Chuck Ryor

One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”  Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? – 1 Corinthians 1:12-13

Who leads the church?  This is a question that is as old as the church.  As early as the first century there was already division as one faction followed the Apostle Paul, another followed Peter and still another Apollos.  These leaders had varied styles of ministry but the same Savior.  They also shared a common theology of leadership.  Perhaps that’s why the Apostle Paul was so clear about who would lead a church:  Jesus Christ.

“God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” – Ephesians 1:22-23

Christ is the head of the church.  The Scriptures teach that we are to follow His leadership as it is discerned through His Word.  In a church community, discerning what His Word says is the key issue of leadership.  And once again the Apostle makes it clear, God ultimately expresses his authoritative discernment of His word through the leadership of the church’s elders.

Before we get to the subject of Elders in the church (parts 2 & 3), we have to touch on the subject of leadership:  what it is and what it isn’t.  Leading, by definition, is setting the course for others to follow.  So often leadership is confused by what masquerades as leadership in American politics.  This notion is that you discover the “will of the people” and lead them there.  This isn’t leadership.

“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”

- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In the final analysis, searchers for consensus are just selfish.  These people simply want comfort and the best way to get it is by finding out what everyone wants and giving it to them.  Career politicians function this way, whether they are of the government sort or those who work within your corporate culture.  Or your pastor.  The goal for these folks is to keep their job.  They are only willing to defend a position when their neck is on the line or their security threatened.  Disrupt their peaceful little world and you’ll see a manifestation of self-protectiveness.

When and if these “pseudo leaders” finally do express what they think is best or what they really want, once a little pressure to the contrary is applied it will cause them to shrink back and once again do what everyone wants them to do so.  All this so they can stay put in their world.  Under a mask of being gracious, they truly cower under pressure and concede to others in order to “keep the peace.”

“Vision is a clear mental picture of what could be, fueled by the conviction that it should be.”

- Andy Stanley

Poor leaders generally remain quiet, always hiding behind the appearance of being a peacemaker, or refusing to take a stand because they fear the inevitable opposition.  They don’t know what they want or where they want to go, all they know is they want to be happy and that the absence of conflict is what makes them happy.

Biblical leaders, on the other hand, know what they want and try to build a consensus around what they think is the best course of action.  If they are unable to go the direction they want to go or feel is the right way to go, they don’t succumb to the “will of the people.” Instead, they allow someone else to lead that group and they graciously concur that their leadership isn’t needed or wanted and move on to where they can lead folks to where they want to go.

So, what’s the difference between leadership and dominance?  Leadership doesn’t make people go their way.  If the people don’t want to go, the leader doesn’t have to lead.  Dominance is using power to require unwilling participants to do what they don’t want to do.  Hegemony is one of the central issues that social science researchers evaluate about history and contemporary society.  Hegemony is the scholastic term for governments and people who use their authority to oppress and dominate.  This happens politically and interpersonally, and is the primary concern regarding cultural gender roles. This, too, is part of the subject we’ll cover in Parts 2 & 3 of this Prism Value.

In the end our hope is that we’ll follow Jesus in His mission.  The broad question is how He leads us as a church.  I contend that He leads through Elders.  However, before we can determine “who” leads we have to face the Biblical reality that God ordained authority is to play in our lives.  I’ve seen churches where the concept of “God ordained” leadership was abused and where those in charge liked being in charge a bit too much.  In these instances, leaders discourage anyone from asking questions of the authority.  As well, if people no longer feel they can trust the ordained authority, they are made to feel guilty for leaving the congregation.  It’s a bit creepy.

On the other end of the spectrum are churches where the congregation members believe that they hold the authority and won’t be led anywhere that they don’t want to go.  In these churches there is an equally unhealthy, very American, focus on individual rights as opposed to the rights of the body of Christ.   In these churches, leaders are made to feel guilty for following what they collectively believe is God’s plan for the church.  Individuals who don’t want to follow never cease questioning authority, because the bottom line is they want to get what they want.  If not, they don’t leave but rather stay at “their” church and assert their rights.

Like I said, our goal as a church is to follow God in His mission.  Next time I’ll show how I believe that God’s Word has declared Elders to be the means of discerning His leading.  What’s left after that is settled is determining whether or not we can trust that God will work through imperfect leaders.  I’ve discovered that my reluctance to let others lead and the reluctance of others to follow leaders often has a lot to do with the sense that we’re not in control and don’t trust God.

These issues of power and authority need to be addressed if a church wants to do anything more than sit around and drink coffee together.  If we want to be on a mission for God, we’re going to have to learn to trust God’s sovereignty over what His Word says is his means of expressing His will to a church.  Otherwise, we’re at best stuck in neutral and at worst we’re moving in reverse.

“Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.  Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.  And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.” – 2 Timothy 2:22-24

By now you may have seen that I was all scheduled to see Conan O’Brien on the Tonight Show, only to be disappointed when Conan got the axe at NBC (see Media section of ThreeTips.Com).

Instead, I went to see Jay Leno during his first week back on “The Tonight Show.”  It was an interesting experience, but I was more thrilled when I got to see David Letterman on the Late Show in Manhattan.  Leno seemed happy.  At home.  The entire experience was educational.

As a Journalism/Broadcasting graduate of WVU, I’ve always loved watching how “events” are produced.  It’s interesting to me what happens behind the scenes, the things that don’t get seen by the general public.  There were so many pieces of the puzzle put together to make “The Tonight Show” look like a bigger event for T.V. than it truly is in person.

1. The show intentionally turns Jay’s microphone down low during production so people in the audience will feel uncomfortable talking to one another (as they do in comedy clubs).
2. The entire audience has microphones hanging in front of them.  They record every single small laugh, mix them all together for the broadcast and it sounds like Jay’s “killing.”  In fact, the response he was getting from the overall audience was very tepid.

In the end it was a production.  It was well done, but not something one would consider genuine.

I’ve heard this critique about some churches.  Someone will go to a church where a service is put together well, people’s attention is kept by the brevity of the transitions of the elements of worship, technology is used to enhance the overall quality of understanding, and the judgment is quickly made that it is a “production” and not very real.  However, I’ve found that authenticity is in the eye of the beholder.

For instance, if you know the worship leader personally or the pastor happens to be a relative, the service would certainly feel less produced or inauthentic.  As well, the “production” would seem quite normal to a person who is unfamiliar with the concept of church but utterly familiar with other events where large crowds of people sit in theater chairs and look forward toward a stage.

What’s my point?  Well, it’s more of a question.  Why so critical of well-produced church services?  Is it because you have a genuine theological or Biblical argument against the use of certain types of music or multi-media enhancements?  Is it truly because you don’t believe that people’s lives are being positively changed due to their attendance?  Or, could it be something else?

Jesus says this in Luke 6:44-45:

“Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers.  The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”

To my shame I can tell you that my critical spirit rarely speaks to issues because of a genuine concern for the welfare of others or as the result of deeply held personal convictions.  Most of the time, angry thoughts and bitter opinions are the result of something sinful taking place in the depths of my heart.  Perhaps I was hurt by another person’s actions, so I become critical of other aspects of their life.  Maybe I am battling a particular feeling or sin in my life, and don’t realize what comes flying out of my mouth is an indicator of these struggles.

Every so often – but infrequently – I hear a cogent argument/criticism about a worship methodology and I think that a person has legitimate grounds for their concerns (whether I agree with them or not – at least their argument is sound).  However, most of the time these criticisms are dripping with arrogance and pride.  Or, pain and sorrow.  The pride comes from feeling as if we’re superior in our understanding and therefore imagine that God will act more favorably towards us.

The sorrow that I sense in others and myself has a lot to do with feelings of inadequacy.  Perhaps you had a bad experience at a large church where you felt marginalized or left out.  This negative experience has made you particularly sensitive to the perceived absence of genuine relationships in a church.  Maybe you had a formative experience in a completely different church environment, and not understanding a cultural variation has made you feel insecure, lost or afraid.

I’ve felt all of these emotions and unfortunately spent too much effort spewing critical thoughts under the guise of telling truth.  Truth be told, our hearts are hurting and wounded, lost and lonely.  Our words broadcast what is going on in our heart.  A heart that is unconditionally loved by God (independent of performance as is the essence of the gospel) brings forth fruit that is good because it reflects the character of Jesus.

Unless we continuously encounter this gracious Jesus, our tired and weary souls will continue to react to our inner pain and loneliness by being unnecessarily harsh in our criticism of others.  Particularly other Christians.  That will make loving one another particularly difficult, because pacifying our own pain becomes the number one priority instead of serving others or leading others into an encounter with Christ for their benefit.

Perhaps that is why God would like us to spend more of our precious energy seeking the enjoyment of His presence instead of engaging in intramural fighting with other believers.  Prism Church will not waste one precious ounce of spiritual energy engaging on this level.  There is too much at stake to lose focus on spreading the good news to our world through the church.  After all, that is one big reason we are called to love one another.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35

Enjoy the first “Video Blog,” produced for “ThreeTips.Com” but enjoyable for the average adult, too!

