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Confidence
Have you ever really, really hoped for or looked forward to something only to have those hopes disappointed? For example, suppose you were really looking forward to being promoted at work. You worked really hard, you went through the continuing education to qualify yourself for the position. You went above and beyond to demonstrate your loyalty to the company. And then, just when the promotion seemed to be within your grasp, there was a consolidation and downsizing and your position was eliminated altogether. Not only didn’t you receive the promotion, the job you had is gone.
As another example, suppose that you’ve really been looking forward to having a house of your own. You’re tired of renting and want a place that you can arrange the way you want it. You’ve scrimped and saved. You’ve denied yourself a lot of things that you would have liked to have for the goal of buying your dream house. But houses just keep getting more expensive. Inflation keeps reducing the value of your savings. It seems like the house is forever just beyond your reach.
When we go through things like that it can be pretty discouraging. You’ve done all the right things, but it seems like you just can’t get ahead. For you, the American dream is just that – a dream that never comes true.
We can experience the same kind of disappointment in spiritual things too. We repent and turn away from our old lifestyle. We surrender our hearts to Christ. We make a sincere effort to live a holy life. But then, it seems like the harder we try to do what’s right, the more trouble comes our way. People make fun of our moral choices. They even go so far as to accuse us of hating others because we won’t endorse their sinful behavior. We lose friends.
When things like this happen it can be very discouraging. We came to Christ hoping He’d solve our problems, and it looks like our problems are getting worse. (Of course, they’re different problems than we had before, but they are problems all the same.) The opposition we face can become so painful and stressful that we can be tempted to leave the Lord.
When those feelings come, we need to remind ourselves that God’s promises are still true, even though they might not be fulfilled as soon as we’d like. The book of Hebrews was written to people who were suffering for their faith in Christ. Some of them were asking whether it was worth it. They were tempted to go back to the Jewish faith to avoid the problems and troubles that came to them while they were trying to live for Jesus. In chapter 10, verses 32 through 39 it says, “Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.” (Hebrews 10:32-39 NIV)
The writer says that the reason we should hold onto our faith and not lose our confidence, in spite of trouble, is that Jesus is going to return. We know from other Scriptures that when Jesus returns, He is going to make things right. He is going to reward those who follow Him with a new heaven and earth – the home of righteousness. In other words, all the troubles and hassles we face now, will be done away
One of the reasons we come together each week is to remember that promise. Jesus is coming back! We remember by partaking of the Lord’s Supper. The bread and juice remind us of Jesus’ suffering. But though He suffered, the suffering led to His being exalted. In the same way, we might have to be disappointed here, or even have to suffer. But after the suffering, comes our reward.
So, as we eat this bread and drink the juice, let’s renew our confidence. Jesus said to do this until He comes. That’s a promise that He is coming. And, His coming puts all of our troubles into perspective. As the Apostle Paul said, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NIV)
Not On Your Own
One of the things which is ingrained into our culture is the idea of rugged individualism. We get it from the pioneers who came over the Oregon Trail or migrated west during the Great Depression. You either did it yourself, or it didn’t get done. Those who tried to sponge off others didn’t survive. The attitude still manifests itself is in the “do it yourself” ideal we have. For example, we don’t think it strange at all if a corporate executive works on his own cars. People like to show off the furniture they’ve made or the sweater they’ve knitted. Most of us tackle minor repairs around the house ourselves. We only call in the professionals if it’s something major or we don’t have the time, or we don’t want to bother with it.
In many other places in the world, stores like Lowes or Home Depot or the car-parts places would go broke because people just don’t do things for themselves. They don’t have the tools or the knowledge to handle repairs on their own. If something goes wrong, they call in the professionals. Some of it’s due to the idea that you should stay within the boundaries of your class. House repair is something office workers don’t do. And some of it is because of the prejudice against doing manual labor. It’s beneath a person’s dignity to get his hands dirty.
For example, shortly after we moved to Pakistan back in 1960, my father needed a few boards for something. He went down to the bazaar and had the boards sawed (precut dimensional lumber wasn’t available). When the boards were ready, thinking nothing of it, Dad put them on his shoulder and walked home. Everyone in the bazaar started laughing at him. Carrying your own lumber was something that just wasn’t done – it was totally inappropriate for a sahib to pretend he was a coolie.
As another example, several years ago I was in a bank to cash a check. While I was standing at the teller’s window I could see into the back office. A computer monitor had gone bad and was being swapped out. To my way of thinking this was a minor chore which anybody could do. Much to my surprise, it took a technician to unhook the old monitor and attach the new one. A peon was required to haul the old one away and carry in the new one. And a supervisor stood there the whole time barking orders at the other two. Three men to accomplish a two-minute job the technician could have handled by himself without any trouble!
