Maundy Thursday Service – 7pm, March 28

Taking the Scripturally grounded and historically tested model of Augustine’s two cities, I first emphasized how we love the lost.  We co-labor with the city of man for temporal peace.  We labor with the city of God for eternal peace, and we labor to bring eternal peace to our lost neighbors.  We cannot set back in apathy and fulfill the command to love neighbor. Our labor for temporal peace (in the broadest sense) will move us into the public sphere because we know as believers that unrighteousness among a people will ultimately be that people’s ruin.  However, we must be ever mindful of the priority of eternal peace–righteous laws cannot save anyone.  Only a righteous crucified Savior has the power to save.

Second, I emphasized the need to love the brethren.  In that regard, I stressed respecting calling (some believers are called to labor more for change in the temporal sphere than others)  and Christians should not make demands or judge other believers when they spend less time laboring for social change.  Additionally, we need to respect freedom of conscience and the process of sanctification when it comes to the political views of our fellow Christians.  The one righteous standard of God’s word will tend to lead to agreement on many issues, but the fact remains that there will always be some differences in political policy and (perhaps especially) political strategy among Christians.

To this end I referenced the recent treatment of Louie Giglio by some evangelicals who mocked him (in my judgment) and accused him of cowardice or compromise for not choosing to “fight” for his right to say the inaugural benediction.  (Of course, some expressed their thoughts in a more respectful manner.)  My point as a local church pastor is that we shouldn’t treat people with whom we share the Lord’s Supper the way that some Christians treated Giglio.  Moreover, and this is important, those who gain traction in the blogosphere do shape the way Christians respond to one another in a local church context.

Blogs and social media are tools.  We are all responsible for how we use these tools and how we allow them to shape our minds and hearts.  I use them.  You use them as well, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this!  The point is to be aware of how we use these tools and how they are affecting us.   It is certainly o.k. to disagree with a public Christian’s public views in public (via internet), but that disagreement should be conducted in such a way that models local fellowship in tone (love and respect) and in principle (respect for calling and liberty of conscience).

Sunday night Joshua Knott brought more detail to the struggle we face in loving one another in the church.  Since the days of the early church believers have shown the tendency to turn on one another.  Joshua noted that the same word for “to speak against” at the end of James 4 is used by Peter in 1st Peter 3 to describe the way in which the world wrongly slanders believers.  The point?  As Joshua put it, believers in the church can use the same fleshly tactics on one another that the world employs against the church.  The result?  We are so weakened from within as a church that we cannot withstand the assault of the world.

I had a couple of people ask me if there was a particular problem in our church that we were seeking to address, especially when these messages dovetailed the way that they did.  The answer is no and yes.  There is no specific problem in terms of people in conflict.  (There was also no coordination of the messages.)  There is, however, the reality that we are all sinners and that we now have unprecedented access via the net of all manner of bad examples that we can use to justify our sin.  Thankfully there are good examples too.  We need to be wise in choosing which example to emulate.

Kevin DeYoung recently posted the reading list for the internship program at his church.  Many of these titles have appeared in one form or another in our church life.  J. Oswald Sanders’ Spiritual Leadership is his first read in the category of leadership.  A Praying Life by Paul Miller is his first read in the category of prayer.  (I will be recommending that the whole church read A Praying Life.  More on that later.)

DeYoung’s list is aimed at forming pastors.  However, all of the readings are appropriate for church officers.  Many are appropriate for other areas of leadership.  Some are classics to be appreciated by all.  

Reading for Spiritual Leadership

“It is the mark of a grown-up man, as compared with a callow youth, that he finds his center of gravity wherever he happens to be at the moment, and however much he longs for the object of his desire, it cannot prevent him from staying at his post and doing his duty.   This is just what a new convert finds it difficult to do.  It is a characteristic which accompanies a growing maturity.”

