hats: campus/venue pastor, teaching pastor, young couples pastor, Sunday School pastor, small groups pastor, men’s pastor, singles pastor, college pastor – I was even women’s pastor of a day – and now I serve as senior pastor.

Rick: Many say that the senior pastor is the most important person in any small group ministry. Do you agree? If so, why? If not, why?

Bill: I believe the senior pastor is a key person in the ministry. But without a gifted small groups point person it’s just a bunch of ideology. Someone has to organize it, identify and develop leaders, and keep track of what’s going on. I can’t do that. The job of the senior pastor is to set direction and root the groups ministry into the work of God demonstrated in the Bible.

Rick: Many small group pastors are in a precarious situation and are working with a senior pastor who has concluded that the small groups pastor was hired to make groups work and that they, the senior pastor, has no responsibility when it comes to the group ministry. If you were talking with one of these senior pastors, senior pastor to senior pastor, what would you say to that senior pastor?

Bill: I would challenge any senior pastor to simply read their Bible and ask, “What system is God using to develop His people?” God’s plan A is other people. Jethro talked to Moses about a system of support and care in Exodus, Jesus modeled small group dynamics with his 12 disciples, the Jerusalem church showed it in Acts 2, and Paul demonstrated it and taught it throughout his writings. God used little groups of people to accomplish amazing things. If you aren’t going to use small groups what will you use? Simply gathering a bunch of people in a room and preaching at them won’t accomplish the goal.

Rick: What are the primary responsibilities of a senior pastor when it comes to the groups ministry?

Bill:

1. Teach it from the platform – root it in scripture.

2. Use small group examples and stories in often – this “normalizes” the experience for your church culture

3. Encourage your small group staff – their job is much harder than you think

4. Provided books, resources, and conferences for small group staff so they stay fresh

Rick: What are some of the reasons you think some senior pastors are unwilling to or believe they are unable to do their part in making the small group ministry effective?

Dreamers Have Reason to Smile, But Still in Need of Permanent Solution

Megan Briggs

June 18, 2020

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decided to block the Trump Administration’s attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Ruling on the side of Dreamers, as the recipients of DACA are known, SCOTUS’ DACA decision determined the federal government’s action to rescind DACA was “arbitrary and capricious.”

“Today’s Supreme Court decision gives a much-needed reprieve to the many DACA recipients in our churches and communities who have been stuck in legal limbo waiting for our nation to recognize that America is their rightful home,” Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, wrote in a press release.

Started in 2012 by an executive order of President Obama, DACA gives temporary protection from deportation to people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Recipients of DACA, Dreamers, are allowed to work legally and apply for college loans if they pass a background check and meet certain requirements. According to SCOTUS’ decision, there are approximately 700,000 Dreamers currently registered in the United States. As President Obama noted in 2012, however, DACA is a “stopgap” measure and is not a permanent solution for Dreamers.

The Supreme Court DACA Decision

In his 2016 presidential election campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump promised supporters he would end DACA and impose cuts to legal immigration. In September 2017, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Elaine Duke, acting under the advice of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, announced that the DACA program was terminated. Multiple groups of plaintiffs, including the Regents of the University of California and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) challenged Duke’s decision. U.S. District courts in California, New York, and the District of Columbia ruled in favor with the plaintiffs, who claimed the decision to rescind DACA was “arbitrary and capricious in violation of the APA [Administrative Procedure Act] and that it infringed the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.” In other words, the courts ruled that while the federal government’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has the right to rescind DACA, the current administration did not go about it in the proper and legal way.

Duke’s announcement and the successive legal fight in the courts left hundreds of thousands of Dreamers in the U.S. in limbo. Working its way up to SCOTUS, the case originally appeared on the court’s October 2019 agenda. Today it was announced the court’s decision was a five-to-four vote with Chief Justice John Roberts siding with the court’s more liberal judges.