Now, we can shake our heads at people’s prejudices which cause them to think that some forms of work are beneath them. We can look down our noses at people who define rigid work boundaries that impede efficiency. But there’s also a danger to our “do it yourself” philosophy. You see, we can easily get the idea that we can do anything if we decide to do it. We don’t need any help, thank you very much. And, we can easily transfer that attitude to God. We can take care of our own problems. We don’t need the Spirit to change us. We can make our own way into heaven.
The truth is that once we’ve sinned, we are incapable of restoring our relationship with God. There’s nothing we can do to earn our way into heaven. This is one project that can’t be done DIY. This is one time we really do need that specialist to do the work we are incapable of doing ourself. Fortunately, God has provided for us what we can’t provide on our own. We need to be humble enough to admit that we can’t earn salvation on our own terms. If we want it, we have to accept salvation as a gift.
The Apostle Paul puts it this way, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:1-9 NIV)
Each week we come together to remember that we can’t make it on our own. We come to give thanks that Jesus did what we were incapable of doing. We come to thank God for His mercy and grace.
The bread we eat reminds us of Jesus’ body which He sacrificed on our behalf. The juice reminds us that it is only through His blood that we are cleansed and made whole.
The Time Has Not Yet Come
When God created the universe, He declared it very good (Genesis 1:31). Unfortunately, mankind managed to mess it up. We introduced sin into the world. Sin has not only affected us, the Apostle Paul tells us that the whole of nature has been subjected to futility or frustration because of it (Romans 8:20).
When God pronounced judgment on Adam and Eve because of their sin, He also gave them the first promise of a Savior. Someday one of Eve’s offspring would crush Satan’s head (Genesis 3:15). I’m sure that Adam and Eve must have wondered when this would happen. If they asked the question, the answer was, “The time hasn’t come.”
Hundreds of years passed. Sin increased. The spiritual condition of mankind continued to worsen. Many must have wondered when the promised Savior would come. It must have been discouraging to wait year after year without the promise being fulfilled. From time to time God would send another reassurance. Every so often another prophet would renew the promise and give a little more detail about the coming Savior. But still, the Savior didn’t come. Peter writes, “Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven…” (1 Peter 1:10-12 NIV) Without the reminder of the promises, it would have been extremely discouraging to watch mankind’s slide into darkness. “The time hadn’t come.”
Finally, “…when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5 NIV)
During this Christmas season, people all around the world are preparing to celebrate the coming of Jesus, the Savior of the world. We recognize the importance of Jesus’ birth. We recognize the hope we have because He came. Yet, at the time, hardly anyone knew of His birth. Even fewer understood the importance of it. From their point of view, life went on as normal. Spiritual darkness continued to spread. For those who still clung to the prophecies, they still appeared a long time coming.
Even after the Savior came to this world, it still took time for God’s plan to be accomplished. There’s a phrase which shows up repeatedly in John’s Gospel, “his time had not yet come.” Even the Apostles didn’t understand what Jesus had come to do. In the words of the Christmas Carol, Ring the Bells, Jesus was, “Born to die that man might live, Came to earth new life to give, …God the Father gave His own Beloved One To this wicked, sinful earth, To bring mankind His love – new birth!” But the disciples didn’t understand that Jesus had to die in order to bring salvation.
It wasn’t until Jesus met in the upper room with His disciples the night before His crucifixion that John records that His time had come. Jesus died. He was buried. He rose again.
In one sense, the redemption and salvation God promised for so many thousand years, was completed and accomplished. Yet in another sense, it is not. We’re still waiting. We still wonder when the time will come.
In some ways, our situation is the same as the prophets of old. They were waiting for the coming of the Savior. We are waiting for His return. Just like them, we have the promise, but we don’t know when. As we look around us and see sin and degradation it’s easy to get discouraged. It’s easy to get discouraged when we look at ourselves and see how far we still fall short of God’s standards even though we’ve been Christians for many years. Without the promise that Christ is coming again and that some day we will be like Him, it would be easy to lose hope and give up.
One of the reasons we gather each week is to remember the promise. At the last meal Jesus ate with His disciples before His death, Jesus gave them bread and wine as a memorial, “do this in remembrance of me.” Connected with the memorial is a promise, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26 NIV)
It’s the reminder of that promise which keeps us from discouragement. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11, “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (NIV)
Today, as we eat the bread which reminds us of Christ’s body, and as we drink the cup which reminds us of His blood which He gave for us, let us also be encouraged by the reminder that just as He came to save us, He’s coming again to take us to live with Him.
