Comfortable in your own skin

It seems not many people are comfortable in their own skin.  Too many people are always trying to find their identity.  There are a number of problems with this identity crisis as a life style.  You have seen these folks spending great amounts of time, energy and money always trying to get the "thing" that will make them feel good about themselves.  This search causes them to never be satisfied "in the now".  They are unhappy with their phone, computer, car, body, personality or maybe even their mate!  What misery!  Coming to a place of peace and rest within yourself is a freedom much like living debt-free.  When you are debt-free you aren't nearly as concerned about the economy as a person who is captured by the system.  When you are at peace within your own skin you are not too concerned with status because you are not finding your self acceptance based on external things.  Very few people get there!  These blessed few care about others but they are not consummed with what others think.  Self image is determined by self worth and not the worth others may or may not place on you.  Actually it is difficult to give yourself to helping others until you have settled this identity issue.

Where in the world do we obtain self worth?  You don't!  You can't get it "in the world".  You see, it's the unregenerate world that is most involved in the pursuit of identity and the most uncomfortable in their own skin.  Christians should be the most at ease and at peace with themselves.  When you see a Christian still struggling with the identity issue you can be certain they have not allowed the full process of redemption to occur.  Only in appropriating the full redemption of Jesus and His full forgiveness and reconciliation can you possess a redeemed identity.  Once a believer has done that they are at peace with God and man.  The first man we must be "at peace" with is ourselves. 

“Back-Seater”

For a number of years I had the joy and challenge of being pastor to a number of fighter pilots and their families who were serving with the U.S. Air Force. Some of that time I worked with F-16 pilots. They were a great bunch trying to balance their training that told them they were the “best of the best”, with the humility required in their Christian walk. It was difficult because the F-16 was every pilots dream. You were the only one in the jet and it was designed to “dogfight”. While the challenge was great, most learned the balance for the good of their families and sadly some did not. Prior to my experiences with F-16 pilots, our base was armed with the F-4. The F-4 Phantom II was a “two seater” fighter used a lot in Viet Nam. Obviously, the pilot sat in the front seat and the weapons systems operator or “wizzo” sat in the back seat. I was told by a few “wizzos” that they had a stick by them designed to land the plane in the event that something happened to the pilot. More than once I asked the question, “So are you confident you could land the plane if you had too”? Usually the answer they gave was in the form of a laugh! I’m sure many “wizzos” in combat had thoughts at times that they might could do a better job than the pilot. Many would have liked to have had a shot at it. Yet, they all knew that the space from the back seat to the front seat was far greater than the inches measured on a ruler.
I spent about four years training for the ministry under a Senior Pastor. Prior to that I had worked a secular job and worked in the church. I later became an elder. Next I had the privilege of serving as “Student Pastor” (Trainee position). Finally, I was sent out and started our first church at the ripe old age of 27. When I was serving in all the earlier roles I truly felt that I had the same burden as the Senior Pastor. At times I felt he was making mistakes and secretly I had to fight thoughts that I could do it better! I wondered why he didn’t move faster. Why didn’t deal with issues more forcibly? Yet, I was a “back seater”. When I was commissioned to go plant a new church I remember the weight of the moment. It was a shocking transition, yet exciting. I couldn’t wait to get started and really do it right! I had made the move from the back seat to the front! That first year was an amazing and painful year. It had been much easier to shout things from the back seat but now an entirely different deal to have your hand on the stick and missiles within reach. It was a solemn weight to know that you had it within you power to help or hurt people. I began to think of an old saying I had heard somewhere: “discretion is the better part of valor”. I never had those thoughts as a “back- seater”. I called my former pastor, the man who had trained me and asked his forgiveness. I was seeing things a little differently now. It is truly easier, much easier to be the “Monday morning quarterback” than doing the right thing in the heat of battle.

Boldness and Spiritual Warfare

Certainly the greatest weapon in battling the forces of hell is the name of Jesus! Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord! Amen. We all know and believe that God is greater than the devil and God's power is greater. Yet we see too many servants of the Lord being immobilized by the enemy and sidetracked to a place of powerless immobility.

