It's been over a year since I've written anything on this blog. The last entry was on September 11 of last year. I had planned on keeping the blog going by posting at least every couple of months or so. Truth be told, I had planned on doing a lot of things. But on December 5, 2013 everything changed. And I mean EVERYTHING.
As many of you reading this know, both my mother in-law and my father in-law, Charles and Frances Galloway, tragically lost their lives in a car accident on December 5, 2013. As of this writing, a full year has passed. It is almost unimaginable that it's been a year - and what a year it has been.
Let me say that I'm not writing this to gain sympathy. If you're reading this and you know someone who has experienced loss, please understand that your thoughts and sympathy, while certainly a nice gesture, really don't help in the grand scheme of things. But if you truly care for those that have lost loved ones, pray for them. Its your prayers that have the power to change everything.
I know that many people have lost loved ones (myself included as my father passed away in 2011, succumbing to lung cancer). I'm certainly not trying to say that our losses are greater, lesser, or more profound than anyone else's. I'm sharing in hopes that others who are grieving may somehow be encouraged by our story. I want them to know that they're not alone. I want them to know that its okay to grieve, and that its okay to hurt, and its okay to run the gamut of emotions too often uncontrollable. Its okay to mourn, its okay to cry, and its okay to take as much time as you need. For us, it's been a year, but in many ways, the pain is just as fresh today as it was one year ago. It is the type of pain that will never truly go away. One of the biggest lies ever told is that time heals all wounds. No, it doesn't. Time is simply distance; the pain will forever be real for those who experience the loss of loved ones. Problem is, most people don't understand that - let's face it, the majority of people don't experience sudden and tragic loss. However, we live in a society in which we are instructed to hide pain. We learn from an early age that when someone asks how you're doing, the proper answer is "I'm doing just fine!", when in actuality, nothing could be further from the truth. Truth be told, we default to the "fine" answer for one reason - we know that the person asking really doesn't want to hear about our pain. Think about it, when you ask someone how they're doing, do you REALLY want to know? Or is it simply a way of greeting someone?
I pray that everyone who reads this understands that tragic loss is something you cannot understand unless you experience it. This cannot be overemphasized. You may think you understand what someone is going through, but you don't understand unless you've experienced it (and even then, individual grief doesn't fit neatly into a one-size-fits-all mold). It is from this lack of understanding that otherwise well-meaning people can cause even more hurt to the grieving. For example, we have heard the whispers of those who have said "They should be over it by now" (I say whispers because its never been said directly to us, of course). It's obvious that anyone who could say that has not experienced tragic loss (and I pray that they never do). PLEASE never, ever say this about or to someone who is grieving - it shows ignorance of grief and the grieving process, and it is a highly offensive statement to make to anyone who is grieving. Don't be that guy/girl.
Certainly the world in which we live is wrought with tragedy. It happens. People die, sometimes in sudden and tragic ways. Of course, you're never ready when tragedy strikes, and there is never a good time to receive such terrible news. There is no preparation, no advanced warning, and no manual for how to deal with picking up the pieces. And one year ago today, tragedy struck our family. And just as gravity is inescapable and unrelenting when falling into a hole, we were plunged headlong into overwhelming grief, debilitating shock, indescribable confusion, and questions to which there would come no answers.
Oh, those questions.
We asked them to God. Our beautiful little girls (who ADORED their grandparents) asked us those questions. The most frustrating thing for me was trying so hard to help my girls and my wife to understand what could not be understood. I was yearning to take away their pain, yet all the while experiencing the impossible frustration of seeking to understand the incomprehensible.
There were so many difficult times over the past year, but for me personally, one of the hardest was going through and gathering up Charles and Frances' personal belongings and trying to comprehend the reality of what had happened to them. The jarring reality that they would not return to their home that they had built for a lifetime is one the heart refuses to accept. It cannot accept that the chair in the dining room, left moved away from the table, would never be pushed back up by the person who moved it. The tractors on which Charles loved to work would never be used by him again. The small beauty shop, right beside the house in which Frances worked her magic - where folks in the community would come to get their hair cut, permed, and trimmed - would never be used again. That little building was almost always filled with laughter and story telling, as men and women young and old would come to Country Curl Beauty Salon and talk about, well, just about anything! Topics included what was happening in the community, politics, religion; I'm pretty sure that 95% of what ails this country right now was solved in that little building! It was so full of life! But on December 5, it was eerily quiet. As were the house, the farm, the barns. I'll never forget the overwhelming sensation that the house, the beauty shop, the farm, the livestock, the equipment...ALL of it, was simply waiting. Waiting patiently for their return, waiting for them to return to their life. These inanimate objects proudly proclaimed their life story, painting a picture of two hard-working people that had achieved what all of us want, really - a good place in life. They had no sooner reached that place...
The funeral was a blur. It seemed like the whole town came to pay their respects and offer condolences. Story after story of how Charles and Frances had impacted others' lives. Stories that neither myself nor Amanda knew about them that testified to the type of people they were. Stories that we'll cherish and remember forever. Christmas came and went. I remember very little of last Christmas...only numbness. Pour on a heavy dose of things like legalities, seemingly endless calls to and from insurance adjusters forcing us to relive the events surrounding the accident, sleepless nights of crying and pain (when sleep did come, waking to realize that it wasn't a dream). In the midst of it all, my wife had her demanding teaching career, I had a church to lead, and oh, by the way, here's a beef producing farm operation that we've got to run. No training. No warning. Figure it out...and now! The world didn't stop with the accident. It sped up.
