54When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; 56for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And they went on to another village.
Luke 9:54–56 (NASB95)
I’ve recently found myself on the receiving end of criticism. Not personally, but the church I serve. Perhaps that’s worse. The criticism is baseless and erupted into some false allegations being thrown around. It would be easy to become angry and want to set the record straight.
That’s where I found myself. As I listened to friends being maligned and the Church (big C) being slandered, there was something ugly that kept rising within me. I could try to rename it as “righteous indignation” or some “weak moment of human passion;” however, it was strong and did not just go away like a “weak moment. Truth be known, I wanted to act out. This is where the lesson from the Lord began.
I think it was important for the Lord to show me that my heart is a broken place. Sure, as a pastor, I would love to say that I just glide across the sea regardless of the tempest or the turbulence of the sea. But it simply is not true and that is important to see. The same anger and desire to “fix” injustice that provoked the critics resided in my heart as well.
Apparently, I am not alone. In the passage above, the “sons of thunder” as they were nicknamed…two of Jesus’ closest disciples saw the rejection of the Lord as an act of terrible dishonor. And to add insult to injury…by a bunch of “Samaritans” no less! How dare they? So, the disciples asked, “Should we call on God to destroy them with fire from heaven?”
When “the world” maligned Jesus…the disciples wanted to fight. They wanted to answer swiftly and strongly…in such a way that everyone would know that God had chosen against the Samaritans…but Jesus said He came to save rather than destroy.
Furthermore, Jesus said the very spirit that informed the disciple’s desires was not righteous indignation but ungodly and evil. Up from their heart rose the wickedness of sin…no matter how you dress it up. They were the embodiment of that which they purported to hate!
And that is the point. Jesus used the criticism to reveal the brokenness of my heart. The difference being…I have Jesus to lovingly do that and to graciously forgive. Many others…in fact most people…do not.
Lord, forgive my wickedness and soften my heart to reflect more of You. Thank you for graciously reminding me that compassion begins with an awareness that “but for the grace of God, there go I.” Amen.
Statement on The Supreme Court of the United States decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
June 24, 2022
Dear Church family:
Today the Supreme Court of the United States handed down an historic ruling that has incredible implications for Christ-followers throughout our nation. This historic ruling set right a terrible error of judgment of the same court nearly 50 years ago in the Roe and Casey decisions. The outcome of the Dobbs case is the answer to the prayers of millions who have interceded before God on behalf of all Americans.
As Christ-followers, let me suggest to you several things that I pray will be reflective in your life as I pray that they will also be in mine.
The millions of aborted children under the protections of Roe are a blight on the name of our nation and an afront before a Holy God who creates all mankind in His image. This calls for earnest repentance before the Lord.
The preborn person is not “potential life” as noted by the dissenting justices; rather, he or she is a person created in the Image of God and therefore possess inherent worth and dignity. We must recognize, celebrate, and continue to work to celebrate the Image of God in every person.
The concern of Christ-followers has always been the desire for flourishing of every person. That desire does not change now.
Let me challenge you to measure your speech and speak wisely in these days. While this historic ruling is an answer to prayer, it is not a sign of victory; rather, it is a call for the people of God to redouble our efforts to demonstrate love, grace, and help toward parents facing overwhelming choices when facing an unplanned pregnancy. The church has an amazing opportunity to help men and women experience God’s good design for human flourishing by coming alongside and helping to point them to Christ for peace, hope, and help…the same peace, hope and help that each of us as Christ-followers has experienced by grace from God.
Let us invest in helping parents navigate these anxious times by being the hands and feet of Jesus to them. Let us respond with compassion and humility as we act with tenacity to promote God’s good design.
God has given us a vision of being part of seeing 5,000 homes transformed by gospel of Jesus Christ. My home is one. I pray yours is as well. Let us continue to labor to see this vision fulfilled among thousands more in these coming days.
I love you and pray that we will together love those we will meet and serve in the days ahead who will need to know even more clearly of God’s grace toward them in these days ahead.
It is an honor to serve you in these important days,
As a student of leadership…I have more than my fair share of occasions to observe people “leading.” Observer bias notwithstanding, what passes for leadership in many circles is simply…not.
