Psalm 97:7-9: Right Once In A While

Sometimes it is just nice to feel like you've got it right. As a follower of God, you can take a beating from folks who think you are either foolish for believing in God or foolish for believing in the wrong God. Blaise Pascal famously reasoned that it was worse to not believe at all than to believe in God and be wrong. But the author of Psalm 97 takes a different approach:

All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols—worship him, all you gods! Zion hears and rejoices and the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments, O LORD. For you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. - Psalm 97:7-9

It says: God himself is in charge of his own reputation and, when he reveals himself, those who have long held the unpopular view of his existence and vitality will be proven right. They will rejoice, even as the villages of Judah rejoiced in this psalm. Its nice to be right once in a while. Its also nice not to have to say "I told you so" but let the knowledge come irrefutably from another direction.

Psalm 82: The Right of Revenge

This past week I finished reading The Count of Monte Cristo (by Alexander Dumas), a 1000-page behemoth of a novel. I had previously only been aware of the plot and themes of the novel in outline form and through the excellent (though substantially different) 2002 movie version. The driving force of this famous book is revenge: the need for the main character, Edmond Dantes, to see the good rewarded and the wicked punished. Envisioning himself as the divine agent of retribution, he steps in where God has otherwise not seen fit to act. In the end, Dantes finds revenge has changed him:

"Tell the angel who will watch over your future destiny, Morrel, to pray sometimes for a man, who like Satan thought himself for an instant equal to God, but who now acknowledges with Christian humility that God alone possesses supreme power and infinite wisdom." - The Count of Monte Cristo, ch. 117.

The frustration that forms the heart of this novel is a frustration that all of us feel to some extent. Why do the good go unrewarded while the wicked go unpunished? Or, if justice is done, why the long delay? The Psalms wrestle with this theme at length, even calling God's character into question:

"How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." - Psalm 82:2-4

When this anger wells up inside us, this very anger that ties us, among all creatures, to the very nature of God. It is the emotional response to an innate awareness that life is not fair, but it should be. C.S. Lewis said it this way:

Everyone has heard people quarreling. Sometimes it sounds funny and sometimes it sounds merely unpleasant; but however it sounds, I believe we can learn something very important from listening to the kinds of things they say. They say things like this: "How’d you like it if anyone did the same to you?"--‘That’s my seat, I was there first"--"Leave him alone, he isn’t doing you any harm"--"Why should you shove in first?"--"Give me a bit of your orange, I gave you a bit of mine"--"Come on, you promised." People say things like that every day, educated people as well as uneducated, and children as well as grown-ups.

Now what interests me about all these remarks is that the man who makes them is not merely saying that the other man’s behavior does not happen to please him. He is appealing to some kind of standard of behavior which he expects the other man to know about. And the other man very seldom replies: "To hell with your standard." Nearly always he tries to make out that what he has been doing does not really go against the standard, or that if it does there is some special excuse... - Mere Christianity, chapter 1.

We know what is fair. We manipulate its definition to suit our advantage, but we know it. We are angered when we feel unfairness (or injustice) or see it done. But what do we do about it?

One of the key attributes of God is his justice. Justice is a reckoning which gives to each according to what they are due. God is fair. God is wise. God is strong. He has the moral character to distinguish between the finest gradations without any other reference than his own character. He has the knowledge and discernment to ferret out the hidden and secret things to inform such decisions. He has the power to reward or punish suitably.

But, what strains the faith of so many, is why so long before judgement?

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? - Psalm 13:2

It is a question that is never fully answered in the Bible. The gap of injustice, between deed and judgement, tempts us to take vengeance into our own hands, whether on the petty getting-even scale or on the walk-into-the-mall-with-a-gun scale.

Others, when they discover that their actions don't lead to the immediate blue-bolt from heaven, embark on a path that assumes leniency or apathy from God.