Devotion
(Prepared for a Sermon on Matthew 26:1-16)
Not too long ago our state had to pass a law which made it illegal to text while driving. Why? Because drivers were being distracted from their driving and causing accidents. The truth is that our minds are designed to focus on only one thing at at time. If we allow our minds to wander from the task we’re supposed to be working on, chances are we’ll make a mistake. We’ve all experienced this, not only with driving, but with the other routines of life. Many a cook has salted the soup twice or left the baking soda out of the cornbread because she was thinking about something else. How many times have we made a silly mistake at work because we weren’t devoting our entire attention to it?
The same thing can easily happen to us in spiritual things. Our hearts are designed to be devoted to only one thing. Unless we are fully devoted to Christ, we won’t be successful in living the righteous and holy lives God requires of us. Jesus told a parable which illustrates this. It’s the parable of the sower. When a farmer sowed seed in his field, some of it fell among thorns. Jesus explained, “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.” (Matthew 13:22 NIV) To put it another way, such a person has divided attention. Since he allows the worries and pleasures of the world to distract him from his relationship to Christ, he won’t see much change in himself. This is the type of person who says, “Yeah, I gave Christianity a try, but it just didn’t do anything for me.”
Jesus stated the problem even more bluntly in the “Sermon on the Mount,” “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” (Matthew 6:24 NIV) We can’t have it both ways. If we want the benefits of following Jesus, we must be fully devoted to Him.
Do you think that is unreasonable? Well, look at it from the other side for a moment. Where would we be if Jesus hadn’t been fully devoted to God’s plan to provide salvation for us? If He hadn’t been devoted to it, He would never have gone to the cross. And if He hadn’t gone to the cross, our sins could not be forgiven. Thank God that Jesus was devoted. Though He knew that it meant going to a gruesome death, the Gospel of Luke records, “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51 NIV) Later on in the Garden of Gethsemane He prayed, “…My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” (Matthew 26:42 NIV) I, for one am very grateful that Jesus devoted Himself to doing the Father’s will and went through the torture of the cross.
Each week we gather to remember that sacrifice through which we have been given salvation. The bread we eat reminds us of Jesus’ body. The juice we drink reminds us of His blood. Today as we eat and drink let’s thank God for Jesus’ devotion, and let’s re-commit ourselves to be totally devoted to Him.
Obedience
(For a sermon on Matthew 21:18-32)
We have a saying that “The burned hand learns best.” What we mean by it is that sometimes, we have to actually experience pain or problems before we are willing to listen. We’ve all been through this as children. Our parents tried to explain certain dangers to us. They wanted to protect us from harm. They wanted to spare us pain. However, for whatever reason, we didn’t believe what they said or we thought that we were immune from what they tried to warn us about. As a result we ignored what they said; we disobeyed and found out the hard way that what they tried to tell us was true.
I’m sure that most of us have also experienced the frustration of having our own children do the same to us. Not long ago our daughter confessed to us that our telling her as a child not to touch the stove because it would burn her, only made her want to touch it. Knowing that our children have that tendency, sometimes we as parents deliberately keep quiet because we know that our kids have to learn something on their own. We don’t want our kids to be hurt; we don’t want them to suffer, but we know in this particular circumstance, to say anything will only make them want to disobey. They have to learn obedience the hard way.
Unfortunately, even when our children are compliant and want to obey, there are times when we have to let them experience pain and suffering in order to spare them from worse difficulties later. For example, I’m sure we all remember being the “meanies” who wouldn’t let our kids do something they really wanted to do until they finished their homework. No, we didn’t enjoy watching them suffer, but we knew that the pain was necessary in order to reap the reward of good grades.
No when we think of Jesus, we normally don’t think of Him having to learn anything. After all, He is God in the flesh. For example, Scripture says that, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word…” (Hebrews 1:3 NIV)
Because of this we consider it almost sacrilegious to suggest that Jesus was once less than perfect. The fact is that Jesus did have to learn something, and he was not able to perfectly fulfill the role of Savior until he had learned it. In Hebrews 5:7-9 it says, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him…” (NIV)
Yes, Jesus had to learn obedience. The difference between Him and us is that He never disobeyed. Unlike us in relation to our parents, He was always submissive to the will of the Heavenly Father. Yet, obedience did not come easy. There were times when His Father required Him to do what was hard and painful, in order to make a later reward possible.
Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered. It’s easy to be obedient when things are going the way we want them. But the real test comes when we are told to do something we don’t want to do. Jesus prayed that he would not have to die. The text says that he was heard. Ultimately Jesus was saved from death. He rose on the third day. But his prayer to be spared from having to die was answered with a “No!” It’s in those times when we are told, “no” that we learn to obey. It was his obedience which made Jesus perfect for the work of saving us.
