Leadership Thought: The Story of the Pit

Dear Friends,

It is so easy to talk about helping and caring for people, but it is another thing to become involved and do something specific to help and care for them.

The struggle we all have as believers is translating knowing what to do into doing what we know 

Years ago, some of us wore WWJD bracelets reminding us to ask,"\What Would Jesus Do?"  Today there is another bracelet available with a more appropriate word change- DWJD-"Do What Jesus Did." 

I believe that this message more accurately addresses how we should live out our neighborly love.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan reminds us that we are to do good to our neighbor, who is defined as anyone in need. 

The religious leaders who should have helped, walked right on by their neighbor, while the religiously despised Samaritan chose to stop and help. He saw his neighbor's need and decided to do something about it, and so should we.

He invested his time and money and sought help for the man because he valued him as God valued him.

The religious leaders disagreed spiritually and politically with the man, and as a result they ignored his need and walked on by.

Jesus wants us to value and care for all people. He teaches  that we should unconditionally love everyone regardless of who they are. If they are in need, they are our neighbors, and we should strive to meet their needs, rather than ignore them.

John Maxwell says, "If I see you hurting, I will help you. If I see you broken, I will fix you, but if I see you as valuable, I will serve you.” Jesus teaches us that all humans are valuable and deserve to be loved and served.

As believers we are to be salt and light, to make things better and brighter and this means we must always be willing to "do as Jesus did." We are to love everyone unconditionally, regardless of our differences politically, spiritually, socially, or relationally.

The story of the Pit is a good reminder of this lesson: 

A man fell into a pit and couldn't help himself out.

 A subjective person came along and said, "I feel for you down there."

An objective person said, "It's logical that someone would fall down there."

A Christian Scientist came along, "You only think you're in a pit."

A Pharisee said, "Only bad people fall into a pit."

A Mathematician calculated how he fell into the pit.

A Rockhound asked him of any rare specimens in the pit. 

A News Reporter wanted an exclusive story on his pit.

A Fundamentalist said, "You deserve your pit."

A Realist said, "That's a pit"

A Geologist told him to appreciate the rock strata in the pit.

An IRS man asked if he was paying taxes on the pit. 

The County Inspector asked if he had a permit to dig a pit.

A professor gave him a lecture on the Elementary Principles of the Pit.

An Evasive person avoided the subject of the pit altogether. 

A Self-Pitying person, said, " You haven't seen anything until you've seen my pit." 

A Charismatic said, "Just confess that you are not in a pit."

An Optimist said, "Things could be worse."

A Pessimist said, "Things will get worse." 

Jesus seeing the man took him by the hand, and lifted him out of the pit, and so should we!

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: What Sometimes Happens When the Gospel Doesn't Take

Dear Friends,

Recently a friend  shared some exciting news about one of her friends who recently  had come to faith in Jesus Christ. She and her husband had been repeatedly witnessing this person, but their efforts were of no avail. 

Unresponsive to their efforts, she would typically respond "I am a good person, and I don't believe in all of that 'sin stuff' you are always talking about."

Through tears of joys my friend related how a friend of hers had shared the good news of the gospel with her, and she had just professed her faith in Christ.

She told me how a friend had been witnessing to her and that she kept telling me the same thing you had always been telling me, and suddenly it made sense.

Her story reminded me of a similar story  told by pastor and author Steve Brown.

Steve shared, "I talked to a young lady about Christ, about three years ago. I had gone to her within the context of an evangelistic program, and I sat down with this young lady and her husband. and I took almost an hour to explain the gospel and how Jesus loved her and how she could receive Jesus and become a Christian."

"Her response was blank!  A dead wall!  I want you to know I never saw anybody so insensitive to the Gospel of Christ." 

"She was sweet and nice about it, and she simply said, 'It doesn't make sense.' 'I don't understand it.' 'I don't know how it can be made real in my life.'"

" About a year later, I had an opportunity to tell her again about Christ, and after I finished, do you know what she said?"

"She said, 'Steve, why didn't you tell me this before?’”  

"What was happening? I'll tell you what was happening. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, God was revealing Himself to her. Her heart  had been finally touched, and the scales of unbelief had been removed from her eyes."

"I said,  'Jane, what do you think I've been telling you for a year now?'"

A person can hear the gospel again and again and yet remain unmoved, and then suddenly the Holy Spirit moves within, and a heart is changed and a person is born again. 

What previously she couldn't believe and which sounded stupid and ridiculous now became alive and the result was life changing.

1 Corinthians 2:14, tells us that "the unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." 

When someone talks about sin's power to blind you to your sin he is talking about something frightening, something radical, something that has the power to prevent you from seeing the devastating consequences of your sinful nature.

