Category — Challenging

Want to be an influencer? Lots of people ask that question and they come up with almost as many answers. There is no end to the books that are written about how to direct people.

Do you ever grow weary of seeing leadership books galore? I do. For one, I think it’s because the very word isn’t entirely biblical. “Leader” is mentioned only 6 times in KJV of the Bible. “Servant” is mentioned over 900 times!

Do you want to make a long-term difference in the lives of many? Take Jesus as your model. Read the red letters of the Gospels. Do the red letters. Live as Jesus lived. Serve as Jesus served.

God-empowered leadership is one of the most powerful dynamics on earth. On the other hand, human-empowered leadership is stressful and manipulative.

“God strengthen us to serve in your power.”

It stands to reason that the younger we are – with the greatest number of years ahead of us and thus the most to lose – we would be wise to play it safe, to take fewer risks. But you didn’t do it that way and neither did I. It’s odd that the older we become the more conservative we grow. Sadly, human nature is to grow more controlling.

Usually the fewer years of life left in us the more we grip what remains. We cling to the little (as we perceive it) that remains, but there’s always more than we think! It’s better to go down fighting human nature by giving away – by radically investing in others while we have opportunity. Don’t forget what Jesus said – “Night is coming when no man can work.”

Someone sent me a tweet recently I’ve been thinking about. He asked about mega-churches and if many of the people they attract simply come from other churches. I had to agree. Having been a part of a couple of them and observed many more up close, I believe the following to be generally true:

A. Mega-churches are cooler, hipper than other area churches, therefore are natural gathering points for already-converted people who are looking for “something more” – namely cooler program options, better worship, more services with fewer demands. In a way, they are to local churches what Wal-Mart is to mom and pop stores. Difficult to compete. I’m not convinced they do a better job all around at bringing the Kingdom of God to a community.

B. Mega-churches nearly always think they are doing a significant work of evangelism but typically they are weak in outreach or are simply approaching outreach as one of many programs versus making it a primary focus of the church. Look at the per capita baptism rates to get the real story. Statistics show that the ideal sized congregation for maximum evangelism to take place is a medium-sized congregation – between 250 and about 500. There is great motivation among members of that sized congregation to include newcomers than at an exceedingly large church. To boot, a church tends to be as evangelistic as her senior pastor. You can apply that truth to any sized congregation. Great up front teachers aren’t necessarily passionate about bringing people into relationship with Jesus.

C. My bottom line after leading at a couple of mega-churches is this: I’d rather have 15 churches of 500 that are maximizing their potential for outreach than to have one church of 7,500 that is fun to lead, fun to be a part of, that strokes my ego, but that in the quiet moments scares me that one day God is going to ask me how I stewarded all of that potential. God give us wisdom to walk rightly with you.

Sorry to come across heavy with this, but every once in a while it needs to be preached.

Yes, there is a time to fight, even when you are in the kingdom of God. There is a time to stand up for what is right. That’s not the same as standing up for your rights.

We can get the false idea that it’s never okay to fight – that no good ever comes of exerting one’s will when conflict flares up. I don’t agree. Even when we are walking in the Spirit conflict sometimes comes about. There are plenty of examples of this in the Scriptures.

Sometimes when others are intractable, and you are convinced of the rightness of your cause, the only option may be conflict. But how do we proceed when this is the case?

Smile. Determine to have a good attitude regardless of the reactions of others. When conflict arises sometimes we are merely stopping the bullying of others, even in church settings. Count on it, when you put your foot down you will get negative reactions. Smile just the same.

Relax. If you didn’t cause the conflict be philosophical about it. Realize you are not causing this. You are in the midst of a complex situation – not by your choosing.

Flow. Don’t let others get your goat, but at the same time it’s wise to not resist their blows. Ironically, sometimes it’s best to not resist the direction of life. Jump into the river. God will show up.

How much of what you do is based on your ability versus the intervening strength of God? It’s possible to move forward in our strength for a prolonged time. For a time we don’t do all that poorly – at least on the outside. Jesus said his will for us was that we would bear fruit that lasts. That kind of enduring fruitfulness that brings glory to God won’t be produced in mere human strength.

If lately you have been going forward in our own strength – you’ve not had an occasional breakdown (or as a friend of mine puts it “a nervous breakthrough”) – of not coming to a revelation of your need for God to show up in your situation – you’ve probably been going it apart from the power of God.

“Not to worry” to quote Cliff Claven. Turn from the sin of self-dependency. You can decide today you are going to operate in the vine-branch dependency Jesus spoke of in John 15. Move as he moves. Think as he thinks. Be strong in his strength, not your own.