The Presbyter's Page
Electronic Edition – September 2001
Original articles published September 1996
Section 12 - LA
District UPCI
Donald Bryan - Presbyter
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Sermon Thought:
“Attitudes in the Father's House"
Digging Your
Way Out of The Paper Pile-Up
Sermon Thought:
“Attitudes
In The Father’s House”
Luke 15:11-32
""And
he said, A certain man had two sons: And
the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods
that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son
gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there
wasted his substance with riotous living.
And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and
he began to be in want. And he went and
joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to
feed swine. And he would fain have
filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto
him.
"And
when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have
bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father,
I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be
called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great
way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck,
and kissed him. And the son said unto
him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more
worthy to be called thy son.
But
the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him;
and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat,
and be merry: For this my son was dead,
and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
Now
his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he
heard music and dancing. And he called
one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come;
and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and
sound. And he was angry, and would not
go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo,
these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy
commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with
my friends: But as soon as this thy son
was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him
the fatted calf.
And
he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and
be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is
found."
"
Contrast is a way that God uses to expose truth. If you want to make something obvious, look at the contrasts. That is why God often pairs individuals in the Scripture – Cain and Abel, Esau and Jacob for example – to show truth and right and wrong. Luke 15 shows such a contrast between a younger and an older brother. We do not know these men’s names or where or when they lived.
Living in the Father’s house produced two different attitudes in the sons. Just as the sun will harden clay but soften wax, so does living in the Father’s house produce different results. What were those attitudes?
The younger son had an inheritance mentality. “Give me the goods that falleth to me.” Falleth means to cast upon or inherit. His expectation was one of giving without paying the price. John 4:24 says we must worship God in spirit and truth. The younger son didn’t love truth. He perhaps had the spirit of the Father but not the truth. Truth costs and each generation must pay the price. Righteousness is hot inherited. Convictions, holiness, separation, worship and anointing cannot be inherited. Each generation needs to buy truth or it will end up in the hog pens of life. If an individual isn’t praying, giving or living separated, he is living off someone else’s prayers and giving. Buy the truth instead.
The elder brother had truth. “Neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment” – but did not have the Father’s spirit. He lived under the law like a Pharisee. What did it produce in him? A judgmental, critical, jealous and unhappy son. He had the Father’s blessings but wasn’t enjoying them. The older brother looked the part but wasn’t enjoying his life. Why is it that often as Christians get older, they get critical and judgmental, while those that struggle with standards and holiness often have the best spirits? Many people have rejected the church, not because of our holiness but because of our attitude! It takes both spirit and truth to be saved. A right spirit with right living. Don’t be like the sons. Be like the Father!
Digging Your Way Out of The Paper Pile-Up
God created the world in six days – but then He didn’t have any paperwork, right? With computers now as common as feedback from your microphone on Sunday morning, the paper pile up is higher than ever. The question is : Are you at the bottom of the pile trying to dig out, or are you on top and in charge? Or, have you been out of control so long that you’ve developed the “throw it all away every three months” strategy? Why even bother? Can organization really improve your ministry effectiveness? Here are three important reasons to unpile the pile:
1.
To Sharpen Your Focus.
Our minds are consumed by what our eyes can see. When faced with a pile, part of your brain
can’t stop feeling overwhelmed.
2.
To Use Time More Wisely – One of the top time
bandits is clutter, because you waste time searching for everything you need.
3.
To Increase Creativity – Besides narrowing your
focus, organizing the paper pile will give you time to be more creative.
Six Tips On How To Unpile The Pile.
1.
Get Rid Of the Clutter – Get rid of the junk
today. If your personality requires
clutter for peace of mind, then clutter a shelf or two on your bookcase or
credenza.
2.
Use A Simple System – One big time-waster is
handling a piece of paper multiple times.
Have you ever done this with a letter?
You open it and read it. Then
you set it aside for a while. Then you
have to read it again later before responding!
To avoid this, you need a system designed to do something with each
item, therefore handling it only once.
