Associational Decisions

It's interesting to me that some scriptures in the New Testament offer some insight into the issues we're dealing with right now in our association.

We're trying to find our way into the future before us. We're facing a changing culture, a different kind of congregational climate, a bad economy, and a rapidly proliferating technological society. A very real effort is being made in PBA life these days to determine what our priorities should be and what type of focus we should have. Eddie Heath, our vision consultant, is capably assisting us in crafting a plan that will propel us toward effectively carrying out a well-defined mission in the years just ahead. A leaner, sharper, more targeted network is called for in these challenging days. Though our Gospel message doesn't change, our methods and approaches must.

It appears that a consensus is slowly emerging that our model for ministry must be altered. Enthusiasm seems to be growing for moving from a structure that develops programs and outreaches and projects and asks for the churches to help to a new paradigm where the association will exist to assist the congregations in their work of touching, reaching, winning, and discipling their particular communities and settings. This would be quite a shift but it was actually approved as the visional design for our collection of churches during the last transition period and was just never really implemented.

Under this strategy, our PBA staff would consult with and help equip and enable our local fellowships to be the very best they could be. They would provide personnel and resources to come alongside our churches with instruction, counsel, and fresh ideas about congregational health, conflict resolution, evangelism, church growth, and ministry initiatives. Imagine a Troy Durio helping an inner city church more finely hone its skills in impacting its neighborhood or assisting one of our congregations on this resort oriented Peninsula develop action plans to more creatively utilize beaches and theme parks for Christian witness. Picture a Mike Vaccarelli not just keeping up the PBA web page or preparing our newsletter but going in and guiding our churches in setting up helpful technology systems that will better position them to successfully make a difference in our high tech environment. Think about a seasoned servant like Mike Haywood establishing mentoring relationships with young and potential leaders in our congregations or equipping our churches in how to develop strong youth and family ministries that will enable them to have a greater influence in their communities.

Surely there would still be opportunities and occasions for shared ministries and wide-scale endeavors in our wonderful and longstanding voluntary patnership. The basic thrust, though, would shift to a more church-centered approach.

It seems to me that Acts 11:19-26 illustrates this beautifully. When the church at Antioch formed in an explosion of evangelistic activity, the "mother church" in Jerusalem sent Barnabas there to offer some help. He, in turn, went and secured the services of Saul(Paul) and the two of them taught, consulted, and strengthened that new local fellowship for a whole year. Eventually the Antioch congregation became a hotbed of spiritual vitality and a strong missionary-sending church itself. The life and ministries of most of our PBA churches could be enhanced and lifted to new levels if we were open to dynamic new methods and approaches as presented to us by able consultants whose work it is to find out what the trends are and how best to respond.

Then there is strong precedent in the New Testament for churches cooperating together in large tasks that isolated assemblies could never accomplish alone. Paul's attempt to raise a large relief collection for the famine-stricken believers back in Jerusalem(Acts 11:28; I Corinthians 16:1-4) is one example. Maybe the popular and very successful sports and work camps and disaster relief done in PBA would be something of a contemporary demonstration of that idea of occasionally joining together in big initiatives.

Please pray for your interim leadership team and for the ad hoc groups that are now wrestling with how to put all of this together into meaningful recommendations to the entire association sometime this Spring. Just as the Jerusalem Council met centuries ago(Acts 15) to deal with a major doctrinal issue, so now we grapple with these practical and organizational matters, hoping to get to that point where we can say, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us..." to move into exciting, exhilirating new missional directions.

Inauguration Guide

I assume you'll not be attending next week's presidential inauguration in Washington.

It's a long way to go. The traffic will be horrible. The crowds will be unbelievable. Finding a restroom or a place to eat would be difficult. You'd have to stand on your feet for hours. Your chance of even getting a faint glimpse of our new Chief Executive would be slim indeed. Who knows what the weather will be like.

So you'll stay home like millions of other citizens and watch the proceedings on television. It'll be a lot more comfortable that way. And you'll see everything close up.

But how can you really mark this significant event in American history? More specifically, what can you, as a Christian, do to have a part in this most important national occasion?

In a word, pray.

Pray for outgoing president George Bush, that he'll find rest and solace. That he'll find direction for how to spend the remainder of his life. That he'll not be overly proud of his good accomplishments or painfully haunted by his mistakes and failures.

