Category Archives: The Church

In my years of church leadership, and in being a member of some local congregation for my entire life, I have seen churches of all kinds. My background as an attender of United Methodist, Presbyterian (PCA), Baptist, Evangelical Free (EFCA), Christian Missionary Alliance (CMA), and Bible Churches gives me a rounded perspective on churches of many types. I have also been a pastor and/or worship leader at 5 different churches in the past 17 years. In addition to that, my Bachelor’s degree is in Christian Thought, from Grove City College, Grove City, PA.

The Church, Thinking, What Lies Beneath

And With It We Curse Men

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There’s so much of it going around these days. It’s easy to overlook. It’s easy to participate in, almost unwittingly. We do it in side comments. We do it in Facebook posts. We do it silently in our hearts. We curse people.

Now, we’re not calling down fire from heaven on people. Oh wait, in some cases we are. The politically charged atmosphere of this year’s presidential election is a prime example. Some of the tweets I’ve seen out there are unsuitable to post here.

My first reaction is, quite honestly, one of internal anger. I see the things people write about other people and I get angry. I think to myself, “Wow, that person is the stupidest person I’ve ever seen.” I’ll murmur under my breath, “What an idiot.” “Are all Democrats that stupid?”

It’s the same programmed response to someone cutting me off on the highway. Anger. Even hatred at times. I’m ashamed that is the case for me. It seems to be the case for the vast majority of people, though. Well, maybe I should qualify that. It seems to be the case for the vast majority of people who open their mouths.

As a Christian, I cannot possibly reconcile this reality with what I know about Christ and His love for me. Since the way we speak is such a hot topic in America, I think it is extra poignant that the Bible teaches caution in our speech. Here’s a particularly convicting text, from James 3.

(9) With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. (10) Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. (11) Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? — James 3:9-11

Where does this hate speech begin, though? We don’t really have to go very far to figure it out. Luke 6 makes it plain:

(43) “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. (44) Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. (45) A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Hatred comes from the heart. From deep down in who we are. There is a tendency to think and speak ill of those who oppose us or our views, or who live somewhere else, or look different, or vote different. This is a terrible truth that brings to the surface our own evil.

We can say we’re surprised by it, but should we be? We Christians ought to be examining our speech daily. Any by examining our speech I mean that we should examine our hearts. Any by examining our hearts I mean that we should give ourselves biblical counsel because “we are not our own, we were bought with a price.” We ought to remember that we were not called because of our intellectual prowess or stunning good looks. We should press the refresh button of the Gospel story every day so that we can hear it as if for the first time. We were sinners, separated so much from God that it brought death. Yet in His unfailing love we have forgiveness and redemption through Jesus Christ. Undeserved grace. Mercy unbound. Joy inhuman.

Let us curse less as we remember more… and more often.

Everyday Stuff, The Church

Thank You, Shepherd’s Grace

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To our beloved friends and family at Shepherd’s Grace Church,

Thank you for taking my wife and me into your family 10 years ago.

Thank you for challenging us to know God.

Thank you for encouraging us to love the Bible.

Thank you for forgiving me and allowing healing and restoration to my life and ministry.

Thank you for loving my foster children and my son.

Thank you for being so real.

Thank you for letting me lead you in worship over the years.

Thank you for sacrificing to serve one another and the communities around us.

Thank you for countless hours of working behind the scenes without recognition and fame.

Thank you for singing your hearts out to God in worship together.

Thank you for learning to listen to your imperfect elders, in obedience to God.

Thank you for laughing, for bright smiles, and for your tears.

Thank you for praying for God’s people time and time again.

Thank you for warm fellowship and a place to belong in love and strength.

Thank you for being reliable and faithful friends that we can count on.

Thank you for working so hard together to figure out the Lord’s leading and calling.

Thank you for your passion to see the brokenhearted reached with God’s love.

Thank you for reaching out to the poor and needy.

Thank you for sending and supporting missionaries with God’s love to the nations.

Thank you for serving on committees.

Thank you for teaching our children.

Thank you for loving the youth.

Thank you for visiting the wounded and dying in the hospitals.

Thank you for supporting each other in the hardest times of life.

Thank you for accepting less than perfect people into the family (which is all of us!).

Thank you for taking care of new mothers and fathers.

Thank you for helping with the loss of loved ones.

Thank you for staying and working through hard times at the church.

Thank you for moving forward in faith to a new adventure together with new friends, new family, new leaders.

Thank  you for your love.

We will cherish our time together with all of you. And I look forward to seeing the work of God continue in a new way with our new family at Grace Church of Greater Akron. We are so thankful for your love and friendship over the years, and will always look on our time at Shepherd’s Grace with affection. We are also glad to be moving on to a new adventure with all of you!

– Chad and Allyson

The Church

Were and Are – A Glimpse Into Ephesians

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image

The imagery in the language of the Bible is beautiful. I am particular fan of contrasts in the Scripture, and in the book of Ephesians there are many such contrasts regarding who we WERE and who we ARE. Here is a simple chart of some of these beautiful, meaningful contrasts in the book of Ephesians.

