Tag: Teaching

Marks of a Healthy Small Group

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Last year I read a book by Chuck Swindoll called, The Church Awakening. It is a great read and I will one day write about many of those insights. Acts chapter two is the platform for a lot of what we understand about the first church. Today I’m thinking about small groups in the church, so here are seven marks of a healthy small group, based on Acts 2:42-47.

1. Healthy Small Groups Study the Bible: Small groups in the New Testament studied the Bible together. Acts 2:42 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching …” Of course, we know the teaching of the apostles is what we call the New Testament today. They lived in an oral culture but they were still studying lessons from the apostles.

I have recently discussed with Skip the possibility of publishing Talking Points or Points to Ponder to further get into the Bible. These pages can be distributed, printed out and used by small groups during the week. These will include questions related to the Scriptures and sermon they heard on Sunday with additional verses to consider.

The idea is for people to focus on one Bible truth at a time. People can handle only so many new truth units each week (like a truth from the sermon, one from the Sunday School lesson, one from a devotional). Too often we teach too much. If someone goes to church whenever the doors are open, they can end up with perhaps a dozen different Bible truths. You may be thinking, “My life can’t change that much” so let me focus on a truth that supports the largest church activity, worship.

2. Healthy Small Groups Share Life Together: The book of Acts says the early believers were devoted to fellowship (Acts 2:42), which means they were serious about their friendships. Notice the Bible says they were devoted to the fellowship, not just to fellowship. In other words, fellowship is not just something the church does; we are the fellowship.

Jesus calls us to be committed to one another (I’ll post something about all the “one another” verses at a later date). It is through small groups that we learn the skills of relationship. Small groups are laboratories of love, where we learn to obey the command of Jesus to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

3. Healthy Small Groups Remember Jesus Together: The Bible says the early believers devoted themselves “to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). The “breaking of bread” in this passage specifically refers to the Lord’s Supper or Communion. In the early Church, they did not take Communion in a large worship setting. They served it in small groups. Communion is only for believers, so a small group setting helps make sure only believers will take part.

4. Healthy Small Groups Pray Together: The Bible says the early believers devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 2:42). Jesus taught that there is a power to prayers spoken aloud for each other, and he made an incredible promise about small groups of believers: “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst” (Matthew 18:20). In the intimacy and confidentiality of small groups, we can pray for each other as we share our hurts, reveal our feelings, confess our failures, disclose our doubts, admit our fears, acknowledge our weaknesses, and ask for help.

5. Healthy Small Groups are Generous: The Bible says these small groups gave “to anyone who had need” (Acts 2:45). Small groups allow us to help each other with practical needs. Can I loan you a car? Can I provide you with some meals when you are sick? We tend to centralize ministries, creating a food pantry or a counseling center, but this wasn’t the New Testament model. The early Church had decentralized ministries, getting the help directly to where the needs are.

6. Healthy Small Groups Worship Together: The Bible says the New Testament small groups worshiped together, “praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people” (Acts 2:47). We need to worship God more than once a week, and small groups offer an opportunity to worship together.

7. Healthy small groups witness together: As these small groups met together, “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). They were inviting others to join them. One of the proofs of a healthy small group is that it reproduces for two reasons: so a small group may add members, and so a small group may also birth (or help start) another small group.

Small groups can be creative in outreach. Rick Warren tells of a story where one small group pooled their money and bought season tickets for the San Diego Chargers (for everyone in the group, but they also bought some extra tickets). They go together to each game, but they also use the extra tickets to invite others to come with the group. They don’t start a Bible study at the game; they just have fun, but that allows them to say, “This same group meets on Tuesday nights for Bible study. Would you like to join us?”

At King’s Grant we have no rooms to start new classes, so we are now forced to get creative. I can’t wait to see where God will lead us as we get back to the basics of small groups meeting outside of our 9:45 Sunday School hour.

Being a Man of Prayer

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The disciples specifically asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, so what does he tell them? Take a look at Luke 11:1-4 (I’ve typed out the NASB).

An introduction to the Lord’s Model Prayer:

  1. Revelation of Prayer:  “after he had finished” praying (Luke 11:1): We often don’t realize that prayer is a practice in which we need to engage. The discipleship are now aware that Jesus is a man of prayer and want to become like him. I was responding to a friend on Facebook and mentioned that I would pray for an upcoming interview. Another person responded that he did not believe in prayer but told her “good luck.” Many people are simply ignorant to the power of prayer and ridicule those who engage in the practice.
  2. Rule of Prayer: “When you pray, say” (Luke 11:2): notice that Jesus did not say “if” you pray, but “when.” This tells me that prayer is a rule of life, a practice that spiritual people engage in. It will come to us more naturally the more we practice prayer.
  3. Relationship of Prayer: “our Father” (Luke 11:2): The Christian faith is one of relationships, not a list of rules. If God is our Father, we are supernaturally made one of his children, adopted into the family of God, heirs with Christ himself. We must never forget that religion saves no one, it is only by a relationship (John 14:6, Acts 4:12).
  4. Reverence of Prayer: “hallowed be your name” (Luke 11:2): Hallowed is not a word used much in everyday language but it simply means to have reverence for God. We approach him as one of his children, but we cannot strut into his presence. We bow low recognizing the fact that we do not deserve salvation or to come into his presence.
  5. Resignation of Prayer: “your kingdom come” (Luke 11:2): Pride is one element of the human experience that prevents many people from following Jesus, and if we have a prideful attitude, this part of the prayer is disingenuous. We must actively believe and live the fact that God’s kingdom is more important and significant than our personal agendas. We must resign our personal will and agenda in order to embrace God’s purpose and mission for the world and our participation in it.
  6. Request of Prayer: “Give us each day our daily bread” (Luke 11:3): It is sad to say but true, this is the only part of prayer that we seem to believe, practice, and expect. Notice that “give us” is not at the beginning, perhaps we should follow the order of this prayer more closely. I believe that God desires that we develop relationship with him through prayer; when that happens, the “give me” request should become more in line with God’s character and mission.
  7. Repentance of Prayer: “and forgive us our sins” (Luke 11:4): It seems to be especially difficult to request to be in God’s presence through prayer all the while knowing that we are unrepentant. God desires to forgive, and can do so only on the basis of the sacrificial substitutionary atonement of Jesus on the cross. We are never perfect in this life, but we should work toward sinning less as we grow in godliness. Repent of known sin and ask God to help you sin less.
  8. Responsibility of Prayer: “for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us” (Luke 11:4): Jesus was pretty direct about this, we are to forgive others because God has graciously forgiven us (Luke 6:37, 17:4). That is our responsibility, forgive others when they have wronged us. The result of not forgiving is that a root of bitterness will begin to grow (Ephesians 4:31-32, Hebrews 12:15).
  9. Resolve of Prayer: “And lead us not in to temptation.” (Luke 11:4): One reason that prayer is vital to our spiritual life is that we all like sheep are led astray (Isaiah 53:6). We are tempted to go in our own direction and forsake the guidance of the Lord. We need for God to lead us in the right direction and keep us in the ruts of righteousness (Psalm 23:3). Men, resolve to avoid temptation!

