Train up a child

Last night in my library I came across an old book I had not seen in a long time. It was A Harmony of the Gospels by A. T. Robertson. Inside on the cover page was written "To Dennis Bickers - Star of his class - Jr. class 1959" and signed by the teacher. I remember when I received the book. I believe it was for winning the Sword Drills that was popular back then for children's classes. Finding this book brought back a lot of memories.

In Proverbs 22: 6 we read "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." This is a verse that is often quoted, and misquoted. It does not necessarily mean that the child will always stay on the right path. Many godly parents have tried to raise their children in the Lord only to see them make different choices later in life. In fact, that is exactly what I did.

Like many young people raised in church there came a time when I didn't need God or the church or the teachings I had been taught as a younger child. I wanted to experience life on my terms, and I did. Growing up in the 1960s gave me many opportunities to experience life. So did my stint in the Navy. Now, don't get me wrong. I didn't make some of the choices others my age did, and I certainly didn't doubt the existence of God. I was just a good old boy who wanted to live life on my terms.

That came to an end toward my late 20s when I found myself in a rather difficult situation with no solution in sight. I realized that living life on my terms wasn't working out so well. To make a long story short, I turned back to my childhood faith and invited Christ to be my Lord and Savior. I've been living for Him ever since and have found that it is the only way to enjoy life as it is meant to be.

But...what if I had not had that early childhood training in church, in Sunday school, in VBS? What if my parents had been like many parents today who don't take their children to church but claim that they will let them make those types of choices on their own when they get older? How can they make a choice for God when they've never been exposed to God or the teachings of the Bible? What will happen to them when life begins to press down on them as it did me?  I had something to come back to; many young people today won't because they've not had the training I experienced as a child.

I realize it was probably easier in 1959. There was nothing happening Sundays and Wednesday nights except church activities. Today there are dozens of sports events and other activities that pull families away from church on those days. Back then it was acceptable, and in many places expected, that you would be in church on Sundays and Wednesdays. Today people look at you sideways if you say you are going to attend a church service. Just because it might have been easier back then doesn't mean it's not just as important today to raise children to know God and the Scriptures. In fact, with the abundance of temptations out there for young people today it may be even more important. The world today is an evil, scary place for persons who are not morally grounded.

As church leaders we need to do whatever we can to offer the very best training for our children and youth that we can. The day may come when they turn away from it, but there may also come a day when they come back to it.

Open doors for your leaders

One of the tasks of leaders is to raise up other leaders. No organization can rise any higher than the level of its leadership. This is true in the business world, and it is true in the church world. In this blog I have frequently written about the need for pastors to lead their churches. The primary reason approximately 100 churches in American close their doors every week is poor leadership. The principle reason over 80 percent of our churches are plateaued is poor leadership. This includes the pastors and the lay people in positions of leadership in the local church.

Trying to raise up leaders while performing all the other tasks often expected of pastors is not easy, but it is a critical component of leadership. It may well be that some of these other tasks need to be delegated to other people so the pastor can focus more of his or her attention on developing leaders in the church.

The tendency after we identify and develop leaders in our churches is to hold on to them for dear life. The last thing we want is to invest this much time in developing their leadership abilities only to see them leave for another ministry. But, sometimes this is exactly what God is calling us, and them, to do. At this point we need to recognize that we are called to Kingdom work, not just in building up our own churches.

I want to encourage you to open doors for the leaders you've helped equip for ministry. It may be God is calling them to pastor a church themselves or to serve in another church in some other ministry capacity. They need you to go before them to open the doors to give them this opportunity. This might involve sticking out your neck on their behalf, but this the price we pay to be in leadership. In a previous post I mentioned that we grow people by helping them acquire a larger vision for themselves than the one they might have. It does them no good if there is not someone who trusts in them and is willing to open doors of opportunity for them.

As the bivocational pastor of a small church I assumed that would be my ministry until retirement. When I became aware of a sense that God might be calling me to another ministry I wasn't sure what that might be. I contacted my judicatory leader who spent some time with me discussing possible ministry options. One was to go into the role he was filling. I questioned if that was possible since I had not attended seminary at the time and had only served that one small church. He insisted that it was possible.

