"It's Alive!"

When I was a kid I used to love watching old monster movies. The Mummy, Wolf Man, even the Swamp Thing, were sources of thrill and enjoyment. But my favorite was Frankenstein. The most famous scene in the various Frankenstein movies comes when the insane doctor lowers the body of his monster back into the lab and cries out, “It’s alive! It’s alive!” But was it really? And how do you know if something is alive. Recently I have been enjoying Building a Discipling Culture by Mike Breen. He reviews the 7 biological signs of life, the elements that define something as alive: (1) movement, (2) respiration, (3) sensitivity, (4) nutrition, (5) excretion, (6) growth, and (7) reproduction. He goes on to say that “the inevitable result of a healthy life” is growth and reproduction. It’s not enough to just be alive; the goal is to be vibrant and healthy. Healthy life is ultimately measured by the reality and extent of real growth and reproduction.

We are asking and believing for an alive, vibrant, powerful church. We want to see a congregation that accurately reflects the dynamics of God’s Kingdom in our time and place. To see that vision fulfilled we need to have a clear pathway forward.

Church Health. Just like it’s possible to have a sick, diseased individual, it’s also possible to have a sick, dysfunctional congregation. When Jesus brought salvation, it included healing and restoration. To receive healing we need to understand the kinds of “germs” that make congregations sick. Here are just a few of them: (1) Patterns of unconfessed sin. The apostle Paul had to deal with the Corinthian church for refusing to address and correct a serious pattern of sin. “But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people” (1 Corinthians 5:11). We all wrestle with our own sinful tendencies, but some sinful behaviors, when not adequately addressed, have the power to make a congregation sick. (2) Divisions and factions. Satan’s strategy is always to “divide and conquer.” When a small group in a congregation attempts to use power and influence to gain control at the expense of unity, the congregation becomes sick. “You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?” (1 Corinthians 3:3-4). (3) Lovelessness. An attitude of spiritual pride, exclusiveness and separation not only make a church sick, it changes the church into a social club. God’s house is to be known for attitudes and demonstrations of love. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” (1 John 3:16-17).

Church Growth. Spiritual growth begins in the heart and life of individual believers. If we are walking with the Lord, listening to his voice and obeying him, the character of Christ will be formed in us. “Making disciples” is our first calling as a believing congregation. Unfortunately, attracting a crowd, even if it means stealing sheep from other congregations, seems to be the mission of a few congregations. “In the past, our zeal to fulfill the Great Commission has often led to the great omission – we’ve made converts without making disciples fully trained and equipped in all Jesus taught” (Mike Breen). Learning dynamic spiritual practices will train us in spiritual maturity. Spiritual growth and development in individual members will then result in corporate growth in the congregation. Our corporate growth will be both qualitative and quantitative. The simple fact is this: healthy sheep reproduce. God’s plan to grow a healthy congregation is through the healthy reproduction of its members. “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:37). Unhealthy churches tend to defer to unhealthy growth strategies, reinforcing the pattern of disease in the church. “Reproduction is a sign of life. There seems to be a mechanism with the created order that prevents unhealthy specimens from being multiplied. The unhealthy ones generally don’t multiply; it is the healthy ones that carry on the species. It is the goal of a species to create a healthy next generation, the most important target of their lives” (Mike Breen).

Church Multiplication. Just as healthy sheep reproduce, healthy churches reproduce. A healthy congregation will make disciples from the surrounding area. Healthy believers will be commissioned by the Lord to take the Gospel outside of their immediate sphere of influence. “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (Acts 8:4). In time, other healthy congregations will be established that will grow and then ultimately reproduce themselves. In this way, it will be obvious that these communities of Jesus followers are indeed alive. “Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust” (Acts 14:23).

For us to be the kingdom community God has designed us to be, we are committed to a clear pathway of church health, church growth, and church multiplication – trusting the Lord to lead and empower us every step of the way. The best is yet to come!

God Is At Work - Everywhere!

I grew up in a wonderful, Christian environment. Every aspect of our lives was centered in and around a local church. Mine was one of those families that could claim we were literally in church “every time the doors were open.” We were the ones who opened the doors at the beginning of the day and cleaned up at the end. In that culture, the highest calling anyone could have was a calling to “full time ministry.” (Being called to missions in Africa was at the top of the calling pyramid.) While vocational ministry is a real possibility, the old view of “clergy” and “laity” assumed that God was primarily at work in the church. The local church was viewed as a “city of refuge,” a place where folks could be kept safe from “the world.” Much later it began to dawn on me that this view of “church” and of the Christian life was more religious than it was biblical. And it that’s true, what is a more accurate view?