They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting. They crush your people, O LORD; they oppress your inheritance. They slay the widow and the alien; they murder the fatherless. They say, "The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed

The Bible speaks to this with three big ideas:

1. God takes up justice on our behalf. "Oh God who avenges, shine forth." (Psalm 91:1). See also: Romans 12:19; 13:4.
2. God ensures fairness. "...he comes to judge the earth, he will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth." (Psalm 96:13b)
3. God gives us strength to persevere until the reward. "You stood your ground n the face of suffering...So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." - Hebrews 10:32b, 35-36

The very inability to find perfect justice done here directs our gaze to the judgement seat of God where our deep thirst for justice will be quenched. Edmond Dantes, reflecting on his own imperfect quest for justice, said:

"Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget that until the day when God shall deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is summed up in these two words,--Wait and hope'. - The Count of Monte Cristo, chapter 117.

 

 

 

 

 

."  - Psalm 94:4-6

Psalm 91: The 24/7 God

Today is Monday. Or I think it is. It is Monday morning, a quiet, pre-work Taipei time . But back at home, with my family, it is Sunday afternoon, a post-church, pre-AWANA time. Right now, we are a family in two worlds, with two different destinations.

Yesterday (their yesterday), Shannon got in some driving practice before her big driving test this next Wednesday (theirs, not mine). Normally, Tim would ride shotgun. But Helen went this time, because I was asleep (on a 747).  Normally, I would have been the one worrying about turn signals and looking over shoulders and brake lights. In the 24/7 world, there is always time for worry.

My boss caught up with me yesterday, but then wasn't sure whether it was my "Sunday" and if I was working. I try to keep a strict no-work period, but with the 16-hour time shift when you travel, its always a bit of a tricky. In the 24/7 world, there is never seems to be enough time for God.

Sometimes, sleep is not my friend. In the 24/7 world, there is the non-stop possibility of things going wrong. If awake, I could deal with it. If awake, I could solve it. If awake, I could intervene. But I'm not. So at some point, sleep becomes an exercise in trusting God.

You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. - Psalm 91:5-6

In Psalm 95, it is clear that the author had bigger problems that I do. If he is worried about "A thousand may fall at [his] side/ten thousand at [his] right hand." (Ps. 91:7) then the stakes are just little bit higher for him than what I have to struggle with.

But the element of trust is the same, in my 24/7 world. 

"I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." - Psalm 91:2

Trust is a conscious decision to place your safety (in whatever form) into the hands of another. Many times, my frantic attempts to manage things and my inability to let go of them, leaves no room for God to work and certainly no room for trust.

In the Old Testament, this decision of trust is often described as taking shelter under another's (ie. God's) wings (cf. Ruth 2:12).

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. - Psalm 91:4 

So as my day begins, and my family's day is winding down, I am handing off control to the 24/7 God.

God, I set today in your hands. I place everyone who is valuable to me in your hands. I set myself in your hands. Please care. Amen.

AWANA: Week 2 (Acts 2:1-12)

This is the script that Brahms and I used for the 2nd week of AWANA.

(electric fan, lighters, Bibles in different languages handed out to LITs)
JOE is behind the electric fan. MOE has nose in the Bible. BRAHMS has one lighter, TIM has other lighter.

MOE: Ok, ok, here it is. This is what the Bible says: “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” Let’s try it out.

BRAHMS: Moe, what are you and Joe doing?

MOE: We’re getting ready for the big special effects scene.

BRAHMS: Special effects scene? What, are you making a big movie?

JOE: No, this is part of Council Time for Sparkies.

BRAHMS: I didn’t know that Council Time had a big special effects budget.

MOE: Well, in the Bible, in Acts chapter 2, it says there was a big wind sound. (ignoring Brahms) Ready Joe?

JOE: Ready.

MOE: Ok, fan on.

JOE: Fan on!

JOE: Nope.

MOE: Nope. Not loud enough.

TIM: Well…maybe could ask the Sparkies for some help.

MOE: That’s a great idea! Sparkies, do you think you could help us out.


MOE: Great! So, when I count to 3, Joe, you turn on the fan. And you, Sparkies, you start making a loud wind noise. Ready? 1 – 2 – 3

MOE: That’s great.

JOE: What’s the next part.

MOE: (reading) dah dah dah, dah dah, ah ok, here it is, in Acts 2, verse 3: “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.”

TIM: MOE, just before you go any further, no flame throwers are allowed in church, ok.