We had and still have some wonderful people around us that have helped us through, and for those folks we are forever grateful. But I have to say that the most wonderful person I've ever known (this side of Jesus Himself) is my beautiful wife, Amanda. She is my hero; having been so incredibly strong through this. She has steadfastly pointed people to Jesus when they ask, "How are you getting through this?" On her Facebook page, she has faithfully shared helpful article after helpful article on how to experience grief, all while being extremely transparent with her feelings, and her faith. She has been there for our children like only mommy can, holding them in her arms as they cried themselves to sleep, missing GiGi and Poppie. She has continued to show others Christ in her, even though she lost SO much that day. She is an only child, and she had a GREAT relationship with her parents. They were extremely close in all facets of life. Her parents adored their daughter, and she adored them in return, having become a living testament to who they were. To have them BOTH torn from her life at the age of 35 is something I can't understand. But you know what?
I don't have to understand.
Phillipians 4:7, Paul speaks of "the peace of God which surpasses all understanding". This scripture tells me that God's peace goes far beyond our ability to understand things in our life. It was when we realized this that true healing began. What I have learned about all this, and through our process of grief, is that I'd much rather have God's peace than to understand why this had to happen. I came to realize that even if we did understand it, understanding doesn't have the power or the ability to bring us comfort. But God's peace sure does. If you are grieving, I pray that you will allow God to fill you with His peace, and with His love.
Jesus said "Blessed are they that mourn, for they WILL be comforted." It's okay to mourn over a wound that will not heal this side of heaven. And when you struggle with the pain of your loss, please remember this: if this life were always comfortable, we'd have no need for The Comforter.
Chad
Friday, December 5, 2014
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
The Proactive Disciple
Proactive: (of a person, policy, or action) creating or controlling a situation by causing something to happen rather than responding to it after it has happened.
That, is a definition. From a dictionary.
The Great Commission, given to all followers by Jesus Himself: Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
That, is a command. From Jesus. In the bible.
How in the world are we to fulfill the Great Commission without being proactive?
That, is the question.
And this is the answer: we CAN'T.
Notice that Jesus doesn't say to all followers, "wait for your pastor or church leader to make disciples", or, "wait until they come to church and THEN make them disciples." I've read the Great Commission many times over, and I've yet to read the word "wait" in that passage. Why? With apologies to my English teachers, IT AIN'T IN THERE.
But there is a tiny, two-letter word that commands us to be proactive, that commands us to engage the world, that commands us to take the bold initiative...
Go.
Go, Christ follower. Go to church, and engage in worship. Go to bible study, and learn the scriptures. Go to prayer, and get alone with God. Go to fellowship, and let iron sharpen iron. Go to serve, and learn what it means to put others needs above your own.
Go, Christ follower. Go and engage the world, salting it wherever you go, and shining the Light of the World, even as the world grows darker by the day.
Don't wait for someone else to do what God has called you to do. Be a proactive disciple! Look around you Christ follower...this world is passing away. But by proactively engaging the world and taking the initiative to be the best disciple you can be, you WILL save someone's life by connecting them to Jesus.
That, is a promise.
Serving with you,
Chad
Monday, July 29, 2013
Our Amazing God, and My Lack Of Faith
I was gonna call this post "6:8 Summerfest Review", and review all the things that happened during our first annual kickoff-to-VBS/community-wide-worship-service/mini-Godstock/day-long-celebration-of-Jesus. We had games, inflatables, a dunk tank, water slides, more games, BBQ, water balloons, a MASSIVE sound system, stage with moving LED lighting, tiki torches, a birthday cake to the face, and a TON of people that came out to celebrate with us. It was the first time I had attempted planning anything of this size and nature, and it took an incredible amount of time and energy to put it all together...almost more than I had of both! There were times during the process that I thought to myself, "Is all this work truly worth it?" Boy, did God have an answer to THAT question.
I'd do it all again 1,000 times over. Why? Not because people had fun. Not because our VBS was kicking off the next week. Not because the praise band rocked it out. Not because the sound system could be heard, literally, across town. Not because Lakeside BBQ is so good it'll make you go down the road talkin' to yourself.
I'd do it again 1,000 times over because our amazing God showed up.
When God first gave us this crazy idea, there were people that said, "there's no way HHCC can do this", or, "It's just too much work", or "insert excuse here." All I know is that God said "Do it". And we chose to listen to God, not the naysayers.
The day that began with all these fun activities ended with a worship service. As the sun began to set, the HHCC praise band started belting out the worship of our Risen King. There was just something so incredibly powerful about singing His praises in the middle of a huge open field, and knowing that Jesus' worship had, most likely, never been as loud in Glasgow, Kentucky as it was that night. We were raising Jesus up, exalting Him, and He began to draw people unto Himself (read John 12:32). None of us could know what He was about to do.
As we continued in worship, I shared a message based on the most simple, well-known, yet perhaps most profound verse in the bible - John 3:16. (By the way, this verse blows my mind on a daily basis, and it should yours too!) As we typically do, we had an altar call at the end of the message; simply a time in which people have the opportunity to respond to the gospel. And it started.
Actually, it started earlier in the day. Perhaps I should say, it continued.
Earlier that day, one of the HHCC youth was with her friend whom she had invited to 6:8 Summerfest. The friend, a beautiful young girl, is unable to hear. Yet she experienced something in the games, in the watersides, the fun and activities that spoke to her heart. She was curious. The people at 6:8 Summerfest had something she didn't. Through sign language, she told her friend that she wanted to know about Jesus.
Boom.
Our youth minister, through the HHCC youth (who knows sign language) presented the gospel to this beautiful child - and she made Jesus Lord of her life right then and there! WOW! I've seen some special things in ministry so far, but that was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. What we see as "disabilities" (I'm not even sure what that means), God sees as abilities. God sees them as unique gifts that can be used to further His mighty kingdom. And to top it all off, the girl that led her friend to Christ through sign language was baptized with her that night! Every now and then, we get to experience a truly special moment in ministry. Talk about gettin' all choked up!
Ok, back to the altar call. People began coming forward, responding to the gospel, realizing their need for a savior, and praying to receive Christ! We had set up our portable baptistry earlier in the day and folks began professing their faith in Jesus through baptism. We had several folks that had scheduled their baptism that night, and we began baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And that's when God WRECKED our neat little schedule of events!
