The best leaders lead from the front. They don’t delegate, abdicate
or relegate the heavy lifting to “subordinates.” They dive headfirst
into the hard work.
This is true of the best military leaders throughout history.
Battlefield generals like Leonidas of Sparta, Alexander the Great of
Greece and George S. Patton of California fought side-by-side with their
soldiers so that wars would be won. They didn’t direct and expect from the back of the battle. Instead, they chose to dive and drive into the heat of it.
These warrior/leaders weren’t afraid to get mud and blood on their
uniforms. They knew that these condiments of battle were the real medals
of honor in the sight of the troops who followed them.
But it’s not just military leaders who knew this principle. Effective
politic and spiritual leaders throughout history have understood this
as well.
Lincoln, the gangly 16th President of the United States, led the
Union from the front by being a hands-on Commander in Chief. As a leader
he was immensely practical and accessible, so practical that he won the
war, so accessible that he was assassinated at close range.
Ghandi, the bold liberator of India, led an entire nation from the
front. He marched 240 miles of dirt roads over 24 days to protest the
unjust English taxes on and rulership over his beloved country. His
dust-encrusted act of courage eventually helped to emancipate an entire
country.
The best leader of all time, Jesus Christ himself, led from the
front. He boldly took on the religious establishment of his day without
flinching. He stood up for the poor and oppressed when nobody else
would. He challenged the stone-throwing hypocrites by protecting a
scarlet-lettered woman, putting himself in harm’s way so that she could
be saved. He wrapped himelf in a towel and washed the dirty feet of his
disciples to show them how to lead from the front. He got mud on his
“uniform” and then he got blood on it.
He led the charge for the transformation of the human race by picking
up his cross and dragging it to his death. In the heat of battle he
lost his life and won the war. He taught us how to win by losing and how
to live by dying. He showed us how to lead from the front.
Leading from the front is the most effective way to lead a family, a
ministry or a company. Let’s not be afraid of heavy lifting. Let’s not
delegate the calluses or splinters. Instead let us, like Jesus, fill our
hands with both as we pick up our crosses and die to ourselves so that
others can be victorious.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Sunday, July 8, 2012
A Snack We Call Supper: A Post Concerning the Lord's Supper
A number of people today get confused
about what many churches call communion. They wonder why there is so much
difference in how different institutional churches do it. Some use bread, others use
wafers; some use wine, others use grape juice; some do it daily, others
do it weekly, yearly, etc. So with the Word and some research, I'd like to give my two cents.
What was the Lord's Supper in the early church could better be described as the Lord's Snack in today's church. A friend of mine told me of a lady he knows whose institutional church observes communion every Sunday morning and she recently shared with him that her four year old granddaughter was sitting with her in church and asked, "When are we having snack?"
The Lord's supper, also known as communion, has changed dramatically from that of the early church. In the early church the Lord's Supper was a festive meal shared together. Instead of a solemn mood, this meal was one of celebration and joy. It was essentially a Christian banquet. On top of that, there was no clergyman to officiate it. Can you believe that?
A study of the first century Church shows that one of the practices they followed was that of having “Love Feasts.” These gatherings of the believers served several purposes, chief among which was fellowship. What a joy it is to eat good food with good friends, especially when you are not in a hurry. These joyous mealtimes were also an occasion for the believers to eat, drink, and thereby remember what Jesus accomplished for them by his death and resurrection. Furthermore, the Love Feasts served as a kind of welfare program for those Christians who were poor. Those who could bring more food did so, and that helped those who had none.
And that is the context of 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, a section that has often been misunderstood. Remember that the first epistle to the Corinthians is filled with reproof about their many spiritual malpractices, and the last half of Chapter 11 focuses on their distortion of “the Lord’s Supper.” Verses 20-22 specifically address their selfishness, gluttony, and drunkenness at these gatherings. Verses 23-26 reiterate what Jesus said at his last supper with the disciples, and it is well worth noting in verse 25 that the Greek text reads, “…do this, whenever you drink, in remembrance of me.”