The P-attern of Prayer:

  1. To be Definite in our Asking: no more generic prayers, let’s get specific.
  2. To be Desperate in our Approach: desperation often drives us to our knees. Let’s not wait that long.
  3. To be Doubtless in our Attitude: asking in faith is the way to go; the more we know God, the better we pray.

The R-equirement of Prayer:

  1. Requires Time: set aside a definite time and place; make prayer a habit.
  2. Requires Toil: it is important to work at getting better at praying; don’t expect an easy path.
  3. Requires Tears: pour our your heart to him, that is where the relationship develops.

The A-ction of Prayer:

  1. Power for our Work (Philippians 2:12-13, Ephesians 2:10): for God to work through us in the marketplace.
  2. Power with our Witness (James 5:16): effective and answered prayer gives us a testimony.
  3. Power in our Worship (John 4:23-24): as we pray, we open our spirits to God’s will and direction, and we are able to worship him in spirit and truth.

The Y-earning of Prayer:

  1. A Desire for Secret Prayer: have alone-time with God, where you find solitude in the midst of a busy life.
  2. A Desire for Scriptural Prayer: use God’s word and pray it back to him, I like to say, “use God’s own words against him” meaning, he cannot refute or diminish his own words.
  3. A Desire for Spiritual Prayer: the Bible mentions praying in the spirit (Ephesians 6:18, Jude 1:20) which means to allow your spirit to commune with the Holy Spirit, because sometime the Holy Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26).

The E-nlistment of Prayer: (Matthew 9:38)

  1. Our Master’s Orders: “Pray” – global evangelization is not up to us alone, God wants us to pray, as well as go.
  2. Our Master’s Ownership: “Lord of the harvest” – Jesus is the only one who can bring lost people unto himself.
  3. Our Master’s Option: “send” – sometimes God asks us to go, and we must be ready and obedient. I’ve heard Keith Green say that “we should all plan to go, until God specifically calls you to stay.”

The R-esults of Prayer:

  1. It was the magnet that drew Eliezar and Rebekah together: Genesis 24
  2. It was the mystery that opened the Red Sea: Exodus 14
  3. It was the medicine that added 15 years to Hezekiah’s life: Isaiah 38
  4. It was the muzzle used on the lions’ mouths for Daniel: Daniel 6
  5. It was the messenger who delivered Peter from prison: Acts 12

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Being a Bible Teacher

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One thing I have emphasized in our discipleship ministry is that we are not just to be teachers of the Bible in our classes; we are to be shepherds of people. Besides, we don’t really teach the Bible anyway, we teach people the Bible. Josh Hunt sent this article out this week (by Elmer Towns) and it captures what I have emphasized over the years:

A Sunday School teacher is not just an instructor, like a saved public school teacher who is teaching the Bible. A Sunday School teacher has a much broader task than just communicating biblical truth.

[ Here is a video series on Shepherding God’s People ]

A Teacher Teaches People
There are two expressions of the spiritual gift of teaching.

  1. The first is the gift of teaching where the person has a desire to study, to discover new truth, then communicate it in the instructing process. This is not the gift that best describes the Sunday School teacher, though many Sunday School teachers have this gift.
  2. The second gift is the “pastor-teacher” described in Ephesians 4:11, “And He Himself gave . . . some pastors and teachers.” The pastor-teacher uses instruction to nurture his pupils. Even though the King James Version separates the two words, “pastors, and teachers,” the Greek language joins them as one function. The pastor is a teacher.

That brings us to the next step.

A Teacher Shepherds People
A Sunday School teacher is a shepherd. A woman who has four small children around a table in a church basement should be doing a lot more than telling Bible stories about baby Moses in the bushes, or Noah’s ark. She should be giving spiritual care to her students, which involves telling Bible stories. Just as a pastor shepherds his flock in more ways than preaching, so a Sunday School teacher cares for the Sunday School flock in more ways than teaching.

Everything the pastor is to his flock, the teacher is to his Sunday School class. The same Greek word is used for pastor and shepherd, suggesting their work is similar.

