Influential Community Leadership

Before the final Influential Leadership, which is focused on community, here is a quick review of the posts:

• Influential Self Leadership:  Preach the Gospel to yourself.
• Influential Church Leadership:  Disciples make disciples.
• Influential Family Leadership:  Parents are the primary disciple-makers in their children's lives.
• Influential Work Leadership:  Work hard, work smart, and trust God.

I have to share the circumstances around this specific topic in the class.  Just like every other topic, the first week was focused on prayer, how to pray, and taking time to pray. However, there was no second week of class and we haven't had church since.  So the Community study did not finish because of the March shelter in place order.   

I challenged the class to go out and get to know your neighbors.  Then the Michigan government said to limit contact with others.  And that order is still in effect today (04.17).  Here are two reasons why I believe the topic of Influential Community Leadership is still very important.

1. We can influence our communities during this time in different ways.
2. This time of shelter-in-place will end.  What will you do then?

On December 8, Pastor Brett preached on the familiar Good Samaritan passage, Luke 10:25 - 37.  The title of the message was "The Great Samaritan." Revisiting this message is a good way to begin thinking about Influential Community Leadership.  Here is a short summary of the passage.

Lawyer:  How do I inherit eternal life? 

Jesus:  Love God with your and love your neighbor as yourself. 

Lawyer:  Who is my neighbor? 

Jesus tells the parable and the asks "Who was a neighbor?"

Jesus concludes the lesson with the "Go and do likewise."
Jesus told the lawyer and the reader that in order to inherit eternal life you must worship God perfectly and love your neighbor perfectly.  The problem is we cannot do these things.  
Jesus is the Great Samaritan, the example of perfect love.
Those who have been saved by the Great Samaritan will be Good Samaritans.
Jesus not only commanded his disciples to love their neighbors.
He provided the perfect example of this love and He provided the only way we can live this way - through His death and resurrection and in the power of the Holy Spirit. 
God has placed each of us in our neighborhoods to give testimony of God's amazing grace by living out Christ-dependent, neighbor-loving, Spirit-empowered lives.  
Do you live in such a way that shows those around you the greatness of God or the selfishness of your heart?    

Love everyone, even your "undeserving, unlovable" neighbor because God loved you, an "undeserving, unlovable" person, so much that he sent His son. 

In The Gospel Comes with a House Key, Rosaria Butterfield writes "We trust God's power more than we trust our limitations, and we know that he never gives a command without giving the grace to perform it."  
God commands us to love our neighbors.  
He also gives us THE example of loving the undeserved, the reason we should love everyone, even our enemies, and the power that enables us to love everyone, even the unlovable.
THE example of love undeserved:  Romans 5:8  "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us."
The reason to show love:  1 John 3:16. "By this, we know love, that [Jesus] laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers."
The power to give testimony of God's love:  Acts 1:8. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Here are some very basic, practical things to do:

1. Pray that you and your family would show love to your community.
2. Pray that your neighbors would see the love of Christ in your family and call out to God to save them from their sin.
3. Pray with your neighbors.  This may be actually praying with them or asking them how you can pray for them.
4. Serve neighbors because Christ loved you so much that he died for you.

Gospel Comes with a House Key: Radically Ordinary Hospitality in a Post-Christian World: by Rosaria Butterfield is a good resource about hospitality.  

Shelter-In-Place Notes:

This time of social isolation makes getting involved with your neighbors very difficult but it is still very much needed.  So how do you influence your neighbors when in isolation?  Here are a couple of specific, practical suggestions we have heard about or been able to do this last month.

1. Take advantage of things others have set up.  A woman in our neighborhood organized a nightly singing of "God Bless America."  We haven't seen many people do this but we have made an effort to go out on our sidewalk and sing and pray with our neighbors while practicing social distancing.
2. Greet people.  When out on walks or outside make it a point to be friendly and say hello to people you see.  
3. HERE is an online resource The Art of Neighboring COVID-19 Tool Kit.   Don't try to do everything on this site.  

