I am a part of Campus Crusade in my community. There are a group of Campus Crusade members who get together to pray over the Campus Crusade Syracuse University Region. The meeting also serves as a staging point to get people involved, a point where they make announcements, and information is spread and/or distributed.
It was only the second time I had attended this meeting, I'm going to call it Small Group, when one of my dear friends came with me. This dear friend's (forthwith called Debby) sister was a regular attender of the meeting (now Sally). Now I know Sally fairly well, and like her too. And while Sally attends the Small Group and is 100% up to date on everything in Campus Crusade, (and is a dedicated prayer warrior for the ministry) she is not involved in the leadership of either Campus Crusade or Small Group.
When we arrived at the meeting, it began with prayer. I personally struggle with praying aloud, but I will admit that there is something about praying together, something that makes you feel closer to God, something we all talk about but at least I feel less than I like. The feeling like the communication is now a conversation. At the end of prayer, I know I was in a good mood. Prayer went really well (by which I mean not the words that were spoken, but the love and the fiery passion for Christ with which they were spoken) and I suspect I was not the only person in the room who was feeling like this was, if not a mountaintop, at least a hilltop.
But when we began talking business, the team started talking about a ministry of Campus Crusade about which both Debby and I knew nothing. I looked to the leader of the Small Group to answer my questions, and Debby looked to Sally. When I asked questions to the leader of the group, they moved on, sending a look to Sally which I interpreted to mean "you're up to date, would you mind filling these two in?" When I turned to Sally, I found her desperately shushing her sister, in a stage whisper, "Shut up, don't interrupt, I'll tell you later!" Then she caught the leader's eye. It became clear to me that Sally had interpreted the look as "keep the newbies quiet." I truly hope that is not what the small group leader intended, but functionally they had reinforced Sally's desire to keep Debby from embarrassing her. In reality Sally was embarrassing herself by putting her own pride before both Sally and Debby's passion for the work Christ was doing through Campus Crusade. Not only that but Sally had just squelched both Debby and my ability to assist with this ministry.
Understand, my brother and I have been in ministries together. My brother when he was younger had a problem with authority. I was mortified more than once because he was talking back. I sometimes wanted to shake him for his tomfoolery. And I was his big sister, I am sure I must have mortified that poor young man more times than I would like to admit. But in my opinion there is a time and a place for familial intervention. So here are the responsibilities of family members who are in a ministry together.
1) Put God first no matter what. This applies to every part of life, your family should be high on your priority list, but nothing should be before God on that list. Matthew 6:33 (ESV) says "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
2) Save familial issues for family time. Unless you are seeking the advice of your ministry or ministry leader, this time is about focusing on how to further God's plan.
3) Treat your family member like any other Christian brother. That is, admonish them in the same way you would a Christian Brother, in private first, before drawing in more brothers and sisters. Matthew 18:15-18 says "If your brother sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church..."
4) Do not give your family member special treatment. This is just common courtesy and respectful. If you are the Choir Director and your cousin really does have the best mezzo soprano in the choir for the Christmas solo, that's one thing. But make sure to pray and be sure you are honest with yourself.
Really, I could ramble on for days, but they will mostly fall under 1 and 3. If Sally had scooted over to Debby like she would have any of her other friends, and explained in Debby's ear what was going on, neither Sally nor Debby would have been embarrassed. But the reality is we shouldn't be fearing embarrassment, we should be boldly stepping out to further God's plan, and accomplish what he has called us to do.
I learned it wasn't my place to call my brother on his misbehavior, the leader would do so and my interruption would undermine the leader's authority and take even more time away from what God had called us to do. I am sure my brother learned quite a few tricks to prevent himself from strangling me, haha. But ultimately it boils down to this. Put God first, no matter what.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Arrogance and Authority
I have been a part of a ministry on and off which is for teens and young adults. The ministry ultimately took off and spread, resulting in divisions of the ministry across the state but mostly in the county where I live and the surrounding area. Right now there are seven of the branches still in operation.
The ministry was founded by a church in the area as a part of the ministry of one man, I am going to call him Dan. Now Dan had been a part of several churches before the church at which he settled. He had seen two of them fall apart because of leadership issues, and was nervous about leadership of ministries. He knew all too well how power affected even the best of men.
So Dan would go out, found a new branch of the ministry, train up his replacement, and leave his replacement to run the branch. This worked very well for Dan, as he never put himself into a position where he would be tempted by power. He had been afraid that he would fall into the same trap into which he had seen others fall. Dan knew his besetting sin, and avoided the temptation at all costs. Matthew 26:41 says "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Dan and other members of the founding church planned and prayed and worked together to try to bring together the best people possible for the positions. And these men and women were spirit-filled individuals, truly on fire for the ministry. But four years later, two of them were suffering from the same power-hungry tendencies, with a third who was making Dan a little concerned that they were headed in the same direction.
1 Timothy 6:17 (ESV) says "As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy." I know this verse refers to money, but I truly believe it also applies to those with earthly power. For one, we know "So the last shall be first, and the first last." Matthew 20:16 (ASV) Power on earth means nothing in heaven. On earth we need to set our sights on heaven.
Accumulating power on earth, enjoying power on earth, is not the way to go. Matthew 6:2 points out that those who do their deeds for the earth receive their rewards on earth. The reality is that those of us who focus on accruing anything on earth, wealth, power, prestige, fame, get what we asked for here on earth. Matthew 6:20-21 says "But store up your treasures in heaven.....For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Now these people were once on fire for Christ, they were passionate about everything He asked them to do, they were passionate about the things that were of God. But now, with all the time they spend facilitating their power on earth, how can they possibly have time to spend focusing on God?
