GOSPEL CENTERED LEADERSHIP II

This is a journey. A beautiful stirring, invigorating journey. The discovery of "the gospel" as the central hub around which all else spins, restores the fire around the community. To listen to a CD or podcast, and then move on to other material is to reduce this magnificent mandate to a passing phase or a seasonal emphasis. This is certainly not true. If we lose the gospel, we have nothing left but pleasant platitudes or murky morals that have to compete on the open market where philosophies are bartered for. Jesus is the difference. His incarnation caused a revolution. His incarceration caused a crowd driven scattering , his execution caused a demonic celebration, BUT his resurrection trumpeted a new kingdom that would advance forcefully... this is not a quiet affair.

These are notes from a talk I gave firstly to our leaders @thegallery, then taught it on a Sunday at the Gathering, then opened it up to the pastors who gather monthly at Exploration. The note-form will help any who wish to use it as teaching material in their situation. The challenge is always what to put in and what to leave out... I would love to hear from you as we continue to explore the gospel centrality of our leadership:

GOSPEL CENTERED LEADERSHIP

A STUDY FROM ACTS 20

Acts 20:17 – 38.

1. Context for the conversation:
1. True apostles are at an intro level – “the sent ones”-always on the move,
2. Can only be an apostle by divine appointment,
3. The text is weighed by the importance of the moment. It is loaded with Paul showing:

i. Deep apostolic emotion,

ii. Profound contextual urgency,

iii. Certain death threatening finality – so every word counts,

iv. Clear kingdom direction,

v. Fatherly affection,

vi. True gospel centeredness,

4. Some of the implications of being this God-called apostle:

i. How I lived among you,

ii. I served the Lord with great humility and tears,

iii. I was severely tested,

iv. I have not hesitated to proclaim the full gospel,

v. I have declared to Jews and Greeks,

vi. I am compelled by the Spirit,

vii. The Holy Spirit warns me… prison & hardships,

viii. I have preached the kingdom,

ix. I consider my life worth nothing to me,

x. I may finish the race

xi. Complete the task of testifying… gospel of grace,

xii. I am innocent of the blood of all men,

5. Paul is gathering the elders from a church he had planted. This seems to mean:

i. As with the Corinthian church, he sees himself as a father to this community – that is the tone with which he addresses them,

ii. He had an ongoing role in that church even though it was by now significant church in its own right,

iii. He is seeking to protect them from the immediate and future challenges by enabling them to see the dangers ahead,

iv. He uses military metaphors to further magnify the responsibilities that await them: “watch out – be on your guard”

1. Fully ready, on perpetual standby,

2. All armor / weapons clean and ready,

3. Reminds them of the mandate to protect,

v. He seems to handing full authority over to them – setting them free to completely fulfill the ‘base church” responsibility they now have to carry,

6. These are weighted last words. He will never see them again so every word counts and is very essential,
7. He is not trying to cover all bases. He is simply addressing the necessary ingredients for impacting this ministry for the next chapter,
1. The Gospel hub:
1. All to often this text spins around leadership principles. They become cold and a checklist of performance that is so counter the New Testament. In doing so, it misses the point. The chief ingredient here is ‘the gospel’!
2. The Spirit of God inspired Paul to use that aspect of the gospel that reads: “ …he bought with his blood” Vs 28. To fully comprehend Paul’s approach is to understand it all hinges around this text [not elders, or apostles, or even the sheep in an ecclesiological sense…]

i. A love act of enormous depth, ‘leaving nothing on the table’ - is it possible that every ounce of Jesus blood was shed in order to complete every necessary act related to the blood shed?

1. Forgiveness,

2. Cleansing,

3. Healing,

4. Deliverance,

5. Protection,

ii. A legal and forensic act whereby we were fully justified by this penal substitutionary atonement therefore God’s wrath has been fully satisfied and turned to favor,

iii. An economic act whereby we have been bought with a price, therefore we are not our own but his and he can now do with us as he pleases,

iv. A fatherly act, whereby he will do whatever it takes to get us back into the family where we belong,

3. Lest we forget, these precious sheep are his sheep,

i. He bought them,

ii. He paid the full price for them,

iii. He has loaned them to us to lead, nurture, care for, mature them… but they are ultimately his…

iv. We will give an account for their wellbeing.