To lead, one must have a sense of where the endpoint is. This could be a bold objective. It may be more incremental. Whether radical or otherwise, as the leader you must know at least the direction if not the destination. This requires a leader to do a great deal of homework and heart work before setting out on the journey. Perhaps one of the most telling biblical examples is found in the Book of Nehemiah where, when he learns of the disrepair and disrepute of the city, sets out to rebuild the wall. Before doing so though…he spent time surveying the work and observing the people. (Nehemiah 1-2). Only then did he lead the people. To shortcut this step is to abdicate the foundational element of leadership…know where you are going. Leadership is not just blending into the cultural chaos or floating along in the lazy river. It is seeing the destination and choosing to put your oar in the water and pull!
Second, leadership is not polling those led to see where they are comfortable going…and simply helping them get there. This approach has a feel of servanthood and helpfulness but lacks leadership. I’ve interviewed a lot of guys in my day for positions of leadership. There is some wisdom in acknowledging the need to “check with the troops.” In fact, a poor leader is one who rushes into battle without listening to the people on the ground to see if victory is even possible (Consider Luke 14:25ff). After inventory of resources and examining moral, the leader must lead people to action. By the way, this always involves change, and the change is determined by the leader as he seeks to bring the followers in alignment with the organization’s objective.
Third, leadership is rarely without resistance. Leadership is always about change. People, generally, dislike change. The art of leading is helping people dislike the status quo more than the potential of change. Or as one President Eisenhower said: Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.[i]
Finally, leadership is, in some sense, unavoidable. That may sound like a contradiction of terms given the title and opening idea but hear me out. Even when we lead ineffectively, we are effectively leading in the wrong direction. We teach people through our approach to discount leadership or to usurp it. We condition people to embrace comfort over change. We reinforce within others the concept that majorities rule and the leader’s vision is no more or less authoritative than their own. Unfortunately, many in our culture today value autonomy over community. It is more desirable for them to go against the grain than to follow a leader. This idea is bred into and reinforced by poor leadership. You’re always leading. The question remains is whether you’re worthy of following.
Remember, leadership is stewardship. Leaders lead others from a wellspring of love and service. We desire for others to experience the very best and to achieve greatness…so we lead them as such. We know that people succeed as they embrace worthy pursuits together.
Leader, don’t lead based on polling. Discover the vision, do the hard work to figure out how to get there and help people to want to go. Happy leading!
A stark reality of organizational life is that team composition changes from time to time. Sometimes people leave. At other times, shifts in vision dictate the necessity for new skills or abilities. At still other times, organizational growth requires new additions to the team. In every case, onboarding new team members is a normal function of organizational life.
While hiring new team members is normal it is not always comfortable. The organization I lead has recently engaged in a hiring process for a senior level leader. Rather than outsourcing, we handled the search process internally. In addition, we are a church, so several dynamics come into play that some traditional corporations may not deal with. That reality notwithstanding, the principles and considerations discussed in this article are still valid and generally applicable across a range of organizational types.
Wisdom dictates that new additions to a team should be carefully considered. Many leaders opine that you should “Hire slowly and fire quickly.” When a team member is no longer a good fit for the organization, it is poor stewardship of resources to carry them in the wrong role. Both the organization and the team member suffer because he cannot experience the blessing of flourishing when he cannot fulfill the requirements of the position. This does not mean that the person should be terminated necessarily, since onboarding new team members carries with it some calculated risks. Training, coaching, and even lateral movement are often (if not always) preferred to termination; however, doing nothing can never be an acceptable course of action.
When considering a new team member, it is important to consider and weigh appropriately the following four areas. There is a direct correlation between the member’s fit in these four areas and the success of the organization. While the weighting of importance for each area may vary, the greater the alignment in all of these areas, the greater the probability of success for the candidate in the new role.
The four areas are:
Calling:
Does the candidate articulate a clear sense of calling—a discerned sense of purpose for the role?
Does the candidate exhibit evidence of calling—a discerned observation of gifts/talent/abilities consistent with the role?
Character:
Does the candidate express moral and spiritual traits consistent with the responsibility of the role?
Is there a discipline of nurturing spiritual growth so as to increase intimacy with God?
Is there a sense of mastery of the spiritual fruit of transformation and maturity consistent with the responsibilities of the role?
Competence:
Does the candidate exhibit abilities and gifting consistent with the responsibilities of the role?
Has there been adequate training and/or experience in the requisite skills for the role?
Does the candidate possess gifts and abilities to make an immediate impact on the role in the context of the organization?
