Mr. Bob Ueker says... "I must be in the Front Row!"

Why is it that for a concert, performance or sporting event, we want to be on the front row.  Yet in the church, the most desired place is on the back rows?

Why?

Let me suggest a couple of reasons and their usually unintentional consequences.

1. We Want to Watch - Not Be Watched
   
   We Want to Judge, not be Judged
   
   We want to see who is there. 
   We want to see who is late. 
   We want to see who's kids are behaving. 
   We want to see who is visiting and what they are wearing.
   
   Sitting in the Back helps us to see everyone else better.  We form opinions about people based on what we see.  We speculate about someone's job, family, marriage if they seem in a bad mood.  On the flip side, we don't want other people watching and forming opinions about us. 
   
2. We don't Want the Responsibility of Being Examples in Worship
   
   Philippians 3:17--"Join in imitating me, brothers, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us."
   
   Paul frequently tells his readers to look to him, his behavior and actions for an example of how they should be.  He's not asking them to do anything that he himself is not willing to do or practice.
   
   A church service can be confusing for people who haven't been to that congregation or to church at all in a while.  But when all the church members sit in the back, it forces the visitors to sit further in the front and they don't get to see what they should be doing.  This makes them more and more self-conscious, nervous and uncomfortable.
   
   They need to see what the expectations are.  What should they be doing?  Worship is not automatic knowledge--it is a learned behavior. Unbelievers and Visitors need to learn how to worship.  Visitors want to see if we're sincere in our worship, if we're genuine and passionate in seeking after Him.
   
   They need to see that from the regular attenders.  Visitors learn about the congregation by watching the members.  But if we only sit in the back, they have to sit in front of us and we are refusing to let out worship be their example.  We are refusing to lead them, instead we criticize them for not knowing what to do.
   
3. We Want Distance from the Voice of God
   
   In Exodus and Deuteronomy, when the Glory of God descended on the mountain, the Israelites wanted to stay as far away as possible.  The Glory of the LORD is very intimidating.  It reveals His holiness and our sinfulness.  We don't want to be too close to that.. we don't want that kind of accountability. 
   
   And when the Word of God is preached... we don't want to get our toes stepped on.  When we sit so far away from the minister, it creates a distance that makes us more comfortable.  It allows us to think that he is talking to or about someone else.  We're able to glance around and see the other people who need to respond to what is being said, i.e. deflection.
   
   When God is speaking clearly and powerfully through the minister by the Word--it forces the hearers to consider it carefully and potentially make needed changes in order to grow as a disciple.  But we can avoid that and be out the door before we are expected to change.  Sitting in the back helps us do that more.
   
4. Things Visitors Fear that keep them from Visiting Your Church
   
   Being Watched
   Being Judged
   Feeling Out of Place
   Not Knowing What to Do
   Not Having the Right Clothes
   
   All of these things are made worse for them when all of the church regulars take up the back rows.
   
   But We who are mature need to be Examples in Worship - to our children and for visitors
   
   We who are mature need to be seen passionately worshiping God - 1 Corinthians 14:23 assumes that unbelievers are attending our services and watching what we do.
   
5. When mature believers all stay in the back we are saying by our actions... unintentionally, but sometimes intentionally...
   
   You're Not Welcome
   We Are Watching and Judging You
   We Don't Care whether you are comfortable or not
   We're not going to make it easy for you to be here
   We aren't interested in showing you how to Worship God
   
   You mature believers are in a place of familiarity and comfort.  Visitors are not.
   
   Regular attenders know what is going on.  Visitors do not.
   
   Making them sit in front of you increases their fears and insecurities.
   
   It also increases the likelihood that they won't come back. 
6. So What should Mature Believers in Church do?
   
   Sit in the first 6-7 rows
   Lead in Worship
   Consider the Visitor's comfort more important than your own
   Serve them
   Allow the Word of God to mold and shape you
   
   Thoughts?

    

Sermon-- 6-17-07--Father's Day

This message has more outline than usual--with things that I filled in. I hope you can keep up.

Bill Cosby tells a great story in his book, Fatherhood. He writes: Now that my father is a grandfather, he just can’t wait to give money to my kids. But when I was his kid and I asked him for fifty cents, he would tell me the story of his life. How he got up at 5 A.M. when he was seven years old and walked twenty-three miles to milk ninety cows. And the farmer for whom he worked had no bucket, so he had to squirt the milk into his little hand and then walk eight miles to the nearest can. All for 5 cents a month. The result was that I never got my 50 cents.