The “unworthy manner” in verse 27 refers back to the malpractices of verses 20-22, and in verse 29, the “Body of the Lord” refers to the Church, the believers. Almost unbelievably, verse 30 shows that the gluttony and withholding from some of the weak and poor had become so rampant that some of the believers actually died, apparently of malnutrition. Paul exhorts the Corinthians to exercise internal discipline in these matters, and closes the chapter by saying that if people cannot behave properly at the Love Feasts, they should stay home.
In giving his instructions at the Lord’s Supper, did Jesus really envision a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly ceremony with wafers and grape juice? I don’t think so. I'm sure that he was encouraging his followers to remember him whenever they ate or drank. In that culture, bread and wine were two primary staples, and thus he chose them as the food and drink. For the record, it is certainly not a sin to participate in a communion ceremony. In fact, it can be very meaningful, but let’s think about how practical it is to remember the Lord (and what he did, is doing, and will do for us) every time we eat or drink.
As one scholar so eloquently put it, "It is not in doubt that the Lord's Supper began as a family meal or a meal of friends in a private house. The Lord's supper moved from being a real meal to a symbolic meal...the Lord's Supper moved from bare simplicity to elaborate splendor. The celebration of the Lord's Supper moved from being a lay function to a priestly function. In the New Testament itself, there was no indication that it was the special privilege or duty of anyone to lead the worshiping fellowship in the Lord's Supper" (Barclay, Lord's Supper, 99-102).
The early church celebrated communion as a meal with an attitude of joy and celebration. In doing so, they proclaimed Jesus' great sacrifice, His victory over death and His future return. Talk about a "This do in remembrance of Me" moment. Wow!
I'd also like to state that I think it is quite possible that many of us have been enjoying the Lord's Supper to some degree without even knowing it, as we naturally have been drawn to share meals with those with whom we feel our relationships are sacred and spiritual. This occurs naturally when people are born again. As Paul wrote, "Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another" (1 Thes. 4:9). And John wrote, "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren" (1 John 3:14).
Love is part of the salvation package. Yet how many sincere pastors have discovered that many of the people in their church buildings have no genuine interest in meeting with other Christians in small spiritual groups, much less actually gathering in a home to share a meal together? Such people will attend a Sunday-morning show and even shake a few hands during the "fellowship minute." But they really don't love each other. As soon as they've put in their time, the goats are running for the parking lot.
Meanwhile, for the sheep, church often really begins after the benediction. They stand around for a long time talking, or head out for lunch where the real food is spiritual and the fellowship is filling. And of course, they don't do it because they feel obligated, but because they really want to. The early Christians did not gather for common meals because they read something in the book of Acts about Christians sharing common meals and wanted to "get back to the biblical pattern." They did it because they wanted to do it! This principal is true for so much of what is truly the work of God.
Food for thought, huh?
What was the Lord's Supper in the early church could better be described as the Lord's Snack in today's church. A friend of mine told me of a lady he knows whose institutional church observes communion every Sunday morning and she recently shared with him that her four year old granddaughter was sitting with her in church and asked, "When are we having snack?"
The Lord's supper, also known as communion, has changed dramatically from that of the early church. In the early church the Lord's Supper was a festive meal shared together. Instead of a solemn mood, this meal was one of celebration and joy. It was essentially a Christian banquet. On top of that, there was no clergyman to officiate it. Can you believe that?
A study of the first century Church shows that one of the practices they followed was that of having “Love Feasts.” These gatherings of the believers served several purposes, chief among which was fellowship. What a joy it is to eat good food with good friends, especially when you are not in a hurry. These joyous mealtimes were also an occasion for the believers to eat, drink, and thereby remember what Jesus accomplished for them by his death and resurrection. Furthermore, the Love Feasts served as a kind of welfare program for those Christians who were poor. Those who could bring more food did so, and that helped those who had none.
And that is the context of 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, a section that has often been misunderstood. Remember that the first epistle to the Corinthians is filled with reproof about their many spiritual malpractices, and the last half of Chapter 11 focuses on their distortion of “the Lord’s Supper.” Verses 20-22 specifically address their selfishness, gluttony, and drunkenness at these gatherings. Verses 23-26 reiterate what Jesus said at his last supper with the disciples, and it is well worth noting in verse 25 that the Greek text reads, “…do this, whenever you drink, in remembrance of me.”