Pray for Rick Warren, the California pastor who will deliver the invocation at the ceremony. Rev. Warren has come under attack from the Right and the Left, and regrettably from Christians, too, in those differing camps. He has strong convictions, however, and hasn't compromised. Ask the Lord to give him a prayer with substantive content. A prayer that is respectful of other faiths but that doesn't leave Jesus' name out for the sake of political correctness. A prayer that reflects the belief that God is sovereign over national affairs.

Pray for Sasha and Malia, the precious little daughters of our incoming president. Petition the Lord to keep them physically safe. Ask God to prevent them from losing their sweet smiles and their beautiful innocence and their seeming humility as they become the most famous children in the world. Pray that they will continue to be reared to live so as to give back and not just be spoiled takers. Pray that as they grow up in the White House they'll provide an example to the youth and children of America of striving for excellence.

And intercede for Mr. Obama. First Lady Michelle, too. Ask God to lead them to a good church in our nation's capital where they might grow spiritually. Pray that our new leader might be surrounded with wise, capable advisors. That he might be protected from harm. That moral values and personal integrity will prevail over whims and opinions and political considerations and polls. Ask God to help him be transparently honest. Request that the Father use him to unite us and give us hope. Pray that he will be held back from making policy or personnel decisions that would further the spiritual and ethical drift we see in our land today. That he will enjoy continued good health and have energy for his awesome workload.

You don't have to go to Washington Tuesday to participate in the meaningful festivities. You can contribute right there in your lounge chair as you lift prayers heavenward.

Lessons On Relationships From The Bethlehem Folks

Could it actually be that the players in the original Christmas story might have insights to offer us about getting along in church today?

I think so.

This disparate cast of individuals, brought together in God's providence and timing to act out significant roles in the real life narrative of the coming of the Messiah into our world, can teach us a great deal about relationships among believers in contemporary congregations.

Take Mary, for instance. She models for us humble submission to God's will(Luke 1:38). When we get more interested in doing what the Lord wants us to do than in carrying out our own personal desires, we start to make progress toward church unity. Most church fights and splits are over preferences rather than convictions. They usually spring from self-centered ambitions to be first or to be right or to be noticed or to be comfortable. This young girl completely yielded up her need for convenience or privacy or ease in order to please God instead of herself. She put aside her agenda so that she could fully serve the Lord and get in on what He was up to at that time. Imagine how many conflicted relationships among the saints could be untangled if the parties would take initiative and sacrificially surrender their rights and whims for the larger good of the fellowship.

Or consider Joseph. This brawny carpenter had a tender side. When he was initially hurt and disappointed at what he thought was his fiance's unfaithfulness he was nevertheless willing to show sensitivity and compassion to her by divorcing her quietly and privately(Matthew 1:19).That sounds to me alot like the spirit of Proverbs 17:9 and 19:11. How we need people in our churches who show mercy when wronged. How we need members who don't blab everything about everybody. Congregations flourish when filled with persons who lavish grace, not condemnation, on those who make mistakes and messes. But it gets even better. When Joseph was presented with the facts about his future wife by divine revelation, he was willing to change his mind(Matthew 1:24). A hefty portion of that attitude in our local assemblies would spark revival and renaiisance, whether we're talking about worship styles, business meetings, or pastor-member interactions!

The shepherds and the wise men illustrate some relational principles, too.

The response of the shepherds to the good news from the angels of Christ's birth reminds us that when there is a common focus there generally will be unity and harmony. Before the supernatural newscast and concert of the heavenly beings in the Judean sky(Luke 2:8-20) it's quite possible that these guys picked at and quarreled with one another. But after that visitation, they came together in remarkable cohesion, first to go see the newborn King, then to spread around the incredible news of His nativity, and finally to glorify and praise the Lord for His awesome gift. Sometimes multiple emphases and interest groups and cliques in a church can so fragment it that it is kept from coming together around a central, passionate purpose. Energy gets drained away by calendar battles and turf wars and continual personal sniping so that worship and evangelism suffer. Nehemiah 4:6 comes to mind here as a necessary corrective.