What causes a Holy Spirit filled minister of the Lord to be ineffective? A number of things come to mind but a weak conscience is a primary problem. By weak conscience I mean a conscience that condemns a person from within. No one knows about the attack but this internal war is one of the most effective of all against a servant of God. It could be brought on by unconfessed sin. Certainly this person feels no right to victory or being used by God. As Kind David lamented, the sin is ever before me. Yet, just as powerful is a "consciousness of sin" within the conscience of the believer. While there may be no sin, yet deep within they feel undeserving of anything good happening to "or through" them. This is ministerial "poison"! It is the work of hell itself!

The man or woman of God that wants to be used by God must, as Hebrews 11:6 says
"believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." I believe God wants to use me. I believe the Lord wants to use you too. However, my believing that about you won't accomplish much. You must believe it. Listen carefully, it's not enough to believe in God. You must believe in the GOD WITHIN YOU! Then from that strong foundation of faith in the God within you, you are now ready to be used by God. This is the boldness needed to win against the enemy. Now listen to these verses in the light of this understanding:
Ephesians 6:10-16 (NKJV)
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

Boldness

It is so interesting to me that when God was talking to Joshua after the death of Moses that He kept repeating to Joshua that he must be strong and courageous. The outcome, the Lord said, would be success. There is such tension between courage and arrogance. Yet, courage and boldness may appear to the onlooker as arrogance and pride. As a matter of fact, to the average person boldness in God may appear to be pride, and fear and cowardice may appear to be humility. God told Joshua that his success, and that means pleasing God, would require strength and courage.

When Daivd approached the Army of God as they were camped and quaking in fear at the confrontation with Goliath, his brothers rebuked David for what appeared to be pride. They were wrong. What they saw manifesting in their little brother was what we used to call, "Holy Ghost Boldness"! He was moving in strength and courage just as Joshua. The outcome was victory and success.

As I started the first grade my Dad instructed me this way: "If you start a fight I will spank you when you get home. If someone attacks you and you don't win, I'll spank you when you get home"! That sounds really strange these days but he was trying to make me understand that there are times when the enemy comes calling and you have to stand. Spiritually there are times when the enemy of our soul and the enemy of the extension of the Kingdom of God comes calling. Primarily he comes attacking with fear, lies and accusations. He's looking for a weak conscience. He wants to find a person who isn't sure who they are and where they stand with God. He wants to stop you cold. His method is almost always to attack your BOLDNESS. He wants you to be quiet and weak. He wants to knock you off balance so you stop any aggression against him.

Proverbs 28:1 (NKJV)
1 The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.

Social Networking

Relax, this isn't primarily about Face book or Twitter. It is about social connecting though. I must admit that I am not the biggest fan of electronic relationships (thougth I do it) because they can be shallow and even dishonest. In talking about reading books a friend recently said, "I know about iBooks but I still like to feel the pages in my hands and smell the aroma of a good book." I feel the same way about social connecting. In my opinion connecting through any form of writing is the least effective form, the phone is one notch above but nothing is like that eyeball to eyeball connecting. All can be good if the less effective ways aren't the primary. I have actually seen husbands, wives and children texting each other while in the same building!

Let me get to my point. We are moving toward a loss of the ability to read people and situations and arrive at true connection. We are now seeing a new generation that doesn't know how to look you in the eye, shake your hand and carry on a real conversation. While more and more are involved in minute by minute social networking less and less are involved in actually connecting. Recently I attended a church where I was a stranger. After several visits to the early contemporary service I decided to go to the traditional service just to learn. I love studying people and groups! It's kind of like going to the zoo!:) After about six visits to the early service filled with mostly younger people I went to the other service filled with the "blue hairs". I came away shocked! The younger crowd had made sure the coffee and cookies were in place, the service made me comfortable and that I was under no pressure whatsoever. I was left alone! No, really, I was left alone. No one spoke to me unless I spoke first. Six visits!!! When I went to the older service I was overwhelmed with the warm genuine expression of love and welcome. My conclusion? We are losing something. Young people need to watch older people interact and try to regain some social skills. And yes, it happens all the time in non denominational churches too.

