Characteristics of a Prodigal
The story of the Prodigal Son recorded in Luke 15 is a parable told by Jesus and as all the parables of Jesus, it is told to teach us life lessons. Today I want to focus on the characteristics of the prodigal. First we see that a prodigal begins his departure from reasonable thinking with unsound thinking. It goes without saying that before he approached his father he had given considerable thought to his decision to leave home. Once he approached his father he spoke what he had been thinking, "I want my part of the inheritance." He was asking for something out of season. It wasn't time for his inheritance to come to him and that meant he wasn't prepared to handle it wisely. Of course his desire to get his hands on the money wasn't motivated by sound stewardship! In essence he was making a decision to come out from under his father's "covering". A covering is a number of things including a place of tutelage. This is the reason why the Scripture tells us in the Church that we are not to put a novice into a leadership office. He or she is not yet ready to assume such a role. They need to spend more time under tutelage. It is not fair to them nor the Church to release them into leadership too soon.
Once the prodigal gets the money they almost always run away to a "far country". In this out of the way place they can party without the eye or influence of their rightful authority. Of course their blindness can't see that they are also beyond the help of the father in the event of a crisis. A prodigal casts caution to the wind and spends like a "drunken sailor". The vision of the prodigal is only as far as today. He only cares about his money lasting through the next party. He does not have the ability to see down the road or to save for some contingency. He scoffs at such thinking. It is too restrictive for his free spirit. He has been held back by his father's parameters too long! As always happens, the money ends and crisis begins. Just as his money ran out, and friends as well, a famine arises. Famines are a part of seasons of life. There are good times and bad times and that is why good stewardship is a must to healthy living. The prodigal thought that was just the control and fearful thinking of his father. Next the prodigal, rather than returning home for help, entered into a covenant with a person "of that country". A prodigal will seek help from everyone in a crisis but those who love him. He can't admit the error of his ways. Then the bottom comes. It always comes. The timing of brokenness is different for all prodigals. This prodigal was willing to eat the pigs food and at the lowest point, sanity arrives. He starts thinking clearer and from these thoughts he starts talking to himself. He says, "my father's servants have it better than me so I'll return home." Then he speaks the words that every prodigal must say before restoration can arrive. He said, "I have sinned!" Brokenness is a prerequisite of restoration. He was willing to go home, lose his former position just to be back under the paternal covering again. Of course the love of the Father would not allow it. While the father had to allow the dealing of God to play out in the son's life (this required brokenness in the father) without interfering, once it was complete and evidenced by the brokenness and meekness of the son, it was now time to extend a fresh forgiveness and reconciliation. The reconciliation was followed by restoration from the father.
If you are dealing with a prodigal in your natural family or spiritual family, don't interfere with the dealing of God in their life. Trust God in the matter. As the father of the prodigal we must wait on the process to run it's full course and be ready to forgive and restore when the broken one returns to the father's house. May today be the day that you see your prodigal coming up the drive to home.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Deadly Alliances
The word alliance is defined as "the state of being allied; a formal agreement or treaty between two or more... to cooperate for specific purposes." As we review the definition it should be obvious that an alliance may become constructive or destructive. My own ministry is called Christian Alliance of Ministries. Here the word "alliance" is intended to mean a networking of Christian ministry efforts for the common good. Yet there is a time when alliances are wrong and can work against the common good and even result in opposing the will and work of God. An example would be on a leadership team. The Leadership Team in a Church is not the same as one in the corporate world. In the natural or corporate world a leadership team is primarily comprised of leadership strengths based upon natural education, experience and knowledge. The contribution of of these team members comes from their experience primarily. In the Church world a leadership team should be made up of individuals who have experience and training just like in the corporate world but these team members must be motivated from a foundation of spiritual maturity.