A few months later it was announced that he was leaving for another ministry. Shortly after that announcement I was asked if I would serve as the interim in his former role which I accepted. About a year later I was called to that position full-time. There were people who were not happy with that decision. I'm sure they made their opinion very well known to the ones who selected me, but individuals opened a door of opportunity for me that I did not know was possible. I served in that role for 14 years until I took retirement. I am so grateful to Riley Walker who first told me I could serve in that position, Larry Mason who probably took more heat than I know for giving me the opportunity and our Region Board for trusting in me enough to offer me the opportunity. I will forever be grateful for these individuals who opened that door for me.

As a leader open such doors for the leaders you develop. Many of the ones you equip will remain in your church to serve, but God might have different plans for other leaders you develop. Help them fulfill those plans.

Blinded by the truth

In his book, The Son Rises, William Lane Craig writes of a "man who stood up in Hyde Park Corner in London and said, 'People tell me that God exists; but I can't see him! People tell me there is life after death; but I can't see it! People tell me there is a heaven and hell; but I can't see them!' After he had finished, another man struggled onto the soap box. He began, 'People tell me that there is green grass around us; but I can't see it. People tell me there are trees nearby; but I can't see them. People tell me there is a blue sky above; but I can't see it. You see,...I'm blind.'"

Just because we can't see something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I can't see air, but I know it exists because I can breathe. I can't see love, but I know that it exists because my wife, children and grandchildren prove it every day. So does God, on an even greater scale. There are proofs that many things exist that we cannot see.

When the non-theist says he or she cannot believe in God because they've never seen Him don't you believe them. They believe in many things they've never seen. They are just trying to make excuses. Some today say they can't believe in God because He just hasn't given them enough evidence. Don't believe that either. All they have to do is examine the amazing universe in which they live. If they would rather believe that it happened by accident than it came into existence through the hands of a Creator, well...that's their choice although it takes a lot more faith to believe that than it does to believe in God. By the way, if they believe that then that's evidence that they can believe in something they've not see because none of us were around when this universe came into being!

If the fine-tuning of the universe isn't enough proof in the existence of God all they have to do is to look at how amazing the human body is designed. Can anyone truly believe that something crawled out of a mud hole in the past and evolved into something as intricate as our bodies and minds? Again, it takes much more faith to believe that than it does to believe in God.

The fact is, the non-theist chooses to not believe in God for a couple of significant reasons. One, if he or she believed in God it would mean they are no longer gods themselves. People like to believe that they are the masters of their own lives, captains of their own souls. They have to give up their delusion that they are gods if they believed that God truly did exist, and many of them are not willing to do that.

The second reason is that if God exists then so does absolute morality, and many people today want to live by their own sense of right and wrong. Even the atheistic philosopher Nietzsche recognized that without God there was no moral code that man had to live by. As long as people are their own gods they are free to create any moral code that suits their preferences. In today's pluralistic world no one has the right to tell anyone their moral code is inferior to anyone else's, and that is the way people want it. So, to avoid having to address a moral code given to mankind by God, it's easier for them to refuse to believe in God. In so doing, they turn a blind eye to the chaos and pain the absence of a moral code has brought to our postmodern society.

The evidences for the existence of God are there for any willing to see them, but sinful mankind would prefer to turn a blind eye to the truth that is all around them.

The sin we prefer to not mention

The church has a long history of speaking out against certain sins. It also has a long history of not mentioning the ones we are most guilty of violating. One that I am thinking of today is the sin of gossip. Just in case you don't think gossip is a sin, let's look at some scriptures.

• Pr. 11:13 - "A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret."
• Pr. 20: 19 - "A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much."
• Pr. 26: 20 - "Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down."
• Eph. 4: 29 - "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."

Although there are more scriptures we could examine, these should be enough to demonstrate what God thinks about gossip. It does not make gossip any better when we try to hide it when we are "sharing prayer concerns." It is possible to ask for prayer without giving out all the juicy details of why we are making the request. God knows the person's needs; we do not need to know.

In working with churches for over 35 years I have seen gossip do tremendous damage to individuals as well as to the church itself. Often, the damage it causes cannot easily be undone. People's reputations can be destroyed by gossip even when it is untrue. As human beings we seem to have a propensity to believe the worst in people, and when someone comes along with negative information about someone many of us are apt to believe it without ever checking to see if it is true. If you doubt that, just look at how many Christians spread false rumors on social media about politicians or other leaders they don't like.

