Tag: prayer

3 Marks of a Godly Leader

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Nehemiah was one of the greatest, most Godly leaders in the entire Word of God! We can learn much about modern-day leadership from his stellar example. You remember his story. When King Solomon died in 930 B.C., he left the kingdom of Israel teetering on collapse. As a result, the Kingdom of Israel divided.

In 722 B.C., 208 years after the kingdom divided, Samaria, the capitol of the Northern Kingdom, fell to the Assyrians. The Southern Kingdom hung on another 136 years until 586 B.C. when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians. The walls of Jerusalem were utterly destroyed along with Solomon’s famed temple. Many of the Jews were captured and carried off to Babylon to live in exile.

In 538 B.C., Cyrus, king of Persia, defeated the Babylonians and became the new world power. In His sovereignty God led Cyrus to allow the Jews to return to their homeland and to rebuild the temple. The Books of Ezra & Nehemiah (originally on one scroll) stretches chronologically from 537-433 B.C. and recounts their story.

Ezra 2 tells us that 49,897 Jewish exiles returned to their homeland. Zerubabbel led them to rebuild the temple which was finally completed in 515 B.C. But, for the next 70 years after the temple’s completion, the walls and gates of Jerusalem still lay in ruins. Can you imagine how that made the Jews feel? Surely they knew they were in jeopardy. Surely they felt deep shame and longed for a better future.

Into this hopeless, dire situation stepped Nehemiah! In spite of the rocky road (pun intended) that ensued, he led them to accomplish in 52 days what they had not been able to accomplish the past 70 years. His Godly leadership made all the difference!

I believe that the most important factor in a church experiencing revitalization is leadership. But, not just any type of leadership—Godly leadership! Churches experiencing revitalization are led by pastors who walk closely with God and lead the church in the way He instructs them to lead. In the Book of Nehemiah, I see three marks of a Godly leader:

3 Marks of a Godly Leader

1.  Godly leaders are called by God. When Nehemiah heard the tragic news about his beloved people, he immediately had a burden for them. As he prayed for them, God issued a call to Nehemiah to lead in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

2.  Godly leaders live an exemplary life. Nehemiah was not perfect, but he was exemplary. The Bible tells us that he personally worked hard on the wall and that he paid his own expenses and the expenses of his servants. Although it would have been normal protocol for him to receive allowances as the governor (Nehemiah 5), he did not take them because he did not want to be a burden to the people. Now that’s an exemplary leader!

3.  Godly leaders give priority to prayer. There are 12 instances of pray in the Book of Nehemiah. Dr. Billy Graham is quoted as saying “there are three secrets to living a successful Christian life: prayer, prayer, and prayer!” Nehemiah discovered that truth as do ALL Godly leaders.

Many members of our KBC churches share similarities with the Jews in this story. They are discouraged, they know their church is in jeopardy, and they desire a better future. Thank God for pastors all across our state who are striving to lead in a Godly manner. Pray with me that even more men of God will rise up and say “by the grace of God, I will be a Godly leader where God has placed me!”

3 Keys to a Success in 2024

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Success

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 3:13-14, ESV

In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Church at Philippi, he gives us insight into his personal walk with the Lord. You could call it a “formula for success” or as I prefer, “keys to success in our walk with the Lord.”

THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS IN 2024

1.  Release the past. The Apostle Paul said, “….But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind….” (Vs. 13). He is not saying that he actually lost memory of the past, he is saying that he put the past in the proper place–behind him! He knew that the past could cause us to lose focus on the present and block our vision of the future. He knew that the past could sometimes riddle us with guilt, lure us, haunt us, taunt us, rob us of intensity and passion, and even cause us to rest on our laurels. Regardless of what we faced in 2023, let’s learn, let go, and move forward.

2.  Reach for the future. Paul seems to say, “don’t look back, but BE SURE to look forward.” He describes it as “…..straining toward what is ahead.” I can remember running my first 10K race when I was 30-yrs.-old. Because of my excitement, I started the race at a pace that was too fast for my fitness level. As a result, my side began to hurt at mile 3 and I desperately wanted to stop and walk. At that point, I saw my wife standing on the side of the road, so I didn’t want to quit in front of her. Somehow, I kept plodding along and shortly after I passed the 5-mile marker, I saw the finish line about a mile away. Something about seeing the finish line lifted my spirits and injected bounce in my step. I finished fairly strongly even though I had almost stopped to walk just a few miles earlier. Paul seems to say that he keeps the finish line in view and it encourages him to do his best. With the help of the Holy Spirit, let’s set some goals for 2024–spiritual goals, financial goals, vocational goals, fitness goals, nutritional goals. Let’s “reach” for those goals day-by-day throughout this new year.

3.  Run for the prize. What is Paul talking about when he talks about “the prize”? We know he is not saying that we can live in such a way that we earn salvation because he just said in Vs. 9 that righteousness is “through faith in Christ.” I believe Paul is saying that he is running for the goal of pleasing Jesus with his life and running for the satisfaction of knowing that he gave his best. He is saying what he later says in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” If God tarries His coming and if He allows us to live to see 2024, I pray that we will be able to say the same about the way we served the Lord in 2023.

