"Kingdom Stuff"

In the last blog I told you about my transition of stepping down from being a pastor to giving myself full time to overseeing churches, ministries and ministers. For the next few blogs I will be sharing some things that speak to that group of leaders. However, hopefully, it will be of interest to all who have a Kingdom mindset.

Part I

Lawsuits in the church

Lawsuits in the church, really? Oh, yeah! It happens, and all too often at that. As leaders, what do we do when two members of a church or the Christian community at large come to an impasse over some issue at hand? First, as always we must lead not out of our heads or even from our hearts but by the Scripture. I Corinthians 6:1 tells us, "Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?" Leaders do need to get involved in the issues of division and especially in a local church or organization. It is like a cancer that will spread if not dealt with quickly. However, it is important that we understand the parameters of our involvement. When we are dealing with personal divisive issues between two individuals or groups in the church we are working within the bounds of love, grace, forgiveness and reconciliation. People involved must be committed to these principles or our "grace efforts" won't work. I believe that, as elders or leaders, after prayer, you should offer what you believe to be the will of the Lord. If you sense that among those involved in the division, there is not a willingness to accept your decision and you see them moving toward legal action, you should move away from the process. It is clear to me that our actions in the church only work within the sphere of Biblical principles. It is a matter of "grace vs.. law". If the people involved move toward "law", you need to withdraw. You have done your part by offering what you believe to be the will of the Lord in line with reconciliation. From the moment that the affected, or I may say "infected" parties reject your counsel and move toward a legal settlement, you should be free to step back, love both parties but not be involved in giving advice as they seek a legal settlement. They have made a decision to move from grace to law. Now they are under a different set of parameters, that of the "world's system". From that point on Christian leaders are taken out of the process because all we have to offer is the Biblical order of things. That means no counsel, no going to court and certainly not siding with either party. As elders and leaders, you must maintain a Biblical posture and not take sides.

In our next few Kingdom Stuff blogs, we will address Generational Leadership Transition.

Technical Difficulties!

Not quite sure how it happened but the blog about Generational Leadership Transition was scheduled to be posted on Oct. 6 but it posted today and out of order at that!!!! SURPRISE!

Anyway, Monday you will receive part one to this new series just for you called, "Kingdom Stuff"! Monday's blog will be on the topic: " Lawsuits in the Church".

Things we have learned.





I just stepped down as Senior Pastor of New Covenant Church of Valdosta, Georgia. I moved there in 1980 with my wife and three small children to pioneer a new work in a funeral home. The Lord has blessed us in such powerful ways that it would be impossible to scratch the surface of all He has done. However, in my last message in that leadership role I shared some thoughts on "things I have learned". I thought I would share those points from 28 years of a church family daily walking it out.








Last Message as Senior Pastor of NCC

“The Things We Have Learned”(excerpts)

I. We have learned: A new paradigm - There has been a lot said these last few years about new paradigms. A “paradigm” is defined as, “an example serving as a model; pattern.” We experienced the Lord molding us into a new paradigm, a new model over 28 years ago. Our new paradigm would primarily be one of ending the concept of simply “having church” and seeking to begin to “be the church”. We wanted “practical Christianity”. If it didn’t “work” in a practical way, it wasn’t any good.
We have always sought to be courageous in embracing new ideas. We want to be “innovators and not imitators”. We have always disliked and sought to avoid “fads”.



II. We have learned the necessity of The Centrality of the Scripture - The Lord led us to make sure we held the Scripture high as our guide and as our plumb line. Experience is a wonderful part of our walk with the Lord, but the Bible must be our final authority.



III. We have leaned the necessity of the Spirit Filled Life – From day one our cry has been the words of the Prophet Zechariah when he said, “'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts.



IV. We have learned that the ministry of Jesus in one of a “hospital to the hurting”. - We have sought to heal men and women one at a time, lead them to a place of wholeness to the point where they could become a part of the hospital healing team to help and heal others.
People are precious to Jesus and they must be precious to us. People must never be a commodity to help arrogant, self serving men fulfill their ministry vision.



V. We have learned to Embrace Diversity. - God sends special gifts to us with which we assist him in building His Church. All kinds of people and all kinds of talents. The challenge comes in walking out community with diversity in practical ways. The key is flexibility!



VI. We have learned to keep the wineskin flexible. – The wineskin is structure. It speaks of government and methodology. Government has always been very important to NCC, yet, we have always sought to hear fresh words from the Lord and have been willing to change or even admit mistakes and start over in areas when needed.



VI. We have learned to move slowly and especially in recognizing new leadership.
We have learned to try to raise up slowly members of our own family that have paid the price to go through our own “feeder system”. Then, we train and practice “slow release”. Our slower pace has proven to be frustrating for some but for the church as a whole, it has been a very healthy thing.



VII. We have learned the principle of Body Life and Ministry
Real relationship formation among our people is critical. Nowhere is that seen and practiced more fully than in our Home Churches(small groups). This is where people can be trained, ministered to and healed, and all within the atmosphere of family.



