Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Feeding Our Joy: The Task Of Leaders



Imagine yourself living in a cabin at the foot of the mountains where you have one water supply—or at least so you think—and it is a well that is not only limited, but contaminated and continues to make you and your family ill. Yet, you think that it is better than nothing, so you continue to drink. Imagine also that you have a steady flow of hikers who stop by for water. You share your limited water only rarely for, after all, you have to provide for your family. And in those rare occasions, of course it makes the hikers ill.

Imagine also that two to three times a month you go to a meeting in town that seeks to inspire you and educate you on how to deal with your water and to remind you of the importance of helping hikers. You often hear:  “Take your pills that make you less sick;” “You must give water to hikers, it is what the owner of the mountain would want you to do.” “Pay attention to how much water you drink. After all, you don’t want to get too sick and besides, you must save some for others.”

And all along the way, you feel sick, unmotivated and unable to carry out these commands. You keep going so maybe you can find help, but it never seems to make a difference. You keep seeking for answers, but finding none; keep seeking for ways you can serve the hikers, but never really able to muster up what it takes.

Then one day your world is turned upside down. Your neighbor comes by to tell you there is a stream they discovered that runs between your two places. You had heard rumors, but never believed it was there, never believed it would be adequate or healthy or even that the owner of the mountain would want you drinking out of it. But, your neighbor shows you that the water has been tested and it is healthy—no more illness!  He shows you the letter from the mountain’s owner stating that he wants you to drink all the water you want. He wants you to enjoy it. You and your family make your way down to it, bend down on your knees and began to drink.  It is the best water, the most refreshing cold crisp water you have ever tasted. And here is the kicker!  You will never have to worry about having enough to drink. There is a never-ending supply. There is enough to supply a whole city and then some. Hikers can come every day and the more you give away, the more you have. It not only doesn’t affect your supply, it actually increases your joy in the stream. Wow!  Finally what you have sought for your whole life.

Funny thing is, you start meeting with your neighbor every week to talk about ways you can give water to more and more hikers and tell other neighbors about the stream. You make buckets so you can transport the water. Finally, you actually want to go to such meetings! 

This short parable is built upon a statement we find in Jeremiah 2:13 (NLT): “For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me—the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!”  The prophet clarifies that at the heart of Judah’s sin (and this is true of all sin) is the reality we seek to find life in sources that don’t deliver, that are inferior, rather than running to and drinking from God’s perfect and unlimited supply!  The remedy is to run to him, to drink from him. John 7:37-39 reads: “Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, ‘Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.39 (When he said ‘living water,’ he was speaking of the Spirit….).”

This parable also helps us understand and bring together the first three principles of biblical leadership, two of which we have already discussed. The first one is that we must lay before self and others our ultimate purpose—God’s glory by enjoying him forever. Our main aim in life, to use the pictures of the parable, is to magnify the owner of the mountain so that people are pointed to his goodness, his unending supply, his generosity, his stream that can bring life and joy to others. The more we drink from the stream and enjoy it, the more we draw neighbors and hikers to the stream.

The second principle we discovered about biblical leadership is that we must embody love as a key purpose in the church. The owner of the mountain wants us not only to drink to our fill and enjoy it, he wants us to share from the endless supply with others. When we are supplied so generously and lavishly we can in turn give to others and find great joy in this—which is what biblical love is (Mt. 10:8; Luke 12:32-34).

Yet, for all this to happen, we must know the truth about the owner of the mountain, the truth about the health and goodness of the stream, the truth about the endless supply, the truth about the need to help neighbors and hikers, the truth that this will not take away from our joy, but add to it, and the truth about how to make buckets so we can carry the water to our own house and others. This need for truth to power our glorifying God through joy and our love of others is the next principle we discover out of the Pastoral Epistles and the rest of the Bible for how we are to lead. We will state it this way:

ATTEND TO TRUTH AS A VERY IMPORTANT MEANS TO ACCOMP- LISHING OUR PURPOSES IN THE CHURCH.

In other words, the biblical leader is called to pour more and more truth upon the stream-drinker-bucket-carrier so they will be more motivated to drink from God’s stream, draw others to delight in him, and to see more and more coming to the stream. The more we know about the giver, the water, and the need of others, the more we will not only experience joy, but give it away. Leaders, then, are called to feed the joy of others in God.

