Jim Bomkamp on Faith & Athletics

Baseball And Ethics, Part #2: “What Do We Do About The Steroid Era Players?”

2009-09-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

In my last article in this series on Baseball And Ethics, I discussed the fact that right now Major League Baseball (MLB) is in a major quandary regarding very complex ethical issues, and how it resolves these issues is, in my opinion, the greatest challenge it has ever faced. I believe that if MLB does not appropriately resolves these ethical issues it is facing, that this has the potential to even destroy the game itself and/or its legacy. I want to say up front that because of my love of the game of baseball it is not easy and it pains me to write these things.

In my first article in this series I discussed the reinstatement of Pete Rose from an ethical perspective, and I came to the conclusion that the foremost priority to consider in regard to allowing Pete Rose back into baseball, and for induction into the Hall of Fame, has to do with “the ethic of fairness.” Many voices and even some of the game’s icons are today clamoring to have Pete Rose reinstated primarily because of how good a player he was, but I pointed out how this rationale must have nothing to do with his reinstatement. The ethic of “fairness” would be violated and partiality would be used if Rose were reinstated for this reason. My conclusion was that to be fair to everyone else who as ever been in the MLB, if we reinstate Pete Rose, we have to also reinstatement every other player simultaneously who ever received the lifetime ban for gambling. Otherwise, we would be treating Pete Rose with partiality. Acting with partiality would have a devastating effect upon the legacy of baseball and we already have enough kids in this world who have been raised up believing that if you are good enough at your sport the rules don’t apply to you.

Using a metaphor from Star Trek, I believe that “fairness” has to be looked at as the “Prime Directive” when it comes to ethics in any sport. It is the one principle which must not be compromised in order to keep its integrity.

This second part to my series on baseball and ethics deals with what to do with the “steroid era” MLB players, and it is a much more complex topic than the first one. Let me begin this discussion by declaring the fact that cheating of any sort in the MLB (as well as any professional or amateur sport) has always been a real and prescient issue, and a certain amount of cheating has and will always occur. Hitters have cheated and used corked bats. Pitchers have done all manner of illegal things to the baseball before throwing it (spitting, cutting, scuffing, etc.). Coaches and players have stolen signals. Etc., etc., etc. All of these things broke MLB rules. Prior to the steroids era, players before games often took “greenies” which were amphetamines (speed), and they were handed out to the players freely like candy (Greenies were outlawed from baseball in 2006). They would help you to be up for the game physically and mentally. But, throughout the history of the MLB players and coaches have also been kicked out of games and suspended for all manner of cheating (breaking the rules). Cheating has never been tolerated, nor should it be.

One day, along came steroids, and cheating went up to whole another level, one unprecedented in sports. Anabolic Steroids are the synthetic version of the male hormone, Testosterone, and they began to be experimented with in the 1940’s and used by weight lifters in Russia by the 50’s. They were routinely used world-wide by weight lifters in the 60’s. In the 60’s, doctors could and did legally write prescriptions for various types of steroids including Testosterone, Dianabol, Anabar, Deca, and others. The discovery that taking these drugs and pursuing a routine of heavy weight lifting a person could put on muscle mass and increase in strength at an incredible unprecedented rate, plus have longer endurance by their muscles, caused steroid use to become widespread. Initially, induced health problems caused by steroids were not suspected, nor was it considered cheating to use these substances.

As an example of how effective this use of steroids and weight training was, Doug Stalker has written that at the age of 16 he was a 6’ tall 136 lb weakling from New York wanting to play football. Within just three years of a regimen of using Danabo and later Anabar and Deca, and weight lifting, he weighed 212 lbs, had a world record for lifting, and was being considered for the US Olympic weight-lifting team. Then, at the age of 20 he had to quit because of back and knee problems brought about by the steroids. The US Olympic weight-lifting teams of those years were using steroids in order to gain an advantage over the Russians.

