Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Please Comment!’ Category

Four Observations About Pastoral Termination

Posted in Church Conflict, Conflict with Church Antagonists, Conflict with Church Board, Conflict with Church Staff, Conflict with the Pastor, Pastoral Termination, Please Comment! on August 27, 2012| 2 Comments »

I’m in a celebrating mood today because this blog just reached a milestone!

After nearly 20 months and 216 postings, we finally hit 20,000 views last night … an average of just under 100 views per article.

My top 5 articles according to readership are:

*If You Must Terminate a Pastor

*When to Correct a Pastor

*Pastors Who Cause Trouble

*Facing Your Accusers

*When You’re Upset with Your Pastor

The articles I’ve written about my family members (especially my son’s wedding) and about music also have lots of views, but this blog is primarily about pastor-church conflict.

And as you can tell from the above titles, I write primarily for lay people – board members included.  I’m trying to help them deal with their feelings about their pastor when they’re frustrated with the way he’s leading, preaching, or acting.

After talking with pastors and researching this topic for years, I have four observations to make about pastoral termination:

First, few believers know how to terminate a pastor sensitively and wisely.

If a pastor works for the governing board of a church, and the board decides to fire him, the board will probably:

*Ignore biblical principles for correcting a spiritual leader.

*Brush aside the governing documents of their church.

*Skip any kind of due process for the pastor.

*Fail to anticipate how the congregation will react to the pastor’s ouster.

Instead, they’ll just put their head down and remove the pastor using any means at their disposal … even unchristian ones.

I recently talked with a pastor who told me what happened with his church board.

The pastor heard about a conflict training program at a Christian university.  He invited the board to go along.

One board member attended with the pastor.  The other two declined to go.

One week later, those two board members met with the pastor and fired him.

Why didn’t they want to attend the training program?  Because they didn’t want to learn new skills that might prevent them from forcing their pastor to leave.

It’s important that we train boards how to handle conflicts with their pastor before they choose to fire him … because most people … even Christian leaders … cannot control how messy things become when they forcibly terminate their pastor.

Second, boards usually blindside their pastor when they fire him.

I recently spoke with a pastor who had been at his church for nearly two decades.  The church had a large impact in their community and the pastor thought he was doing a great job.

One day, the board called a meeting with the pastor and fired him.

The pastor wasn’t guilty of heresy, or immorality, or any major offense.

And to this day, he has no idea what he did to deserve being terminated.

Here’s the typical scenario:

*Nobody on the board ever sits down with the pastor and talks to him about any concerns they have.

*Nobody confronts or corrects him.

*Nobody allows the pastor to face his accusers and their charges.

*Nobody loves him enough to carry out Matthew 18:15-20 or 1 Timothy 5:19-21.

*Nobody asks God what they should do … but ask God to bless them after they’ve made their decision.

Instead, the board meets in secret, negatively evaluates the pastor’s performance, and fires him without ever giving him the chance to (a) know the complaints against him, and (b) make any necessary adjustments.

Is this legal?  It is if the governing documents of a church say the board can act that way.

Is this moral?  No.

Is it spiritual?  Hardly.

It’s an indication that the board views the church as a business … instead of a spiritual organism … and that they view the pastor as an employee … instead of someone called by God to lead that church.

It’s also an indication that they either lack the time or expertise to correct him … or that they feel the pastor is unredeemable … which seems like a contradiction for people who claim to believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ can transform anyone.

Third, the congregation never hears the truth about why the pastor left.

Under the guise of “confidentiality,” the board makes a pact to refuse to tell anyone the reasons why the pastor has departed.

This may be because the pastor did something immoral and the board is protecting the pastor’s career.

This may be because the pastor did something illegal and the board is protecting the church.

This may be because the board handled things unwisely and they’re covering up their mistakes.

If the pastor was allowed to state publicly why he was forced to leave, he might persuade people that he was treated poorly, which might provoke sympathy for him, turn people against the governing board, and cause people to leave the church.

If the board was allowed to state publicly why they forced the pastor to leave, they would undoubtedly blame everything on him, take no responsibility for their own failures, and have to explain themselves to the congregation.

Because boards just want the pastor gone, they often grant “severance for silence.”  They give the pastor a small compensation package if he’ll leave quickly and quietly … and not tell anyone how badly they handled things.

In fact, because this is such a common problem, I toyed for a while with calling my new book Bungled.

Finally, the perpetrators almost never admit they’ve done anything wrong.

When an individual sins, he or she may or may not admit it.

When a pastor sins, he may or may not admit it.

When a board sins, they almost never admit it.

It is the nature of groups to make a decision and, even if they’re wrong, protect and defend each other afterwards.

How often have you heard the White House … a news organization … a corporate board … a sports team … a school board … a homeowners association … or a state government agency … admit together that they did something wrong?

It rarely if ever happens.

In fact, if even one member of an organization admits that their group has done something wrong, the other members will invariably disown that person or try to remove them altogether.

This is why once a board decides to terminate a pastor, they act like they’re 100% faultless and he’s 100% blameworthy.

And this is why that board and the pastor never reconcile.

I recently spoke with a top Christian leader who told me about a church that called a new pastor.

The pastor wanted to see God renew the church, and he did everything he could to make sure that happened.

But there was just one thing remaining … he wanted the church to reconcile with some of its former pastors who had been mistreated.

The new pastor wasn’t around during the years these pastors served, and the church had many newcomers who had no idea what had happened in the past.

But this pastor called all these men back, and one Sunday, he stood up and confessed that the church had wronged these men of God and asked for their forgiveness on behalf of the church.

I wish this sort of thing would happen more often.  There are too many wounded pastors and churches in our country.

But this kind of thing is rare because of pride.  We convince ourselves that if we did or said something, it was right … but if the pastor did or said something … it was wrong.

Is life really that black and white?

If you’ve been reading for a long time, thank you.  Some subscribers have told me they’ve read every article I’ve written.

If this is your first time here, check out some of the categories on the right side of my blog.  You might find an article or two that will help you deal with the way you feel about your pastor.

And even if you’re an occasional reader, thanks for visiting this site.  We’re honored when you come around.

I love it when people ask questions and leave comments, even if you disagree with something I’ve said.  Since this is the way we all learn, feel free to give me feedback.

I’m still learning a lot about pastoral termination, church conflict, and conflict in general.

And I invite you to keep reading as we learn together.

Read Full Post »

“Lord, I Don’t Want to be a Prophet!”

Posted in Church Conflict, Church Health and Conflict, Conflict with the Pastor, Fighting Evil, Pastoral Termination, Personal Stories, Please Comment!, tagged , , , on August 22, 2012| 15 Comments »

I have a spiritual gift I wish I didn’t have.

The gift of prophecy.

I wish the Lord had given me the gift of exhortation, or giving, or healing instead.  But I wasn’t consulted in the matter, because the Lord distributes the gifts as He wills (1 Cor. 12:11, 18).

I’ve taken many spiritual gift tests … and asked others to take those same tests with me in mind.  In fact, I took a class called “Discerning Your Ministry Identity” for my doctoral program, and the results always come out the same.

Teaching is my top gift.  Prophecy is second.

I can’t foretell the future, so please don’t ask me who’s going to win the World Series or the election in November!

But I do sense the freedom to speak openly and candidly about cultural and personal issues from a biblical standpoint.

Here’s how this gift – featured in 1 Corinthians 14 – manifests itself in the life of a modern-day prophet:

First, prophets are drawn to controversy.  I first discovered this at age 19.  When I taught publicly, I wanted to talk about issues that others wouldn’t talk about.