The “unworthy manner” in verse 27 refers back to the malpractices of verses 20-22, and in verse 29, the “Body of the Lord” refers to the Church, the believers. Almost unbelievably, verse 30 shows that the gluttony and withholding from some of the weak and poor had become so rampant that some of the believers actually died, apparently of malnutrition. Paul exhorts the Corinthians to exercise internal discipline in these matters, and closes the chapter by saying that if people cannot behave properly at the Love Feasts, they should stay home.
In giving his instructions at the Lord’s Supper, did Jesus really envision a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly ceremony with wafers and grape juice? I don’t think so. I'm sure that he was encouraging his followers to remember him whenever they ate or drank. In that culture, bread and wine were two primary staples, and thus he chose them as the food and drink. For the record, it is certainly not a sin to participate in a communion ceremony. In fact, it can be very meaningful, but let’s think about how practical it is to remember the Lord (and what he did, is doing, and will do for us) every time we eat or drink.
As one scholar so eloquently put it, "It is not in doubt that the Lord's Supper began as a family meal or a meal of friends in a private house. The Lord's supper moved from being a real meal to a symbolic meal...the Lord's Supper moved from bare simplicity to elaborate splendor. The celebration of the Lord's Supper moved from being a lay function to a priestly function. In the New Testament itself, there was no indication that it was the special privilege or duty of anyone to lead the worshiping fellowship in the Lord's Supper" (Barclay, Lord's Supper, 99-102).
The early church celebrated communion as a meal with an attitude of joy and celebration. In doing so, they proclaimed Jesus' great sacrifice, His victory over death and His future return. Talk about a "This do in remembrance of Me" moment. Wow!
I'd also like to state that I think it is quite possible that many of us have been enjoying the Lord's Supper to some degree without even knowing it, as we naturally have been drawn to share meals with those with whom we feel our relationships are sacred and spiritual. This occurs naturally when people are born again. As Paul wrote, "Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another" (1 Thes. 4:9). And John wrote, "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren" (1 John 3:14).
Love is part of the salvation package. Yet how many sincere pastors have discovered that many of the people in their church buildings have no genuine interest in meeting with other Christians in small spiritual groups, much less actually gathering in a home to share a meal together? Such people will attend a Sunday-morning show and even shake a few hands during the "fellowship minute." But they really don't love each other. As soon as they've put in their time, the goats are running for the parking lot.
Meanwhile, for the sheep, church often really begins after the benediction. They stand around for a long time talking, or head out for lunch where the real food is spiritual and the fellowship is filling. And of course, they don't do it because they feel obligated, but because they really want to. The early Christians did not gather for common meals because they read something in the book of Acts about Christians sharing common meals and wanted to "get back to the biblical pattern." They did it because they wanted to do it! This principal is true for so much of what is truly the work of God.
Food for thought, huh?
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Revival?
Have you ever wondered why the word revival is never mentioned in the New Testament? The concept is not even hinted at. So why do we talk about revival as if God had a boiling bowl of instant revival up in heaven waiting to pour it out on his hungry, thirsty, eager people? All we must do is pray enough, cry enough, fast enough, wait enough, repent enough, call on His Name enough…
Okay enough. You get the idea.
It’s hard to imagine our heavenly Father with that overflowing revival bowl saying, “almost, almost, keep praying, keep screaming….okay….now here you go!” And with a flick of his wrist that bowl is poured out and an awakening sweeps across the nation.
Actually, when you think about it, waiting for revival seems anti-New Testament. The call in the New Testament is to act, to do, to drive…not to wait for God to do something. The sole exception is Acts 1 and 2 when the disciples were commanded to wait and pray for the promised Holy Spirit in Jerusalem. After Jesus ascended they waited ten whole days before the Holy Spirit blew the doors open in the upper room and came to indwell each of them.
At that moment the early believers had everything they needed for revival. They had the instantaneous ability to choose to be empowered by the 3rd Person of the Trinity. At the moment of empowerment they were instantly “revived.” According to Ephesians 1:13,14 we receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation and He is there for good and to do good through us.
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
The Holy Spirit brings with Him all of the necessary implements for personal revival. We yield to Him and the revival is on. There is nothing He is lacking in His toolbox and He makes them all available to us as we walk in faith. Check out Peter’s words,
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” 2 Peter 1:3,4
We have everything we need for revival.