Influential Work Leadership

This is the 4th of 5 posts on Influential Leadership from a class I was teaching at Trinity Baptist Church.
I have posted other Influential Leadership posts.

"The first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day to have my soul happy in the Lord."  George Muller.

On a very personal note, my current circumstances, being out of vocational ministry for almost two years, and working at a warehouse have changed the way I have approached the topic of influential leadership at work.  I always knew people needed to live out their faith at work.  At the same time, I probably would have emphasized the impact of people's ministry at and through the church.  Church ministry was the most important ministry you could be involved in.  Through this time I have been reminded the HUGE ministry impact members can have in their individual workplaces for the kingdom of God.  

For many different reasons your co-workers may never set foot in your local church but that doesn't lessen the Gospel-influence, you may have in their lives.  Colossians 3:23-24 says, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.  You are serving the Lord Christ."  With this in mind, you are for the Lord and not men.  No matter what the job is my goal should be to bring God the glory.  

The Gospel at Work by Greg Gilbert and Sebastian Traeger is a great resource designed to help Christians think about the why's and how's of work.  Much of the information below has been taken or adapted from this book. 

In talking about the Christian and work, two fallacies need to be corrected.  The first is "God helps those who help themselves."   This motto, which many people believe is a Bible verse, originated in Ancient Greece and was popularized by Benjamin Franklin.  While the Bible does encourage hard work, this motto goes against the heart of the Bible's message - God's power and grace (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 12:9).  The other is "Work is the result of sin."  In Genesis 1:28, before the fall, God gave Adam work to do.  As a result of the fall, work became difficult.

 In this first of six short videos designed to help study the book, Traeger talks about the two extremes of making work an idol and being idle at work.  

In Appendix 2, the authors share a Biblical theology of work that is very helpful and encouraging to think through.  God is a worker.  We are created in God's image.  Thus, we are created to be workers also.  Sin is a spiritual condition and made work hard, futile, and difficult.  Jesus worked and changes the way we work.  Work is worship, just as all of life is.

In this second video, Gilberts talks about why we work...

to love God (Matthew 22:37)
to love others (Matthew 22:39)
to reflect God's character (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15)
to earn and share resources (Proverbs 12:11; Ephesians 4:28; 2 Thessalonians 3:10)
to enjoy it (Ecclesiastes 5:18-19)
to adorn the doctrine of God (Titus 2:9-10)

A basic summary of the Gospel at Work is "Work hard.  Work smart.  Trust God."  The company I work at, In On Time, is a Christian owned company.  Even with that being the case I, personally have the responsibility and the privilege to bring hope in Christ to work every day.  It is my prayer that my actions and words would show my co-workers that I love Jesus Christ and they need to trust Him as their Lord and Savior.  

Here are some additional resources on this topic:

• Book Study Resource:  The Gospel at Work study Guide - http://www.thegospelatwork.com/studyguide/
• Website:  The Gospel at Work resource page - http://www.thegospelatwork.com (This has many different seminars and messages on a wide variety of work-related issues)
• Article:  26 Ways to Provoke the 1 Peter 3:15 Question at Work - https://jdgreear.com/blog/26-ways-to-provoke-the-1-peter-315-question-at-work/
• Podcast:  Help!  I Hate My Job - https://www.crossway.org/articles/podcast-help-i-hate-my-job-james-hamilton/  (Don't let the title deceive you.  It is helpful even if you love your job.)

Shelter-In-Place Notes:

The George Muller quote at the beginning of this post is very appropriate during this talk of essential/non-essential businesses.  As Christian workers, our happiness, joy, and satisfaction are in the Lord.  Not infallible business or governments.  We need to remember that and show that to those we work with. 

If you are an essential worker, first of all, THANK YOU SO MUCH for what you are doing.  Second, please use this time to show co-workers, patients, and/or customers the Hope of Christ.