Stephen Brown, author, pastor, and radio preacher, lived by this motto whenever he preached:

WHEN IN DOUBT, SAY IT.

Brown believed that whenever a pastor said something unplanned, those words would be more memorable and impactful to a congregation.

Maybe so … maybe not.

Some of the best things I’ve ever said … and some of the stupidest … occurred when I practiced that motto.

But like the prophets of old, sometimes I have to say things … because God’s word is like a fire in my bones.

Second, prophets feel free to talk about any subject.

Over the years, while having conversations with pastor friends, I’ve discovered that many of them are uncomfortable talking about certain issues from the pulpit.

Examples?

Giving to God’s work.  Sex … even inside marriage.  Homosexuality.  Couples who live together outside marriage.  Hell.  The wrath of God.  Intelligent design and creationism.

And you don’t know how many times I wanted to wade into politics … but didn’t.

But a pastor with the gift of prophecy says to himself, “If I don’t speak about these issues from Scripture, how will people know God’s mind on these topics?”

This is why I’m drawn to people who do talk about these issues.

It’s why I thought the late Chuck Colson was the best Christian speaker I’ve ever heard.  When the Jim Bakker scandal broke in the late 1980s, I heard Colson publicly critique the prosperity gospel in a biblical, succinct, and devastating way.  He was a modern-day prophet.

It’s why I’ve appreciated Bill Hybels’ ministry over the years.  I used to become quite upset when Christians would criticize Hybels for watering down the gospel because I never found it to be true.  He gave the best messages I’ve ever heard on substitutionary atonement … and hell … and abortion … and homosexuality … and he never pulled punches in the process.

I’m currently writing and talking about the devastating effects that the forced termination of pastors has on Christians,  churches, and pastors and their families.  This is not a topic most believers want to hear about, but this problem is becoming an epidemic in our country … and people are leaving their churches … and even their faith … because of the way these situations are being handled in local churches.

Someone has to speak up … and pray that God’s people will pay attention.

As a wise man once told me, some practices inside Christian churches can only be changed by people who are angry enough to speak out.

Third, the prophetic gift can go against one’s personality.

My two favorite Bible characters are Jeremiah and Timothy.

They both shrank from their calls to ministry.

They both felt unsuccessful.

They both felt like quitting at times.

And they were both sensitive men.

God took a sensitive man like Jeremiah … called him to be a prophet … told him in advance that his ministry would fail … and then insured that he was always alone!

That’s how it feels at time to have this gift.

If God gives someone the gift of prophecy, shouldn’t He give it to a person with an iron will and nerves of steel?

But sometimes He gives this gift to a person with a tender, bleeding heart.

You feel like a spiritual schizophrenic.

Prophets may feel fear before they speak … but they go out and speak anyway … with the authority of God Almighty behind them.  As Paul said to the church at Corinth: “I came to you in weakness and fear, and much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3).

But he still preached Christ to them … in the power of God’s Spirit.

Finally, prophets always pay a price when they use their gift.

Some prophets are abrasive and obnoxious when they exercise their gift.  Keith Green … whose music I love … believed God had given him the prophetic gift, but he had a habit of slamming people when he used it.  Before he died, he apologized for the way he used his gift.

Prophets are free to speak the mind of God to the people of God … they just have to do it in love.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:2, “If I have the gift of prophecy … but have not love, I am nothing.”

Four years ago, the state of California was getting ready to vote on the definition of marriage … that marriage was between one man and one woman.

I have pastor friends who chose not to speak on that topic, stating that they weren’t going to change anybody’s mind about it.

But I believed … and still do … that we preachers had the opportunity to clearly delineate what God’s Word says on this issue.  But as Paul says about prophecy, we needed to do it for people’s “strengthening, encouragement and comfort” (1 Cor. 14:3).

So I talked on “Defending Biblical Marriage.”  Gay marriage proponents loudly proclaim their position … and if we Christians are silent, don’t they win the argument by default?

When I gave the message, I knew some people would applaud me … some would attack me … and some would abandon me.

But I had to do it … and would do it again in a heartbeat … even though I believe that message angered the enemy … and that he gradually began to cause damage from that moment on.

The church of Jesus needs prophets who proclaim the whole counsel of God.

And when they do, we need to pray for them, encourage them, and stand behind them … even when they say something that others don’t like … or even we don’t like.

The alternative is for the church of Jesus Christ to be biblically illiterate, culturally irrelevant, and spiritually impotent.

I am not the body.  You are not the body.

I need your gifts … and you need mine.

Even the gift of prophecy.

Follow the way of love, and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.  1 Corinthians 14:1

Read Full Post »

Preaching Ethically

Posted in Church Health and Conflict, Conflict with the Pastor, Current Church Issues, Please Comment!, tagged , , , , on August 20, 2012| 8 Comments »

I recently attended a church service where the pastor engaged in questionable ethics while preaching.  While the congregation seemed to love what he was saying, I felt that he was manipulating them so they would give him the response that he desired.

Having heard … and given … hundreds of sermons in my lifetime, let me share with you four principles for evaluating the ethics of a sermon:

First, the pastor needs to be honest with the biblical text.

When a pastor practices exegesis, he’s taking out truth that God placed in Scripture.  But when a pastor practices eisegesis, he’s putting into the text his own thoughts and ideas … acting like his ideas are better than God’s.

I heard a message a few years ago that I thought was fabulous.  The preacher spoke from James 3:1-12 on taming the tongue.  He dealt with every key phrase in the passage in a way we could all understand.

The message was so good I wondered if I should ever preach again.

But some pastors leapfrog the tough phrases … step around sentences with difficult syntax … and avoid all the tough stuff.  When they read Scripture out loud, it’s unedited … but when they preach it, it’s edited.

Why?

Maybe they don’t understand the text they’re studying … or they can’t translate biblical ideas into contemporary language … or they don’t think certain ideas will resonate with their hearers.

When I was a youth pastor and still learning to preach, I chose a text for a sermon.  When I started studying the passage, I discovered it wasn’t saying what I thought it said … and I had little time left to shift gears.  As I recall, the sermon bombed … but I could not in all good conscience twist Scripture to fit my preconceived ideas.

Ask yourself: is my pastor teaching what God’s Word really says … or what he wants it to say?

Second, the pastor needs to preach the entirety of Scripture.

When I was ordained, I was charged with preaching “the whole counsel of God.”  The phrase comes from Paul’s words to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:27.

Paul told his friends, “While I was with you, I never held back the Word of God” (NIV).  The phrase is usually taken to mean, “Preach everything that’s in the Bible … whether popular or unpopular.”

If a pastor is truly called by God to preach the whole counsel of God, that pastor will eventually have to preach on controversial issues like homosexual conduct … racism … loving money … capital punishment … gay marriage … substance abuse … hell … child abuse … the role of women in the church … and even political issues.

Here’s why: the Bible speaks to most of these issues, either through direct commands or general principles.  If a pastor teaches what Scripture says about these issues, then his people can penetrate the culture with biblical arguments.  But if the pastor fails to teach what Scripture says, then his people may adopt the mindset of the culture by default.

If a pastor routinely sidesteps controversial issues to avoid conflict inside his church, he’ll cultivate a congregation that’s biblically ignorant and cannot intellligently converse with those outside the church.

Ask yourself: is my pastor dealing with tough issues biblically, or is he sidestepping controversy to be popular?

Third, the pastor must give credit for materials he’s borrowed from others.

I once heard a pastor do a long series on an issue he knew little about … and the more I heard him preach, the more convinced I was that he was “borrowing” his information from another source.

In fact, I was pretty sure I knew who that source was.