But now he tells my children every time he comes into the house: “Well, lets see how much money old Granddad has got for his wonderful kids.” And the minute they take money out of his hands I call them over to me and I snatch it away from them. Because that is MY money.

Paul mentions the commandment concerning parents in EPH 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 "Honor your father and mother"--which is the first commandment with a promise-- 3 "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."

As much as this is a charge to children, it is a responsibility to parents. In order for this to be a greater blessing instead of a greater burden, parents need to be sure they are of the character themselves that makes it easier for their kids to honor. If you want to be honored... be honorable.

I found this a strange notation in the announcement of John the Baptist's ministry.

Luke 1:16-17--Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Why would this need to be such a part of John's ministry? Why do father's need their hearts turned to their children? Shouldn't that be happening automatically? Sadly, I believe it isn't as natural as it may seem. Too many men put other things before their families--our hearts need to be turned back to our kids. And since I also believe that John successfully fulfilled his ministry mandate--that hearts were prepared, that hearts were turned back to their children.

Society tells us to “Be the man” and “You’re the man,” but it fails to give men an accurate picture of what that is. Biblically, several things must be the priority for your life. You must be a...

1. Devoted Disciple--we are called to Earnestly Contend for the faith—Jude 1:3—I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints”-- agonizomai--agonize--a

to suffer extreme pain or anguish; be in agony.

to put forth great effort of any kind.

Men/Father’s you must contend for your faith—make it real and vibrant. Not just protect it from attack from the outside, but contend and strive for your own faith. You are called to be a Devoted Disciple. Because as a man and a disciple of Christ you are called to a special place of Leadership, but also of Service. There are great things that God wants to accomplish in you and great things through you. And most of them will go unnoticed by the world—most won’t be written up in the paper, most won’t get you a promotion or get you more money or more popularity. In fact, being a devoted disciple may cost you some of those things. It is God’s approval that matters most. “Good work on that project” will never compare to hearing “Well done, my good and faithful servant.

If you are not developing spiritually—if you’re more interested in sports than church, if you’re more interested in the newspaper than the Bible—then not only your faith is suffering, but so is that of your family, so is that of your church. Your family and your church need you to exercise the gifts God has given you.

a. A report by Warren Mueller revealed that where both parents attend church regularly, 72% of their children continue in the faith. Where only the father attends, that percentage drops to 55 percent, but where only the mother attends, just 15 percent of the children remain involved in the church.

your influence can be great--to fully be that influence, you must be a devoted disciple.

2. Devoted Husband--m/f’s— The number one way to leave a great legacy for your children is very simple.

Love your wife. EPH 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

a. you must spiritually lead your family—you must serve your wife--support her, encourage her, build her up. That also means guard your relationship with her--guard your mind and thoughts, guard what you put before your eyes. Nothing should come between you.

Whoever said "blood is thicker than water" was wrong. You don't get to pick your family, but you do pick your wife. Your vow of marriage is your word and your "yes" must be "yes", in all things.

3. Devoted Dad—don’t fall for the lie that says Quality Time is enough. Quality Time cannot be manufactured and it will never be more important than Quantity Time. Your relationship with your kids gets some special attention in the New Testament. EPH 6:4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

COL 3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

COL 3:21 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

a. Son’s-- Ken Druck and James Simmons in The Secrets Men Keep discuss six major secrets men have. At the top of the list is that "men secretly yearn for their father's love and approval." This is often without their conscious knowledge that this yearning manifests itself in the drive that many males have to prove themselves. The authors say:

It may surprise us to know that the most powerful common denominator influencing men's lives today is the relationship we had with our fathers .... Of the hundreds of men I have surveyed over the years, perhaps 90 percent admitted they still had strings leading back to their fathers. In other words, they are still looking to their fathers, even though their fathers may have been dead for years, for approval, acceptance, affection, and understanding.

b. There's a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad read: Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father. On Saturday 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers.

c. Daughter’s—father’s—if your daughters are not getting love and affection from you—then they will run into the arms of the first boy, the first man that will give it to them. If you really care about her purity—then you won’t just build your gun & knife collection for when the boy shows up at your house—you will surround her with love and affirmation.

d. If you want her to be attracted to a decent guy, one who doesn’t treat her like dirt—then realize that if she sees you treating your wife that way—not respecting her, not supporting her—then she’ll think that’s normal. Would you want your daughter to be treated the way you are treating your wife?

e. m/f’s you must deliberately lead and exemplify the Christian life for your children’s eyes to see.

