Philippians 2 is one of the most brilliant passages of scripture, in my opinion. Paul masterfully gives the people instructions for living, followed by a portrait of Christ as the ultimate example of this way of living. Then, he points out two others who are examples of this way of living as well. It really takes all the excuse away. Then, in chapter 3, Paul gets to his common thought of imitating him as an example as well.
I can't get off this idea that leadership is by example. Leadership is not being in charge, but showing others how to live. If you are a leader at work, your job may put you in charge, but you are going to be much more effective if you show them how to work and model the ethic you want from them. It's easy to play the authority card, but that will usually just return to you with a bitter team, which is not the most productive team.
In your family, how do you lead? In your work, how do you lead? How do you lead at church? How do you lead in your neighborhood? I would say you should attempt to lead by example in every area of life. What do you think?
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
1 Timothy 3
I just finished reading 1 Timothy 3, which for a long time has been noted as a passage about qualifications for elders or overseers and deacons. I wonder if we have been wrong to think of this passage in that way. I could be wrong, but I tend to view this list of character attributes as something we should all aspire toward, as Paul writes in 3:1. Rather than thinking of this as a list of qualifications, perhaps it should be a character sketch of an example for the church.
I find that 3:15 actually supports this idea. Paul was writing these things so that they would know how to behave in the household of God. If your leaders are being the kind of people you want everyone in the church to be, then they are leading by example, and this is what we see as a mandate for leaders in the New Testament. We are to be servant leaders, serving as examples to the flock and helping them to become what we ourselves are in the process of becoming.Think about the cyclical pattern this creates. If I am becoming more like Christ, and I am helping someone else become more like Christ, then they will help others become more like Christ, and those people will help others become more like Christ, and so on.
It is difficult for leaders not to take control of things. As I look through this list of character traits, I wonder if control was really a part of leadership. Is that what it means to manage a household or the household of God? Look back through the character traits and ask yourself if control is really what this list is all about. The entire concept of "do what I say and not what I do" is a recipe for disaster if we bring it into the church. All it will accomplish is a group of people who tell others what to do but have no desire to do those things themselves.
People follow our example more than our instructions. It may seem bold, but Paul instructed the church on more than one occasion to imitate him as he imitated Jesus. That should be our way of leading others. Do what I do because I am doing what Jesus said and did. Are you leading by example or do you covet the "office" of leadership more than the responsibility of leadership?
I find that 3:15 actually supports this idea. Paul was writing these things so that they would know how to behave in the household of God. If your leaders are being the kind of people you want everyone in the church to be, then they are leading by example, and this is what we see as a mandate for leaders in the New Testament. We are to be servant leaders, serving as examples to the flock and helping them to become what we ourselves are in the process of becoming.Think about the cyclical pattern this creates. If I am becoming more like Christ, and I am helping someone else become more like Christ, then they will help others become more like Christ, and those people will help others become more like Christ, and so on.
It is difficult for leaders not to take control of things. As I look through this list of character traits, I wonder if control was really a part of leadership. Is that what it means to manage a household or the household of God? Look back through the character traits and ask yourself if control is really what this list is all about. The entire concept of "do what I say and not what I do" is a recipe for disaster if we bring it into the church. All it will accomplish is a group of people who tell others what to do but have no desire to do those things themselves.
People follow our example more than our instructions. It may seem bold, but Paul instructed the church on more than one occasion to imitate him as he imitated Jesus. That should be our way of leading others. Do what I do because I am doing what Jesus said and did. Are you leading by example or do you covet the "office" of leadership more than the responsibility of leadership?
Monday, October 17, 2011
1 Peter 5
Ah, 1 Peter 5! The end of the book we have been going through for the last seven weeks. And still, a challenge to our way of life. How do you lead? Are you an authoritarian? Are you a lead-by-example kind of leader? Are you a negligent leader? Whatever your style, you are a leader in some respect in your life. But now we have instructions on the kind of leader we are to be.
For so long many of us have been taught that leadership can follow a pyramid metaphor. The chief leader is on top of the pyramid, and the various layers of leadership trickle down from there. Then we morphed that into an inverted pyramid to show the idea of servant leadership, where those on the front lines are the ones being empowered, and the chief leader is truly the chief servant. What if there was a better way to think of leadership? What if it was not a hierarchical model at all?
Perhaps if we thought of a sheep pen in the form of a circle, it would help. The sheep and the shepherd(s) are in the pen together. They are all mingling about, and the shepherd is simply the one showing the sheep where to go and what to do. They are all in it together, but there is an example to follow. I think that is a little bit closer to the model of leadership Peter is describing in 1 Peter 5. We are to be humble toward one another, and elders are to lead out of a servant's heart by example. How does this match the style of leadership you employ? Without giving up the role of authority, how could you lead more along these lines, and would it be effective?
For so long many of us have been taught that leadership can follow a pyramid metaphor. The chief leader is on top of the pyramid, and the various layers of leadership trickle down from there. Then we morphed that into an inverted pyramid to show the idea of servant leadership, where those on the front lines are the ones being empowered, and the chief leader is truly the chief servant. What if there was a better way to think of leadership? What if it was not a hierarchical model at all?
