The Presbyter's Page
Electronic Edition – August 2002
Original articles published July 2002
Section 12 - LA
District UPCI
Donald Bryan - Presbyter
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Sermon Thought: "Two Words Satan Hates To Hear"
The Seven
Habits Of Highly Ineffective Leaders
Why Some
Churches Grow And Others Decline
Sermon Thought:
“Two
Words Satan Hates To Hear”
Acts 7:9
"And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold
Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him," -- Acts 7:9 (KJV)
In the word of God are many very powerful two-word phrases such as: Healed all, gathered in, cast out, raised up, and pulled down. Each one is used in context with the very power of God. But I want to point out one phrase in scripture that is used 43 times that will cause your spirit to jump for joy, to shout out loud, to gain strength and hope from and that phrase is “BUT GOD!”
What power in these two words. They remind the devil that there is a point in every believer’s life that causes them to stand up and draw the line and just say two words “BUT GOD!” They are the LAST WORD! They are the “it’s all over but the shouting.” These words are in the realm of a Christian’s life of what up is to down, what life is to death, what in is to out. “But God” stands in the face of adversity and doubt and destroys the yoke of negativity and fear for when the world says no way, “BUT GOD SAYS YES!” When the world says won’t, “BUT GOD SAYS WILL!” When the world says stop, “BUT GOD SAYS GO!”
When the world shouts don’t, “BUT GOD SAYS DO!” When the world shouts defeat, “BUT GOD SAYS WIN!” When the world taunts you as worthless, “BUT GOD SAYS YOU ARE THE KING’S CHILD!” “BUT GOD” is heard at the break of a new day when cryings have been heard since the midnight hour and at the crack of dawn the weeping is turned into joy! “BUT GOD” will take you into the enemy’s camp and cause you to take back everything he has stolen from you! The Bible tells us in Acts 7:9 that “The patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt BUT GOD was with him and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharoah…”
The devil always thinks he can stifle or even stop the plan God has for your life… “BUT GOD is with us.” He will try to put you in a pit (Gen. 27) Joseph’s brothers stripped him of his tunic and cast him into a pit. “BUT GOD” had a plan for him just as he does for your life. If you feel as if you are in a pit of deceit, a pit of brokenness, a pit of abandonment, I have news for you – “BUT GOD.” Satan tried to discredit Joseph and entangle him in sexual sin. Joseph was faithful to God and Potiphar and fled from sin and evil and by doing right Joseph was thrown into prison. “BUT GOD had a plan!” The word of God tells us in Genesis 39:21 “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” Is Satan trying to set a trap to entangle you in sin? Are you feeling the pressure beating down on your life? I have two words for you”BUT GOD.”
Please understand that Satan thinks he can stop the power and the plan of God, and thinks he can do this in your life… “But GOD” has a definite plan for you! Don’t listen to the lies and fall into the snares of Satan. You don’t have to! You must realize that God has the final word! Satan says defeat, But God Says Victory! Satan says disease, But God Says Healing! Satan says your children are lost, But God Says You And Your Home Will Be Saved! I have two words for you, “BUT GOD!”
The Seven Habits Of Highly Ineffective Leaders
Leaders who want to be effective will be careful that they are not:
1. Spending too much time managing and not enough time leading. Leadership guru Warren Bennis notes that most organizations are over-managed and under-led. There are major differences between managing and leading. Here are a few:
· Managers think short term, leaders long term.
· Managers control and minimize change, leaders initiate change.
· Managers solve problems, leaders create excitement.
2. Spending too much time in counseling the hurting and not enough time in developing the leaders. John Maxwell makes the observation that people with very strong mercy gifts don’t function well in visionary leadership. They don’t want to hurt anybody or make decisions that offend or cause conflict. My experience would verify that. Those leaders who know they have a strong mercy side must be careful about who they spend time with. All their available time and energy will go to the hurting and the discouraged, leaving no time to develop future leaders, which is the leader’s main responsibility. The hurting will find you. You have to find the leaders.