MOE: No problem, see, I got this lighter, see (holds up the lighter)

TIM: Ok.

MOE: Now just stick out your tongue…

TIM: Wait a second, what do you think you’re going to do?

MOE: Well, the Bible says tongues of fire. So if you stick out your tongue, I’ll use the lighter and we’ll…

BRAHMS: Sounds painful.

MOE: It gets better, BRAHMS, because you will notice that the Bible said “tongues” That’s more than one. So you can stick out your tongue, too!

TIM: MOE, this is a bad idea. If I remember what the Bible said, it didn’t say anything about people sticking out their tongue and they certainly didn’t burn their tongue.

MOE: Well, if it didn’t burn them, then what did it do?

BRAHMS: It didn’t burn them, it did something even more amazing. Let’s try this again from the top. Get your fan and lighter ready and let’s read it again.

TIM: I got it. “When the day of Pentecost [that’s almost fifty days since Jesus came back to life, and ten days since he left and went back to heaven], they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.”

BRAHMS: So all Jesus’ friends started using other languages; saying thank you to God and talking about Jesus. What was strange was that these were languages they have never spoken before.

TIM: You all speak English. Do any of you speak another language? (wait for response)

MOE: Wow! I wonder how that sounded. All those people talking about God at the same time, but in different languages. Must have been really confusing!

JOE: We should try it out.

MOE: How?

JOE: Well, we have some Bibles here, in different languages. Let’s take a verse we all know and have some of the leaders read them together. John 3:16.

MOE: Ok, from the top now. When we get to the part where it talks about different languages, you start reading.

TIM: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.

JOE: Wow! That really was confusing. If I heard that, I wouldn’t know it was about God at all. I would think that everyone had gone crazy. Does it say in the Bible what everybody thought?

MOE: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"

JOE: So it means they all heard God in their own language.

MOE: Now just imagine-if I had that today-how many YouTube videos would make sense.

TIM: I don’t know if that would help some of those videos. But here is what God did. There were a lot of people from a lot of different places. Then there were all of Jesus’ friends. Lots of people from different places. Jesus’ friends. But they couldn’t really talk to each other, because they didn’t talk the same way. So God sent the Holy Spirit so that they could understand each other. That way, when they would go back home, they could take the good news of Jesus with them.

BRAHMS: Just like you. Not everyone comes to church. Not every kid comes to AWANA. But they all need to hear about Jesus, who took away all of their sins, by paying for them with his death, so we can go to heaven.

TIM: We don’t think we can tell them. But God can also do something special so that when you tell them, they will hear it. Some of them will be amazed. Some will be confused.

BRAHMS: You do your part to tell them. God can take care of the rest. Just like he did with the wind, the fire and the languages.

Titus 1:5-10: The Resume of a Leader

The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.

 

Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.

 

He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. - Titus 1:5-10

Introduction – Staving Off Chaos

The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. – Titus 1:5

It seems the news is full of leaders; talented, gifted, movers and shakers who can really take an organization from here to there. But now they are in short supply. Not because they can’t motivate us; not because they don’t understand the dynamics of groups; not because they don’t have the stamina; but because they self-destruct along the way, taking the very people they want to lead into the pit with them. We saw this recently in Mark Hurd, brought as CEO of Hewlett Packard after the integrity crisis; called a “white knight” for his strong ethical values; who then reportedly falsified expense reports to cover up payments to a contractor with whom he had a relationship. What should have been a strong quarter was overshadowed by the news of his personal failure and threw the company into uncertainty and doubt.

 

Here is Paul’s problem at the start of Titus.

 

Churches are sprouting up all over. Over every hill and behind every tree there seems to be a new church. Lots of those churches are small, and enthusiastic, and full of new followers of Jesus. Because they are small, and enthusiastic, and new followers, they are prone to mistakes; they are prone to enthusiastically following some minor doctrine or heresy right off a cliff; they are prone to listen with great gullibility to the plausible words of outside voices.

