Staff development: Build a system and culture where success is inevitable rather than merely possible

 

We often say that our organization is only as good as our staff. It is a value that most leaders would embrace but one that many ministry leaders often ignore. Developing staff requires that resources, people, and energy be devoted to that development, and many organizations are too busy or have too many other priorities to see it happen.

The cost of a lack of development is that we eventually lose our best staff, pay a price for a lack of engagement, and leave a ton of talent on the table. My organization wants to surround people with so much development and support that their success is inevitable. In other words, the very culture creates an environment where success is inevitable rather than merely possible. 

Five areas of development are essential for every staff member. Five areas of health: Physical, emotional, spiritual, relational, and skill. Each of these domains has implications for how successful one will be in the work they are called to. Deficits in each of these five areas can keep otherwise brilliant individuals from success and, indeed, set them up for failure.

In addition to these five personal areas, three leadership areas require attention. Self-leadership - how individuals give leadership to their own lives; Team leadership - how those who lead others lead healthy teams, and Organizational leadership how higher-level leaders lead from a perspective of the whole rather than their particular area. All three are vitally important to a healthy organization, but they don't take place by themselves. In fact, if one desires an aligned culture, having standard practices and training in all three areas is critical.

There are five realities to keep in mind in any development process.

First, someone has to own and give direction to staff development. Creating a culture where success is inevitable rather than merely possible means we have a comprehensive plan, a delivery system, and buy-in at the highest levels. This means that a senior member of the organization gives leadership since they have the authority and influence to ensure a plan, along with buy-in and cooperation from all supervisors. In some organizations, this is called the Chief Culture Officer.

Second, this is an art as much as a science. People learn differently, have different areas of strength and weakness, are all wired differently, and come to the workplace with various areas of experience and personal baggage. 

Thus, while there ought to be a common framework around critical areas of testing, learning, and growth, it is also an individual process that requires unique conversation, dialogue, and coaching. That means that not only must there be a plan at the macro level, but there needs to be personal coaching with individual staff members on an ongoing basis. 

Unless the plan includes both standard pieces that all participate in and individualized dialogue and attention, you are unlikely to see the results you desire. 

Third, accountability for personal development needs to be part of the picture. A culture where success is inevitable rather than merely possible means that development is not optional but the responsibility of all staff. Like any other job responsibility, staff members need to have their own plan and be accountable for that plan. In other words, this is not optional, but development is raised to the highest level in any list of job responsibilities - for all staff. 

The development issues should be wrapped into that process for the growing number of organizations that use scorecards and 90-day win cycles. 

Build a system and culture where success is inevitable rather than merely possible with an ongoing paradigm for staff development and growth. You will never regret it.

The Unmasking of Evangelicalism by Scott McKnight

 

The Unmasking of Evangelicalism

Scott McKnight

You may or may not agree but this is a cogent article on the state of evangelicalism as the SBC meets this week in Nashville and conducts its business for all the world to see. 

Questions to ask your staff - and yourself

 

There is a wealth of information at the fingertips of leaders if they would take the time to ask their staff key questions. They know things you don't know and they can help your organization get better - much better if you and your leaders will take the time to ask key questions - and listen to the answers. Those questions can lead into rich dialogue, suggestions, ideas and insights that can literally change your organization. Here are some of the questions that I ask.

What is your happiness faction on a scale of 1-10 in your job. Follow up and pay close attention: What would make it higher?

If you could change three things about this organization, what would they be?

Are their things that you could be doing that you are not?

Are their any individuals in the organization who you believe are not positioned properly or who create significant issues for others?

What are the things that bring you joy and fill you?

What are the things the deplete you?

Tell me what a perfect day looks like for you?

If you were a consultant to this organization, what suggestions would you make and why?

How would you define the culture of our organization? Follow up: What would you like to change about our culture? Follow up: What are the best pieces of our culture? What are the worst pieces of our culture? Are their any pieces of our culture that you would define as toxic and unhealthy?

Is there something that you have always wanted to talk to a leader about but never had a chance? 

What would be the perfect role for you? How does that role compare to what you do currently? 