4. All the gospel ingredients he includes in his convo: [easy to be Reformed in my theology]

i. Repentance,

ii. Have faith, ‘sola fide’,

iii. In our Lord Jesus Christ, ‘solus Christus’,

iv. Gospel of God’s grace, ‘sola gratia’,

v. Whole will of God, ‘sola scriptura’,

vi. He bought with his blood, ‘soli Deo Gloria’ – to God alone be the glory!

Collaborating around Colossians

Hi friends

Paralleling with this blog convo is what I have been preaching at Southlands@theGallery... you can get the podcasts if you go to our website:

www.southlands.net

Next blog this week

FINANCIAL FAITH AND FORTITUDE

"Taking a new step; uttering a new word is what people fear most"

F.M. Dostoyevsky

We are all the products of living in yesterday's uncertainty. Yesterday, someone faced vulnerability with boldness. Yesterday, someone faced chaos with tranquility. Yesterday, someone took hold of the unknown and embraced it with opportunity and courage. Yesterday, someone stepped outside of their world of comfort and control and stumbled with humility into the shadowlands of ignorance.

Today we live in the boldness, optimism, courage and tenacity of these heroes of transition. However, the true gift with which we can honor these heroes, is not to deify their destination but rather to embrace their focus. The wild west has become with place of pleasure and passivity. The pioneers who carved a nation from wilderness have been dismissed to historical figures rather than reproduced to ongoing legacies in living human beings, today.

The economic times in which we live, do not require passive conservatism that shut our wallets in self defense. The true Christian faith entwines itself around the nature of an altogether supreme God who wraps us in the palm of his hands. His providence merges sovereignty with goodness which allows us to fall into his wisdom with absolute confidence. His protection of us is not to create a trouble free world. That actually produces overprotected children of possessive parents. He walks us "through the valley of the shadow of death". He leads us through the "valley of Baca to make it a place of springs". He " returns the captives to Zion to dream new dreams".

May I suggest, this is not a time to fear. This is a time to fall into the ever present arms of the one who seeks to bless us. Like Isaac we are to sow in times of famine and see a great harvest. Or like Joseph to see all around us blessed because of our presence-well actually because of the Father's favor. With Spirit led wisdom, it is time to sow, to give, to be extravagantly generous. Lets get the basics behind us and get that 10% into the storehouse of our faith. That Abrahamic, grace driven first response, can then be followed by the fun. Watch and see what God does. When we start giving offerings, give to the poor, give to the gospel to the nations, God will celebrate over us with delight. Then, splash your journey with daily generosity and you will be amazed at what God will do.

I said to M when we entered the salaried ministry, that we would never be rich, we would just do things that rich people do. That dear friends is what has happened. God's financial kindness has been our story. This is not time to fear. It is the time to have a different financial God story...

FINDING OUR FINANCIAL FIGHT

[This is an email I sent out to our wonderful community in times of fiscal uncertainty, we need to stand together, fighting side by side, with growing faith and financial fortitude...]

Morning all you wonderful people

I have had a number of chats with folk since I have come back from vaca, to find they are under severe financial pressure.

May I suggest we get into some serious prayer, once a week for the next 4 weeks to stand along side those who are in these circumstances - as well as engage the church's financial journey, to get our full monetary breakthrough...? Let the strong, stand with the weak, let the rich share with the poor, let the faith filled stand with the faith fragile...

Lets take the next four Fridays to pray and fast if possible - staring this Friday, [Jan 22, 29,Feb 5, 12]

Here are some of the related prayer matters I listed in my journal this morning:

1. A revelation of Jehovah as our provider and our provision,

2. All our folks employed - 100%

3. Significant contracts for all our entrepreneurs / self employed,

4. Surprise checks in the mail,

5. Getting tax money back as well as all outstanding debts,

6. 'Tithers' - actually generous people, here @thegallery - 100%

7. Giving beyond our church budget needs,

8. Revelation of sowing and reaping...

And one of the texts I read this morning:

These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. In her womb was twins... Gen 25 it continues...

And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him, and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”

So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them. But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah. And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”

From there he went up to Beersheba. And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.” So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well.

This is a good time to develop our faith muscle on behalf of each other...

