On Church Leadership: Character & Natural Abilities

Many people will say, "if they are gifted leaders, let them be used," but Paul tells the church in (1 Timothy 3 & Titus 1), "let us first examine their character and then use their leadership gifts to bless the church." 

Why does it matter? Because, Paul understood rightly that a person's character paves the way for their natural abilities to be rightly used by God, for his glory. The measurement of a person's character as the qualification for leadership is essential, especially in the church. The chief end of the church is to glorify God and rightly display Christ's image for the world to see. God is literally making his appeal to the world, through his Church (2 Corinthians 5:16-20).

While the pragmatic approach to leadership cares more about a person's ability than their character, Paul instructs the church to care first about their character and then about their ability. Many gifted leaders have fallen from grace, due to moral failures, because the church failed to examine their character before setting them free to use their natural leadership abilities.

Instead of saying, "I want to be used by God in his church" try saying "I want to be the kind of person God can use in his church." 

A Walk Through Holy Week - Post #1

Reflecting on Palm Sunday and today (Holy Monday) I can't help but think about how quickly shouts of praise turned to shouts of "crucify him!". But why the change of heart? How can a people rejoice at the coming of their King on Sunday, and within days turn on him to the point of calling for his execution? I think scripture makes it fairly clear. The people didn't understand who Jesus was or what he truly came to do for them. The Jews looked at their oppression as one mainly of physical bondage. However, Jesus knew the real issue was mainly one of spiritual oppression. The crowds welcomed Jesus on Sunday, because in their minds he was going to liberate them from the oppression of the Romans (much like Moses did from the Egyptians) but Christ didn't come to save them from men, but instead from the wrath of God because of their sin.

On Monday, the day after the streets were filled with people shouting, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest heaven!"...Christ entered the temple and made efforts to cleanse it by turning over tables of the money changers and running the wicked people out the doors. This was the first step Jesus took towards his own crucifixion. He knew full well that his efforts to "purify worship" would not be received well by the Pharisees or those who were simply seeking God's favor because they had earned it by their efforts and self-righteousness. While just the day before these people were rejoicing in the "coming of the LORD," the reality is that their hearts were not open enough to see that God cares far more about the inward (condition of the heart) than he does the outward appearance of obedience. Jesus took intentional steps towards cleaning his Father's house, which had been turned into a den of robbers who were filled with greed and vein worship. Christ warned people to "wake up" and see that they were nowhere near where God desired them to be. He didn't want their sacrifices...he wanted them! He wanted their unadulterated affection not ritualistic practices of purification.

While more often than not, today's church celebrates Palm Sunday as a joyful event...today my heart is filled with sadness, because I see the truth. In many ways, the Church today still struggles with the same sin as the people so long ago. The reality for many of us is that if we would have been there, back on March 29th 33AD, we would have welcomed Christ to the city with shouts of praise...because of our selfish hopes and desires...and without the Holy Spirit, our passion for Christ's triumphant entry would have just as quickly turned to shouts for his crucifixion, because his efforts to purify for himself a people began by telling us that we are sinners who need to turn away from our evil and towards repentance.

Jesus knew the hearts of the people. He knew that they weren't truly seeking to honor God, but were instead looking to honor themselves. They didn't want Jesus...they wanted his blessings. But Jesus knew that the true blessing is and always has been God, not the gifts that he gives. The people weren't satisfied with God, they wanted the gifts and not the giver. How quickly did they turn on the one they so eagerly praised on Palm Sunday? How quickly do people still turn from Jesus today, when they realize that he requires repentance and a contrite heart...when we figure out that Jesus didn't come to give us what we want, but instead what we need? And sadly, for far too many people, this gift simply doesn't meet their expectations.

Jesus Knows What Is in Man (John 2:23-25)

23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

The Heart of Biblical Training

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. | 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)

"By being trained in righteousness, the man of God is made competent or proficient by the Scriptures, which equip him for every good work. It's the training in righteousness that leads to the proficiency, but the proficiency here is not a particular skill—such as being able to teach clearly, or lead a small group, or whatever—but a quality of character and behavior based on the sound doctrine of the Scriptures."

"The heart of training is not to impart a skill, but to impart sound doctrine. Paul uses the language of training to refer to a lifelong process whereby Timothy and his congregation are taught by Scripture to reject false religion, and to conform their hearts and their lives to sound doctrine. Good biblical training results in a godly life based on sound, health-giving teaching."

Source: The Trellis and the Vine - Colin Marshall and Tony Payne

God's Word is Our Natural Habitat

"As water is to a fish, God's words are our natural habitat. Remaining in them, we thrive. Departing from them, we strive, suffer, and wilt." | Scott Sauls

Biblical Interpretation and Why it Matters

I wanted to share some thoughts on biblical interpretation. How many of us have been involved in Bible studies where after a passage of scripture is read, the inevitable question is asked, what does that passage mean to you? While I commend the effort to study God's word, the Bible should not be approached this way. The Bible is not filled with subjective truths that can be finagled and twisted to mean whatever we desire for it to mean. Faithful interpretation of the scriptures doesn't ask the question, what does this passage mean to me...but instead asks the question...what does this passage mean and how can/should I apply this truth to my life.