If a ministry: What do you think the spiritual temperature of our organization is? What would you recommend to see the spiritual temperature higher? 

What is your greatest joy in working here?

What is your greatest frustration in working here?

If you were advising me, what would you want me to know?

Do you believe that we are a highly empowered organization where people have the freedom to act without permission, or highly controlled where you need to ask permission before acting?

Do we have a culture where we can have honest and gracious conversation or are their issues that we cannot broach?

How innovative and entrepreneurial so you think this organization is? Give examples.

Why getting people into their right lane matters

 

Too often, especially in ministry and non-profit organizations we are lazy in ensuring that people are in their lane of gifting and wiring in terms of their job responsibilities. The end result is a significant loss of energy, joy, effectiveness and return on mission. Often the individuals at issue are bright and competent but we have placed them in a position where their brightness cannot be utilized and their competence is equally lost. We are only competent in the lane we were made for.

I believe this happens for three reasons. First, we don't take the time to really understand our staff: Their wiring, effectiveness or lane. Rather we take good people and slot them into a role that we need (in our minds) to fill. We put them in our lane, not in their lane. The result, ironically is that we don't get what we could get if they were positioned properly, and they live with responsibilities that don't bring them joy.

Second, we don't engage in honest dialogue with our staff to understand where they are and where they want to be. One of the basic jobs of supervisors is to understand people's wiring and gifting and ensure that they are in the lane where they will be most effective. This takes extended dialogue and trust but in my experience, leaders are not willing to give this kind of attention to their staff and everyone loses. In many cases, bright people don't even stay with the organization because of their ongoing frustration. Such conversations take time and honest dialogue and that is an investment that many leaders are not going to make.

Third, we have forgotten that in any organization the most important decision we make is getting the right people on the bus - in Jim Collin's words. This comes before we slot them into a specific task, or define their actual job description. In hiring, the order of sequence is "right people" and then "right seat." We often reverse that order and pay the consequences.

Ironically, when a bright individual is not in their correct lane, those around them often either know or sense this to be the case. The fact that they see it and their leaders do not is a function of the second issue above. We may have to change the org chart or reposition others when we need to position individuals properly. Better that if you have a highly competent individual rather than ignoring the issue and losing either the person or the competence that they could be bringing to the organization.

In my experience, it is the highly entrepreneurial and innovative organizations or ministries that get this issue right. They are flexible and nimble and able to revise the org chart in order to take advantage of the skills of key people. Of course, these are the organizations that great people gravitate to and which will make the greatest difference in their mission. Bright people will take a chance on highly entrepreneurial organizations because they see the will to get things done and the flexibility to find and retain good people by getting them in their lane. 

Don't underestimate the power of getting good people in their lane. It is where they will make the greatest difference for your organization. And if you wonder whether someone is in their lane, all you need to do is initiate a conversation.

A theology of time and patience

 

I meet many individuals in ministry who are in a hurry! A hurry to make their mark. A hurry to have influence. A hurry to prove something to someone that they are somebody and something. In their hurry, they often get out in front of God, circumvent what He wants to build in their lives, and end up being less of what they could be had they been patient and waited for God to do His work in them.

While we are often in a hurry, God is not. He is more concerned with what He wants to build in our lives than He is about what we can build for Him. We are focused on what we can build for Him, while He is focused on what He wants to build in us. Those are two very different concerns. 

Consider the characters we read of in Scripture. Jacob, for instance, who was impressed enough with his abilities and dreams that he angered his brothers, who sold him into slavery. Once in Egypt, he ignored the advances of his master's wife and ended up in jail - for a long time. He, who would become second only to the Pharaoh of Egypt, lived in obscurity for many years as God built him into who He wanted him to be. He was in a hurry when he was young, but God was not. And what God built in his heart during those years was amazing.

Moses was a guy in a hurry when he was young, and his encounter with an Egyptian slave master whom he killed caused him to run for his life at forty. For the next forty years, he tended his father-in-law's herds till at 80, he was ready for his greatest assignment. By then, Moses was not in a hurry, but God knew he was ready and drafted him over his many objections.