A Teacher is the Pastor’s Extension
The Sunday School teacher is the extension of pastoral ministry into the life of the class. Just as an extension helps you get to hard-to-reach places, so a Sunday School teacher helps the pastor reach hard-to-reach people (at least hard for him to reach). A pastor can’t always reach down to a three-year-old boy, but a Sunday School teacher can. Classes need to be more than content centers, they need to be shepherding centers.

The Apostle Paul’s advice to the pastors of the church at Ephesus is also a challenge to Sunday School teachers today. “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing-the flock. . . . Therefore watch” (Acts 20:28-31). Notice the three words that are emphasized in these verses. These words contain the threefold job description of a pastor or Sunday School teacher.

  1. First, he is to oversee the flock, which is leading sheep.
  2. Second, he shepherds or feeds the flock, which is giving instruction.
  3. Third, he protects the flock by watching over them.

A Teacher is a Leader
How does the Sunday School teacher “shepherd” the flock in his care? He does so by fulfilling the three primary functions of the shepherd. First, a shepherd leads the flock. The greatest influence of many Sunday School teachers has been the result of their leading by example.

A Teacher is a Feeder
Second, a shepherd feeds the flock. While good Bible teaching will not guarantee your class will grow, poor teaching will hinder its growth

A Teacher is a Protector
Finally, a shepherd protects the flock. Jesus told Peter to ‘tend My sheep” (John 21:16). A Sunday School teacher visits the students who are absent to protect them from falling away. One of the best known and loved passages in all Scripture is the Twenty-third Psalm. In this passage, David describes the care he received at the hand of his Shepherd, the Lord. The example of the Lord who is our Shepherd is a constant challenge to the Sunday School teacher who is trying to be to his class what the Lord is to him.

Are All Sins Equally Bad?

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The question comes from skeptics and believers alike, “Are all sins really equal in God’s eyes?” It is common within evangelical circles to say that they are. The smallest white lie and the most brutal murder both nailed Jesus to the cross; he died for all sins. Most people may find this theological concept very appealing and accept it without doing much homework. I think this is true for two reasons:

  1. A reaction by Protestants against the Roman Catholic distinction between mortal sins (sins that are grievous) and venial sin (sins of a lesser nature).
  2. A tendency within our church culture to find a way to say that we are all equally in need of God’s grace and that all sin is extremely serious in God’s eyes (which is true).

After a little research, I don’t believe that all sin is equal in God’s sight. I also believe that telling people all sins are equal does damage to the character of God and the seriousness of certain sins. There are several reasons for this:

Think about it:

What if people lived according to this theology?

  1. If all sin is equal in the sight of God, then His anger will be equal for whatever sin we commit.
  2. How would it affect our relational disposition before God?
    1. If we suffer from the conviction of the Holy Spirit for all sins equally, our conscious getting weighed down by unrepentant sin will become confusing.
    2. This weighing down normally only comes from those sins that we perceive to be more severe. But if all sin is equal in the sight of God and one lived according to that theology, we would be just as troubled and just as repentant each time we exceeded the speed limit as when we commit adultery, steal the last loaf of bread from a starving family, or abuse children.
  3. But no one does this. We all see speeding down the road as a minor infraction because our conscious bears witness that it is not as bad as other things.

What Does the Bible Say?

I think that it is biblical and necessary to say that some sins are more grievous in the sight of God than others. This also translates into the assumption that some people are sinners to a greater degree than others. There are many instances in the Scriptures where degrees of sin are distinguished.

  1. Jesus tells Pilate that the Jewish leaders have committed a worse sin than him, saying “he who has handed me over to you has committed the greater sin” (John 19:11).
  2. Certain sins in the law are distinguished in a particular context as an abomination to God, implying that others are not as severe (as in Leviticus 18:22, Deuteronomy 7:25, 23:18, Isaiah 41:24).
  3. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is set apart as a more severe sin than blasphemy of the Son (Matthew 12:31).
  4. Proverbs 6:16-19 lists particular sins in such a way as to single them out because of their depraved nature, separating them from others.
  5. There are degrees of punishment in hell depending on the severity of the offense (Luke 12:47-48).
  6. Jesus says of the Pharisees, “You strain out a gnat while you swallow a camel” (Matthew 23:24). If all sins are equal, Christ’s rebuke does not make any sense.
  7. Jesus also talked about the “weightier things of the law” (Matthew 23:23). If all sins are equal, there is no law (or violation of that law) that is weightier than others. They are all the same weight.

Where Do We Get Our Theology?

So where does this faulty theology come from? Many people might refer to Christ’s comments in the Sermon on the Mount as justification for this way of thinking, or perhaps that verse in James.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘you shall not commit adultery;” but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:27-28).

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. (James 2:10)

Is there a difference in the eyes of God between thinking about adultery and actually doing it? Absolutely. If we say anything other than this, we do damage to God’s character and encourage the act based upon the thought of it. The point Jesus makes in Matthew 5:28 is not that lust and the actual act are equal, but that they both violate the same commandment. He was telling all people (particularly the religious leaders of the day) who thought they were safe because they had fulfilled the letter of the law that the law runs much deeper. The spirit of the law is what matters.

  1. If you have ever lusted, you have broken the sixth commandment (Matthew 5:28).
  2. If you have ever hated your brother, you have broken the fifth commandment (Matthew 5:22).

James is telling us that whatever the sin, no matter how small a sinner you believe yourself to be, that tiny sin still put Jesus on the cross to pay the debt.

The breaking of the principles of the commandment is the issue, not the degree to which it is broken.

