I recently read Fearless by Eric Blehm, the story about Adam Brown, who was a SEAL Team 6 operator. It was an amazing story!
The publisher was concerned that since a Navy SEAL was on the front cover, perhaps some church folks (especially pastors) might pass by this book. But let me assure you, this is a completely Christ-centered, God-honoring story. Check out the video review I did for Waterbrook Multnomah —
I am a Multnomah book reviewer.
Probably almost everyone has heard the so-called Golden Rule that Jesus gave us:
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12)
Most of the time we apply this verse from an I-perspective. That is, we ask, “How would I want to be treated in this situation,” and then we treat others like that.
What about if we switch it? What if we took the time to find out how the other person wanted to be treated?
In Romans 12, Paul says we are all interdependent on one another (v. 6). And he gives us some ways to live out the Golden Rule from an others-perspective. So from his teaching, here’s a checkup I’m giving myself:
Now here’s the real test:
This checkup is making me think. How about you?
About a decade ago I was moved into a position of leadership that seemed way too big for me. So to prepare myself, I began to read all of the leadership materials I could find: Bible-based leadership, marketplace leadership, anything I could find that would help me grow as a leader. I thought I was progressing as a leader, until I read I Am A Follower by Leonard Sweet.
Just a few pages into I Am A Follower I read this: “Following is the most underrated form of leadership in existence.” And thus I was confronted by a message that seemed 180-degrees out-of-phase with what I’ve been learning for the past decade.
In pointing time and time and time again to the life of Jesus, Len Sweet makes the case that Jesus is the only Leader, and the rest of us are followers. Jesus showed us perfect leadership by being a perfect Follower. In fact, He is the perfect Follower, as no one has ever followed God as He did. Some of us may follow Christ a little sooner, or a little closer, or a little more persuasively. Those, Dr. Sweet would say, are better called “first followers.”
Dr. Sweet uses phrases like the dance of life, and the transformation of viewpoint. These are not phrases that a leader uses, but they are the paradigm of followers. Check out this quote:
“The cry for leadership is deafening amid our social disintegration, our moral disorientation. We have come to believe that we have a leadership crisis while all along we have been in a drought of discipleship. The Jesus paradox is that only Christians lead by following.” (Leonard Sweet)
This book is a prophetic word: it is calling us back to true biblical-centeredness, true Christ-likeness, true discipleship. This is a book that took me a while to read, and will take me even longer to process. It’s a paradigm-busting game-changer…
…and it’s right on target.
Go get this book today!
I am a Thomas Nelson book reviewer.
If you’ve followed my blog for even a short period of time, you have see this phrase often: I ♥ My Church!
Here’s just one more reason why…
If you live in West Michigan and you are looking for a church home, you couldn’t find a more loving church that Calvary Assembly of God! I hope to see you soon.
If you are a pastor, God sees you as a shepherd (see John 21:15-17; 1 Peter 5:1-4).
If you are a shepherd, there is a heavy responsibility on you to lovingly, attentively care for God’s precious sheep. We cannot shirk this responsibility for even a moment.
God loves His sheep so much that He gave His sheep YOU!
God loves His sheep so much that He will remove you, if He has to.
Consider this:
“What sorrow awaits the leaders of My people—the shepherds of My sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the Lord. Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds: “Instead of caring for My flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them. …Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the Lord have spoken!” (Jeremiah 23:1, 2, 4)
This is a HEAVY word, and should not be taken lightly.
Pastor, never assume you are leading God’s sheep in the right paths. Ask the Holy Spirit to tell you if you are leading God’s sheep in the right paths!
UPDATE: This post was one of the seed thoughts that went into fashioning my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter.
“How’s it going,” a fellow pastor asked me. “How’s your church doing?”
If you’re a pastor, you probably get asked this often. How do you answer this question? Do you tell them what your attendance was on Sunday morning? Or about the newest program you’ve started?