My dilemma: if I did the research, and found out my hunch was right, what was I supposed to do with that information?  Confront the pastor?  Take it to the board?

In my case, I decided not to do the research … but plagiarism is a serious matter, especially in Christian circles.

It is unethical for a pastor to take someone else’s quotation … or story … or sermon … and pass it off as his own without acknowledging his source.

In fact, it’s not just borrowing … it’s stealing.

I once used an outline on unanswered prayer that I kept from Dr. Curtis Mitchell from Biola … but when I preached a sermon on that topic, I told the congregation that I was using his outline but that the sermon content was my own.

Whenever I used a story I got from someone else, I would say, “Rick Warren tells the story …” or “That story from R. C. Sproul illustrates the point that …”

When a pastor stands before a congregation, they have the right to expect that their pastor interacted with God and His Word the previous week … and that he didn’t “buy” a sermon from a website for $15 and act like it was his.

Ask yourself: does my pastor give credit to others for ideas, or does he act like they’re all his own?

Finally, the pastor should never manipulate people into doing what he wants.

I know someone who attended a church where the pastor tried to persuade people to attend church services … and would use anger to get his way.

He would say, “If you don’t come to the Sunday night service, I hope your TV blows up.”  (And he would say it often.)

Maybe he was just kidding … or maybe he really meant it.

I learned early in my preaching ministry that “going to the whip” only works once.  A pastor can “guilt” people … or shame them … or threaten them … but most people see through it … especially when a pastor tries to manipulate people into attending services more often or donating more money.

If your pastor does this, here’s how to put a stop to it:

Ask him kindly to show you the verse in the Bible where Jesus or Paul or the apostles use guilt and threaten people if they don’t come to church or give more money.

Of course … the verse isn’t there.

Many pastors use these tactics because they unconsciously seek to control people’s behavior … but it shows an appalling lack of confidence in the Holy Spirit.

I once served under a pastor whose ministry was not going well.  One Sunday, he told the congregation, “The Lord told me that someone is going to respond to the invitation today.”

We sang 12 verses of “Just As I Am,” and no one came forward.

I can’t see hearts, but I suspect that the congregation was being manipulated that Sunday.

Ask yourself: does my pastor tend to manipulate or motivate people with his words?

Let me make one final statement:

If a pastor has been called to teach Scripture … and he trusts the Holy Spirit to use him … and he’s walking with God … and he has prayerfully studied God’s Word before preaching … THERE IS NO REASON TO USE FLESHLY METHODS TO ILLICIT A RESPONSE FROM GOD’S PEOPLE.

In fact, the desire for a visible response may be more about satisfying a pastor’s ego than anything else.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the ethics of preaching.

Read Full Post »

Selecting a Church’s Governing Leaders, Part 1

Posted in Church Health and Conflict, Conflict with Church Board, Conflict with the Pastor, Please Comment!, tagged , on August 6, 2012| 2 Comments »

A pastor friend recently asked if I would post something about how to select a church’s governing leaders.  Whether they’re called elders, overseers, deacons, the church council, or the board of directors, what’s the best way to choose such leaders?

While I don’t consider myself an expert in this area … like most pastors, I’ve made some mistakes in selecting leaders … let me offer three suggestions (each post this week will cover one suggestion):

First, choose people whose lives reflect the biblical qualifications.  Paul instructed both Timothy (1 Timothy 3:1-13) and Titus (Titus 1:5-9) to look for certain character and behavioral qualities in church leaders.  Some thoughts:

*Scripture isn’t dealing with a person’s history but with their lifestyle.  When Paul lists “not given to drunkenness,” is he saying that if a person got drunk once, that person should never be a church leader?  When he says “not a lover of money,” is Paul referring to someone’s overall life pattern or elimininating someone from consideration because they did love money for a time?

There are obviously some one-time incidents that would eliminate a person from consideration (murder comes to mind), but we must also leave room for the grace of God.

I once knew a man who was divorced early in life.  He was the most well-respected man in our entire church – he preached, did counseling, taught an adult class, shared his faith freely – but some people refused to let him become a governing leader because he was divorced (as a believer) soon after his first marriage.  They believed he violated the qualification of being “the husband of but one wife” (1 Timothy 3:2).  However, he married a fine Christian woman after his divorce and they had an exemplary marriage for several decades.  Did he meet the biblical qualification?  I believe he did.  Others would disagree.

*Scripture encourages us to look for people who can manage their own lives.  Someone once asked about former Yankee baseball manager Billy Martin, “How can he manage a team of 25 men when he can’t manage his own life?”

In looking for spiritual leaders, we need to look for people who can manage their money, their temper, their alcohol, and their tongue.  If they can manage themselves, then we want to know if they can manage their family (1 Timothy 3:4-5).  If they can manage both themselves and their family, they stand the best chance of managing their church.

*Scripture encourages us to look for people whose lives have been consistent over time.  In 1 Timothy 3:10, Paul says of deacons (and the same principle applies to elders/overseers), “They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.”

In general, I only asked someone to serve as a governing leader if I had been able to observe their life for at least two years.  That made their behavior predictable … though not necessarily perfect.  A church’s governing leaders are sometimes under stress … maybe they have to deal with a wayward staff member, or declining offerings, or a case of sexual immorality … and you’d like to know ahead of time how they’re going to handle tough situations.

This is why I wanted all potential governing leaders to serve in a leadership position somewhere in the church before I considered them for the governing board.  If they hadn’t served as a leader first … and then they became a governing leader … how could I predict their behavior on the board?  I couldn’t.

Sadly, some people are exemplary believers in non-leadership positions … but they become tyrants when they become leaders.  The only way I know to minimize this risk is to make sure everyone serves as a non-board leader before they’re ever considered to become a governing leader.

*Scripture encourages us to know something about the spouses of leaders as well.  Bible scholars are divided as to whether 1 Timothy 3:11 refers to deaconesses or deacon’s wives.  Let’s assume for the moment that Paul is discussing the wife of a governing leader (whatever applies to deacons also applies to overseers/elders).

The wives of leaders need to be “worthy of respect, not malicious talkers, but temperate, and trustworthy in everything.”

It is possible for a man to be perfectly suited to become a governing leader … but to be disqualified because of his wife.  The problem?  She can’t keep a secret.

I’ve had governing leaders tell me, “I never tell my wife a thing about what’s going on in the church.”  However, I had one leader tell me, “I tell my wife everything that’s going on in the church” … and I’ve served with leaders whom I suspected told their wives plenty if not everything.

I do not believe that everything discussed by a church board should remain confidential.  That’s ridiculous.  The governing leaders make all kinds of decisions, and most of them can/will be shared openly with the congregation.  I believe that a church with transparency is far healthier than a church full of secrets … especially concerning issues and policies.

But when governing leaders meet, they also discuss people in the church … by name … and those discussions need to be kept confidential.  As a pastor, I was willing to discuss anything and everything at the church except what was going on in the lives of individuals … unless it was already public knowledge.

In other words, we need to be open about the institution of the church but be protective of the individuals in that same church.

Any thoughts about what I’ve written?

Read Full Post »

Book Excerpt: What Happens to Clergy Killers? Part 2

Posted in Church Conflict, Church Coup Excerpts, Conflict with Church Antagonists, Conflict with the Pastor, Pastoral Termination, Please Comment!, tagged , , on August 3, 2012| 3 Comments »

This article is the second half of the answer to the question, “What happens to clergy killers?”  In other words, when a group attacks and consequently “takes out” a pastor, how do the people of the average church respond to such an attack on their minister?