The unleavened bread which symbolizes Christ’s broken body and the juice which symbolizes Christ’s blood, remind us each week of His obedience. More than that, the emblems are a personal reminder that we, too, are called to be obedient. Jesus told his disciples, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” (John 15:9-10 NIV)
As we look back over the last week, I’m sure we are all aware that our obedience hasn’t been perfect. We often fall short of what we should be. Learning the lesson of obedience is not easy. But let’s not be discouraged. These emblems not only remind us of the need for obedience, but of Jesus’ love. We have another chance. We can confess our failures and move on. Let’s use this opportunity to rededicate ourselves to learning the lesson of obedience and remaining in Christ’s love.
God’s Generous Gifts
(Written to go along with a sermon on Matthew 20:1-16)
When we think about positive character traits, one of the ones we value most is generosity. We might appreciate that someone is intelligent or witty, but still not like him very much. However, we are drawn to or attracted by someone who is generous. Think about it. If you walk through the cemetery and see the words, “He was intelligent” on a tombstone, you’ll probably conclude that the person who wrote them didn’t like the deceased very much. On the other hand, if you see the words, “He was generous” you’ll get the impression that the deceased was missed and mourned. In fact, there are only a few character traits, like love and kindness, which we value more than generosity. On the flip side, we are repelled and disgusted by selfishness. There is something within us which doesn’t even like ourselves when we are being selfish.
What is generosity, anyway? There are at least two forms of it. The first is the giving beyond what is necessary. We even have special words to express the concept like “lagniappe” and “baker’s dozen.” Who doesn’t appreciate it when the store owner slips a 13th doughnut or cupcake into the carton when you only ordered twelve? The Bible expresses this kind of generosity in these words: “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell.” (Proverbs 11:24-26 NIV)
A second form of generosity is treating someone better than they deserve. I’m sure many of us can think of times in our childhood when we disobeyed or didn’t listen to our parents’ instructions. We deserved punishment. There was no question we had it coming, but though our parents didn’t overlook what we did, they chose to lessen the consequences. They showed us generosity. Some kids learn the wrong lesson from not receiving the full penalty. It emboldens them to do further wrong. But for most of us, our parents’ display of generosity made us love them more and helped us to want to be more obedient. God is like that generous parent who treats us far better than we deserve. King David put it this way in Psalm 103, “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:8-14 NIV)
In spite of what David wrote, we sometimes find it hard to remember how generous God is. Let’s face it. Life isn’t fair. Sometimes things happen to us that are hard. People can be cruel. Sometimes people take advantage of us. They break promises. The innocent are hurt. It often seems like those who do wrong get away with it.
I think this is one of the reasons Jesus instituted the ritual we call the Lord’s Supper or Communion. Each week the bread and the juice remind us of God’s generosity. He gives us far more than He needs to. And, He is far more lenient to us than we deserve. Whenever we begin to feel ill-used, or like God doesn’t care, the Communion helps us regain the right perspective. The Apostle Paul writes, “…If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” (Romans 8:31-34 NIV)
Just as Paul said, if God loves us so much that He gave us His own Son, how can we ever think that He isn’t going to supply the rest of what we need, and far more than we deserve? Today, as we eat the bread which reminds us of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, and as we drink the juice which reminds us of Christ’s blood which spares us from receiving the penalty for our sin, let’s thank God for His generous gifts.
Preachers And Pay
A preacher friend and I were talking about church finance. He told me of an experience that left me shaking my head in wonder. The context is that this brother has faithfully served in the same congregation for well over 20 years. The church never has provided a living wage so he’s had to supplement his salary by driving bus. Among the congregations I’m familiar with, this is not unusual.
Where the story became surreal is when my friend told me about being invited to speak one Sunday at another congregation. The other congregation gave him a modest honorarium. This, in my opinion, is only good and right – particularly as travel was involved. After all, “the laborer is worthy of his hire.” Upon his return, someone in his home congregation objected. “You’re double-dipping!” he stated. “You’re already receiving a salary to speak and you should pay the church back for the Sunday you missed!”
Say what?! I couldn’t believe the gall of this guy. For over 20 years the salary you’ve paid your preacher was so paltry he couldn’t make ends meet and now you want him to refund part of it? When did he become your slave with no time off? Since when did it become any of your business what he does on a vacation day? As long as it doesn’t interfere with what he’s agreed to do for the local congregation, what difference does it make if he receives a little income from somewhere else? If what he makes is such a concern to you, why don’t you pay him a living wage? I wonder what this guy would think if his employer demanded a salary refund for any moonlighting he did.
