From whence comes our help?

 Evil stalks the land. Ungodly rulers govern nations. Injustice prevails. Violence is felt all around us. Wars and rumors of wars make the national news. Hatred and greed fill the hearts of men and women. Every form of immorality is promoted as normal and praised. Evil is called good and good is called evil. Churches are burned to the ground, Christians are slaughtered and persecuted, and their cries are ignored. The teachings of Scripture are mocked and ignored. Churches abandon the clear teaching of the Scriptures and proclaim the messages desired by those with itching ears. Is there any hope for mankind, and if so where does this hope to be found?

Ps. 121:1 tells us, "I will lift up my eyes to the hills - from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth." Our hope comes from God. The message of hope the world desperately needs can only come from the church as we proclaim the clear message of salvation that is found in the Word of God. The answers to the world's problems will not come from the White House, the State House or the Courthouse; those answers can only come from God's house.

When Jesus spoke to His disciples about the end of times in Matthew 24 He made it clear that in the midst of the chaos of those times the gospel of the kingdom was to be preached. This is what we are called to do. Without apology or fear, we who are called to preach the gospel must do so boldly and without compromise. This is the time the church must rise up and be the church God called it to be offering hope, forgiveness and salvation to a lost and dying world.

We have allowed our culture to silence the prophetic voice of the church, and we see the ruin of that all around us. As the voice of the church has been silenced we have seen the pain of people increased. Like sheep without a shepherd, they wander aimlessly looking for answers to life's problems, and finding none they draw back within themselves, self-medicating their pain with whatever brings them momentary pleasure.

We cannot afford to be silent any longer. People for whom Jesus Christ gave His life are hurting. They are burdened down with life, and they need the hope that only the gospel can provide. We need to proclaim that hope, not only within our buildings but in every area of society. The marketplace needs to hear it as well as the Sunday school classroom. The halls of government need to hear it as well as those sitting in our sanctuaries. The school board meetings need to hear it as much as those in our small groups.

Not only do we need to proclaim the truths found in God's Word, we need to be in prayer for the future of our nation and the world around us. 2 Chronicles 7: 14 is still in our Bibles. It has been said that the army of God marches best when it is on its knees. We need to pray for revival, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon this nation that will convict men and women of their sins and lead to repentance. We need that same revival in our churches.

I want to challenge the readers of this post to pray and ask God how He would have your respond the to the events we see unfolding all around us. Seek His guidance and courageously begin to live into that direction.

When there is no leadership

One of the problems that some churches have is a lack of leadership. Weak leadership results in weak churches. As many, including myself, have written, everything rises and falls on leadership. No organization can rise any higher than the lid of its leadership. This includes churches. If a pastor has a leadership lid of a three, the church can never rise above a two in its effectiveness. The problem is further compounded by the fact that it will not attract lay leaders who have leadership lids above a two either. Strong leaders will not remain in an organization led by weaker leaders. Why would they?

Why do many pastors struggle being leaders? One, is that many were never trained to be leaders. Seminaries primarily teach people how to be managers, not leaders. A minister can graduate from many seminaries and never take one leadership course. They might know everything about Christian and denominational history, but they are never taught how to lead a church into the future.

Some ministers do not want to be leaders. They do not see it as their calling. They focus on providing pastoral care and sound sermons, which are both good, but they are not enough. If a church wants to provide excellent ministry in the future, it must be led to do so. Seldom does any organization stumble into excellence. Leaders have a clear vision of where God is leading them and have a plan for going there.

Another reason that some pastors refuse to lead is that they are too codependent on what others think about them. Some ministers do not want anyone to think less of them, and leaders will make decisions that will upset some people. If you are not occasionally making some people upset you are probably not leading. Codependent people cannot stand to have anyone upset with them, so they refuse to lead and take the chance that someone will get upset.

There are some churches that won't let the pastor lead. They may claim they want a pastor who will lead them into the future, but many are simply looking for a chaplain to tend to their needs. This is especially true in smaller churches. I've said in seminars that some small churches are not only seeking chaplains, they are seeking hospice chaplains. They want someone to help them die with dignity. This may seem harsh, but I've worked with too many with this attitude. If a pastor went to many of these churches and actually tried to lead them, he or she would be quickly dismissed.

Our churches need strong pastoral leaders if they want to remain relevant and effective in the 21st century. They need pastors who are seeking a fresh vision from God with the ability to communicate that vision, and the courage to lead the church in the fulfillment of that vision. Only then will the church recapture its rightful place in our world.

Let's raise children with a backbone

Yesterday I heard a story on the radio that still amazes me. A children's psychiatrist was explaining that he has recently seen several children who are afraid of Donald Trump. He told of one six year old boy who was brought to him because his intense fear of Trump.

I understand Trump makes some people nervous, and some are quite concerned of what might happen if he becomes president, but most of these people are not running to psychiatrists due to a crippling fear of the man. What is going on with today's children?

I read an article this week that urged parents to raise children with a backbone. The article was well written and certainly speaks to the issue of children needing professional help because of their fear of a presidential candidate.

Too many children today are being raised by helicopter parents who constantly hover over them every waking moment. These parents want to make every decision for them, protect them from skinning their knees, and demand that every child receives an award for showing up. When they sneeze they are rushed to the ER, and if they receive a poor grade the parents run to the school to find out what's wrong with the teacher.

My parents had a simple rule: If you get a spanking at school you'll get another one at home. If I got a bad grade I was grounded until the next grading period so I had plenty of time to study and bring that grade up. More times than I wanted to hear it my parents reminded me that society doesn't owe you anything. If you want something you work to earn it. Parents used to teach children responsibility and accountability; now many only teach them that the world revolves around them. Our granny government takes it even further as it assures people that they don't have to work or do anything except receive their government handout. No responsibility, no accountability, and no self-esteem.

Many young people on college campuses demand "safe spaces" where they won't hear anything that upsets them. Invited speakers, usually conservative speakers, are uninvited when students demand these speakers not be allowed to speak on campus. Their poor little ears couldn't take hearing a viewpoint different than one they've already formed which kind of makes attending a university a waste of time and money. We can only wonder what some of today's children will be like when they reach college age.

As parents and grandparents we need to raise children with a spine. They need to be allowed to make mistakes, allowing for age-appropriateness, and learn from those mistakes. They need to be allowed to play in the mud, work to earn money, and disciplined when they make poor choices. They also need to be taught that no means no and that temper tantrums are not allowed. They also need to be taught unconditional love so they know that no matter what, we will always love them.

Churches have a role to play in this as well. We need to teach them biblical truths so they will know how to make better choices. We need to prepare them for the challenges to their faith they will encounter in school and life. We need to teach them how to stand for what is right, and that Jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.

We need to raise our children to be prepared to be the leaders our nation, our communities, and our churches will need. We need to help them develop a strong moral and ethical foundation for their lives, and we need to help them develop a spine.