The answer might surprise you.  Here’s part two from my upcoming book:

In some situations, mature Christians hang around to see if church leaders will correct the instigators. But if nothing happens after a while, these believers may leave the church permanently, especially if they see the perpetrators serving in visible positions. During such conflicts, a church is going to lose somebody. Isn’t it better to lose divisive people than mature believers?  Anderson comments, “The result is that the church keeps the dissenters and loses the happy, healthy people to other churches. Most healthy Christians have a time limit and a tolerance level for unchristian and unhealthy attitudes and behaviors.”[i]

I had a conversation recently with a Christian man.  We were discussing what should be done (if anything) to churchgoers who join forces to push out their pastor.  This man believes that a church should remain passive toward perpetrators because God will eventually punish them.  He told me about an associate pastor who engineered the ouster of his senior pastor.  The associate later contracted cancer and his wife died a horrible death.  Christians don’t need to address the perpetrators, he said, because “God’ll get ‘em.”

It is true that God may get them.  The law of sowing and reaping still applies in this life (Galatians 6:7) and God promises to repay us all according to our deeds in the next life (2 Corinthians 5:10).  There are cases in the New Testament where God executed swift punishment against professing believers like Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) and staunch unbelievers like King Herod (Acts 12:19-23). Most pastors can tell stories about the eventual demise of attendees turned into attackers.  For example, a man who led an attack on one of my pastors died of a heart attack the day he was moving out-of-state.  While God may not “take out” every perpetrator, how are twenty-first century believers to interpret all the biblical admonitions to confront divisive individuals in a local church?  Have God’s words now become irrelevant?

When I was a rookie church staff member, I witnessed an event that I have never forgotten.  A few hours before a Sunday evening service, the elders met to discuss what to do about three church leaders who were involved in sexual immorality.  I watched as the door to the pastor’s study swung open and various elders piled into cars to drive to the homes of those leaders and confront them. The serious looks on the leaders’ faces told a story – they didn’t sign up for this – but to their credit, they did it.  Eventually, one offending leader made a public apology (without naming his sin) but all three families affected chose to leave the church.

Where is the courage today that those elders displayed?

        [i] Leith Anderson, Leadership That Works: Hope and Direction for Church and Parachurch Leaders in Today’s Complex World (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1999), 31.

Read Full Post »

Secular Songs You Can Sing in Church, Finale

Posted in Christian Music, Please Comment! on July 20, 2012| 12 Comments »

Three of the greatest artists of all time in popular music have professed belief in Jesus Christ:

*Johnny Cash, considered by many to be the greatest artist in the history of country music … and who wanted to quit music and become an evangelist until Billy Graham talked him out of it.

*Bob Dylan, almost universally lauded as the greatest songwriter of the past half-century – if not the entire twentieth century – whose conversion to Christ in the late 70s shocked the music establishment who viewed him as their prophet and poet.

*Bono and The Edge from U2 – members of one of the greatest bands of all-time – who are known for turning the last portion of their concerts almost into a worship service.

Each of the above artists regularly incorporates Scripture and Christian ideas into their music.

Keep that in mind as we look at 5 more secular songs you can sing … or hear someone else sing … in church:

Number 5: “Magnificent” by U2

U2 writes their songs almost like parables … and they have admitted as much.  If you’re a believer, you get what they’re singing about … if you’re an unbeliever, you can just enjoy a song on its own merits.  Since Jesus taught this way, it’s a perfectly legitimate way to present truth … but there are always Christians who demand that a truly “spiritual” song include explicit references … and even praises … to Jesus Christ.

But should that be the rule when you’re trying to create art?

How about “Magnificent?”

The second verse goes like this (and Bono raises his hands heavenward at this point):

I was born, I was born

To sing to you

I didn’t have a choice

To lift you up

And sing whatever song you wanted me to

I give you back my voice

From the womb

My first cry

It was a joyful noise

Sounds like a psalm to me … and Bono loves the Psalms so much (he wrote an introduction to a collection of Psalms in England in the late 90s) that U2 even did a song in 1983 called “40” which is based on Psalm 40.

But in “Magnificent,” Bono gets both romantic and theological:

Justified

Til we die

You and I

Will magnify

The Magnificent

The video of the song is itself magnificent:

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=u2%20magnificent&tnr=21&vid=4848722374819980&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts1.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D4848722374819980%26id%3D5ecd467794d80c1930f2eb2b7c9289af%26bid%3DLvqf9JKZbAOcgA%26bn%3DThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.youtube.com%252fwatch%253fv%253dYi52HjJbwVQ&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DYi52HjJbwVQ&sigr=11an18dt2&newfp=1&tit=U2+-+Magnificent

When U2 were launching their last album, No Line on the Horizon, they played some songs on the balcony of the BBC building in downtown London … with continual views of All Souls Church across a little street … the church where John Stott was rector for years:

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=u2%20magnificent%20bbc&tnr=21&vid=4870064047980609&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D4870064047980609%26id%3Df1d5d519940e0b57f3d77c1c26b820be%26bid%3DdncOSq%252fgf90Vlw%26bn%3DThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.youtube.com%252fwatch%253fv%253dkHPvrC0eDss&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DkHPvrC0eDss&sigr=11ahcc389&newfp=1&tit=U2+-+Magnificent+-+live+rooftop+gig+at+BBC+-+%5BHD+-+High+Quality%5D

Number 4: “Viva la Vida” (Long Live Life in Spanish) by Coldplay

Coldplay’s lead singer, Chris Martin, grew up in a strict Christian home in England, but there is no indication that he has chosen to follow Christ into adulthood.

And yet Martin and his band hit gold with this 2008 song, which captured the Grammy award for Song of the Year in 2009.  Lyrics aside, it’s my favorite tune out of all ten “secular” songs.  On a recent trip, after hearing the song once, my wife asked if we could play it again.  It’s a song I’ve never tired of hearing.

The song is a mini morality tale.  The narrator was once a king … someone in authority … but has since been deposed and sings:

I used to rule the world

Seas would rise when I gave the word

Now in the morning I sleep alone

Sweep the streets I used to own

With an infectious string background, the narrator continues:

One minute I held the key

Next the walls were closed on me

And I discovered that my castles stand

Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

Remind anyone of Jesus’ words about the rich man at the end of the Sermon on the Mount?

The song refers to “Jerusalem bells” and “my missionaries in a foreign field” … the latter phrase being one that someone raised in a Christian church would know.

Then at the end of the song:

Revolutionaries wait

For my head on a silver plate

Just a puppet on a lonely string

Oh who would ever want to be king?

For a Christian, the saddest phrase of all occurs when Martin sings:

For some reason I can’t explain

I know Saint Peter won’t call my name …

What did the king do to merit banishment?  The song doesn’t say, but it’s obvious he fell from grace … an illustration of the biblical idea that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).

Our church in Arizona not only played this song during their pre-service music, they also did it as a performance song in their services one weekend.

There are two videos for the song: one that’s a bit edgy, another that’s more conventional.  Here’s the conventional video:

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=viva%20la%20vida&tnr=21&vid=4679311676014760&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts1.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D4679311676014760%26id%3D328d95281bbd59832ac78eb6d72da347%26bid%3DmJOXDdQMNVMIVw%26bn%3DThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.youtube.com%252fwatch%253fv%253dezi1J8f8ecA&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dezi1J8f8ecA&sigr=11a6snagk&newfp=1&tit=Viva+La+Vida+Anton+Corbijn+video

Number 3: “When He Returns” by Bob Dylan

When I went online to try and find a performance of Dylan singing this song, I discovered dozens of cover versions, many of them by Christian artists.  This song obviously resonates with many people.