How can we stop gossip in our churches? It's not easy because we are so accustomed to gossip. One way is to make the church a "Gossip-Free Zone." Dave Ramsey absolutely bans gossip in his organization. He defines gossip as telling anyone about a problem who does not have the ability to correct the problem. When  person is hired he or she is told that if they violate the no-gossip rule they will be coached. If they do it a second time, they will be terminated. We may not be able to fire members of the church, but we can hold them accountable. I've only seen very few churches do that, but it dramatically reduced the conflict in their churches.

Another way to eliminate gossip in churches is to practice good communication. If people are not informed of the facts when things happen they will make up their own facts and share them with others. Soon, a lot of misinformation is spread throughout the church and the community. Leaders absolutely must keep people informed of things happening in the church even when those things may not be positive. As I often tell people, your church will only be as healthy as the secrets it keeps.

A third way to address gossip is for people to refuse to listen to it. I once heard a joke about a person who asked why a certain person always came to her with gossip. Someone responded that maybe it was because that person knew she liked to hear it. If someone starts to share some gossip it's best to refuse to listen to it. Just announce that you don't want to hear it, and if the person insists on telling it, walk away. Better yet, invite the person to go with you to the one being talked about to find out if this information is correct. I can almost guarantee the gossiper will refuse to go to the person and will stop talking about the individual, at least in your presence. If this happens often enough people will begin to understand that gossip is not welcomed here.

Finally, pastors need to preach on the sin of gossip. Of course, if you do people might start talking about you! I have to admit that I've heard very few sermons on gossip, and didn't preach too many of them myself when I was a pastor. As I wrote earlier, we are so used to gossip that we forget what God has to say about it. It might be helpful to be reminded from time to time.

Structuring the smaller church for success

A few days ago I mentioned that in small church leader conferences I lead the question is often asked why the newer, nondenominational churches in the area seem to be growing when many of the established churches are in decline. In that previous post I shared one answer I give. Today, I want to share another response I often make to that question. The reason is often in the way the churches are structured.

These newer churches often have a much simpler structure than some of our smaller churches. Many of them may only have one business meeting a year, or at the most one each quarter where many of our traditional churches have one every month. The newer churches often function with active teams assigned to different areas of ministry in the church while our existing churches still operate with committees with no authority to do anything without permission from the larger church body. Their only function is to talk endlessly about things until they can bring a proposal to the business meeting for more discussion. The newer churches expect the staff to handle the administration of the church freeing up the congregation to do ministry, and traditional churches often expect the staff to perform all needed ministry while the congregation handles the more important tasks like determining the color of the toilet paper that the church will use and which brand of coffee should be used during fellowship times.

To sum up the above paragraph, most of these new growing churches are structured for ministry and growth, and many of our traditional churches are structured for maintenance and decline. One of my favorite sayings is "Your system is perfectly designed for the results it is getting."

There is one other thing that should be noted about church structure in smaller churches. Our smaller churches are frequently highly over-structured. Many of them are still structured as they were when they were much larger churches. They still have the same number of committees, the same number of officers, with the same expectations placed on each of them that they had when they were a larger church. Now, they have more slots to fill than people to fill them.

I am aware of one church that decided to change it's structure. This very traditional church eliminated all their standing committees and boards and replaced them with two teams. One was responsible for the spiritual well-being of the congregation, and the other was responsible for taking care of the property. Members of the congregation were told they could only be on one team, and they could choose which team they wanted to be on. When things come up that need to be addressed ad-hoc teams are formed from within the primary team to study the issue and make a recommendation to the team which them takes action. The church has one business meeting a year to approve the budget and officers for the coming year. There are very few things the congregation must vote on, and if one of them come up a meeting is scheduled to vote on those items. It is a much cleaner structure that provides for growth which this church is experiencing.

The reason such a structure would not work in some churches is the trust issue. This type of structure requires a lot of trust of the leaders, and some churches simply do not trust their leaders, or for that matter, each other. Regular business meetings have to be held to keep an eye on what is going on and to hold people accountable. Without trust, a simpler structure will not work, and while we are keeping an eye on one another we eventually find there are fewer people we have to watch.

