You know the old saying. “You can’t please everybody.” Yet this is exactly what some of us try to do. I have found that Christian ministers are no different. We really do care what others think about us, especially our peers in the ministry. Truly, there’s no debt like reputation. Once it is achieved, we strive to maintain it. But what about our reputation with God? Jesus was oft criticized for His associations and His teachings. Where He went, with whom He shared meals…all these things were fodder for the naysayers of His day. Saul of Tarsus had impeccable credentials until he began to follow Christ. It seems that if you will obey God’s call, you will inevitably be put in a position to be misunderstood and criticized by the religious establishment. That is where most of stumble. Our biggest question in ministry becomes,”Who will this offend?” What about the question,”Who will this please?” Jesus warned us to beware when all men speak well of us… Let’s risk the esteem of men for the approval of Heaven. Let’s boldly obey the Savior in the face of accusation and preserve our reputation with the Father. After all is said and done, there is only one opinion that will matter.
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To All Generations
Go into all the world. This is our call as believers. Yet I believe this call is about more than geography. It is hard to find a corner of the world that has never in history had a gospel witness. Yet this generation is desperately lost. It is not enough that we have a church in every town. We need one in every community. And these days, you can have a church in the neighborhood but not in the community. How so? Because today’s communities are relational, not geographical. We chat, text, facebook, and phone friends day and night. We have affinity groups, both virtual and real-world, for everything. This seems to be the most socially connected generation ever, yet most of us do not even know our next door neighbors. Life does not focus around the front porch anymore. We can complain about this, or we can realize that it is a reality and reach this generation with the Good News of the Savior. It is not enough to have brick and mortar on Main Street. We are closing churches in the U.S. faster than we are opening them. But it did not start yesterday. It started when the church became identified with one particular generation. Nothing wrong with that generation of people, but that one group does not constitute the society. As new generations rise up, they do not even consider the church. Is it because they are more wicked and debased than previous generations? Has the Gospel lost it’s power from over-use? Are people immune to the work of the Holy Spirit? No. Jesus is more relevant than ever. But these newcomers have never heard the Story in their language, never felt that they could relate, never knew they were invited…When we allow 
territorialism among churches, we cripple the ministry to that community. “We do not need another church in our town.” Really? Are there more people in Wal-Mart at 10AM Sunday morning than in your church? Then, yes, we do need another partner in ministry. Not a competitor. But a co-laborer to another community within the city limits of the same town. If they are not against us, they are for us. Let’s not guard our turf at the expense of the harvest.
Heroes
You know, my heroes are all ministers. I have written a lot about frustrations in the Church, but the good outweighs the bad. I spent the last few days with some of my favorite people in the world. Young men and women still turn down lucrative careers to serve Christ for no personal gain. I personally know many who leave home and loved ones to take the message of The Cross to foreign soil, surviving literally on the mercy of strangers. There are pastors here in Louisiana who minister in neighborhoods where parishioners regularly lose loved ones to street crime. When every other ministry fled to the suburbs, they moved in to make a stand. There are men in my list of heroes who have turned down traditional pastorates to pour out the best years of their life for convicted prisoners. When I grow up, I want to be a pastor. No one knows the burden these men and women carry. They are often discouraged when the people they serve seem to go for years without making any progress or real commitment. Everyone they meet assumes that they know how to do the pastor’s job. In this role, I have been lied to, cheated, and belittled more than any other role I have filled. So when I fellowship with men who have been treated this way for years on end, yet keep a tender heart, I am amazed. To see humanity at it’s worst for decades and still love God and still love people…these are my heroes.
Of Sheep and Shepherds
The connection between the ministries of the New Testament church and modern church government is the source of much confusion. Mainly because the Bible is sketchy on the structures we love so dearly in Western Christianity.
For instance, the choosing of deacons by the people in the seventh chapter of The Acts of The Apostles is taken as an example of electing lay-leaders in a local congregation. Yet, the Bible example is limited to deacons eliminating discrimination in the service of widows in the church. The idea that they set church policy, determined Peter’s salary package, and entered into building contracts is out of the question. (The only other vote I remember in the scriptures is when the Israelites decided to vote for a new leader to take them back to Egypt while Moses was on the mountain… Just saying.) Every local church pastor or elder mentioned in the Bible was appointed by Paul, Timothy, Titus, etc. They were not chosen by popular vote.
