Asking for Directions

It seems like there is the long-standing cliche that men just won’t ask for directions.   Perhaps it was true long ago but now we have GPS devices in our cars.  Of course, the GPS isn’t giving me directions, it’s just confirming when I'll get there!

There is a greater opportunity however for every man and every woman to continually ask for direction, and that is to ask of the Lord.   It’s said that life is a journey and in this journey we need to be getting good direction daily.   It’s recorded in Matthew 7:7-8 that Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened”

Everyone experiences times when they are trying to make a decision and in these times we all need wisdom.   I find that every day there are opportunities for me to ask of the Lord to make sure that I'm making the best decisions and taking the wisest and not just the shortest path.

Asking for direction is often a humbling experience.   Perhaps that is why it's said that men don't ask for directions.  Asking God doesn't mean however that we are lost or incompetent or necessarily less sure of our own capabilities.  It does mean that God is much more able and also willing to provide help in our time of need. 

Humility by the way is something that is actually good to learn and a necessary if we are going to be position to learn and grow.   Being humble puts us in a better position to hear from the Lord.  Psalm 25:9 says, “He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.”  The book of James, the half-brother of the Lord writes, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble." (James 4:6)

When you feel anxious or are confused, seek direction from the Lord.  We do this through prayer.   If you don’t get the wisdom or direction you are looking for at the time, keep praying. I have found that in every situation I’ve prayed about, God ultimately provides direction either directly through His Word, a feeling deep inside that I've learned to recognize is from the Lord,  or a sudden thought that brings clarity.  

Look to God as the one that ultimately provides direction in your life.  He is the one that knows the beginning from the end, He is the creator and the sustainer of the Universe.  You can trust him with your life. 

Winning the $700 Million Powerball

While the odds may be slim, the news that the next Powerball jackpot has grown to $700 million gets a lot of people lined up at your local supermarket or convenience store.  I think all of us wonder what it would be like to all-of-a-sudden have that kind of money.   Just this morning a pastor friend and I were talking and after we both talked about what we would do with the jackpot, we had the obligatory conversation regarding whether playing the lottery was sinful or not.

While I have an advanced degree in theology and have served as a pastor for fourteen years,  I’m very shy about giving advice where something is a sin when it isn’t mentioned in the Bible.  In addition to theology, I'm business trained and educated and pretty well read but trying to determine exactly what God would consider sin is not one of my talents.

To gamble or not to gamble 

Of course there are many that oppose buying a lottery ticket as it's really the equivalent of gambling (knowing somehow that gambling must be sin). I'm not too sure if playing the lottery is gambling. The likelihood of a lottery ticket paying off is so low even the government looks at the purchase of a ticket as the equivalent as making a "voluntary contribution to our schools and senior citizens". While I'm still not willing to venture into the discussion on what makes a sin a sin, I do recall back when I was working on Wall Street that some of my Christian friends felt that even "playing" the stock market was gambling and as a result was sinful.

I assured them (and my wife!) that I was working and I wasn't "playing". My employer paid me good money to be a good steward of the funds that were entrusted to my care. I was able to define the difference (actually a chasm) between buying stocks and gambling. Stocks are purchases of small bits of equity or ownership in a company. Stocks are also purchased in the hope (not guarantee) that the shares of stocks will be worth more money in the future. There are differences between putting money on a blackjack table or in buying a lottery ticket and buying stock. Investors in the stock market buy shares in a company in order to participate in the profits of a for-profit enterprise. Gamblers are counting on luck and chance, for if it was a skill or based on knowledge it wouldn't be gambling.

What is the intent? 

The difference perhaps comes down to intent. Isn't that possibly the defining line for sin as well? Jesus said in Luke 6, "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." If we have a good heart, or have good intentions, we'll be doing good things. The Bible gives us plenty of examples of good things. We don't have to worry too often about the grey areas that are not specifically mentioned in the Bible.

I think one of the reasons that some would look at the Powerball Lottery as being evil or sinful is that it does resemble a "get rich quick" attitude. That is typically not a good attitude for followers and disciples of Christ. Proverbs 28:20 says, "A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished."

Warnings against the love of money

While it's not bad being rich, much of the Bible's teaching about wealth is a warning against putting trust in wealth rather than the Lord (i.e. 1 Timothy 6:17-18) or to the detriment of those who depend on us (i.e. Ecclesiastes 5:13-14). The New Testament teaches that we are to be good stewards of all that God has entrusted to us which includes our money.  Jesus spoke often about money and riches and we should be careful to love people more than things and to hold very loosely all that God has given us. In this way, when we have opportunity to use our possessions in ways that the Lord brings to mind, we won't hesitate to instead keep our possessions to ourselves.

The next time you are inclined to play the Powerball Lottery think first about what you would do with the money if you win. If your intentions are good then I think you've passed the first test. For the second test take a look at what you do with the rest of your money when you aren't buying lottery tickets. If you honor the Lord with your possessions, if you are generous towards those that have need, and if you tend to be unselfish and even sacrificial in your pursuit of helping your local church accomplish the ministry that you've determined to be a part of, then, and only then, I say, go ahead, put a couple dollars down and have some fun.