Absurdity in Action:

If we believe that adultery and lust are equal in the sight of God, then here are the logical results:

  1. Any man or woman can justify divorce based upon the fact that Christ condemns divorce except for marital infidelity (Matthew 5:32). All they need to do is make the assumption that their spouse has lusted to some degree during their marriage.
  2. If a man were to lust after a woman on the Internet, he might as well commit the actual act, since in God’s eyes he already has.
  3. If you have ever lusted after a girl, then you should marry her since in God’s eyes you are one with her (1 Corinthians 6:16).

I think that this way of thinking is not only wrong biblically, but it also has repercussions that lead to a distorted worldview and it discredits the integrity of God.

It is true that all people are sinners; all the way since birth. But not all sin is equal. I think that it is safe to say that while not all people sin to the same degree, we all share in an equally depraved nature.

Knowing the Will of God

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These are notes from a seminar I taught back in 1988; can’t believe I found these notes. I taught this to a local congregation while I was a part of Partners, Resort/Family Ministries at the oceanfront. The notes are in outline form so I hope to elaborate on each point.

Knowing the Sovereign Will of God:

Introduction:

  1. This present world system is an organized kingdom of evil. While God created everything and He said that it was good (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31), the evil one came and introduced evil, tempting the first humans to rebel and disobey God (Genesis 3:1, 2-3, 4-5).
  2. This present world is ruled and motivated by the will of Satan.
    1. The Prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:1-3).
    2. But Satan’s power is limited (Job 1:12 for example).
  3. Only God has all power and all authority.
    1. Theological dualism
      1. Horizontal dualism: two beings of equal power battling, good and evil is a cosmic fight to see who will win.
      2. Vertical dualism: two beings at odds in a battle, but they are not equal, and God will always win, there is no doubt. They battle but God is always higher than the evil one.
    2. I am God and there is no other, I am God and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning. My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure (Isaiah 46: 9-10).
    3. It is His pleasure to reveal His will to believers (Jeremiah 29:13, Philippians 2:13).
  4. Jesus told His disciples to get into the boat and cross the sea, did Jesus not know the storm was coming? Why did He not tell them to wait since the storm was coming? (Matthew 14:22-33).
    1. Being omniscient – He knew they would encounter a storm.
    2. Being omnipotent – He would save them from the storm.
    3. Their crossing the sea had to be God’s will; therefore they and the storm was God’s will:
      1. Into the storm they were sent (God’s will is often full of storms).
      2. In no danger, Jesus was praying the whole time (Hebrews 7:25).
      3. In darkness, yet no believer will remain there (John 12:46).
  5. When you seek God’s will.
    1. You may face contrary winds. as even Paul (2 Corinthians 11:24-29).
    2. But remember He will direct your path (Proverbs 3:5-6).

God’s Will is Sovereign (Isaiah 46:9-11):

  1. Only the true God can know (what we call) the future, and therefore bring it to pass.
    1. Consider the fact that God is always in the present.
    2. There is no past or future from God’s perspective.
    3. Does God know the future? There is no future since He is always in the present.
  2. No one can ultimately alter the purposes of God: My purpose will be established, I will accomplish all my good pleasure (Isaiah 46:10).
  3. His ultimate will is established in the fulfilling of prophecy.
    1. He declares the end from the beginning.
      1. He knows the end (because He is in it), yet we are not His puppets to blindly follow.
      2. He directs our path, He does not pull us down the path.
    2. The context of Isaiah 46:10.
      1. God is prophesying Israel’s future and He will bring it to pass.
      2. His ultimate will cannot be restrained (Daniel 4:35).
  4. God has a secret will, which is not revealed to us.
    1. We cannot know all of His sovereign will, but we can know the parts revealed in Scripture (Deuteronomy 29:29).
    2. We will not know this secret will until He reveals it.
  5. We can know God’s sovereign will as revealed in history.
    1. To Abraham, “I will make you a great nation.. .and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3)
      1. Israel was made a great nation.
      2. The nations are blessed through his seed, which is Christ (Galatians 3:6-9).
    2. To all who accept Christ as Savior (John 3:16,14:1-6).
  6. The cross is proof of the sovereign (ultimate) will of God.
    1. 1000 years before Christ: David prophesied the Messiah would be crucified (Psalm 22:14-18).
    2. 700 years before Christ, Isaiah prophesied the death of Christ (Isaiah 52:1-53:12).

God’s Ultimate Will is Immutable: (Malachi 3:6).

  1. For I am the Lord, and I do not change (Malachi 3:6).
  2. God is not man that He should lie, nor son of man that He should repent. He has said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good (Numbers 23:19, Balaam blessing Israel).
  3. The reason His will is immutable: God is unchanging (Hebrews 13:8).
  4. God’s will is immutable.
    1. What about the Flood, or Moses interceding for the people? The language indicates that God changed his mind. But think about it, the Bible is clear that God does not change, so the language used is more for us to understand in human terms.
    2. In salvation, the plan has not changed for sacrifices of animals to the sacrifice of Christ.
      1. We are saved by grace, through faith, not works (Ephesians 2:8-9).
      2. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12, Romans 10:9-10).
    3. In judgment, For the Father judges no one, but has committed all Judgment to the Son (John 5:22).
    4. In morals, the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17).
  5. To know God’s will, we must read His Word which has been preserved for us.

God’s Will is Good, Acceptable and Perfect: (Romans 12:1-2). Paul’s challenge is to prove what the will of God is, that which is good, acceptable and perfect.