3. Spending too much time fighting fires and not enough time lighting fires. The leader needs to be a proactive fire lighter, not a reactive fire fighter. Many leaders spend so much time dealing with issues in a crisis mode that they have precious little time left to deal with the longer term issues so as to not be caught behind the change curve.
4. Spending too much time doing and not enough time praying, dreaming, and planning. We have all heard the expression, “Just don’t sit there, do something.” Leaders need to practice, “Just don’t do something, sit there.” A good leader will balance out doing and dreaming, active and quiet, energized and hibernating. A good leader will have less on the “do list” and free up time to “just sit there” and not be always chasing his own tail light in the traffic of life. Many leaders are entirely too busy with the day-to-day issues and spend comparatively little time in creative dreaming, and time alone with God.
5. Spending too much time teaching the many and not enough time training the few. The war will not be won entirely behind the pulpit. Many leaders invest too much time in public teaching in spite of the fact that statistics show that 70-80% of most audiences are not listening and will not apply what they are getting. Speaking to the crowds needs to be balanced out with investing time with the few who can and will reproduce. (2 Timothy 2:2)
6. Spending too much doing it themselves and not enough time doing it through others. Little people do it all by themselves, big people get others to help them. You have two choices in your leadership. Do it yourself, or get others to carry the load (Numbers 11:17). Your willingness and determination to work through others, more than anything else, may well define your effectiveness and success in ministry.
7. Making too many decisions based on organizational politics and too few decisions based on biblical principles. I wish we had more leaders (in church as well as in the private and public sectors) who do the biblically correct thing and are not swayed by current popular opinion or politically correct attitudes. Leaders who don’t hold their wet finger in the wind to see which way it is blowing but using that same finger to turn the pages of Holy Writ to see which way the Spirit of God wants to move.
Did you know that insurance
companies are increasingly scrutinizing the use of 15 passenger vans that are
often used by churches? There have been
a high number of rollovers and accidents with these vans. Churches are advised to use only designated
drivers who have chauffer’s licenses and no chargeable accidents or moving
violations. Use precautions when
driving these vans.
Why Some Churches Grow And Others Decline
In a recent study of church growth, the following
factors and strategies were noticed as being utilized in growing churches while
churches that were declining were not using these principles.
1.
Reach out to Newcomers. Focusing on the needs and
concerns of newcomers, making inquiry convenient and non-threatening, and
allowing people to move at their own pace characterized the growing churches.
2.
Build Member Commitment. While
reaching newcomers is most important, the growing churches expected much of
members, and active involvement of everyone was sought.
3.
Train and Involve Laity. There was
always a bold compelling vision for the congregation’s future as well as ways
of equipping and deploying laity drawn to the vision for ministry.
4.
Make Bold Plans. Churches with goals and dreams
far beyond current ministries and resources were more likely to grow than other
churches, all other things being equal.
5.
Pace Change. Conflict over the
implementation of these bold and innovative plans was one significant cause of
membership decline. When change moves
members so far out of their “comfort zone,” resistance and conflicts set in and
diminish the congregation’s capacity to reach out to new people.
6.
View Laity Positively. A “we-they” relationship
between leaders and members leads to a defensive posture by all and works
against outreach. A more positive view
of human nature assumes that people want to be part of God’s vision for the
church and have much to contribute to understanding and implementing the
vision.
New Pastors often make
elementary mistakes when they assume the pastorate of a church. Even though you’re now the pastor, you’re
still the “new kid on the block.”
Listed are some strategies to employ during the first year of your new
pastorate.
·
Earn
confidence by showing competence in decision-making.
·
Focus
on people first – programs second.
·
Make
no major changes the first year.
·
Promote
health through loving the people.
·
Tackle
the most critical problems one at a time – line them up single file.
·
Respect
culture – each church has its unique history.
·
Keep
in mind that Rome wasn’t built in a day.
·
Focus
on “who” first and “what” second. Get
the right people in the right positions, and then develop a strategy.
·
Give
the church a steady diet of hope.
·
Foster
a climate of trust.
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