May we all keep learning!

Ownership or Stewardship

In reseaching leadersip transition for over 5 years now I have looked at churches and business models alike. The basic problem is systemic. When a leader of a church comes to believe that because of longevity he or she owns the ministry we are in trouble. I have even known of this becoming so blatant that outgoing senior leaders have demanded that they be paid huge sums of money for them to turn over “ownership” of the church! Some have even done it. In truth, we as leaders are stewards of the ministry of God. We must never get to a place that our welfare takes precedence over the welfare of the church or ministry. This can also happen among a group of leaders and they might presume ownership as well. This can happen from the church to the Congress. When ownership is assumed by a person or group the end result will be death and not a healthy continuation of the ministry. The church is the Lord’s! As leaders whatever we have built we have built with the offerings of the people and while doing so we have been compensated for our labor. While I believe a church will greatly benefit from honoring an outgoing leader generously, it should never be demanded.
Let me encourage every leader to close your eyes, envision the end of your life and visualize how you want to finish. I think most would say, “I want to be cared for but mostly I want to feel that I have done a good job for the Lord and his Church and that I will finish with dignity, honor and leave a healthy legacy in ministry. Are you walking a road that will produce it?

We need the word of the prophet


2 Chronicles 25 (NLT)

14 When King Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought with him idols taken from the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down in front of them, and offered sacrifices to them!15 This made the LORD very angry, and he sent a prophet to ask, "Why do you turn to gods who could not even save their own people from you?"
16 But the king interrupted him and said, "Since when have I made you the king's counselor? Be quiet now before I have you killed!"
So the prophet stopped with this warning: "I know that God has determined to destroy you because you have done this and have refused to accept my counsel."

The Lord is always faithful to give us guidance. He is always going to make sure that our steps are ordered according to his will. However, we must remain pliable and sensitive to his voice and adjustment. Gifted builders in the Kingdom of God need to be very careful that they, in an effort for building expediency, don't isolate themselves from the full word and counsel of God. If we are successful we attract a team of builders who are "just like us". There is much good in that but it can also be very narrow, limiting and may rob you of a more diversified perspective. Prophets are seers who see things builders may not want to see or hear. In the Kingdom scheme of things we need to ensure that we don't outgrow our need for the prophet. He's not always the most fun to be around and his words may not always stroke our ego but they are sent to us for a reason.

In this portion of Scripture the Word of the Lord through the prophet was rejected and he "stopped". I know there are a lot of "self proclaimed" prophets around these days. However, there are also among us true prophets of the Lord. They may not look or sound like prophets but their gift causes them to bring those protective and directional words from heaven. We must be careful that our success does not isolate and insulate us from the Word that we may so desperately need. What should be our response to the Word of the Lord? It should always be as the words of Mary proclaimed, "whatsoever He says unto you, do it!"

Missional or Attractional

There is a great debate going on in the church world today over the right pattern of ministry. The issue at hand is whether the motivation of ministry should be missional or attractional. If it is not a verbal debate it is certainly a functional one. One side has grown weary of the attractional approach seeing it as an outdated method which primarily focuses on signs and advertisements to get new people to church. A part of the attractional crowd uses revival and renewal to attract people and seem to echo the cry, "we set ourselves on fire and they come to watch us burn." It is often centered around experience.

The missional group sees the church as a group on a mission and seeks to activate it's workers around fulfilling the mission of reaching a community for Christ. It is often centered around methods. The attractional group says "come" while the missional group says, "go"! Which is right? Both in my opinion. When Jesus met the woman at the well he was definitely on a mission. Before going there the Scripture says Jesus said, " I need to go through Samaria." There was an internal motivation followed by a purposeful plan to reach someone. This is very missional. Then, after the lady is confronted by Jesus she goes back to her home town and tells the inhabitants of the city, "come and see a man who told me all that I ever did". This is attractional. The result, the town came out to see and hear the man Jesus. Many believed because of two kinds of ministry, the missional and the attractional. Jesus said, "go" and she said "come".

The bottom line is fruit. I see missional churches today doing great things for God and bringing many to the Lord. I also see attractional churches reaching many and making disciples. Let's not condemn methods, let's celebrate the fruit.