I fully agree that those who serve in the church should not regard their their work as they would secular employment. But where do churches get the idea that it’s okay to exploit those who serve them? As a personal example, a church some 4 hours away asked me to come and speak to them. It turns out there was some miscommunication on their end between the mission committee which invited me and the preacher. As a result, I ended up with a total of 5 minutes to speak during the morning service. No one asked us to lunch afterwards, so my wife and I were on our own. Then, a traffic accident added 2 hours to our return trip. Gas and a meal out of our pockets on top of 10 hours of driving for the privilege of speaking 5 minutes! And the church didn’t give us a thin dime for our trouble. To be fair, this particular congregation regularly supports the mission work I do, so maybe they thought that entitled them to a visit from me. But still! It sure didn’t make me feel very appreciated.
In contrast, how refreshing it was to encounter a church on the other end of the spectrum. I once held a seminar for a small congregation. Afterward I found out that when the men gathered to discuss what they should pay me, someone said, “Be generous. Knock his socks off with generosity.” They did, and it made me feel very appreciated. They’ve continued the tradition. Whenever they have me speak, they pay good money. In addition, at times someone in the church has paid for a hotel room so my wife and I could come down early and have a mini-vacation. They are also good about taking us out for meals. It’s meant so much to me that I try to copy their example at the congregation where I serve.
Unfortunately, it’s not only churches which have strange ideas about compensation. Preachers can be just as guilty. Perhaps one of the most benign self-delusions preachers have is that they don’t have to tithe their income from the church. They justify this attitude by claiming that their compensation from the church actually should be higher than it is. The difference between what they get and what they should get is their tithe. “After all,” they say, “if the church did pay me the higher amount I’d just have to pay taxes on it and why should the Lord’s money be taxed?”
That argument has just enough logic in it to seem half-way plausible. However, when you stop and think about it, it involves at least one lie. Preachers who do this are under-reporting their compensation to the Internal Revenue Service. If the church has not agreed to the higher salary, and to withhold it, then it isn’t compensation and the preacher can’t truthfully claim that it belongs to him but he merely didn’t collect it. Therefore he’s lying to himself and/or God. On the other hand, if the higher amount truly is compensation because the church has agreed to pay, yet withhold the amount, then the preacher is understating his income. Thus lying to the IRS.
At least this group of preachers acknowledges that they should pay tithes. There’s another group who claims that preachers and other church leaders are exempt altogether from returning a portion of their compensation to the Lord. They try to justify it by using the Old Testament priesthood as their example. Since the priests in the Old Testament collected tithes from everybody else, they protest, isn’t it self-evident that they didn’t pay tithes? This merely shows the ignorance of the protester. If they ever bothered to read the Law they’d find out that the priests were expected to pay a tithe of the tithes they collected (Numbers 18:26-28, Nehemiah 10:38-39).
But these irregularities pale beside the preachers who claim control over all the contributions made to the church. I know of preachers who pocket the entire offering, claiming it belongs to them. (I suppose people make out checks in the preacher’s name?) Then they dole out sums at their own discretion for expenses. More than likely, rather than dip into the funds they’ve already pocketed, they will ding the congregation to give even more to meet expenses. Personally, I find the practice repugnant. And, depending on the details, it may even be illegal. It certainly is not transparent and there is no accountability. It’s a practice which is ripe for abuse and leads to delusions of grandeur on the preacher’s part. Show me a preacher who claims all the offerings as his and I’ll also show you a man who refuses to let go of any power.
How, then, should church finances and preacher pay be handled? It might not always be possible – particularly when a congregation is small and just starting up – but my conviction is that a preacher should not have any power of the purse at all. He will probably need to know how much is donated but he should not know who donates what or how much. Two unrelated persons should count each offering. It goes without saying that their tally should match the deposit slip. The Deacons should prepare the church’s budget. Obviously, the budget should reflect the vision and the direction of the Elders and/or the preacher, assuming the congregation does not have Elders. The congregation should have the opportunity to approve the budget. It might be advantageous for the church to grant a preacher an expense account, but a preacher should not have signature authority on the bank account. The church administration should be totally transparent about where the money goes. Each month a copy of the church’s income statement and balance sheet should be posted where the congregation can see it.
While tithing is no longer commanded, giving in proportion as a person prospers is the standard under the New Covenant (Deuteronomy 16:7, Acts 11:29, 2 Corinthians 8:11-12). Having said that, I tend to think that a tithe of income should be the beginning point for a church leader. A preacher or other leader should not play games by counting phantom income as his tithe. Instead, he should give a portion of whatever money he actually receives, whether it be much or little.
In regard to preacher compensation, there is no question that “a laborer is worthy of his hire.” A congregation does have an obligation to compensate those who labor among them, teaching and preaching the Word. If possible, a congregation should pay its leaders a living wage. If they are unable, then they should not begrudge leaders whatever funds they manage to come up with from other sources to meet their needs. For their part, leaders should not expect a congregation to support a lifestyle which is higher than that of the members.