  1. God’s revealed will is Good:
    1. For the Lord God is a sun and shield, the Lord gives grace and glory, no good thing does He uphold from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11).
    2. God is the giver of every perfect gift (James 1:17).
    3. This giver is a sun and shield.
      1. He is the Light of the world to guide our steps (John 8:12).
      2. He is our shield of protection (Psalm 3:2-3).
    4. He gives to us grace and glory.
      1. Grace brings eternal riches (2 Corinthians 8:9)  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that through His poverty you might become rich.
      2. Glory (Romans 8:17) If indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.
  2. God’s revealed will is Acceptable:
    1. His will is the only acceptable will to Him.
    2. Man’s natural will is rebellious (Romans 8:6-8) For the mind set on the flesh is death…and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
    3. Satan’s will is totally evil (Isaiah 14:13-14).
      1. Satan said five times, “I will” and never regarded God’s will.
      2. To what degree does your will conform to God’s will?
    4. You are either doing the:
      1. Will of Satan – which is totally evil.
      2. Will of man – which is carnal.
      3. Will of God – which is good, acceptable and perfect.
  3. God’s revealed will is Perfect (because He is perfect).
    1. He has revealed the mystery of His will (Ephesians 1:9).
    2. He wants us to know and understand His will (Ephesians 5:17).

God’s Will Can be Known: (Hebrews 13:20-21).

  1. Natural man is not capable of doing God’s will, for the things of God are foolishness to him (1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:14, Ephesians 5:17).
  2. The Christian must desire communion with God, then He will take control of your life and make you complete in every good work to do His will (Hebrews 13:21).
  3. God did not save you to let you go your own way and make decisions according to the old carnal nature (independence).
    1. He gives you a new nature to combat the old nature (1 Peter 1:4).
    2. It is impossible for a carnal Christian to please God (Romans 8:8).
  4. The Question is: How can I know the perfect will of God?
    1. Sincerely desire to do His will (Hebrews 10:38) The just shall live by faith.
    2. Search the Scriptures (Acts 17:11) The Bereans “received the word with readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”
    3. Stand on the promise of the Holy Spirit.
      1. He communicates with your spirit, always in harmony with the Scriptures, assuring you that you are a child of God (Romans 8:16).
      2. He intercedes for the believer “according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27).
      3. He promised to guide us in all truth (John 16:13).
    4. See the signs of God’s providence.
      1. He may put before us an open door (Revelation 3:8, 2 Corinthians 2:12).
      2. You must be fully committed to Christ, and His will before He will show you an open door.
      3. Learn to wait on (trust in) the Lord (Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 40:31).
      4. Seek counsel in godly people (Proverbs 11:14) Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory.
  5. Realize that God is in charge even when He is not in control, meaning God being directly involved in doing hurtful actions to mankind. But because we live in a fallen world and bad things happen to good people, God can use those hurtful things in our lives to bring about positive changes: He will cause everything to work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Connecting Always Requires Energy

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Connecting with others always requires energy; just think of how many low-energy relationship you have. Even if they come off as low energy, they usually possess a reserve of energy that is not evident on the surface.

They Get Out of it What You Put into it: It is important to move toward people emotionally and relationally. The more you put into your lesson, the more they will get out of it. It is very important to not wait until Saturday to compose your lesson. Begin early in the week, reading the passage and contemplating the key points of the lesson. Pray about how the information you learn will translate into a life applicable lesson for your students. When you know your material, you will have greater confidence when you walk into the room, and you will have a good idea about the time it will take to share and discuss the lesson.

Remember Key Events in the Lives of your Students: It is good to have personal information about birthdays, anniversaries, family names, even school activities and schedules. Try to create new memories by spending time together and celebrating special events.

Work at Remembering Names: It seems so simple but it is imperative if your goal is knowing your students. It is also a great way to learn names, introducing them to other people. The more people they meet the more chances they have to connect with others.

You’ve Got to Bring it: John Maxwell writes about four unpardonable sins of a communicator, and it takes energy to do each of these.

  1. Being unprepared.
  2. Being uncommitted.
  3. Being uninteresting.
  4. Being uncomfortable.

Ten Tips to Becoming a Magnificent Mingler (communication coach Susan RoAne):

  1. Possess the ability to make others feel comfortable.
  2. Appear to be confident and at ease.
  3. Have the ability to laugh at themselves (not at others).
  4. Show interest in others; maintaining eye contact, self-disclose, ask questions and actively listen.
  5. Extend themselves to others; they lean into the greeting with a firm handshake and a smile.
  6. Convey a sense of energy and enthusiasm.
  7. Are well rounded, well informed and well mannered.
  8. Prepare stories of actual occurrences that are interesting, humorous and appropriate.
  9. Introduce people to each other with an infectious enthusiasm that motivates conversation between others.
  10. Convey respect and genuinely like people, which is the core of communicating.

Five Proactive Ways to Use Energy for Connecting: One does not need to be a high energy person or an extrovert to master this energy. I am officially an introvert, but I force myself to behave like an extrovert at times. The issue is how one recharges. Introverts recharge in solitude and peacefulness while extroverts draw energy from being around people.

1. Connecting Requires Initiative: It is important to go first. Wal-mart has a wonderful strategy when it comes to connecting – “Every time a person comes within ten feet of me, I will smile, look at him in the eye and greet him.” Initiative is to any relationship what a lighted match is to a candle. Those that do not connect in our classes are likely not taking a first step toward others, so it is our responsibility to go first. Maxwell says that if you wait until you can do everything for everybody, instead of something for somebody, you’ll end up not doing anything for anybody. Try to find ways to help others. Grateful people are generally much easier to connect with. Initiating a conversation with someone often feels awkward. Offering to help someone risks rejection. Giving to someone can lead to misunderstanding. Those who connect go ahead and do what the rest of us never quite get around to.

