Keeping Things In Perspective

While uneducated or cruel critics can be distracting, try to keep things in perspective. Where I live, ministers’ (or Christians’) lives are rarely in danger for being a Christian. Countless numbers of believers have suffered gravely for their faith in Christ. If all we have to do is endure a few people complaining, blogging, or writing emails, we haven’t suffered much.

Besides, when someone takes a shot at us or our churches, if their criticism isn’t true or valid, what does it really matter? If we can stand before God with integrity, it doesn’t matter what someone else says. It only matters what God thinks.

Rather than honing in on the negative, I try to remember that our battle is not against flesh and blood. Instead of being sidelined by criticism, I choose to stay in the game and fight the more important fight.

The best way to avoid criticism is to not do anything significant. That’s one reason I don’t worry a lot when we receive occasional criticism. I worry more when we don’t.

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Don’t Fight Back

Some criticism of our ministries will be valid. Others will come from partially informed people who will not likely ever understand or like our philosophy of ministry.

With the explosion of online critics, it is tempting to jump into a conversation to tell your side of the story. While there might be an appropriate time, usually, defending your ministry only pours gas on the fire.

Some ministry leaders seem to lead and preach from a defensive stance. They’ll rally their crowd in support of what they are doing in the face of criticism. While this may occasionally be wise, if it becomes a habit, it will build a defensive ministry rather than an offensive one.

If you’re confident in what God has called you to do, you won’t need to spend more time defending it rather than just doing it.

I am hopeful that the people in our ministry are confident and secure in what God is calling us to do. With training, they’ll acknowledge that many won’t understand our style or philosophy of ministry. We can be okay with that.

Rather than being distracted by other battles, we’ll try to keep focused on the most important one.

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One Thing to Claim

As you strive to please God in 2010…

• What is one promise you need to claim?

Even though Samuel had anointed young David as the future King of Israel, for years it looked like it would never come to pass.

When David found himself again on the run from King Saul, he tried to find safety among the Philistines. Deciding his best play was to act crazy, he found himself awkwardly caught between a rock and a hard place.

That’s when David implied that there were many things he didn’t know. But there is one thing he did know for sure. Psalm 56:9-10 in TLB says, “This one thing I know: God is for me! I am trusting God-oh, praise his promises! I am not afraid of anything mere man can do to me! Yes, praise his promises.”

Although David didn’t know much, he knew that God was with him.

Scripture is full of God’s promises. Here are a few.

God promises:

• To meet every need you have from his riches. (Phil 4:19)
• You won’t be tempted beyond what you can handle. (1 Cor 10:13)
• To forgive all your sins. (Eph. 1:7; 1 Jn. 1:9)
• To make everything work for your good. (Rom 8:28)
• He’d never leave you or forsake you. (Heb 13:5)
• To be your ever present help in trouble. (Ps. 46:1)
• To give strength to the weary and power to the weak. (Isa 40:29)
• To guide you and give you direction. (Ps. 32:8)
• To give you a peace that goes beyond your understanding. (Phil 4:7)
• To give you power to defeat Satan (James 4:7)
• Nothing would separate you from God’s love. (Rom. 8:39)
• You are more than conquerors. (Rom. 8:37)
• Eternal life through Christ (John 10:27-28)

What one promise (not limited to this list) do you need to claim?

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Avoid Promises

When God is blessing you with more than you can handle, I’d suggest you avoid making rash promises.

I have seen many pastors make promises during the wave only to later eat their words (or be bound by a promise they wish they’d never made).

• We’ll never do a fundraiser!
• We’ll never borrow money!
• We’ll be in the new building by June of next year!
• We only hire staff from within!
• I will always teach live and in person.

Many ministries experience the “wave” early in ministry. They might assume it will last forever. Be careful you can keep the promises you make.

Try not to make immature promises you won’t keep.

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Prepare for Attacks

During a season of blessing, your staff and volunteers will be working overtime. Because the ministry is so exhilarating, your best people will gladly make huge sacrifices to be a part.

Watch out! Your spiritual enemy is roaming and looking for someone to devour.

While riding the wave:

• You will be hiring fast.
• You will be plugging new believers into significant roles.
• You will be working grueling hours away from home.

At times, you might feel invincible. At other times, you’ll feel overwhelmed and scared. At all times, you must realize Satan will attack you.

Put up your guard. Have the highest level of accountability. Take time off. Rest. Listen. Pray. Reflect.

You must watch for warning signs. Too many great spiritual leaders have fallen off the wave, hurting themselves and others.

Decide you will do whatever it takes not to be another casualty. Ride the wave. But do it carefully.

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Riding the Wave

I pray God blesses your ministry at some point with what some call “The Wave.”

The wave is when God seems to do more than you can handle! During the wave, your buildings aren’t big enough, you can’t hire fast enough, you’re just hanging on for life.

This week we’ll talk about how to ride the wave.

Let’s start with some basics:

• You don’t create a spiritual wave, God does. The ride you’ll take isn’t a result of your creative ideas or masterful leadership. God will certainly use those things, but He is the One who causes and directs the spiritual progress.
• You can work with the wave or fight against it. When God is doing something special, you’ll want to cooperate with what He is doing. I honestly believe when God starts to do something new, too many church leaders get afraid and work against what God is trying to do.
• The wave probably won’t last forever. When God blesses you supernaturally, ride the wave. If it starts to die down, don’t try to recreate the wave. Pray for the next one and ride it when it comes.

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One By One

John Maxwell did a talk years ago about finding eagles. (He described an eagle as a leader who soared above the others.) Maxwell said, “Turkeys and chickens flock together, but eagles soar alone.”

Some put ads in a bulletin asking for potential leaders to contact the church office. It’s not uncommon to ask for leaders to sign up in the lobby during the church announcements.

In my experience, it’s rare to find a great leader by asking the masses and hoping one will sign up or show up.

In every case I can think of, I’ve discovered great potential in others during one-on-one conversations.

Rather than hoping to find an eagle in a crowd, we will likely have better success spotting them after a personal conversation.

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Thoughts on Pastoral Preparation

More than classroom education, I’m a big believer in mentoring and discipleship. I’d love to see more seminaries or bible schools design programs that allow student pastors to minister and study simultaneously.

Although I see the value in what students learn in the classroom, I honestly believe that churches should take the lead role in preparing pastors. (This could also help eliminate some financial pressures that keep too many pastors from furthering their education.)

I can’t think of a better way to learn than serving under great men and women of God. Rather than three years in classrooms, I’d rather see students serving in a church while taking specialized classes.

Each pastor has such different developmental needs. Some need more time learning the basics of God’s word. Others are strong in the word, but have significant relational or leadership challenges. These are different needs that deserve different educational approaches.

Although no system is perfect, I prefer throwing gifted people into the ministry waters and helping them learn to swim rather than sending them to three years of classes to learn how to clean the pool, treat the water, and apply sunscreen.

I’m grateful for what God did in my life through seminary, but so much of the time (and money) invested doesn’t apply to what I do today. Just as I love seeing innovation in the church, I’d love to see innovation in the way we prepare pastors.

Thoughts?

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