“A Conan-Sized Disappointment”

God hates high looks, and never fails to bring them down.  All the arrows of God are aimed at proud hearts. O Christian, is thine heart haughty this evening? For pride can get into the Christian’s heart as well as into the sinner’s; it can delude him into dreaming that he is “rich and increased in goods, and hath need of nothing.” – Charles Spurgeon

There is one axiom that is central to all of Scripture:  God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (see Proverbs 3:34 & James 4:6).  If you don’t think you need help, you’ll likely not ask for it.  If you don’t believe that you’re drowning, you won’t call out for a rescuer.  And if you don’t fancy yourself a sinner, you’ll see little need for forgiveness.

But, as C.H. Spurgeon puts it, “Pride can get into the Christian’s heart as well as into the sinner’s.”  We’re never beyond this struggle.  I made a commitment to Christ in a denomination/movement that prized bravado in its leaders.  It wasn’t uncommon for the superstar televangelists (and the local pastors who imitated them) to strut about the platform, preaching like a proud peacock on display for the world to see.

I vividly recall watching televangelist Rod Parsley address his congregation about their requirement to pray for him because (this is a direct quote), “I experience things in a week that would crush most of you.”  My youth pastor, who I watched like a hawk and carefully stored away the things he said in my heart, once criticized a traveling singer who had come to our church.  He remarked, “He should never have come.  He just came from counseling.”  Upon reflection, I thought my pastor’s comments were prideful and the singer’s admission of his need for help a humble recognition of brokenness.

I’ve heard pastors and theologians whom I respect theologically boast publicly about the size of their personal libraries.  One of my seminary professors once openly criticized the intellectually “low brow” libraries of some pastors.  Apparently, when he guest spoke at churches, he would critically assess the quality of the local pastor’s study library and make a quick judgment of the pastor’s depth.

Pride obviously isn’t just a battle for the young, immature believer.  It is a common battle, expressing itself in different ways in all of our lives.  The Apostle Paul, the great first century theologian and the most prolific author of the New Testament, battled pride for the entirety of his life.  Because of his propensity to lose sight of how God was the author and developer of his faith, God allowed Satan to burden Paul with a “thorn.”

Paul was the most spiritually advanced Christian of the first century (perhaps of all-time), a scholastic Hebrew and Pharisee, and the Apostle to the Gentile world.  He was a worker of miracles and possessor of miraculous spiritual gifts.  At the apex of his ministry effectiveness, Paul was given the opportunity to see heaven itself.  And even in this state of spiritual privilege, Paul was susceptible to pride.

Paul’s testimony in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 details how God had to protect Paul from himself:

7To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

To deter Paul from setting himself up as an object of worship instead of one who leads others into the worship of God, God forced Paul to battle something which the Apostle would only be able to contend with through God’s power.  At the height of influence and his supposed high level of sanctification, Paul was still prone to exalt himself.

This is actually encouraging to me.  Admittedly, I have little to brag about (minus the quality of my family and friends), but I do have an abundance of other areas of struggle and sin.  And believe you me, if I did have something for which to brag I would most certainly be prone to doing so.  Paul’s very open testimony of his propensity to sin encourages me in two ways:

1. I think Christians should be more willing to fess up to our weaknesses as a means of encouraging others.  The gospel says we’re “o.k.” with God not because we’re doing well in obeying his commands, but only because of the grace that is extended to us in Christ.  Ministers must be increasingly honest in their admission of weakness.  Maintaining your pride, protecting your “rep” and/or posturing as a “super Christian” is not the ministerial methodology employed by the Apostle Paul.
2. I am encouraged that this Apostle was a useful tool in the hand of Jesus, in spite of his very active propensity to sin.  So often I and others in vocational ministry – let alone the prominent lay leaders of the church – feel inadequate to the task.  We are.  And there are many in the church who love to point this out to leaders.  It’s reassuring that God used broken people like Paul, even while He was bringing their sanctification along.

My experiences with those whom Christian “pop culture” considers to be great leaders, has shown me that they are every bit as fallible as you and I are.  They are just afraid to tell anyone.  Usually we don’t find out that those superstars are battling sin until they have fallen into a public scandal of some sort.  Even then, their stories are often spun by handlers as if this wasn’t really their fault or it was a freak occurrence.  This instead of a frank admission of guilt and a full confession of a life of struggle and sin.

Like the rest of us.

The one thing that keeps folks from being this real is pride – which comes right before disgrace (Proverbs 11:2).  According to 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, we’re to brag about Jesus and nothing else.  And one way to proactively combat the pride of our souls is to willingly confess our weakness to others.  Then, only the power of God – and not our manufactured reputations – will serve as the basis for spiritual change in our lives and the lives of others.