Contribute to solutions and not to problems — Every pastor would be thrilled if each of his flock got involved and helped the church in some way. However, they would rejoice if certain ones simply stopped being a pain in the neck!
It’s a shame that pastors spend so much time “putting out fires,” that is, squelching problems that could have a negative influence on the whole body, such as gossip, rumors, complaining, misunderstandings, hurt feelings, discontent and so forth. Regrettably, it has been said that 90% of these kinds of problems are generated among the same 10% of the people.
Spiritually mature persons who wish to help their church don’t become a part of such problems -- instead, they contribute to solutions. They avoid divisive people (Rom. 16:17) and don’t get caught up in the mischief or grievances of others (1 Tim. 5:13). If they are aware of spreading problems in the fellowship, they will try to bring a resolution, or else they bring matters to the attention of the leadership so that they can bring an end to it (Matt. 18:15-17). People who wish to be an asset to their church don’t participate with or spread problems -- they help leadership resolve them.
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Apply the teaching and ministry to your life — There’s not much that a pastor loves more than to see his flock practicing what he has preached, living a Godly, holy life, and on their knees seeking the Lord. Learn to appreciate the spiritual values they try to instill in you and the congregation. “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern” (Phil. 3:17).
It helps your church when you live and conduct yourself in a Christ-like manner. Whether you realize it or, you’re a walking billboard for your church. Whatever the people of your community see in your life, they will tend to identify with your pastor and his flock. Behave yourself and speak well of the church and your pastor. Eyes and ears are always open to the things you say and do.
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Help shoulder the load of responsibility — Pastors of the church often feel much like Moses did when Israel fought with Amelek. Their arms become weary under the weight of so many responsibilities and they need brothers and sisters to stand beside them and help distribute the load. “But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun” (Ex. 17:12). It’s important to remember that when Moses hands were heavy and had fallen down because of the weight of ministry, those under him suffered great loss. However, when faithful servants came alongside and held up his hands, not only did they help him remain faithful to his ministry, but they began to experience victory in the battles they were facing also.
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Get to know your spiritual leaders and cooperate with them —
And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; (1 Thess 5:12). The more you get to know them and their Godly life-style, the more you will likely come to trust their leadership. You will have a greater credibility in their teaching and counsel. Show respect and cooperate with their authority. Avoid challenging their right or worthiness to serve in their position, but accept that God has seen fit to place them in this role (Rom. 13:1). “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account...” (Heb. 13:17). Bottom line, the pastor is the one who will give account for the decisions and actions in the church. In Rev. 2 & 3, the Lord Jesus Christ held the pastor personally responsible for all that the church was doing and for what they were not doing. The flock will be held accountable for how they submitted to the leadership God set before them. Belligerence or antagonism toward leadership may be acceptable in secular society, but there is no place for it in the Lord’s church. |
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Commit yourself to love the Lord and your brethren — The Bible teaches that all the desires of God are condensed into only two cardinal commandments that Jesus gave to His followers. He said, “...You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). By clothing ourselves in God’s love, we help the church to reinforce this objective for every believer, and we also help to eliminate the elements of conflict and division which can hinder the unity of the church. “I... beseech you to have a walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-3). |
Pray for your church, its pastors and leaders — The Apostle Paul explained that it is the duty of Christians to pray for all who are in authority, especially those in spiritual authority. “I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Tim. 2:1-2). Your church leaders are on the cutting edge of the battle with Satan, and will face temptations and spiritual conflict unlike anything you could imagine. The devil knows that if he can topple a spiritual leader or get him discouraged enough to quit, it will have a domino effect on the rest of the church.
In Acts 12, we read that James was killed with the sword by Herod and then seized Peter intending to kill him as well. It’s interesting to note that both these men had walked and talked with Jesus, men of faith and prayer, both filled with the Holy Spirit and leaders in the church. Yet one was killed and the other delivered! The only difference is when Peter was taken, it says that the church began to pray to God for him. There was no mention of prayer for James.
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Be faithful to attend and participate — Commit yourself to the church and let them know they can count on you. Obviously you can’t be of much help if you don’t show up or take part. Some people underestimate their value of simply being present. Joining together with others adds to their encouragement, and it encourages the leaders and the pastor who have prayed and prepared all week to minister to you (Heb. 10:24-25). It helps your pastor and the whole church for you to come faithfully and on time. And don’t merely sit there like a bump on a log. Be friendly, put a smile on your face, and enter into the service by singing and worshiping. You can even utter an audible Amen or two when the pastor makes a good point. Go ahead, it’ll make his day! |
One Sunday morning a pastor of the largest church in his community woke up to one of the most beautiful mornings he had ever witnessed in his life. Just a few minutes after he got out of bed he had a very unusual desire. He wanted to go play golf. He had never played golf on Sunday before let alone play golf on Sunday morning when he was supposed to be taking care of his pastoral responsibilities, but he yielded to the temptation and called his associate pastor and told him that he would have to take care of the morning service.
