mistakes

What Christians get wrong about Kingdom theology

We live in a world that is obsessed with duality and dualism. Our culture is narrated by opposing forces such as Democrat and Republican, poor and rich, the winners and losers, and saved and unsaved. Dramatic attention of such opposing viewpoints creates tension and unnecessary anxiety in cultural and family systems. When religious people create a hyper-focus on dualism, it bifurcates the love of Christ and basic Bible comprehension.

When Liberty University president and Evangelical leader, Jerry Falwell Jr. spoke to The Washington Post about politics, Christianity, poverty, and culture he made several critical theological, hermeneutical, and exegetical mistakes. Among his comments… (read the rest of my article at The Christian Citizen)

Leadership

Churches, listen to Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles

As the world now knows, the Philadelphia Eagles and Nick Foles won Super Bowl 52. The improbable start of Nick Foles from backup quarterback to Super Bowl champion is the stuff of Rudy-like movies that make you feel good. Everyone loves a good underdog story. In his victory speech, Foles shared something that every church, pastor, and lay leader should listen to.

Nick Foles’ faith has been well documented. He’s a committed Christian, shares his faith publicly, and even took seminary classes. The Eagles as a team have also been public about their Christian faith. If you have followed Foles’ story, you know that he almost gave up professional football altogether. He attributive his faith in God as motivation for sticking with football.

Churches should note the storied season of the Philadelphia Eagles. Faced with losing their starting quarterback, the Eagles had to readjust their game plan with the challenges of injuries and losses they faced mid-season. Foles stated something that all churches, in a time of decline, challenge, and changing religious environment, need to hear: Continue Reading…

afeature, Christian Athletes, Culture

The perils of being a Christian athlete

In an electrifying game the Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers to become Super Bowl champions of 2013. As Baltimore holds celebrations for their winning sons, reporters will look to uncover any tantalizing details into strategy that won the big game.

Case in point, The Washington Post covered a rumor concerning Ray Lewis‘ use of deer velvet antler spray to win. What!?! This takes performance enhancing drugs to a whole new level. Lewis’ response?

Don’t let people from the outside ever try to disturb what’s inside.’ That’s the trick of the devil. The trick of the devil is to kill, steal and destroy. That’s what he comes to do. He comes to distract you from everything you’re trying to do.

Lewis’ faith in God has been well covered. One particular article on his faith in the The New York Times caught my attention with the tile, “A Sinner Holds Tight to Faith And Second Chance.” The article comes right out and jams the two extremes of Lewis’ life: his faith in God and his run ins with the law. During a 2000 Super Bowl party, Lewis was implicated in the murders of two people. The charges were dropped on the condition he pleaded to obstruction of justice and testify at the murder trial. The reporter very clearly had a grasp of Lewis’ conflicted life:

During an interview last year at about this time, I asked Lewis which biblical figure he most closely identified with. Without hesitation, Lewis cited David, who is often depicted as a flawed but righteous king, warrior, musician and poet.

To many, Lewis is seen as hypocrite. He talks about God publicly but his actions do not speak well of his character or faithfulness. Ray Lewis describes himself as David. Perhaps this is a fitting image. A king of the football world, but is flawed by his temptations and behavior. However, this is the peril of being a famous Christian athlete. You struggle with doing the right thing but your mistakes are broadcasted around the world. More than the average person.

There are other more “clean faced” Christian athletes. That is, their failures are smaller, just well hidden, or minimized. Tim Tebow, Kurt Warner, Jeremy Lin (remember Linsanity?), and Robert Griffin III just to name a few. If any of those guys ever did something wrong, the criticism would be great because the public knows of their Christianity and would be judge more harshly. Why? Because they wear their faith on their sleeve. Their fall from glory is greater because they are viewed as being more virtuous and religious. Those players have told the world they answer to a higher power and our culture sets the piety bar higher.

Ray Lewis, for example, is a guy – a Christian – who tries to follow God. He sins. He fails. He repents. He is forgiven. He wins football games. He is no better or worse Christian than you or I. He admits his journey on the road of faith is not an example of piety:

“Trust me, don’t ever take my path… Don’t ever do it the way I did it, because everyone won’t make it. You got to be willing to walk in a storm. That’s what I tell people all the time. If there’s something in your life that you know needs changing, make sure you change it before God’s got to change it. Because if God’s got to change it, you ain’t going to like it.”

The perils of being a Christian professional athlete abound. Let’s not judge them with a higher standard just because they are famous a Christian. Abraham, Issac, Moses, David, Paul, and Peter all made sinful mistakes. They were called by God to lead God’s people. We tend to remember their successes but not their failures. Just because a professional athlete is a Christian it doesn’t automatically called to role model leaders for Christianity.

afeature, Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong and confession

After years of doping allegations, Lance Armstrong finally came clean… or mostly.

After denying that he cheated, the famed cyclist admitted to using blood transfusions and a cocktail of drugs to cheat. Armstrong admitted to lying as millions tuned in to watch Oprah asked all the questions we wanted to ask. For months, shock and anger have been the reaction of choice to the man who founded an organization to “Live Strong” but cheated. In the end, Armstrong paid a price by losing endorsement deals, stepping down from his charity, and facing humiliation.

Coming clean with a confession is no easy task. Especially when you are a celebrity and you do it on national television. Or, is it?

Armstrong told Oprah things like:

I didn’t invent the culture, but I didn’t try to stop the culture.