Feelings in the Church

In my last blog I talked about feelings and the error of allowing feelings to be our guide in life. Now let's take a look at feelings in the church. What we feel is something that causes us to help people through our empathy and sympathy. What we feel at times can be a warning to avoid danger. Feelings is a mental and emotional reaction to an experience. Yet, as we discussed last week feelings are much too subjective to serve us well as our primary guide through life. Feelings are limited to ability to sense and comprehend. In reality feelings are two dimensional, defined by what we feel(body) and think(mind). Faith on the other hand certainly includes those two dimensions but adds the third dimension of the supernatural, the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God makes his habitation or home in the "believer". From that moment on this new believer, this three dimensional being begins to experience something that was lost by Adam in the garden. Most feelings/emotions are basically a much weakened version of a God-connected spirit.

The new believer is in contact with God through His Spirit but this relationship is kept pure and true by the Scripture. There is an inseparable relationship between God's Word and His Spirit. As long as we continue in His Word and are filled with His Spirit we are functional as heaven intended. The moment we move away from either of the two we are on a path toward deception.

In the Church there has been this tendency to move away from operating in these two necessary relationships, the Word and Spirit. The result is that the Church, a supernatural entity begins to be run by "feelings". Someone said, "all Word with no Spirit you dry up, all Spirit with no Word you blow up but the Spirit and the Word causes us to grow up."

Let's examine our condition today and the condition of our church leadership. Think back leaders, did your last leadership meeting seem to be led more by the Holy Spirit or feelings and opinions? The good news is that getting back on track can be done quickly!

Feelings

Our "feelings" can be one of our greatest enemies. Our feelings are constantly changing and way too uncertain to allow them to set our guideline for living. Having been a pastoral counselor for almost 4 decades I must tell you that I have heard a lot about how people feel. People choose their profession, buy cars, live in certain places and even pick a life long mate by their feelings. The word "feelings" is defined as, "emotion or sympathetic perception". Be honest and ask yourself the question, "do I really want to go through life with emotion or perception as my guide?" I don't think so. Yet, many find it hard to simply accept God's ways, directives or commands as truth.

I was talking to a man recently who had little, if any Biblical foundation. Yet, he was a very caring and intelligent person. He confided that simply taking the leap of faith and accepting the Bible as The Truth was too difficult for him. After all, he was an educated man who needed to understand. Then he asked that question. You know the one, how can Christianity be the only way to heaven? To him, it just didn't make sense, it just didn't feel right! I said, "I know exactly how you feel. I have had the same feelings and thoughts." Yet, there has to be that which is right and true, not truth as a moving target. Life and certainly eternity is much too valuable to simply roll the dice, block out your mind and decide that you will live by what you feel. I'm reminded of the old country song that says, "how can it be wrong when it FEELS so right?"

I can tell that many not in the Church look at the Christian world and assume that Christians are naive people who find comfort by sticking together in what they believe. They see believers as weak people who sit around convincing each other about their faith. Certainly there is a truth that living your life around people of like faith is a reinforcing commodity. Yet, non believers do the same. They run from Christians, flocking together to reinforce their own belief systems.

People of feelings live lives that are uncertain, always shifting and usually dominated by fear. People of faith, real faith are stable, certain and fearless. Why? Because their stability is not founded on the shifting sands of emotion or in religion, creeds, rules or regulations. It is founded on a personal relationship with God Himself. They talk to Him and experience an internal communication that reinforces their faith. Then, from that foundation, when they read the Bible they find it a living book. Even non believing seekers has found the Scripture unlike any other book. Derek Prince was a King's Scholar, attending Eton College in England when he began to read the Bible as a Philosopher to disprove it. He said later that as he read it he became captivated by it and came to a living faith.

Faith in the beginning is often a leap of faith that is in conflict with feelings. However, this leap of faith becomes a solid highway to a life of security, comfort, fearlessness about the future and the answer to loneliness. It is in fact a decision!
When I made the decision to accept God's way and Jesus in particular, I did so with a lot of feelings and questions. It was amazing how fast those things dissipated and how quickly the question marks turned into exclamation marks!