Author and pastor John Piper writes, "No one merely decides to experience the Christian Scriptures as the all compelling, all satisfying truth of one's life. Seeing is a gift. And so, the free embrace of God's word is a gift. God's spirit opens the eyes of our heart, and what was once boring, or absurd or foolish, or mythical is now self-evidently real."

It is the supernatural act of the Spirit that opens our eyes and penetrates our hearts and brings truth that results in genuine repentance. Such truth reminds us that it is our sin that nailed Christ to the cross, and it is His forgiveness that enables us to experience a life changing event that makes us  new persons. We joyfully discover that the "old has passed away, the new has come."

If this message seems too strange, and too ridiculous to believe, you now know why. The scales from your eyes have yet to be lifted.

There is something wrong with us. "We are dead in our trespasses and (the) sins in which (we) once walked." Ephesians 2:1, and it is only the Holy Spirit that can touch our hearts and through faith make us alive.

Because this friend joyfully discovered the truth that all her "sin stuff" really mattered, she found a new life that lasts forever, and so can  anyone who simply says yes to Christ and allows Him to take those scales from your eyes. 

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: How to Be the Kind of Leader People Love and Respect 

Dear Friends,

How do you become a leader that everyone loves and respects?

Today we are in desperate need of such leaders. I am not  talking about the kind of leader who seeks to win popularity contests, but the kind who earns your trust and respect on difficult ground. You may not always agree with them, but that never causes you to lose respect for them.

I long for leaders I can trust, and who will value, inspire, and empower me.

Maya Angelou said, "People may forget what you say, but they will never forget how they made you feel," and the kind of leader I long to follow is the one who makes me feel special.

At a recent bible study, I was asked how we as leaders can make visitors to our church feel special, and I responded that we need to remember four words: "I notice," and "you matter."

Those two expressions are critical to keep in mind when relating to people.

"I notice" communicates awareness. It demonstrates that the person you see is important to you, and that you are aware of them and their actions. 

"You matter" communicates you care about the person and that you value them. 

When we express the words "I notice" and "you matter" we acknowledge and affirm people's worth and value.

Leaders need to be on the lookout for ways to add value to others. We can do this by finding opportunities to  show appreciation. When I am with people, I am always looking for something noteworthy about them, some quality or action I can affirm, for I know how important it is for people to be reminded of their value and their worth.

I always try to remember and use people's names when I'm engaged in a conversation, for there are few words that are sweeter to hear than one's own name. 

When I finish talking with someone, my hope is that I will have discovered something unique about them that I can affirm as I close out the conversation.

In conversations I will frequently envision an imaginary sign hanging around one's neck that reads, "Please help me feel important."  I might also  place an imaginary10 on their forehead to remind me of how I want them to feel about themselves when our time together is completed.

I look for opportunities to express my appreciation of people, so I'm eager to catch them doing something worthy of recognition. When I witness such an action, I try to quickly express my appreciation for what I have observed.

Shortly before John Maxwell's father died, he offered this advice to his son. “If you want to be a successful leader you must value all people, believe in them, and unconditionally love them."

If you and I follow that same advice, we will be well on our way to being the kind of leader people will love and respect.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: Sharing the Bad News Before Sharing the Good News

Dear Friend,

The late pastor and author Tim Keller writes: "We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared to believe, yet  at the same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope."

Sharing the gospel with people who fail to accept their flawed and sinful nature is often a challenge. Such people feel little need for a Savior because they perceive themselves to be basically good. They are managing their lives just fine on their own, and they have no need for any outside help.

Such people find it hard to be open, honest, and vulnerable because for them such admission is  a sign of weakness, and acknowledging weakness or admitting need is unacceptable.

For them the gospel is bad news because it reminds them of who they really are-flawed and floundering sinners in need of a Savior.

To witness to them often makes them angry and puts them on the defensive. "Who are you to suggest I might need someone or something to change my life?". 

Too often I have made the mistake of pressuring persons like this to make a decision when the soil of their heart was still hard and they were not yet ready to receive the Savior, and in doing so I only made it harder for the next person who would witness to them.

In such cases, we need to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and step back and trust that the seed of faith will be planted by someone else at some distant time and place.

We must remember the words of Paul who writes, "The Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted a seed, Apollos watered it, But God made it grow. So, neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor, for we are God's fellow workers; You are God's field." 1 Corinthians. 3: 2-9.