We had planned to have baptisms, a few more worship songs, and a concert by Handed Seven to finish the night. But God had other, much more incredible plans. After the "scheduled" baptisms, and as the worship band was finishing the worship set, the Holy Spirit began leading more people to come to Christ. It went sort of like this - the worship band would play a song, someone would get saved: we'd turn the field lights back on and they'd confess their faith in baptism! The worship band would play a song, someone would get saved: we'd turn the field lights back on and they'd confess their faith in baptism! This happened again and again, so much so that the worship band ran out of songs to play! By the time it was over, 19 people had been baptized! WOW!
It was one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed. Jesus, in His love and mercy, was drawing people to Himself and to a saving relationship with Him. It made the day, and the stressful, tiring weeks leading up to it SOOO worth it. And to top it all off, nine children decided to give their lives to Christ during our VBS week which followed 6:8 Summerfest - one of which was my oldest daughter! Best. Day. Ever.
In the aftermath, I was so incredibly blown away by our amazing God and His presence during a truly incredible week. But then I began to wonder why I was so shocked. I realized, in that moment, that God has NEVER changed. He's the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the One who was, is, and is to come. From the dawn of time He's desired to bring His children home to Him. I was stunned at my pathetic lack of faith. God began making His promises with Abraham and He has never stopped. He has never failed. He has never lied, and He has always come through. It's us - our hearts - that have failed Him. Our minds that have doubted Him. Our lack of faith that has disappointed Him. Our desire to be Him that breaks His holy heart.
You see, God isn't looking for self-righteous, pre-qualified, sinless, been-to-church-all-my-life people to do His work; He's simply looking for willing workers, broken workers, that He will heal, restore, and transform along the journey. God blessed the work of our hands that day, not because of what we did or didn't do; He blessed the work of our hands that day BECAUSE HE PROMISED TO. Because He's God.
We all have work to do. The words of Jesus in John 9:4 - "We must work the work of Him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work."
May we finish the work that God has called us to! It's SOOO worth it!
Working (and Telling It!) with you,
Chad
I'd do it all again 1,000 times over. Why? Not because people had fun. Not because our VBS was kicking off the next week. Not because the praise band rocked it out. Not because the sound system could be heard, literally, across town. Not because Lakeside BBQ is so good it'll make you go down the road talkin' to yourself.
I'd do it again 1,000 times over because our amazing God showed up.
When God first gave us this crazy idea, there were people that said, "there's no way HHCC can do this", or, "It's just too much work", or "insert excuse here." All I know is that God said "Do it". And we chose to listen to God, not the naysayers.
The day that began with all these fun activities ended with a worship service. As the sun began to set, the HHCC praise band started belting out the worship of our Risen King. There was just something so incredibly powerful about singing His praises in the middle of a huge open field, and knowing that Jesus' worship had, most likely, never been as loud in Glasgow, Kentucky as it was that night. We were raising Jesus up, exalting Him, and He began to draw people unto Himself (read John 12:32). None of us could know what He was about to do.
As we continued in worship, I shared a message based on the most simple, well-known, yet perhaps most profound verse in the bible - John 3:16. (By the way, this verse blows my mind on a daily basis, and it should yours too!) As we typically do, we had an altar call at the end of the message; simply a time in which people have the opportunity to respond to the gospel. And it started.
Actually, it started earlier in the day. Perhaps I should say, it continued.
Earlier that day, one of the HHCC youth was with her friend whom she had invited to 6:8 Summerfest. The friend, a beautiful young girl, is unable to hear. Yet she experienced something in the games, in the watersides, the fun and activities that spoke to her heart. She was curious. The people at 6:8 Summerfest had something she didn't. Through sign language, she told her friend that she wanted to know about Jesus.
Boom.
Our youth minister, through the HHCC youth (who knows sign language) presented the gospel to this beautiful child - and she made Jesus Lord of her life right then and there! WOW! I've seen some special things in ministry so far, but that was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. What we see as "disabilities" (I'm not even sure what that means), God sees as abilities. God sees them as unique gifts that can be used to further His mighty kingdom. And to top it all off, the girl that led her friend to Christ through sign language was baptized with her that night! Every now and then, we get to experience a truly special moment in ministry. Talk about gettin' all choked up!
Ok, back to the altar call. People began coming forward, responding to the gospel, realizing their need for a savior, and praying to receive Christ! We had set up our portable baptistry earlier in the day and folks began professing their faith in Jesus through baptism. We had several folks that had scheduled their baptism that night, and we began baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And that's when God WRECKED our neat little schedule of events!
We had planned to have baptisms, a few more worship songs, and a concert by Handed Seven to finish the night. But God had other, much more incredible plans. After the "scheduled" baptisms, and as the worship band was finishing the worship set, the Holy Spirit began leading more people to come to Christ. It went sort of like this - the worship band would play a song, someone would get saved: we'd turn the field lights back on and they'd confess their faith in baptism! The worship band would play a song, someone would get saved: we'd turn the field lights back on and they'd confess their faith in baptism! This happened again and again, so much so that the worship band ran out of songs to play! By the time it was over, 19 people had been baptized! WOW!
It was one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed. Jesus, in His love and mercy, was drawing people to Himself and to a saving relationship with Him. It made the day, and the stressful, tiring weeks leading up to it SOOO worth it. And to top it all off, nine children decided to give their lives to Christ during our VBS week which followed 6:8 Summerfest - one of which was my oldest daughter! Best. Day. Ever.
