Leadership Thought: When Was the Last Time You Ever Practiced Genshai.

Dear Friends,

I have been reading a wonderful book by Kevin Hall called Aspire. In it, Hall refers to a conversation he had with an Indian from Calcutta who taught him a Hindi word that changed his whole perspective on the word charity. The ancient Hindi word was Genshai, (pronounced GEN-shai) and it has an even deeper meaning than our English word charity. It means "that you never treat another person in a manner that would make them feel small." 

I quote the words of the Indian speaker who said "As children, we were taught to never look at, touch, or address another person in a way that would make them feel small. If I were to walk by a beggar in the street and casually toss him a coin, I would not be practicing Genshai. But if I knelt down on my knees and looked him in the eye when I placed that coin in his hand, that coin became love. Then and only then, after I had exhibited pure, unconditional brotherly love, would I become a true practitioner of Genshai.

As I thought about the word, I realized that there have been times when I have practiced charity, but few if any times, have I practiced Genshai. It is easy to feel sorry for someone and in your effort to help provide for their need in some capacity, but seldom have I thought about the importance of meeting that need without making the recipient feel small. To do so takes a rare quality of empathy and compassion. I also confess that I am not sure I have ever knelt down, either physically or in a spiritual sense, to address that need with a conscious effort of not making the recipient feel small or of lesser value or importance.

I think that must have been one of the strengths of Gandhi who was able to identify and connect with the poorest of the poor. It was certainly the mark of our Savior who had the ability to identify and feel the intense pain of others. The Bible frequently refers to Jesus as being "moved with compassion.”  The word 'moved,' in its original language, conveys the idea of convulsing or retching in pain at the sight of someone's circumstances. See Matthew 9:36; 14:14; 15:32; and 22:34.

When I think of this kind of love, I think of the story of a little boy tugging on a farmer's overalls as the farmer was driving the last nail into the post, on which he was advertising some puppies he was selling.

"Mister," the little boy said to the farmer, "I want to buy one of your puppies."

"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, "these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money."

The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer.

"I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?"

"Sure", said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle. "Here, Dolly," he called. Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly, followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight.

As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball of fur appeared. This one was noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner the little pup began hobbling towards the others, doing his best to catch up. It was clearly the runt of the litter.

"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the runt.

The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would!”

With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so, he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see, sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.” How to Handle Adversity, Charles Swindoll, p. 146

The little boy perfectly revealed the spirit of Genshai, and hopefully you and I will do likewise. 

Yours in faith,

Pastor Tom

Leadership Thought: Dark Days Ahead for a Nation in Search of Leaders.

Dear Friends,

For the last few days, I have experienced a number of emotions as I have watched our country disintegrate before my eyes. I feel sadness, anger, frustration, and pain to mention only a few of my sentiments. I resonate with the mayor of Atlanta who said, "We are better than this."  And she was right. As a country we are better than this. 

I am old enough to  remember a similar period when our nation was unraveling. It was the 60’s. There were the Watt’s riots that destroyed much of Los Angeles and spread destruction throughout the major cities of our nation just like what is happening today.  I lived through the  assassinations of John Kenney and Malcolm X. And a few years later while I was in seminary, I experienced the assassinations of Bobby Kenney and Martin Luther King. On top of all of this, there was the Viet Nam War controversy when angry protestors clashed and thousands took to the streets to try and shut down our government. As I look back on this period, I can say they, too, were very dark days, not unlike what we are now experiencing.

But there are two differences between those days and now: values and leadership.

We have lost our values as a nation. At the foundation of those values was the Golden Rule. We were taught “to do unto others as we would have them do unto you.” Simple and yet profound in its implications, the Golden Rule provides us with the basis for civility and respect for one another. We have lost that respect and civility and this is so painfully clear as one watches the news and listens to the political exchanges taking place between the leaders on both sides of the political aisle. We need a restoration of respect and civility among those who lead our country.

