♦   ♦   ♦   ♦

Every time I get my car repaired, I remember how much I hate TV news shows.  It seems only the most bombastic shows are on in the waiting room. If you believed every snarky comment they said on the shows, you’d be angry, frustrated, and hopeless. (And then they bring me the repair bill!)

I know that many Christians get their news in this manner. The more obnoxious, the more we watch; it’s compelling.

Some Christians experience church a lot like that show: doomsday, fear, angry about what “they” are doing. Every slope is slippery. Hopeless.

That how they see the the world and church around them: hopeless.

I’m glad that those who had a authentic warning from God were not so hopeless.

The famous passage about the banquet of the Lord in Isaiah comes at the end of the prophecies about judgement and destruction of the whole earth (Isaiah 25 & 24). God through Isaiah goes into gruesome detail about how he will wreak justice and purify the land of the unrighteous.

Then he tells us about God setting up a table of the best food and drink for his people.

Things may seem bad. They may really be bad. But God isn’t finished.

God isn’t finished, and the finish that he is working for is glorious, good, and beautiful.

The TV news shows are hopeless because they never take into account the final outcome of the entire story: God wins.

Hope is not wishful thinking. It is remembering the reality that God is has long been creating—all creation blessed.

Christian leaders don’t lead by scaring us away from a slippery slope. They inspire us to look up to God’s mountaintop, where the Lord himself is setting up a glorious, eternal feast.

Neither do Christian leaders “sell” us a vision of happiness. Christian leaders remind us of reality: God wins. And when we stick with God, we win too.

We don’t nee leaders obsessed with the bad news. We need leaders aware of bad news but obsessed with the Good News.

We don’t need leaders with wishful thinking or rhetoric of fear. We need leaders of hope.

As Grand Central looks to add leaders, pray that God sends us those who have and share hope.

♦   ♦   ♦   ♦

Perhaps the worst leadership advice ever given was in the movie “Field of Dreams.” The film’s plot moves because a man has supernatural visions that if he builds a baseball stadium in the middle of nowhere, people will flock to watch games. He builds it, and a team shows up. The refrain that drives the plot is simple: “If you build it, they will come.”

This is a bad movie. The acting is bad (Kevin Costner; need I say more?). The premise is bad. And the refrain that the movie made popular is terrible. Unfortunately, some church leaders use exactly this refrain as a principle of leadership.

God has used the build-it-and-they-will-come technique before: Noah built the ark and the animals came. Solomon built the temple and the people came.

But when most people, especially leaders, use the phrase, they are simply advancing their own fields of dreams. I once met with an elder who explained how his 400-member church was poised to become a mega church. The location was wrong for a magachurch. The staff was not megachurch ready. The attendance had been slipping for the last year. And the other elders did not think that would happen. But this elder knew in his heart it would happen.

My first question is why become a megachurch? He did not hear a voice from God. He could not point to the trajectory of the congregation. He could not point to a providential confluence of circumstances. He just thought bigger was better.

That’s not a vision from God. That’s a consumerist dream, baptized.

Interestingly, in just a few years that elder was gone and the church nearly closed. If God had wanted a megachurch there, he would have made it happen. What that elder had was an entrepreneurial dream, not a vision of what God really was doing around him.

Vision in the biblical sense is tricky, so the key to it is discernment. Vision is absolutely not about someone coming up with a random idea and working hard to make it happen. Innovation and hard work are commendable, but that’s not the vision we are talking about.

You may have heard Proverbs 29:18 quoted: “Without vision, people perish.” That’s the King James Version. The word there for vision is torah, the Hebrew word for Law. This is not referring to rule keeping, but to the authentic will of God. The NIV gets closer: “Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint.” But I like The Message’s take on it best: “If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves.”

The key to vision is not thinking up cool things to do. As cool as that might be. The key to vision is seeing where God is going. He is the builder and he is building.

So the question leaders must ask is not, “What do we want to do or need to do?” The question to ask is, “What is God doing?” If a person is not asking that question or similar questions, he is not ready for leadership.

As Grand Central looks for additional elders, seek men who seek to discern what God is doing. What has God done in Scripture? What has God done in our congregation? What has God done in the potential elder’s personal life and family life?

May God lead us to men who see Him leading them.

♦   ♦   ♦   ♦

The Christian life is topsy-turvy.

There is no reason why the creator of the universe should care a whit about any of us. But he does.