In the aftermath, I was so incredibly blown away by our amazing God and His presence during a truly incredible week. But then I began to wonder why I was so shocked. I realized, in that moment, that God has NEVER changed. He's the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the One who was, is, and is to come. From the dawn of time He's desired to bring His children home to Him. I was stunned at my pathetic lack of faith. God began making His promises with Abraham and He has never stopped. He has never failed. He has never lied, and He has always come through. It's us - our hearts - that have failed Him. Our minds that have doubted Him. Our lack of faith that has disappointed Him. Our desire to be Him that breaks His holy heart.
You see, God isn't looking for self-righteous, pre-qualified, sinless, been-to-church-all-my-life people to do His work; He's simply looking for willing workers, broken workers, that He will heal, restore, and transform along the journey. God blessed the work of our hands that day, not because of what we did or didn't do; He blessed the work of our hands that day BECAUSE HE PROMISED TO. Because He's God.
We all have work to do. The words of Jesus in John 9:4 - "We must work the work of Him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work."
May we finish the work that God has called us to! It's SOOO worth it!
Working (and Telling It!) with you,
Chad
Friday, June 14, 2013
The Leadership Idol
Some time ago, I was invited to attend a church leadership conference in which various church leaders came together to share...well...business strategies disguised as church leadership. There were many, many "buzzwords" like mission, vision, vision casting, measurables, projections, long-term and short-term growth goals, challenges, flow charting, and on and on. Granted, I am a musician and worshipper at heart, and by default those type things are about as appealing to me as diving into a swimming pool filled with razor blades; I'm just not naturally geared that way. But there was something lacking there. It jumped out at me, got my atention, and refused to go away. The lack of something was the lack of someONE.
Jesus.
His presence was just not there.
In His place was what I call the golden calf of leadership. It was packaged nicely, neatly, attractively, and it appealed to my arrogant need to become a "stronger leader". Sure, Jesus' name was sprinkled in here and there in an attempt to make the whole thing seem holy. But it dawned on me, in a powerful way, that I was experiencing the lack Jesus' presence in the very place in which people should be connecting to Him. In his place stood an idol. The idol of church leadership.
Don't get me wrong, and please understand what I'm trying to say. Its not that I believe that the hearts of those involved were wrong or full of malintent; like the old saying goes, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". The intention and purpose of the conference was well-meaning - but in my opinion, many of us in church leadership have fallen into one of the oldest and well-disguised traps that our enemy has for us. He wants us to think we can do it ourselves. He wants us to BELIEVE that it can't be done without us. These thoughts feed our pride, and Satan knows it. Pride is never too far under the surface for us, especially leaders. Do you know what the bible has to say about pride? If not, google it. Now.
The church leadership idol is running rampant in the American church, and has been for some time now. If you're like me and active on social media, you can't get on twitter, facebook, etc without being bombarded with the newest book, article, blog, or 10-step program to better leadership. In essence, they all say the same thing: "Pastor, if you do a,b,c, and d, then you too can experience incredible church growth!" We live in an age of the "rockstar pastor" whose church is growing exponentially (while the church as a whole is dwindling), whose book is a bestseller, who has the next trendy leadership conference with a trendy name paying exhorbant amounts of money to have him speak about how his trendy church is growing the trend. I want to make something very clear - I have and always will praise God for growing churches! I pray that Highland Hills Church and EVERY church of Jesus Christ will always grow, reach people, and connect them to Him! I've read many books from some great men that have infused my ministry, made me a better pastor, and truly edified the body of Christ. I've heard many Chrsitian leaders at leadership conferences speak a powerful word from God into my life. But there is one thing that every pastor, deacon, elder, minister, committee chair, Sunday School teacher, volunteer, and pew sitter needs to understand.
This is Jesus' church. He died for her, and He knows best how to lead her. HE'S BEEN LEADING THE CHURCH FOR 2000 YEARS NOW, AND HE DOESN'T NEED YOUR HELP. And what's more, God often does what He does in spite of you, and in spite of me. Left to my own (human) devices, I have no doubt that I would drive Highland Hills Church straight into the ground in a huge, flaming orange ball of blazing glory!
All throughout scripture, we see God leading His people, and while He almost always chooses an individual to lead many, if you look closely, you begin to see that the most effective leaders in the bible are the ones who 1.) lead by following, 2.) lead by serving, 3.) model best for others what it means to be clay in the hands of the Potter, and 4.) model what it means to crucify themselves daily. They steadfastly follow God's lead, even when it doesn't make sense...and most of the time, God's wisdom makes absolutely no sense to us! Look at the Israelite people. If you or I were leading them, and we subscribed to the vast majority of modern church leadership models, we would most likely institute programs and strategies that would emphasize the most efficient route to the promised land. We would create flow charts and track tangible, measurable statistics to chart our progress. We would create discipleship models, tracking how many Israelites are actively engaged in them (heaven help the ones that aren't committed to small groups). We would measure the manna daily, and try to project the manna flow for the next six months. We would get to our destination as quickly as possible...and we would make a GRAVE mistake in doing so.
We would miss the wilderness.
In Luke 4:1, the bible tells us that THE SPIRIT (i.e. the Holy Spirit of God) led Jesus to the wilderness. Let me type that again...the Spirit of God led Jesus to the wilderness. Not Satan, not some evil entity, but the Spirit of God. It was the Spirit of God that caused the men to throw Jonah from the boat. It was the Spirit of God (a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night) that led the Israelite people. It was the Spirit of God that led Paul and Silas to boldly proclaim the gospel even after being beaten and placed in prison.
We know that Jonah must have been terrified as the whale swallowed him whole. We know that, as scripture tells us, Jesus Himself felt the pull of temptation by Satan in the wilderness, and we see clearly the agony He felt as He prayed in the garden. We can only imagine the fear that Paul and Silas felt as they faced the men that were to punish them. We can easily discern from Exodus the confusion, frustration, and bewilderment of the Israelites as they "wandered" for 40 years in the wilderness. But the point the bible makes is as clear as it gets - the wilderness is essential for the Christ-follower. The wilderness is where God gets our undivided attention and teaches us how to rely completely and solely on Him. But there's a problem: the wilderness doesn't fit into our leadership models! Why? First of all, we can't measure it, we can't track it, we can't chart it, and just like the Almighty God we serve, it doesn't fit neatly into our boxes. But there is a second, more profound reason why the wilderness just doesn't fit into our schemes...