Leading the smaller church

After over three decades of focusing on smaller churches I am more convinced than ever that the one thing needed most in these churches is pastoral leadership. What I have witnessed is a lot of small church pastors who manage the churches they serve well, but they don't lead them, and they fail to develop their lay leaders. This results in a leadership vacuum in the church, and churches (like nature) abhors a vacuum, someone will rise up and claim that leadership role whether or not they have the spiritual maturity to do so.

A strong pastoral leader will have a vision of where God wants to take the church and will be very intentional in leading the church in that direction. A manager will do everything possible to avoid rocking the boat. He or she will work hard to keep everyone happy even if that means sacrificing the mission God has for them. Yes, good management is needed in churches just as it is in every organization, but leadership is also needed or else the church becomes stagnant and stuck until it eventually declines.

I am aware of how difficult it can be for a pastor to assume a leadership role in a smaller church. In many of these churches there are strong patriarchs and matriarchs who have lead that church for decades and sometimes for generations. Some of these individuals can be very reluctant to give up that leadership to the pastor or anyone else.

When I first went to the church I pastored some of the pastors in our association told me I would not last there six months. They even named the people who would run me off. As I got to know these people I soon learned they were not bad people or mean-spirited people. They were people who loved their church. They had attended that church for decades as their parents did before them. I also learned that they had to assume a leadership role in the church because over the years no one else did. The average pastoral tenure of that church when I went there was 12 months. That was the average! No pastor earns the right to lead a church after only one year. That meant they were not about to turn over their leadership to me until I earned it. It took seven years before they trusted me enough to allow me to lead. As far as being told I would not last there six months, I served that church for 20 years. The ones who gave me six months were long gone from their churches within 3-4 years of warning me to expect a short tenure.

Your title as pastor will not automatically make you a leader in the smaller church. You have to earn the right to lead by proving yourself to be trustworthy. In order to keep the right to lead you have to actually lead. You don't have to be right all the time, but you do have to lead all the time.

This means, among other things, you have to keep a fresh vision from God for the church and be able to share that vision to the congregation in a way that will result in buy-in. As you move towards that vision, you have to lead the way. You don't lead from the back of the pack. You keep the vision fresh in the minds of the people, and, prayerfully, lead them in the steps that will result in the vision being fulfilled. As small visions are achieved, God will give you larger ones, and the congregation will be willing to accept these larger visions.

In smaller churches that have been managed, not led, it's likely that little of significance has occurred in recent years. This may make the church reluctant to try new things. Smaller churches often struggle with self-esteem issues which can make them fearful of failing. But, as you lead them in small things, and they achieve them, it will cause them to be willing to attempt larger things. There is nothing like getting some wins under your belt to create the momentum necessary to achieve greater tasks.

I am convinced many smaller churches want a pastor to lead them, but the pastor must first earn the right to do so. Stay long enough to earn the trust of your congregation so they will let you lead, and then lead. You'll be amazed at what God will do.

When people are not taught the basics

When Jay Leno was host of the Tonight Show he often did a man-on-the-street interview. He would ask random people various questions about current topics or issues to get their responses. He would ask questions about how our government is structured and other questions pertaining to our way of life. He would ask historical questions or ask people to identify certain current leaders. The answers were often amusing because they were so wrong. It's not amusing now because these people are now holding political offices and their ignorance does not bode well for the future of our nation. People running for political office are finding a lot of support from people with this same lack of understanding of political and economic realities, and they are getting this support.

It wasn't too long ago that no socialist could hope to hold political office in the US. Today, they do, and more are running for office. Socialism is popular today because young people were not taught the history of socialism and its failure every where it has been tried. Civics stopped being taught in schools years ago, and today young people do not know how our government is structured or how it is supposed to work. Many of them can't understand why it would be tragic for our nation if the Electoral College was removed because they don't know why it was put in the Constitution in the first place. They don't know the three branches of government and how each branch works, and these people are now assuming leadership positions within these branches. It's bad enough that such people are seeking office; it's even worse that unaware people vote them into office.

Unfortunately, it's not much better in the church world either. We have many people sitting in pews week after week who do not understand basic Christian doctrine. If asked, they would struggle to explain what they believe and why they believe it. Their lives and worldviews are not much different than that lived by the unchurched because they have not been taught how to think and live as Christians.They are like the people the apostle Paul referred to when he wrote that they should now be given meat but instead they must still be fed milk because they are not mature enough to handle the meat of the gospel. What's the cause for this? They have not been taught the Word of God.