Leadership Training

Attention to Detail:

1. Train yourself to "see" details.

2. Train yourself to take ownership wherever you are assigned. Team mentality is responsibility that goes beyond your assigned role.

3. Train yourself to "think" beyond the norm. (outside the box) Ask: "Is there another way around this obstacle? Familiarity can be a blinder to new and fresh solutions and ideas".

4. Train yourself to "see" multiple options on every project in case things don't develop as you thought.

5. Train yourself to think through meetings and projects. Most people don't do it. This will give you a leg up when a decision must be made in mid-stream. Even if you are not the primary leader, think of alternate plans to a project in case the presented plan comes to a halt or leadership is removed.

6. Take group on facility inspection looking for details. What needs improvement? This trains your team to learn to see detail. People who have always worked in a subordinate role have been silently trained not to see things that need attention outside their scope.

THE MYSTERY OF THE AGES UNFOLDING HERE AT THE END

I have been teaching some in recent days on spiritual warfare. Below is an article my good friend Gary Johnson from Rapid City, South Dakota wrote on the subject.

THE MYSTERY OF THE AGES UNFOLDING HERE AT THE END

My goal is to whet your appetite and provoke you to dig much of this out on your own—I do believe I’m onto something which could revolutionize everything you’re about! How it thrilled Jesus when His seventy disciples discovered prematurely that demons were subject to them. At that very moment the enemy of our souls was engaged and Jesus revealed to us that we had the upper hand—everything He did we can do! Luke 10:17-19: “And He said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.’ ” NKJV

Ever since then Satan has done everything possible to obscure that fact. If he can’t keep the lid on, he’ll be exposed for the “paper tiger” he is. Make no mistake, he’s a formidable foe but he can only operate by “cunning craftiness,” deceit, trickery, lying, seduction, fear tactics, etc. It’s sort of like when I was a kid: I worked on a farm for a dollar a day (you heard me right—ha!) and saved up my money to buy this used bike that had “knee action”—sort of like modern shock absorbers. The only thing the owner withheld from me was that it didn’t work anymore. I was racing downhill on gravel at top speed; the front wheel hit a pot hole and didn’t come back up and I was hurled headlong downhill—without a helmet I might add.

However, while we shouldn’t be naïve and oblivious to Satan’s tactics we ought not to give him undue credit either. He was dethroned, and defanged, at the cross! Two observations I’ve made concerning him over the years: he hates exposure but loves attention. If you don’t give him a handle he’s powerless. Look at this declaration from Jesus in John 14:30: “I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me…” Jesus is the “Lion from the tribe of Judah”; Satan appears “like a lion”—but is a toothless one at that! I don’t see anywhere in Scripture where he has been given any control over the elements, your material goods, etc. Some people give him far too much credit and attention--“Satan is in my sound equipment, he ruined my engine, etc.”; no, the fact you didn’t change oil for 30,000 miles ruined your engine. He can however motivate, or influence, someone else to mess with your goods; that’s why we must use our spiritual weapons such as deliverance (the children’s bread), binding and loosing, and pulling down strongholds to deal with him.

Okay here’s the biggie; it’s so simple I fear many of us might miss it. If you’ll wrap your head around this you’ll never be the same! I might add this did get my pastor friend who shared this revelation with me “disenfranchised” (nice way to say fired) from his church. For the most part, he went to his grave with this powerful revelation but Satan can’t silence it forever. 1 John 4:1-6 states: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh [the tense is “continually coming in flesh”] is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” NASU

We’re coming in for a landing, so hang on! Historical Jesus alone won’t even cut it. If it could, then every church which celebrates Christmas and Easter would be red hot for God. Yet, why are so many of them apostate and succumbing to so many abominable practices? It hasn’t yet sunk in that Christ, who promised that we would do even greater things, is now presently in our flesh desiring to carry on the works that He did--John 14:12. Col. 1:26-27 states, “…that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you [continually coming in flesh], the hope of glory”. Look at Romans 8:11, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Let’s all “go for the gold”, we’ve got the oxygen bottle and we win; Christ desires for all of us to be two-time winners—to reign with Him while on planet earth and also throughout all eternity!

