Never Give Up... Never Surrender

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Galatians 6:9

The sermon this past Sunday was on the spiritual gift of leadership/administration, one of the practical gifts God gives to His people and His church. I never score high on leadership on the spiritual gifts assessment, which sometimes befuddles me because God has put me in a 'leadership" position in the church. As I shared Sunday, I often wonder why God called me to pastor, but didn't gift me with the gift of leadership. Oh well, His ways and thoughts are higher than mine, so I trust He knows what He is doing ☺

He has created in me a desire to learn leadership. I'll never be a spiritually gifted leader, but I can develop the leadership abilities He has given me. One of the best ways to do that is to learn from great leaders. The sermon Sunday was on Nehemiah who led the people to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem that had laid in ruins for more than 140 years. Here is the sermon in brief:
Nehemiah was ...

1. Passionate (1:1-4)
2. Prayerful (1:5-110
3. Prepared (2:1-8)
4. Planning (2:11-18, and ch.3)
5. Persistent (2:19-20; chapter 4-6)
6. Pleasing (6:15-16; ch.8)

 You can listen to the full sermon here.

 I've been mulling over the sermon since Sunday and the point that God keeps 'highlighting" for me is #5 - Persistent. In re-reading the Scriptures, Nehemiah had dozens of reasons to walk away from the project: he faced serious opposition, he was threatened, he was ridiculed, the people he was working with got discouraged and wanted to quit, the work was hard and they were working long hours under the threat of attack. Most men would have given up and walked away, but Nehemiah wasn't most men - he was a committed follower of the Lord who had been given a task to complete, and though he grew weary and tired, he never gave up. And the result was ... well, you can read about in the Bible.

A few years ago I was reading the story of Jerry Rice, perhaps the greatest receiver in the history of the NFL. Rice played most of his career with the San Francisco 49ers. He won three Super Bowls, was a Super Bowl MVP, a 13 time All-Pro and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He still holds four NFL records. Not bad for a kid from the little town of Crawford Mississippi, a town of a about 500 people.


Rice's success came from his work ethic. His workout regiment was legendary, considered the most demanding of anyone playing football. His commitment to success seemed to come natural, but in truth it was the result of a decision Jerry made when he was in high school. Jerry joined his high school’s football team in his sophomore year. During one particular practice, he was in the middle of running a series of twenty sprints up and down a hill in pads and helmet. A tired and out of breath Jerry decided to stop at number eleven, convinced that he could get away with skipping the last nine sprints without punishment. He was halfway to the locker room when he decided it was not the time to quit, that there was no reason to quit, and that quitting at that point would put him in a mode of making quitting seem acceptable in the future. He decided that quitting was unacceptable to himself, regardless of what others would think or do, and he finished off the last nine sprints.


That experience became an important part in Jerry’s development, as it contributed much to his tough resoluteness and commitment to excellence. He simply didn't want to make a habit of quitting. He knew if he quit in this area of his life, it would become easier to quit in other areas too.


Unfortunately, not many have the attitude of Jerry Rice, or Nehemiah. When things get hard and times get tough or stressful, their inclination is to quit. And once they begin to quit in one area of life, they find it easier to quit in other areas. It becomes a pattern and a habit for their lives - work, projects, relationships, marriages,  even in the spiritual realm of their lives.


Many times in Scripture God's people are admonished to not give up. Paul writes to the churches of Galatia, "Don't grow weary in doing good, for at the right time we will reap a reward if we don't give up." (Gal 6:9) I don't know what area of life you are growing weary in, or what you are ready to give up on, but let me encourage you - don't do it. Don't give up, don't give in, and don't give out. Don't let quitting become the pattern of your life! Stay faithful, stay focused and stay fervent, and at the right time you will be rewarded for your persistence and commitment. Never give up... never surrender!

Leadership: Learning from the Past

I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw.

Proverbs 24:32

The further back you can see into the past, the further ahead you can see into the future. And the closer you pay attention to what’s going on around you, the more accurately you’ll be able to see where the road is leading.