In another age sermons sought to make men God-centered in their thinking and how they lived. Today, many messages are man-centered. They address how one can find peace and happiness in life. We hear much about the love of God but little of His wrath. Messages often focus on how God can provide the help we need to face our circumstances but often ignore addressing our duties towards God such as worship and service.

Writing this I am not suggesting that our sermons should beat up our listeners. I've sat through some of those and you probably have as well. I am suggesting there must be a balance in our preaching. Yes, we should encourage people to turn to God for the solutions to life's challenges. The Bible encourages that, and so should we. But, we also must not ignore the warnings we find in Scripture and the demands Christ made on those who would follow Him. These too must be proclaimed.

For me, preaching through large sections of the Bible ensures the balance I seek in my messages. There will be the comforting passages that most ministers prefer to address, and there will be the challenging ones that many of us would prefer to ignore. But, we ignore them to our congregation's peril. When we commit to preaching through these larger sections, even complete books of the Bible, we cannot ignore these difficult passages.

When it comes to elections, let's vote for the candidates who are able and willing to honor our Constitution and work within its confines. In order to do that we must ensure that we are informed as to their values and beliefs and vote accordingly. When it comes to our religious life, let's make sure that we are preaching the whole counsel of God. For the person in the pew, make sure you are receiving everything the Bible teaches and seek to understand how to apply it to your life.

Speak into the lives of others

Author Mark Sanborn has said, "Great leaders help people have a larger vision of themselves." One of the most important things we can do is to speak into the lives of other people words that will help them elevate their self-confidence and belief in their God-given gifts and abilities.

Several years ago I was assisting a church with their pastor search. This was a very strong church whose previous pastor had served there for over two decades. They were having a lot of trouble finding the person they believed God had prepared for them. One day I thought of a pastor serving a church not that far from the one seeking a new pastor. He had not expressed interest in leaving his church although I knew he was struggling with their unwillingness to do much despite his best leadership efforts.

I called this pastor and asked his permission to submit his name to this church. Like Moses, he kept telling me all the reasons he couldn't possibly become the pastor of that church. I kept telling him that I believed he was ready to serve that church, and I was convinced he would do a good job. He kept disagreeing with me. Finally, I asked him to do two things: He and his wife should pray about this, and I asked him to contact another minister whose opinion I knew he respected and ask him if he believed this pastor was ready to serve this larger church. A few days later he called and told me he had done both things I asked, and if I still believed he could do a good job in that church he would give me permission to give his name to the search team. He continues to serve that church well today. All he needed was someone to help him develop a larger vision of himself than he had.

As the pastor of a small, rural church I often told our congregation how much I believed in them. I told them that I believed in them more than some of them believed in themselves, and I would regularly challenge our church to stretch ourselves more than some felt comfortable. Because the church had struggled for years prior to my going there the first few challenges were rather small, but as the congregation successfully completed those challenges, the next ones became larger. Our congregation did some amazing things during my time there, and it was all because they began to see a larger vision of themselves. I believe they began to see themselves as God sees them.

Many people go through life beaten down by people who speak doubt and discouragement into them. Eventually, when you hear those negative messages often enough you begin to believe them, and soon a never-ending loop of self-doubt begins to run through your mind. This makes it hard for someone to accomplish much of value or to even see the use in trying to do anything.

Each of us needs people in our lives who will speak words of power and victory into our lives. We need to know people believe in us and want to see us succeed. Each of us also needs to be persons who are speaking such words into the lives of others. We may turn around the life of someone by the positive words we speak to them. At the very least, we may change someone's day just by letting them know we believe in them and so does God. Look for ways to speak these words to someone today.

When the way we do church isn't working

How long will it be before some churches recognize that what they are doing isn't working and never will? Every year congregations become older and grayer and the church decreases in size and yet nothing is ever done to reverse that trend. Giving goes down. Building maintenance is ignored. Pastoral tenure becomes shorter with each successive pastor, and it becomes more difficult to find the next pastor, and yet nothing changes in the church.  People skip church services more and more. Fewer people volunteer to serve. And yet nothing changes in the church.