Let’s start with some Christian Doctrine 101. God exists and is present everywhere at the same time. “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there” (Psalm 139:7-8). This is one of those unique “attributes of God,” one of the things that defines God as “God,” one of the “omni” words (“omnipresence”). We also understand that God is at work everywhere at the same time. “If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:9-10). While God has specific covenant relationships with specific people, his work is universal. God is not confined to a specific time or place or people. “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?” (Isaiah 66:1).

When God “called out” a covenant people to be the “headquarters” of his plan of redemption – Israel in the Old Testament and the church in the New – it was so they could be the primary instrument of his redemptive plan and rule on the earth. Both Old and New covenant communities were to be the primary expression of the nature of God’s kingdom and the primary means for extending the influence of God’s kingdom among all the people of the world. To Israel God said, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6). The work of a priest was to represent the people to God in prayer and to represent God to the people in speaking God’s Word. As a “kingdom of priests,” Israel was to represent all the people of the earth to God in prayer and they were to represent God to all the people by speaking God’s words. The very same mission was given to the church in the New Testament. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20). The church is a covenant instrument in God’s hands. Since the coming of Christ, the church is the primary means of expressing the nature and extending the influence of God’s kingdom. In that sense, the church is a temporary means to an end, the end being the kingdom of God. God is at work, God is on mission, everywhere in the world at all times. The church is a worshipping covenant community on mission with Jesus in the world.

For that reason, the mission of God and therefore the mission of the church, is not just for one or two hours on Sunday morning. The mission of God, the reason for the existence of the church, is a 24/7 universal mission. That means that every full-time disciple of Jesus is engaged in a full-time mission, a full-time ministry. It’s just that each of us has a unique “ministry center.” If you’re a full-time student, your ministry center is the school. If you’re a full-time parent and care-giver, your home is your primary ministry center. If you’re a full-time banker, lawyer, doctor, if you work on the line at the KIA plant or at Wal-mart, your work place is your full-time ministry center. If you live in a certain place, that neighborhood is your ministry center.

To be effective partners in the mission of God, our primary task is to discern where God is at work in our world and to join him in his work. As a covenant community, the church “gathers” in order to “grow.” We gather together to sing and pray and encourage each other. We gather to worship God and hear his voice. We gather to be renewed, revived, and filled with faith and hope and God’s Spirit. But we “grow” in order to “go.” A sports team knows that the meeting in the locker room before the game is not the game itself. That team also understands that when they go out to play the game, it is not the job of the coaches to play while the players sit in the stands and cheer. If you have been born from above, if you are a child of God and a follower of Jesus, you have been commissioned. You are part of the Jesus-team, chosen and called out by God to push back the enemy’s team and see the rule of God bring life and transformation to the piece of earth you inhabit. God is at work – everywhere! Will you join him?

Good News!

End-of-the-world scenarios, e.g., the zombie apocalypse, are very popular these days.  A typical plot might look something like this: A strange virus begins to spread around the world very rapidly, turning people into “the walking dead.” All the best scientists are working as fast as they kind to find a cure, but with little success. And then, a small group of people in an obscure corner of the world find it – a cure that will not only reverse the zombiefying effects of the virus but will bring about a whole new level of abundant life. As a result, this special group began to inoculate each other and share the cure with their closest friends and relatives. They then built a great city surrounded by impregnable walls, and they lived happily ever after from generation to generation, while the rest of the world suffered and died in the worst circumstances imaginable. “That could never happen,” you might say. But unfortunately, it does happen, every day in local churches around the world. You see, we know the cure! We have the Good News that will bring healing and abundant life. We just have to announce it – we have to live it!

It’s all about the Gospel. This beautiful word (Greek euangello) simply means a good announcement, the announcement of good news. It is “good tidings, the glad tidings of the kingdom, a reward for good tidings, the proclamation of the grace of God that has come through Christ.” Believers in Jesus are Gospel-centered, Gospel-celebrating, Gospel-based, Gospel-driven people. That’s why it’s essential that we understand both the Gospel as well as the mandate to announce the Good News every day and in every way. Jesus gave this promise: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations” (Matthew 24:14). The Good News of the Reign of God on the earth inaugurated by Jesus will prevail in every nation, among every people group. While some are waiting for the end of the world and the return of Christ, Jesus stated, “And the gospel must first be preached to all nations” (Mark 13:10). The Gospel will prevail! The Gospel is the “pearl of great price.” The Gospel is the cause we are willing to live and die for. That’s why Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:34-35). Jesus also promised blessing to those who would live a Gospel-centered life: “’Truly I tell you,’ Jesus replied, ‘no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30). The final words of Jesus to his followers were, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15).

