Tag Archives: God-the-Father

God builds leaders and gives them gifts for leadership

Leave a reply

Thought I would refer back to Fr Frederick Nkwasibwe’s book Business Courage as much as being a Christian is supposed to be about spiritual growth and maturity, yes I agree that there are interpersonal relationship benefits. (p 224) “…spirituality is considered a system of developing the inner life or spirit of the leaders and workers in order to receive and awaken important gifts. Moxley (2000), in his book Leadership and Spirit, makes a list of such gifts. They include becoming more centered internally and better connected relationally, getting a new kind of self-confidence, having a sharper understanding and acceptance of our personal power, becoming better able to engage in the activity of leadership and fostering a genuine partnership in relationships (p 151). For them, spiritual development is correlated to human development through developing interior life.”

Certainly it makes sense as we grow in the image of the Lord we grow in our relationships. Certainly Jesus is an example of how we should relate to others and in different situations. For those who needed confronting, He did not have a problem confronting. For those who needed compassion, He gave compassion. Not in a way that was enabling, but in a way to let people know that He knew we are weak vessels, we need compassion, but we also need encouragement. We need to understand that we need to grow, have better skills, be better listeners, empathetic, encouraging, on and on, just as Jesus was. He encouraged, but He also made it clear that He expected better. The more we become more like Him the better we relate to others.

I have had to be assertive, I’ve had to take the lead, confront problems. Can’t say I’ve always enjoyed it or looked forward to it. There were plenty of times when I wished I could have avoided confrontation and there were times when I just did. I can look you in the eye though and say that the more I’ve grown in Christ, the more I’ve felt the need to confront, especially when it was in Christ, but also to do what was right and to step up for the weak, the disadvantaged, the bullied. But always as a witness for Christ, always pointing people to Him through our better skills and in fact relying on Him to give us the words to speak. I’ve had plenty of times when I wondered “where did those words come from”. The Holy Spirit works through us at the workplace as much as anywhere else in our life. Hey we normally spend more time at work then anywhere else in our life, why would God leave that part of our life out and what we need to function in that part of our life unequipped? God has certainly developed leaders and He gave them the necessary gifts for leadership.

Let’s discuss more and/or Dr Gene Veith’s book that we’ve been talking about for awhile. Wednesday 10am Green Bean Coffee Co at the corner of W King and Beaver Sts, park behind the church.

Hi, my name is Jim and I’m a sinner

Leave a reply

Gordon MacDonald in Leadership Journal (winter 2014 p 29) writes about his experience attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, I haven’t finished the article, but immediately I see so many parallels to what church should be:

“I was no sooner seated than the people on either side of me introduced themselves … and expressed gladness that I was there.” Shouldn’t that be what happens at church, a new person sits down and those around him/her make him feel welcome? “In fact, before the hour ended, four men, one after another handed me cards and said, ”I’m John, here’s my cell number. Call me anytime, and I’ll come and meet you if you need a friend.” What can I add to that? I also like that the meetings get right to it, no messing around, no one more quick word with your buddy. We are here for a reason, let’s get to it and do it.

MacDonald takes his turn to speak and tells them (since he’s not an alcoholic he doesn’t say “I’m an alcoholic”) but just says it’s my first time here. The response is “keep on coming, keep on coming”, he says that is said in the same way in church we might say “‘Praise the Lord”. He also notes as the others speak “change does not come easily, but it does come.” This is the same as church, as being a Christian, you do not automatically become right up to snuff, but God takes you, using the Body of Christ, the people there who make up Christ’s Body and begins to change you, begins the process of being more Christ-like. That is so great, everyone there encouraging the person “to keep coming, keep coming.” My take away is that we are all glad to be here, we are glad you are here, we look forward to knowing you better, and being good disciples. So don’t stop now, you’ve only begun!

No one feels they should somehow “chose”, AA , like the church, it is what it is and has stood the test of time. It’s not catering to the new generation or some secular fad, both have proven that when people become serious, about a serious form of worship (read liturgical) the church has been leading people to Christ and feeding them in this form of worship for centuries. Trying to make it into entertainment or buddy-buddy doesn’t move you closer to Christ doesn’t leave you in awe of a great, all knowing, all powerful God who can make real changes in your life, really can lead you into new life in Christ and will ultimately lead you into an eternal resurrection. When you have brothers and sisters in Christ they sometimes become closer to you then family. They are there to help you and guide you. They know that they are just beggars who know where the bread is and help others . They are excited to see you there and want to help you as much as possible. AA, like the church, isn’t there for your convenience or your comfort, it’s there to actually make you feel challenged, a little outside yourself, a feeling that there is so much more and I’m missing it and I’m also messing myself up more by not taking it in and growing in it. (After all the only alternative is the sinfulness, a lost, dead world)And it’s also there to make you very aware of what everyone else needs, for the Church everyone needs Jesus and we in the church have to understand that and look for what our individual role is in helping others to know Him as Savior and Lord.

