Archives for 2014

A leadership lesson from Moses

Posted on February 17, 2014 Written by Mark McIntyre 3 Comments

Moses asked God for help in leading the people of Israel. 70 men were assigned to provide that help, as told in Numbers 11:24-30. The newly recruited helpers were to appear before the tent of meeting and receive a portion of the spirit that was upon Moses. The sign that they received this spirit was that they started to prophesy.

There were two men who did not appear before the tent of meeting who also began to prophecy. Joshua, Moses’ right hand man, wanted Moses to stop them from prophesying. Moses’ response is instructive:

“But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”” (Numbers 11:29, ESV)

A good leader is willing to be eclipsed by the people he leads. The leader focuses on the goal and not on who is getting credit for the achievement of the goal. The organization wins if the goal is achieved and the leader helps those he leads contribute toward the goal at their maximum potential.

Churches do not always have this type of leader. I have been in church situations (plural, not just one church) where the pastor guarded his power to make decisions and control the activities of the church. I cannot know with certainty the motivation of the pastor for behaving in this way, but it seems that jealousy plays a role and this behavior is certainly contrary to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

This type of control is destructive and thwarts what God is doing within that congregation.

In 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12, the Apostle Paul uses the analogy of a body to describe the church. The church is given members with the various gifts that are needed for the church to function as a unified whole. If the pastor is squelching the exercise of anyone’s gift, he is thwarting the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Healthy believers who find themselves in such a church, because they understand their gifting, will move to another congregation where they are allowed to use their gifts. This will leave the church with the controlling pastor as weak and under developed.

The analogy that comes to mind is when parents do not allow their children to make age appropriate decisions. The controlling parent represses the development of the child and without change in the parent’s behavior, the child will find it difficult to progress into a healthy adult.

May the spirit of Moses, where he encouraged and expected others to exercise their gifts, fall on the leadership of all of our churches. If so, the Holy Spirit will be freed to accomplish His will for that church and the surrounding community.

Thank God for the children

Posted on February 12, 2014 Written by Mark McIntyre 10 Comments

In my last post, I wrote about some church leaders’ misunderstanding of the role of the building in worship. This was in response to a note that I had gotten from a reader. In that note, the writer also said that the pastor of the church he visited made a comment about not allowing children to eat candy in the “sanctuary.”

In some (many?) of the evangelical churches I have visited or attended over the years, I have seen a funky, weird attitude toward children. Some adults act as if God will send lightning down to strike any child that begins to have fun in the church. Following this thinking, one must not allow his 5 year old to run in church or play tag in the lobby.

When we act this way, we teach children that God is like a grumpy grandfather that has a headache and Johnny must not disturb him. This is the opposite picture that Jesus painted of his father in Luke 15.

I understand that during the worship service, distraction from children should be kept at a minimum. But in one church we attended, ushers would (often not so) politely tell parents that their children are not welcome in the service with the adults. This, in spite of what Jesus said in Mark 10:14, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”

There has to be a proper balance point in between the extremes of letting children run out of control and expecting them to act like adults. Some of us adults struggle to act like adults, why should we expect children to do better?

The point of this rant is to say that we should enjoy the children with which God blesses our congregation. They are not a distraction from the main thing, they are the main thing.

Jesus gave us one mission, that is to make disciples (Matt. 28:19-20). What better way to do this than to allow our children to experience church as a place where they can have appropriate fun. I think that God smiles just as hard at a 7 year old playing tag as he does at an adult raising his hands in worship. In both situations, the child and the adult are doing what God created them to do. In a sense, they are both worshiping.

So, the next time that you are annoyed because a baby cries during the sermon or a child asks a question out loud during the service, think of Jesus opening his arms to receive similar children to him. Learn the lesson that Jesus taught the disciples and allow the children to come to Jesus – as children.

The church building is a tool

Posted on February 10, 2014 Written by Mark McIntyre 9 Comments

I received an email yesterday from a man who visited a new church only to be confronted by the pastor because the man’s wife brought a drink into the “sanctuary.” Lest you think that this is uncommon, it was not long ago that I attended a church where the pastor made a huge deal out of anything other than water being brought into the auditorium. Presumably, such rules are in place because of fear that coffee or other drinks might get spilled on the carpet and result in a stain.