The first church in the book of Acts lived to announce the Good News. “After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages” (Acts 8:25; see also 8:40; 14:7, 21; 15:7; 16:10). Paul understood his apostolic mission in terms of his call to preach the Gospel (Romans 1:1-2, 9, 15; 2:16; 11:28; 15:16, 19-20; 16:25). “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Corinthians 1:17). Paul declared the power of the Gospel in these famous words: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith’” (Romans 1:16-17). Paul summarized the content of the Gospel message (1 Corinthians 15:1-8) this way: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (verses 3-4). In other words, the Gospel is the Jesus story, it is the Good News about Jesus.

I grew up in a wonderful, Gospel-centered church culture. However, the word “evangelism” grew to become a feared word. It seemed like we were being judged by whether or not we were finding opportunities to “share our faith,” and were encouraged to do so in the most unnatural kinds of ways. However, the work of “evangelism” is simply the need to announce the Good News. And why would we not want to do so? In fact, we are to be living announcements of the Good News as we seek to effectively communicate the Jesus story in our time and place (see 2 Timothy 4:5). “Evangelism” is nothing more than providing an encounter with the Good News and ultimately with Jesus himself, giving an opportunity for a faith response. It might be helpful to clarify that evangelism is not:

1.   A turn-or-burn scare tactic.

2.   A door-to-door sales strategy.

3.   An event designed to get bodies onto the church property.

In fact, most of the time evangelism is a faith-based conversation between friends, offering the help and life only Jesus can give. It is the offer of a cure and of abundant life. 

Eating the Word

Americans love their Bible. It is the most owned and read least of any other book.  A recent survey discovered that 19% of regular churchgoers read the Bible every day while 18% read the Bible rarely or never. In addition, a recent Barna survey found that today’s younger generation views the Bible as less sacred and less accurate and personally engages with the Bible less than older generations. Some have gone so far as to say that today’s generation is “biblically illiterate.” At the same time, the Willow Creek REVEAL study found that “reflection on Scripture” is the single most important spiritual growth “catalyst” for all Jesus followers. Obviously we have a challenge when it comes to growing in God’s Word: we commonly “believe in” the Bible, we value the Bible, most of us own one or more Bibles, but we also tend to neglect a personal engagement with the Bible and therefore miss the single most important factor in our experience of personal transformation. So what do we need to do to begin a new lifestyle of active, personal engagement with God’s Word?

Maybe we should begin by reminding ourselves of why we value the Bible so highly. We serve a God who has not distanced himself from humanity but has gone to great lengths to consistently reveal himself to us. The Bible often refers to God’s self-revelation as the “word” of God, and that word is very powerful. It is the word that brought everything into existence in the first place. “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). God’s word became specific and clear in both a Written Word and a Living Word. God’s revelation in Scripture and in Jesus tells the whole story of who God is, what God is like, and of the eternal purpose of God. Concerning Jesus we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). In the mystery of the Triune God the Father is revealing himself in his Word by the Holy Spirit. That’s why the apostle Paul described Scripture as “inspired” (2 Timothy 3:16), or literally, “God-breathed.” The breath of God, the Spirit of God, brought forth and rests on the Word of God. When we are born from above, the Spirit who is in us connects with the Spirit in God’s Word and we have a direct experience of God’s revelation. As Henry Blackaby says, reading and reflecting on Scripture does not lead us to an experience of God, it is an experience of God. It is the combination of the Spirit and the Word that has the power to transform our lives. That’s why Jesus said, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63), and “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). The writer to the Hebrews summarized it this way: “For the word of God is living and active” (Hebrews 4:12). When tempted by Satan in the wilderness Jesus was victorious when he said, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

But the power of God’s Word to transform our lives does not happen automatically or by some kind of magical process. It requires a regular, consistent, personal interaction on our part with the Word. And that begins by accepting fully the authority of God’s Word in our lives. It’s not possible to receive God’s revelation in the Word without having first committed ourselves to hearing and obeying whatever God says to us in the Word. Jesus said, “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (John 7:17). James reminded us, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22). We then learn to read Scripture reflectively and with humility, understanding our dependence on God to open our hearts and plant the Word in our hearts as good seed. “However, as it is written: ‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’—the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). We can then learn a healthy and consistent lifestyle of daily engagement with Scripture. That not only involves reading but also what the Bible calls “meditation,” a repeated pondering of a short passage of Scripture, asking questions about personal application. Meditation includes praying about what God is saying to us in that passage, and then repeating that word throughout the day. “Blessed is the one…whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season” (Psalm 1:1-3).