 

At once, this is both the success of the gospel, and brink of failure for the gospel. Paul knows this: so much excitement, so much danger, and he can’t be there. How frustrating! When Helen and I were parents for the first time, with Shannon, there is a period when babies are basically harmless. You wrap them up, you carry them around, they gurgle, cry, laugh, poop and eat. You can put them down somewhere and they stay put. But there comes a point where you just can’t leave them alone. I remember sitting in the kitchen and we had this long hallway and I’d hear ba-ba-ba hee-hee-hee echoing and I knew that I had about 30 seconds to get to her before she’d be somewhere where she could do some damage. Then we learned the power of doors. That stopped her for a little while. Then it was those handle things you put over door knobs.

 

That’s kind of how Paul felt, except that he had dozens of toddler churches, all running around going ba-ba-ba hee-hee-hee, all growing healthy, like crazy, but all in imminent danger of getting hurt. Just about the time he finished changing the last set of diapers the first one had done it again.

 

So what has to happen? The churches need to grow up. Paul is gone. Titus is babysitting. But that can’t last forever. At some point you leave them on their own. Then what happens? It could be chaos.

 

Paul says, “The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished…”

And how are you going to straighten out the chaos of a zillion little toddler churches, Paul? That word straighten out is the word a doctor could have used when setting a broken bone. Straighten out ...

 

“and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.”

The solution is leaders.

 

Paul isn’t looking for the left-overs to lead the church. He is looking for the best of the best. Mark Hurd, ex-CEO of HP might make the cut at Oracle, but he wouldn’t make the cut at church. Why? He doesn’t have the family resume. Look at verse 6. Steve Jobs, might make the cut at Apple and Pixar, but he wouldn’t make the cut at church. Why? He doesn’t have the work resume.

 

When Paul says “I left you in Crete to appoint elders in every town” --that word elder has two common meanings at the time that this letter was written. The first, and most common meaning, in the Greek was (this is going to knock your socks off, drum roll please) “old man” (like we would use the term seniors) It was a term of respect, referring to their wisdom. The second meaning was that of community leaders. The elders, acting as the heads and representatives for their extended families, would get together at the city gates each day so that they could drink tea and make smart-alec remarks at all of the people coming and going. But it also served as an informal city government, where disputes were heard and judged, where problems were discussed and where decisions were made.

 

So when Paul says “I left you in Crete to appoint elders” it wasn’t with the idea of “creating” elders, but rather, selecting from among the wise, experienced leaders who already existed. They weren’t newbies. He was telling Titus: start with those who are already recognized leaders, who are already respected, whose opinion is already listened to, whose voice already helps people move from the way it is now to the way it needs to be, and choose the best of the best from among them.

 

I remember at family camp, there was an exercise to take a bunch of raw materials

 

So what is a leader? Let me give you my definition: A leader influences people to move from where they are to where they need to be. Leaders (1) recognize that we need to move, they (2) realize that it is unacceptable to remain where we are, they (3) envision what a better future would look like, they (4) plot a course on how to get us there and (5) they push, pull, encourage and whine until we get there.

 

Not all of us have the same sphere of influence, but we all have influence. Don’t believe me? Can a fast food cashier turn my drive-through dining experience into purgatory on wheels? Now that’s influence! Whether you are the CEO of a corporation or the CEO of your home, you have influence. Whether you are a director or a district supervisor or a donut maker. You have influence. Mom. Nursery worker. Receptionist. Mechanic. Burger flipper. Team Lead..

 

God has placed each of you in a place of influence. Each word--each action--is an influence. Leaders know this and use this deliberately. Christian leaders know this and use it in a God direction.

 

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:16

So Paul puts a test out for Titus: how do you know which of these experienced, recognized, respected leaders, should be influencing your church?

 

More than that, though, Paul says: this is the growth path for everyone in the Christian community. When you sit down at a job for a 1:1 with your boss and you look across the desk and your boss says: “Tim, you are having a significant impact on your co-workers and our customers. We want you to have a long and productive future with us. Let’s chart out a growth plan for you.” And then your boss lays out steps or key milestones that you and he will work on together.

 

Well here are God’s steps to take experienced, recognized leaders to the next level:

 

Level 1: Family. Lead your family.

 

Level 2: Work. Lead your job.

 

Level 3: Church. Lead your church.

 

Each level represents a sphere of influence; a sphere of leadership and followership. It is also the training ground for the way God will use you next.