We can't control it.
If we're totally honest, at the heart of who we are, especially those in positions of leadership, we are control freaks! And if we can't control it, we shy away from it or even ignore it. Just stop for a moment and ponder what would happen if the events of pentecost were to take place in your church. Truth be told, most of us would completely lose our minds! Would we insist that all 3000 people attend a baptism class prior to being baptized? Would we insist that the second they step out of the water they must sign up for membership or small groups? Would we immediately form a 5-point-vision-driven-mission-focused-strategic funding campaign to erect a building to house 3000? Or, would we simply do what the disciples did - let go, throw our hands up in the air, and say "God, its your church. You do it." You see, the disciples did just that because THEY HAD TO. They had no recourse but to trust God entirely to build and care for His church...His bride. There is a profound beauty in realizing that God's wisdom, His leadership, doesn't always make sense to us.
I read a quote last week that said, "People don't like the bible because it contradicts itself, they don't like the bible because it contradicts us." Its the same way with God's leadership. He knows the direction for the church, and often times a situation that we would view as completely and totally out of control is in fact a beautiful symphony for God as He is in the process of working ALL things together for our good! In leadership, when we say a situation is out of control, we need to be honest and say that the situation is out of our control. We need to realize its never, ever, out of God's control - and when we try to control what only God can, we're essentially replacing His ways with ours, His thoughts with ours, His wisdom with ours. We replace Him and put ourselves in control. That's the definition of an idol! The bottom line is this: we serve a big picture God. He's God, we're not. And by idolizing leadership, we're guilty of much of the same things for which Paul blasted the Corinthian church. We are valuing human "wisdom" over the wisdom of Almighty God. We're telling the Creator of the universe that His way just isn't quite good enough to lead His church in this day and age. We're breaking the first commandment, and we're breaking His heart.
Please understand that I'm most certainly not anti-leadership. Our church has a strong mission statement, vision, and core values to which we closely adhere (it would be extremely difficult to function without them). I honestly don't know what I would do without the awesome leadership teams of both Hillvue Heights Church and our leadership at Highland Hills. There is a ton of great (not good, but GREAT) leadership books, conferences, blogs, etc out there that can and will help establish biblical principles that will assist in leading the church for the next 2000 years, if Jesus waits that long. Strong leadership is vital for the church! But it has it's place in the grand scheme of things, and sometimes, it's out of place. You see, everything we do must begin and end with Jesus, and it is His presence, His Holy Spirit that must lead us. We need to be perfectly ok with the fact that it's not going to always make sense to us, that more times than not it will be out of our control. We must follow Him before we can lead. We must serve, and even wash the feet of those we lead. We must be willing to lead from a messy, sometimes bloody place. We must make sure that the presence of God stays on the throne of our hearts, and that the leadership calf (or any other idol) is destroyed. We must guard our hearts, leaders, and make sure that the pursuit of being a good leader doesn't supplant the presence of the greatest Leader to ever grace this planet. Get out of His way, and follow Jesus' lead!
Following with you,
Chad
Jesus.
His presence was just not there.
In His place was what I call the golden calf of leadership. It was packaged nicely, neatly, attractively, and it appealed to my arrogant need to become a "stronger leader". Sure, Jesus' name was sprinkled in here and there in an attempt to make the whole thing seem holy. But it dawned on me, in a powerful way, that I was experiencing the lack Jesus' presence in the very place in which people should be connecting to Him. In his place stood an idol. The idol of church leadership.
Don't get me wrong, and please understand what I'm trying to say. Its not that I believe that the hearts of those involved were wrong or full of malintent; like the old saying goes, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". The intention and purpose of the conference was well-meaning - but in my opinion, many of us in church leadership have fallen into one of the oldest and well-disguised traps that our enemy has for us. He wants us to think we can do it ourselves. He wants us to BELIEVE that it can't be done without us. These thoughts feed our pride, and Satan knows it. Pride is never too far under the surface for us, especially leaders. Do you know what the bible has to say about pride? If not, google it. Now.
The church leadership idol is running rampant in the American church, and has been for some time now. If you're like me and active on social media, you can't get on twitter, facebook, etc without being bombarded with the newest book, article, blog, or 10-step program to better leadership. In essence, they all say the same thing: "Pastor, if you do a,b,c, and d, then you too can experience incredible church growth!" We live in an age of the "rockstar pastor" whose church is growing exponentially (while the church as a whole is dwindling), whose book is a bestseller, who has the next trendy leadership conference with a trendy name paying exhorbant amounts of money to have him speak about how his trendy church is growing the trend. I want to make something very clear - I have and always will praise God for growing churches! I pray that Highland Hills Church and EVERY church of Jesus Christ will always grow, reach people, and connect them to Him! I've read many books from some great men that have infused my ministry, made me a better pastor, and truly edified the body of Christ. I've heard many Chrsitian leaders at leadership conferences speak a powerful word from God into my life. But there is one thing that every pastor, deacon, elder, minister, committee chair, Sunday School teacher, volunteer, and pew sitter needs to understand.
This is Jesus' church. He died for her, and He knows best how to lead her. HE'S BEEN LEADING THE CHURCH FOR 2000 YEARS NOW, AND HE DOESN'T NEED YOUR HELP. And what's more, God often does what He does in spite of you, and in spite of me. Left to my own (human) devices, I have no doubt that I would drive Highland Hills Church straight into the ground in a huge, flaming orange ball of blazing glory!
