The Danger of Leadership

I didn't know becoming a leader in a local expression of God's New Covenant community meant I would spend the rest of my days with someone always angry at me. Yet this is the consistent pattern of the life of a pastor. I guess I should be encouraged since Jesus himself warned us to beware when all men speak well of us.

If Jesus couldn't go through life without making people angry, who are we to think we can do otherwise? You say, "Sure, Chad. I get it, leadership can be hard. Waa, waa!"

Yes, it can be, but that's not the point to which I am getting. Leadership is not just difficult, but because it is difficult it can also be dangerous. I believe we see this illustrated in the life of Moses. God instructed Moses to ask the rock for water to refresh the children of Israel, but notice what Moses does.

Numbers 20:10-12 says:
And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them."

Its strange that this same Moses was previously referred to as more humble than all the men of the face of the earth. So what happened? What caused Moses to not only disobey God by striking the rock rather than asking it for water, but he also set himself up as the people's judge as he called them rebels. And to top it all off, he promotes himself to the office of deliverer with the statement, "Must WE bring water for you?"

Everything Moses did drew attention to himself rather than pointing the people toward God. So how did Moses evolve from a humble, reluctant leader, into a self-righteous bringer of judgment?

I believe the answer lies in the fact that leadership brings a contant flow of criticism, complaining, and doubting from those who are being led. In the preceding chapters Moses endured the cutting words of opposers, the lack of eye-contact from his secret critics, and the proud boasting of those who could have "done it better."

The constant beating of these harsh attitudes turned Moses into a leader who forgot that his "struggle is not against flesh and blood." He became a leader who began taking the constant attacks personally, therefore he launched a personal attack of his own.

Tim Keller is right when he says, "Moses is a man who has forgotten grace." I like Keller's quote of John Newton, “Whatever it be that makes us trust in ourselves that we are comparatively wise or good, so as to treat those with contempt who do not subscribe to our doctrines, or follow our party, is a proof and fruit of a self-righteous spirit.”

Whether you are church leader, school teacher, or police officer, I encourage you to recognize that opposition from those whom you lead can push you towards becoming a self-righteous, judgmental pharisee; and that is the danger of leadership.

Tribute to Mom

The following is a tribute I gave to my mother a few years ago.

Dear Mom,

For several months I’ve been forming words in my mind for a tribute to you for being such an incredible mother and investing your very best in me. As adults we see things kids never see, and that perspective has only heightened my respect and gratitude for the woman that God chose to be my mother.

You are far too humble a person to say so, but I know you overcame many challenges as a child I never had to face. Instead of all the years of support I had from a mother, you were raised apart from your mother in foster care. Though you never felt the love of your parents growing up, I have felt, heard, and known your love my whole life. Because of you, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know there was a God who loved me, or a time when I didn’t know how to pray.

You overcame other obstacles too, Mom. In the midst of the worst times I can remember, you managed to go back and finish nursing school and create a better life for you and your three boys. You are an over-comer in a world of excuse makers. May I be like you.

Remember the foot races around the house, popcorn cooked in a pot, extra puppies, hot summer nights, and all the peanut butter sandwiches? Remember all the broken bones? Five if I counted right. Remember how I’d make you cry, laugh, and occasionally swear. You were never perfect, but you were always authentic. You have forgotten more about showing kindness than most people will ever know. I hope I’m like you in that.

And when I finally surrendered to the Lord, you accepted my apologies for being a rebellious son and helped me get back into college and finish. I honor you Mom. You are a triple-double, grand slam, record setting mother; a success by faith. And I hear you saying, “For the Lord’s glory, Chad.”

And I say, “Amen.”

Ephesians 6:2-3 "Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with promise: "that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth."

The Story Behind "Amazing Grace"

My Final Farewell

This is my final farewell to you all.  I've enjoyed sharing life and ministry with you and look forward to see you all again in Heaven.  I wish I could stay, but who am I to resist the clear call of God.  I heard the call of God though the voice of a man named Harold Camping.  Brother Camping has proclaimed with authority that the end of the world is soon upon us, May 21st to be exact (that's tomorrow).  In other words, like many of you, I've been called to Heaven and the train leaves Saturday.  I wish it were not true, but who am I to question an obvious man of God?

Sure, he predicted the return of Christ before (September 6, 1994), but unfortunately there was some kind of mixed signals between Brother Camping and the Ancient of Days, no doubt by fault of the Latter.  But all that has been ironed out, and now we have the correct rapture date. 

Unless of course, Brother Camping's prediction is wrong again, by no fault of his own of course.  Maybe I should go ahead and prepare a sermon for Sunday, just in case.  Chance favors the prepared mind, right? 

By now you may be laughing, or at least smiling, or maybe just smirking.  Or maybe you're a bit saddened.  Because what is the chance that many will be duped by another false prophet with more false predictions?  Sadly, the chances are pretty good, as there are not as many prepared minds as one might hope.  Jesus said, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."

Not everyone who claims to speak for God actually does.