If you are not an essential worker, first of all, REMEMBER YOUR WORK IS IMPORTANT to your family and others and because it provides an opportunity for you to glorify God.  Second, as you interact with essential workers be kind and thankful.  Also, communicate to your kids and others the importance of work, even work at home. The Gospel Coalition posted a working from home prayer.

Pray regularly for your supervisors and co-workers.  Pray that God would use this time to draw them to Him.  Pray that God would give them wisdom in how to navigate their circumstances.

If possible find ways to communicate with people you work with.  This may be specific individuals or groups of people and can be done through text, email, social media, or other means.  The purpose would be to check up on them and let them know how you are doing.  

If you have other resources, additional comments or questions, please leave them in the comment section.

Influential Family Leadership

This is the 3rd of 5 posts on Influential Leadership from a class I was teaching at Trinity Baptist Church.

I have posted other Influential Leadership posts.

The goal for each family member should be to glorify God and help other family members do the same.

Our families provide each of us a great opportunity to grow in God's grace and to show God's grace to others.  

While this post is specifically about parenting, we need to remember that family is so much more than parent/child relationships.  Churches are made up of many different families and each of them needs to be discipled.  Some singles have varying types of relationships with their parents and siblings, widows and widowers, empty nesters, husband and wife with no children, and others.  Each and every one of us has family relationships that should be growing.  

Paul Tripp's Parenting video (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MDlMI7B4a2Az) challenges parents to think of themselves as ambassadors of God in our children's lives.  We need to pray and act with this reality in mind.  Here is a video about one of the 14 Gospel principles.

 Three other resources related to Tripp's book Parenting:  14 Gospel Principles 

• You Don't Need More Parenting Advice is an article about the importance of the Gospel in parenting.
• Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles is a collection of resources like the Calling video above and 13 similar videos.  
• Five Questions You Must Ask Your Kids

There are many parenting books and resources out there.  The ones in this post have been shared because of their Gospel focus.  Here is part of the book that demonstrates this point.

If I were to ask you what the best, most practical, most helpful parenting passage in all the Bible was, what would you answer. 

Most biblically literate Christian parents would run to Ephesians 6:1-4, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  'Honor your father and mother' (this is the first commandment with a promise), 'that may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.  Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."  (ESV) 

Those are wonderfully helpful verses, but there's another passage that's almost never mentioned in the context of parenting.  These words, straight from the mouth of the Messiah, contain everything you need to know and understand in order to experience the rest and courage of heart that fuels good, godly, perseverant parenting.

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold I am with you always, to the end of the age."  (Matthew 28:18-20)

The Great Commission?  Yes!  I cannot think of any directive more appropriate to every Christian parent than this one.  Here's why:

Your job as a Christian parent is to do everything within your power, as an instrument in the hands of the Redeemer who has employed you, to woo, encourage, call, and train your children to willingly and joyfully live as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

From Paul Tripp's Wednesday Word devotional. 

We need to understand that parenting is a discipleship opportunity that needs to be soaked in prayer.  Here are some specific things you can pray for your children, grandchildren, and children you know.

1. Pray that Jesus will call them and no one will hinder them from coming.
2. Pray that they will respond in faith to Jesus' faithful, persistent call.
3. Pray that they will experience sanctification through the transforming work of the Holy Spirit and will increasingly desire to fulfill the greatest commandments.
4.  Pray that they will not be unequally yoked in intimate relationships, especially marriage.
5. Pray that their thoughts will be pure.
6. Pray that their hearts will be stirred give generously to the Lord's work.
7. Pray that when the time is right, they will GO!!

Taken from Seven Things to Pray for Your Children

Here are some additional family worship resources

Seeds Family Worship's "The Good Song" which is taken from Psalm 3.
Seeds Family Worship has a great youtube channel you will want to check out.