Don’t be in a hurry. Let God show you where in the Bible he wants you to read. Some passages are more appropriate than others in certain seasons of life. Know when to reflect on the Psalms or the Proverbs. Develop a sense of how to engage with the Gospels and the Epistles. Above all else, be prayerful and consistent. After all, God’s Word is your daily food; it is your life. And “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit^] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you” (Ephesians 1:17-18). 

God's Sacred Portion

Understanding and practicing consistent stewardship as productive managers of everything God has “loaned” us is really Christianity 101. It’s one of those foundational ideas that summarizes our life as Jesus followers and citizens of his Kingdom. But sometimes the details escape us and might even become sources of controversy. So let’s explore foundational stewardship brick-by-brick.

It really all began with the story of Cain and Abel. Genesis chapter 4 is the first time we see the word “sin” in the Bible and has everything to do with the heart of worship. Both brothers were worshippers but they had a very different heart toward the Lord in their worship. The text says that Cain brought “some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the Lord” while Abel brought “fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock” (vss. 3-4). God saw the differences between these two offerings as a fundamental indication of their different approaches to God as worshippers. That fact was proven when, after God showed favor to Abel and his offering, Cain responded by killing his brother out of jealousy. Because Abel had a sincere, wholehearted commitment to God, he understood that the first and best portion of everything belonged entirely to God and was to be offered up as worship. The “first and the best” as God’s “sacred portion” became a clear principle of worship and stewardship in the rest of Scripture. In the Law of Moses the sacred portion was sometimes referred to as the “firstfruits” (Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Leviticus 2:12; Numbers 18:12; Deuteronomy 26:10) or the “firstborn” of the flock (Exodus 34:19; Leviticus 27:26; Numbers 18:17; Deuteronomy 12:6).

I think it would have been helpful if God had defined the “sacred portion” more specifically so true worship could be proportional and systematic. But wait – God did provide that kind of definition. It all began with Abram. When God gave Abram victory over his enemies and enabled him to rescue his nephew Lot, he worshipped the Lord with the priest-king Melchzedek. “Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything” (Genesis 14:20). This is the first passage in the Bible that defines God’s sacred portion, the first and best, as the first “tenth.” Later Jacob followed this same principle (Genesis 28:22). In the Law of Moses, the first tenth as God’s sacred portion simply became known as the “tithe” (meaning “tenth”). When the nation of Israel was given instructions concerning the true worship God was looking for in their covenant relationship with him, the tithe became a key principle. God summarized it by simply saying, “A tithe of everything…belongs to the Lord” (Leviticus 27:30). It wasn’t so much that the people were given the option to worship God by generously giving him a tenth of everything; the first tenth belonged uniquely to God and was not the people’s to give. A sign of their covenant loyalty to the Lord, the baseline of their commitment as worshippers, was an understanding that the sacred tenth belonged to God alone and was to be systematically and consistently offered up to him as worship. It was “holy to the Lord” (Leviticus 27:32). Just before his death Moses reemphasized the role of the tithe in the nation’s covenant relationship with God as an acknowledgement that everything they had belonged to God and had been given them to manage according to God’s instructions (Deuteronomy 26:1-15). Giving was then seen as “systematic” (regular, consistent) and “proportional” (calling for the same portion from everyone, rich and poor alike).

Whenever the nation of Israel experienced a “backsliding” from their commitment to God, they neglected to worship God with a sacred portion. However, during times of revival Israel always knew to return to their covenant loyalty and true worship with tithes (2 Chronicles 31:5-6; Nehemiah 10:37-38; 13:12). When the prophets called on Israel to repent, their repentance included a return to the worship principle of the tithe (Amos 4:4). In fact, the prophets understood that, because the tithe was holy, it could not be given – but it could be stolen. Giving to the Lord did not begin until it exceeded the tithe. “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8). Malachi went on to promise blessings to those who would return to faithful worship and stewardship. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it” (Malachi 3:10).