Does the candidate display capacity to grow or improve with the role as it grows? (No one should be brought onto a team to maintain but to grow and flourish. Always hire toward vision rather than historical norms).
Culture:
Does the candidate possess adequate EQ (emotional intelligence/people skills and self-awareness/discipline) to function well in the immediate and larger team of the organization?
Does the candidate inspire others to become better?
Would others on the team want to “hang out” with or have the candidate over for dinner?
These four areas are elements of the undivided whole of the candidate. A leader’s responsibility toward the candidate and the organization is to seek a good fit in all areas. The leader that “sells” him or herself on a candidate in spite of obvious deficiencies will most certainly experience “buyers’ remorse” in the not-so-distant future. So, leaders…do the hard work on the front end and avoid the heartache on the back.
Well as I complete my 52d lap around the sun, I took some time to look back and consider the blessings of the previous year. For the most part, I selected one (or sometimes two) pictures that speak to some, not all, of the significant moments of the past year. This is as much for me as anything but if it is a blessing to you in some way, then I am truly glad. Here’s to the start of year 53!
January 2021- Every Grand dad begins the year here! 10 months and a love for tacos…February 2021- Planting a memorial tree for my dad provided by my church/staff family. Yes, it’s an auger. Yes it is overkill. Yes it’s the kind of overkill my dad would do. 🙂 March 2021- This one is special to me as Daniel turned 1 and enjoyed a cupcake while talking to his dad who was deployed with the Army. Im proud of our family’s commitment to stand a post in time of need. April 2021- My first Easter Service as the Senior Pastor of Englewood. God gives me the privilege to proclaim His Name and Fame! May 2021- Celebrating our youngest son as he graduated from the University of West Florida Honors Program (2d from the right in line). Not a great pic but and amazing moment. June 2021- Precious time with great friends when we met up at the SBC Annual Meeting. I think is just before we turned the restaurant into a dance hall. July 2021- No people in this pic but I had the privilege of welcoming home my son from deployment. IYKYK.August 2021- Blessed to celebrate with these two as our youngest found a wife. Yep, my daughter count hit two! September 2021- Special time to visit with this guySeptember 2021- This month warrants two pics, since I could celebrate Jodi’s birthday. She’s my partner-in-crime for more years than I can count. I am a blessed man!October 2021- Doing one of our favorite things together as we led a Marriage Enhancement Weekend for friends in NC. October 2021- One of my favorite pics of the year as Daniel walked out with me before I preached one Sunday. November 2021- New Rhythms as most of our tribe gathered for the first holiday without Dad. They donned me the new patriarch. Family…Change is not bad, it’s just change. December 2021- Jodi and I celebrating Christmas with our peeps. Yep, snow is overrated when you can have the Gulf of Mexico as your backdrop. December 2021- Deserved a second pic because…well Doc and JoJo are taken with this little guy. January 2022- Putting Jodi on the train as she headed off to be an awesome JoJo and a blessed help to the kids one more time.
Looking forward to squeezing everything out of 53 that I can. Soli Deo Gloria!
I recently put Jodi on a train to visit our son and his family…ok…our grandson and his parents (smile). As the station made the call for the train, the announcer mentioned the many and varied stops between the station and Jodi’s destination. Train 89 to Savannah will depart in 5 minutes with stops in….
Now the point of the trip was to arrive at the destination and see family. Period. Full stop. But consider what it would have been like if she got off the train in Wilmington, Fayetteville, or even in Charleston. Nice cities. Lots to do and see. None, however, are what was of ultimate importance, and none were her intended destination.
How sad it would be to evaluate the entire trip based on an experience in a city along the way. That’s a lot like the Christian life. We are created for a purpose. We have a destination. There are experiences along the way and each one is useful but none of them are the ultimate point. Don’t question God’s purpose for your life or His caring actions toward you based on the conditions you experience around you. You’re not home yet.
If this life in this world seems less than satisfying, take courage…you’re not home yet. You are passing through. You are meant to learn and gain and be shaped by your experiences, but the stopover cities are just dots on a map. You were made for more. Stop trying to make the cities of this world like home. They will never satisfy.
That reality is the heartbeat of the memory verses for our church this week:
8By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; 10for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Hebrews 11:8–10 (NASB95)
Press in. Press on. Look to the horizon. You’re not home yet.
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