Dylan’s classic album Slow Train Coming ends with this song … with Bob singing and playing the piano alone.  It makes the song that much more powerful.

After Slow Train came out, I preached on the second coming of Christ at my church, and after the message, I wanted someone to sing the song live … but I didn’t know who could do it justice.  Next best option: to play Dylan doing the song while projecting the words, but Christians weren’t used to that kind of thing back then.

So I read the words to the song to the congregation … and they still hold up to this day.  For example:

Surrender your crown, on this blood-stained ground

Take off your mask

He sees your deeds, He knows your needs

Even before you ask

How long can you falsify and deny what is real?

How long can you hate yourself for the weakness you conceal?

Not exactly hand-clapping, toe-tapping lyrics … but they make you think.  The song ends this way:

Of every earthly plan

That be known to man

He is unconcerned

He’s got plans of His own

To set up His throne

When He returns

The lyrics are powerful on their own, but when you consider who’s singing them …. wow!

Since nobody does Bob like Bob, check out this video … has to be from around 1980:

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqII4nghQoBQA0Kv7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTBrc3VyamVwBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQD?p=godtube+bob+dylan+when+he+returns&vid=6288DC98DFB07DDD792D6288DC98DFB07DDD792D&l=5%3A38&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D4913670861684989%26id%3D75ba4f033e18132eb51bd551a9de484e%26bid%3DLXndfbDfmNyIYg%26bn%3DLargeThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.godtube.com%252fwatch%252f%253fv%253dWW7P7NNX&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.godtube.com%2Fwatch%2F%3Fv%3DWW7P7NNX&tit=when+he+returns+-+Today%26%2339%3Bs+Christian+Videos&c=1&sigr=118ll8dtq&

Number 2: “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables

When I was a kid, I heard scattered warnings that Christians shouldn’t attend plays in the theatre.  Before movies, I suppose decadent ideas were first introduced to the public through plays.

I’ve seen maybe 15 shows in my lifetime, but most of them have made me a better person (although considerably poorer financially).

But the best one of all is Les Miserables.

If you haven’t seen it, the musical is at once inspiring … and sad … and bawdy … and intensely spiritual.

And the most spiritual song in the musical is “Bring Him Home.”

Jean Valjean … a former criminal who seeks redemption while being chased by a relentless policeman (The Fugitive TV series and film were both based on Les Miserables) … sings this song about a young man named Marius toward the end of the show.

God on high

Hear my prayer

In my need

You have always been there

I can’t hear this song without thinking of both my children … my son Ryan because the song expresses how I feel about him … and my daughter Sarah because she knows every word of Les Miserables by heart.

And every time I hear this song … I am moved to tears … primarily because of Jean Valjean’s last 12 words:

If I die

Let me die

Let him live

Bring him home

The song is a prayer … a prayer for safety for a young man who has been standing for what’s right … and a prayer for an old man who is willing to sacrifice his life so the young man can live.

See if you can hold back tears while watching this video of Alfie Boe singing “Bring Him Home”:

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=les%20miserables%20bring%20him%20home&tnr=21&vid=4991572973191328&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts1.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D4991572973191328%26id%3Ddec1445ebacce4afacacb04c4b40a7d1%26bid%3DY6dmx87lSF8v8g%26bn%3DThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.youtube.com%252fwatch%253fv%253dUaI9BPKhExk&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DUaI9BPKhExk&sigr=11a04cgm0&newfp=1&tit=Bring+him+home+-+Alfie+Boe+%5BLes+Mis%C3%A9rables+in+concert%2C+the+25th+…

And if you’d like to see a sterling performance, watch the Valjean Quartet … 4 vocalists who have played the part of Jean Valjean on the stage … sing this song together (Sarah loves Colm Wilkinson the most … the first vocalist) at the 25th anniversary of the musical:

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=les%20miserable%20bring%20him%20home&tnr=21&vid=5023102315003949&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D5023102315003949%26id%3D8d94db7e2f51a0a212e6f73440837547%26bid%3DyX4%252bTW93AfrLGA%26bn%3DThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.youtube.com%252fwatch%253fv%253ds-0MS72uHSQ&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Ds-0MS72uHSQ&sigr=11arq1pg2&newfp=1&tit=Bring+Him+Home+-+Valjean+Quartet+%5BLes+Mis%C3%A9rables+in+concert%2C+the

Number 1: “Yahweh” by U2

U2 is one of the greatest rock bands of all time … certainly in the Top 10, and arguably in the Top 5.

But would John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Roger Daltrey, or Robert Plant ever sing these lyrics?

Take these hands

Teach them what to carry

Take these hands

Don’t make a fist

Take this mouth

So quick to criticize

Take this mouth

Give it a kiss

And then the chorus:

Yahweh, Yahweh

Always pain before a child is born

Yahweh, Yahweh

Still I’m waiting for the dawn

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is, in my opinion, U2’s most spiritually-oriented album … so much so that I used to give copies of it away.  “Yahweh” ends the album with a heartfelt prayer … the modern-day equivalent of the hymn “Take My Life, and Let it Be.”

The song ends this way:

Take this city

A city should be shining on a hill

Take this city

If it be Your will

What no man can own

No man can take

Take this heart, take this heart

Take this heart

And make it break

“Yahweh” isn’t necessarily my favorite song from this list … I’m partial to “Walk On” and “Viva La Vida” … but I believe it’s the song that could most easily be done in a church service.

Here’s a moving video of Bono and the Boys ending a concert with a slowed-down (hymnlike) version of the song:

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=u2%20yahweh&tnr=21&vid=4821432146853965&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D4821432146853965%26id%3Dbcdfeba53d4a80db14bad403ad490c12%26bid%3DBxQx%252b8Dwtq6ijA%26bn%3DThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.youtube.com%252fwatch%253fv%253dGkEQS5SJZPU&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DGkEQS5SJZPU&sigr=11adl4aqm&newfp=1&tit=U2+Yahweh+Live+From+Chicago

So that’s my list.  What’s yours?

Check out our website at www.restoringkingdombuilders.org  You’ll find Jim’s story, recommended resources on conflict, and a forum where you can ask questions about conflict situations in your church.

Read Full Post »

Secular Songs You Can Sing in Church, Part 1

Posted in Christian Music, Please Comment! on July 13, 2012| 8 Comments »

There are moments involving popular music that will remain with me for all time:

*Hearing “Born to be Wild” outside my summer school geometry class

*Hearing the world premiere of “Hey Jude” on the radio

*Hearing “Bad Moon Rising” and “Get Together” while playing flashlight tag on a hot summer evening

*The day the music really died … the day The Beatles broke up

*The day I heard … but couldn’t believe … that Bob Dylan had become a follower of Jesus … subsequently proved by his ground-breaking album “Slow Train Coming”

*The day I bought U2’s album “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” … and played it over … and over … and over

*Ditto for “Achtung Baby,” still U2’s edgiest – and best – album

Many Christians make a sharp division between secular and spiritual music.

To them, if it’s secular, it’s bad … and if it’s spiritual, it’s good.

But I think a song is good whether it’s secular or spiritual … and some “spiritual” songs are duds.  (I won’t name any … they might be your favorites.)

I realize that some Christians may not like some of these songs … because an artist hasn’t led a completely clean life … or doesn’t have a clear Christian testimony … or doesn’t attend church regularly.

But I think the songs … and their lyrics … stand up under scrutiny … and it just so happens that secular artists (some of whom are believers, some of whom aren’t) first introduced these songs to us.