f. if you have neglected this aspect of being the husband or father and as a result they have ignored, lost interest or walked away from faith in Christ, I don’t care how successful your child is in the world—they may have a great job, make great money, have the best education. Whatever they are that the world says, “you must be so proud”—be careful that you don’t put stock in it—you can still be a failure as a father and spiritual leader regardless of how successful they turn out to be. On the flip side—you may be one of those that made every attempt to raise you child right and they still rejected faith in Christ. This is not meant to you if you were faithful—the result was up to God, the result may indicate the hardness of hearts and the reality of sin that so easily entangles, even those we love

4. You Are a Devoted Disciple First, a Devoted Husband Second, a Devoted Dad Third—all of these things must be in a higher priority in your life than work—work serves you and your family—you do not serve it. Higher priority than leisure—if you find yourself finding ways to escape your family—leaving them to fend for themselves--then you are not being their servant, but are serving only yourself.

There is hope in that first verse talking about John the Baptist—that one of his roles in ministry is to help turn the hearts of fathers back to their children. Your heart being turned back to your children is a sign of the coming of Christ—of His power revealing itself in your life—and as certain as is the coming of Christ—so there is great blessing when your heart is turned toward your children. There is great blessing that comes from them—and you have great blessing to give to them.

LK 11:11 "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Ephesians 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Eric Ribbens has expressed on several occasions that one of the hardest parts of adopting kids was the reality that for every kid you accept, there are hundreds more that you have to say “no” to. that’s how it works in human terms—you cannot take all those precious kids home with you. But God’s economy doesn’t work that way. He can walk into the orphanage and say I want all of you to come home with me. The only kids that stay in the orphanage are those who reject God’s invitation—maybe it’s a lack of trust, maybe they’ve been hurt before, maybe they actually think they prefer the life of an orphan. But God desires to give good things to His children. He is the only perfect Father out there. I’m proud to say that I’m adopted—adopted into the Family of God. He has called me home. And He is calling you home right now.

Sermon--Faith's Call of Leadership--1 Peter 5:1-5

Faith’s Call of Leadership—1 Peter 5:1-5

This was a difficult passage to develop into a sermon as it was speaking to “elders” which is primarily understood to be pastors. However, there were several principles of leadership & motivation that were spoken of in the passage that are helpful for our churches.

Leadership is a vital part of the success or growth of any organization be it a nation, a business.

Can you imagine England surviving WWII without the leadership of Churchill? Or America surviving without the leadership of Washington during the Revolution or Lincoln during the Civil War. Great Leadership often manifests itself during times of great turmoil or conflict.

It’s even necessary in the church. The Kingdom of Light is setting up battle fronts in the Kingdom of Darkness. Each outpost must be manned and prepared for an enemy that is ruthless and cruel and wants nothing more than to “Steal, Kill and Destroy” Leadership within the Church is Vital—that’s why Paul spent so much time identifying and setting up leadership for the churches he established and visited.

In many ways, this was a section of 1 Peter directed to me. The elder of a congregation or Presbyter, as an office we typically understand as a pastor. However, since the word is plural, it also means that it was written either with several pastors in mind, either multiple congregations reading the letter or each congregation that will have several who hold places of leadership within the fellowship.

READ 5:1-5

Elders—Pastor—I am an elder or leader not by age, but by calling—we both felt God’s leadership

Pastor to Students, Deacons, Trustees, Council Members

A Call of Maturity

A Call of Responsibility

A Call of Privilege

A Call of Example

1. Elder

Witness of Christ’s Sufferings—Peter was an eyewitness in the literal sense. But we have not been an eyewitness, but it must still apply to us. We must have witnessed and called upon and depended upon Christ’s suffering in our own lives. You and I must have seen Christ suffering in our heart and spirit and applied its power to our lives—as a result of doing this, we share in the glory to be revealed.

IOW, we must be saved. Leadership in the church must have a genuine, authentic, sincere faith that has had time to grow and mature. Leadership is a Call of Maturity.

Maturity—is not perfectly dependent on age—but it often is related to it. Maturity as a Christian has to do with understanding the faith, with wisdom, with humility, not insisting that you’re always right, willingness to forgive and not strike back at someone who has offended or hurt.

Scripture teaches more about the Qualifications for someone serving as a leader than it does explaining what that leader is supposed to do.

Titus 1:6-9—Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he “must be blameless--not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8 Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

1TI 5:17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching

James—says there is a ministry of prayer for an elder as well. “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.”

2. Beware of Wrong Motives for Church Leaders

Greedy for Money—Gain, Compensations, Gifts, Benefits or Perks

In this you are banking or taking advantage of the generosity of others.

Money is a powerful motivator and can ruin lives and ministries.