This week, I heard of a pastor who, years ago, took members of the church he pastored to start another church. He was not patient enough to work hard to bring all his people along, so he split. Today he says this. "I was in a hurry when I should have been patient. These past years have not gone well, and it is all my fault. Had I waited, things would have worked out in the original church, but I had something to prove, and it didn't work out well." He had tried to get ahead of God and in a moment of humility, admitted that he should have waited and allowed God to work. His new church never worked out well, and they will probably not survive much longer. 

Don't try to outpace God. Even Paul, after his conversion, had some years of obscurity as he was coached and prepped by God for his major assignment of spreading the Gospel among the gentiles. 

When we are in a hurry, we miss out on what God wants to do in our lives. Depth takes time. It cannot be hurried! Many leaders mistake short-term success for long-term effectiveness. This is often true of highly gifted ministry leaders who are so driven to prove they can succeed that they do not take the time to develop a deep core. They settle for surface wins.

We may be in a hurry, but God isn't, and His timetable is the one that will allow us to have the greatest impact. 

Five attitudes that need to be addressed with staff for a healthy culture

The culture of your staff will determine the health of your organization. Culture eats everything else for breakfast. Poor culture creates poor everything else. Healthy culture creates healthy organizations, relationships, and outcomes.

We often think there is not much we can do about staff culture, but that is not true. In fact, leaders control the culture of their staff through the training they do, the messages they convey, the example they set, and the honesty of their interactions. You can train your staff toward health, and you can remove staff who will not cooperate as their dishealth spoils the health of the rest of the team. That act in itself sends a very clear message about one's commitment to health.

Five attitudes need to be addressed with staff if you want a healthy culture.

One: Cynicism

Cynicism is deadly to a healthy culture because cynics stand outside the team and throw grenades into the team with snide comments that question the motives, direction, and decisions of others without contributing anything productive to the conversation. 

Cynics stand outside the circle and criticize those inside the circle. How do you counter it? You call it out and declare cynicism to be an anti-value because it does not build but detracts from what the team is trying to do. It is OK to say, "Look, we believe in robust dialogue, but we won't put up with cynical attitudes." The former is constructive, while the latter is destructive. Call it for what it is and declare it illegal on your team.

Two: Lack of buy-in 

These characters also stand outside the circle and refuse to give their wholehearted energy to what the organization is trying to do. Essentially, they withhold key parts of their energy, emotion, and heart from the organization's mission. I often tell staff, "If you cannot serve here with a happy heart and a clear conscience, you must find another place to serve." It's that simple. Those who withhold themselves from fully embracing the mission and vision of the your ministry don't belong there. Say it, have a conversation, but don't allow it to go unaddressed. It is a spirit that kills.

Three: Those who always see the downside

It is good to know the unintended consequences of what one does. It is good to plan for various eventualities. Still, those who always go to the downside and the negative literally rob the rest of the team of joy, possibility, mission, and enthusiasm. 

If you want a healthy culture, you must help those who would throw cold water on new ideas that it is unacceptable behavior.  Innovation, risk, and new paradigms are the coinage of healthy organizations, and they require staff who see possibilities rather than all the negatives in a new idea. There is always a reason not to try something, which keeps organizations from moving forward. Can you help those who always see the downside to see the possibilities? Sometimes. But, if not, they don't belong on a healthy team because they won't produce healthy culture.

Four: Complainers

There is a difference between those who offer constructive observations and those who merely complain. Constructive criticisms are observations that come with a potential solution, while complaints offer no solutions and are simply shots at someone or something. Constructive criticisms are vital to a healthy organization, but complaints as an attitude are deadly to organizational health. Here is a principle to consider. Unless you have a solution, don't come with a complaint. 

Five: Idealists

This one may surprise you. After all, don't you want idealists on your team? It depends! Some idealists exhibit traits of the first four of these attitudes because the team does not meet their expectations. As such, they can resort to cynicism, and complaints, reserve their full buy in and focus on the downside. In good organizations, there are always gaps between what we want to be and who we are. An idealist who won't live with the reality of those gaps actually becomes a liability to your culture. That is what to look out for. Idealists who help you get where you want to go are great. Those focusing on the "gap" will not contribute to a healthy culture.