I will spend the rest of my life trying to earn back trust and apologize to people.

I lied.

With critics saying that this interview was not enough, how does one really confess wrong doing? With news media asking if Armstrong is the “biggest liar”, how does one go about sharing the truth?

In a world where CEOs who wrongly milked millions out of companies only to retire comfortable while workers lose their 401k’s, the public’s strong reaction against people like Armstrong is reasonable. Celebrities, politicians, and the wealthy seem to get a break that most of us don’t receive.

When most people confess, it is hard and ugly. They have to face the people who they have wronged. When Lance Armstrong wants to confess, he goes on Oprah. He doesn’t face his fans, teammates, or those who he lied to. Instead, he gets a mega celebrity who wants to ride on the notoriety.

Is that a real confession?

I serve in a Christian tradition where there isn’t a standard of private confession to a priest. However, wrong doers must face the people that they have wronged and there must be an effort for reconciliation by both parties (James 5:16). If we want to be forgiven of any wrong we have done, then we must forgive others (John 20:23). Forgiveness is a two way street.

Confession of wrong doing isn’t only about coming clean. It is about restoration. It looks something like this:

Wrong doing -> Confessing of wrong doing -> Forgiveness -> Restoration of relationship -> Healing

Let’s be real about this. This process doesn’t happen in an instant. It may take days, weeks, months, and maybe years. God forgives easily but humans take longer.

For most of us, we can’t go on television and confess. We can’t have a one sided conversation of confession. We face the ugly and messy task of owning up to our mistakes and facing those who we have wrong. That’s not easy but it is the right thing to do.

Associate Pastor

Three simple ways to appreciate your associate pastor

Associate pastors, youth ministers, and other staff ministers often do the unglamorous jobs of ministry without much recognition. Associates have a calling and a title, but they often do not preach, must attend church meetings, and juggle several responsibilities which may be unrelated to their job description. It can be a thankless job.

As I wrote about in my book, The Work of the Associate Pastor (Judson Press), Senior pastors and church leaders need to recognize the special nature and challenges of associates. They spend many hours doing unappreciated jobs that senior pastors would rather not do: long retreat weekends, spending time with youth, and responding to congregant complaints when the senior pastor is not around. Churches will be better served if they appreciate and recognize their associate minister’s work.

Since associates are often undercompensated to begin with, senior pastors and church leadership can show appreciation through simple actions. Recognizing their standing and place in the church will enable an associate’s longevity and self-esteem. Here’s how you can show your appreciation:

Appreciation through pulpit time. Many senior pastors guard their pulpit as if they were guarding Fort Knox. Let go! Give your associate an opportunity to preach. Some senior pastors worry that handing over the pulpit may lead to parishioners liking the associate more. Nelson Mandela once said, “It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.” Congregations will see a senior pastor’s strong leadership by allowing associates to take center stage. It shows that the senior has good skills in developing talented leaders by letting the associate take center stage for a short while.

Appreciation through quality time with the senior pastor. It’s easy for the senior pastor to go through their week and forget to meet or spend time with the associate. Senior pastors have to worry about budgets, administration, church meetings, pastoral calls, and sermon preparation. However, they should be sure to carve out quality time with associates. Taking associates to lunch, going to conferences together, or any time that can be spent together away from church will lead to greater trust and mutual appreciation.

Appreciation through loyalty. Church folk may think loyalty goes up the chain of command but it also goes down. If an associate makes a mistake, defend the associate. Then, in private, talk to the associate about what happened and provide encouragement. Being loyal to an associate pastor means publicly thanking and backing up the associate’s work in ministry. Duffy Robbins, youth ministry guru, once said, “If you are not making mistakes in ministry you are not trying hard enough.” Loyalty is about preserving relationship over failures and celebrating successes.

Aside from the obvious pay raise, these three simple acts of appreciation will go a long way in the eye of your associate and will bless your church’s ministry. Building confidence through appreciation will make for healthy church staff dynamics and will aid an associate’s work as a fellow minister.

Do you have associate or assistant ministers in your church? Are you an associate pastor? Get a copy of my book, The Work of the Associate Pastor. This valuable resource will set associates and churches up for success.

forgive

3 Lessons Learned from Tiger Woods & Mark McGwire

We have heard so much recently about the “sins” or “mistakes” of Tiger Wood’s and Mark McGwire. Tiger Woods got caught up in a media mess that started as a story about a car accident. After many days of avoiding the media and fans, Tiger released this statement:

As you all know, I had a single-car accident earlier this week, and sustained some injuries. I have some cuts, bruising and right now I’m pretty sore…This is a private matter and I want to keep it that way. Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible.

After several days of speculation, the story quickly turned into a public nightmare for Woods and his wife:

I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children. I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I’ve done, but I want to do my best to try.

Most of us should not be surprised that Mark McGwire revealed that he did use steroids. Several creditable witnesses admitted to either giving him steroids or saw McGwire take steroids. After years of speculation, McGwire finally admitted to the truth:

I wish I had never touched steroids. It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era… I never knew when, but I always knew this day would come. It’s time for me to talk about the past and to confirm what people have suspected.

Wow, it is about time the truth came out. Lies, tears, hearings, interviews… all the pain and deception. It could have all been prevented.

Here are 3 lessons learned from Tiger Woods’ and Mark McGwire’s lives:

Continue Reading…