There is no reason why God should choose the insignificant nation of Israel as the people through whom he would bring his mighty plan together. But that’s exactly what he does.

There is no reason why scrawny David would be tapped as king over his brawny brothers. But that’s what happens.

There seems no reason to worship a man convicted and executed in the most shameful way possible. Yet that’s precisely what the Christian does.

So when we are looking for leaders—elders in particular—it would be easy to use worldly measures of leadership to choose the right men. But in the church, leadership is upside down.

It would be easy to find the most successful, the best looking, the most prominent, the most popular men to serve. But Donald Trump, Ryan Gosling, and Alec Baldwin would make terrible elders!

When we look for elders, Paul gives us a very good frame of reference in Philippians 2:3-4: “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

It seems logical to find leaders with clout. But elders need to be those who are passionate about the spiritual growth of those whom they serve.

The fact is, the more a man is impressed with who he is and what he does, the less like Christ he is. And the less qualified he is to lead God’s people.

Before you misunderstand, let me clarify one point. Humility is not about weakness. Moses was called humble, but was a very strong leader.

This is not a matter of finding the least qualified person and calling them qualified. It is about finding the most qualified person but using God’s measures of evaluation, not the world’s measures. (That is to say, someone is not more qualified simply because he is a homely, socially awkward financial failure!)

It’s about finding men who are humble. Low circumstances or high, is he humble? Popular or little-known, does he have a track record of love and compassion? Fashion model or “face made for radio,” does he value the people in the flock more than he values himself?

As we look for additional elders at Grand Central, seek men who are humble, whatever God has given him and wherever God has placed him.  Seek those who reflect the self-giving spirit of Christ.

♦   ♦   ♦   ♦

Remember when the punk kid David came to king Saul and wanted to fight the giant Goliath? Saul brushes him off as too small, but David replies:

Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of this mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.—1 Sam 17:34-35

Wow! There’s courage.

In the New Testament, church elders are also called shepherds, and. shepherding is still not for the fainthearted. There will be bears and lions wanting to devour our church and church members. A key line of defense as a congregation is the eldership: Leaders praying, caring, guiding, and prodding to keep us on the path and keep us safe from predators.

Let’s face it. Leadership is not easy. Leaders are held responsible for things completely out of their control and expected to solve problems they didn’t create. This takes guts, but has little glory.

Sometimes leaders feel as if there is a target on their backs. Anyone who has a complaint or problem—whether petty or life-changing—has the right to bend the ear of the leader. Sometimes the best interest of the group is not what individuals of the group want. So shepherds lead knowing there will be pushback and frustration. This takes courage.

Sometimes we don’t want to learn and grow, we just want to vent. Leaders are there too, with broad shoulders for everyone. They smooth ruffled feathers. They look out for the best interest of the group, even when we don’t like it.

Jesus compares himself with a shepherd who left his entire flock to go after one lost lamb. I bet the flock didn’t feel comfortable with that, but it was the best thing for the shepherd to do.

As we seek out new shepherds at Grand Central, seek men of courage. Not opinionated men—although conviction is important. Not stubborn men—although resolve is important. Not reckless men—although willingness to take risk is important.

Seek men of courage.

Seek those whom you want lead you into spiritual battle.

This piece, the first in a series, was written at the request of the elders at the Grand Central Church of Christ as part of the process of seeking additional shepherds.

What’s a Leader?

The simplest definition of “leader” is this: One who has followers. In this sense, we are all leaders, everyone has someone who looks to us—children, students, spouses, colleagues, friends. We have an idea, and others agree. That’s leadership. We buy a hat from our favorite team, and others do the same. That’s leadership. We pray and our children see us. That’s leadership.

That’s a kind of organic leadership. It’s influence we have even if we don’t know it, even if we don’t want it.

There is another kind of leadership, however. There are those who are recognized as leaders, those who have power, authority, or influence over us. This kind of leadership is official, like a supervisor, a parent, an elected official. And like elders in churches.

I like to designate these two kinds of leadership as personal authority and designated authority. Let me illustrate

Personal Authority

Personal authority is leadership influence one has simply because of who that person is and their relationships with others. I have no political, spiritual, or economic authority over my friends, but when I suggest we go to a movie and they come along, I’ve exercised personal authority. My commitment to Bible study comes from parents whom I saw study the Bible, talked about the Bible as something of importance, and brought me to Bible class. My parents’ personal authority shaped me and my attitudes toward the Bible.

Because it is often unseen, personal authority is much more potent than designated authority.