What keeps leaders from confronting these five attitudes? Fear! We ought to be direct, honest, and clear about the culture we are building and the kinds of people we need on the team to build it. And to be willing to say. "If you don't want to fit our culture, you are in the wrong place. We will help you succeed only if you want to be here and contribute fully to health." It's that simple.

How American Christendom Weakens American Christianity - David French

 

How American Christendom Weakens American Christianity

An age of scandals reveals how institutions of the faith can fundamentally oppose the faith.

Five Coming Church Splits by Carey Nieuwhof

 

Post pandemic, the church in the United States will not be the same. Here are some coming church splits that are likely to take place - and are already taking place. Your church will not be exempt!

See what Carey Nieuwhof has to say about five coming church splits.

The most important trait of a church leader

In the years that I have worked with church leaders I have come to the conclusion that the single most important prerequisite for serving in leadership is a deep level of humility. The immediate pushback on this is that clearly, church leadership requires someone who knows and loves Jesus. That is true. But here is something that is also true. There are many leaders who claim to know and love Jesus but who are not humble and they often destroy the work of a healthy board. All other factors aside, without humility one cannot lead well.

Consider:

Humility is the key to leading on behalf of Jesus, the Shepherd of the Church. Church leaders are under shepherds and their role is to lead the congregation on behalf of Jesus. He sets the agenda for the church, not us. Many church leaders have agendas for the church. It takes a humble, Christ centered leader to lead a people to where God wants them to go. 

Humility is the key to ensuring that a church is a "Church called TOV" to use the title of a recent book. TOV is the Greek word for goodness and too many churches are not places of goodness (amazingly enough). It is often the lack of humility among senior leaders and board members that prevent TOV from being the prevailing culture because other personal agendas get in the way of God's agenda. 

Humility is the key to treating others with dignity, respect, kindness, and to empower others to flourish in their God given lane with their God given gifts. Proud leaders control others. Humble leaders empower others. The need of a leader to get their way, control those around them and "use" people for their own purposes destroys a TOV culture.

Humility is the key to creating an open learning culture. Proud leaders don't listen to others. They listen primarily to themselves or the yes people they surround themselves with. It takes humility to create a culture of robust dialogue - where any issue can be put on the table with the exception of a hidden agenda or a personal attack. 

Humility is the key to making decisions because the best decision making is not by one person alone but by a group of called, gifted leaders. Which means that there are times that I must submit my preferences to the decision of others. That takes humility and a theology of the giftedness of the group.

Humility is the key to personal spiritual growth and ongoing transformation. Proud people think they have it all together while humble leaders are very aware of their need for ongoing growth and transformation. And, they are willing to go there because they are not stubbornly holding on to their pride. There is no true personal growth without a spirit of humility.

None of this should surprise us as Paul points out in Philippians 2 that humility is a core feature of Jesus himself. In fact, in Matthew 11:29, Jesus says, "I am gentle and humble in heart." How many of us can say that about ourselves? How many church leaders and pastors can claim the same? Without humility we cannot be like Jesus or lead like Jesus.

What should you know about a church if you are considering a pastoral or staff position?

I had an interesting call today from an old friend. He is interviewing for an associate pastoral position (in this case a campus pastor) and his question was a good one. How do I determine the health of the church since what is seen on the outside is often not what one finds on the inside. This last truth can become a source of real pain when one realizes the level of dysfunction that exists - in many churches.

The first thing I suggested is that he read A Church Called TOV which is the best book on what dysfunctional and healthy churches look like. In fact, if I were a potential candidate I would be interested in knowing whether the senior leader and the board had read this book, and if so, what their observations or learnings were.

In general, I would want to scope out the following information.

• What is the health of the board? Congregations and staff cultures rarely rise above the health of the church board. How would they describe their board health? Is the board unified and healthy in their relationships? Does the board have a written board covenant that delineates how they do their work and that hold board members accountable?

• If you are applying for a senior pastoral position, what is the relationship of the board to their senior leader? Is it a permission granting leadership paradigm or a permission withholding paradigm? Is the senior leader a colleague on the board or simply an employee of the board? Are there any powerbrokers on the board who have the power to determine what does or does not happen? 