BASICS OF FAMILY WORSHIP with Don Whitney and Justin Taylor

11 Reasons to Worship With Your Family  

The What, When and How of Family Worship  

How We Do Family Worship  

Come Follow a Failure  

Family Devotion Failure and of All Days  

Shelter In Place Notes (added after the post was originally published):

This stay-at-home time provides many families with the unique opportunity to take more purposeful time to begin some habits that should continue after the quarantine is done.
During this time, how you worship with and talk about your church will have a huge impact on how your family - those stuck in your house with you and those who are elsewhere    - think about the church, the Bride of Christ.
During this time, how you use your time and encourage your family to use their will teach others what is most important.  While serving as the pastor of children and family worship at Emmanuel Baptist Church, I encouraged fathers and families to do family worship at least once a week.  My goal in this was helping busy families see the impact of consistent time in God's Word could have on them and their families.  The hope was it would grow into much more than just once a week but that was a start.  This shelter-in-place time has allowed so many families to do so much more than once a week.  

"Disruption creates a wonderful opportunity for us to establish new spiritual habits in our families."  from "Family Worship Starts Now" at The Gospel Coalition

The April 8th post "Lord of the Flies OR Spring Break 2020" is about what Krista and I are trying to do during our quarantined spring break.

If you have other resources, additional comments or questions, please leave them in the comment section.

Influential Church Leadership

This is the 2nd of 5 posts on Influential Leadership from a class I was teaching at Trinity Baptist Church.
I have posted other Influential Leadership posts.

In Ephesians 5:22-30, Paul compares that the marriage relationship is a reflection of the relationship between Jesus (husband) and the church (wife).  The church is the bride of Jesus Christ. 
Yet many people talk and act as if the church is not important.  Statements like "I love Jesus but I hate the church" are not merely spoken but also lived out.  The church has adopted phrases like "inactive church member," which reflects the idea of an uncommitted, unloving, cold wife. 

During the two weeks of Leadership as Influence in the Church, we looked at how followers of Jesus pray and practically seek to glorify God and encourage other believers to do the same in their churches.

The Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent refers to the blessing of the Inheritance of the Saints.  "The more I comprehend the full scope of the Gospel, the more I value the role that I value the church, for which Christ died (Ephesians. 5:25).  the more I value the role that I play in the lives of my fellow-Christians, and the more I appreciate the role that they must be allowed to play in mine."  A big part of this role of fellow-Christians is praying for one another.

Ephesians 4 shows us how we can pray for the church.  Our prayers for the church should demonstrate dependence upon God, a supernatural unity, thankfulness for God-given leaders, and ongoing Gospel growth.  It is my prayer that God would grow in each of us a desire to pray for our church family and the pastors, elders, and other leaders.  

During week 1, "Influential Prayer in the Church," we watched part of College Park Church's event "Dare to Hope" - https://cpcresources.net/dare-to-hope-video/.  In this video, members of College Park Church came together to learn about prayers of lament through songs, Bible teaching, and testimonies.

Some other helpful prayer resources are 
an article entitled "5 Ways to Pray for Your Pastor's Wellness,"
an article entitled "The Ministry of the Pew" (the idea of "pew" prayer is especially challenging),
a bookmark entitled "How to Love Your Church on Sunday,"
the book How to Walk into Church.

During week 2, "Influential Productivity in the Church," we looked at the why and how of being a productive member of a local.  This lesson was the week of Trinity's building dedication service.  To begin the class,  I made the statement the church is a building.  We read 1 Peter 2:2 - 12  which says those who come to Jesus are like living stones being built up as a, not a physical building, but rather a  spiritual house.

With this passage in mind, I shared the following explanation of the church.  
The church consists of people who are made in the image of God, saved by the finished work of Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

The following video from David Platt - Church Membership - helps us the see the importance of committing to a local church body.  I shared with the class that my reason for showing this video was not only to remind us of the importance of active church membership, but many of them are also active church members.  It also helps share with others, Biblical reasons for church membership.  Here are two principles from the video:

Membership is not explicitly commanded but it is Biblically implied by church gatherings, church discipline, church leadership, church accountability. 