And what about those wise men? Talk about energy and unity! They traveled an immense distance, followed a mysterious star, and gave lavish, expensive gifts in honor of a little baby. What was the secret of their sacrifice and effort? Simple. They wanted to see Jesus. All those miles and meals on the road and changes in weather and feelings of homesickness and movements toward an uncertain destination came from one priority--yearning to be around Christ. Nuff said. If in our congregations we will hunger to know Him and love Him and obey Him, most if not all of our petty, childish, carnal personality skirmishes will evaporate or be settled in a godly fashion. These travelers(Matthew 2:1-12)stuck together like glue because their focus was on Jesus. And they could stand strong against an external threat(Herod) because they were ablaze with a thirst for Christ and were united in their obedience to the Heavenly Father. I wonder sometimes how many of our fussin', feudin', entertainment-oriented churches would even survive if persecution or economic downturns worsened.

Don't pack away these Christmas characters as you would figurines in a Nativity set December 26. You may need their example and character qualities in 2009.

Have a most wonderful Christmas season. It's a joy serving you.

Doing Advent Well

I used to think that John the Baptist was the supreme example of how to do Advent right.

After all, he was the forerunner, the messenger, the advance man for the soon coming Messiah. He was first on the scene with news of the approaching Christ. I felt that if anyone deserved the title of "Mr. Advent" it was surely this strangely dressed but authentic and powerful preacher out in the Judean wilderness.

Not anymore.

You actually have to go back, much further back, to find the guy who seems to best exemplify the spirit of this 4-week season of reflection and expectation and preparation for Christmas that is now upon us. You have to reach back into the Old Testament. You have to go all the way back to Genesis. Long before any of the prophets began predicting the eventual appearance of the Saviour this man was anticipating His arrival.

I'm referring to Abraham, the great patriarch.

In a discussion with Jewish religious leaders who boasted of their ancestral ties to this father of their religion and who sharpely criticized and rejected Jesus, our Lord made a fascinating statement. Picking up on this hostile crowd's use of the name of the founder of their faith, Jesus said, in John 8:56, "Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad."

What the Lord was revealing here was that centuries earlier the patriarch had somehow visionally put it together that sooner or later God was going to send a deliverer. Abraham looked down the corridor of time and came to understand that one day God would do something so big that all of history and destiny would be changed. This Genesis man saw all of this by faith. Perhaps he figured it all out from God's promises and from that whole Melchizedek business and from that matter of the Lord-sparing-Abraham's-son-Isaac-at-the-last-minute-by-providing-a-ram-in-his-place. The patriarch's gradually expanding understanding of the grand sweep of God's unfolding future plan exploded into joy. He saw what would eventually happen only in pieces and fragments but he thrilled and delighted at the prospect.

So he was the original Advent man.

As we today move through these next few weeks we do so with the certain knowledge that the Messiah has already come. We still can use this period, though, for self-examination and repentance and times of solitude and meditation and private worship so that when Christmas arrives we are fully energized for celebration of the commemoration of our Redeemer's birth. Failure to utilize the gift of the space of these preparatory days may mean that we just drift through the dizzying whirl of parties and decorating and shopping that often accompanies this month and usually ends up with everybody being frazzled and fatigued by December 24. But carving out time each day for music and prayer and scripture can actually renew and invigorate our souls and can enable us, like our spiritual forebear Abraham, to genuinely experience joy when pondering the entrance of Christ into our world.

And of course for us Advent is also about anticipating the second coming of our Lord. That event seemingly is very close. Signs of His return are all about us. In these days of war and terrorism and economic downturn we can look forward with joy as we sense the time approaching and realize that what Jesus commenced with His Bethlehem arrival will be completed at His next appearance. Peace and harmony and wholeness will be ours forevermore. I think old Abraham may have glimpsed that too even if he didn't comprehend it and couldn't grasp how God's purposes would be fulfilled in two stages. This towering man of faith just rejoiced that God's ways would triumph in the end.

Not a bad perspective for us, either, in these uncertain days.

We can't always, with reason alone, understand what God is up to and why He does what He does. Sometimes His ways seem, to our feeble minds, to make no sense. As we worship and study His Word and commune with Him, though, we'll slowly become aware of His presence and peace and an indescribable rest and calm and settled contentment will wash over us and we'll know that everything is going to be alright.

Let's be Abraham people this Advent.

Listening For The Sneezes

In our ministries, we need to learn to listen for the sneezes.

Huh?

Well, Elisha the prophet could explain what I mean.

In 2 Kings 4:18-37 this man of God accompanied a grief-stricken, desperate, but believing woman back to her home to see what he could do about her dead child. When he got there, he prayed and stretched himself out over the young boy's corpse. Warmth came into the lad's body. Elisha got up, paced for awhile as he prayed, and bent down near the child. Suddenly he heard him sneeze, seven times. The boy opened his eyes and in moments was reunited with his grateful mother. A great miracle of God had just taken place.