In the news last week there were stories about two major retail chains that were struggling. One announced they were closing numerous stores in large malls and opening smaller neighborhood stores. In addition to the items they normally offered they would be selling food products and other items in their new stores. The second chain is in danger of being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange due to their stock prices falling below $1.00 a share for an extended period of time. They were given just a few days to provide the NYSE with a plan to raise their stock price or face being removed from the exchange. In a world of rapid change in the retail world, these two once powerful chains had resisted the changes others were making and now face an uncertain future.

We can say that some churches are making the same mistakes these two retail chains made. As a result, these churches face an uncertain future. Some of them close their doors every week. All around the countryside one can find church properties for sale. These churches were once vibrant, active places of worship and service, and now the buildings sit empty, their voices silent.

When I lead small-church and bivocational pastor conferences I am almost guaranteed to be asked, "Why are so many of our churches struggling to stay open and new non-denominational churches in the community are bursting at the seams?" I try to share some reasons, but what I want to say to the questioner is "Why don't you find out what they are doing that you're not. That will answer your question better than I can."

Last week I ran into a leader of a small church I served as a judicatory leader. He was telling me about the church's struggles. Once again, they are without a pastor. People continue to leave their already small church, and nothing they do seems to attract new people. He then told me about a church in their county that is constantly growing. He complained that they were taking people away from the other churches in the area. I don't know if that's true or not, but, frankly, it doesn't matter. There are plenty of people in that county that do not attend church anywhere. They could reach out to them, but they won't. And they won't change anything that might appeal to unchurched people anyway. They, like so many other declining churches, will continue to do things that no longer work and wonder why they no longer have an impact on the community.

If what your church is doing isn't working, then do something different. Spend some time in prayer as a congregation asking God what you need to do. When Robert Schuller started his church in a drive-in theater he spent his days knocking on hundreds of doors in the community asking people how their new church could minister to them. As people answered his question he went back and began to implement their suggestions. Maybe it's time your church began to ask the people in your community how you can best serve them rather than sitting in the sanctuary complaining that no one wants to come to your church.

Some churches have already lost the opportunity to minister to one and even two generations. Let's not lose any more generations because we want to keep doing things that no longer works.

When a pastor leaves a church

Several years ago a pastor search team called asking if I would be interested in talking with them about their open position. I said I would, and a couple of weeks later they showed up, uninvited, for the worship service in the church I was serving at the time. That was a little awkward! After the service they took my wife and me to a local restaurant where they talked to us over lunch.

Prior to that I drove the two hours to the church building to see what it looked like. I noticed a sign attached to the building that indicated that parking space was reserved for Dr. ___________. In the conversation we had over lunch I learned that was the name of their former pastor who had led that church to split from another church a few decades earlier. He was retiring but would continue to attend the church. I immediately knew I had no interest in accepting the pastorate of that church. They already had a pastor. No matter who might hold the title, their pastor would continue to be Dr. ___________.

In our denomination each pastor is asked to sign a Code of Ethics. One of the items in that code states that when a pastor leaves the church, he or she leaves the church. They don't continue to attend there, they don't return to do funerals, weddings or any other event unless invited to do so by the pastor. I will admit that this is often violated by former pastors. I wish that was not the case.

When a church calls someone to serve as their pastor, he or she is not really their pastor. That person preaches and serves a role in the church, but he or she becomes the pastor when they become involved in the people's lives they serve. It is in doing the weddings, the funerals, the baptisms and being a part of the people's lives that one becomes their pastor. For a former pastor to return and do those things is very unfair to the new pastor and may make it very difficult for that person to ever really become the pastor.

I know first-hand how difficult it is to not return for special events in the lives of the congregation. I served our church for 20 years and became extremely close to the people. It was hard to not do weddings and funerals for people I had known and loved for two decades. I'm certain some did not understand why I wouldn't. But, it would have been unfair to their new pastor if I had.

In my last sermon to that wonderful congregation I closed by telling them that in a few moments I would walk out the door, and I would never again be their pastor, but I would always be their friend. I think ethically it has to be that way in order to be fair to the church and to the pastors who would follow. I would certainly be glad to hear your thoughts on this.

The crudeness of our culture

Like many people today, I buy a lot of my books from Amazon. Their prices are good, and it couldn't be more convenient to order them from my computer and have them delivered to my door within a couple of days. However, I miss going to bookstores and still do so once in a while. This past weekend was one of those times. However, I wasn't prepared for what I found.