"What body, what gathering of believers are you committed to being with, spurring on, holding fast to the hope with (Hebrews 10)?  Who are the leaders that your life is in submission to, leaders who are accountable for your spiritual growth?  And if you can't answer those questions the reality is you are living contrary to the pattern of the New Testament."

While there are so many different ways to be productive church members, here are three resources specifically related to the idea of being an active sermon listener: Listen Up by Christopher Ash - One of three books on sermon listening at www.challies.com/resources/becoming-a-better-listener/
Sermon Notebook by Matthias Media - Reviewed at www.kevinhalloran.net/the-sermon-notebook/
8 Tips for Taking Good Sermon Notes by Crossway - www.crossway.org/blog/2017/01/8-tips-for-taking-good-sermon-notes/

Leadership is about so much more than a position.  It is also about influence.  
Hebrews 10:19 - 25 is a call to the church to encourage one another, spur one another on, as we remember the confidence and the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

Here are some specific prayers I shared with the class.

Lord God,

We pray for the members of Trinity Baptist Church, every single member.

As we join together as a local body of believers, we pray for the leadership of TBC.  Thank you for giving them to us.  Help them grow as disciples and equip others to grow as disciples.

Help us continue to build relationships with various missionaries and ministries of TBC in the Grand Rapids area and around the world.  We desire to support them with our prayers, finances, and whenever possible with our presence. 

God, we do not want the ministry programs of TBC to become the end goal.  Allow each of these to provide opportunities to build God-glorifying relationships with others in the church and in the community.

As we live in the communities around the meeting place of TBC, help us see the opportunities you give us to share the hope we have in Christ, his life, death and resurrection.

We pray all of this in the precious name of Jesus Christ, who gave himself us for his bride, the church.

Amen. 

One major part of the pastor's role is the teaching and preaching of God's Word.  With this in mind, here are two sets of prayers for the sermon from Praying for Sunday by Mike Fabarez. 

Pray for Sermon Preparation.

1. Pray that the message your pastor is preparing to preach would be an evident part of his own life.
2. Pray for the protection of your pastor’s sermon preparation time.
3. Pray that your pastor will be given grace and illumination to rightly divide God’s word.
4. Pray that the words your pastor chooses to frame the outline would be effective and powerful tools for the Holy Spirit to employ. 
5. Pray that your pastor would have insight into the needs of the congregation as he prepares.

Pray for the Response to the Sermon

1. Pray that all, including yourself, will put the sermon into practice.
2. Pray that the sermon will not be compartmentalized.
3. Pray that the application of the sermon would be contagious.
4. Pray that the sermon itself will be repeatedly delivered.

Shelter-In-Place Notes:
A post like this written during a time of quarantine and shelter-in-place order might seem pointless.  We don't have a ministry in the pew while sitting at home.
We don't have a face-to-face ministry with others in the church building.
Here are a couple of suggestions on how to be an active church member.

• Learn with your church.  If your church is streaming the service or sharing Bible teaching with you in a different way, actively learn and grow using these recommended resources.  Learn with a pen and paper in hand, or at least nearby, so you can write down things that you need to flesh out in your life and share with others.
• Share with your church.  Find ways to share with others in your church things that you are learning.  This could be through social media, email, video chats, or a pen and paper letter.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Actually, write and mail a note or card to someone in your church.  These "things" could be deep Biblical truths or nitty-gritty details about how to do during a shelter-in-place order.  
• Read your second most important book.  Don't forget the second most important book for every Christian -  their church directory.  This book contains email addresses, physical addresses, and phone numbers.  
• Pray for church leaders.  Pray for your pastor as he and other church leaders lead the church - a body of believers living in relationship with one another - through phone conversations, zoom meetings, emails, and other "impersonal" means.  I shared the following article with the pastors at Trinity Baptist Church and some other pastor friends -  Pastor, You Were Made for This. 
• An additional thought related to praying for your pastor.  Instead of sharing the latest post or seminar or article, you read about how to "do church online," write a note or send an email thanking him for what he is doing and letting him know you are praying for him.
• Help members.  Think about creative ways you can help members of your church.  Think about how you can help the elderly.  Think about how you can help the family with several children.  Think about how you can help the family with one child.  Think about how you can help those who are single.  Think about how you can help and encourage one another. 
• Continue to give financially.  Find out if your church provides a way to give online or remember to send a check to your church.  There are a lot of financial concerns and challenges during times like this.  Your local church still has expenses during this time.  I am sure the leadership is also looking for ways to help and encourage church members who have financial needs.