Healthy Churches

Pastor Rick Warren, author of the best-selling “Purpose Driven Life”, is often quoted as saying, ‘Healthy things grow”.   As the pastor of one of the largest and most influential mega-churches at the time, many pastors used Pastor Warren’s quote to push for numerical growth.

I confess I’m a fan of numerical growth.  The Kingdom of God is for ‘whosoever’ and there are literally millions of people that pass by our local churches every week that could benefit from not just church attendance but the remarkable life change that accompanies any movement towards God and his Son, Jesus Christ.

However, Rick Warren has said that he is often misquoted in the ‘Healthy things grow” as he was referring as much to church heath, not church growth, as being a primary indicator and primary concern.  I agree whole heartedly with Pastor Warren. 

Church health should be the concern of every pastor in every church.   The World Health Organization (WHO) defines, health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.   In the church, our focus is on the person of Jesus Christ.  A healthy church embraces the truth of Jesus as the Christ, practices and then celebrates the teachings and disciplines (i.e. discipleship) of the faith including the essentials of the faith. 

In these essentials, a local church will find that they not only have unity with the rest of the Body of Christ, regardless of denominational or doctrinal traditions, but will also find revival. 

Growth is also process that leads ultimately to maturity.  In this process, the Apostle Paul encouraged us to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Eph 4:1-2)

In this way, the Apostle Paul equates spiritual maturity with unity.   This is why we are to walk in ‘humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love’.  All too often many church leaders walk in arrogance and embrace their theology, morality or practices as being superior to others.  This is exactly how the church becomes divided and weak.

When we embrace the fact that our theology is at the best somewhat flawed and that the Holy Spirit is not bound by our doctrines and traditions we can begin to humble ourselves.  In humility we pray and believe that it is Jesus that is truly the head of the church and that any growth we see, either numerical or in spiritual health, is hopefully a result of the work of the Holy Spirit through His humble servants.

This work of the Holy Spirit can be found in the early church as recorded in Acts 2:42-47 where the believers “devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”  When these early believers embraced the essential faith and found themselves having all things in common, the Lord “added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

Spiritual health is definitely a precursor for numerical growth

Healthy Boundaries and the Billy Graham Rule

Recently, we saw a local pastor, Billy Graham’s grandson, Tullian Tchividjian, resign from his senior pastoral position because of an inappropriate sexual relationship.   It is always most unfortunate when an individual has serious moral failures that limit their ability to function whether as a husband, wife, employee, pastor or priest.

The Billy Graham rule is that neither Billy Graham nor any of his associates, would ever meet, eat, or travel with a woman alone. Billy Graham also established high standards of financial accountability for his ministry that have been subsequently adopted by over 1,700 Christian ministries in the United States. In Chapter 3 of 1^st Timothy, the Apostle Paul asks his young disciple and apprentice in ministry, “if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?”

Billy Graham observed his rule as “a strategy to protect his marriage and to avoid even the appearance of an inappropriate relationship.”  In our ministries and churches we should consider this rule today and similar rules for two reasons:

1) We are called to a higher purpose so we follow a higher standard

The bible is clear that legalism will never save us. We have an understanding of grace and as a result don’t recommend a ‘do not touch’ rule for things that are not inherently sinful.   However, when we have the privilege of serving in a leadership capacity in a church, when we seek that role and may even be compensated for the privilege,  we are reminded of Paul’s writing to the Thessalonians that we are to “Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)

2) We are called to protect the reputation of the Church

Paul reminded Timothy of how people were to conduct themselves in the church.   If Paul's instructions are true for congregants and members, it is doubly true for those that are in leadership.

“If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” 1 Timothy 3:15

The church is often accused of hypocrisy.   Charges of hypocrisy in the midst of scandal ultimately damage the ministry and effectiveness of the local church and the Body of Christ.  In order to bring clarity to what is helpful and healthy in the Body of Christ, organizations need to consider the best way to communicate what are often unwritten policies that all too often are not known by the junior and less experienced members of the staff and/or ignored by many.

Here are some questions that would be appropriate for the leadership of the church or ministry to address:

1. Are people of the opposite sex to be alone together?  Other than married couples, should people in ministry be meeting behind closed doors, in homes or in counseling sessions then a third-party is not present?  
2. Do we abstain from all sexual relationships outside the bounds of marriage?
3. Do we permit abusive language or other abusive treatment of individuals including children, elders and family members in and outside of the home?
4. Do we refrain from all illegal drugs?
5. Are we abstaining from all forms of pornography?
6. Do we continually strive for unity in all things or do we create dissension within the Church?
7. Do we honor all in the church, giving preference to one another.

When we are growing in Christ and becoming more like him, we may ultimately be able to live without some of the boundaries that may be appropriate for less mature Christians.  However, none of us are above temptation and all of us should provide an example to others that keeps them from stumbling.