Perhaps if we thought of a sheep pen in the form of a circle, it would help. The sheep and the shepherd(s) are in the pen together. They are all mingling about, and the shepherd is simply the one showing the sheep where to go and what to do. They are all in it together, but there is an example to follow. I think that is a little bit closer to the model of leadership Peter is describing in 1 Peter 5. We are to be humble toward one another, and elders are to lead out of a servant's heart by example. How does this match the style of leadership you employ? Without giving up the role of authority, how could you lead more along these lines, and would it be effective?
Thursday, October 6, 2011
2 Timothy 2
Paul's words to Timothy are dripping with instruction and fatherly love. Paul had brought Timothy along and had basically fathered him in the Lord. Now, as Paul is at the end of his life, he takes the time to give Timothy more wisdom so that Timothy will be prepared to carry on without Paul there. I love the entire purpose behind his words, as it is all about helping Timothy to become what Paul was becoming. I say "was becoming" because Paul was still following Jesus, and he had not yet reached the pinnacle. Even though he was near the end of his life, it wasn't over yet.
Paul uses three riddles in a row. "No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops." And just like me, you probably anticipate that Paul will explain what he means, but he leaves it open. All he tell Timothy is to think about it, and God will help you understand.
The way my mind works, I want to figure out the thread that runs through each of these statements, but I wonder if there are three different truths Paul is trying to communicate. In fact, I wonder if the rest of the chapter is merely commentary on those three statements. Nonetheless, we must continue to think about these things. So think about it. I know I am being called to serve Christ with everything in me, to do my best to present myself as one approved by God. He is my King!
What do these statements call you toward?
Paul uses three riddles in a row. "No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops." And just like me, you probably anticipate that Paul will explain what he means, but he leaves it open. All he tell Timothy is to think about it, and God will help you understand.
The way my mind works, I want to figure out the thread that runs through each of these statements, but I wonder if there are three different truths Paul is trying to communicate. In fact, I wonder if the rest of the chapter is merely commentary on those three statements. Nonetheless, we must continue to think about these things. So think about it. I know I am being called to serve Christ with everything in me, to do my best to present myself as one approved by God. He is my King!
What do these statements call you toward?
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
2 Corinthians 4
Perhaps it goes without saying, but Paul was a genius. His rhetoric is incredibly strong. His demeanor is humble but confident. Reading through this passage, the one phrase with repetition that stands out is, "We do not lose heart." The reason we do not lose heart is because we have an eternal perspective.We have been given a responsibility by God himself, so we think on a different plane than the rest of the world.
We may face what some think is the ultimate punishment, but it's not. As Paul puts it, "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies."
I love the closing of this chapter. This may be one of my favorite paragraphs in the New Testament. We do not lose heart because the flesh will die, but our souls are practicing eternal life right now. The stuff we go through here is all just a preparation for the most unbelievable thing: eternal life in glory. We do not lose heart because we are focused on what is unseen. We do not lose heart because everything in this world is transient. We do not lose heart because we are citizens of God's Kingdom, preparing to go home, an eternal home. We are a bold people because we are God's people.
We may face what some think is the ultimate punishment, but it's not. As Paul puts it, "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies."
I love the closing of this chapter. This may be one of my favorite paragraphs in the New Testament. We do not lose heart because the flesh will die, but our souls are practicing eternal life right now. The stuff we go through here is all just a preparation for the most unbelievable thing: eternal life in glory. We do not lose heart because we are focused on what is unseen. We do not lose heart because everything in this world is transient. We do not lose heart because we are citizens of God's Kingdom, preparing to go home, an eternal home. We are a bold people because we are God's people.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
2 Corinthians 3
2 Corinthians 3 is a wildly freeing passage. I was struck, as I read through this passage, at Paul's comments bout the Law of Moses. He calls the Law of Moses a "ministry of death." I questioned that translation, went back to the Greek to look at it for myself, and sure enough, that is the exact wording. He goes on to call it the ministry of condemnation, which I think clarifies it a little bit. It was not the Law itself that was death or condemnation, but what it came to be among the people of God was death and condemnation because they abused it. They made it burdensome. Nonetheless, Paul is clear that the life in the Spirit we currently have is much more glorious than life by the Law.
Our hope in the glory that will come gives us a boldness. This is something that can be seen in many of Paul's letters and even in Peter's epistles as well. It is an idea that our view of what will happen in the end serves to motivate our way of life. Two words are thrown around when it comes to this idea: eschatology and ethics. You cannot separate the two. Eschatology is so much more than the study of end times and when the rapture will happen or Jesus will return. Eschatology is realizing our place in the here and now based upon what has taken place in the past and what will happen in the end. This, obviously, affects our ethics, the way we order our lives and develop our moral construct. If you studying about Jesus' return doesn't affect the way you live, it is pointless.
So how should we live? we'll look more at that tomorrow, but suffice it to say that we should live differently from the rest of the world, holy. If you look at what Christ did on the cross, and then look forward to the glory of Christ's return and eternal Kingdom, it should influence your behavior right here and right now. So how will you live?