I have two fundamental issues with this thinking. The first issue has to do with the whole idea of any part of the building being the “sanctuary.” When believers enter the meeting room to gather for worship, they are not entering the temple where they will encounter God. The believers are temples (1 Cor. 6:19) carrying the Holy Spirit with them into the meeting. To protect one part of the building as being more holy or special makes no sense to me.

Secondly, the church is not the building, the church is the people who gather there for worship. It should be kept in mind that the people matter more to God than the building. A church leadership that does not understand this is not worthy of following.

Proverbs 14:4 says, “where there are no oxen, the manger is clean.” When the manger is fulfilling its role of feeding oxen, it becomes a little messy. To remain clean requires that the manger avoid it’s designed purpose.

In the same way, the “church” building is intended to facilitate worship. It should be used to bring people into a deeper relationship with God. It should be used to meet the needs of the people who gather there. When it is used in this way, it is likely that the carpet will pick up a few stains and the building might show some wear and tear.

There is nothing wrong with having beautiful tools. I have known some auto mechanics that have impressive tool chests with shiny chrome plated wrenches and other tools. While the chrome plating is nice to have, it is not the plating that makes the tool useful. The wrench is useful because it is made of forged steel and it is sized properly for the nut that requires turning.

In the same way, the building in which we worship may be beautiful or it may be rather plain. Either way, the building can serve its intended function of being a gathering place of believers. We are to be good stewards of the resources God has given us, so if we have been given a beautiful building, we should be faithful in maintaining the building. But at the same time, we should never forget that the building is a means to an end and not an end in itself. The building is a tool to bring people into community.

Church leaders will be graded by God on how well they shepherded the people that came under their care, not on how well they preserved the carpet in the building. Leaders will have to give an account of how well they used the building to change lives and facilitate worship of God.

Do I want coffee stains on the carpet at my church? Yes, I think I do. Because if we are going to get people together, if we are going to facilitate relationship, we are going to do things like drink coffee and munch on snacks. When we do this, accidents will happen. Drinks will get spilled and food will get dropped. It is inevitable.

Since I want the interaction with people (and the snacks are nice to have), I will live with a few stains in the carpet.

How can we coexist?

Posted on February 5, 2014 Written by Mark McIntyre 1 Comment

This is the 20th post in the Sermon on the Mount Series.

“Give peace a chance” “Coexist” You’ve probably seen bumper stickers with similar sentiments.

The problem is that evil is a reality that must be dealt with. Some men (or women) will seek to dominate others through force or intimidation. Even a casual investigation into the history of man provides ample evidence of this. An ever so small slice of the news is sufficient to prove the reality of evil.

One response to evil is to lash back to hurt the perpetrator of that evil. This seems to be the default response in the human heart. This is illustrated by what Sean Connery says in the Untouchables, “They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue.”

Religious and irreligious systems have both perpetuated this response to evil. One need look no further than the Middle East for many examples of religion responding to evil in kind. But religion is not alone in this. Marxist states and other totalitarian systems are equally guilty.

It is likely that we agree on the sentiment behind these bumper stickers, by on what basis can we coexist? Where do we find the power to forgive and bring healing when evil strikes? How can evil be overcome without further violence?

To not respond in kind to evil requires a sense of delayed gratification. The one who does not respond must feel that it is better in the long run for him to let the evil go without revenge.

For the Christian, the idea that God will ultimately set everything right forms the basis on which we can turn the other cheek. Jesus goes so far as to tell us that we are blessed if we are persecuted or insulted (Matthew 5:10-11).

I am not saying that Christians are the only ones that can practice forgiveness and be peacemakers. I am also not saying that Christians have always done this well. We have struggled with this from the foundation of the Church.

I am saying that Jesus makes a compelling case as to why we should be forgiving and pursuing peace.

The struggle comes in the moment by moment decisions that need to be made. Do I complain about the boss to a coworker? Do I share a tidbit that I heard on the radio (and did not verify) about a politician with whom I do not agree? Do I use my words to build up or tear down? I have ample opportunities to practice peace making.

A couple of thoughts regarding peacemaking come to mind. First, our peacemaking should not be based on denial of the evil. Paul tells us to be angry without sinning (Eph. 4:26), thus indicating that there are legitimate reasons to be angry. The second thought is that I do not have to rely on my own strength and wisdom to be a peacemaker. Jesus promised that we would have help:

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,” (John 14:15–16, ESV)

The core issue for me in being a peacemaker is whether or not I trust God enough to leave it in his hands. My failures at peacemaking indicate that often I do not have sufficient trust. But, it is growing . . .

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