I’d like to share ten secular songs you can sing or hear sung in church … five in this article, and five in the next:

Number 10: “May the Road Rise” by Roger McGuinn

McGuinn was the lead guitar player in the Byrds … manipulating his Rickenbacker 12-string guitar to get that “chiming” sound that many of us love so much.

During Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue tour, McGuinn became a follower of Jesus.  His mission in life is to preserve folk music, and to that end, he sings and records one folk song every month, which he gives away for free on his website.  Many of the songs he produces are old spirituals like “Wayfaring Stranger” and “He’s Got the Whole Word in His Hands.”

“May the Road Rise” is based on an old Irish blessing.  It’s written by both Roger McGuinn and his wife Camilla.  The lyrics tell the story of a couple who enjoys nature, but upon further reflection, also describes a couple’s relationship.

The wife ends up singing this chorus to her husband:

May the road rise to meet you

May the wind be at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your land

May the rain fall soft upon your face

Until we meet again

And may God hold you in the palm of his hand

Here’s the album version: http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=roger%20mcguinn%20may%20the%20road%20rise&tnr=21&vid=4535249882382424&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts1.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D4535249882382424%26id%3Dfb9d53fbfb040598512c6f9adc4e5de5%26bid%3DMPAUNyIiwUKzdA%26bn%3DThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.youtube.com%252fwatch%253fv%253d5bzCZdB3dT4&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D5bzCZdB3dT4&sigr=11a2fj141&newfp=1&tit=Roger+McGuinn+-+May+The+Road+Rise+Up+To+Meet+You.wmv

And here’s a live version:

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=roger%20mcguinn%20may%20the%20road%20rise&tnr=21&vid=4909367311925301&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D4909367311925301%26id%3D6b8545d6a9d9698b963c094330b1c115%26bid%3D7a3StV2SL7yk3g%26bn%3DThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.youtube.com%252fwatch%253fv%253dwEFo3JJ-fEk&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DwEFo3JJ-fEk&sigr=11aegp3ge&newfp=1&tit=Roger+McGuinn+-+May+the+Road+Rise+to+Meet+You

Number 9: “When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God” by Van Morrison

Van the Man has embraced all kinds of styles in his half-century musical career: rock, pop, folk, jazz, gospel … and a lot of music that remains uncategorized.

He’s also embraced various spiritual paths as well … but at the time this song was released (1989) he seemed to be firmly in the Christian camp … so much so that Phil Keaggy – the great Christian guitarist and vocalist – covered it on his best album, “Crimson and Blue.”

Who writes lyrics like these?

You brought it to my attention that everything was made in God

Down through centuries of great writings and paintings

Everything lives in God

Seen through architecture of great cathedrals

Down through the history of time

Is and was in the beginning

And evermore shall ever be

Nobody sings or writes like Van.  He’s one of the greatest of all time.  If you only know him from “Brown-Eyed Girl” or “Moondance” or “Domino,” you’re missing out.  For me, his best stuff started 22 years ago with “Avalon Sunset” and “Hymns to the Silence” (where Van does a cover of “Be Thou My Vision”) and my favorite Van record, “Magic Time” from 2005.

The chorus:

When will I ever learn

To live in God

When will I ever learn

He gives me everything

I need and more

When will I ever learn

Here’s a live version, although the video isn’t that clear:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19DPp290OEg

Number 8: “Forever Young” by Bob Dylan

Dylan wrote this song of blessing to one or more of his children … maybe Jakob.  If you have a son … or a daughter even … you can’t help but shed a tear when Dylan sings:

May you grow up to be righteous

May you grow up to be true

May you always know the truth

And see the lights surrounding you

May you always be courageous

Stand upright and be strong

And may you stay

Forever young

Bob isn’t everyone’s cup of tea … because of his singing … but in the opinion of people within the music industry, he’s the world’s greatest songwriter of the past half century.  Check out this clip from the David Letterman Show back in the mid-90s:

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIIURP9P2AEA.FH7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTBrc3VyamVwBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQD?p=bob+dylan+forever+young&vid=ABE07D246FD052C1A129ABE07D246FD052C1A129&l=5%3A21&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts4.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D4642190270005259%26id%3Dc1c571d8d76fc0566cfec795ce370b0c%26bid%3DKaHBUtBvJH3gqw%26bn%3DLargeThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.dailymotion.com%252fvideo%252fxpoaxo_bob-dylan-forever-young_music&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymotion.com%2Fvideo%2Fxpoaxo_bob-dylan-forever-young_music&tit=Bob+Dylan+-+Forever+Young&c=15&sigr=1255p6tln&

Number 7: “Walk On” by U2 (Heroes version)

U2 opened the Grammy Awards in 2002 with this song … and then proceeded to win the Grammy for best record.  Bono and The Edge wrote the song for pro-democracy Burmese prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest in Burma for years until recently released.

This version of the song was performed ten days after 9/11 and broadcast all over the world.  Bono and the Boys could have chosen any song to sing … but they chose this one.  The snippet of their song “Peace on Earth” at the beginning is awesome … as is the chorus that includes Bono’s shouts indicating his view of life after death.

While the song is definitely a political anthem (the album was banned in Burma), it also has spiritual overtones (as most of U2’s songs do), reminding us that:

You’re packing a suitcase

For a place none of us has been

A place that has to be believed

To be seen

Not to sound morbid, but I want this song played at my memorial service someday, especially because of these lyrics:

All that you fashion, all that you make

All that you build, all that you break

All that you measure, all that you feel

All this you can leave behind

Here’s the Tribute to Heroes version:

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIAnpetPljkAPGD7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTBrc3VyamVwBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQD?p=u2+walk+on+heroes&vid=6E681ED83FD0AE0B547A6E681ED83FD0AE0B547A&l=&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D5044194870231098%26id%3Dd1ea4bc9f58bdac1cf9010fdffd36309%26bid%3DelQLrtA%252f2B5obg%26bn%3DLargeThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.youtube.com%252fwatch%253fv%253d2Fv-j5iBgKU&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D2Fv-j5iBgKU&tit=U2+-+Peace+On+Earth%2FWalk+On+%28from+%26quot%3BAmerica%3A+A+Tribute+to+Heroes%26quot%3B%29&c=4&sigr=11ag0luga&

Number 6: “Show Me the Way” by Styx

I never became a fan of the long-haired bands of the 70s or 80s … including Styx.  But this song by them is incredibly well-written and sung.

When I first heard these lines over the radio in 1990, my eyes welled up with tears:

All the heroes and legends

I knew as a child

Have fallen to idols of clay

And I feel this empty place inside

So afraid, that I’ve lost my faith

Dennis DeYoung, the group’s lead singer, is a devout Catholic.  He wrote this song for his son Matthew about the struggle to keep faith “in a world so filled with hatred.”  The chorus:

Show me the way,

Show me the way,

Take me tonight to the river

And wash all my illusions away

And please show me the way

The song is probably the best “seeker prayer” I’ve ever heard.  Dennis DeYoung has an incredibly powerful and expressive voice.

The song ends with this memorable line: “Every night, I say a prayer, in the hopes that there’s a heaven.”

Here’s a live version of the song, which I like better than the video:

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A0S00Mz5Nv9PIiYA7V_7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTBrc3VyamVwBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQD?p=show+me+the+way+styx&vid=57FCC9DA7A03482B822057FCC9DA7A03482B8220&l=5%3A55&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D4859691695866138%26id%3D9cd0a6cd09b03f4f688b95f64a680b83%26bid%3DIIIrSAN62sn8Vw%26bn%3DLargeThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.youtube.com%252fwatch%253fv%253dKOgGJK9r_1M&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DKOgGJK9r_1M&tit=Styx+-+Show+Me+The+Way+%281996+John+Panazzo+Tribute%29&c=15&sigr=11aqfq42c&

There are many songs one could choose in this category.  In fact, I made a huge list on iTunes that I whittled down to 10.