• What is the vision/preferred future of the ministry? What you want to learn here is whether the senior pastor and board have clarified what it is that they are chasing after. Or, if they are simply doing accidental ministry. If they have a picture of the preferred future, what is their plan for getting there and how would they evaluate their progress?

• How does the board, staff and congregation deal with conflict? Do they bury it or deal with it and if so how? Do they have healthy conflict resolution practices? Are there any elephants in the room, areas of conflict that exist but are not being addressed?

• What is the health of the staff. Often you need to talk to other staff people about this. I would want to know how the senior leader treats staff, whether he/she empowers or controls and whether there is an open and candid culture where any issue can be put on the table with the exception of hidden agendas or personal attacks. I would ask other staff if there are issues that one cannot put on the table. They will know. I would want to know from other staff the positive side of the culture and the negative side. I ask want permission to speak with a number of staff to understand the culture from their perspective. If a senior leader is unwilling to give you that permission it is a sign that not all is well.

• Regarding staff culture, is there significant alignment of staff around common values, ministry direction and priorities? Or, do individual leaders simply do what is right in their own eyes? 

• I would want to understand the vision of the leaders for disciplemaking, staff culture, local and world outreach, diversity, generosity, community impact and those things that I believe are important for a church to pursue. 

• What is the history of the church? What have the high points been and the low points? Where are they in the life cycle of an organization today? On the decline, plateaued or moving forward?

• What is the leadership style of the senior leader? Do they empower their staff to do their work or do they micromanage, change and control what staff does? Are they secure in themselves, generous in giving opportunity away and treating staff with dignity, respect and appreciation? Or, are they ego driven, insecure and threatened by other strong and competent individuals.

When you ask questions like this you quickly determine the level of clarity that the church has regarding its priorities, direction and alignment. Speaking with multiple individuals allows you to determine how reality compares to stated answers. When looking for a pastoral job it is way too easy to overlook issues that will impact you down the line. You want to go into the role with your eyes open. You may choose to take the role in spite of issues you discover but at least you are doing so with a healthy level of clarity.

China continues its relentless assault on Christianity

 

See this article from the Christian Post on China's continuing assault on Christianity

China shuts down Bible App, Christian WeChat as new crackdown policies go into effect

Minister to India today through prayer

 

God's heart is deeply grieved today as He watches the pain and suffering in India due to Covid. Imagine having a husband, wife or relative who is desperately sick and there are no hospital beds - anywhere! Imagine watching your loved one struggle to breath and there is no oxygen to be had! Imagine that there is nothing you can do as you watch your loved one die with no hope, no medicine, no oxygen, no pain relief. 

CNN reported the following:

"India on Saturday reported 401,993 new coronavirus cases for the previous 24 hours -- the first time the country has surpassed 400,000 cases in a single day.

That brings the country's total Covid-19 caseload to more than 19 million since the pandemic began, and marks the 10th consecutive day of more than 300,000 daily cases, according to a CNN tally of figures from the Indian Ministry of Health. It's the first time any country has recorded more than 400,000 cases in a single day.

India also reported another 3,523 related deaths, taking its total death toll to 211,853. It is the fourth day in a row the daily number of deaths has exceeded 3,000. 

As of Friday evening local time, 154,854,096 vaccine doses had been administered. A total of 27,889,889 people had received their second doses -- equal to 2.1% of India’s population of 1.3 billion people, according to a health ministry news release.

India launched its vaccination drive on January 16, and expanded the program to everyone above the age of 18 on Saturday."

Pray for India because God's heart is with the hurting. And our hearts should be like Jesus. Pray for the church there that is struggling to meet its own needs and at the same time minister to people around them who have no hope. Pray that in this time of hopelessness that many would find hope in Jesus. 

But above all, pray. As we care about those things that God's heart cares about, we become more like Him. Perhaps as you pray, God will show you ways that you can make a difference. If not, prayer is still the main thing.

The pictures above were taken by me as I travelled in India many times. A wonderful, beautiful people with a vibrant church that lives in many places with great persecution.

