Climbing The Summit 2,000 Feet!

As the mountain climbers approached the summit, their entire bodies were about to give in to exhaustion. The climb had been demanding and almost fatal. One wrong move, one piece of equipment failure, a lack of oxygen, inclement weather conditions, or a lack of training, could all result in the climbers not only not reaching the summit but possibly going home in a body bag. But once you get to the top and have conquered the peak, all the suffering you went through to get there is soon forgotten, as your mind is racing with thoughts of this achievement!

I recently attended my first Leadership Summit sponsored by Willow Creek via satellite feed. The theme was, “Lead Where You Are.” Like mountain climbing, trying to reach the summit, I found each speaker a little more challenging, a little more profound. But once the two day event was over, I basked in the refreshing winds that are blowing through my heart as I heard the voice of God speaking to my hungry soul.

It will be my task over the next several blogs to highlight some of the speakers and what the topics they addressed mean to the church. So let’s put on our climbing gear and start to head up the mountain.

Bill Hybels' topic (He founded Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, IL.) was “Leading In A New Reality.” He claims, as we all know, that the church has been blindsided by an economic rogue wave. With this type of storm there is a need for constant action at the helm or the ship will sink. Bill highlighted four lessons that will help us steer through these turbulent times.

Philosophically, we need to act quickly and decisively. We need to be the church no matter what -- an Acts 2 church! The question is -- do we still believe that the local church is the answer, no matter what the times are? We need to be confident that He will teach us lessons we will never forget during these sea squall times. There is nothing like the local church when the local church is working right! How is your church doing philosophically?

Secondly, consider Kingdom Economics. The math makes no sense from a human prospective. Jack Welch (the famous CEO with General Electric) states:”In a crisis, cash is king.” I am sure that the economic times have led to many a discussion in board rooms about what to do. Willow Creek has developed the following plan that may give us a starting point of discussion. In their new budget plan they have decided that there should never be more than 50% of total revenues going towards staff salaries, which means there will be a need for more volunteer empowerment. Ten percent of all revenue will be given away -- notice they did not cut missions. Ten percent will be poured into where the Spirit is working -- I like the freedom here, to keep in touch with God. Fifteen percent will go into ministry. And 15% will go into running the physical plant. Right now people are hungry to hear about money management God’s way! And people will still give generously and sacrificially to God’s red hot visions!

Thirdly, look up the peak into the relational front. In this lesson Bill concentrated mostly with people who are on staffs. There are many churches considering or already going through massive staff reductions. He did make a reference to Jim Collins' new book, How The Mighty Have Fallen. A good question to start with is, “How many absolute key seats are in your organization?” After answering the first question the second would be, “Out of X number of key seats, what percentage are the right people?” What is our plan for filling the rest of the keys seats with the right people? Are we developing backup people for the keys seats we have? Bill stated, “that a fired up, gifted person, that God will do something great through, is the key person!” Sounds like a church planter, eh?

On to the last lesson, which deals with the personal level, we need a replenishment strategy in place. Don’t get to the place in which you are doing God’s work but it is destroying God’s work in you! We need to reinvent a replenishment strategy for the new reality. Find out what fills your bucket and go for it. Get wired with God more! The replenishment of our bucket (Roman 8:6) can be energized by life and peace with the Holy Spirit. When we are filled up, we will lead best. The temptation during these turbulent times is to work 24/7. We need to slow down and listen to God, and He will whisper in our ears, “in My time not yours”. We need to develop rock solid God confidence! What do people see in us these days, “Exhausted and fearful or confident in God”?

Deal with it.

We have all heard about missionaries who have been killed or subjected to extreme torture because of their faith. I expect persecution from those outside the church. I do not expect it from those inside the church. Right?

But in my recent day alone with God, the Holy Spirit impressed upon my heart the following two Bible passages, both in II Timothy 3 – 3:12 states, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” and 3:1 says, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.”
It’s not heads or tails, will we be persecuted? It’s, we will be persecuted!

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Why does it seem we are always persecuted?” Jesus, you told us they will hate us because they hated you. I shake my head and say to myself, “Why this attitude that I shouldn't expect persecution,
that ‘surely, when we became Christians, we were inoculated with a special serum that prevents this deadly disease from affecting us.’ Am I living under a rock? Don't I believe what your word says? Is there a reason why I shouldn’t expect head on collisions with the enemy – broken glass, sheared metal, blood, death?”