Majority of Americans Support DACA

A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll published earlier this week indicates Americans are largely favorable of DACA. The poll surveyed U.S. voters belonging to a variety of demographics. Three out of four registered voters say Dreamers should be allowed to stay in the U.S., the poll found. Additionally, support for Dreamers among those who voted for Trump in 2016 is high: 69 percent of those voters say Dreamers should be protected. That number is significant since Trump vowed to “immediately terminate” DACA protections during his 2016 election campaign.

Additionally, a 2018 poll conducted on behalf of NPR showed that 65 percent of Americans support giving legal status to Dreamers. That included 51 percent of Republicans, 66 percent of Independents, and 81 percent of Democrats. A Fox News poll, conducted in 2017, showed even greater support among Americans for granting Dreamers U.S. citizenship. That poll indicated 79 percent of respondents favored granting citizenship.

Citing the 2018 Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES), Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Eastern Illinois University, says DACA enjoys such wide support, even among religious groups, that “you can’t find a large religious group in the United States today that is majority opposed” to it.

You can’t find a large religious group in the United States today that is majority opposed to #DACA.

Even 56% of white evangelical REPUBLICANS would be in favor today’s #DACADecision. pic.twitter.com/wpYDAkwrwD

— Ryan Burge 📊 (@ryanburge) June 18, 2020

No Permanent Solution for Dreamers Yet

Despite the win today, Dreamers are not yet in the clear. A tweet this morning from Trump implies he intends to continue the fight to end the program if reelected.

These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives. We need more Justices or we will lose our 2nd. Amendment & everything else. Vote Trump 2020!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2020

Even with the ruling in favor of the program today, Dreamers still don’t have a clear path to citizenship. In the past, Trump has said that he would like to see a six-month transition period ending DACA and allowing Congress to have a chance to pass legislation for a more permanent solution for Dreamers. However, the president has also said his support of DACA would come on the condition of funding for his border wall project and further cuts to legal immigration.

Rev. Rodriguez, while expressing his support of the Supreme Court’s decision, emphasized the need for a more permanent solution:

I celebrate this victory with these young men and women and their families. They are a blessing, not a curse, to our nation. Yet we cannot lose sight of what’s really not working here: this was the job of Congress, not the executive or judicial branch. It’s time for Congress to do their job and to fix our broken immigration system. Congress must stop passing that responsibility to the other branches of government. Congress could have achieved this on at least three occasions over the last three years and on each occasion they opted for political expediency over justice.

Church to Remove Lee Memorial As a ‘work of repentance’

Jessica Lea

June 18, 2020

A church in Boise, Idaho, has decided to remove a stained glass window portraying Confederate general Robert E. Lee, which has been in its sanctuary for the past 60 years. Cathedral of the Rockies’ decision comes amid renewed calls for Confederate memorials throughout the U.S. to be torn down, moved, or replaced.

“We believe this section of our window to be inconsistent with our current mission, to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world,” said Cathedral of the Rockies in a statement. “Further, such display is a barrier to our important work resisting evil, injustice, and oppression. Symbols of white supremacy do not belong in our sacred space.”

Cathedral of the Rockies: It’s an Obstacle to Worship

The local United Methodist church was founded in 1872, but the depiction of Lee has only been in the sanctuary since 1960. Then-pastor Rev. Herbert E. Richards said in a letter, “We have included also a patriotic theme in one lancet which includes George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Robert Lee. Anyone coming and looking for things to do in Boise knows we have a strong southern influence here in Boise.”

“Clearly, white southerners,” said the church’s current senior pastor, Rev. Duane Anders, to the Idaho Statesman. Anders told UM News, “It really was an attempt to say, ‘This is Christian unity.’ Now, it was totally blind to the systemic racism of the 1950s and ‘60s that was putting up Confederate monuments.”

Cathedral of the Rockies first began debating what to do about the window in 2015 when white supremacist Dylann Roof murdered nine black parionishers at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Charleston, South Carolina. At that time, said the Boise church, “we began a process to engage this community in deep questions of racial justice and God’s call to us in the 21st century, acknowledging our own sin with a stained glass window panel in the right transept of the Cathedral.”