Francis Chan on divisions within the Christian church

 

CNLP 413: FRANCIS CHAN ON ESCALATING DIVISION, ASIAN HATE, AND WHY INFLUENCE IN THE CHURCH CAN’T COME FROM SELF-PROMOTION

By Carey Nieuwhof

Thanking God for the ministry of John Stott

 

It would have been John R.W. Stott's 100th birthday yesterday. He was a man who impacted by own life significantly. I met him in 1971 when he did a "mission" at the Anglican Church in Hong Kong where I lived. I was 15 years old at the time. Before and after those services he would chat with those who were present and I will always remember his warm smile, rosy cheeks, warm demeanor as well as the cogent and clear way he presented the gospel.

Those messages inspired me to read the Scriptures from cover to cover with I did in a two week span not long after and in many ways he taught me by example how to communicate the text. 

His books over the years fed my soul and caused me to think deeper. But his character was what rubbed off. He was one of the most humble theologians we have had. Perhaps not correct on all counts but which theologian is? He cared deeply about the gospel and about people and had a pastoral heart. It was not simply truth but it was truth with love and grace.

His books continue to challenge me. And his heart. And his humility.

Here is an excellent article from Christianity Today on John Stott.

John Stott Would Want Us to Stop, Study, and Struggle

As his study assistant, I saw how the steadfast suffering of careful thinking resulted in balanced biblical Christianity.

JOHN W. YATES III|APRIL 26, 2021

The sin of slander, an evangelical preoccupation

 

Slander is to speak something untrue of another individual and it is a common way for believers to hurt those who they don't agree with. Recently I was intrigued by an interview with a well known evangelical leader, Francis Chan, who talked about the things that he had heard over the years about other Christian leaders, repeated those things to others and now has found many of them to be untrue.

This is what Jesus says about slander. "For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." Matthew 15:19. To slander is to lie, besmirch the reputation of another. If, as Jesus says, we will held accountable for every word we speak, many of us will be sorry for words we have said about people we don't know based on information we have heard second and third hand. 

Think of gossip we hear and repeat. Think of innuendos we drop about other people. Think about assumptions we make about people based on things we have heard or assume but do not personally know. When you think about it, each of us have been guilty of slander! It is so easy to assume that which we don't know, pass on that which we have heard but have no personal knowledge of and make statements to others which have no basis in fact. And it destroys the reputation of others.

If you want examples of this, look no further than social media, or think about information you are told by friends or acquaintances about others. Think about those things we tell others about people we don't like. Things meant to hurt their reputation. Things meant to pull you into their (or our) unhappy or bitter orbit. We love to hurt those we don't like and we do so with sharing information meant to hurt their reputation. If you have been on the receiving end you know how painful it is. 

What is the Jesus way? Consider these words from Paul in Ephesians 4:29-32. "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

TOV is the Greek word for goodness. A church called TOV is making the rounds in evangelical circles and is long overdue. One of the practices of a TOV congregation is that we don't slander others, speak the truth and those things that build others up. Think of the pain that would be avoided and the culture that would be developed if we simply lived by the words of Paul. Or Jesus.

A person of goodness does not slander to speak to issues they don't know of. They don't repeat information that they are not clear on. They build others up and resist tearing them down.

A willingness to reconcile is a sign of Christ in us

I have written recently on the propensity of people to cancel out those they disagree with, the lack of kindness and love among church board members and evangelicals at large. It is as if the church has lost the ability or desire to be peacemakers in the midst of conflict. To be willing to take on the humility of Jesus who "made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:7-8). All for our benefit

How often we are unwilling today to initiate a conversation to say "I am sorry." How often we are unwilling to enter into a conversation to resolve conflict and differences. We would rather walk away - and in that act - we carry our animus and bitterness or sense of offense with us. How often we are unwilling to take the first step toward reconciliation. Instead we insist that the other party do so. How often we refuse to forgive one another and instead carry our offenses with us.