2. Connecting Requires Clarity: It is imperative that we prepare.

We prepare personally by knowing ourselves. We all have weaknesses and shortcomings, but we cannot give what we do not have, we cannot teach what we do not know, we cannot share what we do not feel. If someone is prepared for the little challenges of life, we should be ready for the bigger challenges.

We prepare for our people by knowing our class. Connecting begins with people. The more you know about your people the better you will be at connecting with them.

  1. Who are they?
  2. What do they care about?
  3. Where do they come from?
  4. Why did they decide to attend the class?
  5. Why are they in the room today?
  6. What do I have that I can offer them?
  7. How do they want to feel when the class is finished?

We prepare professionally by knowing our stuff. Situations where we teach, speak or lead, we must be prepared professionally. We must know what we are talking about. As teachers, we must prepare days in advance for the lesson to come across with power.

3. Connecting Requires Patience: It is important to slow down. We live in an impatient culture and moving at the pace of others can be very exhausting. When we slow down we can move at someone else’s pace. Good connectors don’t always run the fastest, but they are able to take others with them. They are able to set aside their own agenda to include others.

4. Connecting Requires Selflessness: In life there are people who take and those who give. One’s spirit is renewed by a teacher with a giving spirit. Even if you have said something before, people receive it well when you are a giver, but they will tire quickly if you are a taker. The giver is the person who teaches out of love, grace, gratitude, compassion, and passion.

5. Connecting Requires Stamina: It is essential to recharge. Teaching can be taxing physically, mentally and emotionally. It is important to recognize and avoid the leaks that drain us. We also must be intentional about our personal renewal.

Summary:
Connecting Principle: Connecting always requires energy.
Key Concept: The larger the larger the group, the more energy it takes to connect.

Practical Steps:

  1. Before class, go to each person and introduce yourself or greet the members.
  2. Ask questions and find out information about your class members.
  3. If people are not opening up in the discussion, you might talk about their uniqueness and how it relates to the topic.
  4. Remember that preparation brings energy, and passion, which comes from conviction, brings energy.

Connecting Increases Your Influence

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In February, King’s Grant is taking a bold step toward developing leaders and securing potential leaders. For three consecutive Wednesday evenings at 6:00, beginning February 2, I will have the opportunity to guide the student and adult leadership in the art and science of connecting with other people. As a text, I will use John Maxwell’s book called, Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People do Differently.

Connecting Can Make You or Break You: People cannot succeed in life without communicating effectively. It is not just about working harder. It’s not enough to just do a great job, to be successful you need to learn how to really communicate with others.

Connecting is the Key: Good communication and leadership is all about connecting. If you connect with others, you will have stronger relationships, improved community, increased teamwork, increased influence and your effectiveness will grow.

Connecting is the ability to identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your influence with them.

Connecting is Critical for Leaders: The best leaders are always the best connectors. The Harvard Business Review stated that the number one criteria for advancement and promotion for professionals is the ability to communicate effectively.

Presidential historian Robert Dallek says there are five qualities that enable them to achieve things that others don’t: vision, pragmatism, consensus building, charisma and trustworthiness. Four of these are related to the ability to communicate on multiple levels.

  1. Vision is the ability to describe what they are doing.
  2. Consensus is the ability to persuade others to come along with them.
  3. Charisma is the ability to connect on a personal level.
  4. Trust is the ability to demonstrate credibility, doing what they say they will do.

The Courage to Change: Reinhold Nieburh is famous for making popular the Serenity Prayer; “God grant me the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

  1. There are things that we can change, but often don’t know how to change.
  2. Often our coping skills are greater than our connecting skills.
  3. We need to make a difference, not just know how to make a difference.
  4. We need courage to change things rather than simply accept the status quo.

It Starts with Your Attitude: The ability to connect with others begins with understanding the value of people.

High Achievers:

  1. Care about people as well as profits.
  2. View subordinates optimistically.
  3. Seek advice from those under them.
  4. Listen well to others.

Average Achievers:

  1. Concentrate on production.
  2. Focus more on their own status.
  3. Are reluctant to seek advice from those under them.
  4. Listen only to superiors.

Low Achievers:

  1. Are preoccupied with their own security.
  2. Show a basic distrust of subordinates.
  3. Don’t seek advice.
  4. Avoid communication and rely on policy manuals.

To Be Effective, We Must Connect: We can always learn to get better at what we do, and to do this we must connect better.

Principles of Connecting:

  1. Focus on others.
  2. Expand your connecting vocabulary beyond just words.
  3. Develop your energy for connecting.
  4. Gain insight on how great communicators connected.

Practical Skills of Connection:

  1. Finding common ground.
  2. Making your communication simple.
  3. Capturing the interest of people.
  4. Inspiring people.
  5. Being authentic.

Summary:
Connecting Principle – Connecting increases your influence in every situation.
Key Concept – The smaller the group, the more important it is to connect.

Practical Steps:

  1. Talk more about other people and less about yourself.
  2. Look for ways to be of service to others.
  3. Look for ways to compliment others.
  4. Look for ways to add value to others.
  5. Don’t take credit when the group succeeds; don’t cast blame when it doesn’t.
  6. Find ways to celebrate together.

Let others know that your time with them is your highest priority that day.

The Godless without Faith

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Chapter two of Second Peter brings the whole topic of false teachers. Ever since the time of Christ there have been those who twist the teachings of Jesus and the doctrines of the church. At times these differences have brought about greater understanding and clarity involving theology, like during the Reformation. Other times brought about significant deviation from the truth, which have been called heresies.