More and more there is a dearth of willingness (of men especially) who are willing to give time to the local church.  Sometimes there are legitimate conflicts in play which these men cannot overcome.  Other times, however, I have sensed that the work of the local church looks less impressive to them than the work of their company or the work of a large mega-church.

Such a disposition in the heart of a prospective leader reveals an immaturity about God’s work in the world, and a blind spot regarding their own spiritual life.  If a man who is spiritually qualified finds himself in a church setting where he is needed, yet refuses to serve because he judges the church beneath his time, he may well be acting immaturely, denying God’s providential placement of him in that place at that time.  I’ve served in places where the grass was quite green, and in places where the grass was quite lean and faded.  But it was grass nonetheless, God was watering both places, and God was calling me to be his instrument to poor out that water in faithfulness.  Don’t judge.  Be mature.  Serve God where you are and don’t lust after greener places.

PS–Sometimes the green that you see is actually spray paint too.  A thin coating of glitz to cover the faded grass beneath.  We shouldn’t be naive.

The church is always in need of leaders, but the church’s leaders are of a different kind than that leaders in other organizations.  Knowing the difference between what I call (following Sanders) spiritual and natural leadership is vital to the spiritual health of every ministry in the church.  Someone may be a great “leader” in their company but a terrible leader in the church.  Why?  They do not approach the work of ministry from a God seeking disposition.  In fact, it is likely that no serious consideration was given to their spiritual life before they assumed a leadership position in the church.  This situation leads to a great problem in the church: the church can have people in “religious positions” who are not in fact genuine spiritual leaders.

Religious position can be conferred by bishops and boards, but not spiritual authority, which is the prime essential of Christian leadership.  This comes–often unsought–to those who in earlier life have proved themselves worthy of it by spirituality, discipline, ability and diligence.  Men who have heeded the command: ‘Seekest thought great things for thyself?  Seek them not,’ and instead have sought first the kingdom of God.  Spiritual leadership is a thing of the Spirit and is conferred by God alone.

These God seeking, spiritual leaders have a distinctive quality to their leadership:

The overriding need of the church, if it is to discharge its obligation to the rising generation, is for a leadership that is authoritative, spiritual and sacrificial.  Authoritative, because people love to be led by one who knows where he is going and who inspires confidence.  They follow almost without question that man who shows himself wise and strong, who adheres to what he believes.  Spiritual, because a leadership that is unspiritual, that can be fully explained in  terms of the natural, although ever so attractive and competent, will result only in sterility and moral and spiritual bankruptcy.  Sacrificial, because modeled on the life of the One who gave Himself a sacrifice for the whole world, who left us an example that we should follow His steps.

Many of us lead somebody, and all of us follow somebody.  If you are leading, then seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all things needed for leadership will be added to you.   If you are following, constantly remind yourself that spiritual leaders have to lead spiritually, and not according to the techno-glitz, rapid results culture in which we live.

The material has been presented in a form that is calculated to be of help even to younger Christians in whose hearts the Holy Spirit is working to create a holy ambition to place all their powers at the disposal of the Redeemer.  If there is something, too, that will rekindle aspiration and crystallize a fresh purpose in the heart of those further along the road of leadership, the aim of the book will be realized.

God did use this book to shape me when I was a young Christian.  God also used the man who gave the book to me.  I believe that it is important to share this story because none 0f us are self made.  We receive compliments as individuals, but we are fashioned by the influence of many.  As Christians, we are products of the Holy Spirit.  He ministers to us directly.  But, He also uses others in the body to build us up (Eph 4 & 1 Cor 12).  We are an amalgamation of the gifts God has given us, the background that we have received, and the direct ministry of the Spirit.

I received my copy of Spiritual Leadership when I was a freshman in college.  A graduating Senior, Howe Whitman, gave it to me at the end of the year.  It was his graduation present–to me!  A spiritual leader himself, Howe took the occasion of his own honor–when he should get a present–to bless me.

