Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Leaders – How well are you getting people grounded in the faith?

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GroundedIt should come as no surprise to anyone who is at all paying attention to the culture around us that we can no longer assume that the people we interact with subscribe to a Judeo/Christian worldview. In fact, an increasing percentage of the populace is hostile to such a view.

This begs the question of church leaders, “what are you doing to get your people grounded in the Christian faith?”

I believe that good preaching does part of the job, but assuming that the average sermon is 30 minutes and the average parishioner attends 50 service per year (I like easy math), that is 25 hours per year of instruction that may or may not address the issues that the parishioner struggles with.

Highly motivated people will find web sites, podcasts or other materials that will address the questions and concerns they have. They may even take classes or pursue a degree to become better trained to understand what they believe and why they believe it. But what about the ones that are not so self motivated or who don’t know where to turn?

I know that some denominations have formalized catechetical training. I have never been part of a group that had such training but I wonder if the nature of the catechism is such that it addresses or helps people understand and respond to the challenges to the Christian worldview that are on the rise.

There is not a one-size-fits-all approach that will work in every church context, but I thought I would catalog some ideas on how to go about getting people grounded in the faith. Here are some ideas in no particular order:

  • Develop and teach a “Bible 101” or foundations class. When you do this, I would encourage you to distinguish between the essential doctrines of Christianity and the non-essential issues. There is nothing wrong with having denominational distinctiveness as long as it is understood that not all true believers agree on non-essentials. To give an exchatological interpretation the same importance as the deity of Christ does damage to the Church Universal.
  • Along the same lines, avoid drawing unnecessary lines in the sand on non-essential issues. For example, while I believe in a literal six day creation, I refuse to argue with those who believe in a longer time frame. If we can agree on God as the agent of creation, that is good enough for me.
  • Provide a means of getting questions answered. This could be through a Sunday School class geared toward answering world view questions, occasional Q & A sessions with the pastoral staff or an email address where questions can be sent in and answered. Help people find the answers they need.
  • Train small group leaders and Sunday school teachers  in how to handle Biblical and world view questions. While “I have to ask the Pastor” may be an appropriate response if the leader does not know the answer, it would be so much better if the question could be handled effectively (and correctly) on the spot.
  • Bring in seminar speakers who are trained to address the issues of the day. There are several seminaries that are training Christian apologists who would be able to help you find a suitable speaker.
  • Model grace to those who have questions or struggle in understanding and belief. Look at how Jesus handled those who raised questions and respond in a similar fashion.
  • Don’t ignore the young people in your church. They have the same questions and are often more honest about their struggles. Perhaps if we did a better job of answering their questions at a young age, fewer of them would leave the church in their college years.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:11-12 that it is the job of church leaders to equip those in their charge to minister to the people around them. Part of this equipping is to get them grounded in their understanding of the Christian faith and how it speaks to the issues of the day.

Leaders need to periodically gauge how well they are doing with regard to equipping their people. If you find that improvement can be made, try something new. Use one of the ideas above or listen to the ideas of your people. There is no one-size-fits-all solution.

If you have other ideas, I would appreciate if you would share them in the comment section below.

On megachurch pastors and failure

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Mars Hill ChurchI have no idea what really happened with Mark Driscoll, nor do I want to. This post is not about slamming him. The only thing I will say about Mark Driscoll is that the way he is being treated in the press seems wrong and illustrates a larger problem in society and the church.

When we move away from a proper understanding of the the fall of man we lose sight of the fact that every aspect of every man (and woman) carries the taint of sin. We are all flawed and left unchecked, those flaws will cause trouble.

The problem I see in society is that we have a celebrity culture which ascribes superhuman status to the lucky (or unlucky depending on your perspective) few who have been deemed celebrities. Celebrities can do no wrong and they always seem to get the benefit of the doubt.

Perhaps I am a poor student of history,  but I cannot think of any other time and place where rock-star status in one discipline made a person an expert in all others. We have musicians and actors that make political / social pronouncements as if they have studied the subject for a lifetime. Popularity provides an ascribed authority that is not in keeping with actual knowledge.

The church has fared  little better. We have our own rock stars that seemingly can do no wrong. If he is selling lots of books, it is presumed that he must be right. All those people couldn’t be wrong could they? Yet, a great preacher might be only s0-so at pastoral ministry. A great preacher might be a poor leader. We have to remind ourselves that no-one is good at everything.

The need for a prophetic voice

David and Nathan
Nathan Confronts David

To give some perspective on this I suggest that we look for a moment at the difference between King David and King Saul in the Old Testament. Saul, had Samuel as a prophetic voice during his reign but he seldom, if ever, heeded the advice of Samuel. David, on the other hand, gave Nathan access to him and responded in repentance when Nathan confronted David on his sin. David saw the need to have a prophetic voice speak into his life and ministry.

In too many church cultures, there is a Pastor at the top with no-one around him who can function as the prophetic voice to offer restraint and correction.

I’ve been in a church where the Pastor was the ultimate (only) authority and it was a train wreck. People got hurt in the name of Christ for the sake of the Pastor’s “vision.” I do not think that this pastor did it maliciously or intentionally, but his intent does not matter, he will have to give an account for the lives he has damaged in the name of the one he claims to serve.

I want to be in a church that has a true plurality in the leadership and no one man holds most of the cards. Solo responsibility is too much power for even the best of men. Also, a plurality of leadership allows for multiple gifts and viewpoints to speak into any situation. We all have strengths and blind spots and a plurality allows for us to help others in their weak areas and be helped in ours.

