eDevotional 2

What makes a great leader? We live in an age where unprecedented attention is being paid to leadership. You walk in a bookstore and you find shelves and shelves bulging with books on leadership. There’s servant leadership, visionary leadership, strategic leadership, team leadership, co-leadership, Leadership by the book, Leadership with a Stick, The Marshmallow Leader… (OK, I made those last couple up)

You can get books on what makes a great corporate leader, a great political leader, a great non profit leader…there is even a genre of leadership books about leaders in history:

---Abraham Lincoln on Leadership

---Jesus as CEO

---Attila the Hun’s Leadership Secrets

---Elvis on Leadership (Just kidding!)

But, here’s a book that is hard to find…What makes a great follower? See, very little, if anything is said about the art of following/follow-ship. I think it is because there’s this idea in our culture that follow-ship is what you get stuck with if you don’t get to lead. Have you seen the t-shirt “If you ain’t the lead dog, the scenery never changes”? I think that says a lot about what our culture thinks about leaders and followers.

However, the truth is that followership is a fundamental part of all of our lives. We are born as followers: Little kids follow their parents around and learn from them, players are taught to follow the coach, students to follow their teachers, etc…

More than that, Jesus said that if anyone wants to be associated with him, following is essential. He did not say, “Deny yourself, pick up your cross, and lead me.” See, it is not about doing what I want, but what he wants for us. His one call is “Follow me. Be with me. Watch me. Trust me. Obey me. Devote yourself to me.”

Christians are followers. That is what a disciple does. And, when we follow Christ, we seek to give him our full devotion. That is why our mission statement is “Loving people toward full devotion to Jesus Christ.”

So, what makes a great follower? Great followers are proactive. They are people of initiative. This is countercultural…which says great followers hang around waiting for someone to tell them what to do. This is not a great follower. This type of person is characterized by passivity, by the ability to drift… See, people think of great followers as sheep…who follow the lead sheep over a cliff. The Bible does not call people to this kind of followership.

God wants us to follow him actively, and to invite others to follow as well.

What Makes You Mad?

What makes you mad? I am not talking about your personal preferences. I am not talking about getting mad at the guy that cuts you off in traffic, or at the lady who takes your parking spot. I am not talking about things that annoy you that trigger your anger because of sinful issues in your life. I am talking about righteous anger, things that make you mad on God’s behalf?

Jesus got angry. He once entered the temple in Jerusalem and found merchants who had turned the place into a zoo. They were not interested in honoring God. All they wanted was to make money. So, Jesus made a whip and drove them out! Worship is something that God takes seriously.

Another time, Jesus confronted a bunch of religious leaders about their hypocrisy. He was so upset he chewed them out. I bet his voice was hoarse after that encounter. Integrity is something that God takes seriously.

You know what else I think makes God mad? Those who say they love him, but don't extend that love to others.

Matthew 22:34-40 puts it simply: If you love God, you will love people. Simple, yet profound. I don't think it is a coincidence that Jesus reserved his sternest comments to those who mistreated or took advantage of others.

What's the deal with 2012?

These days there's an increasing amount of talk about the year 2012, and as it nears, it will probably increase. "Why is it that some people are talking about 2012," you might ask?

Well, in December, 2012, at the winter solstice, the Mayan Long Count calendar will come to an end. Why is this a big deal? Because it is one of the oldest calendars in existence. It started 500 years before the pyramids, 1500 years before the exodus, and according to this calendar the end of this world cycle will be December 21, 2012.

In our day, it seems that with something ends, even something as innocent as an ancient calendar, people seem to think up the most extreme possibilities for the end of civilization as we know it. So, how are we to react to this?

My best answer is to look at what the Bible has to say about this. The first thing that comes to mind is Matthew 24:36, "no one knows about the day or the hour (of Jesus' coming), not even the angels in heaven, nor the son, but only the Father." Later on in verses 42, 44, we are told to keep watch, to be ready, because he will come at a time when we do not expect him.

My approach is this: Don't worry about end of the world scenarios that come and go (I remember the same conversation leading up to 1984 and the year 2000), instead focus on being ready today to meet the God that loves you and can't wait to see you.

Role of the pastor

"Pastoral work takes Dame Religion by the hand and drags her into the everyday world, introducing her to friends, neighbors, and associates. Religion left to herself is shy, retiring, and private; or else decorative and proud--a prima donna. But she is not personal and she is not ordinary. The pastor insists on taking her where she must mix with the crowd."