So why do we vote today? Because this Apostolic system only works through integrous relationships with true men of God. The Apostles were spiritual authorities only to the extent that they loved, served, and ministered to churches and individuals. Not really church government as we know it, but mentoring by real spiritual fathers for the good of those being mentored. This leadership strategy fell apart when the leadership of the church began to be self-serving. Totalitarian governments arose in the name of the Apostles. They seized control in the style of a Ceasar rather than a Cephas, a Potentate rather than a Paul. Does anyone remember the Spanish Inquisition?
Groups of Christians began breaking free from this ecclesiastical tyranny hundreds of years ago. To ensure that their leaders did not rule them like the false apostles, they became congregationalist, which means they chose their leaders from among themselves by popular vote of the people.
The church has wavered between top-down control and grass-roots popularity contests ever since. The first style takes away the expresssion of Christ from the people. The second takes away much of the true, godly authority Christ has invested in His leaders. New Testament church structure requires real relationships and Christ-appointed leaders. We have a shortage of both. As long as the church is ruled by man-made government, the relationship between sheep and shepherd will suffer. The unaccountable leader and the mob-rule of congregational factions are equally unscriptural.
What is the answer? Let’s begin by prayfully re-examining the New Testament. I believe that first-century practice will bring new life and joy to God’s Church!
Corrupt Shepherds and Hungry Wolves
Ezekiel 34: 1-6 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherd-leaders of Israel. Yes, prophesy! Tell those shepherds, ‘God, the Master, says: Doom to you shepherds of Israel, feeding your own mouths! Aren’t shepherds supposed to feed sheep? You drink the milk, you make clothes from the wool, you roast the lambs, but you don’t feed the sheep. You don’t build up the weak ones, don’t heal the sick, don’t doctor the injured, don’t go after the strays, don’t look for the lost. You bully and badger them. And now they’re scattered every which way because there was no shepherd—scattered and easy pickings for wolves and coyotes. Scattered—my sheep!—exposed and vulnerable across mountains and hills. My sheep scattered all over the world, and no one out looking for them!
As I step out to discuss the ministry offices that Christ has placed in His church, I feel that I must start with an apology. If you have been hurt by church leadership, I am sorry. That’s not Jesus.
There are two great evils in leadership today. Both are described here in this prophecy of Ezekiel against the spiritual leaders of his day. The first is the blind watchman, so contented with his own position that he does not see or hear the sheep. He allows wolves to come in and destroy. Often, he is just a wimpy leader. Unable to stand up to every wolf in sheep’s clothing, he wrings his hands and accepts with resignation that the flock will be devoured. He feels that he has fulfilled his duty simply by preaching sound doctrine, even if he is otherwise ineffective.
The second is the overbearing leader, claiming a divine authority that gives him the right to bully everyone into obedience. He, like Ezekiel’s shepherds, keeps the strong for his use and gives no attention to the weak. If a lamb is sick, it is because he is “disobedient” or “unfruitful”. The cure, if any, is to give a good, stern “get with the program” talk. If this does not resolve the malady, the weak disciple is labelled as rebellious or careless. Only those who benefit the pastor’s ministry are cared for…until they are no longer useful. Then they are forgotten. Or worse yet, staff members become too popular, and Saul begins throwing spears.
Paul’s first letter to the believers at Thessalonica put them in remembrance of real Christian leadership. “God tested us thoroughly to make sure we were qualified to be trusted with this Message. Be assured that when we speak to you we’re not after crowd approval—only God approval. Since we’ve been put through that battery of tests, you’re guaranteed that both we and the Message are free of error, mixed motives, or hidden agendas. We never used words to butter you up. No one knows that better than you. And God knows we never used words as a smoke screen to take advantage of you.
Even though we had some standing as Christ’s apostles, we never threw our weight around or tried to come across as important, with you or anyone else. We weren’t aloof with you. We took you just as you were. We were never patronizing, never condescending, but we cared for you the way a mother cares for her children. We loved you dearly. Not content to just pass on the Message, we wanted to give you our hearts. And we did.
You remember us in those days, friends, working our fingers to the bone, up half the night, moonlighting so you wouldn’t have the burden of supporting us while we proclaimed God’s Message to you. You saw with your own eyes how discreet and courteous we were among you, with keen sensitivity to you as fellow believers. And God knows we weren’t freeloaders! You experienced it all firsthand. With each of you we were like a father with his child, holding your hand, whispering encouragement, showing you step-by-step how to live well before God, who called us into his own kingdom, into this delightful life.”