I’m sure that Mark Driscoll has made mistakes in his leadership. Every leader has. But I wonder, if Mars Hill had helped Mark Driscoll avoid the pitfalls of celebrity, if things may have turned out differently. As it is, I hope that Mr. Driscoll repents in response to the accusations that he needs to own and that he can ignore the parts that are malicious and wrong.

But we all need to remember that ultimately Mark Driscoll will give his account to Jesus, not to us. This is the same Jesus who will call each of us to account and we will all be judged by the same standard.

So, I recommend that you put down that stone, you will only hurt yourself.

The problem with power

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Power in LeadershipThe problem with power is that those who seek it are often the ones least qualified to wield it. This is no less true in the church than in society at large. Many great minds have spoken out about the seeking and wielding of power. I cannot add any pithy sayings about power to the list but I do wish to challenge how power is viewed in the church at large.

Any person in a position of leadership wields some power over others. In the church, there are two important questions about how that power is used:

  1. For whose benefit is the influence exerted? Will the leader use his power to bolster his position or will he use his power for the benefit of those he leads?
  2. Will the leader recognize his dependence upon God and seek God for how he should lead?

For whose benefit is power wielded?

In his letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul spoke to this issue when he wrote:

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:1–8, ESV)

While this applies to everyone, not just leaders, it is more important that leaders in the church operate with the motive of benefitting others.

But too often, pastors operate to consolidate their own status and position within the body of Christ. They jealously guard the pulpit and seek to put a leadership team around them who agrees with their agenda. This is done in the name of “ministry vision.” But it should not be this way.

Is power wielded in dependence upon God?

In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul encourages his readers to imitate him, but only in so far as Paul himself is an imitator of Jesus. There are two aspects that I see to operating in dependence upon God. The first as Paul mentions is to imitate the example of Jesus we see in the Gospels. Jesus served others rather than have them serve him. Jesus put others’ needs before his own.

The second aspect of cultivating dependence upon God is to have an active relationship with him. Is the Bible merely the textbook from which the sermons are prepared or is it the tool which God uses to shape the heart of the pastor? Does the pastor seek to deepen his own relationship with God so that he can be more effective in bringing others into a similar relationship? Does the pastor recognize that he is deeply flawed, but deeply loved by God? Does the pastor understand that he will give an account to God, not for the number of people in the seats but for the condition of the hearts he was to shepherd?

Why is an important question

When a man or women steps forward to be a leader, the most important question is why they want to do so. Is it to serve or to be served? Does the prospective leader demonstrate dependence upon God? As followers, we need to make wise choices as to what leader we will follow. As leaders developing leaders, we need to exercise due diligence in our choice of who to develop and how to develop them.

When church leadership falls into the wrong hands, neither the church nor the society at large fares well. People get hurt and it is not pretty.

On the other hand, when a leader operates with a proper sense of calling and with a proper humility, that leader can be used by God to produce amazing results.

Is it really good news?

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Good NewsThe word gospel literally means “good news.” In Greek, the word is euanggelion from which we derive our English words, evangelical and evangelism. So, an evangelical church is one that preaches the Gospel or good news of Jesus Christ.

The question that strikes me this morning is, “are we really offering good news?”

I have been in churches that do a good job of teaching people how they should behave. Sometimes the rules of behavior are plainly spoken; sometimes they are unspoken, unwritten rules that people in the fellowship absorb. Often these churches do a great job of teaching the Bible and holding people to the standards that the Bible promotes.

When I read Scripture, I am overwhelmed with how short I come from living up to the standards I find there. I do not love God with my entire being, I am still self absorbed and petulant with God. I do not love my neighbor as myself. Therefore, I fail in what Jesus tells us are the two great commands. If Christianity is simply a set of rules or a system of morality, I am a miserable failure at it. I can’t live up to the standard.

But that is precisely the danger. We can present Christianity to the world as a system of morality, a code of ethics. The church can come off as a religious Dr. Phil which offers advice as to how to overcome the problems in life through moral excellence.

If Christianity is just a moral system, if all the church has to offer is a cleaner lifestyle, then that is not good news. As C. S. Lewis has pointed out, a man cannot live up to his own standards, so his default position is one of frustration and defeat. If we are simply offering a system of morality and standards of behavior, we are only adding to the frustration. If all we have to offer are rules to live by, we are adding to the burden rather than relieving it.

In 2 Corinthians 5:21, Paul gives a simple statement of how the Gospel is indeed good news. We don’t have to produce righteousness on our own, nor do we have to clean ourselves up before coming to Jesus. Jesus takes care of it all. In Romans 8:1, we are informed that when we do come to Christ and accept his payment on our behalf, we are no longer under condemnation.

We receive forgiveness we don’t deserve and a status that we cannot earn. That is good news, the best news we can offer. Rather than offering behavior modification we an bring people to Jesus who has the ability to change hearts. In Christ, the words of Ezekiel are true:

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26)

Can we, as the church, leave off our moralizing and poor attempts at behavior modification and return to the good news of Jesus Christ? Can we understand that we are not called to reform the political system but to allow God to reform our hearts?

I find it ironic that the sinners flocked to Jesus when he walked the earth and the “saints” were repulsed and condemned by him because they missed the point of his ministry. Too much of what is labeled Christian in my day is unattractive to non-believers because of perceived condemnation. Maybe it is time to reevaluate what message we are proclaiming to see how closely it matches Jesus’ message.

My guess would be that if we indeed act and speak like Jesus, the “sinners” would begin flocking to the Christ that the world so desperately needs.

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