A spiritual leadership team is designed by God to be a diverse group who all bring a different perspective to the table. The formation of this group is pivotal to the success of the group. A team should not be chosen based on friendship or longevity alone but primarily by the leading of the Holy Spirit and their potential contribution to the group. If there is a team assembled because "they all get along well", as good as that sounds, it is shallow and will leave the team and organization weak in time. Of course we don't want divisive members either. One leader said, "I don't want yes men but I don't want no men either." A God directed leadership team of diversely gifted and humble people, who have no hidden agenda and come to the table in a neutral position wanting only to find the will of God, is the perfect team. To maintain this Holy Spirit led environment requires a careful effort to avoid the formation of alliances around a leadership table. I have mentioned this before but it is difficult to maintain. It is so tempting when an issue arises around the table to invite another team member to lunch to discuss the issue. The moment we discuss the issue outside of the group, we are running the risk of forming an alliance that will leave the diversity of the group tainted and ineffective. In the business world it may be appropriate but not when the team member's primary goal is to remain neutral to discover within the group the will of God. Seeing this point makes it clear that only a spiritually mature person who lives a life hidden in the Lordship of Jesus is qualified to serve on a leadership team.
The word alliance is defined as "the state of being allied; a formal agreement or treaty between two or more... to cooperate for specific purposes." As we review the definition it should be obvious that an alliance may become constructive or destructive. My own ministry is called Christian Alliance of Ministries. Here the word "alliance" is intended to mean a networking of Christian ministry efforts for the common good. Yet there is a time when alliances are wrong and can work against the common good and even result in opposing the will and work of God. An example would be on a leadership team. The Leadership Team in a Church is not the same as one in the corporate world. In the natural or corporate world a leadership team is primarily comprised of leadership strengths based upon natural education, experience and knowledge. The contribution of of these team members comes from their experience primarily. In the Church world a leadership team should be made up of individuals who have experience and training just like in the corporate world but these team members must be motivated from a foundation of spiritual maturity.
A spiritual leadership team is designed by God to be a diverse group who all bring a different perspective to the table. The formation of this group is pivotal to the success of the group. A team should not be chosen based on friendship or longevity alone but primarily by the leading of the Holy Spirit and their potential contribution to the group. If there is a team assembled because "they all get along well", as good as that sounds, it is shallow and will leave the team and organization weak in time. Of course we don't want divisive members either. One leader said, "I don't want yes men but I don't want no men either." A God directed leadership team of diversely gifted and humble people, who have no hidden agenda and come to the table in a neutral position wanting only to find the will of God, is the perfect team. To maintain this Holy Spirit led environment requires a careful effort to avoid the formation of alliances around a leadership table. I have mentioned this before but it is difficult to maintain. It is so tempting when an issue arises around the table to invite another team member to lunch to discuss the issue. The moment we discuss the issue outside of the group, we are running the risk of forming an alliance that will leave the diversity of the group tainted and ineffective. In the business world it may be appropriate but not when the team member's primary goal is to remain neutral to discover within the group the will of God. Seeing this point makes it clear that only a spiritually mature person who lives a life hidden in the Lordship of Jesus is qualified to serve on a leadership team.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
"We have met the enemy...and he is us!"
The now famous words, "we have met the enemy...and he is us", were written as a part of the Pogo comic strip. Having grown up in Waycross, Georgia I am very familiar with Pogo, the comic strip whose setting took place in the Okefeenokee Swamp. When we think of enemies we almost always think of some alien invading army against whom we must rally and turn back at the gate. I can remember my old Navy days when you might have a running feud with some member or members among your shipmates until there was a brawl on shore with some other group and even shipmates with a grudge would rise to the occasion to defend one another. Yet, the enemy that is the most dangerous of all is not the one who attacks from without but from within. The internal enemy often goes unnoticed because no one wants to believe that a friend would betray them. Even when there are signs of such betrayal most of us refuse to think of the possibility...until it is too late. Jesus told His disciples that He was sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves and because of that "they should be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."
In case you are reading this thinking, "man, I should have seen it coming" as you ponder some past or present betrayal, you are in good company. Jesus Himself was betrayed by one He had actually chosen as a team member. There are a myriad of reasons why a loyal friend can become a traitor. In due time those who are working alongside a leader will see his or her flaws. It is not a matter of if but when. A novice in particular has a difficult time following a leader with weaknesses. Let me be clear here and say that I an not referring to sinful habits but idiosyncracies. We all have them. From a deficiency of patience to a lack of the ability to stay focused on the vision, leadership flaws are everywhere. Often these common flaws tend to knock a hero off his white horse in the eyes of the follower and can lead to betrayal. Betrayal too often comes from the second in command. This one who is closest to the leader is the one who is paid less and carries a heavy load, always burdened to make the senior leader appear better then he is. Over time this secondary leader may sour and he or she begins to feel that they could do a better job than the senior leader or possibly they may become a part of a conspiracy to replace the senior leader with another leader who is "much more capable". These thoughts are devilish and may lead to the destruction of the secondary leader or possibly the senior leader and the entire enterprise.