Secondly, we have lost our leaders. Today’s politicians seem more concerned about their political party than the people. This was one of the great fears of George Washington as our founding fathers developed our two-party system of government. Washington was concerned that the parties would become more important than the people. Such a system works well when leaders are willing to work together to address the overall needs of their people, but when leaders place their own selfish interests above the needs of their people, democracy is doomed.

In the 60’s, despite the tumult and division that threatened to rip apart the fabric of our nation, our country remained intact because our leaders worked together for the greater good of the nation. Today, grandstanding politicians appear more concerned about championing their party’s ideologies than the people’s interests. They appear more interested in producing sound bites that will get them re-elected, than sound resolutions that will benefit our nation.

Where are the leaders who are willing to model the Golden Rule? Where are the leaders who are willing to put their self-interests aside, reach across the political aisle, and do whatever is needed to unify the nation? Unless we find them and find them quickly, I fear that our nation is destined to continue its downhill spiral.

Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom

Leadership Thought: The Day I Discovered I Wasn’t a Servant.     

Dear Friends,

A well-dressed woman on an African safari was part of a tour group that stopped at a hospital for lepers. Amid the intense heat and filthy conditions with flies buzzing all around her, she noticed a nurse bending down in the dirt, tending to the puss filled sores of a leper. With disdain she exclaimed, “Why.  I wouldn’t do that for all the money in the world. The nurse replied, “Neither would I.”

From time to time it is important to remind ourselves of who we are and whose we are. We are nothing more than “unprofitable servants,” who are doing only what our Master has called us to do (Luke 17:10). Following Jesus may not take us to an African leper colony, but that doesn’t change the terms or conditions of our service for once a servant always a servant. Wherever we are, we are called to serve, and service is not always fun or easy. It can be hard and humbling, dirty and demeaning.

I remember the times when I was a senior pastor, and I had no problem cleaning up dirty bathrooms. When I saw something that needed to be done, no matter how menial it was, I did it. Because of this, I thought I had somehow arrived at this “servant thing.”  But when I became one of 17 pastors while serving at Calvary Chapel, Fort Lauderdale, and I was no longer a top the pecking order, I discovered my servant attitude needed a severe adjustment. It is one thing to be a servant when you can choose the time or place of your service. It is another thing when you are charged and required to be a servant, and someone else above you is treating you like a servant, the very thing you are called to be.

A businessman in a bible study asked the leader, “How do you know if you are a servant?” The leader wisely responded, By the way you react when you are treated like one.” That hurt!!!!!!

The Apostle Peter reminds us of our “servant job description” when he writes we are to serve “not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly, not as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock (1 Peter 5:2-3).

So,  I guess I need to grab my broom and start sweeping. Won’t you join me?

Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom

Leadership Thought: What We Need to Do as We Watch Our Cities Burn.

Dear Friends,

Anyone who has watched the unfolding events of the last week cannot help but be disturbed by what we have seen. Whether you are black or white, young or old, Republican or Democrat, I hope you would agree that the death of George Floyd by the hands of an overzealous white Minneapolis law enforcement officer was reprehensible.

But so too have been the shocking  events that have followed. For the last couple of days, I have sadly watched the fabric of our nation being ripped apart by those who have openly defied authority and wantonly destroyed the property of others. There is no excuse or rational  whatsoever for this kind of behavior.

Yesterday it was hard for me to watch as hundreds of looters unashamedly pillaged a West Philadelphia drug store with not one police officer in sight. Similar events have been witnessed throughout our major cities as rioters have used this event to justify the lawless destruction of property and the theft of that which was not their own. Cities are burning, businesses are being destroyed,  police officers are being  threatened, while politicians and news reporters use their own bias to justify their political perspectives.

Our nation is deeply divided and in need of healing. Regardless of who you feel is to blame for the circumstances, we need to be careful that we don’t  fuel  the flames of unrest. This not the time to sport our political blinders while ignoring the fact that we only make matters worse when we use our rhetoric  in ways that inflame the situation. Be careful Christians. There are other colors we can paint with besides black and white.