Send some more love around

C and M

BLOGGING THROUGH COLOSSIANS V THE JESUS FOLLOWER

“All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing…”

Last night at Elevation, I was asked to meet a young couple that are working in China. A couple of Americano coffees, a tour of the Gallery and a quiet corner and we were away dreaming, updating, stirring and challenging. Their passion for the un-reached communities of China and her billion plus people was contagious and empowering. God just will not let us get away from His call to the nations. The deep-rooted seed to see the non-Jesus followers all over the world fall in love with our Jesus lies deep in our foundation. From the 70’s, God has spoken prophetically about this mandate on this church to see leaders raised up and churches planted around the world. The moment we forget that. The moment we get overly enamored by the here, the now, the us… the Father very graciously sends us someone who draws our attention back to these last of the last days and the fact that this gospel of the kingdom will be preached to all nations then the end will come.

This has been one of the most exciting texts, which has been very difficult to move off. Paul’s apo affection for this fledging church is palatable. Although he had never been there, nor, it seems ever went there, his disciple Epaphras kept him current with their spiritual journey. It seems like Epaphras was from this city, was a minister / deacon / servant there. He gets hold of an imprisoned Paul with real concern about the false teaching that was threatening the purity of the plant. Paul’s response is not firstly an attack on the teaching; he, in fact, never fully communicates the threat. This has had theologians through the ages speculate what it was. Rather, it seems Paul’s preoccupation is to create an understanding of the real truth, the real currency of heaven, so that when the counterfeit comes it is easily identified and can be dismissed with due diligence.

The framework of this conversation starts out with Paul explain what a true Jesus follower looks like. For the sake of simplicity I am going to use a bullet point lay out and hereby threaten the liquid God life with such a bland visual format:

· According to Paul, a healthy church into which the Jesus follower finds God-life, is where “faith… love… and hope” find true and ongoing expression. No matter what other factors may be evident [size, power, gifts, theology…] if these foundations are absent, the church does not gain full apostolic applause,

· Grace must be operating “in all its truth”. The wonder of grace never ceases to be the sweet perfume that keeps the Jesus follower free and in God’s favor. I do find it interesting that he only speaks of grace once but being “in Christ” appears about fifteen times. It seems like he reminds these fragile believers that grace is not a destination but a journey. The true destination is our revelation of what it means to be “in Christ” – both now and then.

· The aspects of the gospel that he highlights in this key passage (1:3 – 14), are:

o Rescued us from the dominion of darkness – a great positional declaration of freedom.

o Brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves – a new king and line of liberty.

o Redemption-the choice of an economic metaphor for the gospel’s work in us is profound as he says to these young believers that they have been bought with a price and they are no longer their own – they are there for the use of the king.

o Forgiveness of sin – is that perpetual cry that keeps us free in the wonder of expiation – Jesus has forgiven us of all our sins [past, present and future, as well as the sins that others have committed against us, and he cleanses us of all our guilt- simply wow!]

· The Paul lists the ingredients of this kind of Jesus Follower that this story sees ‘bearing fruit and growing’:

o Filled with the knowledge of his will – both general as well as personal,

o All spiritual wisdom and knowledge – beyond that which we accumulate over time but that which comes by revelation from his word,

o Walk in a manner worthy of him…fully pleasing to him – both in morality and holiness but he adds the biggest lesson of it all that seek to please Jesus more than any other person,

o Bearing fruit in every good work – one of Paul’s great themes is for every Jesus person to know the good works that God has prepared for them before time began, and complete them. In fact he ends the epistle with a call to Archippus “see to it that you complete the work you have received from the Lord” 4:17

o Growing in the knowledge of God – this requires perpetual humility to seek increased revelation of that higher view of God,

o Strengthened with all power – the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in his indwelling, in filling, empowering,

o Great endurance and patience – not to be nice people but to be a robust, gutsy Christ follower who is not vulnerable to every wind of doctrine in order to chase the new thing – Alan Frow speaks of ‘radical normalcy’ which is what we need to seek,

o Joy and thanks – oh how the cynicism and need to critique has captured the western church. So many experts on what should be done, so few actually doing anything significant for the kingdom. The joy that brings strength and the thanks that brings freedom – these are the true tools to fight false teaching.

This is the kind of Jesus follower Paul was aspiring to produce. They look a little different to what is often taught – hence the vulnerability to false teaching. However, whether we study past or present churches, the body of believers in Colosae or the body of believers in our home communities, we like Paul should continue to encourage and foster a people “in Christ” who actively pursue a greater knowledge of

I LOVE SUNDAY MORNINGS

I love early Sunday mornings. Love the quiet of a sleeping city, periodically interrupted by the Sunday papers finding home from a speedy car that sends their message missiles onto sidewalks. A strong coffee married to a brief glance at the news and sports scores as well as the twitters of friends sends me diving into the biblical texts.