Unfortunately, the Pharisees in Jesus’ day made tithing into a superficial, external religious tradition. Jesus rebuked them by saying, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former” (Matthew 23:23; see also Luke 11:42). Jesus commended them for “practicing the latter” (tithing) but condemned them for neglecting justice, mercy and faithfulness. Some object saying that Jesus taught 100% belongs to God and not just 10% and that tithing, therefore, is not called for. My response is: (1) The Old Testament taught that 100% belongs to God as well, the tithe was the sacred portion that constituted the baseline of covenantal worship; and (2) the 100% surely includes the 10% as a starting point. If we understand that everything belongs to God and that we are all managers of God’s stuff, then we also understand that the starting point of our faithful management is worshipping God with the first and the best portion that uniquely belongs to him. We are then stewards of the remaining 90%.

So what is the meaning of the tithe?

1.   It is a small portion of everything God has given us that belongs uniquely to God. We have the honor of worshipping God with that portion.

2.   It is a sign of our covenant relationship with God. When we worship God with the first tenth we are acknowledging that 100% belongs to God.

3.   It is worship, an expression of love and gratitude to the God who sacrificed everything, and especially his Son, for us. It is to be offered up freely and joyfully.

4.   It is proportional and systematic, asking the same thing of everyone equally.

On the other hand, the tithe is not:

1.   Membership dues, a requirement to belong in God’s kingdom community.

2.   Brownie points, earning favor with God or contributing in any way to our salvation.

3.   An investment scheme, making a business deal with God in order to earn his blessings.

4.   A savings program, allowing us to worship with a tithe and add 10 or 20 or more percent – “banking offerings” (maybe during a building program) and then not tithe for some time afterward.

5.   A barter system, trading one kind of service and stewardship for another. (“I’ll trade you 3% of the tithe for an extra two hours of service in the youth group,” etc.)

Everything we have belongs to God alone – our time, our talents, and our material treasures. The principle of the sacred portion can be applied to every part of our lives as we commit ourselves to worshipping God with the first and best of everything he has given us. 

Are You A Leader or a Manager?

One of the most common discussions in the leadership literature these days is the difference between a “leader” and a “manager.” A recent article in the Wall Street Journal described the difference this way: The leader innovates, the manager administrates; the leader is an original, the manager is a copy; the leader develops, the manager maintains. While it’s clear that both are needed on any effective leadership team, it’s also clear that managers would have nothing to do if there weren’t real leaders and that leaders would not get anything done without managers. (On a sidebar, it’s my view that good leaders know how to manage and good managers know how to lead.) While we like to describe the significant difference between these two, my question is this: From God’s perspective, are we leaders or managers?

One of the key differences between leaders and managers is the simple fact that the leader is also the “owner,” and it is the responsibility of the manager to coordinate and administrate the assets of the business in a way that causes it to be healthy, grow and multiply. In that sense, God is always the leader and the rest of us are always managers. Because God has made everything, God owns everything; and because God owns everything, God has authority over all things and is the leader of all things. And because God owns and leads all things, the rest of us own and lead – nothing! We are always, in every situation, the managers of something owned by God. God only “loans” us certain things to manage.

There is a very interesting example of this truth in the book of Leviticus. In the Hebrew calendar the 50^th year was to be the “Year of Jubilee,” the year of restoration. The land was to be allowed to rest, all debts were to be cancelled, all slaves were to be set free. Most amazingly, everyone was to return to the land originally assigned their family by God. During the previous 49 years some families may have fallen on hard times and been forced to sell their family farm (or even themselves into slavery). At the end of the 49 years, some had a great deal of wealth in land and assets while others had sunk into abject poverty. But on the Year of Jubilee, all the land was to be given back and everyone was to start over again with a clean slate and an equal playing field. Why? What was God’s perspective of this situation? “The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers . . . for the Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 25:23, 55). Simply put, the land did not belong to the people; the people did not belong to the people. God alone was the owner of everything; it was the responsibility of the people to manager what belonged to God according to his instructions.

This unique Kingdom perspective on leadership was a prominent theme in the teachings of Jesus. He taught the disciples a parable about what it means to be a “faithful and wise manager” (Luke 12:42-48). Such a manager is trusted by the owner and is put “in charge of his servants,” is given responsibility to oversee and care for the servants in the owners household. If he is faithful and fruitful, the manager may also be put “in charge of all his possessions.” While the manager has clear authority and responsibility, he never forgets that his authority was delegated to him by the owner so that he could manage the owner’s assets in the most productive way possible. But what if the manager begins to feel like he is the owner? What if he begins to misuse his authority in a way that is not only presumptuous and arrogant but also destructive to the interests of the owner? In that case, he will eventually be punished by the owner. In another place, Jesus taught a parable about a shrewd manager that concluded with a lesson about managing temporary things with an eye on eternal rewards (Luke 16:1-13). Jesus ended his parable with these famous words: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” (Luke 16:11-12).