Then in 2017, after a white supremacist demonstration turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia, a parishioner emailed the church expressing concern about the stained glass window. At that time, Cathedral of the Rockies considered putting up a plaque in the church “acknowledging the harm the image had caused,” but ended up not moving forward with the idea. Other people over the years have asked the church to take action on the window, including Philip Thompson, the executive director of the Idaho Black History Museum.

With the recent riots and protests against racism throughout the U.S., the church once more considered putting up a plaque. But after hearing from people in the church and the community, leaders decided to remove the depiction of Lee entirely, a process that could cost thousands of dollars. “The recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor brought long-overdue urgency to our discernment process,” said the church. “We recognize this section of our window is more than a benign historical marker. For many of God’s children, it is an obstacle to worship in a sacred space; for some, this and other Confederate memorials serve as lampposts along a path that leads back to racial subjugation and oppression.”

Cathedral of the Rockies is considering donating Lee’s image to the Idaho Black History Museum and is planning to replace the Civil War general with a “yet to be determined person of color.”

The church acknowledged that some people will disagree with the decision and that others have been hurt by the fact leaders have taken so long to remove the window. Said Anders, “The challenge for some people in Boise is that [it] won’t be enough, and for some people that will be a bridge too far. To both those groups we want to say: This is the work of repentance; It starts where it can. This is where we start.”

Other Church Leaders Support Removal of Confederate Memorials

Leaders at Cathedral of the Rockies are not the only ones in the U.S. working toward the removal of Confederate memorials in their cities. In Cornelius, North Carolina, pastors of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church are formally requesting that a 110-year-old statue of a Confederate soldier (portrayed with a Confederate flag) be removed from the church’s front lawn. The property the monument sits on is not owned by the church, but by a private association.

The current pastor of Emanuel AME Church recently joined other activists calling for a statue of former U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun to be removed from a park in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. Calhoun was a staunch supporter of slavery.

Rev. Nelson Rivers with the National Action Network said the statue “represents Dylann Roof to us” and that “The time has come to not just acknowledge your racist, evil, wicked past. The time has come to take down the monuments that honor the evil that was done in the name of Charleston, in the name of South Carolina.”

City officials announced Wednesday they would comply and remove the statue in defiance of state law.

A Minister’s Experience at the Ferguson Protests in 2014

Brenda Salter McNeil

June 18, 2020

Editor’s Note: The Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil is a ministry leader, professor, and author whose life’s work has focused on racial reconciliation. In 2014, Dr. McNeil traveled to Ferguson, Missouri (shortly after the death of Michael Brown at the hands of a police officer) with a group of thirty to forty evangelical leaders for a faith roundtable. The group gathered to learn how the church might respond to the events in Ferguson and also to learn about a new movement that was taking shape: Black Lives Matter.

While meeting with another group of young activists called Ferguson Action, Dr. McNeil and her peers were challenged to not only discuss an appropriate response to the situation, but to take action as well. Ferguson Action wanted the ministers to participate in a protest with them. According to Dr. McNeil, it was a decisive moment: “On the spot, in that moment, I had a decision to make. I had to decide whether my message of reconciliation was going to be only words. I came to convene, not to march. I was not prepared—mentally, spiritually, or physically—to participate in a protest. But there I was. What was I going to do?”

Although I had been working in racial reconciliation for years, I felt like an unlikely activist that day in Ferguson too. I felt uncertain about my role in this movement. I felt that in many ways the movement was for the younger generation, not for me. I traveled to Ferguson to learn, listen, advise, and consult; I was not ready to actively participate.

But there I was—standing awestruck as a young brother opened the trunk of his car to reveal the supplies necessary for a protest, including a gas mask and bottles of water (to clear one’s eyes from tear gas). My head was spinning as he reminded me to leave my purse in the trunk but to take my ID. I couldn’t believe how ill-equipped and unprepared I was for this moment.