We have lost our moral compass as a nation. What we are viewing as our cities go up in flames is a loss of moral and spiritual grounding. We are living in the time of the Judges, “where every man did what was right in his own eyes.”

What we are seeing is not just a reflection of our political divide with each side highlighting the facts that justify their actions and decisions. No, what we are seeing is what happens to a nation when it loses its spiritual moorings.

Our leaders need to step forward and put partisan politics behind them. They need to stop  finger pointing. They need to be willing and honest to admit that there is culpability on both sides of the political aisle. And that goes for us as well.

We need to pray for our leadership, starting with our president. We need to implore  God to give all our leaders’ hearts of humility bent on working together to heal our divisions rather than exacerbating them.

In closing I would call all believers to pray to that same end. Let us be healers, reconcilers, those intent on uniting and not dividing our nation. Let us be reminded of 2 Chronicles 7:14 that promises us that  “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

New Monmouth hosts a prayer meeting tonight. Those of you who are a part of our church family I would encourage you to join us as we pray for the fulfillment of this promise from our great God.

Prayerfully yours,
Tom

Leadership Thought: Advice from Luther and Spurgeon on How to Deal with Pandemics.

Dear Friends

We have recently surpassed the grim 100,000 mark of corona virus deaths as was predicted a month ago by those in the medical field. In the past century we have witnessed the Spanish Flu, (1918-19) the Asian Flu, (1957-58),  the Hong Kong flu, (1968), and SARS (2003), and now the Covid 19 epidemic.
Our world is no stranger to disease. In the 1300’s the Black Plague killed almost half of Europe’s population. 200 years later the plague reemerged in Martin Luther’s own town of Wittenberg. Luther expressed advice to pastors and  church members that is worth reading to those of us who are living though our corona virus pandemic. He writes “All of us have the responsibility of warding off the poison to the best of our ability because God has commanded us to care for the body……..I shall ask God to mercifully protect us…I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and to cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, He will surely find me, and I have done what He has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person, but will go freely.”

The famous London preacher Charles Spurgeon also faced a cholera pandemic that ravaged his nation in 1854. He writes in his autobiography. “If there ever was a time when the mind is sensitive, it is when death is abroad. I recollect, when first I came to London, how anxiously people listened to the gospel, for the cholera was raging terribly. There was little scoffing then.”

“In the year 1854, when I had scarcely been in London twelve months, the neighborhood in which I labored was visited by Asiatic cholera, and my congregation suffered from its inroads. Family after family summoned me to the bedside of the smitten, and almost every day I was called to visit the grave.”

I went home, and was soon called away again; that time, to see a young woman. She also was in the last extremity, but it was a fair, fair sight. She was singing-though she knew she was dying,-and talking to those around her, telling her brothers and sisters to follow her to Heaven, bidding goodbye to her father, and all the while smiling as if it had been her marriage day. She as happy and blessed.”

He discusses how at one point he grew discouraged by seeing so many people die at the hands of the plague. He writes “I felt my burden was heavier than I could bear, and I was ready to sink under it.” 

Returning home from a funeral he read the following handwritten words in the window of an area shop. ‘Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.’ He wrote how those verses provided him with marvelous power and how they caused him to cry out, ‘I adore the Lord my God.’

In 1866 as few years after the cholera outbreak he gave this charge to pastors and all Christians. “And now, again, is the minister’s time and now is the time for all of you who love souls. You may see men more alarmed than they are already; and if they should be, mind that you avail yourselves of the opportunity of doing good. You have the Balm of Gilead; when their wounds smart, pour it in. You know of Him who died to save; tell them of Him. Lift high the cross before their eyes. Tell of Calvary, and its groans, and cries, and sweat of blood. Tell them of Jesus hanging on the cross to save sinners………………. Tell them that He is able to save to the uttermost all of them that come unto God by Him. Tell them that He is able to save at the eleventh hour, and to say to the dying thief, ‘today shall thou be with me in paradise.’”