If you have other resources, additional comments or questions, please leave them in the comment section.

Influential Personal Leadership

In January I began teaching an Adult Christian education class at Trinity Baptist.
The title of the class was Leadership is Influence.

The big idea of the class is leadership is influence.
There is positional leadership and influential leadership.  EVERY Christian is a worshipper and an influencer.  We need to grow as disciples and make disciples.

God has given his disciples many different disciple-making arenas.  Throughout the class, we looked at five specific areas - self, church, family, work, and community.  I am going to post the key points from each of these areas over the next couple of Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Matt Perman writes "Personal leadership is going in the right direction (in line with God's commands and principles) for the right reasons (out of love for God and others)."  (Getting Unstuck, p. 58)

Prayer is an essential part of personal leadership.  Often we get into prayer ruts.  Our prayer life becomes boring because we are praying the same old things over and over again.  Usually, these boring prayers come from man-centered, earthly prayers from our human desires.  They are not God-glorifying, kingdom-centered prayers based on God's Word.  

In the first class on personal leadership, we looked at Paul's prayer for the Ephesians found in chapter 1.  Paul's prayer focuses on the hope and riches they have in God.  Biblical prayer is filled with hope because it serves as a reminder of how rich God is.  If we are to live a life that glorifies God we must focus on who He is and what He wants to do through us.  

Tim Challies' Productivity Catechism serves as a great reminder of the why's, how's and what's of Christian living.  

Q1.  Ultimately, why did God create you?  (Romans 11:36) 

A1.  God created you to bring glory to Him. 

Q2.  How can you glorify God in your day-to-day life?  (Matthew 5:16; 1 Peter 2:12; 3:15) 

A2.  I can glorify God in my day-to-day life by doing good works. 

Q3.  What are good works?  (Ephesians 2:10;  1 Timothy 6:18; Titus 3:8; Hebrews 10:24) 

A3.  Good works are deeds done for the glory of God and the good of others. 

Q4.  But you are a sinful person.  Can you actually do good works?  (Philippians 1:6) 

A4.  Yes.  Christians are able to do good work because of the finished work of Jesus. 

Q5.  In what areas of life should you emphasize good works?  (1 Corinthians 10:31) 

A5.  I ought to emphasize good works at all times and in all areas of my life. 

Q6.  What is productivity? 

A6.  Productivity is effectively stewarding my gifts, time, energy, and enthusiasm for good of others and the glory of God.

We need to preach the Gospel to ourselves every day.  Personal growth, changing into the image of Jesus, will impact the way we live in communities like the church, family, work, and community.  

Shelter-In-Place Note:
During this time of quarantine, it can be easy to binge-watch movies and do you what you want to do.
Instead of a "What do I want to do?" attitude, why not take a "What do I need to do to grow in my relationship with God?"
Here are some suggestions:

• extended devotional time.  You might think to yourself "I have kids.  I can't do this."  Here is a suggestion, invite one of your kids to do devotions with you.  Share what you are reading and learning.  Use the time to model what devotions could look like.
• learn something.  The Master's Seminary Institute is offering two free classes:  Marriage/Family Counseling and Hermeneutics, how to interpret the Bible.  These classes or other online options are great ways to grow in your knowledge of God and His Word.
• read.  If you are or are not a reader this time provides an opportunity to read.  A book that is very helpful for right now is Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy.

For other Influential Leadership posts, go to https://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/search/label/Influential%20leadership

If you have other resources, additional comments or questions, please leave them in the comment section.