Is Christian Leadership only for the Church?

More often than not when someone hears the term Christian Leader they automatically assume that the person being referenced to has a place of authority in the church. This should not be the case, because any person who calls themselves a Christian and is in a role of leadership is therefore a Christian leader.  The kind of leader we are should be based upon our character stemming from our relationship with Christ so others can see the difference in our leadership style. Christ himself said that we are salt and light, in the Gospel of Matthew he says, ‘“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”’ (Matthew 5:14-16 ESV)

As far as a personal experience goes there are not many work place experiences I can recall. I since becoming a Christian ten years ago I have many different jobs but not in a leadership role. The best thing that I can think of is when I was running my advertising business with my best friend. We started out with the goal to offer affordable advertising, while maintaining integrity in the industry. As we began to gain more clientele my partner stopped focusing on pleasing God and only wanted to make money. After several months of bad decisions and continued loss, which I would attribute to our  lack of focus on God and a downward economy, I left him the run the company on his own. Since then I have felt my life become more pleasing to Jesus, He has allowed me to finish my BS in Religion and  now working on my MDiv.  

Review of Steven Furtick's Greater

I recently finished reading Greater by Steven Furtick. I really enjoyed reading his first book Sun Stand Still, and was really looking forward to reading this work. After I read the work I was a little disappointed. I did not take away as much from this book as I did his first. I guess that if I had never read his previous work I would have enjoyed this one much more.

            Furtick’s book was not difficult to read by any stretch of the imagination, as a seminary student I do a ton of reading, and I was able to read his work at a slow leisurely pace in a few days, (if I had wanted to I could have read it in a day). He is trying to stretch your faith and get you to put in to practice trusting God for your life. There is more than one occasion that as I read the book he came across as a self help guru more than a mega-church pastor. He based the majority of this work off of the life of Elisha the young up and comer following Elijah.

            Through out certain parts of the book Furtick’s battle cry is burn the plows, meaning leave your escape plan in ashes; move onto what God has in store for you and  leave no way to go back to your old life. He exhorts us to trust God that faith is never wasted; even at times it seems our prayers go unanswered. I would recommend this book as an encouragement to those looking to strive for something more, but it was not my favorite work I have read this year. Per federal law I received a copy of this book in exchange for my review. If you would like to read the first chapter for free follow this link: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/2012/04/01/sneak-peek-greater-by-steven-furtick/.

Fleece Praying

Take a position on "fleece" praying; is it correct in the Church Age?  Should it be taught to congregations?  Is it a lack of faith if "fleece" praying is employed?

While it may appear to some that Earley is advocating fleece praying, if we take a closer look at the context of this quote, we come to understand that he is advocating for specific prayer. I for one do not believe that we should do fleece praying because that is asking God to prove himself when he owes us no proof. When the Pharisees and Sadducees wanted a sign from Christ, He told them, “         He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.” (Matthew 16:2-4 ESV)

We should however teach those under our charge to pray specific prayers seeking the will of God. In James four he tells his audience that “You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” (James 4:2-3 ESV) We in fact should be asking because when we ask in accordance to Gods will it is a good thing. In the garden of Gethsemane Christ prayed that the cup would pass before me, however not my will but your will be done (Matt. 26:39) Also, in 1 John 5:14-15 we know that if we ask those things according to His will He hears us.

It is hard to answer if it is a lack of faith if fleece praying is employed. I say yes and no; let me explain. It is a lack of faith in ourselves and the relationship that we have with God. Paul tells us, “…for we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV) Therefore is we are walking by faith and our sense of the Spirit is at a high level we should be able to sense what he wants us to do. John MacArthur and Kevin DeYoung both have books about seeking God’s will for your life without having mysterious revelations. I do not believe that we have a lack of faith in God when we pray a fleece prayer, we do not trust ourselves enough therefore are seeking validation. We should not continually implement fleece prayers, but grow ourselves and those around us into a more intimate relationship with the Lord; that way we can know what He is guiding us to do.