Now in the case of this ministry this is a two part problem....what to do in the future, and what to do about those already in authority. I can tell you what the successful solution to the first was....leadership teams. In a team leaders hold one another accountable. So far, this method has been incredibly successful. Two of the branches now are run by husband and wife couples. They seem to still hold one another accountable and keep the passion burning.
As to what to do for those already in authority, I think that an intervention is in order.
Matthew 18:15-18 says "If your brother sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church.... Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." As usual (ok always) with the Bible, I couldn't have said it better myself.
The ministry was founded by a church in the area as a part of the ministry of one man, I am going to call him Dan. Now Dan had been a part of several churches before the church at which he settled. He had seen two of them fall apart because of leadership issues, and was nervous about leadership of ministries. He knew all too well how power affected even the best of men.
So Dan would go out, found a new branch of the ministry, train up his replacement, and leave his replacement to run the branch. This worked very well for Dan, as he never put himself into a position where he would be tempted by power. He had been afraid that he would fall into the same trap into which he had seen others fall. Dan knew his besetting sin, and avoided the temptation at all costs. Matthew 26:41 says "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Dan and other members of the founding church planned and prayed and worked together to try to bring together the best people possible for the positions. And these men and women were spirit-filled individuals, truly on fire for the ministry. But four years later, two of them were suffering from the same power-hungry tendencies, with a third who was making Dan a little concerned that they were headed in the same direction.
1 Timothy 6:17 (ESV) says "As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy." I know this verse refers to money, but I truly believe it also applies to those with earthly power. For one, we know "So the last shall be first, and the first last." Matthew 20:16 (ASV) Power on earth means nothing in heaven. On earth we need to set our sights on heaven.
Accumulating power on earth, enjoying power on earth, is not the way to go. Matthew 6:2 points out that those who do their deeds for the earth receive their rewards on earth. The reality is that those of us who focus on accruing anything on earth, wealth, power, prestige, fame, get what we asked for here on earth. Matthew 6:20-21 says "But store up your treasures in heaven.....For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Now these people were once on fire for Christ, they were passionate about everything He asked them to do, they were passionate about the things that were of God. But now, with all the time they spend facilitating their power on earth, how can they possibly have time to spend focusing on God?
Now in the case of this ministry this is a two part problem....what to do in the future, and what to do about those already in authority. I can tell you what the successful solution to the first was....leadership teams. In a team leaders hold one another accountable. So far, this method has been incredibly successful. Two of the branches now are run by husband and wife couples. They seem to still hold one another accountable and keep the passion burning.
As to what to do for those already in authority, I think that an intervention is in order.
Matthew 18:15-18 says "If your brother sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church.... Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." As usual (ok always) with the Bible, I couldn't have said it better myself.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Treasuring Him Time, Minimizing Me Time
I want to apologize. I haven't been on here for quite some time. I find I feel I need to apologize for the lack of recent posts. I haven't been online in awhile. I have been really busy. My life has been incredibly hectic.
Which leads me to my thought for today: a hectic life is just one more thing that gets between us and God. I'm sure you have said at some point in your life "I don't have time," and I am almost equally certain that at some point someone has responded "Well, make the time." People say you need to make time for your health, you need to make time for your family. These things are important, but how much more important is God!
We just have to learn to set aside time each and every day to spend with Him. It is often difficult to tear ourselves away from our schedules. But however difficult, it is necessary in maintaining a walk with Christ, it is necessary to keep yourself close to Him. Don't you talk to your friends everyday as part of maintaining your relationship? Of course you do! That is just what Christ wants you to do with Him!
The Bible has this as an oft repeated recurring theme. Psalms 16:11 says there is joy in God's presence. Roman's 8:28 says that when we spend time with God we will begin to see how our life fits into his plan. Matthew 14:22-23 points out that even Jesus set aside time to spend with just the Heavenly Father. John 15:7 says we are to remain in and with Christ. Philippians 3:10-11 says we are to know Him, and I know from experience it is hard to get to know someone without spending time with them. Romans 5:5 says He dwells in our hearts. Matthew 6:33 says that we need to seek God and His kingdom. And Matthew 6:24 points out that we most often serve the thing or person we spend the most time on.
Think about how you are spending your time? Are you taking time out for Christ? Or do you spend most of your time on something else? If you are, think carefully, and make sure you aren't putting that person or thing before God.
There is a song about getting overwhelmed with the world, but taking time out to spend time with God from the band BarlowGirl. While I know many people who have widely varied opinions about BarlowGirl's music, I have to say that I think their lyrics reflect a good understanding of what a true relationship with God requires. And having met the band, I truly believe they are an amazing group of spirit filled young women.
Take Me Away:
Pushing my way through these crowded streets
Trying not to be swept away
Fighting just to keep this crowd from hiding you another day
So maybe, this time I'll find you
Maybe, this time I'll push through
To see you today, today
Wont you take me away, Wont you take me away
Cuz I need some time to get away,
Where only you could ever...Take me away,away,away
Away
Too many days I've been distracted
Watch these crowds push you away
I'm so tired of feeling empty
Without you, I waste these days
So maybe, this time I'll find you
Just dont stop calling me to you
I'll find my way today
Maybe this time I'll find you yeah
Find you today, today
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