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When Church is Dishonest - Part Two

Churches can fall into the trap of dishonesty when we...

3.  Talk about certain issues. When we inflate numbers or stories into things they are not.  When we "round up" to make it sound like there was greater interest in an event. When we inflate a personal experience to make up for what was a pretty lackluster deal in the first place. When we tell others that "God showed up" when He really didn't. Although subtle, things like this emanating from a church only promote dishonesty.

4. Attempt to be all things to all people. When a church sets out to meet every person's every need and to make people happy, the church is not only being dishonest toward people, it is especially being dishonest with itself. I recall talking to some people who were new to our church. They told me they had been searching for a church home, but they couldn't find a church they had been happy in. And guess what? They weren't happy with our church either and eventually left. They are probably still unhappy (looking for a "New Testament" church, no doubt.)

I can tell you about any number of church attenders through the years who have given me an earful about our church being uncaring or not reaching out toward them in their time of need. I have very often discovered that people in the church brought them meals, gave them money, prayed for them, drove them places, were called upon by pastors and elders. Yet the family still felt as if the church had not responded. You know what I think really happens in these situations? The pain these folks are in - and it is real - has not gone away.

God does not always take away our pain, so we cannot and should not give people the impression that He will or that we as a church can and will.

So, what can a church do?

Be honest in everything. Preach the gospel without apology...regularly. Reach out to people with the love of God. Address the issues people are having to address on a daily basis. Talk about what is in the newspaper or television and help others see things from a biblical viewpoint. Don't over promise that God or His Church will do things He said we don't or can't. Don't seek to meet every need of every person. It's impossible to do and ends up frustrating everyone in the process.

Billy Joel sings, "Honesty is such a lonely word./Everyone is so untrue./Honesty is hardly ever heard./And mostly what I need from you." It's what the world needs from the Church as well.

When Church is Dishonest - Part One

Really? Churches are dishonest?

Let me explain...

Certainly churches that intentionally act dishonestly are few and far between. But let me challenge your thinking a bit today, especially for those of us who are church leaders. Aren't we being dishonest - even if it's unintentional - when we create and project unrealistic expectations? For example, we can fall into the trap of dishonesty when we...

1. Over promise. I think the one that gets me the most is when churches over promise and tell their community that, "We are a New Testament church...just like the one closest to Jesus' and Paul's time. We operate according to New Testament church practices."

Okay, aside from the obvious that there are no OLD Testament church practices, do we really want to promise this? I wonder, which New Testament church do we have in mind? The Ephesian church who abandoned Paul and had some serious racial issues? Corinth, with its drunkenness (stemming from the communion wine), guys sleeping with their step-mother's, and divisiveness? Or maybe the stellar Galatian church, steeped in suffocating legalism? Over promising something we simply are not is simply dishonest.

2.  Avoid talking about certain issues. When we are afraid to talk about certain topics, when we avoid speaking about certain issues, we are screaming that we are somewhat irrelevant and people then make the assumption that God and His Church are irrelevant. We never intend to be dishonest, but when we don't talk about the real issues of life, we are giving an inaccurate impression.

Come back tomorrow for part two - and some encouragement on how the Church - people who follow Jesus, who is the Truth - can not only project honesty, but also live authentically, in this present age.
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Image: Freddy Corbin's wrist tattoo

Happy 234th Birthday, Marine Corps!

We are blessed to serve a number of Marine families at LowCountry Community Church. One of our staff colleagues, Mark Howard, served in the Corps and I was blessed to attend his retirement ceremony a few summers ago. It was really moving.

Check out the video Mark shared with us today as we honor our Marine Corp. Semper Fi.  Oorah!!

Please Pray for Our South African Mission Team

A team from LowCountry Community Church leaves tomorrow, November 6th, for Cape Town, South Africa. They will be working with our mission partners there: Living Grace, Living Hope, and Living Way Centres. The team will be conducting health screenings, life skills education, and working with many, many children who live in the Red Hill township.

God has really brought together some of LCC's finest to share in His work. Please consider being a part of it all by praying for them now and over the next two weeks. They will be working with LCC's own Al Allnoch, who is currently serving there full-time.