We must all carefully guard our hearts and thoughts. We must reject such mental attacks and keep them at bay. May we all have the faith and courage to serve with honor and be a promoter of loyalty among our people. If a leader needs to be removed, let us not be found trying to accomplish a work of light from a place of darkness and shadows. As leaders we must heed the words of Jesus and not become paranoid but "be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."
The now famous words, "we have met the enemy...and he is us", were written as a part of the Pogo comic strip. Having grown up in Waycross, Georgia I am very familiar with Pogo, the comic strip whose setting took place in the Okefeenokee Swamp. When we think of enemies we almost always think of some alien invading army against whom we must rally and turn back at the gate. I can remember my old Navy days when you might have a running feud with some member or members among your shipmates until there was a brawl on shore with some other group and even shipmates with a grudge would rise to the occasion to defend one another. Yet, the enemy that is the most dangerous of all is not the one who attacks from without but from within. The internal enemy often goes unnoticed because no one wants to believe that a friend would betray them. Even when there are signs of such betrayal most of us refuse to think of the possibility...until it is too late. Jesus told His disciples that He was sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves and because of that "they should be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."
In case you are reading this thinking, "man, I should have seen it coming" as you ponder some past or present betrayal, you are in good company. Jesus Himself was betrayed by one He had actually chosen as a team member. There are a myriad of reasons why a loyal friend can become a traitor. In due time those who are working alongside a leader will see his or her flaws. It is not a matter of if but when. A novice in particular has a difficult time following a leader with weaknesses. Let me be clear here and say that I an not referring to sinful habits but idiosyncracies. We all have them. From a deficiency of patience to a lack of the ability to stay focused on the vision, leadership flaws are everywhere. Often these common flaws tend to knock a hero off his white horse in the eyes of the follower and can lead to betrayal. Betrayal too often comes from the second in command. This one who is closest to the leader is the one who is paid less and carries a heavy load, always burdened to make the senior leader appear better then he is. Over time this secondary leader may sour and he or she begins to feel that they could do a better job than the senior leader or possibly they may become a part of a conspiracy to replace the senior leader with another leader who is "much more capable". These thoughts are devilish and may lead to the destruction of the secondary leader or possibly the senior leader and the entire enterprise.
We must all carefully guard our hearts and thoughts. We must reject such mental attacks and keep them at bay. May we all have the faith and courage to serve with honor and be a promoter of loyalty among our people. If a leader needs to be removed, let us not be found trying to accomplish a work of light from a place of darkness and shadows. As leaders we must heed the words of Jesus and not become paranoid but "be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."
Thursday, June 6, 2013
You or Us
Part II
In my last blog I talked about a change of paradigm from a "Me and MY ministry" mentality to a mentality of "US". It is such a slow changing mentality that like most, when we think we have it, we don't! Even in a flexible wineskin like Church structure is supposed to be, it still proves to be difficult to maintain the position of a new stretching. That is why revival continues to be necessary. Revival stretches the wineskin and forces it behind its old parameters. ( I believe a much needed revival would focus not on saving souls, as on saving the church by changing it for good. Then a changed church would be more effective as saving souls.) However, as soon as the stretching ends the culture rushes back to it's comfortable "old time religion". Last week I tried to make the point that while there has to be a change in the attitude in the pew to understand that "I" must be a minister, there also has to be an attitude in the pulpit that says, "I must prepare Them"! We say it , we have conferences about it and the following Monday Church staffs meet to plan the next "show" so we can have it ready when "they" come to hear and watch. It is a paradigm that hasn't really changed that much regardless of the rhetoric.
What is at the heart of change? Much of the time change comes when there is a realization that the old isn't working any longer. Often that realization comes via economics. As long as there are people in the pew and money in the coffers change is slow in coming. I will say that there are many today who are making changes and are deliberately changing their paradigms among their people. They are beginning to see the outward fruit of disciples being made and local cultures changing for good.