I like this “4-D” system.
·
Dump It: Throw
it away.
·
Do It Now: Take quick action.
·
Delegate: Hand
it off to someone else and follow up on the progress.
·
Delay: File
for later use, or place in a visible pending file that you check everyday.
It’s easy to organize with a system that you can understand and own.
3.
File, Don’t Pile – Trust me on this – use a simple
filing system! Design a simple topical
file, in alphabetical order. Put most
files in a file cabinet in your office.
Use your desk drawer only as a “holding tank” for material you use
regularly.
4.
Notebooks Work Great – Back to the basics is
sometimes the best route. For special
projects, minutes from meetings, charts, and anything that needs to be mobile,
use labeled three-ring binders with dividers.
5.
Use A Secretary Wisely – Give your secretary all
the paper work you can, so you can focus on the ministry to people. And no matter how small your church is, you
can always recruit administrative assistance.
For the first five years of my pastoral ministry, my secretarial
assistance consisted entirely of volunteers, and they did a great job.
6.
Don’t Over-Organize – Don’t confuse order with
compulsive neatness. I know some “Neat
Freaks” who are totally unorganized, and some “Sloppy Joes” who are very
organized. Don’t delight in the
system: instead focus on your
productivity. Getting organized isn’t
about personality type or giftedness.
It is a pathway available to everyone, and its result is greater
productivity.
Based on surveys of more than 15,000 people, the following traits were
selected as the key to effective leadership:
·
Being
honest – 87%
·
Being
forward-looking – 71%
·
Being
inspirational – 68%
·
Being
competent – 58%
Honest people have credibility – and that’s what gives leaders the trust and confidence of their people. High credibility leaders foster such things as greater pride in the organization, a stronger spirit of cooperation and teamwork, and more feelings of ownership and personal responsibility. What are some of the other characteristics of credible leaders?
v
They
do what they say they will do. They
keep their promises and follow through on their commitments.
v
Their
actions are consistent with the wishes of the people they lead. They have a clear idea of what others value
and what they can do.
v
They
believe in the inherent self-worth of others.
And they learn “how to discover and communicate the shared values and
visions that can form a common ground on which all can stand.”
v
They
are capable of making a difference in the lives of others – and liberating the
leader in everyone.
v
They
admit their mistakes. They realize that
attempting to hide mistakes is much more damaging and erodes credibility. But when they admit to making a mistake,
they do something about it.
v
They
arouse optimistic feelings and enable their people to hold positive thoughts
about the possibilities of success.
v
They
create a climate for learning characterized by trust and openness.
According to the Pareto Principle, if we devote our energy, time, and resources to the top 20% of our priorities, we’ll achieve 80% of the results we desire. Set aside some time and apply these principles:
1.
Create
a time log to identify your activities.
2.
Arrange
next week’s schedule according to your priority list.
3.
Follow
your new prioritized schedule for one week.
When we apply the Pareto Principle correctly, we have the chance to become more focused and efficient with our time. Results? We get more done – and enjoy ourselves along the way.
A speaker once used this example to illustrate the above
principle. He produced a large glass pitcher
and placed several large stones inside it until the stones reached the
top. He asked his class if the pitcher
was full. Everyone answered “Yes.”
He then produced a cup of smaller pebbles and poured them into the
pitcher. The pebbles fell into the
cracks between the larger stones and the speaker was able to put all of the
small pebbles into the pitcher. He
asked, “Is the pitcher full now?” His
class wasn’t as sure now.
He then produced a cup filled with sand and poured it into the pitcher
shaking the sand down between the stones and pebbles. “Is the pitcher full now,” he asked? The class yelled out “No!”
Finally, the speaker produced a glass of water and poured the water
into the pitcher until the water level reached the brim. Now the pitcher was full.
This demonstration shows the importance of prioritizing your
tasks. If you don’t get the big,
important tasks handled first, you will not be able to find time for them
later, but in handling the larger tasks first, you will find the time to work
the smaller things in. You will be more
effective, get more things done and feel better about yourself.
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