In the self-help section there were numerous books with profanity in the title. Some of the words were not spelled out completely. Often, there was an * replacing a letter, but anyone looking at the title knew what the words were. I thought if this is on the cover for all the world to see I can only imagine what must be inside.

Years ago I decided if someone couldn't speak to me without using profanity I had no interest in talking with them. Believe me, there's not a word out there I haven't used myself. When I came home from the Navy I had a pretty foul mouth. When I became a Christian that was one of the first things God began working on, and I'm thankful He did. For me, profanity is for the immature who do not know how to express themselves any other way. Yes, you can make your point using profanity, but there are other ways of making your point as well. It doesn't require crude talk to express yourself.

Of course, what I found in the bookstore is merely a sign of where we are as a culture. We live in a very crude society that believes that shouting, cursing, and violence are the means necessary to prove your point or get your way. Children used to get their mouths washed out with soap for using profanity, but now they openly curse their teachers and no one does a thing about it. Parents think it's cute when their small child flips someone off and dares anyone to say anything or question their parenting skills. Vulgarity that used to be hidden and rejected in polite circles is now openly displayed in movies, TV programs and on the shelves of bookstores.

Unfortunately, this crudeness is sometimes found in churches as well. As a young Christian I played on our church's softball team. In the game preceding ours one evening one of the players was cursing loud enough for those of us in the stands to hear him. I asked someone who that person was, and they responded he was the pastor of that church. Although I am not sure why, I continue to be surprised at the number of Christians who regularly use profanity in their speech. Today, there are even pastors who use such language from the pulpit in an attempt to appear hip and cool to their congregations.

James 3:8-10 says, "No man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not be so (NKJV)."

As a nation we need to return to civility in our manners and speech. Like so many other areas of life, we as the church must provide the example, and we cannot do that until we practice this ourselves.

Pastors need healing too

In my devotional reading right now I am reading J. I. Packer's A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life. It is not an easy read but one that has been very profitable. At a time when the church too often presents a gospel that demands nothing and expects nothing and sees little results it is helpful to be reminded of the spiritual strength found in the Puritans. That strength was found in their faithful trust in the power of the Scriptures to direct one's life and heal one's spiritual illnesses. Those illnesses are not only found in the pew but also in the pulpit, and the wise pastor will apply the same healing power of the Word of God to himself or herself as to the person in the pew or on the street.

Packer writes, "Pastors no less than others are weakened by pressure from the world, the flesh, and the devil, with their lures of profit, pleasure, and pride, and...pastors must acknowledge that they the healers remain sick and wounded and therefore need to apply the medicines of Scripture to themselves as well as to the sheep whom they tend in Christ's name."

During my years as a Resource Minister I had the opportunity to work with many pastors who suffered from the ailments Packer writes about. Some had been beaten down by the world. Others had been unjustly attacked by congregations. Some had worked themselves to the point of exhaustion in an effort to prove to themselves or others that they were worthy of the calling God had on their lives. In a few I recognized the symptoms of clinical depression, but most of them were too proud to seek medical help. These pastors were indeed sick and wounded, but many of them were unable or unwilling to apply the same healing power of the Word of God to their lives as they would have offered to a member of their church who came to them seeking help. Some became toxic to their churches and the work of the Kingdom. Others dropped out of the ministry, while a few sought comfort in unhealthy lifestyles.

All of us, clergy and lay, need to apply the healing power of the Word of God to our lives. We all struggle with various spiritual illnesses from time to time and need the touch of the Great Physician. There is no shame in these struggles. We live in a fallen world with many adversaries, and while we remain in this life we are but weak flesh. We should not be surprised by our weaknesses, but we should be very concerned if we cannot recognize those weaknesses in ourselves.

The church was never intended to be a hotel for saints but a hospital for sinners. Do not look for perfect people within the church. There are none. We all have our struggles. We are all in need of healing. That includes those of us standing behind pulpits every week. Receive the healing you need and then be a source of healing for others. Jesus said He did not come for the well but for the sick. He wants to heal us of our afflictions and then work through us to bring healing to others.

Most people are hurting

I venture to guess that a good majority of the people you encounter each day is carrying some pain in their lives. It may be a long-term hurt they've never been able to release. It may be a deep-seated concern for a family member or other loved one that never leaves their thoughts. It may come from some choice they have regretted making, and now they are stuck with the consequences of that choice. Perhaps their pain is the result of a recent medical diagnosis or a financial reversal. Maybe it is due to a broken relationship or a betrayal by someone who was supposed to always be there for them. In fact, the causes of the pain people carry within are endless.