 

Level 1 Leadership: Family

 

What’s on your family résumé? Paul said:

 

An elder [the head of a family; the leader in the community] must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. – Titus 1:6

God is the one who created families. He set the parameters and the boundaries and the purpose for families. Slowly, I have begun to realize that families are training grounds, not just for children, but for the parents. There I am known. There I am loved. There I am provoked. There I am challenged. There I am forgiven.

 

Society and our own selfishness have served to pull our families apart. The haven of safety has become the war zone. Many of us are first-hand witnesses to this painful devastation.

 

Your family is your resume as a leader. Your family is your greatest testimony. The way you lead there says a lot about how you will lead elsewhere.

 

• Do you keep your promises? Can people trust you? Watch how you treat the most important promise of your life: your promise to your wife. Are your eyes wandering? How about your heart? Have you ever said, ‘If only I’d known you before…’
• Do you teach well? Watch how your children believe.
• Do you lead well? Do those who are closest to you follow?

There is no proceeding to the next level of leadership until you pass this level. Too many people try to launch to real leadership in work, the community or church before this is solid. The results can be disastrous, because your family is your best, built-in support group.

 

Let me ask you: would you turn down a promotion? Why or why not? Would you turn down a ministry at church? Why or why not? Is growing your healthy family important enough to say ‘No’ to these other great opportunities so that you are solid leader where it counts the most? It is no shame to stop in your path and concentrate on family.

 

The Bible says:

If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church? – 1 Timothy 3:5

Level 2 Leadership: Lead Your Job.

Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. – Titus 1:7-8

A few Saturdays ago, my family and I walked into The Waffle Barn to breakfast with the senior ladies in Cornerstone. There weren’t enough seats at the table for us all. First, the restaurant staff moved a table over to join theirs. Then we moved it back. Then more people arrived, so the staff moved three tables in a T-shape on the other side of the room and then cleaned up the tables we left behind.

 

In the past month, my family entertained numerous plumbers, carpenters and handy-men at my house to repair two different upstairs bathtub leaks.

 

This past Tuesday and Wednesday, I flew to Portland to meet with two new hired engineers who will be working with me closely for a new project.

 

All of us are leaders, because we direct other people, whether in a job setting or not. Paul says that the overseer—the word is used for a foreman on a job—has been entrusted with work—God’s work. In each of the settings where we work, God checks how we lead, more than what we lead. The next level of leadership is less about competence and more about character. How to care about the people? How to overcome with irrepressible good attitude? How be calm in the middle of a storm? How to handle delays, missed opportunities and best timing?

 

If I am looking for a leader, I want to know how they handle control and supervision in another setting. More responsibility is a larger stage—a larger arena—for our character flaws, like pride, to show clearly.

 

Robert Joss, dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business said: “Too many people today think leading is exclusively about their own performance. Even some of those who become CEOs, usually highly intelligent people who worked hard to get where they are, turn into self-aggrandizing individuals once they hit the executive suite.”

 

Look at good leaders.

 

1. We aren’t building our kingdom. Not overbearing. No kingdom building. No control freaks. No power thrill-seekers.
2. We aren’t quick-tempered; anger is not manipulation or intimidation technique.
3. We aren’t given to drunkenness. Stress management by deliberately induced loss of self-control. No accountability.
4. We aren’t using physical force or the threat of it to get your way.
5. We aren’t using our position to redirect profit to our pockets.
6. We share our home with others. (“hospitable”)
7. We value the good. (“loves what is good”) Is doing the right thing sort of like a diet, where you do it, but look longingly over your shoulder at the ice cream and carbs you are giving up? Or are you a connoisseur of the good, one who savors doing the right thing at the right time for the right reason?
8. We master our desires (“self-control”); can you do what is important? Can I sideline what I want for what is really important?
9. We don’t bend our standards based on external pressures. (“upright”)
10. We don’t compromise our special mission (“holy”). Holy literally means set apart for service: to God.
11. We train so our efforts are effective (“disciplined”).

Level 2 Leadership says: Leadership is not about you. Leaders begin to stink then the job becomes about you.