  1. Why do people follow false teachers?
  2. What are some false teachers they have been aware of in the last few years.
  3. What motivates false teachers to work their way into churches? (Several of Paul’s letters are written to refute false teaching and false teachers (2 Corinthians 11:3–15, Galatians 2:1–5; 1 Timothy 6:3–5).
  4. What kind of tactics do false teachers use to gain followers?
  5. Why will there be certain punishment for those who turn others away from God?

Jesus was warning the people of His day to be on the lookout for gifted leaders who would take advantage of them and lead them astray. They would be men who looked good on the outside but were corrupt on the inside. They would perform well. To put it bluntly, great preachers are not necessarily great Christians.The people can be fooled and led astray.

The best picture of what a Spirit-filled man looks like is Christ. His life was characterized by the Fruit of the Spirit in the midst of a world characterized by just the opposite of those characteristics.

  1. Jesus stood up to His opponents when it was appropriate, but He also knew when to be silent.
  2. He had the courage and wit to take on the intellectuals of His day on their turf according to their terms.
  3. He spoke with authority.
  4. People, especially children, were attracted to Him. Even sinners loved to be with Him.
  5. He was a very secure man. There was nothing pretentious or intimidating about Him.
  6. He didn’t need those props.
  7. At the end of His life He tackled the toughest account of all—death. And He won!

Questions to Consider:

  1. What makes false teachers popular today?
  2. How can we recognize false teaching?
  3. There are times when we need to confront and expose sin in the life of other believers. What are some guidelines for deciding when that is appropriate?

Commentary:

Peter warned his readers of the false teachers who presented a message contradictory to that of the apostles. He wrote of the characteristics of false teachers, the consequences of their teaching, their conduct, and their condemnation.

The Characteristics of False Teachers (2 Peter 2:1–3)
False prophets in Old Testament times sought to lead God’s people away from the revelations of the true prophets, and false teachers in Peter’s time tried to lead God’s people away from the teaching of the apostles. The heretics added some of their own false teaching to the orthodox faith, thereby denying the One they professed to submit to as Christians. Their judgment would be sudden. Reckless and hardened immorality would accompany their doctrinal error. False teachers typically desire to satisfy themselves rather than God, which leads them to take advantage of their audiences. God is never late or asleep in executing justice, though He is patient (see 2 Peter 3:9).

The Consequences of False Teaching (2 Peter 2:4–10a)
Peter next described the consequences that follow false teaching to help his readers see the importance of avoiding it. He gave three examples of apostates in the past.

  1. His first example is the angels who sinned (2 Peter 2:4), an example of how the devil works.
  2. His second example is the unbelievers of Noah’s day (2 Peter 2:5), an example of the world.
  3. The third example (2:6) is the turning of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, an example of the flesh.

All three examples show that God will not only punish the wicked, but will also rescue the righteous from the judgment He will send on the ungodly who surround them.

The Conduct of False Teachers (2 Peter 2:10b–19)
Peter emphasized the conduct of false teachers in order to motivate his readers to turn away from them. Rather than behaving as good angels do, the false teachers acted like animals. Peter believed the false teachers therefore deserved treatment similar to that of animals. God will give them punishment in keeping with their crimes. Their practices were similar to stains on the clean fabric of the church, blemishes on its countenance, since the practitioners claimed to be Christians. The false teachers sinned without restraint and lured people not firmly committed to Jesus Christ to join them. They were also trying to get the Christians to participate in idolatry and immoral practices. Like the springs and mists Peter described (2 Peter 2:17), the false teachers failed to deliver what they promised and so were hypocrites. They appealed to their audiences with boastful words, promising more than they could deliver. They appealed to people who were only just escaping from those who live in error, probably new Christians and/or older carnal ones who were still in the process of making a final break with their pagan practices.

The Condemnation of False Teachers (2 Peter 2:20–22)
Peter focused in these verses on the false teachers’ final doom to warn his readers of the serious results of following their instruction. The false teachers in view had evidently heard the gospel preached and fully understood the apostles’ teaching that Jesus Christ is both Lord and Savior but had rejected it. They only escaped the defilements of the world in the sense that they had understood the gospel, which liberates sinners. But they had thrown away their key to deliverance and had thereby become entangled and overcome again by the defilements of the world. Their first state was also eternal damnation without having heard the gospel, but their final state was eternal damnation for having rejected the gospel.

It would have been better for the false teachers never to have gained full knowledge of God’s commandment regarding holy behavior than having gained it to reject it. Dogs return to corruption that comes from within themselves, and pigs return to filth they find outside themselves. False teachers do both things.

The Seven Laws of Teaching

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I have been reading a classic work of John Milton Gregory called The Seven Laws of Teaching. I love this definition of teaching:

Teaching, in its simplest sense, is the communication of experience. This experience may consist of facts, truths, doctrines, ideas, or ideals, or it may consist of the processes or skills of an art. It may be taught by the use of words, by signs, by objects, by actions, or by examples; but whatever the substance, the mode, or the aim of the teaching, the act itself, fundamentally considered, is always substantially the same: it is a communication of experience. It is painting in the mind of another the picture in one’s own — the shaping of the thought and understanding to the comprehension of some truth which the teacher knows and wishes to communicate. Further on we shall see that the word “communication” is used here, not in the sense of the transmission of a mental something from one person to another, but rather in the sense of helping another to reproduce the same experience and thus to make it common to the two.

