Unity

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. (1 Corinthians 1:10 ESV)

I got an email today from a fellow pastor who stated that his board (I’m purposefully leaving the board generic as to not get tangled up in counsel, staff, trustee, deacon, elder, etc. debate) had recently received an anonymous letter stating that the board needed to “stop worshipping” the pastor and do what is right. Now, I don’t know what the pastor is doing that this cowardly (because he does not give his name) critic believes is wrong but he apparently believes that the board is complicit in this wrong doing.

Let us lay aside what it is that the cowardly critic believes is being done wrong and focus on his claim that the board worships the pastor. Why would he hold to this idea? What is it that causes this cowardly critic to believe that the board worships the pastor? Because we do not know who the cowardly critic is we cannot say for sure why he holds this conviction. Never the less, I’d like to make the following argument:

The cowardly critic believes that the board worships the pastor because the board and the pastor, when presenting to the church a decision that has been reached, do so as a unified body. Note, that this does not say that all the members of the board and the pastor agree on everything. It does say, that once the decision has been made, that they are then unified in presenting that decision to the larger body of the church. Unfortunately, for the cowardly critic, he is under the misguided notion that the board is to act not as a group who works in conjunction with the pastor to deliver a unified vision and direction for the church but rather they are to act as a check on the “power and authority” of the pastor. He believes that the board is there to serve as the “voice of the people” against the crazy, radical notions of the pastor. He expects there to be an adversarial relationship between the board and the pastor. Not only does he expect this, he nearly demands it and when it does not happen his only conclusion is that the board worships the pastor.

It is unfortunate that the cowardly critic cannot see the blessing in having the leadership of the church unified. It is unfortunate that he fails to recognize the Biblical teachings on authority and submission. It is unfortunate that he fails to understand the joy of a church that is unified in its mission and vision. It is sad that he cannot see the difference between a board being united with their pastor versus the board worshipping their pastor. It is sad that he does not see that a church that is unified is one that is most able to bring glory and not dishonor to God.

May we all be unified in bringing glory to God.

A Southern Baptist Struggles with Lent - Day 4

Well, Saturday was the third day of Lent and my goal to read a book of the Bible each day fell short. Sure, I could blame it on having a house full of kids, errands to run, and spending a good deal of the day trying to figure out what was wrong with my sermon for Sunday morning. The truth of the matter is, I just never said, "OK, I need some time to go and read." Even if Saturday was busy, I could have found a few minutes to read Jude or Philemon. I mean really, how long do those take to read. Never the less, I never made it.

So, even though traditionally Sunday does not count in the 40 days of Lent, I read a book on Sunday. Even here, I cheated myself. I chose to read the book of Ruth. Now Ruth is a great book to read with its story of God's providence, love, and redemption but I was reading it in an attempt to kill two birds with one stone. You see, I was reading it because I wanted to keep to my Lent commitment and I read Ruth because it was my text for my Sunday evening sermon. Now, you might recall, that one of the reasons for reading a book each day for Lent is because I had fallen into that rut that many preachers fall into in which every time they are reading Scripture it is for the purpose of preparing another sermon. Well, here I was reading to further solidify my sermon.

The lesson here is that even as one practices a discipline of the faith there will be times that you really learn and grow. There will be times that you experience an intimacy with the Lord unlike you have ever experienced. Then there will also be times where it feels as though all that you have done is checked something off your to do list. The important thing is to learn from even the so called "lesser" moments (which in the end may be your best learning moments) and to perpetually be moving toward God.

I wonder what today's reading will reveal?