Still, I forged ahead into the throng of protestors. I raised my hands and lifted my voice and joined the others who had gathered there with the intention of proclaiming and protecting the humanity of black lives and black bodies. I was invigorated by the energy of the crowd, but as the protest progressed, I started to become a little nervous as some of the young people became more agitated. One young white man started to shake the barricades that had been erected by the police to prevent the protestors from approaching the city hall administrative building.

The more the barriers shook, the more nervous I became. I looked around to see whether anyone else joined me in my growing trepidation, but everyone else seemed lost in the momentum of the movement, and the energy kept rising.

The protest remained peaceful, but it seemed to me that the police were standing just a little closer than they had been only a few moments before. My attention shifted back to the young protestor who was rattling the barricades and was joined now by a few others, becoming more animated. I didn’t know what to do, and no one else seemed to be bothered. I had enough experience to know all the terrible things that could happen, and the militarized police response in Ferguson was already well-documented. I truly felt that all of our lives were potentially in danger. I knew, though, that God was calling me there for this moment. I stood still for a moment, until I felt an unction in my spirit to kneel and pray. And so that’s what I did. In the middle of the street and in the midst of the yelling and screaming, I started to pray.

I am not sure what I expected to happen. Perhaps I was envisioning some sort of mass genuflection, like what I’d seen in the movie Selma. But that didn’t happen. I remained kneeling in prayer while what appeared to be chaos broke out all around me. Folks were chanting and screaming, and the barriers kept rattling. As I stood up from my prayer, my eyes full and my cheeks wet with tears, a young woman, wearing a red cap, was scurrying by. When she saw me crying, she took my hand in hers. I wasn’t sure what was about to happen, but she squeezed my hand into a fist and raised our hands as one into the air, shouting, “From Palestine to Ferguson!” Then she ran off.

I was struck by her sense of connection between the struggle for the liberation of Palestinians in Israel and the liberation of black people in America. For me, it made the entire moment incredibly personal. It helped me realize that just as the Laquan McDonalds and the Michael Browns of our time have galvanized movements of liberation, so it is that diverse and seemingly disparate individuals such as myself and the young Palestinian woman, by joining together under the umbrella of a common understanding of humanity, can make a difference.

This article was adapted from Becoming Brave: Finding the Courage to Pursue Racial Justice Now by Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil, Brazos Press, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2020. Used by permission.

To Be Alive

Melissa Edgington

June 18, 2020

For three weeks I’ve been standing in the hallway as our church members enter the building for Sunday service. My job is simple: drop a squirt of hand sanitizer into outstretched hands. I have seen hands hardened by callouses and hands spotted with age. I’ve seen tiny fingers on soft baby hands, and I’ve seen scars, wrinkles, freckles, and the various shades of skin that God has made. Every open hand that is offered up to me belongs to someone who sees a new protocol like a dollop of hand sanitizer as a minuscule price to pay for the chance to sit in this building, to look into the faces of our family eternal, to worship together.

I stood and watched one of my favorite older men stroll up the hallway. He had a huge grin on his face. He looked as if he were about to tuck his worn Bible under one arm and skip up the cinder block foyer. I returned his grin as he held out his giant hands for sanitizer. “How are you, Gerald?” I asked him. His eyes danced behind his bifocals as he answered me: “Every morning when I wake up I am just so thankful that God has given me another day.” Then he rubbed his hands together, picked up his timeworn Bible, and continued his jaunt into the sanctuary.

But I was rooted to my spot. I thought back over my morning and wondered why I hadn’t thought of being grateful for another day of life.

I remember when my children were small. They woke every morning with anticipation. They called for me. They wanted to see my face, feel my arms around them. They awoke with a sense of wonder at what a day called today might hold. My oldest would shout, “Mama! It’s sunnerday!” as soon as she could see the first slivers of sunlight filtering through her blinds. Children see the potential in everyday. They are the masters and mistresses of looking forward to things that seem insignificant to grown ups. Sometimes they don’t even know what they’re excited about. They’re just basically thrilled to be alive.