Yours in faith,

Tom 

Leadership Thought: A Lesson in Witnessing I Learned from the Couple Below
 

Dear Friends,

Yesterday at Millers, a popular breakfast spot where my friends and I often go, I met a wonderful couple shown in the picture above. It was taken over 60 years ago, and today they are in their late 70’s and still walking with Jesus. 

As my friends and I were having breakfast, the man and his wife overheard our conversation and learned that we were Christians by our conversation. There's nothing like the Christian faith to provide opportunities for making new spiritual friendships. The couple came over to our table and introduced themselves, and for the next half hour, we openly talked about Jesus as we shared our various spiritual experiences. 

The man had been a paratrooper and had come to Christ during his military days at Fort Bragg.

I asked the man how he came to know the Lord, and he told me an unforgettable story. He was with four other paratroopers when a woman stopped them and wanted to know if they would like lunch.  She then proceeded to single out my friend, and placing her finger in his chest, she asked, "Can you read? " He said, "Yes, I'm a paratrooper, and I can do most anything!" 

She then handed him a tract and said, "Read this!" As he read it, the Holy Spirit took control, and right there he gave his life to Christ, and for the past 60 years, he and his wife (pictured above) have been faithful followers of Christ.

His conversion experience was certainly not the result of a normal textbook evangelistic presentation, but the Holy Spirit used this woman's unconventional witness to lead him to Christ, and his life was changed forever.

It is easy for us to miss those opportunities the Holy Spirit provides to us to witness to our faith. We convince ourselves that it is not the perfect situation to share our faith. Maybe we don't want to risk the embarrassment of rejection, or we don't want to look foolish, and so we avoid doing what we know God has called us to do.

I confess that this has happened to me, and I am a pastor, and this is something I am trained and expected to do.

I wonder if you and I would ever be bold enough to stop somebody who is with a group of friends and confront them by sticking a finger in their chest, asking if they could read, and then taking the time to share the gospel. That's not the conventional way that people come to faith, but there are countless amazing stories of just such miraculous ways that God has brought people to faith through such unusual evangelistic approaches.

I remember someone telling me we should never pray for opportunities to share our faith; for the opportunities are endless and all around us. Instead, we should pray for the boldness to take advantage of those opportunities, for as Jesus reminds us, "the fields are white unto harvest.”

Paul writes, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." ( Romans1:16). Let it never be said of us that we were ever ashamed of the Gospel.

Many years ago, I remember the late Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, sharing an unforgettable definition of evangelism. He said, "Witnessing is sharing Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results up to God." 

I find this statement liberating. Winning people to Christ has nothing to do with us or how wonderful our spiritual presentation might be. It's all of Him and none of me, for it has everything to do with the Holy Spirit.

We are to "Trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not unto our understanding, but in all  our ways we are to acknowledge Him, and He will direct our path."( Proverbs 3:5-6) 

When I look at the picture above of this exuberant couple dancing in the spirit, I realize it might never have existed had it not been for the faith of one sold-out follower of Jesus who was not ashamed or embarrassed to share the gospel. 

If we have placed our faith in Christ, we can rejoice and look forward to what awaits us beyond our earthly existence. But until then, we have a responsibility to share the Good News with others.

As the apostle Paul writes, “How can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” (Romans 10:14 NLT).

As we walk through our lives today, let us do so with a renewed desire to be His faithful witness, sharing our faith with all those around us. 

Yours faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: Something Exciting Is Happening in a Church I Once Pastored

Dear Friends,

I recently completed an excellent book by Jason Tucker titled Speaking Their Language. The book is written by a pastor friend who now leads a church I once pastored in the 90's. It is a book about church revitalization. 

Jason has successfully led his church through dramatic change by redesigning church programs to attract the younger generations. Tower Hill Church, which is now one of the largest Presbyterian churches in the country, has focused its programming on reaching those in the Gen X and Gen Z demographics by 'speaking their language.'

Jason has pastored the church for the last 11 years, and while change has been slow but steady, the church now has two contemporary services and one traditional service, and for Christmas, they offered six worship services to accommodate the large number of worshippers.

Jason would tell you that the changes have not always been easy, especially in worship, where adjustments from a more traditional style of worship have often been difficult for some of the older generation.

Jason points out, "That research tells us that younger generations will avoid a church that primarily offers programs and ministries geared to another generation.

He points out that the church was shaped to reach the post-World War generation, and changes in 'how to do Church’ must be made if it is to remain relevant.

"This being said, I've never met an older church member who didn't long to see younger generations engage in the life of the Church. In fact, they absolutely crave it. The problem is when they dictate the terms."

Jason continues, "Every congregation is a generational relay and must prepare for an eventual passing of the baton of leadership to a successive generation. Our observation is that the leading reason churches are declining is because most are staffed, programmed, and envisioned to reach one generation."