This Truth Supported From The Pastoral Epistles
As Paul instructs Timothy and Titus in how the Church is to function and how they are to lead, we discover that leaders must: give strong attention to what we teach, such as there is only one way to God (1 Tim. 1:3-11; 2:5); teach hard truths (1 Tim. 2:11-15); “be able to teach” (1 Tim. 3:2); devote [themselves] to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching” (1 Tim. 4:13); “keep a close watch on [themselves] and on the teaching…for by so doing [they] will save both [themselves] and [their] hearers” (1 Tim. 4:16); “rightly handl[e] the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15); “be equipped for every good work” through the inspired Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16-17); “preach the word” (2 Tim. 4:2); “hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9-10); and be able to teach others how our right conduct and life that glorifies God flows from the truths and realities of the gospel (Titus 2:1-15; 3:1-8).

This teaching is not only to engender love for God and others among those being taught (1 Tim. 1:5), but also should lead to a realization God has given all things for our joy (1 Tim. 6:17), and that we are to do all for his glory (1 Tim. 1:17; Titus 2:5, 10).

This Truth Supported From The Rest Of The Bible
This truth permeates all of Scripture. Not only did God teach Israel when on the verge of entering the Promised Land they would glorify God by living out the truth of his Word (cf. Dt. 4:6-8), but we also learn that the gospel, which is the very core of biblical truth (Eph. 1:13; 1 Thes. 2:13), is the vehicle through which God’s power is unleashed for salvation (Rom. 1:16; James 1:18). It is also through the Scriptures that believers are grown and made holy (John 17:17). Additionally, believers are able to “man up” and be courageous when they consider who God is, what he is like, and what Scripture reveals about how God has worked through history to save and preserve his people—in other words, to be theologians (Isaiah 46:8-13). And there is an entire Psalm (119) dedicated to the importance, glory, and benefit of God’s Word which teaches, as elsewhere (cf. Ps. 19:7-10) its superiority to any other treasure in the world. Every person whom God called to lead his people had, as one of their primary tasks, the teaching of God’s truth, all so God’s people could love, trust in, and serve him to his glory (see especially Moses in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, as well as Ezra and Nehemiah [esp. Neh. 8:1-8]).

Application Of This Truth
Here are some application points I have learned about teaching truth from Scripture that have also been driven home through experience.

1. Trust that God’s Spirit works through God’s Word, usually in response to prayer, and usually among God’s people, to change and transform (John 17:17; Rom. 1:16; 16:25; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). Faithful, godly leaders must lead according to God’s Word.

2. Avoid the “truth-only-trap.” In other words, do not conclude that all a leader needs to do is disseminate information to the exclusion of:
a. Modeling the importance of the application of truth (1 Tim. 4:12, 16; Heb. 13:7).

b. Encouraging others to apply truth and not merely hear it (Heb. 10:24-25; James 1:22-25).

c. A personal, ongoing, intimate, and dependent relationship with Jesus (Mt. 4:19; 11:28-30; John 5:39-40; 15:1-8f.).

d. Equipping others for the work of ministry  by showing them how to do ministry and not merely telling them what to do and also helping them turn around and train others (Eph. 4:11-12; 2 Tim. 2:2).

e. Personal relationships and community in which fellow believers know each other well-enough so they can speak more specifically on how to apply and how to overcome the specific struggles they have in their walk with Christ (1 Thes. 5:14; Heb. 3:12-13).

f. Loving God and others (1 Cor. 13:1-3; 1 Tim. 1:5).

3. At the same time, however, understand how important the knowledge of biblical truth is for the Christian leader (1 Tim. 3:2; 2 Tim. 2:15; 3:16-17; Titus 1:9-10) and give it priority in your life, growth, and ministry. This means first and foremost give much time to reading, studying, hearing, meditating upon, and memorizing the Bible. At the same time, understand that given the place the New Testament gives to teachers (cf. Rom. 12:7; 1 Cor. 12:29; Eph. 4:11; 1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:9-10), avail yourself of the teaching of solid biblical teachers on-line, in podcasts, and in print. Leaders are readers—and certainly in our day and time we can add listeners!

4. Though we never want to encourage the teaching of falsehood, at the same time we must not be paralyzed by a person or ministry not knowing, having, or teaching all the truth. We must understand that people are in process and must give grace to others. See for example 2 Tim. 2:24-26.

5. Be brave and teach the hard truths, the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:17-35).

6. Be convinced that you need the help of the Spirit, his wisdom and understanding, in order to know how to apply God’s will to the specific situations you face as leaders (Col. 1:9-11).

7. Understand how destructive leaders can be who know the truth, but carry it out in the wrong ways or with the wrong spirit (consider 1 Tim. 3:1-7; 2 Tim. 2:24-26; Titus 1:9-10).

8. Memorize and pray this principle regularly—that you will have the discipline, willingness, and wisdom to carry it out effectively.


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