 

Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric said:

 

“The day you become a leader, it becomes about them. Your job is to walk around with a can of water in one hand and a fertilizer in the other hand. Think of your team as seeds and try to build a garden. Its about building these people.”

 

You are not good enough to do the job that God has for you. You are not strong enough, smart enough; you don’t have the endurance or the experience. God does. And he lends it to you in the form of the people God puts around you. Are they your team, or your foot stool?

 

How does your work resume look?

 

Level 3 Leadership: Church

He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. – Titus 1:9

Some simple reminders come from Robert Fulgham's popular poem, “All I really need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” Let me read a portion to you.

 

Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.

 

These are the things I learned. Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work some every day. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.

 

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

We learned these simple things in kindergarten yet we have trouble doing them. Sometimes the toughest things in life are not the quadratic equation, or tax shelters, or even the 14th remote lost behind the couch: sometimes the toughest things in life are doing what we already know to do. Sometimes being a leader is doing the things that you know need to get done but nobody else has the guts or the stick-to-itiveness to actually do it.

 

Pastor Henry talked about what a deacon-a servant of the church-looks like. It isn’t glamorous, but the path of leadership is the path of taking up the towel to serve. In the book of Acts, there was a church fight brewing along racial and ethnic lines over how the food was being distributed. So men of faith waded into the middle of this to serve tables. These brilliant, faith-filled men, like Stephen, whose sermon to the most hostile audience imaginable earned a place in the Bible; Like Philip who could smell a pre-Christian a mile away. These are the men who came in. Now here is the rest of the story. Acts, chapter 6, verse 7. 

So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.  

It did not spread because of dynamic teaching, although that was there. It did not spread because of earnest prayer, though that was there also. It was there because the deacons healed a rift in the church by filling it with their own service.

 

For Paul, Level 1 Leadership was the family; Level 2 Leadership was the work place; Level 3 Leadership, simultaneously the most challenging, frustrating and rewarding, is found in the church

 

In particular, in the church, leaders must say what they believe like they really believe it. Wouldn’t it be sad, if in the church, the most exciting message, the very words of God, were made boring and insipid? Wouldn’t it be sad, if all the great communicators and speakers of our age were false prophets, cynics and comedians?

 

God is looking for people who will lay down their own agendas and take up his; lay down their own message and take up his; in the church, because the local church, frail and stumbling as it is, is the hope of the world. Paul said, 

…Just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. - Ephesians 5:25  

Paul said, 

His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 3:10

You are the Weed and Feed of the church. Weed out the bad teaching, Feed the faithful. Bind up the wounds of the broken hearted. Speak peace to troubled lives. Replace error with truth.

 

Conclusion – Growing Garden in the Weeds

For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. – Titus 1:10

Why was Paul worried so worried about good leaders? Why did he send back Titus to straighten these things out? Because there are many weeds. Given space in my garden; any untended patch, will inevitably attract a weed. God says: the best way to fight weeds is not with Round-Up! You fight by planting healthy, good plants! When we first moved to El Dorado Hills, we were having our landscaping done in the back yard and Randy Gove came over, was helping us design it, and asked whether we wanted to put down weed barrier cloth. And I said: “My wife will plant it so full of healthy plants, there won’t be any room for the weeds to grow.” Now, ten years later, it is true.

 

How many times, tragically, have we seen a leader hang on too long? Trying to maintain control, he grasps firmly the steering wheel of his life, while relationships fall apart, health deteriorates and vision fails, but he still has that steering wheel!

 

Is that you? There can only be one leader. You can forge your own path; until it dwindles down to a dirt path and it is only you and your steering wheel. Jesus forged a path back to God, paying every cost for the rebellious, but he can’t take you there if you won’t give up control. You will never take the next step in leadership unless you first learn to follow yourself, from one who says, “Take my yoke upon you and I will give you rest.”

 

My family life growing up was far from ideal. I have a brother, a half-sister, a step-sister, three step brothers. Many of you are living witnesses to the pain of a generation of broken families. I will not lament. But God help me, I will replace a broken generation with a generation of peace, in my family. Will you join me?