A Critique on Select Chapters from Charles Spurgeon's Lectures to my Students

Summary

            Charles Spurgeon in his work Lectures to My Students covers a wide range of material that is important to any man considering entering into the ministry. His work ranges from the need for us to have our own salvation securely in place all the way to how we conduct our daily conversation with those around us. As we read through the material we can notice a theme that appears, Spurgeon not only covers things that are of importance when dealing with sermons and our time in the pulpit, he covers the focus of our hearts.

            Spurgeon advocates for us to be extremely dependent upon prayer no matter if it’s during worship or our own private time with God. He believes our lives should be a continuous out pouring of prayer, he says, “I take it that as a minister he is always praying. Whenever his mind turns to his work, whether he is in it or out of it, he ejaculates a petition, sending up his holy desires as well-directed arrows to the skies. He is not always in the act of prayer but he lives in the spirit of it.” (Spurgeon 2010, 43)

            Spurgeon gives advice about how we should handle the text of our sermons. He tells us that we should not be afraid to spiritualize the text sometimes, but when we do we must do it with extreme caution. He warns us, “Within limit, my brethren, be not afraid to spiritualize, or to take singular texts. Continue to look out passages of Scripture, and not only give their plain meaning, as you are bound to do, but also draw from them meanings which may not lie upon their surface.” (Spurgeon 2010, 101)The most important part of our sermon must be the clear presentation of the Gospel. He says, “Brethren, first and above all things, keep to plain evangelical doctrines; whatever else you do or do not preach, be sure incessantly to bring forth the soul-saving truth of Christ and him crucified.” (Spurgeon 2010, 79) While we are presenting the gospel we must do it in manner that does not show this life we live according to Christ as drab or dull, but full of life. Because Christ himself told us, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”(John 10:10b ESV) If we cannot be excited by this then neither will our hearers. Spurgeon says, “It is not the order of nature that rivers should run uphill, and it does not often happen that zeal rises from the pew to the pulpit.” (Spurgeon 2010, 326)

Critique and Evaluation

This text was highly enjoyable to read as a student, and as someone looking to pursue a career as a full-time pastor. His insights are invaluable for anyone doing ministry. When he spoke of people complaining of the want of zeal being the most zealous (Spurgeon 2010, 332), this was inspirational. Another area he touched on was how ministers can sometimes become so cold to those around them because all they chose to do is be with God, but forget to be with people. He tells us, “Take care, also, to be on most familiar terms with those whose souls are committed to your care. Stand in the stream and fish. Many preachers are utterly ignorant as to how the bulk of the people are living; they are at home among books, but quite at sea among men.” (Spurgeon 2010, 337)

Spurgeon did well in his section on ministerial progress when he exclaimed, “In our modes of speech we should aim at being ‘all things to all men.’ He is the greatest master of oratory who is able to address any class of people in a manner suitable to their condition, and likely to touch their hearts.” (Spurgeon 2010, 223) The point he is making is a good one, if we are able to adjust our mode of presentation but not the meaning we become more effective than if we present the material the same way no matter where we are.   In the text he warns against praying too long, which can happen sometimes just as a desire to seem pious. His warning reads, “It is necessary in prayer to draw near unto God, but it is not required of you to prolong your speech till everyone is longing to hear the word ‘Amen.’”

One of the most difficult sections, yet instructive, dealt with the call to ministry. He says, “That which finally evidences a proper call, is a correspondent opening in providence, by a gradual train of circumstance pointing out the means, the time, the place of actually entering upon the work.” My question is how long must we wait for that evidence to appear? Do you have to be called as pastor of a church, or can you begin leading a Bible study to be affirmed? Because he says elsewhere that to be a pastor you must also posses the ability to teach others (Spurgeon 2010, 29).