"A Freakin" Leopard

Not long ago I spent some time reading about the Landmark movement of the late 1800's.  This movement emerged out of bitter competition between Christian denominations for the soul of the frontier.  Each denomination was claiming to be superior to the other, and the beloved Baptists were no different.  As a result, men of faith began bringing their desire for superiority to scripture, rather than letting the scripture speak for itself.

It's nothing new for a person to feel so passionate about something that they come to the scripture looking for a way to justify their so-called convictions.  However, this is biblical interpretation run backwards.  We are not to impose our thoughts onto the sacred text, but rather let us hear the thoughts of God in the text so that we may think them as well.

My son illustrated this as he read one of his animal books.  He came to the words "African Leopard."  Rather than read the words accurately as they appeared on the page, he brought something unique to the text; something that was already in his thoughts, something no doubt derived from his first grade culture.  Therefore,  instead of reading the words as "African Leopard," he read "A freakin' Leopard." 

Let us not be so careless as we read and interpret God's Word.  

Rock Bottom

The phrase "Rock Bottom" is often used to describe the lowest emotional and spiritual point in a person's life.  It has often been said that when a person is addicted to a substance they must hit rock-bottom before they can begin to recover.  Whether this is actually true or not (and I doubt it is) rock-bottom is a dangerous place to be.  For rock-bottom has been the scene of many desperate acts, including suicide.

So how does one arrive at this dark night of the soul?  In a word, choices.  A person's life is the sum total of the choices made.  If these choices are based on sound moral judgments of right and wrong, rock-bottom may be somewhat avoided, for a time.  Yet, if these choices tend to cast off moral restraint, rock-bottom may come more quickly. 

So what makes rock-bottom so bottomish?  The person at rock-bottom sees for the first time that they have been deceived.  They thought the choices they were making would lead to happiness and fulfillment, but now they realize they played the fool, and the shame of being so personally responsible for where they are is more than they can bear. 

Maybe your rock-bottom experience came from the choice to use drugs, or to have pre-marital sex, or to embrace selfishness, or any number of other choices.  Or maybe your rock-bottom is just realizing that every choice you make, good or bad, seems incapable of bringing any real joy or lasting fulfillment.  This sounds a lot like the Bible in Ecclesiastes 1:14, "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind."

So what choices do you have a rock-bottom?  Its often here that a person begins to think seriously about God and faith.  I suspect that's why God the Son (Jesus) spent so much time ministering to people who were at the bottom.  People like prostitutes and thieves, out and out sinners.  But what I find so comforting is that even though God is personally offended by sin, Jesus never condemned a sinner who was humble enough to look up from the bottom and see that God had provided a Savior.

So what does this Savior offer for those at rock-bottom?  In a word, freedom.  The first step to being free from the guilt of your choices is recognizing that even though your sin has caused pain and grief for you and those around you, that God still loves you.  He loves you enough to come and take your guilt and its consequences upon Himself when he died on a cross.  He then was buried and raised back to life. 

The choice to make is one of faith.  Faith will allow you to turn away from a life of sinful choices and have Christ's death, burial and resurrection attributed to you.  The Bible says in Romans 6:3-4, "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

In other words, you can die now and in eternity because of your sin, or you can accept by faith that God died in your place so that you could live now and in eternity.  You can have all your sinful choices forgiven by God, be lifted up from rock-bottom, and begin living a new life free from guilt, full of joy, and guided by Christ.

Who am I, and does it matter?

I remember watching the movie "Big" where Tom Hanks plays a boy magically transformed into an adult.  At the end of the movie he asks the leading lady if she would like to go with him to be a kid again.  She declined as she alluded to the fact that adolescense was hard enough the first time.  I can certainly relate.

I remember how high school contained groups of kids with various characteristics.  There were the computer guys who were immersed in the rise of technology.  There were the athletes who were born with excessive amounts of coordination.  There were the socially awkward who struggled to fit in anywhere.  There were the glamourous who had more hair than genuine self confidence.  And of course there were the power drinkers and druggies who were likely struggling to cope with some pain or disappointment. 

And this is certainly not an exhaustive list, but it seems obvious the teenage years are where one begins to search for an identity.  Who am I?  Where do I fit in?  These become the almost subconscious questions that drive so much of teenage behavior.  For some, an indentity comes easily as they are inclined in one direction or another because of solid raising or natural ability.  Yet for others, figuring out who they are is a bit more trying for several different reasons.

Whenever God told Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses responded with the question, "Who am I?"  What is interesting is that instead of answering Moses question directly, God told him, "I will certainly be with you."  It seems implied that Moses' identity need not be his main concern as he is redirected to an aspect of God's identity.

In the last few decades we've heard a lot about self-esteem, being the estimation of self.  People either have a high self-esteem, low self-esteem, good self-esteem, or poor self-esteem.  It appears that God presented Moses with the revolutionary idea of no self-esteem, no estimation of self.

So do some people struggle because of a poor self-esteem?  Certainly.  But the key is not to have a higher estimation of yourself, but to stop focusing on yourself altogether.  So stop searching for your identity and begin focusing on God and His identity.  This is one of the big things Jesus did for us when he came.  He revealed God's identity.

In John 14:9 Jesus said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father."    

Looking for your own identity?  Try discovering God's identity in the Person of Christ in whom we live, move, and have our being.