All throughout scripture, we see God leading His people, and while He almost always chooses an individual to lead many, if you look closely, you begin to see that the most effective leaders in the bible are the ones who 1.) lead by following, 2.) lead by serving, 3.) model best for others what it means to be clay in the hands of the Potter, and 4.) model what it means to crucify themselves daily. They steadfastly follow God's lead, even when it doesn't make sense...and most of the time, God's wisdom makes absolutely no sense to us! Look at the Israelite people. If you or I were leading them, and we subscribed to the vast majority of modern church leadership models, we would most likely institute programs and strategies that would emphasize the most efficient route to the promised land. We would create flow charts and track tangible, measurable statistics to chart our progress. We would create discipleship models, tracking how many Israelites are actively engaged in them (heaven help the ones that aren't committed to small groups). We would measure the manna daily, and try to project the manna flow for the next six months. We would get to our destination as quickly as possible...and we would make a GRAVE mistake in doing so.
We would miss the wilderness.
In Luke 4:1, the bible tells us that THE SPIRIT (i.e. the Holy Spirit of God) led Jesus to the wilderness. Let me type that again...the Spirit of God led Jesus to the wilderness. Not Satan, not some evil entity, but the Spirit of God. It was the Spirit of God that caused the men to throw Jonah from the boat. It was the Spirit of God (a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night) that led the Israelite people. It was the Spirit of God that led Paul and Silas to boldly proclaim the gospel even after being beaten and placed in prison.
We know that Jonah must have been terrified as the whale swallowed him whole. We know that, as scripture tells us, Jesus Himself felt the pull of temptation by Satan in the wilderness, and we see clearly the agony He felt as He prayed in the garden. We can only imagine the fear that Paul and Silas felt as they faced the men that were to punish them. We can easily discern from Exodus the confusion, frustration, and bewilderment of the Israelites as they "wandered" for 40 years in the wilderness. But the point the bible makes is as clear as it gets - the wilderness is essential for the Christ-follower. The wilderness is where God gets our undivided attention and teaches us how to rely completely and solely on Him. But there's a problem: the wilderness doesn't fit into our leadership models! Why? First of all, we can't measure it, we can't track it, we can't chart it, and just like the Almighty God we serve, it doesn't fit neatly into our boxes. But there is a second, more profound reason why the wilderness just doesn't fit into our schemes...
We can't control it.
If we're totally honest, at the heart of who we are, especially those in positions of leadership, we are control freaks! And if we can't control it, we shy away from it or even ignore it. Just stop for a moment and ponder what would happen if the events of pentecost were to take place in your church. Truth be told, most of us would completely lose our minds! Would we insist that all 3000 people attend a baptism class prior to being baptized? Would we insist that the second they step out of the water they must sign up for membership or small groups? Would we immediately form a 5-point-vision-driven-mission-focused-strategic funding campaign to erect a building to house 3000? Or, would we simply do what the disciples did - let go, throw our hands up in the air, and say "God, its your church. You do it." You see, the disciples did just that because THEY HAD TO. They had no recourse but to trust God entirely to build and care for His church...His bride. There is a profound beauty in realizing that God's wisdom, His leadership, doesn't always make sense to us.
I read a quote last week that said, "People don't like the bible because it contradicts itself, they don't like the bible because it contradicts us." Its the same way with God's leadership. He knows the direction for the church, and often times a situation that we would view as completely and totally out of control is in fact a beautiful symphony for God as He is in the process of working ALL things together for our good! In leadership, when we say a situation is out of control, we need to be honest and say that the situation is out of our control. We need to realize its never, ever, out of God's control - and when we try to control what only God can, we're essentially replacing His ways with ours, His thoughts with ours, His wisdom with ours. We replace Him and put ourselves in control. That's the definition of an idol! The bottom line is this: we serve a big picture God. He's God, we're not. And by idolizing leadership, we're guilty of much of the same things for which Paul blasted the Corinthian church. We are valuing human "wisdom" over the wisdom of Almighty God. We're telling the Creator of the universe that His way just isn't quite good enough to lead His church in this day and age. We're breaking the first commandment, and we're breaking His heart.
Please understand that I'm most certainly not anti-leadership. Our church has a strong mission statement, vision, and core values to which we closely adhere (it would be extremely difficult to function without them). I honestly don't know what I would do without the awesome leadership teams of both Hillvue Heights Church and our leadership at Highland Hills. There is a ton of great (not good, but GREAT) leadership books, conferences, blogs, etc out there that can and will help establish biblical principles that will assist in leading the church for the next 2000 years, if Jesus waits that long. Strong leadership is vital for the church! But it has it's place in the grand scheme of things, and sometimes, it's out of place. You see, everything we do must begin and end with Jesus, and it is His presence, His Holy Spirit that must lead us. We need to be perfectly ok with the fact that it's not going to always make sense to us, that more times than not it will be out of our control. We must follow Him before we can lead. We must serve, and even wash the feet of those we lead. We must be willing to lead from a messy, sometimes bloody place. We must make sure that the presence of God stays on the throne of our hearts, and that the leadership calf (or any other idol) is destroyed. We must guard our hearts, leaders, and make sure that the pursuit of being a good leader doesn't supplant the presence of the greatest Leader to ever grace this planet. Get out of His way, and follow Jesus' lead!
Following with you,
Chad
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Break But Don't Bend
Have you ever come to the realization that God has been there, done that, and that nothing is new for Him? Would you believe me if I told you that God invented twitter thousands of years ago? You can read His tweets in this extraordinary book called PROVERBS. (I follow "Book of Proverbs" on twitter - you should too. Its like reading God's tweets everyday).
Recently, they posted an interesting slant on Proverbs 29:1: "A person who will not bend after many warnings will suddenly be broken beyond repair."
In our society, we have a bend but don't break attitude. We bend just enough to get under the bar set before us. We bend our attitudes just enough to keep our positions. We bend our beliefs in order to avoid rocking the boat. We bend in order to keep from breaking.
