The Wonderful Joanne and I were blessed by spending last weekend with a bunch of wonderful young people, helping them learn more about the good news of God's grace in Jesus Christ, and his desire to share that same good news with everyone on the planet. I was inspired by the love shown by all those young folks for their friends who don't yet believe and can't participate in the divine relationship we've been given (Eph. 2:6). And I was thrilled to see the older leaders bringing those young people into leadership.
Recently I was awed by the testimony of a young woman, about age 25, telling how she had been working in camp ministry for several years. She realized that it was time for her to step aside from the ministry she truly loves (and is very good at) in order to make room for teenagers who were showing leadership. She's transitioning from doing the work, to teaching multiple others to do it. They'll come up with ways to do it that she (or I) would never have thought of, and we pray they will also bring others into leadership.
Paul told Timothy to pass along what he had been taught, multiplying leaders four generations deep: "You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others." (2 Tim. 2:2) The job of every Christian servant is not simply to enjoy the work we get to do for Jesus, but always to be looking for others who can do it and who will pass it on to the next ones.
Water gets to the top leaf of tall trees because each water molecule bonds to the next one, creating a chain that pulls more molecules along, even against gravity. They move upward because the water at the top is being 'breathed out' by the leaves, and a water molecule evaporating from the leaf draws another one up. As servants of Jesus we should bond, like those water molecules, to someone who will slip seamlessly into our place when we move to whatever God has for us next. We may feel a sense of loss as we give up what we've enjoyed doing; but it's not really ours to keep anyway, it was only ours to pass on.
Whatever place of service you have, in church, or your home or outside of it, can you name someone you are bringing into service? If not, how about asking God for someone you can mentor, and asking him to show you how to do it? It may be the most rewarding thing you've ever done!
Showing posts with label leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leadership. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
God and Democracy
With the Democratic National Convention here in Denver this week, and the Republican convention in Minneapolis next week, I've taken some time to reflect on the matter of whether or how much Christians ought to be involved in government. There are as many views on this as there are denominations. Those range from total non-participation to the point of refusing to pay taxes (in clear violation of Romans 13:1-7 and of Jesus' instructions to "pay to Caesar what is Caesar's") all the way to holding public office as a means of serving the will of God and advancing his kingdom in this world -- taken from the same passage in Romans.
Christians hold, in effect, dual citizenship -- both of this world (Paul claimed to be a Roman citizen) and of the kingdom of God (Philippians 3:20). We were born into this world, into whatever nation we came from, but we are also 'born again' into the family and kingdom of God Almighty. In case of a conflict, that heavenly citizenship takes precedence over the earthly one (see for instance Acts 5:29) but by and large, our Christianity helps us be better citizens of our earthly country as well. That includes keeping the laws of our community and, yes, paying taxes.
What about voting? There's no command one way or the other in the Bible, so we have to look at principles and ask if we can gain an idea from them. Since Paul says the governments are from God, then participating in them could be seen as a participation with God.
But there are issues that we may disagree on with one candidate or another -- so how do we handle that? There are three options, I think: vote for the one that's closest to your understandings and values; lobby the one who is closest to your understandings, in order to sway his/her vote on various topics; finally, we can refuse to vote -- which is our right to abstain from the process, and treating our allegiance to God as over-riding all of those other considerations.
Paul gives us one command, though, that is clear: pray for our leaders. 1 Tim. 2:1-2 says this: "I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth." So Paul is even saying that God expects and is pleased by our prayers of intercession (asking for his help) for those rulers -- and ties that comment to God's desire for all to be saved.
Maybe there's another reason to follow the news coverage of the two major conventions: to have more to pray about. Even if some of the speakers irritate us, and we disagree with what they're promoting, we can pray that God will guide and help them do their jobs in ways that further His eternal purpose, even in spite of themselves. That's good enough reason for me. How about you?
Christians hold, in effect, dual citizenship -- both of this world (Paul claimed to be a Roman citizen) and of the kingdom of God (Philippians 3:20). We were born into this world, into whatever nation we came from, but we are also 'born again' into the family and kingdom of God Almighty. In case of a conflict, that heavenly citizenship takes precedence over the earthly one (see for instance Acts 5:29) but by and large, our Christianity helps us be better citizens of our earthly country as well. That includes keeping the laws of our community and, yes, paying taxes.
What about voting? There's no command one way or the other in the Bible, so we have to look at principles and ask if we can gain an idea from them. Since Paul says the governments are from God, then participating in them could be seen as a participation with God.
But there are issues that we may disagree on with one candidate or another -- so how do we handle that? There are three options, I think: vote for the one that's closest to your understandings and values; lobby the one who is closest to your understandings, in order to sway his/her vote on various topics; finally, we can refuse to vote -- which is our right to abstain from the process, and treating our allegiance to God as over-riding all of those other considerations.
Paul gives us one command, though, that is clear: pray for our leaders. 1 Tim. 2:1-2 says this: "I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth." So Paul is even saying that God expects and is pleased by our prayers of intercession (asking for his help) for those rulers -- and ties that comment to God's desire for all to be saved.
Maybe there's another reason to follow the news coverage of the two major conventions: to have more to pray about. Even if some of the speakers irritate us, and we disagree with what they're promoting, we can pray that God will guide and help them do their jobs in ways that further His eternal purpose, even in spite of themselves. That's good enough reason for me. How about you?
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