Biblical Guidelines for Church Leadership: Pleasing God

O, church, whom are you pleasing?  A good question, and a question that every church leader and every church member should ask themselves. Healthy and honest introspection is good. It is good to ask yourself hard questions about yourself. It is good to have a season of self-examination. This is true also for the church, and it should be done by its leaders and its members.

There is a catch phrase that I have heard and read over the last few years, and it is in context of "doing church." It is, "It is not about me." Now this is used to mean that the church service is not for church members, but for those whom the church is trying to reach...the seekers, the unconverted, the non-christian.. It is used as a reason or excuse for the church doing what it feels is necessary to reach the unchurched. It is the undergirding of the philosophy that drives how the church conducts itself, and in particular how it conducts its Sunday services.

Even though it is true that church is "not about me," the application of this truth has been misplaced. It has become "it is all about them," which refers to the unconverted and unchurched. What has been missed here? It is simply this:  it is not about me, nor about us, nor even about them....it is about God and His Son, Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit.

We have taken the focus in our churches off of God, and placed it onto those who are ungodly. We have ceased focusing on pleasing God, and are now striving in every way imaginable (and there is great imagination used) to please those who are enemies of God. When God gives the command in Hebrews to not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, He did not mean for the church to come together so as to focus on those outside of its self, to focus on anyone other than Him. The minute that the church starts trying to entice the unbeliever, it must start seeking to please the unbeliever in order to draw him or her in; and must conduct its service so as to please them in order to bring them back.

The hard question the church (its leaders and members) must ask its self is this, "In the way we conduct our services have we placed pleasing the ungodly over pleasing God; in our attempts to not offend the ungodly are we offending God; in our attempts to attract the ungodly have we made ourselves unattractive to God?" Has the church placed its affection and adoration on the ungodly and taken it off of the Lord? This is a question that I am afraid is not getting asked.

Here are a smattering of Scriptures that speak to this.  Notice how unimportant man is in these references.

Isaiah 2:22 Stop regarding man, whose breath of life in in his nostrils; for why should he be esteemed. (O church, why regard man if there is no area, no arena, in which he can be esteemed in God's eyes?)

Isaiah 40:17 All the nations are as nothing before Him, they are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless. (O church, even the nations are nothing compared against the great and mighty God who has given us life, breath, and all things!)

Psalm 144:3-4 O Lord, what is man, that you take knowledge of him?  Or the son of man, that You think of him?  Man is like a mere breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow. (O church, have you elevated man above where God has him?  Have you elevated man above God?)

I Corinthians 7:3 You were bought with a price; do not become the slaves of men.(O church, whom do you cater to?)

I Corinthians 8:6a yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things and we exist through Him.
( O church, for whom are you existing?)

II Corinthians 5:9 Therefore, we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. (O church, is your highest ambition to please Him?)

I Thessalonians 2:4 But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. (Church leaders and members, if God examines your heart to see whom you are seeking to please, what would He find?)

Galatians 1:10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? or am I striving to please men?  If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. (O church, have you become the bond-servant/slave of the ungodly by trying to please them?  And in trying to do so have you left your first love and fallen to a lesser spiritual state?)

Leviticus 10:1-3 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on  it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them.  And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, "It is what the Lord spoke, saying, 'By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored.'" (O church, by seeking to please the ungodly have you neglected to treat the Lord as holy before them?  In seeking to be attractive to men have you substituted honoring men over honoring the Lord?) 

“It is to be feared that thousands are selling Jesus for a less price than Judas received. A smile from the world has been a bribe sufficient to seduce many”

Charles Spurgeon

In the final analysis, there is only One to please. As His body the church is to be a God-pleaser not a man-pleaser (Galatians 1:10). Instead of trying to be pleasing to the ungodly the church should be teaching them what is required to please the Lord (Ephesians 5:10). O church, remember that it is the Lord Christ whom you serve, not man (Colossians 3:24). O church, examine yourself honestly and rigorously, and make sure you are living to please Him, for it is Him for whom you exist.

Biblical Guidelines for Church Leadership: Consistency

Consistency, sounds pretty boring doesn't it? And, actually, many times it is. However, when considering traits that should be present in pastors and spiritual leaders, this is usually one of the most overlooked.

There should be a consistency of character, a consistency of philosophy, a consistency of theology, a consistency of mission, a consistency in his walk, a consistency in his preparation, a consistency in his growth, a consistency in how he makes decisions, a consistency in how he deals with others, a consistency in how he communicates, and a consistency in how he expresses himself. In other words, there needs to be a thread of consistency that permeates who he is, and therefore what he does.

Why is this important? Because it gives stability to his church, and his ministry. It gives security to his people, his staff, and the leadership he works with, as it make him reliable, and even predictable. I once had an upper level manager tell me that his goal was to be so consistent that his people would know the answer before they asked him. Not a bad trait, in fact, it is a great trait to have. Unfortunately, there are many whose only consistency is their inconsistency.