At the beginning of that academic year (Fall, 1991), Howe visited my dorm room.  I remember the visit like it was yesterday.  He was slightly out of breath because I lived on the 5th floor and there was no elevator.  Howe came to invite me to his Athletes in Action Bible study.  I was impressed by how well rounded he was–kind, athletic, confident (later I learned that his confidence was in God), humble, circumspect and bright.

The Bible study was a great blessing for the whole year.  I will never forget one study where he asked us to hold on while he changed clothes.  The study would be different that night, he told us.  Howe came into the room dressed in a home-made toga (i.e., a white bed sheet with a belt).  He sat down and recited the entire book of Philippians as if he were apostle Paul speaking to us.  That might sound kind of corny as you read this blog post, but for us freshman at the time it was a powerful encouragement.  It showed us all the source of the character that we appreciated in this young spiritual leader.  If we wanted to be like Christ as we saw Christ in Howe, we too could store up the transforming word of God in our lives.

Howe was a whole man, and was a whole-man type of mentor.  He taught me how to slalom ski.  He showed us the art of frog-gigging (which he did with bow and arrow…Howe grew up in Georgia).  We played basketball together (I was always better at B-Ball than Howe.)  He held me accountable, in a gentle but steadfast sort of way.  He called me if I missed study-never berating, but always concerned to see how I was doing.  When a non-Christian young woman caught my attention, Howe lovingly told me that as a Christian that relationship could not profit me.  I was redirected, and she and I were spared much future heartache.

After graduation Howe went on to become the Special Assistant to Chuck Colson for a number of years.  He stayed in touch.  He invited me to Arlington, VA one weekend to meet Chuck Colson.  (That was inspiring.)  After his stint at Prison Fellowship, Howe headed to Eastern Europe for a number of years as a missionary.  Somewhere along the way he got an MBA from Wharton.  Then, supporting himself as a successful real-estate entrepreneur, Howe became a founding board member of the Christian Union in 2002.  He remained on the board until the ministry was established.  Having a vision to start a top-flight Christian Preparatory School in Princeton, he became a founding board member of The Wilberforce School, where he is currently the Headmaster.  Howe and I still talk, though only about once every 18 months when he or I need a perspective from the outside.  We always say that we should talk more, but never do.

As I opened my copy of Spiritual Leadership today this inscription remains clear inside the book jacket:

June 1992

Jay,

I praise God for you & your growth in the Lord this year.  I’ve had a great time getting to know you & I’ll definitely miss hanging out with you.  God’s gifted  you in many ways & I pray you’d continue to use them and & pray that He would use you to build up his church.  

(II Timothy 2:15).  Love in Christ, 

                                                                    Howe

2 Timothy 2:15 reads, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker, who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”  Howe’s prayers for me were, and are, being answered.  Today I spend the better part of my laboring to be a blessing, struggling to handle the word of truth rightly, and daily asking God to use me and others to build up his church.  As I read this inscription I am once again called gently to account, called to fulfill my calling and make good use of my gifts for the glory of God.

God uses a lot of people to shape us.  They all matter.  They are all important.  I was a Christian when Howe met me.  But, I am not sure how things would have gone for me in college had God not placed him in my path.  As I write this, I am wondering in whose path God has placed me.  In whose path has God placed you?  Conversely, whom has God placed in my path again to mold and shape me as his servant.  I need somebody, and somebody needs me.  You need somebody, and somebody needs you.

Tune back in for tomorrow’s quotation from the first chapter of Spiritual Leadership, “An Honorable Ambition.”

Our approach to this challenge over the past several years has been to have large events for men in the fall and in the spring. We encourage all men to attend, whether or not it is their custom. The goal of these events are to challenge men through topics at hand, encourage men through the fellowship that they experience, and provide opportunity for continued fellowship and service. These events are efficient and highly focused–otherwise men will not attend. We have developed a positive reputation among our brothers in the community and often have men from other churches attend.