Gary Johnson

Running from Shadows

I am spending time in South Florida with my two granddaughters. Since Juliet is the new one most of my time is spent entertaining, and I do mean entertaining Lucia the 3 year old. Of course I am the one who does most of the "burping" duties for Juliet. I seem to have the touch in that department!

This morning Lucia got up at her normal 6:30 time! The first thing she wanted to do was go into the room with her baby sister. Teresa (AKA: "Gigia") and I went into full distraction mode trying to keep her from waking the baby. Lucia was showing me her new baby doll that does all the things a real baby does...really! When we opened the box to this new doll, out ran this little tiny mouse! Well, we thought it was a mouse or roach or something but then we realized it was a toy. We aren't sure how it got in the box but when this ugly little orange thing started running all over the floor it was pretty scary and especially for Lucia. (Me too!) I forgot about this little creepy thing this morning and then Lucia screams from the living room. I run in to find that Lucia had thrown her baby doll, her most prized possession, in the floor and taken refuge on the couch. I caught the little invader and examined him. I called Lucia over and explained it was really a machine that vibrated and was covered with plastic. One she saw and understood the reality of the situation she lost her fear of this unknown, uninvited guest and began playing with it.

I'm sure you know where I'm going with this and forgive the long story to get here! We have all had things we were afraid of and it often restricted our lives. You may be in just such a place now. Fear may have caused you to abandon the things that matter most to you and has left you hiding and running from shadows or something that cannot really hurt you. You see, the devil is a liar. Jesus called him the father of lies! He operates with lies, fear, oppression and always in darkness. It is time for you to face your fears. Jesus has promised to deliver you from all fear. As a matter of fact the Scripture says, "perfect love casts out all fear". Even at this moment see the reality that Jesus is with you in the middle of your fear. He is greater than any enemy! Get up off the couch now and face your fear. You will find not only will Jesus walk you through it but you will also find out that much of what you have feared is only a shadow.

Meet Juliet Crabb!

Juliet was born Monday, June 6. She is our second granddaughter. Her big sister is Lucia and she is one excited 3 year old. Teresa and I are in Hollywood, Florida helping with all the transitions in the Crabb family. They have been transferred to Washington, D.C.. That means that they had to sell their house, ship all their "stuff" and move into a temporary home until Juliet could arrive and get settled before they make the move north. As of yesterday afternoon, we are all at their house with the new baby.

Thank you for all your prayers and support!

Blessings!

L. A.

Resistance to Restoration

John 5:6 (KJV)
6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

I am still amazed by several things in this story. I am amazed that Jesus asked if he really wanted to be healed. I am amazed that the man didn't really give an answer to the question. I am amazed that Jesus healed him anyway. I think we see here that there are times when God heals people who don't do things correctly or who don't take the proper faith posture and yet they are healed. Generally though, there are patterns in play. In my last blog I wrote about the connection of suffering, compassion and the provision. When there is a needy one, a desire by that one to rise out of their suffering, compassion by another who has Jesus living in them, there will be restoration in one form or another. The Bible is filled with such stories.

As a young Christian I found a suffering man one day. He was emaciated and apparantly in much pain. I was moved with compasion. I had to do something to stop his pain. However, within me was more than a desire to stop his present pain. I wanted to help him start a new life. As I talked to him I learned that it had been several days since he had eaten. I put him in my car and took him home. Teresa prepared food for him. I talked to him as he tried to eat but he couldn't eat very much. I took him to a place that sheltered those in need. I checked on him the next day only to learn he had left the shelter as soon as I did. Then, a couple of days later he was found dead sleeping next to a railroad track. He was frozen in the bitter winter cold. It was so hard to understand. I was willing to help and I believed things could be different for him. The problem? He didn't believe it.