Unfortunately, we often try to plan for the future without learning from the past. As a result, we make the same mistakes over and over instead of making strides ahead. It’s been said many times that history is doomed to repeat itself. Why has this shown itself to be true? Because so many leaders have done the exact same things as past leaders, but expected different results.

If you want to bring into sharp focus the vision that God has for you, your family, your church, etc., you must take three steps:

1.  Abandon the ways of the world. They have always failed and always will fail. Try God’s ways—only His ways work.
2. Pay attention to what God has already done and is doing. Even just a quick glance at the Scriptures shows us that God continues to build on things He started long ago.
3. Pray for discernment and understanding to see the vision. Be still before the Lord as you watch and listen for God’s guidance.

Challenge: Take some time today to look back and evaluate your life. Do you keep making the same mistakes? Are you doing things God’s way? Are you consistently praying for God’s vision? Try these three steps and see how God responds.

“This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.” 1 Timothy 3:1

I’ve been teaching on leadership in the local church and working through Paul’s first letter to his apprentice Timothy. Chapter three really stirred me up. Paul begins saying, “This is a faithful saying.” It’s the equivalent to Jesus saying in the Gospels “Truly, truly or Verily, verily.” When Jesus said those words He was saying, “Hey! Pay attention! This is important!” That is what Paul is doing here as well. Then he says, “If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.”

The word “desire” really jumped out at me in this passage. It appears twice in my translation, but it is actually two different words in the Greek. The first word translated “desire” literally means “to stretch oneself” or “to reach out for.” The image is that of a child reaching out for his mom or dad. The second word translated desire means “to set your heart upon.” It has to do with the inward emotions and this word is also translated “covet” or “lust after.” So the Bible says, it is a good thing to "stretch yourself" and "set your heart" on a place of service for the Lord.

In the tradition I have grown up in, those who served the Lord were those who received a specific calling to serve. It’s still part of our tradition – you ask people about doing things in the church and you may get the response – “I haven’t been called to do that.” That is a legit response and we shouldn’t force people into positions they are not qualified for nor passionate about. But it is also a response that is often abused. The next question to ask is, “What have you been called to do?” and the answer may be, “I don’t know?” It seems it’s easier to identify what we’re not called to do than it is to identify what we’re called to do.

What do you want to do in the church? Many Christians don’t want to do anything; they don’t have the desire to serve the Lord. I want to say, “Do you believe Jesus died for you and saved you so you could do nothing for Him? Do you believe God brought you to a church so you could ‘do nothing’?" It’s good to have a desire to serve the Lord; it’s good to stretch yourself and reach for a place of service in the Body of Christ. Our general calling is to serve the Lord in some capacity. That’s the spiritual principle this verse teaches and it applies to all of us.

Recently God has been pushing me to get out of my comfort zone. I'm a really "hands-on" guy. I grew up with the these words being drilled into my head: "If you want something done right, do it yourself." As a result, I want to do everything myself. So God has been working to reprogram my thinking for leadership. Leadership is not doing everything yourself. Leadership is empowering others to do what God has gifted and called them to do.

I've been studying Simple Church, and one of the keys to a successful church is leadership development. In the Scriptures it says that God gives leadership to the church so that the members are equipped to do the ministry (Eph. 4:11-13). God always begins with leadership - people who are called to influence others for Christ.

You may be the leader God wants to develop to do something great for His glory. Most of the great leaders we read about in the Bible didn't think of themselves as great leaders: Moses made all kinds of excuses; some of the first words God said to Joshua were "Be strong and courageous" (He said it three times in one conversation); Gideon was hiding out in the threshing room when God called him; Paul was working to destroy the church. None of these guys seemed like candidates for "Leader of the Year." But when they surrendered themselves completely to God, He used them to move His people to victory and for His glory.

You may not see yourself as a leader, but God sees something in you that is greater than you can ever imagine. Would you be willing to let God have a shot at doing something great through you? The first step is to say "Yes, Lord", and then get ready for a great adventure.