So that he wouldn't be seen, he drove 40 miles to unfamiliar course. As he was preparing to tee off on the first hole, in heaven Peter and the Lord were watching. Peter leaned over to the Lord and said, "You're not going to let that preacher get away with that are you?" The Lord responded, "Absolutely not. Watch this!"
The preacher smacked the ball and it took off in supersonic flight, lifting up straight and true and with tremendous distance. It landed 400 yards later, bounced, dribbled and then rolled on to the green, across it and into the cup for a 430 yard hole-in-one. Peter looked at the Lord and said, "That's what you call justice? That's divine retribution?" With a wink, the Lord answered, "Who's he going to tell?"
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Eric Hulstrand writes in Leadership magazine: While I was preaching one Sunday, an elderly woman, Mary, fainted and struck her head on the end of the pew. Immediately, an EMT in the congregation called an ambulance. As they strapped her to a stretcher and got ready to head out the door, Mary regained consciousness. She motioned for her daughter to come near. Everyone thought she was summoning her strength to convey what could be her final words. The daughter leaned over until her ear was at her mother’s mouth. "’My offering is in my purse,’ she whispered." That elderly woman was a remarkable person. Her last words showed what was of highest importance to her - to be a steward of gifts God had given her.
Jesus said, " For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." While some Christians debate the issue of tithing... the checkbook is a good way to find where one's treasure is located. Really, tithing could be viewed as the minimum requirements for giving.
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Trust Your Instruments
Inside every airplane are instruments that are critical to flying the aircraft. The instruments will give a true reading of how the aircraft is flying, even if a pilot's mind may tell him differently. On a clear, sunny day a pilot may not need some of these instruments, but at night or in poor visibility, these instruments become vital to his survival. Many planes have crashed because the pilot became disoriented and failed to trust his instruments.
While attending Texas A&M, Jeff Patton and I became friends as members of the Corps of Cadets. He is now Lt. Col. Jeff Patton and flew as an F-15 fighter pilot in Desert Storm. On the first night of the war, his mission was to escort a large formation of fighters in bombing a chemical weapons plant in northern Iraq. The date for Desert Storm was chosen because the absence of moonlight and the high clouds helped the attacking allied fighters from being detected by enemy defenses. Flying in total darkness, the pilots became completely dependent upon their instruments.
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A small Oklahoma town that had two churches and one distillery. Members of both churches complained that the distillery was giving the community a bad image. And to make matters worse the owner of the distillery was an out spoken atheist. He didn’t believe in God one bit. The church people had tried unsuccessfully for years to shut down the distillery. So finally they decided to hold a joint Saturday night prayer meeting. They were going to ask God to intervene and settle the matter.
The church folks gathered on Saturday night and there was a horrible thunderstorm raging outside and to the delight of the church members lightening hit that old brewery and it burned to the ground. The next morning the sermons that were preached in both churches were on the power of prayer. But the insurance adjusters promptly notified the distillery owner that they were not going to pay for the damages because the fire was an act of God and that was an exclusion in the policy. The distillery owner was furious and he sued both churches claiming that they had conspired with God to destroy his business. But the churches denied that they had anything to do with the cause of the fire.
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I have no respect for justice. I maim without killing. I break hearts and ruin lives. I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age. The more I am quoted, the more I am believed. I flourish at every level of society. My victims are helpless. They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no face. To track me down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive I become. I am nobodies friend. Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same. I topple governments, wreck marriages, and ruin careers -- cause sleepless nights, heartaches, and indigestion. I spawn suspicion and generate grief. I make innocent people cry in their pillows. Even my name hisses… I make headlines and headaches. Who am I???? My name is Gossip.
Before you repeat a story, ask yourself, Is it true? Is it fair? Is it necessary? Proverbs 17:9 He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends.
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An ingenious example of speech and politics occurred recently in the United Nations Assembly and made the world community smile. A representative from Israel began: 'Before beginning my talk I want to tell you something about Moses: When he struck the rock and it brought forth water, he thought, 'What a good opportunity to have a bath!' Moses removed his clothes, put them aside on the rock and entered the water. When he got out and wanted to dress, his clothes had vanished. A Palestinian had stolen them!
The Palestinian representative at the UN jumped up furiously and shouted, What are you talking about? The Palestinians weren't there then.' The Israeli representative smiled and said, 'And now that we have made that clear, I will begin my speech...'. |
We should be like the 3-year-old boy (that Paul Harvey told about) who went to the grocery store with his mother. Before they entered the grocery store she said to him, "Now you're not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, so don't even ask." She put him up in the cart and he sat in the little child's seat while she wheeled down the aisles. He was doing just fine until they came to the cookie section. He saw the chocolate chip cookies and he stood up in the seat and said, "Mom, can I have some chocolate chip cookies?" She said, "I told you not even to ask. You're not going to get any at all." So he sat back down.