We get into some serious trouble when we evaluate and interpret scripture based on our own feelings and/or our own inner-voice. We must be willing to admit that even our best efforts to interpret scripture based on our own thoughts and opinions are still subject to the simple fact that we are sinners. Pride, selfishness, sin, and many other things will always be working against us, trying to lead us to see things in scripture that simply are not there. To call good what God has called evil and to call evil what God has called good (Isaiah 5:20).

Because the timing of this subject is relevant, I'd like to use yesterday's passing, by the Minnesota State Senate, of the same-sex marriage law. Now, while I do commend the diligence and dedication of those who fought for their right to marry who they please, as a Bible-believing Christian I was not pleased with the results of yesterday's vote. I was saddened not only because as a state, society and culture this is where we find ourselves (morally speaking) but also because many of the arguments being leveraged yesterday by supporters of this bill were being passed off as biblical. We cannot fool ourselves. This battle, while it was painted as a human/civil rights discussion was clearly about the sinful desires of a secular world versus what God has called good (Genesis 1:31) and what he has called sin (Romans 1:26-27). While not all of you will agree with me on how serious yesterday's vote was for our society and our church...it was heartbreaking to hear how people in support of this bill continued to leverage twisted and out of context scripture as well as their Christian faith as the reasons why they must vote yes. 

And then, I thought about how the vote yesterday affects me as an individual and also how it will affect us as a church body. No doubt there are people within our body who affirm the work that was accomplished yesterday in the Senate and what will inevitably be passed by Governor Dayton in a matter of days. But what concerns me most in all of this is, how have these Christians moved towards this conviction, in light of what scripture clearly says about homosexuality? The only thing I can think of is that either these people don't understand how to rightly handle (interpret) scripture...or worse yet, they simply don't care. While there is very little that we can do about the second option, there is plenty that we can do about the former. We can ensure that we are rightly interpreting scripture..and we can also encourage others to do the same.

Why Does it matter?

The results of November's Marriage Amendment as well as the vote last Thursday (house) and yesterday's vote (senate) are a clear reminder that there is a battle going on for our minds. The church has clearly lost the influence it once had on the culture, but what is even more alarming is that it seems the church is also losing its influence on its own people. While God has given the world his infallible and inerrant scripture to be our guide...if we are not rightly handling (interpreting) the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15) then our efforts to be a faithful and obedient church will always fall short of glorifying God. Only when we are willing to submit our lives and our leadership to the absolute truth of God's Holy and revealed word, will we be able to faithfully reflect God's image and his gospel to a world and a people who desperately need to know and receive both.

When (we interpret Scripture by focusing) on our inner voice, we risk losing the original voice of Scripture, the historic anchor that has given the church its foundation and faith, and the uniqueness of a moment of historical revelation without parallel to anything we may experience. And evaluating our own experience risks confusing what is subjectively true for me with what is objectively true. Truth (does not) reside in my own temporal experience (but rather in the correct interpretation of the Scriptures.) | Gary Burge

For His Glory,

Jason

What is Harbor Pillars?

"To teach, equip, and encourage men to lead their families and live their lives with integrity, humility and a passion for the glory of Christ." | Harbor Pillars -- Mission Statement

Over the past several years, through prayer, my time in the word, and an overall look at Christianity in America...God has been leading me to start something deeper for the men at Harbor Church. The aim of this group (PILLARS) is to build a foundation of Biblical Manhood for the men (i.e. boyfriends, husbands, fathers, grandfathers and future generations of men) at Harbor Church.

Throughout history, God has entrusted men with the responsibility of spiritually leading their homes and the sad reality is that in many cases, men have been comfortable surrendering that mission to other people and programs in the local church or elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, these people and programs are not bad additions to the spiritual growth and development of Christian families, but I believe God desires for men to reclaim and tightly hold the responsibility for the spiritual well being of their homes.

As I see it, the purpose of Harbor Pillars is to teach, equip and encourage men to live out their lives with integrity, humility and passion for the glory of Christ.

The attacks of the enemy are numerous and the temptation to become comfortable living the American Dream is enticing. However, we are called to be different than the world. We are called to live humbly and to serve others with our time and our talents. We are called to surrender everything in order to follow Christ, and to make disciples. We are called to lead our homes (as our primary mission field) with humility, courage and zeal...submitting to God's will and allowing him to lead us. We are called to raise our children to know and fear the LORD. We are called to hold each other accountable and live with a passion for the glory of Christ in all areas of our lives. No longer can we be satisfied with a Sunday morning worship service. No longer can we accept living the watered down version of Christianity that entices us to serve God on Sunday mornings and serve ourselves the other (6) days of the week.

So there's the mission statement of this group. I believe we have enough diversity in our small group of men at Harbor to make an impact in our church, our community and the world. Please pray about getting involved in this mission. If God prompts your heart, please respond to this blog post and make a commitment to join this cause. I will make you one promise; this will not be your typical run-of-the-mill group. We will not settle for mediocrity. So, if you are looking to grow deeper in your faith and pursue the Spiritual Growth that we talk about at Harbor Church, please pray about joining this group.

More information to follow.

P – Passionate Men
I – Interested in REAL Spiritual Growth
L – Learning with Humility
L – Leading Our Families Intentionally
A – Ambassadors of the Gospel
R – Rediscovering the Responsibility of Biblical Manhood
S – Sanctification through Scripture, Prayer and Accountability

For His Glory,

Jason