Spurgeon’s challenge is our challenge today. Let us also minister to the hurts and pain  of others while always looking for the opportunity to share with them the glorious good news of how Christ came to save and offer them eternal life.

Have a wonderful weekend, and don’t forget to ask God to show you how you can show His love to someone who needs hope and encouragement during this challenging time. I would love to hear how you ministered. 

Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom
PS All quotes are taken from Nelson Searcy’s Renegade Pastor Newsletter, April 20, 2020,  pp 5-8

Leadership Thought: Why I Don’t Believe in Tithing.

Dear Friends.

As we come to the last of these thoughts about our stewardship, let me briefly review a few of the points that  have  previously mentioned. 

We are most like God when we give and most unlike Him when we withhold.

Jesus talked a lot about money matters because He knew that “money matters”. He talked more about money issues than He did about heaven and hell and faith combined.

It is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

God owns it all and we are simply His money managers.

Stewardship is what happens to mine because of what happens to me. 

With these statements in mind, you might ask is there any benchmark we should consider when it comes to our giving? 

Is the tithe or the giving of 10 percent of our income the goal of our giving? After all, it was what the Old Testament Jew gave. But I would ask can we who live on the other side of the cross be expected to give anything less than then the Old Testament Jew  who lived in the shadow of the cross? My answer to that question is no. I believe the tithe is a good place to begin our giving, but I would ask can we lower the ceiling because we stand on higher ground?

It is true that tithing in the New Testament is neither directly commanded nor rescinded. But I would point out that every New Testament example of giving goes beyond the tithe and none falls short of it.

I would ask does God expect his New Covenant children to give less or more that the Jew living under the Old Covenant? Should  we as believers lower the standard because we stand on higher ground? Jesus raises the spiritual bar. He never lowers it.  Can we who possess the Holy Spirit and who live in the wealthiest country in the world, give anything less than the tithe?

Let me quote from Randy Alcorn’s wonderful book The Treasure Principle. The tithe  is God’s historical method to get on the path of giving. It’s unhealthy to view tithing as a place to stop, but it can be a good place to begin. Even under the first Covenant it wasn’t a stopping place for the Jews who also gave additional offerings beyond the tithe.  Tithing is not the ceiling for giving; it’s the floor. It is not the finish line of giving; it is just the starting blocks. Tithing can be the training wheels to launch us into the mind set skills and habit of grace giving. P 61.

"Grace giving" should be sacrificial giving. Paul says of the Macedonian Christians in  2 Cor 8:2-5  "Although they were going through hard times, and were very poor, they were glad to give generously. They gave as much as they could afford, and even more.  Simply because they wanted to. They even asked and begged us to let them have the joy of giving their money for God’s people.  And they did more than we had hoped.  They gave themselves first to the Lord, and then to us , just as God wanted them to do."  

I believe the Macedonian example should be the model for our giving. Our giving should be generous, sacrificial, and motivated by our love for others. It may be more than the tithe, or it might be less than the tithe, but whatever it is, it will represent a worthy sacrifice in light of the sacrifice Jesus has made for each of us.

Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom

Leadership Thought: It's Not About the Money but the Ministry-Tribute to Bill Roberts.

Dear Friends

It is nice to be missed. I had several e-mails wondering why no "Leadership Thoughts" the last few days. Jean and I had planned to take a week off during Memorial Day weekend to head up to our  cottage on Lake Ontario, a few miles from Watertown, N.Y. where we both grew up. When we arrived, we had to wait for our internet service to be installed, and just as that  happened, we received news of the passing of a dear friend in the church, whose obituary I have included below.

As you know before I left, I had shared some thoughts about stewardship, and specifically as it relates to our giving. I had planned to finish up my final thoughts on how I believe a Christian should decide what to give, but I will save that for tomorrow.

I will add, however, that my reason for presenting some thoughts on stewardship was not motivated as one of my friends commented, I hope facetiously. He wrote, “Tom, your church much be hurting for you to be speaking about money the way you have.”