They continued down the aisles, but in their search for certain items they ended up back in the cookie aisle. "Mom, can I please have some chocolate chip cookies?" She said, "I told you that you can't have any. Now sit down and be quiet."
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John was driving home late one night when he picked up a hitchhiker. As they rode along, he began to be suspicious of his passenger. John checked to see if his wallet was safe in the pocket of his coat that was on the seat between them, but it wasn't there! So he slammed on the brakes, ordered the hitchhiker out, and said, "Hand over the wallet immediately!" The frightened hitchhiker handed over a billfold, and John drove off. When he arrived home, he started to tell his wife about the experience, but she interrupted him, saying, "Before I forget, John, did you know that you left your wallet at home this morning?" ... Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. |
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Several years ago a teacher assigned to visit children in a large city hospital received a routine call requesting that she visit a particular child. She took the boy's name and room number and was told by the teacher on the other end of the line, "We're studying nouns and adverbs in his class now. I'd be grateful if you could help him with his homework so he doesn't fall behind the others."
It wasn't until the visiting teacher arrived outside the boy's room that she realized it was located in the hospital's burn unit. No one had prepared her to find a young boy horribly burned and in great pain. She felt she couldn't just turn and walk out, so she awkwardly stammered, "I'm the hospital teacher, and your teacher sent me to help you with your nouns and adverbs."
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An Illinois man left Chicago for a vacation in sunny Florida. His wife was on a business trip and was planning to meet him the next day. When he reached his hotel he decided to send his wife a quick e-mail. Unable to find the scrap of paper on which he had written her e-mail address, he did his best to type it from memory. Unfortunately, he missed one letter and his note was directed instead to an elderly preacher’s wife, whose husband had passed away only the day before. When the grieving widow checked her e-mail, she took one look at the monitor, let out a piercing scream, and fell to the floor dead. At the sound, her family rushed into the room and saw this note on the screen:
Dearest Wife, Just got checked in. Everything prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Your Loving Husband. P.S: Sure is hot down here.
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A store owner was doing some last minute Christmas shopping with his young son when he saw another store owner with whom he had been friends for some time. The two of them exchanged greetings and spoke with each other about what a financially profitable season it had been for their respective stores. The small boy overheard his father say, "This has been the best Christmas ever." As the store owners parted company, the father and son continued their shopping, but the father noticed his son had become very quiet. He inquired as to his son's silence, and his son replied, "Dad, you just told Mr. Johnson that this was the best Christmas ever." His dad replied, "I did, son. The economy is great, and people are really spending." "O.K." the son replied, "It's just that I always thought the first Christmas was the best one." |
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HAPPENS EVERY FRIDAY. DID YOU KNOW?
It really breaks my heart to know that we didn't know this goes on every Friday, well at least I didn't know. Instead, I guess the media feels it's more important to report on Tiger Woods with his car accident, or Brittany Spears losing weight and getting married for the 4th time, or football players betting on dogs, or endless stories about Michael Jackson. I hope this article gives you a sense of pride of what our men and women are doing for us, everyday, as they serve in the armed forces here and abroad.
IT HAPPENS EVERY FRIDAY! WERE YOU AWARE?
Over the last 12 months, 1,042 soldiers, Marines, sailors and Air Force personnel have given their lives in the terrible duty that is war. Thousands more have come home on stretchers, horribly wounded and facing months or years in military hospitals. This week, I'm turning my space over to a good friend and former roommate, Army Lt. Col. Robert Bateman, who recently completed a year long tour of duty in Iraq and is now back at the Pentagon. Here's Lt. Col. Bateman's account of a little-known ceremony that fills the halls of the Army corridor of the Pentagon with cheers, applause and many tears every Friday morning. It first appeared on May 17 on the Weblog of media critic and pundit Eric Alterman at the Media Matters for America Website.
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A while back on "The Merv Griffin Show," the guest was a body builder. During the interview, Merv asked "Why do you develop those particular muscles?" The body builder simply stepped forward and flexed a series of well-defined muscles from chest to calf. The audience applauded. "What do you use all those muscles for?" Merv asked. Again, the muscular specimen flexed, and biceps and triceps sprouted to impressive proportions. "But what do you USE those muscles for?" Merv persisted. The body builder was bewildered. He didn't have an answer other than to display his well-developed frame.
Our spiritual exercises--Bible study, prayer, attending church, listening to Christian music and teaching tapes--are also for a purpose. They're meant to strengthen our ability to build God's kingdom, not to simply to improve our pose before an admiring audience. |
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