In the past several years, the large group events had been followed by a series of Saturday morning studies. These studies were successful in engaging more men spiritually. As a result, more men became ministry leaders, Sunday School teachers, elders, deacons, and youth workers. We also formed a new ministry that required more male leadership from this same pool of men–the Elevation Community Groups. With so many men from these Saturday morning studies being called upon for additional time and leadership, the short term strategic decision was made to stop doing the follow up series on Saturday mornings.

Paul Veenema and Benjamin Harding provide leadership to the Men’s Ministry from the Session and Staff respectively. Many other men have been vital to implementing the large events, small group series and Door of Hope Fundraiser Golf Tournaments. Currently a team of men in our congregation is exploring how we can better equip men to serve Christ faithfully in our culture. I expect that this team will be bringing forward special events (and perhaps a few ongoing series) that raise awareness among our men for the need for Christian leadership and provide opportunities for them to grow in that leadership. I look forward to another year of seeing how God deploys men to serve him in our church and community.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Jay

1. Lack of thankfulness is a foundational sin, beneath other sins. (Rom 1:18-25). Therefore, thanksgiving should be cultivated, practiced. You can grow in this area if it is not your disposition.
2. Paul says that we are to give thanks in all circumstances. (1st Thess 5:16-17) Some sets of circumstances are obviously more challenging than others.
3. If it is a sinful temptation to make good things ultimate, and God’s judgment is seen in giving some over to their desires (Romans 1:18-25), then we can be thankful to God when he has either taken what we loved or not given what we wanted. He is protecting us.
4. Romans 8:32—All the wrath of the Father was laid on the Son for us. Nothing that comes to the believer is from a disposition of wrath–the Son bore all of that wrath. All we face is under the loving hand of our Father, to bless us and grow us. Therefore, we can be thankful to God in the midst of bad situations, even those wherein we may have been wronged. We don’t have to be thankful for bad things, but can be thankful to God and for Christ and the work of the Spirit in our lives. God is for us, not against us. He is working lovingly for our good in all things, so we can be thankful in all things.

All of us are prone to limit our capacity for spiritual fellowship to those who are like us.  This tendency is not something to labor in guilt over.  Rather, it is something to be aware of so that we can work to counter it.  We miss so much of God’s blessing in the church if we fail to see that those that have nothing naturally in common with us can have everything in common with us spiritually.  Sometimes, the common interests actually allow us to have a basis in the community other than Christ, and hinder us from true spiritual blessings.

Here are a couple of paragraphs from Bonhoeffer on what lies beneath Christian community as opposed to other forms of community.  Whether or not you agree with him, I think you will find his words challenging:

Because Christian community is founded solely on Jesus Christ, it is a spiritual and not a psychic reality.  In this respect it differs absolutely from all other communities.  The Scriptures call pnematic or spiritual what is created only by the Holy Spirit, who puts Jesus Christ into our hearts as Lord and Savior.  The Scriptures call psychic or emotional what comes from the natural urges, strengths, and abilities of the human soul.

The basis of all pneumatic, or spiritual, reality, is the clear, manifest Word of God in Jesus Christ.  At the foundation of all psychic, or emotional, reality are the dark, impenetrable urges and desires of the human soul.  The basis of spiritual community is truth; the basis of emotional community is desire.  The essence of spiritual community is light.  For, “God is light and in God there is no darkness at all” (1st John 1:5); and “if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (1st John 1:7).  The essence of emotional, self-centered community is darkness, “for it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions com” (Mark 7:21).

If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian community in which we have been placed, even when there

are no great experiences, no noticeable riches, but much weakness, difficulty, and little faith—and if, on the

contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so miserable and so insignificant and does not

at all live up to our expectations—then we hinder God from letting our community grow according to the

measure and riches that are there for us all in Jesus Christ. That also applies in a special way to the

complaints often heard from pastors and zealous parishioners about their congregations.

Note: whether pastor or zealous member, the key to helping the community grow is giving thanks for the community whether or not it tickles your fancy.  Otherwise we hurting God’s church.