Sometimes each side of the chart is explicitly made known in the reference, and other times it is inferred. In the case of Ephesians 3:12, for example, if we are now able to approach, it means we once were held back.

WERE ARE Reference
Darkness Light Ephesians 5:8
Dead Alive Ephesians 2:1
Far Away Near Ephesians 2:13
In Hostility At Peace Ephesians 2:14-16
Excluded Included Ephesians 2:12
Foreigners Citizens Ephesians 2:19
Separated One with Him Ephesians 4:18
Held Back Able to Approach Ephesians 3:12
Orphans Adopted Ephesians 1:5
Unbelievers Believers Ephesians 1:19
The Church

Culmination in Celebration

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Recently we spent several weeks in church answering the most basic of questions: Why do we gather together? It seems such a fundamental question that we almost shouldn’t be asking! But through the Scriptures we examined the biblical basis for meeting as a group. These sermons have worked deeply on my heart, and I am looking forward to our worship celebration tomorrow.

I am posting the YouTube videos for the songs we’ll be working through tomorrow because I want the people of Shepherd’s Grace to get to know the words and tunes if they are unfamiliar with them. We are going to worship according to the various scriptural underpinnings we have been studying. So it will go something like this:

THE GATHERING – Why Do We Meet?


Part 1 – Coming Together, Drawing Near in Unity

Scriptural Foundations (Ephesians 4:1-3, Hebrews 10:25)

— Come, Now is the Time to Worship

— Draw Me Close

 

Part 2 – Growing in Fear

Scriptural Foundations (Proverbs 1:7, Eccl. 5:1-2)

— Holy is the Lord

— You Are Holy (Prince of Peace)

 

Part 3 – Resetting and Renewing Our Minds

Scriptural Foundations (Colossians 3:1-3)

— Here I Am to Worship


— King of Glory, God of Grace

 

Part 4 – Remembering the Lord

Scriptural Foundations (1 Cor. 11:23-25; Genesis 3, Matthew 26:39)

— Create in Me 

— When I Survey

 

Part 5 – Rejoicing and Praise

Scriptural Foundations (Leviticus 8-9, Hebrews 12:1-3)

— Glorious

— Blessed Be Your Name

The Church

Leadership and Love

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A conversation with a new friend got me thinking yesterday. Over our Chipotle burrito bowls at lunch, we shared a little about our churches. It came up that I lead worship at my church, and I had a chance to share a little about that.

What came out of my mouth was something I have been feeling for years but have been unable to articulate. I said, “I love people a lot more than I used to.” You see, when you’re in front of a group there is a tendency to focus on performance, whether you’re leading worship, speaking, or doing drama. It isn’t only MY performance, though, that I have focused on over the years that I’ve been a worship leader.

Earlier years in ministry found me looking on the congregation with a critical eye, asking questions (in a critical manner):
Why aren’t they singing with passion?
Why do they selfishly criticize the music?
Why can’t they put aside their burdens and just worship?
What is WRONG with them?

Over the years God has softened my heart and attitude. These days I look at the congregation not as a GROUP, but as a GROUP of INDIVIDUALS. The concept that, as a worship team, we’re up there leading a group, could not be further from the truth. We are worshipers first, worship leaders second, and more than that, the crowd is made up of particular souls, not one collective. The church is one in many ways, but also each human-divine and human-human relationship is unique.

While we lead a group in worship, we exercise both of those relationships. And while we serve God in this capacity, we also serve the people in the church. Yet as we serve them, we do not cater to them.

All of this is to say that I now look with eyes of love toward the individual people in the room as I look to God with a heart of worship. It matters less to me if people approve of the music or sing with passion. I want people to come along, but if in finding the throne of God individuals get left behind, my eyes are no less on Christ. I’m going to encourage you to join me, but if you don’t want to join me, that’s not going to prevent me from pursuing a meeting with my King.

That, I’m learning, is loving people when leading worship. Leadership in worship has so much to with love, and so little to do with professionalism or musical aptitude. If God has gifted, musical aptitude will be present. If the heart is hard, though, the Spirit will be quenched and less will be made of God’s glory. As it is, my soul longs to behold the glory of God, and my heart aches to pursue that glory with my brothers and sisters. Together, as we draw near to the throne of grace, properly fearing the Lord, remembering who He is, and cheering His Name, in incredible love we will see that glory as He sees fit to show us.

To my fellow worship leaders, I say lead in love and you will find yourself running with your church family into the anointing of God in worship.

Everyday Stuff, The Church

I Had Coffee with Piper, Towzer, and Chan

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Tonight I sat at a Starbucks in Medina, OH, and had coffee with three of the brightest Christian authors in recent history.  Well, those are their code names, given to each of the young men I talked with.  They each mentioned one of these thinkers, and I agreed to refer to them using code names on the blog, so… I hope they can figure out who they are!  Me, I brought up John Maxwell, so I’ll be him.