PRAYER:  “Lord, please help us remember the lessons you taught us in 2023, but Lord, help us to release last year and not relive it. Help us to see Your plan and goals for 2024 and strain towards them in the power of Your Holy Spirit. Help us to cherish your divine approval as our highest prize!  Be glorified in our lives! Amen.”

7 Things I Loved Hearing as a Pastor

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In my last post, I talked about 6 Things I Hated Hearing As a Pastor. Fortunately in the churches I served as Senior Pastor, I heard far more words of encouragement than words of discouragement. Here are a few of the things I LOVED hearing most as a pastor.

7 Things I Loved Hearing as a Pastor

1. Pastor. I loved being called “pastor.” I’ve had no higher calling or greater privilege in my career than serving as a pastor of a local church. When someone said “Pastor Steve” or “Pastor Rice,” it always warmed my heart and made me grateful to God.

I loved being called “pastor.”

2. Pastor, I’m praying for you. You’ve heard the saying “I need the prayers and you need the practice.” I don’t know if the person who offered to pray for me needed to practice, but I knew that I needed their prayers. What a privilege that they would take time to pray for me!

3. Pastor, pray for me. It was humbling when members of the church or community asked me to pray for them. They trusted that my prayers would make a difference in their lives–what a blessing this was!

4. Thank you pastor. Words of gratitude were always welcome. I did not serve as a pastor in order to receive the praises of men and women, but since I’m human, it felt great to be appreciated.

…since I’m human, it felt great to be appreciated.

5. Pastor, I’ll be glad to help. Some individuals were always ready to jump in and help–always ready to say yes. They were always willing to give their time, finances, talents, and gifts.

6. Pastor, tell me how to become a Christian. The “Good News” never got old. Possibly the highest privilege of a pastor was being present when a person placed their faith in Jesus Christ. Heaven was present and eternity was changed!

7. Pastor, help me know how to read the Bible. The Bible is the most important key to spiritual growth. Through our reading and study of the Bible, we hear the Word of the Lord. I always found great joy in helping church members know more about God’s Word.

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Real Men Needed

Posted in Church Revitalization, Preaching2 Comments

“For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army, like an army of God.”  1 Chronicles 12:22 (ESV)

After King Saul was killed on Mt. Gilboa along with his sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, the people of Israel gathered around David at Hebron.  There they anointed him king over Israel just like the prophet Samuel had done earlier in Bethlehem.  God began to send men to David to assist him in his new position of leadership.  These men were mighty men!  For example:

  • Jashobeam, a Hachmonite killed 300 men at one time with a spear.
  • Eleazer, the son of Dodo, single-handedly took a stand on a plot of ground in a barley field and killed every member of the Philistine army fighting in that battle.
  • Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.

This is the kind of men God sent to David.  Real men!  Men with hair on their chest.  Men with backbone.  Men who could fight.  Men who had an instinct to protect.  Men who weren’t afraid to get down and dirty when the job demanded that they do so.

Real men! Men with hair on their chest.

When I think of the overwhelming need for revitalization in our churches in the Southern Baptist Convention, I’m convinced that the real solution is a simple spiritual solution.  I believe that our churches are THIRSTY for men! Real men!  Men with a spiritual backbone.  Men who know God.  Men who pray.  Men who would die for Jesus and live for their family.  Men who fight spiritual battles with the same intensity that David’s men fought physical battles!

Men who would die for Jesus and live for their family.

PRAYER:  “Oh Lord, send men like this to Your church!  Real men who will battle the spiritual forces of evil to protect your Bride.  Hurry Lord….the need is desperate!”

5 Mistakes During Conflict

Posted in Book Reviews, Church Chat, Church Consulting, Conflict, Deacon, Discipleship, Leadership, Ministry, PreachingLeave a comment

We are increasingly seeing conflict in society in general and in our local churches specifically. In their book entitled Redeeming Church Conflicts: Turning Crisis into Compassion and Care, Tara Klena Barthel and David V. Edling did a great job defining conflict and uncovering what the Bible says we should do when conflict arises. In the first chapter, they shared five mistakes that most people make when conflict happens. These mistakes are the beginning of a tragic downward spiral.

5 Mistakes People Make During Conflict

1. We think OUR evaluation of the situation is always right. I’ve made this mistake and you have as well. It’s easy and natural to do, but it’s not best to do. In order to resolve conflict, we must be open to listen to the “other side” and be willing to consider that we are not totally right on the issue.

2. We treat people differently than God treats US. God treats us with love and grace. He forgives us when we don’t deserve it. During conflict, we often treat the other person with contempt and disrespect which leads us to disdain their perspective.

3. We assume that God is on OUR side. Although we may accept that those on the other side of the conflict are believers, we believe that we uniquely have God’s attention, care, and blessing more than our opponents do.

4. We become DEFENSIVE. As soon as we become defensive, we become closed and narrow. We believe that God takes our side on the issue and condemns those on the other side of the conflict in the same way that we do.

5. We are marked by PRIDE and selfishness. These characteristics are not from the Lord. Instead, Christ wants us to be marked by humility and love which leads toward reconciliation.

Conflict is a normal part of life. No one is exempt! But, as believers, God calls us to respond differently than the world and to DO OUR BEST to resolve the conflict.

If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Romans 12:18 (NKJV)

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