It is a difficult thing for compassion to understand or believe that a person's deepest infirmity isn't their obvious need. There are those whose greatest problem is that they actually choose a life of self destruction. It is a choice! Can you change them? Is there hope? There is always hope but no, you nor I can change them. Something has to happen on the inside of them. In fact there has to be a miracle before the miracle. There has to be a healing deep within them before the true restoration can begin. Seeing their need and exposing them to your compassion is a powerful force. Begin to pray for them and stay in touch so that you can help when their moment comes. However, there are many, many out there who are ready and ripe now for restoration. Find them and release your compassion upon them. Restoration will follow. By the way, they may not be the obvious ones to you and also may be closer than you think.

Helping the Hurting

Matthew 14:14 (NKJV)
14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.

There is something powerful that happens when true need is connected to provision by way of compassion. This verse says that there were four steps to effectively alleviating pain and suffering.

First he "went out". You can't help in a need until you first see the need. Many organizations had their origin in being in a situation that caused them to see a need. Once the need was seen, things began to happen and resources were discovered and brought to the need. The need would have never been seen until someone went out. Jesus said to "go out" and compel them to come in. It is an easy thing for the church who began by "going out" to change to extending a call to the world to "come in". You can't see and feel the same things when they come to you as when you go to them.

Secondly, as Jesus went out, he "saw". You can hear about things and situations and circumstances and you might be appalled. However, when you "see" it for yourself, deeper abilities to bring healing are called upon from within you. That power source that Jesus gives within you is released by "seeing" a need.

Next Jesus was "moved with compassion". When there is a loss of this being "moved with compassion", there is a loss of an ability to heal the sick or meet the need. There is a vast difference between empathy and compassion. Empathy is defined as, "the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another." You can have this intellectual experience and walk on by. You are sorry for the plight of the one suffering but that is about the depth of your experience. Compassion on the other hand is a completely different experience. Compassion is defined as, " a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering." Notice the last part, "accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering". That is what Jesus experienced!

The result of the first three things was, "and healed their sick". There is a direct connection between a release of supernatural power to heal and compassion. Empathy may bring a moment of mercy but compassion can bring a lifetime of service. Empathy is a picture of the Levite seeing the suffering man dying in the road. Compassion is the good Samaritan who puts his life on hold until he does all he can to bring help to the one suffering.

May the Lord grant us a fresh baptism in the waters of compassion.

The American's Creed
by William Tyler Page

I believe in the United States of America as a Government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed, - a democracy in a republic, a sovereign nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable, established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.

I therefore believe it is my duty to my Country to love it; to support its Constitution; to obey its laws; to respect its Flag; and to defend it against all enemies.

Nepotism

Is there a place for nepotism in the church? Nepotism is defined as, "favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those with power or influence."
The foundation of the word originates from the former papal practice of granting special favors to nephews or other relatives.

Nepotism is one of the concerns I hear from congregants around the country today. It has become a common practice for fathers to turn over churches to natural sons as the father grows older. As we examine the Scripture, it seems we see more negative outcomes from this practice than positive. However, we shouldn't dismiss it as wrong automatically. We need to understand that all succession to natural sons does not have to be "nepotism". By that I mean, setting a son in as the new leader may not be done because of a "special favor of the father to the son". He may be the one the Lord has chosen.

What should be the criteria to do so? We need to make sure that:

1. The son truly has a call to this ministry from the Lord.

2. He is qualified for this position. The test would be to make sure we would put anyone else in the position if they had the same qualifications. Too often sons are placed in positions because it is the easy thing to do. It gives them a job! (Never the right thing.)

3. We make sure that proper training and equipping occurs.

4. We take our time in getting them ready for the role. We don't wait too late and then try to rush them into position so we can "get out of the heat".

5. Genuine mentoring occurs. The old rule is still a good one: "You watch me do it, I watch you do it, you do it."

6. Make sure you don't show favoritism in the process. If anything, we need to make the process more difficult for sons. They need to be seen earning it! They need to be seen working hard to the point that by the time the transition happens, the people believe in it.

7. Make sure a diverse leadership team, other than family members, also believes it is the Lord's will.

8. Once it happens, Fathers, get out of the way! You need to be connected to give counsel "when asked", but the son needs to be able to bring the slow gradual change that is needed to lead the church into effective ministry for a new generation.