To receive updates on the trip and team along the way, kindly email Mark Howard. If you'd like to view some great photos from previous teams, click here. Thanks!

Eight Questions Every Leader Needs to Answer - Part Two

5.  Am I looking forward and into the future? Or am I a "come weal or woe, our status is quo" type person? Do you believe your ministry or organization's best days are behind or ahead of you? One thing I am finding out about myself is that I have to constantly fight - and I mean fight - to stay hungry and forward looking. It's too easy to grow comfortable, fat, happy, and sassy in certain season's of life and ministry. The comfort of the familiar is life-threatening. "Every old and stale thing you want to do away with in your church was once a good and fresh idea. Eventually your great and new ideas will grow and stale too." (Greg Surratt) I have to be willing to embrace the new, fresh, and untried.

 

6.  Do I possess a "can-do" attitude? I once heard of a staff member who said he felt it was his role to tell the team why stuff they dreamed about couldn't or wouldn't work. (Note to employers here: NEVER hire Eeyore!) How do you respond to new ideas? To "outside-of-the-box" thinking? Does it energize or threaten you? Pessimism is not a spiritual gift; it drains people and teams. And last time I checked God loves to do the impossible!

7.  Am I willing to be vulnerable and transparent? Okay, I'll be open and transparent right now: I have a hard time being open and transparent. (There: I said it...whew!) One of the hardest things I've done recently in this regard was to ask our staff, "What's something I am doing that you wished I wouldn't do?" They were kind to me, but some answers came, uh, rather quickly. And it wasn't as bad as I feared. And team members generally have a higher regard for the team leader who is vulnerable and transparent with them than the team leader who wants to appear like he or she has it all together.

8.  Do I possess the patience of Job? Patience is one thing I am very careful to never pray for ("...troubles can develop passionate patience in us..." Rom. 5:3, The Message)! Who needs more troubles? But in church work, getting things accomplished is akin to constructing your own home: it always takes longer than you think and generally costs more than you anticipate. There are times when churches possess an Army like "hurry-up-and-wait" mentality. Can I handle the "one more/last one" committee meeting with a good attitude and patience?

Eight Questions Every Leader Needs to Answer - Part One

I was working on a leadership study this morning from 1 Timothy 3 and realized that Paul gives us an "at the end of the day these qualities need to be part of every leader's DNA" speech. Use them to evaluate your own heart and character.

1.  Can I be trusted with insider information? Leaders often hear it first, okay, sometimes we hear it last), but we are privy to often serious and vital information - mainly regarding people. Can people trust me when they tell me something that is especially confidential and private - or are they worried they will hear it from the pulpit as an "illustration" or through the grape-vine as a "prayer request"?

2. Can I make judgments after all the facts are in? Every time I have made an off-the-cuff judgment it's usually been wrong. A leader who is quick to pull the judgment trigger will never be an effective leader. Can you thwart your first impulse and then make decisions and judgments only after all the facts are in?

3. Can I allow God to be my Global Positioning System? What is God saying through His Word? What is God saying through His people? How is He directing? In which direction should I go? Am I willing to listen and obey? Perry Noble has rightly said, "Leadership is as easy as listening to God."  

4. Can I confront people and situations appropriately? Okay, I'll say it: I hate confrontation. But if I'm going to lead with integrity I have to be willing to confront poor attitudes, wrong-headed thinking, words that wound, and blatant deception and mis-direction. Each requires a loving, confrontational response. It's part of being a leader. Dave Goetz writes, "The two extremes are either to avoid conflict or to act like the Terminator." Where on the continuum do you fall?

Part deux tomorrow ... stay tuned!

Monday Morning Reflections

- I missed being at LCC-Bluffton yesterday but really enjoyed my time with LCC-Hilton Head. It's always good to re-connect with folks that I used to see regularly but now only see every few months.

- I believe everyone on our teaching team is enjoying preaching through this current series called Revolu$ion. Yesterday was no different for me. Anytime I can walk us through a passage of Scripture and help people make personal application, I just love it.