Gerald is getting up in years. A former football coach, he moves a little slower than he did when his own children were waking up every morning with an excitement about life. Yet, Gerald had only one thought this past Sunday morning: It sure is a good day to be alive. Thank you, Jesus.

Maybe it’s true that as you grow older you find a little bit of that child-like faith buried deep in your bones. Maybe you start to remember that every good gift comes from God: the morning sun, the breath in your lungs, the very words of God tucked under one arm, an imperfect church to go to, a squirt of hand sanitizer from your preacher’s wife. In the end it all adds up to His goodness.

This article originally appeared here.

Three Principles to Guide You When Artful Nuance Overtakes Strategy

Dan Reiland

June 18, 2020

You are leading in a time when tension, complexity, and uncertainty seem to lead the way. Artful nuance is necessary.

It’s difficult to get in front and lead when circumstances and culture change so rapidly. Yet, leadership is our responsibility, and now more than ever.

Racial injustice has reached a tipping point.
COVID-19 continues to increase our economic challenges.
Re-opening the doors to churches continues to bring more questions than answers.

Plus, the problems you faced before more recent events and cultural impacts.

With all this, as leaders, it’s up to us to bring hope, seize opportunities, and point the way. No small task, right? The good news is that you are not expected to lead perfectly, but only to do your best to make progress in the right direction. Take the next right step by doing the next right thing. It’s easier to write that in a blog post than actually do it; I know, I lead in a church too. Leadership requires a great deal of thought, prayer, and work.

But every new day, I’m ready to see what good I can do and what progress I can make. I’ll be candid with you, there are days when it seems like I’ve taken two steps back, (or in fact have,), but the next day I resolve once again to move forward.

That’s my encouragement to you. No matter how frustrated or discouraged, you may get, start fresh again the next day, striving to know the next best step you can take. Bottom line… Move forward. Even just a little. Any progress is good. (Repeat that to yourself many times.) Let me try to make this practical.

I believe deeply in a strategy to make progress toward your vision and that you need to stick to that strategy.

However, there are rare times when circumstances seem to say that leading according to artful nuance, the complexity of culture, and the speed of change takes priority over the strategy.

3 principles that will help you lead more effectively with artful nuance over the next few months:

Artful Nuance #1: Place values over pressure.

It’s impossible to meet every need and solve every problem. In fact, if you try, you will likely not make a lasting difference with anything.

There are enough things that we cannot and should not ignore, like those I listed at the beginning of the post—realities such as COVID, racial injustice, economic uncertainty, and obviously more.

But within this growing list of significant issues, there are still many decisions about what you can do to make a difference.

Now is the time to make sure you and your team have a deep connection to your spiritual leadership-based core values so that you can respond correctly to external pressures.

Late last fall, a group of staff on the 12Stone team began work on our values. Not to write new ones, but to bring fresh language and clarity to the values that mean so much to us.

This has become an interesting time to engage in such a project. I can sense how internal and external pressures can push on, ironically, the very process of a fresh touch to wording.

The practical point is this.

Take some time with your team and talk about your values.

Get honest about the pressures you are facing. Literally, list them out. Talk about what you want to do, what you can do, and the ever-important, what you actually will do. Throughout that conversation, ask if your actions will align with your values.

How God Can Use Your Weakness

David Santistevan

June 17, 2020

There’s a passage in Scripture that I’ve loved and questioned at the same time.

It’s a verse we use a lot in ministry. That verse is 2 Corinthians 12:8-10:

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

I’ve always wondered—do I intentionally pursue weakness so that Christ’s power may be displayed?

Should I ignore self-improvement because it will show the glory of Christ more?

Does God have issues with talent?

Because I’ve encountered a lot of talented people and seen the glory of Christ shine through their gift. I’ve also seen a lot of talented people who just seem to magnify their own gifting.

What Is Strength and What Is Weakness?

What’s the balance here? What is weakness we can improve and what is weakness that God uses?

As I’ve studied the Scriptures, here’s the conclusion I’ve come to: God is committed to the spread of His own glory. And He is the only being who can rightfully be this way. Because He is God incomprehensible, God immutable, God indescribable. He. Is. God.

No matter who you are, what you’ve done or what touches your life, God can use it for something great.

If there’s one thing I want you to walk away with today, it is this:

Our calling in life is to leverage our strengths and leverage our weaknesses for the display of Christ’s glory in the earth. Improve what is inside your control … entrust to God what is not.

Here’s what I mean:

If you’re a singer, this verse doesn’t mean you should sing off-key so Christ will be magnified. Work hard on improving your vocals.
If you’re a musician, this verse doesn’t mean you shouldn’t prepare so that Christ will be magnified. Hone your craft, know your instrument, and know the songs inside and out.
If you speak or preach, don’t just wing it in hopes that God will pick up the pieces of your unpreparedness.

In other words, laziness and carelessness are not values in the kingdom of God.

The apostle Paul (whom this verse is referring to) was one of the most gifted, educated, talented people to ever walk the face of the earth.

When he “boasted” of His weakness, he wasn’t referring to things he could work on. He was referring to circumstances outside of His control.

A Story From My Life

Let me give you a personal example. There are limits to my singing ability. I work on my vocal strength, pitch and range, for sure. But there is a limit to where I can go. I simply can’t do what BJ Putnam or Israel Houghton does. That doesn’t mean I should give up because I’m not as good as someone else.

That means I submit my weakness to Christ and watch Him work. Time and time again, he takes my humble offering and outshines it with His own glory. I have no place to boast, which I love.

Sure, I wish I had a bigger voice. I would be so much more effective, right? Well, God knows what He is doing and I trust the good and perfect gift He’s entrusted to me. It’s my job to make the most of it.

Testing at La Grande Oregon Church Yields 66% Positive Results

Lighthouse Pastor: ‘We did…the right thing’

More Uncomfortable Conversations with Emmanuel Acho

Should We Strive to Be ‘color blind’?

Have We Truly ‘come a long way’?

COVID-19 PRAYER PROMPTS

1. GOD, GRANT US HEALTH AND SAFETY.

2. GOD, GRANT US HUMILITY.

3. GOD, GRANT US WISDOM.

4. GOD, GRANT US COURAGE.

5. GOD, GRANT US PATIENCE.

6. GOD, GRANT US UNITY.

7. GOD, GRANT US RESOURCES.

8. GOD, GRANT US REFRESHMENT.

9. GOD, GRANT US LOVE AND SUPPORT.

10. GOD, MEET THE NEEDS OF THOSE OF WHICH I’M NOT AWARE.

PRAY FOR YOUR CHURCH

10 Ways to Be a Racial Bridge-Builder

1. Become a student, and educate yourself on the issues.

2. Pray for opportunities.

3. Research those you can learn from, and follow them on social media.

4. Surround yourself with diversity.

5. Listen.

6. Learn from minorities.

7. Notice and take responsibility for negative stereotypes you hold.

8. Acknowledge truth.

9. Stand as an ally for the marginalized.

10. Model reconciliation in your own relationships.

Here are at least six ways to stretch the reach of a good sermon beyond the single weekend service…

Blog your points, one at a time.

Use brief quotes and verses as social media messages.

Use the video.

Create a podcast.

Turn a good sermon into a small group study.

Create ebooks from a good sermon series.

Marker #1: You believe few people are as smart as you are.

Marker #2: Your first reaction to negative is to be defensive or to cast blame on others.

Marker #3: Titles matter to you.

Marker #4: You assume your organization cannot fail.

Marker #5: Not knowing “insider information” bothers you.

1. Increase in Humility.

The Supreme Court DACA Decision

Majority of Americans Support DACA

No Permanent Solution for Dreamers Yet

Cathedral of the Rockies: It’s an Obstacle to Worship

Other Church Leaders Support Removal of Confederate Memorials

3 principles that will help you lead more effectively with artful nuance over the next few months:

Artful Nuance #1: Place values over pressure.

What Is Strength and What Is Weakness?

A Story From My Life

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