I love Sunday mornings. When M and I started leading our first church in 1983 I had recently come out of college, then the military, then school teaching. My natural propensity had been late to bed, late to rise. Then one morning, some years into that journey, I felt like the Lord arrest me. The rough and tumble of the turbulent South Africa had me in prayer for our community. Drawn to the text of John 10 where the shepherd opens the gates for the sheep, first thing in the morning, the Lord seemed to call me to a major change of metabolism. He wanted me to wake up early in the morning. He wanted me to open the gate to the city in the morning, for our businessmen and women as they entered into their place of work , praying for favor, blessing, opportunities. He wanted me to usher them, in prayer, into their daily world.

If that was the case, then I asked the Father not for it to be a war with the alarm clock, nor a legalistic checklist addition that would seek to beat me up to show me what a really bad pastor I was when I erred. Grace... that is what I asked for. That supernatural empowerment that would enable me to do the very thing that is so counter my natural bent. Grace, that remarkable balm of Gilead that would stir me into His presence in the mornings with joy and anticipation. Grace, that liquid fire that would find me loving leading His people into that catapulted missionary day, seeking to speak Jesus to a limping world. Grace, that God factor that would be our sufficiency for those places, people and positions that just don't seem to go away. Grace, that God presence that enables us to be administrators of divine wisdom and facilitators of supernatural power even in the corridors of their corporate calling.

I love Sunday mornings. What does the Father have for us today? What seemingly side God- word will catch a hurting ear and caress it to wholeness? What song will draw vulnerable disobeyers into his presence for such is this irresistible grace? Whose life will be changed? What gifts will operate to let someone know that He is there and He is not silent? What love will our "compelling community" give, that will offer hope to a devastated leader?

I love Sunday mornings. For me and my house-well, we will do as we have done for some twenty six years, we will take our place of leadership and usher the bride of the king into his presence with joy, honor, respect and affection. The Word will be celebrated. The worship will be loaded with majesty. The bride will be loved and led and we will sense His wonderful delight over it all.

I love Sunday mornings.

HAITI HELL

Oh the pain. The glaring trauma of a nation under the shadow of the dead, dying, destitute has flooded the TV screens around the world. Few of those who have ever walked through the dumbstruck, soul numbing pain of an event like this, can fully comprehend a nation flattened in an act as devastating as this. Our heart breaks for you.

The sheer danger, destruction, deluge has us reeling from the TV images. The fact that bodies are strewn across the streets alongside crumpled buildings stirs our deeply tender hearts. We cannot but silently ask "Why Lord?" As we wrestle with our own theology, we read of the cruel Christianity offered by some, that this is clearly an act of an angry God against a rebellious nation. Their brash, cold, unbroken hearted prophecies speaks of a God that I do not know.

I am not an authority on these matters. My bible speaks of these being the signs of the last of the last days. Christ clearly warned of the days to come. A friend from the UK speaks of "God weather, Demonic weather, and Weather weather..." We have to be so careful before we can assume to know which of these three a given moment may reflect. Furthermore, we have to be even more careful to believe we can speak on behalf of God to provide a divine summation of a situation as painful as this. So often those who do, do so out of a very fragile eschatology [end time theology], who are principle driven rather than truly Holy Spirit led and who speak without tears of trauma in their eyes. Their lack of compassion wearies me. When Jesus spoke over what was to come to Jerusalem, he wept. These are not light weighted matters and cannot be spoken of as such.

To the people of Haiti, we mourn with you in this national tragedy. We pray with you and for you. With gratitude, we see ships steaming to your aid and tons of survival essentials are being flown to your doorstep. Thank you to the doctors, relief workers, government agencies and all who are seeking to lift the bewilderment of your overwhelming trauma. May God empower you with grace, faith and strong leadership to rebuild your limping, hurting community . May the Father heal the deep brokenness so evident in the eyes of the survivors. May the power of the gospel gain fresh traction to "bind up the broken hearted, set at liberty those held captive..." May not politics but love, drive the major voices in your restoration. May the church offer hope to the lostness that overshadows these shattered lives. In His precious name...