- A couple of thoughts from that message:
What I have is not mine - it all belongs to God.
Our potential is God's gift to us: what we do with it is our gift to Him.
"You are the only person on earth who can use your ability." (Zig Ziglar)
"And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming" (1 John 2:28).

- Was I the only one who awoke at 5:30 a.m. due to the time change?! Dude, if you were late for church yesterday, I don't even know what to tell you...

- I love it that it's brighter earlier but I've never been a fan of the darker and earlier part.

- Drove up to Clemson Friday afternoon, hung out with Lauren and her peeps some, and sat again through a down pour to watch the Tigers play. At least we won. This is getting old: it has rained for every home game so far. Here's what our tailgate site looked like; it's normally a beautiful, green, grassy athletic field:


- I did have a blast Friday night though. I've attended hundreds and hundreds of swim meets over the years, but perhaps never enjoyed one more than I did Friday night. Clemson was swimming against the hated rival University of South Carolina. Both men's and women's competitions came down to the final two events. The place was packed and incredibly loud. And the Tigers won them both! USC generally has a faster program than we do, so it was nice to win them both. And Lauren's former team, the Lady Tigers, are undefeated so far this season.

- Hey, it's Fall. Enjoy the beautiful weather today! Get outside and do something (my roof and gutters need cleaning if you're desperate) ... yeah, I didn't think so!

The Importance of October 31st

When do you think of when you think of October 31st? My guess is Halloween. And before you think this will be some annual diatribe against that particular holiday, think again, my friend. In my world view, October 31st should be honored as Reformation Day.

It was on October 31, 1517, that a young Augustinian monk and university professor called Martin Luther nailed 95 topics (or theses) for debate to a church door in Wittenburg, Germany. And when he did, the Reformation was born.

The true gospel of Jesus Christ had been lost amidst the pomp, ceremony, false teaching, and religiosity of the church. But God, as always, had a remnant wholly committed to Him and His Truth. During that time, councils and popes spoke with authority which they said was equal to Holy Scripture; Luther called them on it. He used slogans which the average layman could remember: Sola Scriptura, Scripture alone is the authority for faith and life, and Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christos, which means that it is by faith alone through God's grace alone through the Person of Jesus Christ alone that we are declared righteous and pardoned by God.

What will you be doing this October 31st? Among other things, I'll be breathing a prayer of thanks to God for courageous men and women who brought forth the Light of the Gospel from the darker recesses of the Middle Ages.

For an excellent and brief overview of the Reformation, click here.

This is Incredibly Powerful: Reach Them With an Incredible God

"I beg of you, don’t go after the next generation with mere moralism, either on the right (don’t have sex, go to church, share your faith, stay off drugs) or on the left (recycle, dig a well, feed the homeless, buy a wristband). The gospel is not a message about what we need to do for God, but about what God has done for us.  So get them with the good news about who God is and what he has done for us.

"Some of us, it seems, are almost scared to tell people about God.  Perhaps because we don’t truly know him.  Maybe because we prefer living in triviality..."

To read the rest of Kevin DeYoung's thoughts, click here.

My UK Trip

Longton Community Church has it going on! Here are a few photos from Sunday night's Celebration Service. They usually have two morning services but Sunday night was packed as things were combined. The music was off the hook!

 
Here's the entrance at the school where a hall, cafeteria, and a few other places are rented each weekend. "Church-in-a-box"! Nothing like it.
 
 
 
 
 
Josh, Ellie, and the team rocked the place. The worship was awesome. The people are from all walks of life and lives are being changed left and right. If you can't preach after these guys lead, then you'd better find another day job...

 
Reminds me of my days in youth ministry...great kids and a kickin' youth group going on there.
 
Lead Pastor Des Wadsworth is fast becoming a good friend. 
 
A number of people made first-time commitments to Jesus that night.
 
The LCC-UK staff: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work!

One of the coolest things that happened is what one of the students, Rob, posted on his FaceBook page. During the message I offered people the opportunity of praying a salvation prayer, giving their hearts and lives to Jesus. Rob wrote later that same evening, "Celebration evenin was awsome and I PRAYED WITH JEFF FROM LCC-USA!" How cool is that?!