Older generations often find such change difficult, and they wonder if there is a place for them in the church. He says, "The best thing we can do for older or more traditional generations is to empower them to reach and disciple younger generations. When they do, they grow deeper in their faith."

"What about nurturing the faith of older generations? What are we doing for them? We're exhorting them not to waste their lives. We're helping them grow by empowering them to perform a successful generational faith handoff as a first- order faith priority."

He concludes by telling one of my favorite stories told by John Piper at a conference in 2,000 where John exhorted his listeners not to waste their lives.

"I'll tell you what tragedy is. I'll read to you from Reader's Digest what a tragedy is. Bob and Penny took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast. Five years ago, when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise in their 30-foot trawler, play softball, and collect shells. That's a tragedy, and people today are spending billions of dollars to persuade you to embrace that tragic dream. And I get 40 minutes to plead with you: Don't buy in. With all my heart, I plead with you: Don't buy that dream. The American dream: a nice house, a nice car, a nice job, a nice family, a nice retirement, collecting shells as the last chapter before you stand before the creator of the universe to give an account of what you did. ‘Here it is. Lord- my shell collection! And I've got a nice swing and look at my boat!' Don't waste your life; don't waste it."

I sometimes worship at Tower Hill, and I can tell you something very exciting is happening in the midst of that fast-growing congregation. If you would like to know more about those changes, I encourage you to pick up a copy of Speaking Their Language

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thoughts: Some of My Best Friends, I’ve Met on Bended Knees.

Dear Friends,

In a few minutes, I will be heading to meet some of my friends at the church. For the past few months, I have been homebound and unable to drive because of my recent hip surgery. So, it’s been a while since I have been able to be with these dear friends. Since I am now able to drive, I will be joining them again at our church.

Who are these best friends? They are my partners in prayer.

Yes, some of the greatest friends I have, I’ve made on bended knee. There are few things that will forge a friendship  faster than praying with another brother or sister.

I am so blessed to meet for prayer with this group of brothers and sisters every Thursday morning,  and for the next hour  spending  time with them fellowshipping and praying together. 

Those of us who will shortly be together know that we will be doing one of the most important works of the church. They all understand the church moves forward fastest on bended knee, and that kingdom business is best accomplished when it’s done through prayer.

Just as we would always close our team's football practice with a team huddle, we too close our time together with a “holy” huddle.

We conclude our prayer time with a ‘holy hug.’ We gather together, forming the tightest circle possible, and with body against body and arms embracing one another, we close out our time with a final exhortation and a hearty Amen. What a feeling of unity we share as that final amen is sounded.

During these times of prayer, friendships are being forged that will last forever.

I believe the greatest barometer of a church’s health and effectiveness will be determined by the number of its people who are engaged in prayer.

Charles Spurgeon said, “The condition of the church may be very accurately gauged by its prayer meetings. The prayer meeting is a ‘grace-o-meter,’ and from it we may judge the amount of divine working (being done) among a people. If God is in the church, then the church must pray. And if He is not there, one of the first tokens of His absence will be a slothfulness in prayer... You can tell how popular the church is by who comes on Sunday mornings. But you can tell how popular Jesus is by who comes to the prayer meetings.”

Fresh Wind Fresh Fire, Jim Cymbala,  p. 29.

It was S.D.  Gordon, who said, “You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.”

If you would like to forge lasting friendships and see a spirit-filled and thriving church, then join a prayer group.

If you would like to witness a church on fire, then fall on your knees.

If you would like to see something exciting happen this Sunday, then before passing through the church doors, join the ranks of the prayer warriors and silently offer up the following silent prayer. “0 Lord, please lead me to someone whom I might be able to pray with today.”  And then, whether before or after the service, be on the lookout for that person or persons God wants you to for.  As you engage them in conversation, listen carefully for some spoken need they might express, and then, before you conclude your time together, ask them if you could pray for them. People will seldom refuse your offer, and they will never forget your prayer.

If every member came to church with this goal in mind, there would be a spiritual tsunami of encouragement sweeping through your congregation. People would no longer hurry out the doors to the parking lot following the close of worship. Instead, the church would be filled with the sweet fragrance of prayer wafting through the congregation.

There is nothing like praying with and for one another to build and foster community, so why not come to church prepared to offer one of the greatest gifts you could ever give someone, the holy gift of prayer?

I close with the words of Martin Luther, who said, "The need for prayer has never been greater than it is at this time, and it will be still greater from now on until the end of time."

Have a great day, and don't forget that you and I grow best on bended knee.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom