Lead-Followers

Church leadership is a difficult role.  Whether you are a pastor, lay-elder, deacon, Sunday School teacher or facilities team leader you know that church leadership is difficult.

There are a lot of factors that make a good leader.  There are graduate level programs that teach leadership and leadership techniques.  We are surrounded by information about what leadership is and how to lead.

When it comes to leadership in the church there are many different roles and qualities that the leader must have and fill.  But of all the things a leader must be there is one thing that comes to the forefront in my mind:

A leader must be a lead-follower.

"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."  1 Corinthians 11:1

The leaders that have impacted me the most have been lead-followers of Christ.  The leaders I love the most have had lives worthy of repeating.  The leaders I have been drawn to the most have impressed me with their personal faithfulness.  The leaders that I trust the most have fathering habits I want to copy.  The leaders that I follow are ones that have lives I would want to have, too.

The leaders that have disappointed me the most are the ones that have been in the Emperor's Clothes.  The leaders that have made me saddest are the ones that have hypocritical realities; they're are the ones whose mouths don't match their actions.

As churchgoers we often focus on programs but more often than not it's the people that make the difference in the lives of those in the programs.  The programs that are the best are the ones that help us see the lead-followers in action.  These programs are like line dancing nights where the newbies learn the steps from the dancers that follow the steps the best.

So, do you want to be an effective leader in your church?  Follow Jesus closely and put yourself around people.

If you're already a leader in your church please remember that you are a lead-follower.  Remember who you are following.  Remember to value the Word and to obey it.  Remember to lead a life worth emulating.  Be a lead-follower today.

Mercy on Sanctity of Human Life Sunday

On January 13, 1984 President Ronald Reagan declared the first Sanctity of Human Life Day.  Ever since that year there has been a Sunday in January known as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, even if a president didn't make a presidential proclamation declaring it.  The Sunday is at or near the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion nationwide.

January 19th, 2020 is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.  Throughout the country many churches will commemorate Sanctity of Human Life Sunday: some will preach sermons, some will make announcements, some will have special music or videos. 

Abortion is not the only issue pertaining to the sanctity of human life that must be addressed by the Church.  There are a litany of abuses against the imago dei in human beings that must prophetically be spoke against, but the day was originally intended to be about abortion and that issue is big enough to have its own Sunday.

I am appalled and disturbed by the millions of humans who are aborted.  It truly saddens me.  I pray for a day when abortion is as unthinkable and illegal as slavery in this country.

For some of you tomorrow is going to be an awkward and painful Sunday.  Some of you sitting in the pews have had an abortion.  Some of you pressured a girlfriend to abort. 

"Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.'  For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9:13

God is not excitedly waiting to smite you in your pew.  No, He's eagerly waiting to give you mercy.  He is softly and tenderly calling out to sinners of all types to come close to Him for healing and forgiveness.

God does not delight in any way, shape or form in the destruction or degradation of His image in humans.  What He does delight in is seeing His Son's blood be effective in the lives of sinners.  He longs to find what was lost and repair what is broken.  He isn't looking to dig up skeletons, but to raise up the dead.

Christians, let us not miss mercy on Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.  By all means let us redouble our efforts to protect the sanctity and dignity of human life, but let us never do that by robbing the cross of its purpose.

Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice' today. 

She Didn't Want to go to Australia

She did not want to go to Australia.

My sister lives in Australia and a couple years ago my dad was planning to go visit her there.  He was extremely excited about this trip of a lifetime.  When he asked my step-mom to go with him she didn't want to go.

My step-mom thought Australia wasn't going to be a beautiful place. "It's dry and brown," she said repeatedly.  She had zero interest in the continent.  It just didn't appeal to her taste, she thought.

Then you add in the 23 and a half hours in the air from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Adelaide, South Australia not counting the layovers and she really wasn't interested in going.

She did not want to go to Australia.

Luckily my dad's sisters and brother-in-law decided to go as well and that helped convince Becky to come along on the long journey.

When she got there she was amazed.  The visions of Australia she had in her head from cartoons and pop culture weren't what she saw.  She saw the beautiful architecture she loves, the expansive beaches, the lush landscape, the wonderful wildlife, the thrilling culture and the friendly people.  Becky loved her trip to Australia but a false perception of the country almost prevented her from wanting to go.

Heaven is like this for some of us.

Pop culture tells us Heaven is one long, boring church service on a cloud.  Pop culture tells us that a harp playing, toga and halo wearing existence awaits on the other side.  Many of us think about Heaven and aren't too excited to go.

Then we read about the narrow road that leads there and we really don't want to go.  The destination doesn't seem worth the flight time and layovers.  Heaven, for too many of us, doesn't seem worth the pain and striving of a life of sanctification, molding, discipleship and cross-bearing.

Much like with Becky and Australia we must be reminded that our promised land is a land flowing with milk and honey.  We have to be reminded that at His right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11), not eternal boredom.

My dad once told me about a conversation he had with a hitchhiker.  They spoke of Heaven and Hell and the hitchhiker said he wanted to go to Hell because Heaven was boring and Hell was going to be one big party.  Well, it's not; it's the opposite if anything.

We Christians must think rightly about Heaven.  We must be excited to go because the destination is worth it.

"The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months.  He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander His name and His dwelling place and those who live in Heaven."  Revelation 13:5-6

Randy Alcorn says that the beast was to talk bad about three things: God person, God's people and God's place, meaning Heaven.

Let's not fall for the lies of the devil or the beast.  Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us (John 14:1-3) and it is wonderful.  The present Heaven and the New Heaven and New Earth are worth the journey.  Like in Pilgrim's Progress the arduous hike from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City is more than worth all the effort and all the scars.  Our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed (Romans 8:18), just like the plane ride as long and tedious as is it is not worth comparing to being in Australia.

Be excited about Heaven.  Think more rightly about Heaven and watch as the journey of life seems lighter and lighter in comparison today.