VIII. We have learned the importance of Body Ownership - People must feel it’s their church, their ministry. We have tried to make this happen by the “decentralization of the home office”. We have operated as “traffic directors” seeking to turn ministry back to our people rather than having people send the ministry to the church office. Ex. “The Priesthood of the Believer”.



IX. We have learned the concept of the Open Church with loving government. - All families need fathers. Our government seeks to give loving, fatherly oversight. Our leadership wants you to be able to live and minister in an atmosphere of freedom and liberty but still operating within the safety of oversight.



X. We have learned the healthy aspect of “Staying Clear” – Nothing will rob you of present day joy and sabotage your future more than a lack of forgiveness. We seek to practice forgiveness, reconciliation and restoration.



XI. We have learned to be liberal givers.

Storms And Sanity

I was watching a special on the vulnerability of Miami to hurricanes. It unnerved me a bit as I just helped my daughter, son in law and granddaughter get settled there. On this special a "young" man was interviewed who said, "I don't even have insurance on my house". Excuse me, but my thought was, "what an idiot"! Why, because I have seen the devastation of a hurricane. Once this young man sees the effects of a category 4 or, God forbid, 5, he will take a totally different perspective. The storm will bring him to sanity. I live 100 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and 100 miles from the Atlantic. I live in a rural area surrounded by a forest and on the edge of a beautiful little lake. I had thought of getting a generator before but then I thought, "why should I spend the money, I'm too far away from the ocean to affect me". Then, 2005 came. I had back to back storms that took out 3 or 4 giant oak trees in my yard that barely missed my house. I was without power for 4 days in one storm and 2 days in another. In the country, when you are without power, you are without everything. No lights, no water and no flushing! I bought a generator. The storm brought me to sanity. I was willing to pay the price.



My son Shane sent me an article by a business leader entitled, "Does integrity pay"? The question that business leaders were debating was brought on by the bottom line. In truth, the storm of our current financial woes have brought them to a place of sanity in saying that yes, integrity does pay. Please understand that when men are swimming in money and prosperity is easy to get, these kinds of questions are rare in the business world. In those times the prevailing thought is that "the end justifies the means". Whatever it takes! No so today. Business leaders, politicians and even clergymen are asking tough questions like, "what does it take to keep us from failing"? Are there certain fundamental principles that we have compromised, like prosperity, that has led to our present situation?



These are good times. These times of stormy and uncertain futures make us all stop and take inventory and hopefully regain our sanity.

It's not about me...REALLY?
I was born as the first child in my family. I was the first grandchild on one side and the first male grandchild on the other side. That's a formula for being very self centered! Oh, believe me, I was disciplined. I was paddled at school and "whipped" at home. Yet, I had already realized that I was "special". No beating could stop the flow of thoughts that said, "you can send roadblocks, but you can't stop me because I have a destiny. I'm not like the rest of you. I dared not say what I was thinking deep within my heart because it seemed so prideful. However, in the deepest recesses of my meditation, I knew I was better than most! It was fed along the way. Grandmother Joiner was my greatest fan. I could do no wrong. I remember Mrs. Minchew in elementary school telling a crowd in my presence while she was directing a play, "give L. A. the part, he'll do anything"! Man, healing, affirmation and personal ignition at the same time.
Now, I know what you are thinking, that's what everyone needs. Everyone needs to have that kind of confidence and self esteem. It sounds good, but while it does reflect qualities of potential leadership, it also speaks of raw material that must be broken and reshaped if God can every truly use it for His purposes. You see that is the kind of thinking that caused men like King Saul to bypass the instructions of the Lord because he was sure that he not only had a better idea, but once God saw how good his plan was, the Lord would surely reward him for his initiative. You see, within that thinking is the powerful deception that it really is about me. It's not!
When Moses died and God was about to take Israel into the promised land through the leadership of Joshua, the Lord required a new circumcision for a new generation. It was a season of "firsts". No more manna, a new method of following God, a new leadership team, a new test of fatih and a new generation. Joshua was a new leader but he had witnessed the old and he had risen from the ashes of the old to be the new leader for a new day. He must be pretty special. Then reality came. Right at that moment a figure appears from nowhere that wasn't a part of the familiar mix. Joshua speaks to the man and says, ""Are You for us or for our adversaries?" Listen carefully to the heart of this message. Joshua only saw two possibilities. He saw that the entire world circled around "us and and our adversaries". It's all about me, my plans and the obstacles to those plans. I'm working for God and I will not be stopped. I will build this church, this ministry, this business and when I'm finished, I will give God all the Glory! What rubbish! What self centeredness! What blindness! The answer came back fast and clear, "NO"! He wasn't about either "you or them". ""No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?"
Maybe today you find yourself worn out from the battle. Maybe you are even blinded by the bitterness toward all the opposition. Maybe there is even a hint of anger toward God for not helping you more in your endeavor. Maybe, just maybe, it's time to see clearly that it's not about you nor them. Really, it's not about you! It's about Him and His Kingdom. Why don't we pause now, fall on our faces and worship? Then and only then are we able to ask with hearing ears, "what does my Lord say to His servant"?