I love the verse: "where the Spirit of the lord is, there is freedom." The whole chapter is about being sealed with the Spirit into a life that is free and is evidence of our King. In other words, you are one of God's people. As such, He has marked you with a seal, like they would do in the ancient world. When a noble person would send a letter to someone, he would put a wax seal on it and stamp his signet ring into the wax to show that it was from him. That's what God does, he saves us and puts his wax seal on us with his signet stamped into the wax. We are God's, and that means we live as God's.
It's a bold step to live for Christ and put away the ways of the world. It means losing friends and alienating those who have been in sin with you. But that's what we are called to. What's different about your life? How is it different from the way it used to be? How is it different from the self-indulgent world around us?
Our hope in the glory that will come gives us a boldness. This is something that can be seen in many of Paul's letters and even in Peter's epistles as well. It is an idea that our view of what will happen in the end serves to motivate our way of life. Two words are thrown around when it comes to this idea: eschatology and ethics. You cannot separate the two. Eschatology is so much more than the study of end times and when the rapture will happen or Jesus will return. Eschatology is realizing our place in the here and now based upon what has taken place in the past and what will happen in the end. This, obviously, affects our ethics, the way we order our lives and develop our moral construct. If you studying about Jesus' return doesn't affect the way you live, it is pointless.
So how should we live? we'll look more at that tomorrow, but suffice it to say that we should live differently from the rest of the world, holy. If you look at what Christ did on the cross, and then look forward to the glory of Christ's return and eternal Kingdom, it should influence your behavior right here and right now. So how will you live?
I love the verse: "where the Spirit of the lord is, there is freedom." The whole chapter is about being sealed with the Spirit into a life that is free and is evidence of our King. In other words, you are one of God's people. As such, He has marked you with a seal, like they would do in the ancient world. When a noble person would send a letter to someone, he would put a wax seal on it and stamp his signet ring into the wax to show that it was from him. That's what God does, he saves us and puts his wax seal on us with his signet stamped into the wax. We are God's, and that means we live as God's.
It's a bold step to live for Christ and put away the ways of the world. It means losing friends and alienating those who have been in sin with you. But that's what we are called to. What's different about your life? How is it different from the way it used to be? How is it different from the self-indulgent world around us?
Monday, October 3, 2011
1 Peter 3:8-22
As I read this passage, I think it serves as a paradigm shift for the most part. Reminding the disciples of the way they are to live completely different lives from the rest of the world is a difficult thing for many to grasp. Think about it, when was your last natural inclination to be unified in mind, sympathetic, loving, tender-hearted or humble? When was the last time you naturally decided not to repay evil with evil, reviling for reviling, or to bless those who curse you?
Then he quotes Psalm 34, to make it clear that this is not a new idea or a new way of life. This has been the way of life for God's people since long before Jesus ever made his grand entrance into the world. His favor is on those who practice righteousness.
And I love the rhetorical question in 3:13: Who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? That question is worth pondering. Against the background of a people who face severe persecution for their faith in Christ, that question has a lot more weight than what we understand. In our context, the answer to that question is easier to answer. But in case anyone should be confused, Peter answers his own question. If you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you will be blessed. Don't fear them (anyone who you think would harm you) nor be troubled because they don't have the final say.
You know, it takes a boldness to live a certain way knowing you might face a physical punishment, but still knowing your soul will see the reward. It takes courage to look past the here and now and focus on the future. It takes a different kind of boldness than we understand to give a defense for the way we are while still being gentle and respectful. It's not a bow up and take charge kind of boldness, but a calm, focused boldness. This is teh life we are called to: a life of absolute trust in our Savior, and a hope (not wishful thinking but eager expectation) of an eternal reward.
Are you courageous and bold for Christ? Do your actions and words reflect His demeanor? What is your next step toward a fearless, bold, Christlike lifestyle?
Then he quotes Psalm 34, to make it clear that this is not a new idea or a new way of life. This has been the way of life for God's people since long before Jesus ever made his grand entrance into the world. His favor is on those who practice righteousness.
And I love the rhetorical question in 3:13: Who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? That question is worth pondering. Against the background of a people who face severe persecution for their faith in Christ, that question has a lot more weight than what we understand. In our context, the answer to that question is easier to answer. But in case anyone should be confused, Peter answers his own question. If you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you will be blessed. Don't fear them (anyone who you think would harm you) nor be troubled because they don't have the final say.
You know, it takes a boldness to live a certain way knowing you might face a physical punishment, but still knowing your soul will see the reward. It takes courage to look past the here and now and focus on the future. It takes a different kind of boldness than we understand to give a defense for the way we are while still being gentle and respectful. It's not a bow up and take charge kind of boldness, but a calm, focused boldness. This is teh life we are called to: a life of absolute trust in our Savior, and a hope (not wishful thinking but eager expectation) of an eternal reward.
Are you courageous and bold for Christ? Do your actions and words reflect His demeanor? What is your next step toward a fearless, bold, Christlike lifestyle?
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