At first glance, this appears to be the sentiment of Proverbs 29:1. However, I believe that the meaning is much deeper and more profound than taking it at face value. When reading any part of scripture, ALWAYS remember that it is subtly pointing to Jesus, and specifically His cross and resurrection. The Old Testament points ahead to Him, and the New Testament points back to Him.
So what does Proverbs 29:1 tell us in light of the cross and resurrection? That we MUST BE BROKEN. Not only that, we must desire brokenness. We must stop bending.
Let me explain.
When I first read this verse, I got a "visual" in my mind of a prideful person refusing to listen to anyone, doing everything his/her own way, without need for anyone telling them how to live their life, and because of their pride, they will meet their destruction. While this is certainly true and powerful warning for those who choose to live life that way, it takes on a very different meaning for the Christ follower. The problem for us is that we follow this guy named Jesus who was broken in every sense of the word (we actually call this guy "Lord"). And if we want to truly follow Him, we must be willing to go where He went. We must be broken in order to get the blessing. But there's a problem: our pride protects itself at all costs! What results is what I call spiritual bending. We become lukewarm Christians. We attend church, but there's really no life change. We talk the talk, but we don't walk the walk. We tell everyone we are Christians, but we don't become disciples. We bend, but we don't allow God to break us.
Moses HAD to be broken so he could lead the people.
Jacob HAD to be broken so he could become Israel.
David HAD to be broken so he could become king.
Saul HAD to be broken so he could become Paul.
Jesus HAD to be broken so He could become our Savior.
And on and on in scripture. Psalm 31:12 - "I am forgotten as though I were dead. I have become broken pottery." You see, it is our brokenness that drives us to God. He is ever searching for broken pottery, broken bread, and wine that has been poured out. He had a Son that was willing to give away His food, HIS LIFE - and we are still benefitting from His brokenness 2,000 years later. And that's pretty cool.
You want God to do great things in your life? Stop bending...let God break you.
-MCL
Recently, they posted an interesting slant on Proverbs 29:1: "A person who will not bend after many warnings will suddenly be broken beyond repair."
In our society, we have a bend but don't break attitude. We bend just enough to get under the bar set before us. We bend our attitudes just enough to keep our positions. We bend our beliefs in order to avoid rocking the boat. We bend in order to keep from breaking.
At first glance, this appears to be the sentiment of Proverbs 29:1. However, I believe that the meaning is much deeper and more profound than taking it at face value. When reading any part of scripture, ALWAYS remember that it is subtly pointing to Jesus, and specifically His cross and resurrection. The Old Testament points ahead to Him, and the New Testament points back to Him.
So what does Proverbs 29:1 tell us in light of the cross and resurrection? That we MUST BE BROKEN. Not only that, we must desire brokenness. We must stop bending.
Let me explain.
When I first read this verse, I got a "visual" in my mind of a prideful person refusing to listen to anyone, doing everything his/her own way, without need for anyone telling them how to live their life, and because of their pride, they will meet their destruction. While this is certainly true and powerful warning for those who choose to live life that way, it takes on a very different meaning for the Christ follower. The problem for us is that we follow this guy named Jesus who was broken in every sense of the word (we actually call this guy "Lord"). And if we want to truly follow Him, we must be willing to go where He went. We must be broken in order to get the blessing. But there's a problem: our pride protects itself at all costs! What results is what I call spiritual bending. We become lukewarm Christians. We attend church, but there's really no life change. We talk the talk, but we don't walk the walk. We tell everyone we are Christians, but we don't become disciples. We bend, but we don't allow God to break us.
Moses HAD to be broken so he could lead the people.
Jacob HAD to be broken so he could become Israel.
David HAD to be broken so he could become king.
Saul HAD to be broken so he could become Paul.
Jesus HAD to be broken so He could become our Savior.
And on and on in scripture. Psalm 31:12 - "I am forgotten as though I were dead. I have become broken pottery." You see, it is our brokenness that drives us to God. He is ever searching for broken pottery, broken bread, and wine that has been poured out. He had a Son that was willing to give away His food, HIS LIFE - and we are still benefitting from His brokenness 2,000 years later. And that's pretty cool.
You want God to do great things in your life? Stop bending...let God break you.
-MCL
Thursday, May 9, 2013
The Beautiful Snakes
Last week, I was talking with pastor Steve Ayers at our mother church, Hillvue Heights, and he began to tell me of the time that Hillvue experienced SIGNIFICANT growth and began making waves in church circles. Because of the attention the church began to receive (both locally and nationally), three entities presented themselves in hopes of financially partnering with the church in some way. Needless to say, the offers were lucrative and substantial.
As he began entertaining the offers, Steve tells of a lady in the church, whom he had a high level of trust, that came in his office one day. She advised him that God told her there were three opportunities present for the church. Then she looked him in the eye and said, "Beware the beautiful snakes."
I'm not a fan of snakes. AT ALL. But I must admit that they can be absolutely stunning in their beauty. Like these:
Notice the amazing and vibrant colors...like they were created on an artist's canvas. Beautiful.
Funny thing...us humans are drawn to beauty like a moth to a flame. And Satan knows it.
I've often wondered about the snake in the Garden of Eden. He had to be beautiful; probably more beautiful than all these snakes combined. I'm sure he was an incredible sight to behold, splendid in his presentation; at the sight of him, I'm willing to bet that Eve was left breathless at his beauty.
But he was still a snake.
Their bites are deadly. They carry poison. They are designed to kill. They shed their skin many times during the course of their lives. They are designed to preserve themselves at all costs. They can eat things larger than themselves. They are cold-blooded. They slither on the ground, looking for their prey. The snake in the garden had all these characteristics, and one more.
He could talk.