Satan laughs at the “World Wrestling Federation” spectacles that go on in churches between believers, which at times lead to divisions. Life gets difficult. We need more strength from God in these times and to not rely on our own steroids (What strength enhancing methods do you use?).

My first thought after God impressed II Timothy 3:1 on my mind was, “Why do I believe my street address is in Disneyland, that I won't meet up with the enemy at every other street corner, that I might as well give up because it's too hard, that I would rather slide back under the covers and not get out of bed, because I am too tired to face the bogey man?”

We cannot fight these battles on our own strength (unless we enjoy being a punching bag for the enemy) but have to rely on God's strength to get us through the difficult times. Don't throw in that towel. Don't give up. Never say die. Be strong and courageous (See Deuteronomy 31:6,8.). There will be – not there might be – difficult times.

Buck up, camper. Maybe we need to stop using God's armor for defense only and do some attacking, overcoming acedia in this area of our lives. “Persecution, schmersecution.” “Difficulty, schmifficulty." Deal with it.

Excuse Me, PLEASE!

I recently read, Mirror To The Church by Emmanuel Katongole. It was a page turner for me. I finished it in one week. It is the story of the genocide
that took place in Rwanda in 1994, when the Hutus were told to kill their Tustsi neighbors. The slaughter that lasted for 100 days began on April 7th, the Thursday of Easter week. In that timeframe, some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed throughout Rwanda.

In 1994 I was 37 years old. How could I forget about almost one million people being slaughtered? Do you recall this tragic event?

The author recommends that the reader watch the movie Hotel Rwanda to get the visual impact of what happened, which I did check out from the local library.

The movie sickened my stomach and saddened my heart. We should keep in mind that in the midst of the genocide, an international hotel (Hotel des Mille Collines, the Hotel Rwanda) offered more good news than the nearest church. The author's hope, is that Rwanda can be a mirror to the church in the west. As we (the church) look in a mirror to see what we look like, Rwanda can help us see ourselves more clearly.

Emmanuel introduces the reader to three different types of postures that do not work in Christianity. The “Pious Posture,” The “Political Posture,” and The “Pastoral Posture.” He alludes to the fact that the “Prophetic Posture” is the only one that can save our world.

Mary is an example of this posture in Matthew 26:6-7. Mary dares to bring into question the social, economic, and political assumptions of her day in a single act. She is crazy enough to interrupt. Are we? Mary represents the “rebel consciousness” that is essential to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Wherever the gospel is preached, it must cause its hearers to be insane! It has to force us to question the social norms.
Jesus’ teaching puts us at odds with the economic and political systems of our day. The good news will force us to act, interrupting the world that makes pious people indignant. Emmanuel states, “The rebel consciousness of a prophetic posture teaches us to rethink not only our mind-set and our approach, but also our timing.”

The Rwandan genocide exposes for the global church, that "Christian expression throughout the world has too easily allowed the blood of tribalism to flow deeper than the waters of baptism.” You may be thinking, "What do you mean? We are not into tribalism in the United States. Don’t accuse us of that. We are a sophisticated and sufficient country." I won’t define the word tribe for you, but you may look it up and see if we, (white Anglo-Americans, or for that matter any people group in the United States) fit into that category.

How do we overcome acedia so this type of tragedy never happens again? The church is called to be a hopeful interruption to the death-bound reality of a broken world. We are the church. We are the people. So let’s make it a brighter day and just start being JESUS! And what about the timing of this? The prophetic posture always trusts that the time to worship Jesus and acknowledge him as our King is now. As George Allen (the long ago head coach of the Washington Redskins) used to say, “The Future Is Now.”

"'Restoration Movement,' what's that?"

I am starting this month’s blog as I sit at a Starbucks between sessions across the street from the Kentucky Convention Center in Louisville as the North American Christian Convention (NACC) is in its second day of activity. The NACC is the only event that brings Restoration Movement Christian Churches together once a year at the national level.

The "Restoration Movement?" I am starting to wonder if many attending churches borne of the restoration movement even know what the term "restoration movement" refers to.

I was speaking at a church awhile back in a Sunday School class of about 20 people. I was explaining to them our mission of planting Restoration Churches. Half the class stared at me like a deer caught in the headlights. I started to explain briefly what this meant, as even one of the church's associate staff looked on, wondering.