Book Review

I picked this book up last month. I was initially drawn to it by its title, “the monkey and the fish”. Leafing through it, I discovered it was about an area of church that I have been doing a lot of reading and teaching on, culture (not ethnicity), and how culture gets created and formed, and how to understand the culture we live in and connect with it, and the importance of developing a church culture that in outward thinking (instead of inward focused).
This is a pretty short read, just over 200 pages, and the author uses one word to connect his thoughts: liquid. We live in a different world, and the author talks about the cultural shifts at work in the world, and of how important it is to understand these shifts so we can communicate the gospel effectively in our day.
For many years our church culture’s only means of communicating the Gospel has been informational, yet the culture of today, driven by younger generations, learns best relationally. Being liquid is about adaptability, adjusting and communicating the Gospel in a way that resonates with our culture today. The author also use the term, third culture. First culture is the dominant homogenous culture we live in. Second culture is about how folks live who are not comfortable with the first culture. But, third culture is "the mindset and will to live, learn, ad serve in any culture, even in the midst of pain and discomfort." This reminded me of Matthew 5:16, 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Jesus reminded us that information sharing is not the best avenue to sharing God, our good deeds, our actions are. The author also asks three questions that liquid, third culture Christians should be asking:
(1) Where is Nazareth (Can anything good come from Nazareth)? Where is that area in our town or city where nothing good is happening and how can we serve there?
(2) What is my pain (where he talks about prosperity theology versus the value of pain)?
(3) What is in my hand (what has God given you to do or contribute)? There is so much here for pastors in this short little book. The chart of what the church is known for versus what Jesus was known for is worth the price of the book.

Check out this article by Michael Moore

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-moore/for-those-of-you-on-your_b_308948.html

The changing church?

Our church organization and churches are in an interesting place. The average age of an Adventist in North America is 59, which means that in 20 years, we will barely exist, unless something changes. But, change comes slow, if at all. The median age in our country is between 37-38 years of age, but most local churches are led by those who are 60 and above. It’s no wonder change is not happening. See, you attract who you are.

These days there is a lot of discussion about who different generations think: the “retirees” think differently than the boomers, who think differently than Generation X, who think differently than Generation Y…and what out for the Millenial generation. They are growing up fast!

I am not sure we have thought much about this generational divide that exist. It's in just about every church. Most Adventist churches do not contextualized their message or approach to reach people in different segments of culture influenced by media, music, entertainment and technology. For most, multi-generational church ministry is uncharted territory.

Check it out!

Sabbath

Why do I believe in the Seventh-day Sabbath?
One: It was institued by God at creation (Genesis 2:2, 3). In fact, God did three things with the Sabbath at creation: he told us to rest, he set it apart (or made it holy), and he blessed it. He did not bless Tuesday, he did not bless Thursday, he did not bless Sunday, he blessed the seventh day.

Two: The 4th Commandment (Exodus 20:8-11). Knowing we would forget his commandment, he said, "Remember" and he points back to the reasons given at creation (see above)

Three: Jesus kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16), his disciples kept the Sabbath...

Seems to me these are some pretty good reasons to start with. What do you think?

Salvation

The second "S" is salvation, which is available through Jesus Christ...a free gift, at a great cost (not to us) to God. Romans 3:23, Roamns 6:23, John 3:16, 1 John 1:9, John 1:12

Scripture

At the Santa Rosa Adventist church, we have seven eSSentials that are at the foundation of what we believe. They all start with the letter "S".

The first one is Scripture. Three things:
We believe the Bible is the inspired word of God.
It provides direction for our lives.
It reveals the character of God.

2 Timothy 2:3:16, 17
2 Peter 1:20, 21
John 17:17
Acts 17:11

www.santarosasda.org

Book

I am in the process of reading David Gergen's book, "Eyewitness to Power" in which Gergen talks about the lessons he has learned from serving in the White House for four different presidents: Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton.

One of the things that jumps out at me is Gergen's comment that strength of character is the single most important factor in the success of failure of any leader...

Hmmm...can you think of anything or anyone in any industry in our country that has proven this to be true?

Reading

Some of you know that I concentrate my reading in a few different areas:

One: The Bible. I have currently finished a study of the Gospels and the outlining of every question Jesus asks.

Two: History. My goal is to read a biography of every American President. A few years ago, I decided to read them chronologically. I have really enjoyed getting a sense of history as I read consecutive biographies. I am currently reading a biography on our 7th President, Andrew Jackson titled, “American Lion, by Jon Meacham...and am also reading "Eyewitness to Power," by David Gergen.

Three: The 100 greatest books in history, the Classics, so to speak. I have three “List of the Greatest 100 books” that I use as reference (plus my own opinion). Currently, I have been working through, The Brothers Karamasov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Four: Books on spiritual growth, religion, theology, etc…This is the category I think Indelible Ink falls in.

Five: Books on leadership

What are you reading?

I'm Back

Ok, Ok...where have I been? Wow! Where do I start? This summer has been crazy. I had the opportunity to go to Egypt and Spain, I got back and had a lot going on...and I have been trying to come up with a new replenishment strategy. Am I the only one who needs one of these? I would love to hear what you do in this area.