So why do I go to Christian meetings and church services where preachers and worship leaders constantly call out for the presence of God and the power of God to come? Some scream, some sing, some wave banners trying to get God’s attention. Sometimes it feels like they are more like prophets of Baal than prophets of God. They dance around the sacrifice, cutting themselves, screaming themselves hoarse all while trying to call down the lightning. Meanwhile the thunder is rumbling down deep in our souls. The Holy Spirit is ready, willing and able to consume the sacrifice when we, like Elijah, act in faith.
Maybe it’s because we refuse to walk by faith by living like that revival is reality. Are we indirectly blaming God by implying that He hasn’t poured out revival yet? Are we saying, down deep inside, that it’s His fault? We are if we are asking for something that’s already ours through the Holy Spirit. But instead of activating the Spirit’s work through us by faith (aka “revival”) we sing, pray and fast under the pretense of “waiting” on God to do something. Meanwhile He is waiting on us to believe that we have everything we need for life and godliness and to walk in the revival that is already ours through Christ.
If a friend asks me for something to eat while he is holding the meal I just bought for him at McDonald’s at best he would seem ignorant and at worst he would be ungrateful. Are we any less ignorant and ungrateful when we hold the Happy Meal of the Holy Spirit in our hands (along with the free prize of revival inside) while begging God to bring revival?
We have everything we need for revival. Let’s live the revival that was purchased through the cross of Christ, energized through His resurrection and delivered into our hands at the moment of salvation through the Holy Spirit.
Okay enough. You get the idea.
It’s hard to imagine our heavenly Father with that overflowing revival bowl saying, “almost, almost, keep praying, keep screaming….okay….now here you go!” And with a flick of his wrist that bowl is poured out and an awakening sweeps across the nation.
Actually, when you think about it, waiting for revival seems anti-New Testament. The call in the New Testament is to act, to do, to drive…not to wait for God to do something. The sole exception is Acts 1 and 2 when the disciples were commanded to wait and pray for the promised Holy Spirit in Jerusalem. After Jesus ascended they waited ten whole days before the Holy Spirit blew the doors open in the upper room and came to indwell each of them.
At that moment the early believers had everything they needed for revival. They had the instantaneous ability to choose to be empowered by the 3rd Person of the Trinity. At the moment of empowerment they were instantly “revived.” According to Ephesians 1:13,14 we receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation and He is there for good and to do good through us.
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
The Holy Spirit brings with Him all of the necessary implements for personal revival. We yield to Him and the revival is on. There is nothing He is lacking in His toolbox and He makes them all available to us as we walk in faith. Check out Peter’s words,
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” 2 Peter 1:3,4
We have everything we need for revival.
So why do I go to Christian meetings and church services where preachers and worship leaders constantly call out for the presence of God and the power of God to come? Some scream, some sing, some wave banners trying to get God’s attention. Sometimes it feels like they are more like prophets of Baal than prophets of God. They dance around the sacrifice, cutting themselves, screaming themselves hoarse all while trying to call down the lightning. Meanwhile the thunder is rumbling down deep in our souls. The Holy Spirit is ready, willing and able to consume the sacrifice when we, like Elijah, act in faith.
Maybe it’s because we refuse to walk by faith by living like that revival is reality. Are we indirectly blaming God by implying that He hasn’t poured out revival yet? Are we saying, down deep inside, that it’s His fault? We are if we are asking for something that’s already ours through the Holy Spirit. But instead of activating the Spirit’s work through us by faith (aka “revival”) we sing, pray and fast under the pretense of “waiting” on God to do something. Meanwhile He is waiting on us to believe that we have everything we need for life and godliness and to walk in the revival that is already ours through Christ.
If a friend asks me for something to eat while he is holding the meal I just bought for him at McDonald’s at best he would seem ignorant and at worst he would be ungrateful. Are we any less ignorant and ungrateful when we hold the Happy Meal of the Holy Spirit in our hands (along with the free prize of revival inside) while begging God to bring revival?
We have everything we need for revival. Let’s live the revival that was purchased through the cross of Christ, energized through His resurrection and delivered into our hands at the moment of salvation through the Holy Spirit.
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