The man of God is the servant of the church, allowing himself to be short-changed rather than slighting the least of God’s sheep.
The promise of God to Jeremiah gives us all hope: “…I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
These give us the three ingredients for real pastoral (or Apostolic, or prophetic…) ministry: heart, knowledge, and understanding. But the first one is heart. The heart of a true shepherd.
Supernatural Ministry
This is the week of Passover, of the Passion. We are moved by His sacrifice, and so we should be. No one ever condescended to stoop so low from such glory. Jesus was nailed to a tree by a world He had made. That’s epic, to say the least. Our sermons and movies study in detail His suffering. But I fear that we are out of balance in the Western church. Not that we should forget what He did, God forbid! It’s just that we do not need to forget what He did next.
My Jesus rose from the tomb, having conquered death, hell, and the grave. He led captivity captive and spoiled every dark power that ruled Earth since Adam’s fall. The whole story would be ludicrous if it were not absolutely true. The very basis of our faith is supernatural.
In the sixth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he writes,“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” In other words, we meet Christ in the place of His death. He identified with us by dying for our sins on the cross. That is where we are united with him by laying down our life. “Baptism” here is not the water baptism, but actually being immersed into Christ. What a thought! We come to life by the cross, but we walk (as in everyday) by the power of His resurrection.
The Resurrection means there is never a hopeless situation. It tells us that our God can and will supercede every law of nature to intervene in this life. Why do we live like mere men?
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians spells out New Testament ministry: “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
Modern pulpits are graced with well-spoken orators, dispensing the truth in neat little bundles of refined wisdom. Our teaching is entirely plausible, for nothing we convey requires Divine intervention. We are too wise for signs and wonders, so that our faith does not rest in the power of God but in the wisdom of well-meaning men. No wonder an unbelieving world finds us unbelievable.
The Gospel, at it’s heart, is supernatural. Without the expectation that the living Christ still moves among us, our faith is dead religion or comforting philosophy. Paul says that his words were implausible, but his preaching stood on the demonstration of God’s Spirit and of power. He was considered foolish for claiming that Jesus had risen from the dead. But when the lame walked and pagan sorcerers were blind and confused before the Word of God, people stopped laughing.
The Pharisees, speaking of Peter and John, said,”We can not disclaim that a great miracle has happened. So let’s threaten them not to say that Name anymore.” At the name of Jesus, the Resurrection power flowed.
The news is still earth-shattering when we really grasp it’s implications: Jesus is alive.
Apostolic Leadership
Just thinking about New Testament church leadership. How did they work together to evangelize the world, strengthen the believers, and to combat false doctrine in the church while still loving God and people?
I fear that we think too much in terms of structure and bureaucracy to catch the simplicity of the early church. We see Paul submitting his ministry to the approval of the apostles and elders in 
Jerusalem, but we also see him rebuking Peter to his face in front of the church at Antioch. We see Paul establishing the church at Corinth, but Priscilla and Aquilla sending Apollos from Ephesus to teach in Corinth with a letter of recommendation. Paul was out of town when they did it. Then, from Paul’s letter, we see that Peter, Cephas in Greek, preached there. In our modern organizational paradigm, we would ask,” Who gave them authority to do that? Paul should have made those decisions.”
Later, strife and division sprang up from those who sided with Paul, Apollos, or Cephas…even the super-spiritual who claimed that they only listened to Christ. Of course, this proves our territorial, line-of-command instincts right! If they would have left Paul’s church alone (he did found it after all) there would be peace in Corinth. That is one reason we do not understand their leadership. I use the word leadership rather than church government. It was relational, not positional. It was voluntary, not demanded. And one big fact is often missed here. It never was Paul’s church, though he worked tirelessly to plant it with no salary or title. It was Jesus’ church. This is borne out in Paul’s response.
“ Now I say this, that each of you says, ‘I am of Paul,’ or ‘I am of Apollos,’ or ‘I am of Cephas,’ or ‘I am of Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
He went on to say,”Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.”
Did he claim jurisdiction? No. He said of himself,”I am nothing.” The church was Christ’s. His Apostleship was expressed in turning their attention back to Jesus, warning that every minister’s work will be tried by fire.
Paul would later write to say, of his authority,” Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for by faith you stand.”
The Apostles had the authority that comes from a real call from God. They had proven their ministry by their love. New Testament apostles gave more to the church than they received. They cared as much for the least among us as for the “up-and-comers” in our midst. They existed to serve the church, the church did not exist to serve them. They led in persecutions, led in suffering, led in sacrifice. They did not merely command, “Follow me”, they said ” Follow me as I follow Christ.” There is a big difference.