Those sneezes were literal. They signaled that the Shunammite woman's son was coming back to life. Metaphorically speaking, we need to be alert to those initial signs and evidences that God is at work around us so that we can join Him in what He's up to in our midst. In our witnessing and church growth efforts we're sometimes tempted to think that nothing is happening and that our labors are in vain. It may appear that other soulwinners are seeing results and other congregations are reaping harvests while we're largely unsuccessful. The situation might seem as hopeless as praying for and massaging a decaying body in which there's not a hint of breath or movement. But don't get discouraged. Sooner or later you may hear a sneeze.

Someone shows up in church for the first time, or after a long, long absence. A person you've been praying for unexplainably starts asking probing spiritual guestions. A usually quiet, reserved individual requests your prayers. A friend is more tearful lately. These may be early reflexes that indicate that the Lord is digging and cultivating in someone's heart and He wants to use you as an instrument to assist in the work.

Or in church life, perhaps you sense a new burst of unity and enthusiasm in the fellowship. Maybe financial giving improves. There's a more pronounced swishing-of-the-Bible-pages-sound as the scriptures are called out and read from in worship. More folks are volunteering to serve. Church members start praying for lost friends and relatives(and not just the sick) and they get more intentional about inviting them and even bringing them to the services. Some of the saints who have been estranged reach out in reconciliation. These jerkings and twitchings are signs that God is reinvigorating and renewing the life of the congregation.

By the time Elisha got to the room where the dead boy lay, the body was certainly deteriorating and decomposing. It surely smelled. The situation looked hopeless. But the prophet refused to count God out and so prayed and waited. The snorts and sneezes that he heard next confirmed that the Father was restoring life.

Have you heard any sneezes lately?

You probably won't unless you do what the prophet did in verse 33 and occasionally shut out all the noises and distractions that would keep you from listening to those first faint sounds of God at work. TV and radio and internet can easily prevent you from a focus on waiting on the Lord. So can excessive busyness and activity. You must be alert and attentive to the coughs and moans that come when God clears out the toxins of the spiritual air passages of people and breathes fresh and stimulating divine oxygen into them. Then you'll have the privilege of cooperating with the Lord in His life-giving project of soul transformation and church renaissance. Solitude and silence and serious reflection every now and then do wonders in helping us be better prepared to minister in the Father's spiritual emergency room in resuscitating those flat-lined in soul.

These are tough times but individuals and churches all around us are sneezing.

Words For Difficult Economic Times

By 21st century standards, the furniture in the room seems a little sparse.

According to 2 Kings 4: 10, the addition built onto the flatroof home of the Shunammite women and her husband to show hospitality to the itinerant prophet Elisha only contained a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp.

This wealthy, devout couple saw holiness, integrity, and possibility in God's spokesman and wanted to provide a place of privacy and rest and refreshing for him when he would occasionally pass through their village. We admire their generosity. But why were the accomodations so Spartan?

Perhaps it was the Lord's way of reminding his servant that we really don't need as much as we think we do. These simple furnishings met his needs for sleep and solitude and study and sustenance. There was no reason to expect to lead a lavish lifestyle while busy in God's work.

Today's prosperity, health-and-wealth, name-it-and-claim-it preachers ought to camp out in this Old Testament story for awhile. Their followers, who almost demand material blessings and an affluent existence from the Lord, should likewise pay attention to this narrative.

Now don't misunderstand. There's absolutely nothing wrong with being rich. It's okay to dream. Taking initiative and making plans and working hard is a good thing. Many Christians are given great wealth and lots of possessions, and that's wonderful. But to assume that abundance should be ours by divine right, and to make the acquisition of prosperity the driving force of our lives, is to completely get out of God's will. Contentment should be our aim. You don't hear many sermons nowadays on that topic. The old Puritan preachers in the 1600's and 1700's used to discourse on it frequently. Their ideas came from a good source--the Bible. There you find Paul talking about "learning to be content" regardless of his circumstances. You hear him saying that if he just has "food and clothing" he'll be content with that. And you discover that Jesus spoke on this subject many times, such as in Matthew 6, where He said that we shouldn't be anxious about life's provisions or Matthew 13, where He stressed that an inordinate concern for riches could choke out genuine spiritual passion in us. Then here, in Elisha, you have this terrific example of a man who wasn't put out or frustrated by the kind offering of simple decor and basic necessities but rather viewed them as ultimately coming from the tender hand of a giving God who sees to it that our needs are always taken care of as we walk with Him.