Pastoral leaders are responsible to manage their own family well as a sign of their faithful leadership in the local church (1 Timothy 3:3-4, 12). God has given each of us certain gifts, not to own but to manage in the context of God’s Kingdom. “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10).

So who is the leader? What does God own and is therefore in charge of? God owns our very lives. God owns our families. God owns our time. God owns all of our stuff. God owns our talents, abilities, spiritual gifts. God owns our relational connections. God owns our educational and vocational accomplishments. God owns everything – and we own nothing! But we have a solemn responsibility with eternal consequences; we are to be wise, productive stewards of anything and everything God has “loaned” to us. Every aspect of our lives is to be seen in the context of its potential to fulfill the will of God and reveal the glory of God. So what has God loaned to you to manage? And what kind of manager are you? 

What the World Needs Now Is . . . Communication, Sweet Communication

It seems like there are significant relational deficits in our current society. Learning how to love and serve one another seems to be disappearing skills. Relationships “aren’t rocket science,” but they do require a basic level of maturity, and that means humility, respect, a servant’s heart, and a commitment to love unconditionally – qualities rarely found in our lives. But even if there is sufficient maturity to engage in a meaningful relationship, it must still be understood that the heart of any relationship is communication. Without consistent, sensitive, skillful communication, no relationship will make it very far or go very deep. And that includes relationship with God.

It’s amazing to think about how much God loves us and how committed God is to a mutual, committed love relationship with us. “Religion” is all about appeasing the gods and balancing the moral scales. The God revealed to us in Scripture is not calling us to a religious commitment but to a personal commitment of loving obedience. The extent of God’s love for us is made clear everywhere in the Bible. God redeemed Israel because of his “unfailing love,” his covenant-keeping love for them (Exodus 15:13; Deuteronomy 4:37; 7:8; Psalm 44:3). God revealed himself to his people as a God who is “abounding in love” (Exodus 34:6). God’s relationship with us is simply referred to as a “covenant of love” (Deuteronomy 7:12;2 Chronicles 6:14). The only reason we can have a relationship with God is because of his great love (Psalm 5:7). “The Lord your God loves you!” (Deuteronomy 23:5). In fact, the principle attribute of God’s character is love. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34). “Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens” (Psalm 36:5).

On our side of the relationship, God summarizes what he is looking from us in these words: “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 10:12; see also 11:1, 13, 22). Even in the Old Testament the “Law” was summarized this way: “Carefully follow all these laws I command you today—to love the Lord your God and to walk always in obedience to him” (Deuteronomy 19:9; see also 30:16). God promised to write his law upon the hearts of his people, “so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live” (Deuteronomy 30:6). “Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20). “So be very careful to love the Lord your God” (Joshua 23:11). The highest expression or praise was simply this: “He is good; his love endures forever” (2 Chronicles 5:13; 7:3, 6; 20:21). “I love you, LORD” (Psalm 18:1). “I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever” (Psalm 52:8).

When Jesus came his mission was to reveal the love of the Father to a disconnected, alienated world, to model a love relationship with the Father, and to restore a bridge back to that relationship for everyone who was willing. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16). “The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them” (John 14:21). The passion and joy that motivated Jesus was his love for people and the prospect of having a real love relationship with them that would last forever. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love” (John 15:9). When Jesus restored Peter he asked a very simple question: “Do you love me?” (John 21:15-17). There’s no greater demonstration of God’s love than the cross. “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God’s love is so strong, nothing will ever be able to separate us from it. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39), because “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16).

So how important is communication to a love relationship? What if I asked you, “Have you told your wife you love her today?” and you responded, “I tried that once and it didn’t work.” What would that say about the health of your relationship? What would that say about the quality of your love? There is no real relationship without consistent, intentional, thoughtful, sensitive communication from the heart. And there is no real, growing relationship with God apart from consistent, intentional, thoughtful prayer. Every healthy marriage relationship I’ve ever come across has a consistent pattern of communication, maybe even a weekly date with the goal of communicating (including listening) from the heart. Every growing relationship with God that I’ve ever encountered has a consistent pattern of prayer – not out of a sense of duty, not to appease God, but because of a true love for God and a desire to spend time communicating with God. If your relationship with God seems to be stalled or stagnant, let me ask you this question: “How is your prayer life?”