At a church we recently spoke at, I picked up a brochure that had this slogan on it -- “Where the Bible speaks, we speak. Where the Bible is silent, we are silent." This is a slogan the Restoration Movement used (and some still use), yet half the people in the church had no idea what the Restoration Movement is about.

I received a resume awhile back that had the following slogans written down, “I believe that we are not the only Christians, but Christians only,” and “I believe that we should have unity in essentials, liberty in non-essentials, and love in all things” -- more quotes the Restoration Movement has used over the years! I wondered whether this person understood, or was just using sayings to catch my “Restoration Attention”? (Please excuse my skepticism.)

At Cincinnati Christian University & Seminary, I was fortunate enough to take a Restoration History class under the legendary Dr. James North. Myself being an ex-Catholic who had no idea of the Restoration Movement, this class was monumental in enlightening me!

Without some type of Restoration Movement teaching, do people attending our churches really know what they are getting involved with? The bigger question is, “Why aren’t we introducing them to the principle of restoring the original church?" I am not insisting that new people read Union In Truth by Dr. North, but maybe some preachers should. Are we embarrassed to teach people what God has led them to? If you attend an Assembly Of God Church, you will learn about “speaking in tongues” and the “gift of prophecy” and the Assemblys' roots in the early twentieth century pentecostal movement.

Covering some basic historical facts and informing people about what they are getting involved with can be enlightening. We do not want to create “Campbellites,” and are careful to keep things in their proper perspective -- if the traditions of the restoration movement outweigh the scripture, we then become something less than the restored church of Jesus.

While we acknowledge and accept that we need to follow Jesus Christ only, still, learning about the period of time when the Campbells and their peers were discovering Biblical principles that had been ignored for centuries can help Christians appreciate just what exactly it is they have become part of -- the Lord's church, restored as she was in the beginning!

A 101 class, a new believers class, or a new member class would be an ideal time to introduce new Christians to some "Restoration history." The restoration era is not when the Lord's church was founded, but it is when she came out of "the wilderness" -- resurfaced in history. It's a good thing for Christians to understand that.

Pass The Q Tips, Please.

Have you ever been in a church service and halfway through the offering a pastor gets up and says, “Stop taking up the offering, we have more than enough money. Thanks for your generosity of going above and beyond the call of duty”? In my time alone with God recently the Holy Spirit impressed on me the following verses: “We have more than enough materials on hand now to complete the job the LORD has given us to do!” they exclaimed. So Moses gave the command, and this message was sent throughout the camp: “Bring no more materials! You have already given more than enough.” So the people stopped bringing their offerings. Exodus 36:5-7

Why were their contributions more than enough to complete the project, but we seem to never have enough to complete our projects? When is the last time you received an appeal letter that said, “Please do not send any more resources, we have more than enough"? You have never received a letter from NPEA like that!

Did the Israelites have more than enough because it was something God directly told them to do? Doesn’t God tell us to take care of the poor and widows? Maybe there is too much clamoring in our ears and we can’t really hear God. Or do we get into these games where we justify that it was something He told us to do, when, in reality, it wasn't what He told us to do at all? Maybe the voice whispering in our ear has a human face? Can we assume there are not enough resources because we simply are not investing in what God would want us to? How can we discern whether it is God speaking to us or other noisy parties? What else can we do besides pray, read the bible, seek counsel, fast, have extended periods of intensive prayer, and be better listeners, to know God’s timing, to determine it is His voice?

So why doesn’t NPEA, or for that matter, why don't Bible colleges, churches, missionaries, Christian radio stations, disaster recovery programs, etc., have more than enough? Is it because of a lack of listening to God's voice? Is it because some of these ministries should consolidate? Is it because we don’t have a generous spirit? Is it because some of these ministries should close? Is it because we are not committed to follow through, once we hear His voice?

I once said to God, “If you are the owner of the cattle on a thousand hills, why don’t you sell some and give me the cash?”

If He provides for all my needs, maybe some of my needs might be wants? Or you could play the good, better, best card in terms of what to support with His money. Did we create the shortage, or did He?

