LEADERSHIP 101?

Real Leadership Principles Aren't Given For Pleasing Or Paying Men, But Are Rather For Glorifying God.

Leadership, what is it for and what are real leaders like? Godly leaders are real! They're born again (see John 3:3), spiritual, and shaped by the Word (studying all of the Bible, and practicing it with prudence) for Christ... and for the benefit of winning and training others well, rather than for merely benefiting themselves well. People, don’t simply start out in life as good leaders; they must put their own wishes aside to serve others and learn to follow right and then learn to lead in righteousness. Godly leaders love to worship, pray, fellowship, witness and kindly reap a harvest as they learn from thee Leader (Jesus Christ) and from other soul-winning leaders. They're not self-confident, but they depend on the Lord constantly and they consistently set a good example. They won't follow a corrupt example.

I've talked about how we are basically living in a day when many people want to become specialists in the leadership arena—even in Church leadership. And I don't think there is anything bogus about that if Jesus is sought, followed and glorified. But on the horizontal level, how well do you know who you are learning to lead from? Do you pay and listen to popular Mormon (or other cultic) motivational leadership speakers? Have you checked?

Rather than becoming a jack of all trades ..so to speak (one who might lack expertise in a certain area because they are too busy with many areas), many people today want to become masters of one ..for Jesus; training leaders to build big. Hey, I can understand that. I feel that every Christian church needs to be growing 1) Spiritually (in the Word with lots of small Bible study prayer groups) and 2) Numerically (by proper evangelism inside and outside the building, and then with discipleship so new Christians can also win people). Yes indeed, if there are any lost people living within say a hundred miles of that local church, it should have a heart to reach out and grow!

Here in Dallas I keep running into well-meaning life-coach and quality of life trainers who seem to outwardly embody the “American Dream” as they go into churches and use Bible principles together with non-biblical Eastern concepts to try and help people. I've been running into some high and low profile Christian leadership gurus too (not all are doing bad work), multilevel marketing motivational speakers, and some self-help/self esteem consultants that pastors are inviting in (for the financial wellbeing of their constituents as they all invest in gold coins etc). And these guys are charging hefty entrance fees for their "seminars of truth" (nothing like putting the cookies on the lower shelf for the children to be able to reach, right [Inject laughter here]). Yup, even with exorbitant prices for all their slick looking product decked with excellent cutting-edge graphics, the pastors feel their polished events will be "a draw" that will bring in some new tithe-ers.

OK, so there are many Christian ministers who are into doing things in a shoddy non-excellent way, using outdated frumpy, ugly art and packaging—in order to save a buck. Hey, I've been guilty of that before. lately I've adopted a watchword that my pastor says, "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right ..which doesn't always have to cost an arm and a leg." Yeah, let's face it; we live in a culture that is so obsessed with youth, beauty, stardom, pleasure and SUCCESS—yes, for the financial benefit of SELF. You know that. And let me make it very clear, that there is nothing wrong with enjoying financial prosperity and success if you have your priorities in order and have Christ leading as your Lord (that's true). God wants all of us King's kids in BMWs and Porsches right (that statement is false, it was just a bad joke.. sorry). But listen, there is really no reason at all ..ever.. for you to receive tainted teachings about how to lead or how to live ..precepts coming from cultists who deny Essential Christian Doctrine. You wouldn't allow your kids to drink from a polluted or poisoned stream would you? I like what Chuck Smith said, "Most of what false teachers teach is true."

Listen, I personally like going sailing with my friends on big Texas lakes. And when the water stays outside the hull, things go great, but when the boat takes on water into the hull, that boat will eventually go down! It'll sink. You know that it's the same way with the Church in relation to the world. There's no room for worldly compromise! We're to be in the world but not of it. That's how Christ lived with full commitment and some got ticked at Him, but when the world gets into the Church, it will go down. Are we Christians to be so gung ho for "success" and "building" that we compromise by quickly sucking in the teachings of every so called high profile Christian preacher, without first checking out the veracity of what they are affirming ..by searching the Scriptures ourselves? No go, Joe! What's real leadership even for? Are we out to please men primarily ..or God?

More On Cultists And So Called Christians Who Miss Feed...

Rocking on Nationwide TV?

Liney and I were watching the evening news last night (8-16-08) as they briefly showed Minister Huckabee speaking to a large crowd in an open-air rally in Washington D.C. yesterday (and from what I heard him say.. he did a good job).

I was also glad to see some Christians apparently repenting and praying for this nation ...as their activities were explained to me. There was definitely some good happening there. We certainly need more of that going on, especially at a time like this with our nation's election right around the corner. But one couldn't help but notice a tall Christian man standing some five feet right behind Huckabee on the platform.. rocking back and forth.. not a little bit, but some two and a half feet forwards then backwards, over an over again all through his speech (but the speaker couldn't see him).