In doing so we drop friendships, leave churches, leave conflict unresolved, carry a burden Jesus never intended us to carry and deny the power of God who came to reconcile us to Him and then to one another. In fact we are told that we are ministers of reconciliation just as Jesus was with us (2 Corinthians 5:11-21). And, He took the first step when we didn't deserve it. Otherwise there would have been no reconciliation with Him. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Yet, too often we refuse to reconcile and hang on to our pride. I have done it and you have done it and it is a denial of the One who chose to forgive us when we didn't deserve it. So we cancel one another, split congregations, leave churches, refuse to talk to those we have differences with (unless they repent) and in the process deny that Jesus is Lord in our own lives. 

I am sad for the church today with its conflict and strife. I am sad for my heart when I contribute to the same. In fact, in my Easter journal entry I wrote down these commitments regarding how I want to treat fellow believers:

In my relationships with other believers,

• My goal is to understand and seek peace
• To refrain from judging when it is not necessary or productive
• To think the best rather than the worst
• To forgive freely even when I am hurt
• To ask forgiveness when I have hurt others
• To pray God's blessing on those I would rather cancel
• To ask God to change me before I ask Him to change others
• To be as gentle, patient and kind with those who irritate me as God is with me
• To seek to apply the Fruit of the Spirit with those who I don't like as well as those I do like
• To think about my relationships in light of eternity
• To give up my "rights" to my attitudes, judgements, harsh words, gossip, hard feelings and desires for retribution in pace of the attitudes of Jesus

In several conversations over these issues, people have said to me. "I am not ready to do that," or "that is too hard." Or, "I don't want to do that and don't intend to." There have been times when I have said that as well so I do not and cannot cast stones. 

But whenever we choose the route that is easiest rather than the route that Jesus calls us to and which reflects His character toward us we choose a life of bondage over freedom.

Here is the thing. The evil one comes to steal, kill and destroy - and that includes our friendships, relationships, the unity in the church and our own well being. The good shepherd on the other hand comes to bring life and life abundant (John 10:10). This includes reconciliation of relationships, something that is often difficult without the help of the Holy Spirit. 

Years ago, I held on to an offense that I felt justified about. Another brother in Christ said to me, "you are the more mature one here, go and make it right." It made me angry because I was the one who was wronged. But he was right and I eventually did so. Jesus said, Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall see God." Why? Because that is the nature of who God is and He calls us to the ministry of reconciliation.

Who is it that we need to be reconciled with today? Are we willing to act and encounter His freedom in our lives, or will we refuse and live with a burden of our own making? It is always our choice.

But it is a choice! Either way it is a choice!

When Martyn Lloyd-Jones confronted a pastor who loved controversy and denunciation - from the Gospel Coalition

 

We live in a day when Christians are quick to denounce other believers. Here is a remarkable story of a pillar of the faith who challenged someone who loved controversy and denunciation.  It is from the Gospel Coalition.

When Martyn Lloyd-Jones Confronted a Pastor Who Loved Controversy and Denunciation

Twelve Traits of a Humble Leader

 

There is much discussion about humility in leadership. It's a good discussion for all leaders to have. However, it is the behaviors of humble leaders that are most important. Humility in leadership is seen in how a leader acts in very tangible ways. Here are some of the most important traits of a humble leader.

Humble leaders:

• Listen far more than they speak. They genuinely want to know what others think and they listen carefully.

• Seek a diversity of opinions rather than simply listening to those who agree with them. They want to know as much as they can and listen to a wide variety of advice.

• Ask many and good questions. They engage in dialogue and conversation rather than telling people what they think.

• Serve those who work for them rather than expecting others to serve them. Like Jesus they come to be served rather than to be served.

• Are non-defensive when challenged. 

• Engage in robust dialogue where any issue can be put on the table with the exception of a personal attack or hidden agenda.

• Do not ask staff to do what they are unwilling to do themselves.

• Are deeply introspective and understand their strengths, weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

• Live with an attitude that they have nothing to prove, nothing to lose and nothing to hide.

• Are appropriately transparent regarding their areas of growth and personal challenges.

• Are not easily angered and keep their emotions in check. 

• Treat all people with respect, dignity and kindness.

It is one thing to believe that we are humble. It is another to actually live with the traits of humility.