It comes down to motivation. As in all fields of labor a critical factor in success is motivation. One of the basic definitions of a good coach is "a person who gets people to do what they don't want to do in order to help then attain what they want to achieve". That is a wonderful description of a New Testament leader. He is not as focused on "hitting the home run as he is on activating his team to hit home runs." Sales trainers use the old adage, "watch me do it, I watch you do it, you do it." I think the unspoken finale to this statement is that once "you do it", I find someone else to develop in the same way and you now not only continue to do it but you find another to train and release as well.
Let me end this by talking abut the "Show". I use this word critically because I can't think of a better negative example of most church services. One of my favorite criticisms as a leader came well over 35 years ago when a member of our church said in a frustrated tone, "every time you speak you act like you are training a bunch of preachers!" He came from an old paradigm of entertainment. We don't like to think about preaching as entertainment. However, it can become that. As a matter of fact, if a person hears teaching on a topic once and doesn't do what they hear then the next time they hear it it becomes only entertainment. Think about the last really exciting movie you saw. It may have inspired you, it may even have made you think about doing something. How did that work out for you? Shows don't really bring about long lasting motivation. Ahhhhh!!!! There is the key to true leadership. Activational leadership must first be motivational! My cry to all leaders reading this blog today is to change your ministry motivation to Motivation. Make a decision today and ask the Lord to help you become "Motivated to Motivate!"
Part II
In my last blog I talked about a change of paradigm from a "Me and MY ministry" mentality to a mentality of "US". It is such a slow changing mentality that like most, when we think we have it, we don't! Even in a flexible wineskin like Church structure is supposed to be, it still proves to be difficult to maintain the position of a new stretching. That is why revival continues to be necessary. Revival stretches the wineskin and forces it behind its old parameters. ( I believe a much needed revival would focus not on saving souls, as on saving the church by changing it for good. Then a changed church would be more effective as saving souls.) However, as soon as the stretching ends the culture rushes back to it's comfortable "old time religion". Last week I tried to make the point that while there has to be a change in the attitude in the pew to understand that "I" must be a minister, there also has to be an attitude in the pulpit that says, "I must prepare Them"! We say it , we have conferences about it and the following Monday Church staffs meet to plan the next "show" so we can have it ready when "they" come to hear and watch. It is a paradigm that hasn't really changed that much regardless of the rhetoric.
What is at the heart of change? Much of the time change comes when there is a realization that the old isn't working any longer. Often that realization comes via economics. As long as there are people in the pew and money in the coffers change is slow in coming. I will say that there are many today who are making changes and are deliberately changing their paradigms among their people. They are beginning to see the outward fruit of disciples being made and local cultures changing for good.
It comes down to motivation. As in all fields of labor a critical factor in success is motivation. One of the basic definitions of a good coach is "a person who gets people to do what they don't want to do in order to help then attain what they want to achieve". That is a wonderful description of a New Testament leader. He is not as focused on "hitting the home run as he is on activating his team to hit home runs." Sales trainers use the old adage, "watch me do it, I watch you do it, you do it." I think the unspoken finale to this statement is that once "you do it", I find someone else to develop in the same way and you now not only continue to do it but you find another to train and release as well.
Let me end this by talking abut the "Show". I use this word critically because I can't think of a better negative example of most church services. One of my favorite criticisms as a leader came well over 35 years ago when a member of our church said in a frustrated tone, "every time you speak you act like you are training a bunch of preachers!" He came from an old paradigm of entertainment. We don't like to think about preaching as entertainment. However, it can become that. As a matter of fact, if a person hears teaching on a topic once and doesn't do what they hear then the next time they hear it it becomes only entertainment. Think about the last really exciting movie you saw. It may have inspired you, it may even have made you think about doing something. How did that work out for you? Shows don't really bring about long lasting motivation. Ahhhhh!!!! There is the key to true leadership. Activational leadership must first be motivational! My cry to all leaders reading this blog today is to change your ministry motivation to Motivation. Make a decision today and ask the Lord to help you become "Motivated to Motivate!"
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