Many people do a good job of concealing their pain. We learned how to put on our happy faces to hide our pain from others. We wear our masks to work, to church, to family gatherings and everywhere else we go, but when we come home the masks come off. The pain comes back. When we lay our heads down in the dark and quiet that pain begins to scream in our minds reminding us how much we hurt.

Sometimes that pain causes us to do things we later regret. We snap at loved ones, we fail to show kindness to someone, we react in rage at minor setbacks, we turn away from friends and family, we sabotage our future all because of the pain we feel, the pain we dare not reveal to others. As has often been said, hurting people hurt people, and our pain has caused us to hurt a lot of other people, innocent people who had nothing to do with the pain we feel.

 As Jesus traveled the countryside He frequently encountered hurting people: lepers, a man born blind, a woman caught in the act of adultery, another woman who had gone from man to man seeking something she could not find, persons who had lost a loved one to death, and many others. What did He do when He met such people? He entered into their pain, gave them hope, and brought healing to their pain. As the hands and feet of Jesus we can do no less.

In The Message Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 10 that they are to "Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously. Don't think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. You don't need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment...."

This is the work of the church. We are to proclaim that the kingdom is here to people who are confused and hurting. We are to introduce Jesus Christ to a hurting world and minister to people's pain. Just before Jesus spoke the words we read in Matthew 10, in chapter 9 we read that when Jesus saw the multitudes he was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered like sheep having no shepherd.

Greg Laurie says, "If you preach to the hurting you will never lack an audience." I might add that if we seek to minister to the hurting we will find that indeed the fields are white unto harvest. Into those fields we are to take the saving, healing message of Jesus Christ.

The unsaved Christian

The title for this post comes from a book by the same name, The Unsaved Christian: Reaching Cultural Christianity with the Gospel by Dean Inserra. It's a book I read last year that looks at the state of many in our churches today. They practice what is sometimes called "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism." They believe that there is a God and He wants us to be nice and kind to one another. Our primary goal should be that we are happy and maintain a good self-image. God never enters our thinking unless we find ourselves in trouble. Then we can call out to Him and expect He will solve our problems. And, of course, all good people will go to heaven when they die. Inserra writes that another book, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, by Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton describe this religious perspective in more detail. I've not read that book so I cannot comment on it.

However, I think the summary of this worldview does describe many in our churches today. People holding to this view would mostly describe themselves as Christians. Inserra would insist they are not. He writes, "Self-proclaimed Christians who worship a god that requires no self-sacrifice, no obedience, no submission, and no surrender are not worshiping the God of the Bible, no matter how much they claim they love Jesus."

Where does Moralistic Therapeutic Deism come from? Watch many of the popular television preachers and you'll hear this viewpoint proclaimed nearly every week. There's seldom a call to repentance or any discussion about sin. Instead, they promise their listeners that they are highly favored of God who wants nothing more than to bless them beyond measure. But, we cannot place all the blame on the TV preachers.

Many local churches share in the blame for this false view of what it means to be a Christian. Too often we fail at properly discipling people. We ask them to pray a prayer to be saved, and at that point they are on their own. We don't require anything of them after that. We probably offer some Bible study or Sunday school classes, but these are all optional, and evidently not very important since they are so poorly attended in recent years. We do not teach people the importance of reading their Bibles, how to pray, or even what it means to be a Christian. In many churches, the gospel has been so diluted that when people do come they receive little instruction in the Christian life. The teaching of doctrine and theology has been replaced by feel-good sermonettes that can do nothing but make Christianettes out of those who hear them.

Challenging Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is difficult. Immediately, people will accuse you of judging them. They will insist that you have no right to judge their relationship with God. Perhaps the best way to address the problem of cultural Christianity is to faithfully proclaim and model what real Christianity looks like. When the minister stands before the congregation he or she should ensure that the sermon that day is doctrinally and theologically sound. Our goal as church leaders should always be to lead a person to faith in Christ and then help him or her grow in that relationship. We should not shrink from the biblical mandate to make disciples. If we remain solidly grounded in the Word of God in all we say and do, we can trust God to begin to work in the hearts of those who hold to something less than Christianity in their belief system.