Think about the comfort and security it gives to those who you work with, do ministry with, and live with when they know they can depend on what they know about you. Think about the frustration that is caused by having to deal with those whom you never know how they will react, or those who always seem to be changing their mind, ministry direction, or ministry philosophy. Think about the confusion that comes to the church when the leadership is always being blown in the direction of the latest cultural wind or chasing the next big thing.

Have you ever noticed how consistent the Lord is? We call it immutability or unchangeableness; but have you ever wondered what it would be like to serve a God that you were never sure how He was going to react, how He wanted to be worshiped, what His standards for holiness would be, or what His requirements for salvation would be? Would it be a little unnerving, kind of like an eternal insecurity instead of an eternal security?

I take great comfort that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, yes and forever (Hebrews 13:8); that He, the Lord, does not change His mind, and therefore I am not consumed (Malachi 3:6); that with Him there is no variation or change like the imperceptible shifting of a shadow (James 1:7); that even from eternity He is I am (Isaiah 43:13), that of old He founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of His hands. Even they will perish, but He will endure; and all of them will wear out like a garment; like clothing He will change them and they will be changed. But He is the same, and His years will not come to an end (Psalm 102:25-27); that His lovingkindness is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him (Psalm 103:17); that He has one eternal purpose that runs through the ages that is carried out in Christ (Ephesians 3:11), and that He has declared the end from the beginning, saying, "My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure" (Isaiah 46:10). This consistency in the character of God and the acts of God give me security in my relationship with him, it gives me confidence in my relationship with Him, and it strengthens and solidifies my trust in Him.

You see, I believe that pastors and spiritual leaders must be consistent; and it is being like the Lord that brings about that consistency. If He is consistent, then a worthy trait to be desired would be to be consistent as He is consistent. The same comfort, confidence, security, solidity, and trust that we draw from our relationship with the Lord because of His consistency is the same comfort, confidence, security, solidity, and trust that the church and its staff should have in their leadership. Consistency provides the stability that is needed in every leader, and is a key component of pastoral leadership.  As Christ models consistency, so should all those in spiritual leadership. Indeed, it is a worthy aspiration for us all.

Biblical Guidelines for Church Leadership: The Importance of Faithfulness

The Pastor and Faithfulness

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, 

who has strengthened me, 

because He considered me

faithful, putting me into service.

I Timothy 1:12

NASB

Boy, there is so much in this verse, but let's look at one particular aspect of it, and that is Paul's faithfulness. Reading through Acts and Paul’s letters, the one thing that really stands out about Paul is his faithfulness. If you think about this in relation to what the Lord told Ananias in Acts 9:16 that He would show Paul how much he must suffer for His name's sake, you come away with a deep-breathed wow; because here was a man who was shown up front how much the cost would be, and he counted it (Luke 14:27-35), lived it (II Corinthians 1:2-7; 2:4; 4:7-12; 6:3-10, 7:5-6), and remained faithful to the end (II Timothy 4:5-7).  

The question might be asked, "Faithful to who, faithful to what?" Obviously, Paul was faithful to his calling, faithful to his ministry, faithful to his friends, faithful to keep his vows, faithful with the treasure with which he had been entrusted, and faithful to the churches. But his being faithful in all of these areas was the outflow of his faithfulness to the Lord, his Lord; and he never wavered in his faithfulness to the One who had called him to suffer for His name. Even with his great learning, the great revelations he had been given, and his great gifting, his greatest attribute was his faithfulness. Without his faithfulness, his calling and all the learning, revelations, and gifting would have been for naught. Paul understood this and you can see this in I Corinthians 4:2 "In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy/faithful (pistis)."  

Faithfulness is manifested in many ways in our lives, and manifested it will be. In thinking about what are the really necessary qualities in a pastor this has to be at the top. It is nice if he is a good communicator, a gifted expositor, good with people, dynamic, personable, a good leader, educated, caring, and charismatic. But, again, without faithfulness all these qualities and gifts will be of no use. Faithfulness grounds the pastor, keeps him steady when tempted, keeps him loyal to his calling, strengthens him when tried, keeps him going when discouraged, keeps him looking to the Lord and not his circumstances, guards him from compromise, gives him a higher perspective on his life and ministry, pushes and pulls and prods him on when weary, keeps his focus on the Lord and not himself, sees him through the storms of life and ministry, empowers him to endure, and keeps him from looking for greener pastoral pastures. Faithfulness keeps him locked in on following the Lord and His will for his life. In thinking about it...wouldn't you want to see this in your pastor if you were a church member, wouldn't you want to see this in your servant if you were the Lord?

The Lord regarded Paul as faithful, and therefore placed him into service; not any service, mind you, but maybe the most important role of any of the apostles, certainly the most demanding role, and obviously a strategic role. And in that strange and mysterious dynamic of God working in and through men, the Lord strengthened Paul to remain faithful as Paul was being faithful.  

If we are honest, we would all admit that the struggle we have with faithfulness is whether we are going to be faithful to the Lord and His will, or be faithful to ourselves and our own selfish and egotistical pursuits. Which one will we be faithful to?  

Pastors, partakers of the pastoral calling, I want to encourage you to be faithful. Be faithful to the Lord in the living out of your calling, and call on Him to keep you faithful; and in your faithfulness you will find Him faithful to you.