You undoubtedly have some nominees of your own.

Before I reveal my top 5 next time, which songs do you think work here?

Read Full Post »

Contrasting Leaders with Teachers

Posted in Conflict with the Pastor, Current Church Issues, Please Comment! on June 27, 2012| 2 Comments »

Who is your political hero?

George Washington?  Abraham Lincoln?  JFK?  Ronald Reagan?  Barack Obama?

My personal favorite among politicians is former British prime minister Winston Churchill, who saved the West from the iron will and evil intentions of Adolph Hitler.

At Churchill’s Family Gravesite, Bladon Churchyard, England

After being in political exile for years, England turned to Churchill to prevent Hitler from overtaking Great Britain during the Second World War.  Churchill’s expert leadership behind-the-scenes, coupled with his fierce and inspiring speeches in public, rallied the spirit of the British people to defeat German’s Fuhrer.

Entrance to Churchill’s Underground War Rooms, London

Churchill was both a great leader and a great communicator … but such greatness is uncommon.

Churchill Statue in Parliament Square, London

Most people are either gifted leaders or gifted teachers, not both.

Let me contrast the two groups in three ways:

First, leaders tend to see the future clearly, while teachers tend to see the past clearly.

When George H. W. Bush was President, he confessed he had trouble with “the vision thing.”  He wasn’t sure where he wanted to take the country, but Bill Clinton was sure, and defeated Bush for President in 1992.

Leaders have to be able to see the future clearly and describe it to others.

By contrast, teachers see the past clearly and can accurately describe its lessons.

I have always had trouble envisioning the future.  As a leader, I shied away from 5-year plans because they were illusory to me.  I usually knew the next thing to do … but not necessarily the next thing after that.

But the past … that’s very real to me.  For many of the special experiences in my life, I can recall the date, the place, the weather, the people involved … all kinds of stuff.

For example, I remember when Nolan Ryan set the all-time season strikeout record.  It happened on a Thursday night in September 1973.  The Angels played the Twins in Anaheim.  Going into the game, Ryan had 367 strikeouts … and was trying to beat the all-time record of 382 set by Sandy Koufax in 1965.  After 9 innings, Ryan had 15 strikeouts (tying the record), but the game itself was tied.  Ryan couldn’t get that last strikeout in the 10th inning, and with two outs in the 11th, he still didn’t have it.  In fact, he was laboring with each pitch.  But he struck out Rich Reese of the Twins on a very high fastball for Number 383.

How do I remember all that?  I was there … with some friends … sitting in the upper deck down the left field line.  That event occurred 39 years ago … but I remember it like it was yesterday.  That memory seems unremarkable to me, but others have told me they’re amazed I can recall those things.

But it’s natural for a teacher.

Second, leaders tend to work with groups, while teachers tend to work alone.

I once heard Pastor Bill Hybels describe ten types of leaders.  He said the leaders who build the big churches are the kind of leaders who can put teams together quickly.  They recruit people, give them a charter, and turn them loose … and then do it again … and again … and again.

The best leaders like being with people.  They feed off their energy and ideas.

By contrast, teachers prefer to work alone.  They like to reflect, and do research, and write … and then march into a classroom or worship center and speak to a group on their own … without assistance.

Here’s the perfect day in my work life:

It’s raining and I’m confined to my study.  I comb my bookshelves for relevant books on a passage or topic and pull out 15 of them.  Slowly and methodically, I read sections of each book … not to steal what someone else has written, but to stimulate my own thinking.  Without effort, an outline begins to form in my head.  I put it on paper and begin to work it over.

While that process is happening, I don’t want anybody to interrupt me.  It’s just me and God and the books and some ideas.

Heaven.

That’s the reseach end … but I also love delivering the message to a group of people … especially if we can enjoy interaction.  However, without the research, the teaching time isn’t nearly as much fun … or productive.

Third, leaders tend to be repetitive, but teachers like to say things once.

I remember learning that churchgoers need to be reminded of a pastor’s vision every thirty days.  The pastor needs to remind people … over and over again … why that church exists and where it’s going.

The leader may do this in a variety of ways … like slogans, symbols, stories … but he has to remind people constantly why the church is doing what it’s doing.

By contrast, teachers hate saying the same thing over and over.  The repetition bores them.

Teachers like to keep truth fresh … illustrating and applying it in countless ways.

Recently I engaged in a painful activity: I re-read some sermons I preached a few years back.

When a message was good, it was full of fresh stories and thoughts.

When a message wasn’t very good, I was overly repetitive and predictable.

An effective leader needs to be repetitive, but an effective teacher longs to be original.

Jesus was both a great leader and a master teacher.  He led His disciples while teaching the masses.  He combined the two disciplines better than anyone who has ever lived.

So remember … your pastor is probably a gifted leader or a gifted teacher … and he gravitates toward the one he does best.

And he’ll probably receive far more criticism in his non-gifted area.

So if you think he falls short in one area, cut him some slack.

Because not all great leaders are great teachers … and not all great teachers are great leaders.

While you can usually tell if someone is a great teacher right away, the fruit of leadership only happens long-term.

What are your thoughts on these two disciplines?

Class dismissed!

Read Full Post »

Why Teachers Aren’t Necessarily Leaders

Posted in Conflict with the Pastor, Current Church Issues, Please Comment!, tagged , , on June 25, 2012| 2 Comments »

True or false: all great teachers are also great leaders.

False.  False.  False.

And yet we fall for this gambit time after time: at school, in politics, and at church.

Especially at church.

We make the assumption that if a pastor is a great teacher, he will also be a great leader.

But that isn’t always the case.

I know a pastor who is an excellent communicator.  If he was on television, and the camera panned back, you’d assume the worship center would be full.

But the worship center wasn’t full when he preached … far from it.  In fact, there were many more empty seats than “taken” ones.

Why?

Because behind-the-scenes, he was not a gifted leader.  He tried … really, really hard … but it just wasn’t him.

God gave him the teaching gift but not the leadership gift.

The same thing was true of Gene Mauch.

Gene Mauch was a brilliant baseball manager for the Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins, and California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels from 1960-1987.

In Leonard Koppett’s brilliant book The Man in the Dugout, Koppett writes this about Mauch:

“More than any other baseball man of his era, Mauch is singled out by players and rival managers alike as a brilliant student of the game.  ‘He knew more about the details of every position, and all the little technical things, than anyone I came across,’ one player with twenty years of experience told me.”

Koppett continues:

“Mauch knew more baseball, in the technical sense, with deeper insight, than almost anyone around him or in the opposing dugout.  He tried, tirelessly, to impart the appropriate gems of information to his players.  But he did it so tirelessly, in such detail, with such intensity, that he aroused the wrong reaction.  Players would begin to worry more about doing what Mauch wanted than about winning itself.”

Koppett relates a story told by Ron Fairly, who played five years for Mauch in Montreal (the team is now the Washington Nationals).  Fairly would be taking ground balls at first base during batting practice, and he’d find Mauch staring at him from close range.  Fairly would wonder, “What’s he looking at?  What does he see that I’m doing wrong?”  Later, Fairly would be in the outfield, and Mauch would be watching him there.  Then he’d see Mauch at second base, staring at the batting cage.

Finally, Ron Fairly asked Mauch about the second base incident … and Mauch was just trying to understand why the Expos second baseman had looked out-of-sync on a couple of plays the day before.  Mauch really wasn’t staring at his players … he was just trying to figure out a baseball problem in his own mind … but they didn’t know that.