It doesn’t matter how successful someone is in his work, community, or family, if he doesn’t have the personal authority to lead people in the congregation, he cannot truly function as an elder.

Designated Authority

Designated authority is official authority. My parents exercised designated authority (as well as personal authority) when they required I go to Bible class. As long as I ate Sunday supper, I was expected to be at church and Bible class. They were my parents; and I obeyed. If I had not obeyed, I would expect to be disciplined.

Designated authority allows for both reward and punishment, such as hiring/firing, promoting/demoting, and eating Sunday supper.

In churches, elders and ministers both have personal authority and designated authority, but how they get their authority is different. Ministers first get designated authority then earn personal authority. As in most job situations, we are hired and have to prove ourselves.

Elders, though, have already earned personal authority through years of relationship building in the congregation and then are given designated authority. They have proven themselves, so they are appointed as elders.

An elder candidate may have plenty of demonstrated leadership skill as successful businessmen or civic leaders. But if they don’t have personal authority, don’t have the trust of the congregation, then they will not be able to lead.

Only after the individual has earned the trust of the congregation—that is, has personal authority—is he appointed an elder—designated authority.

Have you ever wondered why Paul tells Timothy not to appoint elders who are new converts? Because they will become proud. Pride is a risk with designated authority. If they don’t have personal authority already, the new Christian and new elder will be at risk for acting out of pride, not out of personal authority. (I also think that’s why elders must be at a congregation for several years before being appointed. They need time to build up personal authority.)

Elders at Grand Central

As we begin the process of appointing new elders at Grand Central, there are many things to consider, but I’d like to offer this one at this point: Whom do you trust. This is different from “Who believes the same way I do?” or “Who do I like to hang out with?”

Whom do you trust?

Whom have you seen time and time again do the right thing? To whom would you be willing to confess your darkest sin, knowing that they will take that information to the grave? To whom would you entrust your money? Your spiritual life?

In a very real sense, the men whose names you list to answer those questions are your elders. They have the personal authority to lead you.

As you pray about those whom the congregation will designate, pray for discernment about who already has personal authority. It may be that their personal authority is God calling them to lead as an elder.

But divine appointments are different. I’ve sat in coffee shops and simply prayed for God to send me someone whom I can bless. I’ve rarely had to drink coffee alone. Typically someone shows up, and in just a few minutes it becomes clear they aren’t there because of me, or even because of the coffee. They are there because God wanted us to meet together at that time and place.

I’ve been convicted lately that I have not been the witness to Christ that I want to be. I say this because I want to have a faith that is contagious. I want to leave a wake of encourage people behind me, for sure. But I also want to leave a wake of believers behind me as well.

So I’ve prayed for a different kind of divine appointment. Here is what I prayed today:

Lord, I pray that this week you give me at least one divine appointment with someone who doesn’t have a saving relationship with you. Give me:

• eyes to see
• a heart to care (this is dangerous)
• words to say
• courage to speak
• love to show

It’s so easy to not leave time for divine appointments. You cannot report to your supervisor that you are loitering, waiting on God. That is, unless God is your true supervisor.

Pray for me. Pray for my appointment. And may God send you yours!

Click here to listen: Great Expectations

Preached at Grand Central Church of Christ
November 18, 2012.

≈

Audio only

Video presentation (larger file)

My hope is that ministers and other Christian leaders will be able to hone their skills at “discerning and adapting”—seeing the work of God around them, join in that work, and bring others along for the ride!

Summary of the Adaptive Leadership Model

At the heart of the Adaptive Work model of leadership, developed initially by Ronald Heifetz, lies the need for people to change their beliefs, behavior, and values in order to adapt to the realities confronting them. This model addresses behavior, but avoids mere behavior modification. It assumes growth in understanding and knowledge, but avoids unproductive intellectualization. Because it addresses the values held by stakeholders, it allows for meaningful transformation in individuals and organizations.

The Adaptive Work model examines the “work” of solving life problems, but differentiates between adaptive work and technical work. Technical work is the process of solving definable problems that have clear solutions and need expert problem solvers. Adaptive work, on the other hand, is the process of addressing complicated problems that have no clear solution and that cannot be fixed by a problem solver.

Adaptation consist[s] of the learning required to address conflicts in the values people hold,
or to diminish the gap between the values people stand for and the reality they face.
Adaptive work requires a change in values, beliefs, or behavior.
—Ronald Heifetz

Read the full summary here.