Personal Application

This text is one that I believe I will look back over time and again in the future. It impacted me in ways that are not easy to describe, there were points in the text that brought doubt about my path in life; then there were times I had great joy about the things I could see the Lord lining up, or doing as Spurgeon was describing them. I have long felt called to become a pastor and questioned the Lord about this because things never seemed to fall in to place for this calling on my life. However, when I read these words I was comforted, “This desire should be one that continues with us, a passion which bears the test of trial, a longing from which it is quite impossible for us to escape, though we may have tried to do so; a desire, in fact which grows more intense with the lapse of years, until it becomes a yearning, a pinning, a famishing to proclaim the Word.” (Spurgeon 2010, 29) After reading this my heart leaped for joy because it described my situation perfectly.

Another area that spoke to my heart dealt with our ordinary conversation. While most men can afford to casually allow a conversation to slip in to ungodliness we must always be watchful of what we say. Spurgeon says, “…a minister, wherever he is, is a minister, and should recollect that he is on duty. A policeman or a soldier may be off duty, but a minister never is.” (Spurgeon 2010, 172) By realizing that I am always on duty then we may use our general conversation as a means of change, because the one person I am speaking with could come to know the Lord through our general conversation and never have stepped foot inside of a church. (Spurgeon 2010, 179)

It was also encouraging to me to read that he was a fan of expository preaching because I tend to enjoy that much more than general topical preaching. These words offered me great encouragement for my current ministry and future service, “I am sure that no preaching will last so long, or build up a church so well, as the expository.” (Spurgeon 2010, 218) Lastly, and far be it from least, was the reminder that we are not just tending after the sheep in the flock , but searching for the lost one to bring back into the fold. He struck a nerve when he said, “In many instances ministerial success is traceable almost entirely to an intense zeal, a consuming passion for souls, and an eager enthusiasm in the cause of God, and we believe that in every case, other things being equal, men prosper in the divine service in proportion as their hearts are blazing with holy love.” (Spurgeon 2010, 325)

Bibliography

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon. Letcures to My Students. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, LLC, 2010.

Top Five Task for Pastors

            When one hears the question, “What are the top five tasks of a pastor?” they may think to themselves that is an easy question to answer. Let’s really think about that for a minute, it is not asking what five things keep a pastor busy; but what are the five most important tasks of a pastor?  In order for any man to be a pastor, he must first and foremost have saving knowledge of who our Lord Jesus Christ is; not only that, but there should be some maturity in his walk. Paul tells Timothy regarding men who would be overseers or pastors that, “He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.” (1 Timothy 3:6 ESV)

            As pastors we should also follow the pattern laid out for us by the men of Acts 6. While it is a noble task to serve others they knew theirs to be a higher calling. “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:4 ESV) As ministers of the Word, we must be spending time in personal study and prayer. If Christ is our model and went off to be alone and pray, are we any better than he? No, He also studied the Scriptures which is what we must do in order to be effective ministers of the word. In 2 Timothy 4, Paul tell Timothy preach the word and to be ready in season and out of season. How can Timothy keep this charge if he is not spending his time in the word and prayer? In order to be an effective pastor you also have to be an effective teacher. If you lack the ability to teach, then your calling in life may not be that of a pastor. Our teaching must not be of any thing we wish it to be, it must be sound doctrine (Titus 1:9).

            It seems to me that another important task of a pastor is to be recognizing potential leaders for the church and training them as such. As a pastor we should be able to recognize the qualities in a man that would make him eligible for the position. Paul instructs Timothy on this very issue when he says, “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2 ESV) In doing this we will continue to ensure that the sound doctrine Paul spoke to Titus about is being passed on in proper manner.

            Last and far be it from least, we should all love. It is the greatest symbol of a Christian and while pastors are not super Christians we are often examined more closely than the normal believer. We know that we are to love God, our neighbors as ourselves, and one another as Christ loved us. We love because He first loved us and gave himself us for us. (Rom 5:8) If we lack the ability to love then we cannot bring people to Christ which is what the greatest goal of any pastor should be, to see souls saved