This does not say that they were push-overs. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Paul dealt with every opposition with courage and with love. They were passionate, not passive.
One other thing. As Paul said often, their preaching was not only with words, but in power. I think we may talk more about that in the next couple of weeks. The Resurrection is a great backdrop for bringing the power of God back to His church…
A Hill Worth Dying On
Cardigan got his orders, paused in disbelief, then relayed them to his men. Lord Raglan had ordered them to charge the Russian gun position on the nearby heights. The Light Brigade mounted, Cardigan in the lead. 673 mounted cavalry charged headlong into cannon fire and a superior Russian force…uphill and exposed in the open valley. Amazingly, that morning south of the Crimean city of Balaclava, the lightly armed British cavalry made it to the top of that hill and took the Russian guns. It was then that reality set in…they were hopelessly outnumbered. The support they thought would come from the Heavy Brigade and their French allies never showed. They had no choice but to retreat the way they came…under intense fire. A little over a hundred of them made it back.
The British poet Lord Tennyson made famous the Charge of the Light Brigade. All the survivors were heros. But one fact is often forgotten…It was the wrong hill. By a series of assumptions and misunderstandings, the Light Brigade charged a completely different position than what Lord Raglan intended. The British suffered a strategic loss at the Battle of Balaclava.
I think we often do the same thing. We choose to fight to the death for causes that are unwinnable and often unimportant. A minister should be willing to lose everything to preach the 
redemption found in the blood of Jesus. We should all stand for God’s word and the right to assemble as believers for worship and teaching. But I have seen whole ministries fall on the sword over whether or not to sing out of a hymn book. Or whether the pastor had to wear a suit every service. We declare the unessential as the Gospel, cultural trends as truth, and preferences as inspired.
Though celebrated for courage and honor, too many of us in the Body of Christ are standing not for Jesus, but for American religious culture. The question remains: Is that a hill worth dying on?
The Dangerous Book For Boys
I usually do not write book reviews, but just had to give a shout out on this one. The Dangerous Book For Boys, by Conn and Hal 
Iggulden is pretty awesome. If you have boys, you have to have it.
Need to know how to build a go cart, tree house, or a home-made electromagnet? This is the book. How do you make secret ink, or send the cipher that Julius Caesar sent to his generals? It has chapters on great battles of history, word origins, the history of artillery, and even tanning pelts. How do you hunt and eat a rabbit? What are the seven wonders of the modern world? If you need to build timers and tripwires, this is your reference. Need to learn to juggle, or do a coin trick? This is it. Everything you need to know to be a boy is pretty much in here.
I hope you get to check it out. I’ve got to go now, I am learning to make cloth fireproof.
The Way Things Are
I found an old globe a few weeks ago. I love maps…yes, I am sort of a geography and history nerd. This one was unusual. I noticed that the Soviet Union was on it. That’s the same as all the ones I grew up with. Then I saw that Germany was united. Okay, that was a little different. Germany did not reunite until after the Soviet Union split up. A little confused, I spun the globe to find that Korea was also united. Wait a minute…this had to be before the Korean War. That’s when I realized that Alaska and Hawaii were U. S. Territories, not states. Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos were not nations, they were just part of French Indochina. Pakistan and Bangladesh were part of India. Indonesia was the Netherland Indies. What is now Israel and Jordan was British Trans-Jordan. Africa was mostly divided into French, English, and Belgian territory. The notable exception was Italian Somalia. So Mussolini was in ruling in Rome when this map was printed. I looked again at Europe and there was Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, countries formed at the end of World War I at the break-up of the Austria-Hungary Empire. So I knew that the map was after World War I and before World War II.
The world was ruled by western European powers, with most of the third world divided into colonies. Israel was not even on the map. China was a capitalist nation. Japan had a military. No one had ever heard of a nuclear weapon, jet engines, space travel…Poland’s cavalry was still on horseback. There were no television stations, no cell phones, no microwaves, no satellite news coverage, no internet, no plastic toys, no weather radar, no Pearl Harbor, no 911, no Battle of Britain, no Columbine, no poisoned Tylenol, no Chernobyl, no Holocaust, no Kennedy assassination, no OPEC, no NATO, no Al-Quaeda…You know, the way things are can change in a hurry.
Jimmy H. Malone Jr. 