Koppett writes: “All they knew was that there was the boss, frowning, and that when he ever did speak to them it was about how to do this or that better, or avoid this or that mistake.”

Mauch was a great teacher … but he wasn’t a great leader.  His teams won two division crowns but never made it to the World Series … and because he didn’t win, he’ll never make the Hall of Fame.

Koppett’s conclusion: “Mauch was robbing the players of an essential condition: relaxation.  He was being too sophisticated for too many of his players.”

What’s true in baseball is also true in other fields … especially the church.

There are some pastors who are both great leaders and great teachers … but let me tell you, they’re rare.

God has given some pastors the gift of leadership but not the gift of teaching.

God has given other pastors the gift of teaching but not the gift of leadership.

God has also given some pastors the gift of Leadership (with a large “L”) but the giff of teaching (with a small “t”).

And He has given some pastors the gift of leadership (with a small “l”) but the gift of Teaching (with a large “T”).

The pastors who have both the gift of leadership and the gift of teaching are pastoring the megachurches … but some of them are lousy pastors and counselors.

Remember, no one person has all the gifts … except for Jesus.

The pastors who specialize in teaching tend to pastor medium-sized to large churches.

The pastors who specialize in leadership tend to pastor extra large to mega churches.

A veteran pastor once told me about two brothers who were both pastors.

The first brother was a great teacher.  He loved to study and research, and it came out in his preaching.

600 people attended his church.

The second brother was a better leader and had more of the common touch.

5,000 people attended his church … and his sermons were broadcast on the radio.  (I didn’t learn much from listening to him, but he was definitely entertaining.)

But what happens to us is that we get fooled.

We hear someone speak articulately and eloquently and passionately in public, and we’re persuaded by their rhetoric … so we assume that they’re equally persuasive behind closed doors.

But most people in a congregation never get to see their pastor in action with the staff or the board or city officials or community leaders.

We see and hear them teach in public … but we really don’t know how they lead in private.

I was in church ministry for 35 1/2 years … 26 of those years as a solo or senior pastor.

Some of my sermons were better than others … and I’d like to think that I got better with time … but because teaching was my primary gift, I rarely heard much flak about my preaching.  In fact, I distinctly remember two vocal critics of mine telling me they felt I was a gifted teacher.

If you heard me speak, you might assume I was an equally gifted leader … but I knew I wasn’t.  God gave me the gift of Teaching (with a capital “T”) but the gift of leadership (with a small “l”).

I’ll write more on this topic next time.

How have you seen this disparity played out with the leaders and teachers that you know?

Read Full Post »

Facing Down Church Bullies

Posted in Conflict with Church Antagonists, Jim's Ten Favorite Articles, Please Comment!, tagged , , , on June 22, 2012| 2 Comments »

Bullying has become a huge problem in our country.

Parents bully children.  Brothers bully sisters.  Bosses bully employees.  Teachers bully students … and students bully teachers.

Have you seen the video of the middle schoolers in New York state who bullied a 68-year-old bus monitor as she rode home on the school bus?  Disgraceful.

Churches have bullies, too.  And there’s a sense in which church bullies are the worst of all because we don’t expect that kind of behavior in church.

How can one detect a church bully?

A bully demeans others by picking on weaknesses and calling people names and making demands.  If you don’t do what a bully wants, he or she threatens to hurt you in some fashion.

I once knew a bully who tried to intimidate me in board meetings.  He went right after me every chance he could.  He wanted power and sensed that I was slowly taking it from him.  Fortunately, I didn’t have to take him on because others did that for me … but it could have gotten nasty.

Church bullies often get their way because they sense that no one has the guts to take them on.  They know that Christians value “being nice” and that if they aren’t nice, they can get their way more often.

Believe me, it works.

This is why Christians – especially leaders – have to learn to face down the bullies.

It’s biblical.

In 3 John 9-10, John the apostle writes:

“I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us.  So if I come, I will attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us.  Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers.  He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.”

Diotrephes was a church bully.

He “loves to be first” … he wanted to control the decision making.

He “will have nothing to do with us” … he didn’t recognize John’s authority as an apostle.

He was guilty of “gossiping maliciously about us” … attacking John verbally, probably disparaging his apostolic credentials.

He “refuses to welcome the brothers” … visiting leaders and teachers sent by John.

He “stops those who want to do so” and “puts them out of the church” … excommunicating John’s representatives.

Wow!  This guy really had issues.

Diotrephes’ misbehavior was threatening the very existence of that church.  Can you imagine challenging the authority of John, the Apostle of Love?

How did this Apostle of Love propose to deal with this church bully?

“So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing …”

John was going to face him down … maybe with the help of church leaders, or the congregation itself … but John was going to meet Diotrephes at high noon.

He was going to confront him … maybe publicly, maybe privately … but he was going to stop the bullying.

John may have been hoping that this warning would cause Diotrepehes to run for the hills.  If we had 4 John, maybe we’d find out what happened.  (We’ll have to wait for heaven for the thrilling conclusion.)

Sometimes a pastor has to face down a bully.

I once served in a church where an ex-policeman was griping about everything.  He griped about the music.  He griped about the youth.  He griped about the neighbors.

Part of me felt sorry for him because he was no longer a policeman … but he had morphed into the church police.

Because nobody dealt with him, he became bolder and bolder with his griping.  This went on for several years.

Finally, a new pastor came, and he tried to work with this man, but nothing worked … and he couldn’t tolerate the behavior any longer.

He finally ordered the man to leave the church … and he left.

He faced down the church bully … and the church was better off for it.

Last year, I had breakfast with an ex-pastor who told me what happened at his former church.

There were people in the church who were terrorizing the pastor, and the church board didn’t know what to do to stop things.

Wisely, the pastor hired a consultant, who met with the board and told them what to do:

You have to go and face down the bullies.

The board members just looked at each other.  The bullies were their friends.

The consultant barked, “Now!”

The board members got in their cars and did what they should have done months before.

Stephen Brown is one of my favorite Christian communicators.  He’s half-crazy, but that just adds to his appeal in my book.

Anyway, in his classic book No More Mr. Nice Guy!, he tells a story about a pastor who was being bullied by a parishoner … and the pastor couldn’t take it anymore.  The man gave a large amount of money to the church and had many relatives in positions of leadership.  Brown’s friend believed that he would divide the church if he confronted him.  Brown told his pastor friend:

“Invite this man to your study and say, ‘I have had it up to my ears with you.  Before this meeting is over, one of us is going to resign.’  Then tell him all the things he has been doing to hurt the church.  Tell him, ‘This is not your church or my church, this is God’s church, and He will not allow you to act in this manner anymore.’  Then tell him that you are God’s agent to make sure that he doesn’t.”

In some cases, this tactic might backfire.  In the case of Brown’s friend, it worked.  His pastor friend called two days later and said:

“Steve, you wouldn’t believe what happened.  The church member who has been giving the church all the trouble asked if I would forgive him.  He said that he knew he had a problem and asked for my help.  Not only that, he said that if I would give him another chance he would be different.  Not only that, his two brothers came in and thanked me for what I did, and said that I was the first pastor in twenty years who had had the courage to do what needed doing.”

I can’t guarantee this tactic will work in every case, but if you’ve tried everything else, it’s certainly worth a try.

Because of church bullies, I’ve endured sleepless nights … worried myself sick … threatened to quit church ministry … and turned myself into an emotional wreck, all because nobody – including me – would face down the bullies.

It’s time we started doing just that.

Go … now!

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »