Tri-Cities Baptist Church

Devout followers of Christ and disconnected nonbelievers alike have a certain picture of what a pastor should be like.  Whether I’m on the golf course, attending a community event, or among “church-people,” the tone of the conversation usually changes when I’m introduced as a preacher or pastor.  People aren’t sure what to call me…Brother? Doctor? Pastor? Mister? Reverend?  Sometimes it’s just “hey you,” which is fine too.  (Actually, “Daryl” works best.)
 
But what should you honestly and biblically expect from a pastor?  All expectations can’t be bad, but which ones are appropriate?  You may have preferences about his age, his experience, his hairstyle, or his attitudes about things that are important to you.  Most of us know preferences can’t be the standard, yet we know there must be some standards.  
 
So what are they?  What standards can you rightly expect of your pastor?  The apostle Paul provides a pretty good framework in 1 Timothy 3.  Peter also has some helpful truths that can inform your expectations.  So here are some basic standards you can expect from “pastor-man”:  
 
·         A Called Man
First Peter 5:2 makes it clear that pastors serve by the “will of God.”  Churches don’t call pastors.  Churches recognize God’s call on a pastor’s life.  

·         A Motivated Man
In 1 Peter 5 and 1 Timothy 3 both Peter and Paul write that a pastor should “aspire” to the office.  He should serve because he has a holy ambition to invest his life in ministry.  No arm-twisting should be required.
 
·         A Proven Man
He is a spiritual man who is characterized by faithfulness at home, in the community, and in the church.  His character is above reproach.  There is no indictable offense in his life.  This is not a requirement for perfection, but his character is without question.


·         A Family Man
He manages his household well.  He is faithful to his wife in every way.  He leads his children according to God’s Word.  His finances are in order.  The home is his priority.  


·         A Bible Man
He walks in an intimate relationship with God.  He studies God’s Word and applies the Bible in daily living.  He is “able to teach” and committed to sound doctrine.  

 
I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking that’s a pretty tall order for any man, and yet God empowers the pastor to fulfill this high calling.  As extensive as these biblical standards are, God has not called a pastor to fulfill your personal preferences.  We don’t support a man because he meets personal, cultural, or extra-biblical expectations.  “Pastor Man” has our support, prayers, and loyalty because he is God’s man prepared for leadership.
 
How can you support and pray for your pastor-man?  

Avoid.  Avoid.  Avoid.  Most of us deal with conflict by avoiding it. We ignore it. We stuff it. We sweep it under the carpet. We put off the tough conversations. Why? Because they are tough.  
 
But I recently heard leadership speaker John Maxwell say, “Shovel the pile while it is small.”  Every relationship is full of obstacles and challenges that create conflict.  Here are a few steps that may help you “keep the pile small”.  
 
When you conflict:
 
·         Affirm the person.  

More than likely, you love the person on the other side of the conflict.  Even if you don’t God does and created them in His image.  Communicate value and respect no matter what they think, say, or do.
 
·         Acknowledge the problem.

Even if you think there is no problem, if the other person thinks there is a problem, there is a problem.  Name it in simplest terms.  Be clear about what the actual problem is, otherwise solutions will miss the mark.
 
·         Accept responsibility.

Who created the mess is not the main issue.  Who will clean it up is the issue.  Jesus did not create the mess He chose to solve.  Man sinned.  God loved.  Jesus saves.  Serve others by owning the responsibility to find good solutions.
 
·         Adopt an action plan.

Look backward only to the extent that it helps you to understand the problem, and then move forward with a well-defined (written) plan of action.  Apologies are important, but they do little to fix the problem.  Tangible change, however, has an incredible effect on a situation.  When you agree on an action plan, the relationship that was strained moves toward health.  
 
·         Account for progress.

Difficult conversations must happen, but they probably happen too often because people fail to follow-through with their promises.  Don’t waste the fight.  Be open to accountability.  Measure progress.  And then celebrate victories with something very chocolate!
 
So the next time you see a fight coming, don’t avoid it.  Instead use it as an opportunity to build a relationship that you have always wanted.  

 
It’s one thing (and often a difficult thing) to find a new pastor.  It’s something quite different to “get” a new pastor.  So many expectations exist.  How is he like the last guy?  What will he do about my priorities?  Does he like what I like?  What will change in my area of interest?  What do we have in common?  How will he click with my friends?  The list of questions and expectations is endless.  
 
The church leader Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, “But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work.  Live peaceably with one another”—1 Thessalonians 5: 12-13.
 
Here are a few suggestions about how you can “get” your new pastor:
 
1.      Know him.

Paul used the word “appreciate” which means to perceive or to know.  You value your pastor when you take an interest in him as an individual and discover who God has made him to be.  This takes time, but that means you take that time…that you are patient to get to know him.

 
2.      Support him.

A pastor “diligently labors” which means that he works to the point of fatigue.  Leading a church often requires intense work and long hours.  It is a high calling, but it is also a heavy calling.  So like Aaron and Hur held up the arms of Moses, take responsibility to support your pastor practically and prayerfully.  When you do, you will be sure to better “get” him and the personal calling that is on his life.

 
3.      Submit to him.

God has established pastors as leaders who give “charge over you in the Lord.”  It is the believer’s responsibility to honor the role of the pastor and then to use their own gifts and calling within the body of Christ under the pastors leadership.  This divine order allows the church to avoid confusion and distractions from her mission.

 
4.      Learn from him.

Leaders emerge in order to challenge the status quo.  You need pastors to “give you instruction.”  There are things you need to learn, areas in which you need to grow, and skills you need to develop.  And God brings pastors into our lives in order to teach us.  You will “get” your pastor when you begin to apply what he teaches.  
 
5.      Celebrate him.

No one suggests emperor worship here, but Paul commands you to “esteem them (pastors) very highly in love.”  To “get” your pastor, you are commanded to think highly of him because of his work.  You are to believe the best about him.  While leaders are often viewed with suspicion, the follower of Christ honors his or her pastor because of his work.  The office of pastor is not a job or a career path; it is a calling.  And personal preferences never justify disrespect or disloyalty.

 
How do you get a new pastor?  You become the kind of Christian that honors God by honoring the call of God on your pastor’s life.  
 
Question:  How do you intend to “get” your new pastor?  I’d love your comments.  

God often moves us into unexpected territory in order to accomplish His purposes in our lives.  As we read in 1 Samuel 16 about how God moved David into a position of leadership over Israel, here are a few observations that I hope will be helpful as we walk through the affirmation process for Mike Laughrun.  

(1)   Although David was unknown to many, he was never unknown to God.  God had been working in David’s life for many years through various experiences to prepare him for leadership.  You may not know Mike, but God has been working in Mike for many years to prepare him for this assignment.

(2)   David’s peers judged him based on their personal expectations, and quite frankly God was not limited in any way by those expectations.  We are all unique creations of God.  We are formed by the experiences of our lives. God leverages many factors in our personal history to use us for His purposes.  Mike is not like anyone else.  He is God’s unique creation. God is more than ready to use Mike to accomplish His will.

(3)   David was anointed king long before he began ruling as king.  Some reasons for that were cultural, political, and in reality due to the disobedient and evil spirit of Saul.  Nevertheless, change is difficult for most of us, and churches do not always handle transition very well.  But it is difficult to find in the Bible where God did anything significant that did not require His people to change.  I recently heard someone say, “Your church is perfectly organized to get the results it is now getting.”  If God did not want us to change we would not need a new pastor.  But we need a pastor who will lead us to adjust our lives to accomplish greater things. 

(4)   The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David.  Certainly the Holy Spirit operates differently in the New Testament church, but the fact remains that God calls pastors to lead churches.  A man must aspire to the office, and a church must affirm that man, but ultimately this is God’s work.  And just as the Spirit empowered David from that day forward, we can trust God to empower Mike to fulfill this high calling. 

These are great days and I look forward to walking together with the Tri-Cities family as we discern God’s will regarding His man to lead us to accomplish His purposes.  Pray for Mike and Jennifer and their kids.  Pray for one another.  Ask good questions.  Seek Jesus first.  And live for the glory of God alone.

As we read 1 Samuel 16 we discover a few important truths that can help us as we prepare to receive God’s leader for Tri-Cities Baptist Church.
 
(1)   God is our Leader.  He led Samuel with gentleness to His man.  He will do the same for us.
(2)   God’s guidance is specific.  He led Samuel to “the one whom I designate to you”—1 Samuel 16:3b.
(3)   God deserves our greatest attention and our worship.  Samuel and the elders of the city worshipped and consecrated Jesse and his sons to the Lord.
(4)   God looks beyond the obvious and so must we.  God sees first, we see God, and then we see what God sees.  
(5)   God removes obstacles and options in order for us to see His best for us.  
(6)   God often shatters our expectations for our good.  Jesse never expected for David to be the man.
(7)   God clarifies His will by His Spirit and confirms His will by others.  As Samuel anointed David, his brothers where there for the whole thing and the Spirit of God “came mightily upon David from that day forward”—1 Samuel 16:13b.  

As you join Tri-Cities Baptist Church in a season of prayer and fasting this week, consider using 1 Samuel 16 as a guide.  Pray that we be a people that see what God sees.

20 Takeaways

Tom Bodett once said, “In school you’re taught a lesson and then given a test.  In life you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson” (Johnny Hunt, Building Your Leadership Resume, 177).
 
Solomon wrote of wisdom, “To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men.  O naïve ones, discern prudence; and, O fools, discern wisdom”—Proverbs 8: 4-5.
 
Jesus said, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves”—Matthew 10: 16.
 
God wants to move us from simplicity to wisdom.  And as my walk with Jesus has intersected life events in the last 17 months, God has begun to move me away from simplicity and I hope toward greater wisdom.  Here are a few lessons God is still teaching me through these important days of testing:
 
#1 The enemy does not play fair but he does play for keeps.
 
#2 People will judge your motives.  Expect to be misunderstood.
 
#3 People will tend to believe the last thing they heard.
 
#4 Facts are important, but people don’t always care about the facts.
 
#5 Decisions are easier to make than they are to live with.
 
#6 That which is your life is someone else’s hobby.
 
#7 The enemy is relentless…like the tide, he just keeps coming.
 
#8 Everyone would like a mulligan, but God gives grace.  So learn from your mistakes and move on.
 
#9 Whatever you say will be repeated…sooner or later.
 
#10 Your best efforts will always get mixed reviews.
 
#11 Difficulty reveals character, so face your sins quickly and make necessary changes on first sight. 
 
#12 Every circumstance is an opportunity.  Make the most of it.
 
#13 Just because you didn’t ask for it, doesn’t mean you’re not going to get it.
 
#14 Little decisions make a big difference.
 
#15 Relationships are fragile…trust leaks quickly. 
 
#16 People are fickle, so believe in people, but trust in God. 
 
#17 The kitchen is too hot for most people.
 
#18 It’s okay that things change, and it’s wonderful that God never does.
 
#19 Timing is key…strike while the iron is hot, but make sure it’s hot before you strike.
 
#20 Jesus is closer than you think…lean hard into Him. 
 
But there’s more:
 
#21 You choose your decisions, but you can never manage the consequences of those decisions.  So decide wisely.
 
#22 The mission is bigger than you…if it’s not, your mission is too small.
 
#23 The greater your responsibilities, the fewer choices you have.
 
#24 The deeper your relationship with another person grows, the more grace is required for both of you. 
 
#25 People don’t always remember the things you want them to remember.
 
#26God gives victories even in the most difficult circumstances.  Learn to celebrate the victories. 
 
#27 Don’t let anything steal your joy. 
 
#28 The next days are the best days because Jesus is Lord. 
 
Very simply, God wants to move us from naïveté to wisdom, and He uses whatever means necessary to train our hearts and to reposition our lives for His purposes.  Thankfully, He is committed to finish what He starts in us.   

How answered prayer can leave us short of God’s best.

Meribah was the place that the children of Israel got thirsty and began to complain to Moses.  In Exodus 17 we see the people “quarreled with Moses” demanding water.  They “grumbled against Moses” and challenged his motives in leading them out of Egypt only to die of thirst.  So Moses cried out to God and God provided water for the people and their livestock.  Moses named the place Massah, which means “test” because that’s where they tested God, and he named it Meribah, which means “to quarrel.”

Although that wasn’t the last time the people of Israel complained, that particular episode is important as we read Psalm 94.  In this psalm the writer reveals a sobering reality of how God felt about His people.  In the middle of this challenge not to harden our hearts, we see that God “loathed that generation” of Israelites who complained about their thirst.  He said they “err in their heart.”   He said, “they do not know My ways.” We read that God “swore in [His] anger” because of the attitude of their hearts. 

Here are a few quick observations:

(1)    Complaining Christians receive the contempt of God.  God despised that generation.

(2)    Complaining Christians do not go away quickly.  We read that God loathed them for        “forty years.” 

(3)    Complaining Christians infect others.  In Psalm 94 we see that an entire generation adopted this “Meribah condition.” 

(4)    Complaining Christians have a heart problem.  They “err in their heart.”  The problem was not the circumstances around them, but the attitude within them.

(5)    Complaining Christians miss God’s ways.  Although they were God’s people, they never knew His ways.

Through His grace and in His patience, God provided a fountain of cool, clear water to quench the people’s thirst.  But while God opened the waters of Meribah, He closed the way to the Promised Land.  God decided to quench their thirst and yet let them die in the wilderness…with the dream of the land of milk and honey in their hearts.

Sometimes God answers our prayers without ever giving us His best.  Our complaints can be heard in the heavens, yet despised in the heart of God.  Our thirst can be quenched without the blessings of God upon our lives. 

“Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker…Today, if you would hear His voice…”—Psalm 94: 6-7.

              
 
In light of the coalition of forces coming against him, King Jehoshaphat (873-848 B.C.) “was afraid and he turned his attention to seek the Lord; and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah”—2 Chronicles 20:3.
 
This warrior king knew that his opposition was too big for him to handle.  He knew his personal abilities were not enough to secure victory over the enemy.  But he didn’t call his people to arms.  He didn’t meet with his military commanders.  He didn’t develop a strategy for attack or prepare for escape.  Instead, Jehoshaphat humbled himself before God with prayer and fasting.
 
When is it necessary for God’s people today to pray and fast?
 
·         We pray and fast when we are desperate for God’s power.

 The king was powerless and he knew God was the God of all power.  There is a fast that loosens the chains of injustice and unties the cords of the yoke (see Isaiah 58:6).  There are some demonic attacks and strongholds that are too much for us.  There are some circumstances that are too much for us.  There are some temptations that are too much for us.  When you are weak, pray and fast.

·         We pray and fast when we are desperate to know God’s ways.

Jehoshaphat did not know what to do.  He knew what he did not know.  He knew that he did not know the way out.  So he stopped and called for help through prayer and fasting.
 
Although many of us are restless by nature, sometimes we must “stop striving” and know that God is God (see Psalm 46).  The enemy may be gaining ground, but we must stop.  Even when we have made a mess of things, sometime the best thing to do is to stop, cry for help, and wait on God.

·         We pray and fast when we are desperate for God’s presence.

 The king and all his people stood before the Lord.  Their focus was not on their problems but instead on the greatness of their God.  God had their undivided attention.
 
When the enemy is too great, we quickly discover that a divided heart produces a defeated life.  And prayer and fasting refocus our lives back to God.  Prayer and fasting train our hearts to seek him with our undivided attention.  When we are desperate for God we will seek him with our whole hearts with prayer and fasting.
 

On Sunday, September 12, 2010, 175 people took the One-Hour of Prayer Challenge.  What a great start as the Tri-Cities family rallies to pray, seek God’s face, and turn from our wicked ways so that God may hear us, forgive us, and heal us.
 
How did this message encourage you?  Have you responded yet to this important challenge?  I invite you to post comments on how God is personally moving in your life as we Prepare for Rain.
 
What do we do when what we can do is not enough?  Let’s start with prayer and fasting!

That word is easy to say, but difficult to experience.  Too many of us hang out in crowds but we never really connect with others.  Isolation has rushed into the church as broken relationships are scattered all around us.  Yet we were never meant to follow Jesus alone.  Jesus knew this, so He prayed, “…that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us”—John 17:21a.
 
Notice Jesus didn’t just pray that we would walk in a community.  He also provided a pattern for us to follow.  He wanted us to experience the same oneness with each other that He and the Father experienced.  We can read in John 17 what Biblical community actually looks like:  
 
·        The Father gave the Son all authority—John 17:2.

·        Salvation is found only in the Son, whom the Father sent—v. 3.

·        Glory was given to the Father through the Son’s work—v. 4.

·        The Father and Son share their glory with one another—v. 5.

·        The Son showed the Father’s glory to men whom the Father had given to the Son—v. 6.

·        The Father provided everything to the Son, and the Son gave credit to the Father to His followers—v. 7.

·        The Son accurately passed on the Father’s words—v. 8.

·        The Son taught others that He came from the Father—v. 8.  


This is very important and practical theology:
 
·        The Son is different than God the Father, yet they are one.

·        The Son submitted to the Father.  The Father ministered to the Son.

·        The Father sacrificed His Son.  The Son sacrificed Himself.

·        The Son revealed the Father.  The Father affirmed the Son.

·        The Son relied on the Father, yet possessed all resources in Himself.


If Jesus is the model, if Jesus prayed for believers to connect with one another, and if Jesus always prayed in the perfect will of the Father, what does community require from us?  Below are seven realities for building Biblical community.

What Biblical Community Requires

(1)  Responsibilities are elevated over rights.

Jesus gave up His rights in order to take on His responsibilities.
 
(2)  Service is elevated over status.

Jesus stepped off of His throne to become a servant.

(3)  Relationship is elevated over reputation.

Jesus sacrificed His reputation in order to be a friend to sinners.

(4)  The best in others is elevated over the worst in others.

Jesus knew the worst about people, but saw the best in them.
 
(5)  Investing in others is elevated over indebting others.

Jesus always gives more than He takes.
 
(6)  Credit is elevated over criticism.

Jesus shares His eternal mission with us despite our fallibilities.
 
(7)  Dependence is elevated over differences.

Jesus chose to leave His work in the hands of diverse disciples.
 
For Jesus, building community among His followers was not simply a warm, fuzzy idealistic view of life.  It was His heart cry to the Father.  Still today, the stakes are too high for isolation.  The cause of Christ is too important for fractured relationships to continue to cripple the body of Christ.    
 
So Biblical community requires something from us.  It requires things like humility, sacrifice, love, loyalty, forgiveness, honor, respect, and trust.  How will you respond?  How will you honor Jesus and His life work by building Biblical community?

“So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour?”—Matthew 26:40.
 
Jesus’ own inner circle had trouble persevering in prayer during Jesus’ most difficult season of life.  Honestly, most of us should be slow to throw stones because we have the same trouble. Persevering in prayer is a challenge for most of us for one simple reason:  Like the disciples on that fateful night, most followers of Jesus just do not understand what is at stake.  
 
Jesus told these three trusted friends, “Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak”—Matthew 26:41.  In other words we are desperate for God whether we know it or not.  We are too weak.  We are too earthy. We are too limited to win sustainable victories apart from persevering prayer.  We simply do not have the personal resources to meet the challenges ahead.
 
So here are a few reminders that can help us to return to persevering prayer:
 

• We are desperate right now.  We must accept that we will have no significant impact apart from an intimate, personal abiding relationship with God through Jesus Christ—John 15:1-5 
• Defeat and despair do not have to be a way of life.  Lasting victories are possible. We can bear “much fruit”—John 15:5.
• Prayer is personal before it is ever public.  When we get that in the right order, God hears us—Matthew 6:5.  
• Speak to God from the heart.  We do not impress Him by telling Him what we think we are supposed to say.  Let’s just tell Him the truth—Matthew 6: 7-8.
• Set aside time to pray.  Every relationship requires dedicated time.  If our spirits are dry or we are distant from God, it might be traced back to the fact we are simply not staying in His presence in prayer.  Jesus asked, “Could you not hang in there with me for one hour?”—Matthew 26:40.
• Keep prayer simple.  The model prayer we find in Matthew 6 is amazingly simple.  Jesus is the Son of God and possesses all knowledge, all wisdom, and all power, but when He was teaching His disciples to pray He kept it simple.  I love that! We can study that passage and use it in our prayer life…not as a vain repetition but as a guide to open up our prayer life.
• The possibilities in prayer are huge!  Jesus said, “Whatever you ask in My name…”—John 14:13.  When our hearts are to honor God and we recognize Jesus’ authority, God hears us and acts with power.  
  

Transformed, multiplying followers of Christ persevere in prayer because they know that real life-change is not produced through catchy slogans, new programs, sophisticated technology, or even capable leadership.  Instead, true change in our hearts, our homes, our churches, our communities, and our nation occurs when God’s Spirit captures us through persevering prayer.  
 
We are in desperate need for God.  So let’s wake up, watch, and pray with perseverance!