If the son, the heir apparent doesn't meet the criteria, face the reality of the situation for the sake of all concerned. Don't force it. God has another plan for the church as well as the son. However, if the criteria is met and "it seems good to us and the Holy Ghost", so be it. We should embrace the son without a prejudice against him.

Deeper Waters It seems that once again many are straining to gain some prophetic insight to natural circumstances. When some calamity strikes I get nervous waiting upon the prophets to speak, usually in hindsight. Some who have spoken in vague terms now try to relate present situations to past words given. Even in the prophetic world hindsight is still 20/20. What about clear and accurate words helping the church prepare for the future? In the Old Testament as well as the New Testament the prophetic word was very precise and in the Old Testament if a prophet's word didn't come to pass he was put to death. Not that I want to see that happen in our day but I would love to see more accountability among the prophets. At the very least when prophets miss it they should be called to account and the church should stop hearing their voice. What is the problem regarding the prophetic in this hour? It could be that God is not saying a lot about these things although if you read the online prophetic sites you would think He is speaking non stop. I suspect there is another problem. Most of the prophets in history have paid a great price for their ministry. Many have lived lives of solitude before God. Most have dedicated themselves to holiness and a passionate pursuit of God and his voice. When they did speak from that posture it was deep, pure and refreshing water. Even if a person is gifted by God with the prophetic gift, worldly living and undisciplined thought hinders and even pollutes the ability to hear. They may have the prophetic "bucket" to lower into the well of the Spirit but they only draw from shallow waters. On the other hand, when a prophet spends time with the Lord without the noise of world, his "bucket" goes deeper and brings forth better, more life giving water. The greater the surface water, the greater the possibility of pollution. The deeper the source of the water, the greater the purity and the greater the power to produce life. Let's join in prayer that the Lord would take the prophets of our day past a desire for "profit" into the true ministry of the prophet. Past the silliness of the mystical, shallow and artificial anointing into the deep waters of true revelation. Let's agree for true prophetic ministries that will move far beyond the weak words of, "I love you, my children" into preparation for the end time army that we are called to be.

The Greatest Need Around 1990 I was listening to the great and at times controversial teaching of Costa Deir. His teaching wasn't controversial because it was out of sync with Scripture, it was controversial because it challenged the daily practice of the life of the Church. Then, he said something that caused everyone there to pause and contemplate. His statement: "the greatest need in the world is not evangelism. The greatest need in the world is leadership development"! He went on to say, "if you reach one soul for the Lord, that is a wonderful thing but if your reach and train a leader, you have reached potentially thousands". That short statement changed me and my focus for ministry. I find senior leaders today who still labor primarily trying to reach individuals rather than training others. Of course we must all minister to individuals as the Lord opens the door. That is why Paul told Timothy to "do the work of an evangelist". However, leaders and especially team leaders must, MUST train leaders. I was once a part of a church that taught the book of Revelation non stop year after year. It was a passion of that church. In the same way, every church or ministry should be training leaders in an ongoing way. I have also found that the Senior Leader/Pastor must spearhead this effort. This is one area you can't delegate, at least in the beginning. When the Senior Leader leads the leadership training efforts they are saying, "this is important to our efforts". In honesty many leaders don't feel qualified to train leaders. In my early years of ministry there wasn't a lot of help out there. I finally realized that if I didn't train leaders it wouldn't get done. I have always held leadership classes as a foundational part of church planting. Then I moved to a "school of ministry" within the local church. Your disciples in these classes may never be elders, pastors or missionaries, but they will be enriched and more valuable in function in the local church or organization. How do you do it? What materials should you use? It's very possible that the best training materials for your group is not online but inside. Yes, you have the vision for your group and you can custom fit the training program from your own life experience. Just ask yourself the question, "if I were just stating out in ministry, what would I like to be taught?" Think about the big picture and start listing the areas of need in leadership. Get the topics and then work on each topic. Before long you will have your own syllabus from which to train. Now you can go to other resources to enrich your plan but seek to be an "innovator, not an imitator". As for the best advice on training leaders; just get at it. And as with anything, put it on your calendar or you will never do it! Remember, the greatest need around you is leadership development.