We were meeting for the first of several summer sessions on leadership.  Particularly, we are looking at Jesus’ example in the gospels, asking questions about both his words and his actions, then discussing how we can apply Jesus-like methods in our daily lives right now.  We don’t want to have just another Bible study where we sit around and talk with nothing coming of it in our lives.  Our desire is to hone in on Jesus and his leading, with open discussion and poignant questions that can affect our lives immediately.

Why This Method of Study?
Sharing with the guys tonight, I mentioned that asking good questions is one of the best things we can do as leaders.  Active listening requires asking questions.  Some questions clarify the meaning of the speaker (when you said that, did you mean _______ ?).  Other questions cause us to look further (why would Jesus say _______ ?).  Still other questions compare or contrast (if Jesus led like _______, what can we do to be more _______ ?).  Good questions are hard to come by, but when we find them they help to shed light on a passage or idea in ways that simply don’t come with ordinary book study.

Discussion encourages ownership and participation.  It is one thing to study alone in our basement or in our library, but another thing altogether to flesh out ideas in a forum.  When the forum is trusted and any question goes, the potential to learn grows exponentially.  I made it clear to these guys that we can ask difficult, challenging questions of each other, and that is part of this process of discipleship.  Iron sharpens iron, and that process is one of heat, pressure, and repeated pounding.  This means it is okay to challenge one another, so long as it is done with grace and truth, and a good helping of brotherly love.

I would submit that this is perhaps the best possible learning environment when combined with daily life.  I don’t have a boat load of scholastic research to support this, but I know in my life the things I’ve learned the most are those which I have been taught in word, shown in action, and discussed in retrospect.  If we can see, do, and then assess, we can improve upon our failures, anticipate mistakes, and grow as individuals.  When I say “learned the most,” I mean those are the lessons I remember and try to live out today.  We hear, but we must do, and verbalizing what we do helps to solidify the experience and the lessons involved.

Luke 4
Today our focus was on Luke 4.  In this chapter, Jesus is led by the Holy Spirit to be tempted in the wilderness, ministers in Galilee in several ways, and then moves on to minister in other parts of Judea.  We asked 4 main questions to prompt discussion:

…1) What are some of Jesus’ leading qualities in this passage?
…2) What are some of your leading qualities that may help you as a leader?
…3) Who are you already in the process of leading this summer?
…4) What is at least one thing you can take away from this chapter and try to apply in your life and the lives of those around you?

Here are some of the answers to the questions from each of my co-conspirators, Piper, Chan, and Tozer… you know who you are!

Question 1
What are some of Jesus’ leading qualities in this passage?
Piper
— Knowledge of God’s Word and the ability to use it with authority
— Compassion and servanthood
— Knew where true authority came from (vv. 5-8)
Chan
— He had purpose and a goal in mind (vv. 42-44)
— Focused, stayed on task
Towzer
— He had the Word dwelling in him (used it to rebuff the Devil’s attacks)
— He had discernment about when and how to use it (not just head knowledge)
Maxwell
— Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, and continued throughout the chapter to work in power together with the Holy Spirit

Question 2
What are some of your leading qualities that may help you as a leader?
Chan
— Connecting and unifying the people that I lead, so that we’re all leading, not just me
— Help to get everyone focused outward, instead of everyone just looking to me for leadership
Piper
— Compassion and hunger for God’s Word (John shared an inspiring story here about leading a boy to accept Christ as Savior during summer camp this year)
Maxwell
— Patient leadership (not complacency, but willingness to wait on God to act in the lives of others)
Towzer
— Desire to see young men grow in intimacy with God
— Organizational and planning skills

Question 3
We skipped it!  Organic discussion for the win!

Question 4
What is at least one thing you can take away from this chapter and try to apply in your life and the lives of those around you?
Piper
— Using the power and authority of God’s word to avoid giving the Devil an opportunity.
— Using the TIME in my life for God
Maxwell
— Learning more about the Holy Spirit, what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit
Towzer
— Having the word of God abide in me
Chan
— Need to be more prepared, as Jesus was, to talk to and relate to those who are unsaved.

Conclusions
Wow!  All of these things out of 1 chapter in the book of Luke!  Amazing.  These guys are, by God’s grace, totally amazing!  It was refreshing to “talk in the round” about Luke 4, its impact on our daily lives, and the incredible example that Jesus was.  This and so much more came out of our discussion tonight.  Wish you could have been there with us.

The young men of today’s generation need to be given opportunities to lead.  We, as members of the older generations, must WORK to provide them with these opportunities.  Yes, each of us must listen to God’s call on our lives, but we cannot assume that He won’t use us to make that call clear in someone else’s life.  I really am amazed at everything that could come out of that one chapter in the story of Jesus’ life on earth.  Given our time tonight, I am certain we just scratched the surface of everything that passage has to offer.

We have some upcoming vacation weeks to throw off our meeting schedules, but we are going to continue working out these leadership topics, not only in discussion, but also in our everyday lives.  The Gospel was meant to be lived, not just read.  A city on hill cannot be hidden….