When you look in the mirror and ask yourself, “How’s it going,” is your answer related to nickels and noses (offerings and attendance)? Is it how many people complimented your last sermon?
Listen to these sobering words:
Worldliness is not the trap that most endangers us as Christian workers; nor is it sin. The trap we fall into is extravagantly desiring spiritual success; that is, success measured by, and patterned after, the form set by this religious age in which we now live.
…We have a commercialized view—we count how many souls have been saved and sanctified, we thank God, and then we think everything is all right. (Oswald Chambers)
We need to be very careful about how we define “success” in a church setting. Let’s use Jesus as our example:
Maybe “success” in the church is more like…
These are just some of my thoughts. What else should be on this list? How would you define “success” in the church?
UPDATE: This post was one of the seed thoughts that went into fashioning my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter.
This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.
Me, Me, Me
The greatest peril is the peril within, which men never think of as a peril. My right to myself, self-pity, self-conceit, consideration for my progress, my ways of looking at things, those things are the satanic perils which will keep us in perfect sympathy with satan….
In all probability satan is as much upset as the Holy Spirit is when men fall in external sin, but for a different reason. When men go into external sin and upset their lives, satan knows perfectly well that they will want another Ruler, a Savior and Deliverer; as long as satan can keep men in peace and unity and harmony apart from God, he will do so (see Luke 11:21-22). Remember, then, satan’s sin is dethroning God.
From Biblical Psychology
My natural bent is to internalize. In other words, I want to ponder my circumstances, think about solutions myself, and reach my own conclusion. This, Oswald Chambers says, is dangerous.
When I’m thinking subjectively, everything runs through the filter of me, me, me. But when I verbalize—when I get my thoughts out in the open—the Holy Spirit can use God’s Word to help me think objectively.
I need an objective, external standard to keep me on the right path. If I keep it all inside, my natural subjective bent (that all of us humans have) will lead me down the path of quietly dethroning God and enthroning myself.
Where would we be without our mothers? I know that seems like an obvious question, but it’s one that is worth pondering again and again.
Mother’s Day is this Sunday, and we want to celebrate our moms the right way.
“I learned more about Christianity from my mother than from all the theologians in England.” —John Wesley
How true this is! So it’s time to celebrate our moms. Join us this Sunday at 10:30am.
I cross paths with far too many people who think God is unapproachable, distant, or—perhaps worst of all—angry with them.
But listen to this good news: God is for you!
God created you to be in relationship with Him.
When Paul writes in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us,” it’s not a wondering, uncertain “if” (as in, “I wonder if this is true?”). No! What Paul is saying is, “If you already know that God is for you, why are you wondering about who or what is against you?”
Here are the facts (all from Romans 8):
Let me state it again—
Often when someone does something nice for us, we feel a certain obligation to return the favor. What about when God blesses us? Are we obligated to do something back? Are there strings attached to His blessings?
The Israelites left Egypt and were now in a desert, on the way to the Promised Land. Although they were free from slavery, they were also without the daily provision of food that their slave owners had provided them.
And did I mention they were in a desert?!
At this desperate point, the people were seriously thinking about returning to their slave owners.
Then the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from the heavens for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law or not. (Exodus 16:4 AMP)
God blessed the Israelites with food, but He wanted something in return: their faithful obedience to Him.
If God has blessed me—and, indeed, He has—He requires me to honor Him with that blessing. Too many people pray and seek God fervently in the ‘lean times,’ and when the answer comes they are thankful only at the moment of blessing. This should not be! God has blessed me so that I will continue to seek Him, and so that I will be a blessing to others.
(Check out what Jesus taught about using the blessings we have been given in Matthew 25:31-46 and Luke 19:12-16.)
So, yes, there are strings attached to God’s blessings. And I want those strings! Without the strings, I am trying to do things my own way; I am severing myself from God, and from His greater future blessings.
Craig T. Owens 