When there’s someone new, go over and meet them, no pretense, no stuffiness, just simply an attitude of: “this is someone who the Holy Spirit has brought here to worship and since the Holy Spirit has put that person near me, then I have to greet that person as a brother or sister. Excited, enthusiastic (but not obnoxious), looking forward to what God has in store for us, and letting them know that just like any good brother or sister, I am there for them, that I look for what the Holy Spirit has for me to do in that person’s life. Isn’t that great? What an adventure!

U.S. suicide rates rise sharply article by Tara Parker-Pope New York Times May 2, 2013 as quoted in Leadership Journal Summer 2013

2 Replies

This article really hit home with me because what of suicide means to me as a Christian and especially in terms of the fact that the group most affected, is becoming most likely to commit suicide are men in their 50s, like me.

So what’s the difference? Clearly as a Christian, as a pastor, I see suicide as the final act of those who are hopeless, who see nothing else left to live for and so chose to stop.

Why men in their 50’s? Parker-Pope points out factors such as economic, availability of prescription painkillers. That might accelerate the process, but, in my opinion, that’s not the core issue. As a Christian my faith is in the promises of our Lord Jesus Christ, my hope is in Him only, not in the economy, my expectations, what other people think etc. She does go on to point out that “…it hinted that deeper issues like failed expectations and a loss of hope might be a root cause.” She quotes “Dr Julie Philips, a researcher from Rutgers: ‘The boomers had great expectations for what their life would look like, but … It hasn’t turned out that way.'” She goes on to say that future generations will be facing the same situation.

I can certainly speak as being part of that demographic and can relate. Twenty five years ago I finally finished my business degree working for Motorola and there was no doubt in my mind that I was finally on my way to at least being a CFO for, at least, a mid-cap company. If you had told me that I would be a Lutheran pastor in York, Pa., I would probably have suggested that they might cut out smoking, drinking whatever was messing with their mind.

Middle aged men today have become all about their job, achievements, their house, their car, well you get it. That’s it, their total investment is in how they amass money/ things. I hear it constantly from men “oh yeah, I don’t need church, blah, blah,” and they will spout some inane nonsense about how they know it all, don’t need none of that, again blah, blah. The more they talk, the more obvious they don’t know what they’re talking about. But hey I will concede that the church has gone out of it’s way to make itself less relevant to men. But it doesn’t matter, because it’s all about the job, making money etc.

In addition to not needing church, don’t need government, because they’re all crooks, doesn’t make a difference, again blah, blah. Men aren’t getting educations because it doesn’t make a difference, the only thing that makes a difference is how much money, the quality of their possessions. Men in their 50’s are statistically supposed to be at the peak of their earning, on their way to having a nice easy retirement etc, etc. The reality is that most are finding that is not going to be the case, that they haven’t achieved what they thought they were supposed to and everything that they’ve pinned their hope on is simply not going to happen. Their hope is gone, the supposed promise of the American Dream is simply not going to happen.

Let’s cut to the chase, yes of course each of us is responsible for running our life, but we need to realize that it’s not about what we ultimately do, it’s what God guides us to do. I had a certain set of expectations, but I was clearly led by God to be where I am now and there’s no doubt in my mind that there’s much more to come. It may be where I’m at, or something entirely new, but when I look back on my life I have no doubt as to who was guiding it. I’m not saying that I’m somehow “chosen” I’m not saying that I’m any kind of special case at all. I am saying that if more people, not just men, trusted in what God was doing and quit trying to live by their own expectations, they would find life to be a more of an adventure, a lot more fulfilling, more authentic and in the end? Maybe not the big bank account, big house etc. But knowing that they have lived according to God’s will, they’ve lived the life that God guided them in and in terms of living their true life, in the resurrection, they will be blessed and yes, the building treasure in heaven that Jesus makes many references to.

Space and inclination don’t permit me to get into a discussion of suicide, but it’s God who gives us life and it’s His decision what happens and when He decides to call us home, suicide is never the solution in any respect. Pride, anger, disappointment are not acceptable, but in a society where we have this idea that it’s all about us and we can do what we want, when we want, well God is simply not going to bless that.

It’s way past time for us all to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading and trust in the hope and promises of the Bible, God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are responsible for the conduct of our life, but that responsibility is realized when we trust in what God is doing in our life and not our own desires and expectations.