Encourage your leaders.

A family was on their way home from church one Sunday morning when the dad spoke up and said, “You know, that preacher must have pulled that sermon off the internet and just read it to us. It had no spirituality to it at all.” The mom says, “I thought it was okay. The music was the problem today. The Choir and musicians must have not practiced this week. They were not together and sounded off key.” The little boy spoke up from the back seat and said, “If you ask me, I thought it was a pretty good show for a buck.”

Sound familiar? Hopefully not but probably! A young man in my discipleship class who is called to be a teacher asked, “Pastor, why is it those who criticize never do anything?” I told him that would always be the case with humans. Armchair quarterbacks, backseat drivers, pew preachers, and shower singers, all think the rest of us could do better than we do. I remember fighting a fire once when a friend of mine and I were in full gear inside a kitchen battling a fire in the ceiling. All of a sudden this voice says, “You need to punch a hole over here, the fire is up here.” The owner was standing there, intoxicated of course, in the midst of all the smoke and steam with water running down him!

The writer of Hebrews gives this advice to all of us; *Be responsive to your pastoral leaders. Listen to their counsel. They are alert to the condition of your lives and work under the strict supervision of God. Contribute to the joy of their leadership, not its drudgery. Why would you want to make things harder for them? I am blessed to be stationed in a church where the majority encourages others and is tolerant of imperfection. If you are making it hard on your leadership by being critical then ask God to help you to encourage them! If you are a leader then ask God to help you be the best you can be for Him!

Heavenly Father; Thank You for your patience with me. Instill in me the grace I need to deal with those who criticize and help me to listen carefully; they may be right sometimes! Lord Jesus, thank You for allowing me to ask in Your name! Amen.

In Christ: Br Mike <><

* Peterson, E. H. (2003). The Message : The Bible in contemporary language (Heb 13:17). Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress.

Keep It Simple

Albert Einstein said, “If you cannot explain it simply then you do not understand it well enough.” I think of all the times I have tried to explain things to people. When it comes to explaining the Gospel we Christians can sometimes “over explain” in our best hearted attempts to let others know Gods plan of redemption for us all. To an unbeliever the phrase, “You need to be washed in the blood because the Rapture can take place any minute,” leaves them thinking: What!? The Apostle Paul put it this way when instructing a young man that had just been appointed to a new pastorate. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” Given his explanation to Rev. Timothy I would say the Apostle Paul understood the Gospel pretty good!

You and I need only to learn a lesson from Brother Paul’s reasoning and conclusion of the matter on how we should encourage others to consider the message of the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ. Pastor Timothy had his work cut out for him and his mentor in the ministry gave him good advice on how to share this message in such a way that they could relate it to their own lives. That is all you and I need to do. We may have not all been “chief sinners” as Paul has claimed the title but we all have sinned! We all have to put aside our prideful thinking and attitude of, “Christ died for sinners,” and we have to admit that Christ died for us! Not just sinners, but for this sinner! When others hear how Christ has forgiven us, perhaps they will think, “If that guy can be forgiven so can I.”

Our Father in Heaven, we hallow Your Name! Jesus, thanks for dying for me that I may be forgiven by the Father and can now have access to Him personally through You! Amen.

In Christ: Br Mike <><