Restoring Kingdom Builders

In my last post, I asserted that all believers want the same thing for their churches.  We all want God’s blessing, whatever that looks like.

When God is blessing a church, people come to church expectantly, everyone senses the presence of God, people value right relationships, and spiritually lost people find the Lord.

But how can a church secure that blessing, especially when it often seems elusive?

First, all the top leaders need to be walking with God.  If the pastor is walking with God, but the board chairman is not, that’s a problem.  If the youth pastor is walking with God, but the lead pastor is not, that’s an even bigger problem.  Galatians 5:16 says it well: “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”  But when the pastor, staff members, and board members are all living by the Spirit at home, at work, and at church, the Lord has already started pouring out His blessing on that church.

To me, the measure of a leader’s spirituality is his or her willingness to put aside their own personal agenda and to submit themselves to God’s agenda for their church.  When every leader is fully surrendered, the church will begin to gain an unstoppable momentum.

Back in the early 1990s, I was involved in the biggest project of my church career.  Our church sold its property and used the proceeds to begin a ministry to unchurched people.  Because the vision required divine power, every one of our leaders was completely sold out to Jesus.  Although we were tested like we’d never been tested before, we constantly sought and received divine guidance, and it paid off big time.  As tough as it was at times, I’d never trade that experience for the world.

Second, the top leaders must all support each other.  Walking with God must translate into walking alongside one another.  The board chairman must get along with the pastor, who must get along with the associate pastor, who must get along with the other staff members.  The leaders may have genuine disagreements about certain issues – that’s healthy – but they need to openly and honestly talk them through and arrive at consensus.  God longs to bless leaders who all stand together.

But when the associate pastor forms an alliance with several board members, or a couple of staff members continually undermine the pastor, God withholds His blessing from that church.  When Miriam and Aaron began to criticize Moses because of his new wife, Israel’s wilderness leadership team became fractured, and God’s people stalled until the Lord dealt with Miriam specifically.  Numbers 12:15 tells us that “the people did not move on till she was brought back.”  Division in the ranks affected progress on the ground – and it always does.

Third, the entire congregation understands and supports their unique mission.  If the pastor has one agenda for a church, several board members have a second agenda, and a faction in the church has a third agenda, God’s blessing on that church will be short-circuited.  While there are various ways for a church to discern its mission, once it has been written down and announced, God’s people need to get behind it.

When they do, it’s amazing to watch what God does!  But when there’s grumbling and complaining and internal sabotage, the fulfillment of the mission will either be slowed or stalled.

In one church I served as pastor, the congregation unanimously decided to construct a new building.  It was exciting to watch people share their input about the building and give sacrificially for its construction!  But a handful of people tried to undermine the project from within, and although they were unsuccessful, they did slow down the momentum enough to mess with our timetables.  The Lord overrode them and the building went up anyway, but every congregation seems to have its ecclesiastical saboteurs.  While the leaders may choose to listen to their ideas and feelings, the leaders cannot allow them to set the church’s agenda.

Fourth, the church makes prayer a priority.  In Christian churches today, there is little public emphasis on prayer anymore, and frankly, I don’t get it.  When the staff meets, they may share for an hour but pray for five minutes.  When the board meets, they may dispense with prayer altogether except for a quick opening and closing prayer.  When the leaders fail to take prayer seriously, it spills over into the rest of the congregation – and God will not bless that church.

Prayer is simply asking God for His intervention.  When a church fails to pray very much, they are implicitly saying, “God, we don’t need Your help at all.  We can handle things by ourselves.”  And God will let that church handle matters on their own and pull back His supernatural power.  But when the pastor and staff and board take prayer seriously, the practice has a way of becoming contagious and natural throughout the rest of the church.  I’m always cheered by how often the early church talked to God and received incredible answers.  For example, in Acts 4:29, God’s people prayed, “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.  Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

He did.

Finally, a congregation has to want God’s blessing more than anything else.  Many of us assume that if God is going to bless our church, then we’re going to grow numerically, or purchase more land, or add some staff, or have bigger offerings.  While these may be signs of God’s favor, can’t the Lord bless in other ways as well?

Sometimes relational unity is a sign of God’s blessing.  Other times accurate biblical teaching is a sign of God’s blessing.  Still other times it’s how quickly a congregation can raise money for a great need.  Proverbs 10:6 tells us that “blessings crown the head of the righteous …”

Whatever He does, and however He does it, it is crucial that from time-to-time, we stand back in our churches and marvel, “Wow, look what the Lord has done!”

When we’re confident that He’s responsible and should receive all the credit, then we know He is blessing our church.

It’s the greatest feeling in the world.