Milton goes on to write about discovering the seven laws; and to communicate an experience there must be:

  1. A TEACHER — one who KNOWS the lesson or truth or art to be taught.
  2. A LEARNER — one who ATTENDS with interest to the lesson.
  3. A LANGUAGE — used as a MEDIUM between teacher and learner must be COMMON to both.
  4. A LESSON — one to be mastered, it must be explicable in the terms of truth already known by the learner (the UNKNOWN must be explained by means of the KNOWN).
  5. A Teacher’s work — TEACHING is AROUSING and USING the PUPIL’S MIND to grasp the desired thought or to master the desired art.
  6. A learner’s work — LEARNING is THINKING into one’s own UNDERSTANDING a new idea or truth or working into HABIT a new art or skill.
  7. A review work — The TEST AND PROOF of teaching done (the finishing and fastening process) must be a REVIEWING, RETHINKING, REKNOWING, REPRODUCING, and APPLYING of the material that has been taught, the knowledge and ideals and arts that have been communicated.

Each of these seven factors is distinguished from the rest by some essential characteristics; each is a distinct entity or fact of nature.

These definitions and statements are perhaps so simple and obvious that they need no proof; but their simplicity is more apparent than real. These definitions may be more clearly seen if they are stated as rules for teaching. If addressed to the teacher, these laws may read as follows:

  1. Know thoroughly and familiarly the lesson you wish to teach — teach from a full mind and a clear understanding.
  2. Gain and keep the attention and interest of the pupils upon the lesson. Do not try to teach without attention.
  3. Use words understood in the same way by the pupils and yourself — language clear and vivid to both.
  4. Begin with what is already well known to the pupil upon the subject and with what he has himself experienced — and proceed to the new material by single, easy, and natural steps, letting the known explain the unknown.
  5. Stimulate the pupil’s own mind to action. Keep his thought as much as possible ahead of your expression, placing him in the attitude of a discoverer.
  6. Require the pupil to reproduce in thought the lesson he is learning — thinking it out in its various phases and applications until he can express it in his own language.
  7. REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, reproducing the old, deepening its impression with new thought, linking it with added meanings, finding new applications, correcting any false views, and completing the true.

Milton concludes his introduction by stating these laws and rules apply to the teaching of all subjects in all grades, since they are the fundamental conditions on which ideas may pass from one mind to another. They are as valid and useful for the instructor in the university as for the teacher in the elementary school, and for the teaching of a law in logic as for instruction in arithmetic.

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How to be an Above Average Leader

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I sometimes wonder what it takes to be a truly great leader, and how many people would I fit into that category. I’ll address leaders in a moment, but when it comes to teachers, Josh Hunt uses the word TIGER to make a point, and he tells us that there are the five steps to doubling a group every two years or less:

Teach a halfway decent lesson each and every week; nothing less will do: You do not have to be Chuck Swindoll to grow a class. However, you must produce reasonably good lessons every single week. The better the teaching, the easier it is to grow a class.

Invite every member and every visitor to every fellowship every month: If we love them, they will come. We invite every member because it is good inreach. We invite every visitor, because it is good outreach. We do it every month because it is effective ministry. If we get them to the party, we will not keep them from class. If we get them to the party, they will come to love us, love our church and love our Lord.

Give Friday nights to Jesus: Give Friday nights to Jesus for an informal time of fellowship, games and Diet Coke. People who are opposed to the gospel are not opposed to ice cream. The Bible commands, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (1 Peter 4:9) If we will simply be obedient to this one command, we can double our classes every two years or less and our churches every five years or less.

Encourage the group toward ministry: We do this by providing specific examples of ministry and personally enlisting people to join the team. I encourage people to pick from the following seven examples of ministry opportunities: Class teacher, Outreach leader, Inreach leader, Fellowship leader, Hospitality leader (gives Friday nights to Jesus), Prayer leader, and Class president.

Reproduce: Doubling a class every two years or less is not about going from 10 to 20. It is about going from one group to two. Reproduction is hard on any level. Still, The future of the church is the reproduction of groups. The key to creating a new group is leadership. The price of creating a new group is saying good-bye. We must be willing to say good-bye in order to be obedient to the great commission. Remember that only the mature can reproduce. Only mature disciples are willing to say good-bye. We must reproduce in order to insure the life of the next generation.

I included all this not just because it is a solid strategy for growing groups, but for the first point, teach a half-way decent lesson! We don’t have to be outstanding in order to teach or lead; can we shoot for above average? I recently discovered three tips to becoming above average:

  1. Do what others won’t: Have you ever heard someone say, “Oh I would never do that?” Often this is a sign that we are on the right track. To live and serve in an above average way means you are willing to do what others won’t. Don’t let this bother or intimidate you! Recognize that every leader faces the same challenge, starting with Jesus. He certainly could have settled for an average lifestyle, but He chose to lay down His life to fulfill His purpose.
  2. Create productive habits: Leaders choose what to do with their time, their health, their desires, their appetites, their words and their thoughts. Ephesians 5:15-16 tells us “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of the time.” Our time and energy needs to be fruitful, not frivolous. We all have areas of life that are uncultivated and unfruitful. Often all it takes is for a seed to be planted and we can turn that around.
  3. Refuse to live an average lifestyle: Average leaders don’t stop to examine what they are doing. They live by their emotions and take the path of least resistance. To be above average, you may need to watch less TV, read more books, set goals, take care of your health, eat better, exercise more, forgive, encourage, and take more risks. Of course, this also means you get to see God do more in and through you than the “average” person might.

The reality is average, status-quo, ordinary living doesn’t inspire others to follow Christ more closely. Radical, above-average, extraordinary living does! This can be a challenge. Average seems so comfortable, appealing, safe. Not to mention, it’s what everyone else is doing, so it makes life easier (or so it seems).

Are you ready to be above average? I hope the answer is yes, because that means you will be able to reach more people with the love and encouragement of Christ, and lead them to grow and mature into His image. That is worth the inconvenience of letting go of the status quo.