My personal decision has been to follow the example of Paul and not burden the congregation I serve, by taking a salary. I am bi-vocational and don’t need compensation from the church. Not only does this free up money which the church can use for other purposes, part of my reason for not taking a salary is to set a good example for those I mentor. I don’t want anyone to fall into the trap of thinking of church work as a career or occupation rather than a calling, a vocation. However, I also do not wish to deprive the church of the grace of giving. So, if they offer an occasional honorarium, I receive it with thanks for the extra blessing it is.
Along with the idea of calling, if a church asks me to come and speak to them, or I’m asked to speak at a rally, I don’t set any terms or conditions. If the locale is further than I can easily drive to, I may ask to stay in someone’s home, but I do not ask what they will pay, or even if they will pay me for coming. When you go expecting nothing, then whatever you receive is a blessing, not a right.
As in all things, when both leaders and the congregations act in love with the goal of bringing glory to the Lord, the questions of finance and pay will resolve themselves. Let’s take our egos out of the equation and leave our compensation in Christ’s hands. He is more than capable of supplying our personal needs as well as those of the church!
Pastor, Pastor!
Have you ever had the experience of talking to someone without being able to communicate? Neither of you used any esoteric words or complex sentences yet, somehow, you seemed to be talking right past each other. There was no mutual understanding.
Sometimes when this occurs, it turns out that you are defining the meaning of words differently. What I mean by a particular word is very different that what you understand it to mean, and vice versa. It’s like that old saw about the British and Americans: “Two peoples divided by a common language.”
The vocabulary we use and the meaning we ascribe to words can cause a great deal of confusion not only in interpersonal relations, but also in the church and in regard to the faith. There is a particular word which is in common use in our church culture that, I believe, is the source of untold confusion. Rather, it’s the misuse and wrong definition of the word which is causing the confusion. People mean something very different by it than the Scriptures do. It’s that word, “Pastor.”
Now, I happen to be one of those critters and it jars me when I hear people – even though they do it in good faith – misuse the term. Let me give you an illustration of what I’m driving at. The other day I received an invitation to a conference for church leaders. One of the lines in the brochure reads, “…we’ll look at how to strengthen the relationships between Elders and Pastors.” My guess is that most church people would contemplate that phrase without batting an eye. They would see nothing amiss with it and would laud the intent of the conference sponsors.
To me, however, that use of the words “Elders” and “Pastors” shrieks of biblical illiteracy. Further, it is a symptom of a far deeper problem – that of a church polity which is far removed from what the Lord intended. Please do not misunderstand. I do not question the motives or the intent of people who mangle the terms in this way. But I can’t help wonder if even church leaders are so ignorant about what the Bible says in this area, how many other things are being misrepresented or twisted into something unrecognizable to the early church. No wonder our churches are struggling!
“What’s the big deal?” you ask. “Aren’t the terms as used in that brochure perfectly clear? The Pastor is the man who leads the church while the Elders are the elected officials who help oversee the implementation of the Pastor’s vision for the congregation. What’s so difficult to understand about that?”
The problem is that Biblically speaking, the division of church leaders into the two classes of Pastors and Elders is totally artificial and arbitrary. According to the New Testament, the terms Pastor and Elder refer to exactly the same person. They merely express different aspects of the role. For example, the Apostle Peter writes, “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” (1 Peter 5:1-4 NIV)
In this passage, Peter is speaking to Elders and he tells them to be shepherds. ‘Shepherd’ is simply another word for ‘Pastor.’ In other words, Peter regards Elders and Pastors as one and the same people. We see exactly the same thing when the Apostle Paul addresses the Elders from Ephesus in Acts 20:17, 28.
The word ‘Elder’ refers to the leader’s spiritual maturity and/or his age, while the term ‘Pastor’ refers to the leader’s responsibility to tend to the ‘flock,’ that is a local congregation of the church. Both Peter and Paul also say that the Elders are to ‘oversee’ the ‘flock.’ That is, Elders/Pastors are to give direction to the congregation and to protect it. Along with directing the church, preaching and teaching also are among the responsibilities of Elders (1 Timothy 5:17). It’s also worth noting that according to the examples we have in the New Testament, each congregation should have more than one Pastor. Christ did not intend the churches to become “one-man-bands” but, rather, be led, governed, administered and fed by several co-equal Elders/Pastors.