 

Never have our communities, our state and nation cried out more for leaders of vision and integrity than today. I will not lament. But I will lift a new generation of men and women whose sight extends beyond the votes of the next election, to the one who weights the hearts of kings, presidents and governors in the scales of justice. Will you join me?

 

When the dominant ethic of the cubicle is “What can I get away with?” I will not lament. But I will join a generation of leaders whose CEO is not in the corner office, but on the throne of heaven; whose work ethic does not conform but transforms; led by our rabbi who came not to be served, but to serve. Will you join me?

 

When the churches struggle and church leaders fall and the faithful are weary, I will not lament. Instead I will join those called together to spend all heart, mind, soul and strength for the kingdom of he who withheld nothing so that we should not perish, but have eternal life.

 

Leadership is the influence you have to move people from where they are to where they need to be. Will you use the place God has given you to move people in a God direction?

 

AWANA: Week 1 (Acts 1:1-10)

Thought I'd post up the scripts that Brahms and I are using for AWANA. Here's week 1. MOE is a horse puppet and JOE and JIM are twin iguana puppets.

Acts 1:1-10

(basket, pulley, carabineer)

JOE is in the basket hanging from the ceiling, JIM is holding the rope. MOE is watching.

MOE: What are you doing, JIM?

JIM: I just can’t figure out how he did it.

MOE: (ignoring JIM, hallooing): JOE, you’re really high up. Aren’t you afraid of heights?

JOE: (nervous), Yes

JIM: I just can’t figure out how he did it.

JOE: (faintly) Help.

MOE: JIM, maybe you want to bring him down now?

JIM: (more emphatically) But, I just can’t figure out how he did it! I’ve got to keep trying until I figure out how he did it.

MOE: What are you talking about? Who did it? What are we talking about?

JIM: Well, it says in the Bible that after Jesus died, he came back to life

MOE: Yes, well, what does that have to do with the basket?

JOE: Yes. Basket. Why?

JIM: It says he was with his disciples for 40 days, and they talked with him and ate with him.

MOE: Yes, well, what does that have to do with the basket?

JOE: Yes. Basket. Why?

JIM: Well, it says in the book Acts, chapter 1, verse 9: “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” So somehow, Jesus left them by going up into heaven. I wondered how Jesus did it. So I rigged up this pulley, and hooked it up.

MOE: And I suppose this pillow is the pretend…

JIM: Clouds! You got it.

TIM: I think you’re kind of missing the point, though.

JOE: Yeah, yeah, you’re missing the point! I’m way up here.

JIM: No, no. You see, the disciples could have pulled on this string, and it pulls up Jesus in the basket. And then, if he was high enough, the clouds block them from seeing him.

TIM: But you are having some problems with your theory?

JIM: Two problems: #1: What did they hook the pulley on to? Did Jesus have an airplane?

TIM: That is a problem. What is the second problem?

JIM: What happened when the disciples let go of the rope. Like this (let’s go, JOE falls, TIM catches)

MOE: Whoa! JIM, you almost hurt JOE. Are you ok?

JOE: (moaning) Yeah, I am ok.

TIM: I think JOE needs to rest and I think JIM needs to put that all away.

TIM: You know, sparkies, it says in the Bible, that right after Jesus went into heaven, all of Jesus’ friends, including the disciples, were standing there, looking into the sky. It was pretty incredible. Where did he go? Is he going to come back? Some of them were probably trying to figure out just how he did it, just like JIM.

BRAHMS: Just then, two men—two angels—appeared from heaven and said to them “why do you stand here looking in the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go back into heaven” (Acts 1:11b)

TIM: They were so busy trying to figure out “how” Jesus did that, that they were already forgetting the directions he gave them. Have you ever had that happen to you? You are looking at something really cool, maybe a toy or a present or a TV show, and you forget what your Mom or Dad told you to do?

BRAHMS: Jesus had spent over one month with his friends, teaching them about something new: the church. The church is the people who trust in Jesus to help them and who do what he wants, right now. How many of you go to church? … Good. Church helps us to (1) grow up the way God wants us to grow up, (2) help other people the way God wants us to help other people, and (3) tell other people about God the way that Jesus did.