Lording It Over—controlling, power hungry, manipulative, superiority complex

If you enjoy being the boss and telling other people what to do. If you had to take orders for a long time and struggled through it, now it’s your turn to make someone else squirm. Don’t get involved in ministry or service to others in the church just to boost your own ego

Don’t let me come across as power hungry—

3. Be Shepherds—gentle and firm Guides

This title is personal for Peter, for it is the language that Jesus used while reinstating Peter to the ministry of the Kingdom after Peter’s denials. “Do you love Me?... Feed my Sheep” In other words be their shepherd. It is a Call of Responsibility

Its meaning embraces on who:
Feeds—when they are hungry—you see to it that they have their need met—spiritually speaking, you have a responsibility to help nourish their spiritual hunger.
Guides (sheep and keeps them from going astray or necessarily their own way
Guards (against wolves—THOSE people, those teachings that are dangerous to the sheep)
Heals (the wounds of injured)
Protecting, leading, guiding, feeding.

As a leader in our church, in some way, God has given you a Call of Responsibility for which you must show care—concern, devotion and responsibility.

We are to organize around each other—so we may encourage one another, so we may help one another, so we may give us a sense of family when all other family has abandoned us.

If you are a part of University Baptist Church, then you need to look at who your leaders are—you need to look for those you can go to in time of need.

Flip Side—if you are not an elder—and even if you are, b/c you need people to minister to you.

Then God has placed you under someone’s spiritual care and responsibility. Live in that—do not resent it or spurn it. Do not take advantage of it either.

4. There is a Call of Privilege Must vs. Willingness—--Quote from “Disappointment With God”—We who live now are not disadvantaged, but wonderfully Privileged, for God has chosen to rely primarily on us to carry out His will on earth.”

We are privileged. Embrace this calling—take joy and satisfaction at seeing those you care for are growing, are involved and have their family and spiritual needs met. This doesn’t mean that you enjoy everything you do—but your attitude going in will many times shape the outcome and the blessing you receive.

Flip Side—be willing to live under their care— vs. 5—Young men—submissive to those who are older—show respect—hear their wisdom—be willing to bring your concerns, questions and needs—willingness is key for you to get the most out of your elders. They are there for your benefit and support. They can be a great asset to you, your family, your future, your walk with Christ—They can be a mentor for you.

When you have questions, needs, concerns—don’t do it all by yourself. Willingness isn’t about gritting your teeth, either when it comes to living under the guidance and leadership of the elders. Too many times, you hear talk about the Problematic Sheep than the Helpful Sheep.

Don’t be the sheep that is constantly wandering off—constantly lagging behind or dragging your feet or the one that needs the most prodding. Then you become a burden when you should be a source of joy and strength.

Peter also told “all of you” to Clothe yourselves with Humility—Peter knew what this looked like. The tendency of Leadership is to see people as serving you, but Peter remembered just the opposite and he saw it in Jesus. Upper room experience—seeing Jesus strip down to just a towel and wash feet. Leadership and maturity in the faith is not about

A Call of Example--Set an example in Service & Humility

Leaders—lead by setting an example—others see your actions, hear your voices, notice how you live and behave

Leaders--Don’t expect anyone else to grow if you are not growing. Don’t expect anyone else to attend our activities or services if you are not willing to attend. Don’t expect commitment, don’t expect time, don’t expect giving, if you are not willing to do those things.

Think of Attendance--In many ways, the health of a church’s attendance is not measured by Sunday Morning numbers or even whether giving makes the budget or not. Rather, a truer measure of a growing and mature church is the attendance on those other days when there isn’t such a perceived obligation.

Sunday Nights or on Wednesday Nights—when prayer is a greater emphasis—when growth in the word is done.

That health starts by a good example—from the Top-Down. If attendance and growth is not important to the leaders, why would anyone else need to be there?

What are other signs of living by examples?

True Leadership and willingness begins and ends in Trust. It’s not that your leaders are perfect—it’s not that I will ever be perfect or the best at everything—but do you trust—is relationship established enough that I won’t take advantage of you—I won’t look down on you

5. Remember that You Too are Under A Shepherd—vs. 4

He is the Good Shepherd—He willingly lays down His life for His sheep.

He will hold accountable—parable of talents or cities in Matthew 25 or Luke 19

He Greatly desires to Bless—blessing for faithful leadership—i.e. reward

Vision v. Control

Vicky and I were talking the other night and the question was asked:

Where is the line between providing leadership and vision for a church and "trying to control too much"?

How do you know where that line is?

What are the signs that you've crossed it?

I definitely need to hear from you on this one.

Kelly