I laughed as I thought about his comment. No, my friend, that was not the case. However, for those who might be interested I asked our church treasurer to send me some statistics on our church's  giving, for I know that the pandemic has impacted most churches financially. I am happy to report that our people have stepped up their giving. To this day I have intentionally avoided knowing what any of our members give. However,  I am interested in the average weekly amount of each of our givers, and I was pleased to discover that for the month of May the average weekly gift was $ 261.00 which added up to a total of almost   $60,000 for the month of May. As a result, we are not far off from achieving our annual budget for the year. I am proud of how so many of our members have stepped up their giving to help make up for some of those who have been economically impacted by this virus. More about this tomorrow.owever,

But today I wanted to share why I am so proud of our church. Following the graveside burial service which  Pastor Nick and Pastor Jared  and I led,  we were met by a police escort that took led us back to the church and to the home of Dottie Roberts whose husband we had just buried. Along the  mile between the church and the Robert’s home, the sidewalk was lined with throngs of people, young and old, who wanted to share in the service but who were unable to do so because of  burial restrictions which required only family members to attend. They waved and hoisted signs of love and appreciation for Bill, and what an incredible encouragement that was to the grieving family

It has been said that “the only thing that walks back with the mourners from the grave site and refuses to be buried in the character of a man.” Bill Roberts left the footprints of his character everywhere he stepped. Because of this, I wanted my Leadership Thought today to simply be a tribute to a man that I and so many others came to know and love.

How will our obituary read? What will people write and say about us at our funeral.” Hopefully it won’t be about our money, but our ministry!   In the end, life is not about what we have gained but what we have given, not  what we have saved but what we have sacrificed, not what we have won but what we have done. My friend Bill Roberts learned this lesson well.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom                    

                                      Please read part of Bill’s obituary below. 

William J. Roberts, a lifelong resident of New Monmouth, passed away on May 21, 2020 at the age of 88. He was born on his family’s farm to the late Thomas S. and Helen (Conover) Roberts. Bill graduated from Leonardo High School in 1949 and earned his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Agricultural Engineering at Rutgers University. Having completed ROTC, he served his country from September 1953 to July 1955 serving in the Far East Command in Japan as a First Lieutenant. He then taught at Cook College, Rutgers University, where he achieved Professor II status, served as a Department Chairman for 23 years, and worked as a Professional Engineer and extension specialist in bioresource engineering. Bill retired from Rutgers in 1999 after a distinguished 41- year career. His work and passion have left an indelible imprint across the globe in the form of the air-inflated, double-layer polyethylene greenhouse, an innovation that revolutionized the greenhouse industry. When asked about this project, Bill would modestly say, “everyone has a good idea once in a while.” The site of the original greenhouse at Rutgers was designated a national agricultural (ASABE) historic landmark in 2004. As a Professor Emeritus at Rutgers, he received the Distinguished Service in Agriculture Award from the New Jersey Farm Bureau, the Agribusiness Heritage Award and the Gold Medallion Award from the New Jersey Agricultural Society. He was named a Fellow for his national professional association, the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. These are only a few of the awards for his outstanding contributions to New Jersey and global agriculture.

Throughout his life, Bill was an active member of New Monmouth Baptist Church and proud to be the great-great-grandson of its founding pastor. His devotion to his Lord and Savior was evident to all who knew him. For over 65 years, he served the church in various roles. Along with his wife, Dottie, he was a youth leader for twenty years and led a Wednesday night Bible study for over forty years until his death. Over the years, they also led mission trips to Appalachia and Ecuador and were active members of the church choir. He taught a Sunday School class beginning while in Japan and continuing until the present as well. He was a deacon for over fifty years, exemplifying servant leadership and mentoring younger church leaders who now serve throughout the world. He will also be remembered specifically for his hugs, jokes, and stories. Bill also served as the faculty advisor for Campus Crusade at Rutgers and on multiple mission boards, including Farms International and Chapin Living Waters. His love, faithfulness, and hospitality impacted countless lives as he strove to follow Christ. The resurrection of Christ was the foundation of all Bill did and the source of hope for his future.