Maybe Elisha would've gotten lazy and comfortable and complacent if he had been showered with a luxury suite. Maybe his mission would've gotten off track. Perhaps he would've slowly developed a greedy, condescending, take-it-for-granted pattern of living. He might have decided to retire early and enjoy ease or get to the place where he took his eyes off the Lord and come to believe that his personality or his talents or his attainments had brought him all the good things in his grasp instead of the unbounded benevolence of the Heavenly Father. If he had been granted abundance, he might have been one of those who turn their backs on God when, in the inevitable vicissitudes of life, some or all of that fortune is lost. Certainly he may have lost sight of the fact that, really, the simple things in this world are the best anyway. Sunsets. The aroma of a cup of coffee. The smell of new mown grass. Flowers in a vase on the table. The laugh of a child. A lovely painting on the wall.

Our prophet, however, learned the principle of patience and humble gratitude and contented acceptance of whatever God chooses to provide for us. So much so that, when he had the chance to strike it rich in 2 Kings 5:15-16 after participating in a ministry miracle, he turned down the opportunity. He refused to allow avarice to lodge in his soul.

It'd be a good idea to be more aware of, and more thankful for, the simple, ordinary beds, tables, chairs, and lamps that the Lord has seen to it that we have. We'd probably be a lot more relaxed. Our credit card debt wouldn't be nearly as high from trying to impress and keep up with everybody else in the neighborhood. Who knows, maybe then we'd have a lot more freed up money to give to God's work in reaching this world for Christ!

Getting Along In Church

It seems to me that a short verse by Paul is packed with insights for congregational life.

In Romans 12:18 the Apostle writes "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."

In a day of church tensions, divisions, fractures, and splits this old text is particularly relevant.

For one thing, it reminds us that God is interested in our relationships. This statement is a command, not a suggestion, and it was written at the Holy Spirit's inspiration. God Himself exists in beautiful relational intimacy and mutuality in the Trinity and models for us the unity that should be found in our connections with fellow believers. Some Christians appear to think that God is only concerned with how we worship or whether we tithe or if we fill a slot of service in the organization of the fellowship. They don't realize that the Lord is intensely interested in how we get along with one another in the body of Christ.

Anger, quarreling, resentment, gossip, backbiting, and negativity among the saints all grieve the Holy Spirit. He longs for there to be peace, joy, harmony, and patience in our churches.

This verse hints that occasionally we need to be willing to make compromises and concessions. We certainly must become better listeners. Learning to forgive is paramount. Doing the sometimes hard task of working through issues and negotiating and discussing and praying until resolution is reached is absolutely crucial. Regrettably, so many church members nowadays want to hop off to another congregation at the first sign of a problem or a difference of opinion rather than hanging in there and sticking with a matter until a solution is discovered. They miss the faith-building, maturity-developing process of intense interaction with other Christians in conflict management by walking away and linking up with some other local fellowship that probably has just as many unsettled issues. Getting rid of a pastor or dropping out of church or sitting on the sidelines taking shots at those who are committed to dealing with crises and conflicts doesn't really accomplish anything and just contributes to greater tensions within the congregation. It just prolongs the anxiety.

It's time we all grow up.

Paul isn't sugar-coating the truth here, though. He offers a realistic view. Sometimes we will work feverishly for peace and unity and will not get cooperation from the other side. We do still live in a fallen world. We are part of a movement that Satan likes to torment and would love to defeat. As friendly and as kind as we may be, not everyone is going to like us. You can't please everybody. Some in your church not only may not want to be close to you but may actually enjoy being at odds with you. If you have to have everybody's approval to feel good about yourself, you're in for a rough ride. If you're a people-pleaser, understand that the apostle is conceding in our text that it's probably not accurate to think that you can make everybody happy. Live humbly, graciously, truthfully, and openly but realize that regardless of your efforts to labor for progress or to work for reconciliation or to demonstrate a godly lifestyle there will probably always be some who just won't accept you or agree with you.

Our mandate in these days is to do everything we can in our congregations and homes and neighborhoods to show forth the Kingdom way of life as salt and light and to illustrate that relationships can be lived on a much higher plane than what we see in the world around us.