How the mighty have fallen! In the church of today there are many congregations which are led by one man who claims the title of ‘Pastor’ yet does not meet the qualifications of Pastors in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:6-9 and 1 Peter 5:1-5. If the congregations have Elders at all, they are all too often little more than business managers who sort of fall in line with the head honcho’s vision. Many of them could not teach or preach if their lives depended on it. Is it any wonder that churches are weak and ineffective? The very people whom Christ intended to guide, nurture and protect the church have abdicated their responsibilities.
It is my conviction that we will never become the church Christ wants us to be until we start using the terminology as the New Testament does and, even more importantly, organizing our congregations as Christ intended. Let’s start appointing men to leadership who truly meet the qualifications of Elder/Pastors. Let’s recognize that each congregation needs several Pastors. Let’s end the division between Pastors and Elders!
Misplaced Guilt
Jeremiah is one of my favorite prophets. One reason is that I can relate to his reluctance when God called him. Jeremiah’s response was, “I do not know how to speak; I’m only a child.”
Like Jeremiah I, too, felt unqualified to speak. I am a shy introvert who prefers to stay in the background. It took me a long time to realize that I have a gift for teaching. Even so, I would shake from stage-fright before facing a class. As for speaking or preaching to the church, I ran from it as hard as I could. If someone had told the young me that one day I would come to enjoy speaking from the pulpit, I would have called him crazy.
Age also factored into my views of my un-fittedness for public ministry. What could I possibly have to say to the “gray-heads” of the church? I was somewhat in awe of my father and others of his generation who, seemingly evangelized without effort, started churches, had a pulpit presence and could reel off Scripture at the drop of a hat. Was it not my place to look up to and learn from them? It was something of a shock to realize that I had insights which others didn’t. As time passed it was even more of an adjustment to realize that I had become one of the “gray-heads” who had been in the church longer than many others. It was startling to realize that people were starting to look up to and defer to me.
But there is another reason I feel affinity for Jeremiah. There are times when I look at my ministry and ask the question, “Have I really accomplished anything?” Jeremiah’s ministry was fraught with disappointment and heartache. People not only rejected his message, they rejected him – to the point that, more than once, they tried to take his life. I, too, know something of rejection. Nobody has tried to physically scrag me but, more than once, people have tried to “kill the messenger” by slandering me, speaking against my character and falsely accusing me. People have turned against me because they rejected the message I tried to bring them.
I sense that Jeremiah was a profoundly lonely man. Not only because the Lord denied him marriage but because he was an outsider. He belonged to a priestly clan which was an historical rival to those in power in the Temple. Even when Hilkiah found the Book of the Law and King Josiah sent people to inquire of the Lord about it, they consulted the prophetess Huldah instead of Jeremiah. The message Jeremiah proclaimed about the future of the kingdom, Babylon and regarding the exiles taken to Babylon proved extremely unpopular. He was labeled a traitor, imprisoned, thrown into a cistern and threatened with execution. Jeremiah was so unpopular that King Zedekiah had to consult him in secret. Even then, the king rejected his advice. King Jehoiakim burned the scroll on which Jeremiah transcribed the messages God sent him.
There have been times when I, too, have felt the pain of isolation. My views regarding the church and the reforms which are needed have not always been well received. I’ve been labeled a troublemaker for challenging the status-quo and expressing the principles I see in Scripture. Even those who said they agreed with me have hesitated to stand with me when the crunch came. I’ve wondered whether I was the only one to see what needs to be done and had the courage to act on my convictions.
The thing which stands out to me most about Jeremiah’s ministry is that, from a human point of view, it was a total failure. After over 23 years of proclaiming God’s word, he had possibly two converts – Baruch the scribe and Ebed-melech the Cushite. Jeremiah himself wondered what the point of his ministry was when God had him buy a field during the siege of Jerusalem. It made no earthly sense – particularly since Jeremiah had no descendants to pass it down to. Then, the crowning indignity came when the survivors of the Babylonian invasion asked Jeremiah to consult the Lord for them. They not only disobeyed the divine instructions Jeremiah passed on to them not to migrate to Egypt, they forced Jeremiah to go with them! Yes, no matter how you slice it, Jeremiah’s ministry looked like a complete failure.
Fortunately, I’ve been blessed with more visible success than Jeremiah. Along with the rejection there have been some people who have listened. I have been able to introduce some reforms. I have been able to mentor a few men who have caught the vision. I’m seeing spiritual growth in the congregation I lead. However, I also have to say that for much of my ministry I’ve carried a sense of guilt. The guilt results from those who have not responded. I’ve taken the blame on myself. “If I had just been a little more persuasive! If I had only phrased things differently! If only I had approached the problem from a different angle! If only…”
However, pondering on Jeremiah has helped me understand that my sense of guilt is misplaced. Jeremiah was not a failure! Why? Because he obeyed what God told him to do and that is all God requires. God does not hold us responsible for the decisions and actions of other people. The only question is whether or not we have obeyed. We are not responsible for results! That realization has been incredibly freeing for me. Thank you Jeremiah!