From time to time, we will encounter snakes in our lives. We will be drawn in by their beauty; deceived because everything looks appealing on the outside. We will be drawn in by their forked tongues - tongues that speak what we want to hear on one side but utter words of death and destruction on the other. But snakes are meat eaters, and they must eat. They won't be able to exist in any situation very long without biting and injecting their poison.
The way to combat snakes in our lives is through prayer. Ask God to reveal to us the snakes in our lives, both internally and externally. Then ask Him to remove them, and to do whatever it takes to do so. We have not been given a spirit of fear - don't fear anything in Christ. But be wary, watchful, wise as serpents and gentle as doves.
Beware the beautiful snakes.
As he began entertaining the offers, Steve tells of a lady in the church, whom he had a high level of trust, that came in his office one day. She advised him that God told her there were three opportunities present for the church. Then she looked him in the eye and said, "Beware the beautiful snakes."
I'm not a fan of snakes. AT ALL. But I must admit that they can be absolutely stunning in their beauty. Like these:
Funny thing...us humans are drawn to beauty like a moth to a flame. And Satan knows it.
I've often wondered about the snake in the Garden of Eden. He had to be beautiful; probably more beautiful than all these snakes combined. I'm sure he was an incredible sight to behold, splendid in his presentation; at the sight of him, I'm willing to bet that Eve was left breathless at his beauty.
But he was still a snake.
Their bites are deadly. They carry poison. They are designed to kill. They shed their skin many times during the course of their lives. They are designed to preserve themselves at all costs. They can eat things larger than themselves. They are cold-blooded. They slither on the ground, looking for their prey. The snake in the garden had all these characteristics, and one more.
He could talk.
From time to time, we will encounter snakes in our lives. We will be drawn in by their beauty; deceived because everything looks appealing on the outside. We will be drawn in by their forked tongues - tongues that speak what we want to hear on one side but utter words of death and destruction on the other. But snakes are meat eaters, and they must eat. They won't be able to exist in any situation very long without biting and injecting their poison.
The way to combat snakes in our lives is through prayer. Ask God to reveal to us the snakes in our lives, both internally and externally. Then ask Him to remove them, and to do whatever it takes to do so. We have not been given a spirit of fear - don't fear anything in Christ. But be wary, watchful, wise as serpents and gentle as doves.
Beware the beautiful snakes.
Monday, April 8, 2013
"Patience, Grasshopper!"
Patience. Patience. PATIENCE!!
Count to ten...deep breaths...relax. What happens when you get to eleven?!?
One of the things I'm learning in ministry is patience. All my life, I've SUCKED at the whole patience thing; but I love God's sense of humor. I'm sure He found it hilarious to make me a pastor! As such, it is vital that I have patience...and God is fully aware of this. And so, the tension exists - I'm driven and passionate about the church. I'm driven and passionate about connecting people to Christ. I'm driven and passionate about telling others, in a variety of ways, about the saving love and mercy of Jesus. It is my life calling and my biggest strength.
But its also my biggest weakness. And left unchecked, it has the potential to destroy EVERYTHING.
A great friend of mine once told me that any relationship problem can be traced back to a failure to meet an expectation. I run into problems when I expect everyone else in my life to be equally as passionate as I am about the things to which God has called me. In short, I place totally unrealistic expectations on others; then to top it off, I get impatient and ticked when those expectations aren't met.
Does that sound Christlike to you? Me neither. But it definitely sounds Chadlike. In a word, SELFISH. And there's Jesus, reminding me to die to self.
This whole dying to self thing is painful, uncomfortable, and difficult. But what do we expect? Jesus called it DYING for a reason. And we are to die every single day. What?? I don't die very well. None of us do. That's why I'm so thankful that Jesus is patient with me. He never gives up on me, even when I've long given up on me.
So, Christ-follower, if we (who have been shown copious amounts of patience) can't give that patience to others, we're no different than an impatient, gotta-have-everything-right-now world that Jesus has called us to be set apart from. If we don't give it, we'll never get it in return.
And you'd better beleive that the world is watching, waiting PATIENTLY to see if we practice what we preach. So when you feel impatient with someone else, calm down, relax, count to ten, and remember Jesus' patience with you. It just might be the trigger that saves someone's life!
MCL
Count to ten...deep breaths...relax. What happens when you get to eleven?!?
One of the things I'm learning in ministry is patience. All my life, I've SUCKED at the whole patience thing; but I love God's sense of humor. I'm sure He found it hilarious to make me a pastor! As such, it is vital that I have patience...and God is fully aware of this. And so, the tension exists - I'm driven and passionate about the church. I'm driven and passionate about connecting people to Christ. I'm driven and passionate about telling others, in a variety of ways, about the saving love and mercy of Jesus. It is my life calling and my biggest strength.
But its also my biggest weakness. And left unchecked, it has the potential to destroy EVERYTHING.
A great friend of mine once told me that any relationship problem can be traced back to a failure to meet an expectation. I run into problems when I expect everyone else in my life to be equally as passionate as I am about the things to which God has called me. In short, I place totally unrealistic expectations on others; then to top it off, I get impatient and ticked when those expectations aren't met.
Does that sound Christlike to you? Me neither. But it definitely sounds Chadlike. In a word, SELFISH. And there's Jesus, reminding me to die to self.
This whole dying to self thing is painful, uncomfortable, and difficult. But what do we expect? Jesus called it DYING for a reason. And we are to die every single day. What?? I don't die very well. None of us do. That's why I'm so thankful that Jesus is patient with me. He never gives up on me, even when I've long given up on me.
So, Christ-follower, if we (who have been shown copious amounts of patience) can't give that patience to others, we're no different than an impatient, gotta-have-everything-right-now world that Jesus has called us to be set apart from. If we don't give it, we'll never get it in return.
And you'd better beleive that the world is watching, waiting PATIENTLY to see if we practice what we preach. So when you feel impatient with someone else, calm down, relax, count to ten, and remember Jesus' patience with you. It just might be the trigger that saves someone's life!
MCL
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