TIM: Jesus told his friends two things, just before he left: (1) He told them to wait. They didn’t want to wait. They didn’t want Jesus to leave. They wanted everything to happen now. But when you grow up, you have to learn how to wait. Jesus said (Acts 1:4b), “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.”

BRAHMS: We’ll learn more about that next week.

TIM: But the people were in a hurry. “So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6) They wanted to know. Is it now? Are you going to be a king now?

BRAHMS: But Jesus told them they had to wait. And they weren’t going to know how long. Sometimes when someone tells us to wait, we think they really mean “No.” Dad, can I drive the car? Wait til your older. And maybe you think he means “Never”

Jesus knew that some things had to happen first, before he would become the king over the whole world. First, everyone in the whole world was going to have to hear about Jesus.

TIM: Now Jesus was God, but he could only talk a few people at a time. There was no TV, there were no cell phones.

BRAHMS: But God had a different idea. What would happen if he told his friends, and then his friends told their friends and then their friends told their friends about Jesus. That would be a lot faster way for people to learn about Jesus. That’s why he said: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses (people who tell people) in Jersualem, in Judea (that’s like in the next state), and Samaria (that’s like the next country, like Mexico or Canada), and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

TIM: Jesus doesn’t want to be your secret. Tell your friends. Bring them to AWANA. Bring them to church. If you keep Jesus a secret; if you don’t tell them that Jesus cares for them and paid for everything so that they can know about God the way you do; maybe they’ll never find out. Don’t be like Jesus’ friends, staring up at the sky, when you already know what he wants you to do.

Psalm 84: Pilgrimage Has A Destination

In his novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Philip K. Dick probed the universal human tendency towards pilgrimages. In the novel, the religion Mercerism connects people together emotionally as they share the journey up an unspecified hill while pelted by rocks from unknown adversaries.

In exploring this aspect of many religions, Dick focuses on the sense of shared experience. Each of the participants in Mercerism does so through an Empathy Box, which links them together with fellow pilgrims and with the pseudo-messiah, Mercer. In the novel, his followers share together in a way that cannot do in real life; a sort of unspoken, mutual struggle against an apathetic or even hostile world. This sense o fthe journey together permeates the travelogues of pilgrims since the time of The Canterbury Tales.

Likewise, Dick attemts to evoke the sense that the pilgrimage itself is a test or a purification process. The journey is like life in miniature. The perseverance in the face of hostility strips away pretension, revealing who we are, stabbing pride and focusing us on what is important. Here, the author draws on existentialists, such as Albert Camus, whose short story The Myth of Sisyphus reflects a similar attempt to create meaning in a ridiculous universe.

But what is notably missing in this stripped-away version of the spiritual journey is a destination. Pilgrimages, by definition, are journeys to the holy. The pilgrimage journey is preparation to meet with God; to receive what He has and we do not. But in the novel, a series of revelations show that the vision shared by adherents of Mercerism was, in fact, crafted on a sound stage in a movie studio. There is no hill; there is no end; there is no arrival; there is no God. Just pixels of their imagination. In the end, this leaves the hero of the story locked in the metaphysical downstairs, wiser and yet, ultimately, pitiful. You are left asking the question (as Solomon did):

Then I thought in my heart, "The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?" I said in my heart, "This too is meaningless." - Ecclessiastes 2:15

The book of Psalms contains numerous pilgrim songs. sung by the travelers as they climbed towards Moutn Zion, approaching the city of Jerusalem, and the temple where God dwelt. Compared with the downward spiral of despair of the novel, these songs are filled with hope.

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!  My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.  Psalm 84:1-2

The journey is not an aimless one, but one filled with purpose--a chosen path.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,  who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.  - Psalms 84:5

The trip is wearying; stretches of difficulty as they traveled from one oasis of refreshment to the next, sustained by God himself.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength... - Psalm 84:6-7a

These pilgrims had a destination. It was both a physical destination (see vs. 3) but more importantly, it was the a meeting place: the arrival into the presence of God.

..till each appears before God in Zion. - Psalm 84:7b

What has God brought you through on your pilgrimage? Are you in the rough period of the journey or a period of refreshment? Do you long for the destination (God himself) or have you settled for the rest area?