Is It Possible To Be Too Truthful?
It was Winston Churchill who said, “In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.” There is an unfortunate tendency in the culture in which I grew up, to treat truth that way not only in wartime, but all the time. Another cultural tendency is to tell people what you think they want to hear.
This makes for some interesting situations. For example, if you go the train station and ask someone, “Is this the train that goes to city A?”, more than likely he’ll say, “Yes.” So you get on the train and find out, after it’s already left the station, that you are headed in the opposite direction, to city Z. You have to learn to ask the right question, like, “Which train goes to city A?”
Growing up surrounded around this kind of thing, I started to pick up those kind of values. One day when I was a teenager, my father asked me a question. I don’t remember what it was, nor do I remember what I answered. I just know that instead of getting right to the point and answering the question, I danced all around it. Dad stopped me cold and said, “You have become altogether too devious. You need to correct that or it’s going to cause you a lot of trouble later on in life.” And he gave me a look of disgust, turned on his heel and walked away. I was left standing there with my mouth hanging open.
In the years since then, I have made a conscious effort to be transparent. I’ve tried to be truthful even when it’s painful to tell the truth. It’s not always easy. Every once in a while I’m still tempted, or prompted by fear, to beat around the bush or to shade the facts.
But sometimes the effort to be transparent and tell the unvarnished truth leads to other problems. In the culture in which I grew up there is a tendency to think that you must always look beneath the surface to discover what someone really means or what he’s really after. “What you see is what you get,” is a foreign concept. It comes as a shock to people that there is no hidden agenda. At times people have become angry with me because I must have meant something other than what I said. After all, if they were the ones saying it, they would have meant something else!
This leads to a second problem with being totally candid. More than once I’ve been told that I’m too blunt. I can really relate to the protagonist, Wallace Wallace, in the young-adult book “No More Dead Dogs” by Gordon Korman. In it he gets suspended from the football team for being upfront in a book review. For example, in response to the question, “Who was your favorite character?” he answered that he hated them all equally. He went on to criticize the plot unfavorably. Unfortunately for him, the book happened to be one of his teacher’s favorites. Personally, I found Wallace Wallace’s candor refreshing. He had the guts and conviction to say what I often wanted to say to my teachers when I was in school. I have to admit, though, that I don’t necessarily appreciate that level of candor when it is directed at me!
This raises a question. Is it possible to be too honest? Is it ever permissible to shade the truth to avoid trouble or to spare someone’s sensibilities?
The answer to this conundrum is in Ephesians chapter 4. The overall theme of Ephesians 4, is living a life “worthy of the calling you have received” (4:1), unity (4:3), spiritual maturity (4:14) and building the body, that is, the church (4:16). How do we attain to maturity? In 4:15, Paul writes, “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” (NIV)
Yes, we must not hesitate to speak the truth. Later, in verse 25 Paul tells us to put off falsehood and speak truthfully. But the piece which is often missing is speaking the truth in love. It’s an area where I still have room for growth.
What does it mean to speak the truth in love? Unfortunately, the NIV translation obscures an important concept in verse 29 when it says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” The ESV puts it this way, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” In this verse Paul is contrasting talk which is unwholesome or which corrupts with talk which gives grace.
If you study it out, it appears that the word “grace” refers to the blessings we receive when we are in covenant. Putting it all together, what Paul is saying is that the way we speak should help others to keep covenant with God and with each other. It is perfectly possible to speak the truth, yet it still be “unwholesome” because it weakens the bond of covenant. Therefore it is “corrupt” even though it is true. In contrast, “wholesome” speech is not only true, it also encourages others to remain committed to their covenants. To rephrase, speaking the truth without love is unwholesome and corrupting, while speaking the truth in love builds up, is fitting and strengthens covenant ties.
So, is it possible to be too truthful? In a sense, yes! Truth without love tears down and destroys. Does that mean that we should shade the truth or lead people to believe things that inaccurate? Can we lie in the name of love? No! As Paul writes in another place, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:6 NIV) To put it another way, if it isn’t truthful, it isn’t love either!
I think one of the reasons we (or at least I!) have trouble in this area is that we put too much emphasis on words – that is, what we say – without paying enough attention to what prompts our speech. When you get right down to it, speaking truth in love is not merely something we should do. It is something which reflects our inner character. Jesus put it this way in Luke 6:43-45, “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” (NIV)
When I am a truthful person, speaking truth will come naturally. When I am a loving person, it will be natural for love to temper the truth I tell. May the Lord grant me the ability to “be” so that the doing is a natural extension of my inner being!
