It really is about LOVE!
This past October I went to the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta. It was a great time of learning and encouragement from some of today’s best leaders. Speaker after speaker walked onto the stage and presented messages that were as challenging as any I have heard in a long time. One by Andy Stanley will be the discussion piece for today.
Andy spoke about moral authority and the fact that we, as church leaders, can’t make anyone do anything. We can encourage and teach but when the time comes the individual can do whatever they want to. So the only form of authority we have is moral authority. We can only lead by example and people will only follow if they see us living what we are teaching. His example came from Nehemiah and it was one of the best sessions at the conference. If you have the time, you may want to look into purchasing the messages from Catalyst. It will be money well spent.
Anyway, this week as we continue on into Romans, we come to see how our faith should impact how we relate with others. This is so important because we, church leaders (and if you are reading this you are a leader), have two big responsibilities: seeing people grow in their faith and unleashing them into the world, and seeing the gospel change people’s lives and their destinations. We do all that through love. It is the love of Christ that restored our fellowship with the Father and it is His love that allows us to join Him in the redemption story.
If I asked you to capture the attitude of your church in a word would it be love? I have seen way too many churches described by negative words like dysfunction, segmented, judgmental, and hypocritical. It is passages like this in Romans 14 and 15 that point toward us all working together and sometimes sacrificing personally for the good of others. I know that is a stretch for many people, but you do not have to have your way all the time. I really think the ministry of churches would look very different if love was a maker we were known for.
A few questions for thought this week: Are you an encourager, and by that I mean do you seek to find the best in people and help bring the best in them out? What if it means sacrificing on your part, whether it be time, money, or the spotlight? Do you allow lesser disagreements with other believers to ruin the relationship? What keeps you from sharing your life with certain people?
When our deeds (actions) don’t match our creeds (beliefs) we lose the ability to lead. Check where you stand this week and ask God to open your eyes to areas where you are not living what you are teaching. And then ask God for the strength to do something about it. Check specifically for the areas where you are not loving like you know you should.
There have been 3 replies so far
Hi first off I need to tell you I’m very restricted in my ability with computers and keyboards. So this is probably going to take me awhile to answer. I have been saved for about five years and my life has changed a whole lot. My wife and I were about to divorce, and God changed that.My two sons were going to grow up following their father into a life of sin,and God is constantly working with us to help change that. A couple of years ago my wife started helping out in an Awana Sparks class. Then just three months ago I was approached to lead a young adult bible study, and hesitantly I took on the challenge. In doing so I have really enjoyed the lifematters young adult bible study. Although my vocabulary is definitely not as broad as it should be,and I need a dictionary alot of times just to make sure I understand certain words. I was asked to take this class because Iget along good with the younger guys in the church. Ifeel like I’m not qualified to be here but my Lord keeps telling me otherwise. My wife and I are a team we do this class together and we do the Sparkies class together.She feels like we are trying to teach these young adults who have been in churchtwice as long as I have stuff they already know, and we are boring them. So I need helpin deciding where to go from here and what to choose. We have a very small class, only two students one female and one malewe were hoping for growth but we haven’t seen that yet. I find that I’m challenged more than they are pease help. Pray for me. Lee
1 | Lee Senn
Tuesday, November 25, 2008, at 7:08am
Lee, if there’s one thing your group definitely needs, it’s consistency. so keep at it… i’m working with a group that ranges from 5-15 from week to week. they have been dumped several times before by others, so building those relationships will probably take a while. most of them had multiple youth ministers in their high school days, and the class i’m leading has already been done once before, and failed. i just started serving at my church in july, and have had the class running since late august. some have come 1-2 times and not returned, but most have stuck with us.
i asked them all what they expected from our time together, and what they wanted to do as a class beyond the four walls each month. from our discussions about this, we formed a covenant for our group. kind of like a small group would do, it was a great way for us all to be on the same page as far as expectations go…
we all signed the covenant about 2 weeks ago, and so far things are going pretty well. i’m enthused because we have decided to do something to serve others each month as a group. that may be serving at the local homeless shelter one day, or volunteering at the humane society. i told them that we would go do something that fed into each of their passions and skills as time went by, that way we could all be a part of what the other enjoys and loves.
we also committed to get together just to hang out once a month, too. no strings attached. these times of service and fellowship are what really help them open up to each other, and to really get to know me as well. it’s not just a classroom where our community takes place, but out in “the real world”, too.
once they see that the group is an essential part of who they are and what they do, they are more likely to invite others in to join them, because it is a priority to them. if it’s not, then they won’t.
don’t worry about your perceptions of your qualifications. that humble spirit will help you more than anything. God doesn’t have to have a 40 year Christian with a Bible degree to help lead his people. fishermen and tent makers do just fine. I’ll end on a statement that i’ve heard often enough that i have to remind myself that it’s worth remembering: “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.” it may sound trite, but it’s very, very true.
keep it up, lee. be faithful, and run the race with those 3 you’ve got. more will follow if you’re really chasing after Jesus together.
2 | ben hedgspeth
Wednesday, November 26, 2008, at 1:12pm
Lee- Thanks for doing what you are doing. God calls us to be faithful to Him and let Him take care of the results. Do not feel as if you have to perform some phenomenal exposition of the Scripture each week. It is likely that your class knows what the Bible has to say about a given topic, they just simply either don’t know how to live it or they are simply choosing not to live it. Allow each lesson to be a time where you share what God lays on your heart and then challenge them to live it. To follow after Christ has nothing to do with KNOWING facts and EVERYTHING to do with believing He is who He says HE is and allowing Him to change who you are. If they are bored, they are not being challenged. Ask hard questions. Make them think about what God has to say.
For too long classrooms were filled with young people being told what the Bible said without connecting the dots into their real life. Transformation happens when God’s truth interrupts our life. Keep serving in any capacity He calls you to and focus on teaching them the relevance for life God’s word holds.
Ben- Great words of encouragement. This is exactly what I hoped this blog would be. Not just communication from me to you but rather conversations between followers of Christ trying to figure out this life together. Thanks!
Have a great Thanksgiving, I will try to post my regular blog tomorrow if my turkey induced coma doesn’t last too long.
3 | Chad Jordan
Wednesday, November 26, 2008, at 1:24pm
Comments are closed. Please use our contact form if you have any thoughts or questions.