I am riding on my ox-driven cart with a choice load of lumber for the temple. My son is sitting next to me as we pull up to the unloading zone. And Moses is in charge of shipping and receiving. My son and I hear over a loudspeaker the voice of Moses, “We don’t need any more materials. You all have brought more than enough!” May we be challenged by their grateful generosity in overcoming acedia, that we could be halted because we were “doing more than enough”!

The Mission Field?

I get away to a prayer chapel once a month to be alone with God. In this prayer chapel there are two massive posters of a gentleman and a young boy who are from different countries than the United States. These posters are to motivate us to pray for the mission field.

My first thought is, why isn’t there also a picture of people from my hometown, Fargo/Moorhead? Maybe because the majority of the people from the town I live in don’t have dark colored skin?

As we travel and speak, sometimes in the churches I visit there are various countries' flags in view from around the world. I assume the flags represent missionaries supported by the church and the peoples to whom they have been sent.

When there is a United States flag in a church, it is usually in reference to the government of this country, not to the people here who also need Jesus.

Do you often hear about people in churches, or get a support letter from someone you know, about a mission trip they have gone on or are planning to go on in the near future? I hear they are going to, or went to, Mexico, to Haiti, to Japan, to Bosnia, even to Israel, to walk where Jesus walked. These short-term missionaries usually travel to someplace that is outside the borders of the United States and is a plane ticket away.

These baffle me when I consider Acts 1:8. In this passage, the first place we are to share the “Good News” is in our own backyard. God is implying that where we live is a mission field! It is kind of unique that God’s plan would have us consider where we live as our first place to spread the gospel message.

If you are a missionary at “home,” you already know the language. You won’t have to raise support to leave. You won’t have to get cultural training (although we do need to understand unsaved postmodern people a little better). You will have time to disciple those you lead to Christ rather then get decisions and then have to leave the country. You won’t need to get a passport or work visa. You might already be employed.

Why is it so easy for us to dream about and envision taking the gospel across the ocean,

but more difficult to take it across the street (or across the eight-lane freeway, as the case may be)?






Why haven’t I won my neighbors to Christ? Why is it easier for us to send a check overseas, than to send ourselves to the person who needs the love of Jesus in our hometown? Why do most Bible Colleges teach about the mission field in terms of a foreign country, and not in terms of right here at home?

A "mission field"? What do you think, is there one at home and abroad? How can we overcome acedia in terms of recognizing and evangelizing the people who live right next door? Is Bismarck/Mandan, ND, a mission field? How about a mission trip to Bismarck/Mandan, ND?

Are You Thirsty?

A husband and wife are stranded in the middle of a desert as a result of a plane crash. They have some food, but no water supply that will sustain them. The longer these conditions go on, the more desperate the couple will become. Their minds will start to play tricks on them. A case of bottled water used to be what they dreamed about, but now a single drop of water would be so satisfying they would faint.

A person can live many days without food, but without water the body shuts down in a matter of 3-4 days. The following is a brief description of the beginning stages of a person dying from a lack of water. “Saliva becomes thick and foul-tasting; the tongue clings irritatingly to the teeth and the roof of the mouth. . . . A lump seems to form in the throat . . . severe pain is felt in the head and neck. The face feels full due to the shrinking of the skin. Hearing is affected, and many people begin to hallucinate. . . . [then come] the agonies of a mouth that has ceased to generate saliva. The tongue hardens into 'a senseless weight, swinging on the still-soft root and striking foreignly against the teeth.' Speech becomes impossible, although sufferers have been known to moan and bellow.”

If they don’t get water they will perish. King David’s thirst for God was similar to people stranded in life with no perceived hope. Psalm 63:1 -- “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water" (NLT).

In my quiet time the other day God really spoke to me through this verse. David was alluding to the parched desert land in Judah. The Holy Spirit started speaking to my heart: Do I desperately seek God, as one dying of thirst? Are we earnest, sincere, heartfelt, deep, intense, strong, serious, solemn, sober, about our need for the Savior? I am not earnest as much as I need to be.

David's words do not describe my seeking of God on a regular basis.

How can we foster this, Lord? We need to be earnest. Thirst for You, desire, longing, craving, eagerness, yearning, to have an appetite for You. Why are we not like David with this deep desperate thirst for God? Look at your surroundings. Are they usually dry and weary? Don’t we realize we will die from a lack of God? Having a thirst for God where there is no water is even more crucial.

Help us “overcome acedia.” Give us a thirsty soul for You, O Lord! Amen.