It was as if that man was some lead guitarist in the middle of a wild concert the way this guy was bobbing …yes, all during Huckabee's speech it went on (but there was no music for the guy to keep time with and he wasn't playing any background music himself). Physically he was OK and it might have had some entertainment value if the man was performing in a concert. But there was no good reason for this behavior. The man's actions (I'm not talking about Huckabee's) seemed to be saying, please notice me too; I am important and spiritual, as well.

Hmm, maybe there is something I don't know, but it certainly appeared to be very inappropriate and religious. I wont' judge his heart. I simply believe this man was there desiring "revival phenomena" from the Lord and wanted to see this kind of thing spreading, but what he was actually producing was manufactured. And God doesn't want Christians disrupting others who are there to listen and be edified. Again, he wasn't slightly doing this and it seemed he was trying to draw people's attention away to himself ...away from a message of truth that was being delivered in that Christian meeting. Maybe the news commentator should have explained what was going on better.

But it made me think of Jesus when He was here walking on this earth Who constantly pointed people to the Father. He never spazzed-out for attention's sake. When Christ was in a place of worship, He never disrupted or distracted people away from the reading of the Scriptures. And Paul agreed with Christ's style saying, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40). What was happening reminded me of the Holy Spirit's character too, Who has always pointed people to Jesus rather than to Himself, even though Jesus and the Spirit are both equally God. Historically, it was Mr. LuCifer who was the one who sought the limelight, sought a central position and to draw attention to himself. And look where that prideful presumption got him!

Anyway, upon seeing this man, my wife immediately commented, "How strange is that?" (..like we hadn't ever seen that type of distracting religious behavior countless times before. I wish we haven't ever seen it). Religiosity gets so nauseating after a while. No wonder secular people have become tentative and indifferent about vertical Christian commitment and feel so reserved even when visiting really safe churches.

Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins. The Bible says Love “vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own” (1 Cor. 13:5). It says, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phl. 2:4).

Now, of course no one got "slain by the Spirit" there in Washington like they commonly do on Christian TV or like what happened with Ananias and his wife Sapphira when they got weird. I'm sure you also remember that story and how Pete rebuked those two asking, "…Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last" (Act 5:4-5 – that passage by the way, is the only biblical precedent for being slain by the Spirit).

But there were other so called believers there in Washington with quivering motions, with similar radical-Islamic-looking rocking to and fro, and even with spasmodically jerking about. Other than that, these young and old Christian participants looked like they were fairly up with the times. But think about it… with such strangeness on that platform; with lots of money spent to set it up for the purpose of representing the Lord right… the distraction obviously shoots effective evangelism in the foot. That type of junk simply scares away potential new converts who understandably wouldn't want God to make them into people with that kind of problem (that many Christians unfortunately call a non-problem and normal). Were these people, like so many have been, doing the quaking and shaking because they were taught that this activity is good and very spiritual?

I've got a question... If self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, why would the God who gives that fruit to us suddenly remove a Christian's self-control when the Spirit comes upon them?

One of the greatest weaknesses stemming from aberrant Christian churches and movements today is a lack of sound Bible teaching—many are lacking this teaching that carefully informs believers how to live practically, authentically spiritual, winsome in their witness of an extremely charming and practical God … and be non-distracting when someone is speaking truth to a group publicly. There still appears to be way too much preoccupation with "experience," with "feelings," with purposeless "miracles," (and I do believe God works miracles and uses Christians with gifts) but experiences, feelings and impressions often get placed above the Word of God and that's wrong. As a direct consequence of this, some Christians become known for their strange and unscriptural practices and doctrines that quickly proliferate.

Christians, it is of utmost importance that we allow the Bible to be the final authority for our faith and practice. Any time we Christians begin to allow "experiences," "feelings" or "impressions" to become the criteria for our doctrine or beliefs (like say, when we feel we should be doing some major rocking and steal the show so to speak...) we have lost Biblical authority. Guess what will happen then as a result?—distraction or confusion. And that type of thing presents a bad witness to the world. It actually gets in the way of God's fishing enterprise.

My wife, Liney and I, have personally come in contact with well-meaning people who claim to be spiritual and witness of remarkable and exciting experiences …and sometimes these are frightful crazy experiences that they say came from God. The Mormons, for example who falsely tell us that Jesus Christ is the brother of Lucifer (the devil), like to falsely "bear witness" to the experience of the truth of the Book of Mormon. When they go on a mission overseas or even when they go knocking on their neighbor's doors here in America, encourage their hearers to pray in order to get "a burning in the bosom"—yes, to pray for an experience that will verify that the Book of Mormon is 100% true (even though it ain't). Please don't waste your time like they do, and base things on what you feel or on man's opinions that are only as good as the next guy's.

Sure, worse things have been done in Jesus Name other than rocking, jerking, quivering and quaking on the News, but please walk in the Word and go fish for souls right. Avoid evil and all apearance of evil. Stay focused on Christ, but don't forget the lost people who need to hear the Gospel and might be watching you!

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