Over the next few years Anabolic Steroid use spread to other sports and in 1972, sixty-eight percent of Olympic athletes polled said they were taking them. It was discovered that not only could bulk muscle and strength be added quickly by steroid use, but the muscles on athletes recovered from workouts more quickly and thus athletes could work out more often. However, by the mid 70s it had become common knowledge that there were also significant health risks because of taking steroids. Those who took Testosterone saw their testes shrink and their prostates swell, for instance. It was discovered that Anabolic Steroids were causing susceptibility to cancer, liver damage, heart disease, acne, hair loss, violent aggression (“Roid Rage”), depression that could even lead to suicide, etc. It would take 20 years of steroid use to reveal the depth of damage and health issues caused by these drugs, and some athletes died because of them.

In the US under the Control Substance Act of 1970 (CSA), later amended in 1991, steroids were classified as a Schedule III illegal drug and possession of them without a doctor’s prescription became a federal crime. These laws forced professional as well as amateur sports to ban the use of steroids.

Steroids were officially banned for those in Olympic competition in 1975, and at the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal the International Olympic Committee first began testing athletes for steroids. Many dropped out or were eliminated from competition because of them. Soon all other professional and amateur sports followed suit by declaring steroid use against their rules. But, without steroid testing being required and specific disciplinary action outlined, the detection and enforcement of breaking the steroid rule meant nothing. Required testing for steroid use and outlined disciplinary action for steroid use varied sport to sport amongst professional and amateur sports.

Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent sent all of the MLB clubs a memo in 1991 reminding them that players were forbidden from taking any illegal substance. He specifically mentioned steroids and he encouraged the clubs to take a get-tough policy on players thought to be using steroids. But, regular or random testing for steroids was not required in the MLB.

In the early 90’s the MLB was in decline, fan attendance was down, and baseball was no longer thought of as “America’s pastime.” The era of the great baseball players of the past was long over and fans bored when the best power hitters in the league were hitting less than 40 homeruns in a season. The MLB and its commissioner were under great pressure to do something to reverse this trend and bring fans back to the MLB. What the MLB decided to do to fix this problem with baseball attendance and interest reveals the worst about human nature. They decided to turn a blind eye to steroid use by players, and this led to the steroid era of the past 20 years. There was no testing for steroids in the MLB until 2003 (part of the 2002 labor agreement). In the early 90’s, the league executives had to know that steroid use had crept into baseball, when they began to see power hitters of a kind that had never come along before. During the early 90’s some of the league’s power hitters began to hit a lot more homeruns in their late 30s than they had hit in their late 20s, something that had never happened to the great baseball players of the past, men like Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, etc. Some of the league’s power hitters put on 40 lbs of bulk muscle in just a few years when they should have been considering when to retire. Fans were excited to see the number of homeruns by many players going through the ceiling and fan attendance skyrocketed. Soon, Roger Maris’ homerun record of 61 homeruns in a season, set in 1961 was in jeopardy.

In 1998, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were in a race to see who would hit the most homeruns and break Maris’ record, and McGwire ended up winning and shattering the record with 70. A professional baseball scout friend of mine was scouting the Seattle Mariners watching them do batting practice before a game during that timeframe, keeping his eye on Seattle’s big slugger at the time, 6’ 3” 215 lb center fielder Jay Buhner. Seattle was playing St. Louis that day, and Mark McGwire walked up to Jay Buhner. My friend said that to him McGwire made Buhner look like a little boy. He said that McGwire’s thighs were the size of Buhner’s waist. I believe it was within a year after his homerun record that McGwire was admitting to using steroids (Andro). Sosa was later discovered to have cheated by using corked bats, then on June 16, 2009, The New York Times broke a story that Sosa had failed a steroids test in 2003.

Barry Bonds is now the career homerun leader after he hit 73 homeruns in 2001. Now retired, Bonds has amassed the most homeruns in a career with 762. Early in his career, Bonds was a somewhat tall and lanky man without much upper body bulk in muscle, and he was not near a league leader in homeruns. The last few years he played he had a massive upper body. Bonds allegedly tested positive for steroid use and then was federally indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice for his testimony to congress concerning the Balco investigation. At this date, jury selection has been postponed indefinitely (makes you wonder if someone high up the echelon is being protected by this postponement).

Because of the increase in homeruns and the homerun record races that brought fans in, the league executives did nothing to stop steroid use, but the entire integrity of the MLB was compromised in the process. Jose Canseco played from 1985-2001 and was an incredible power hitter, having played for a few clubs. In 2005, the MLB world was rocked when Canseco published a book called “Juiced” in which he claimed that all of his ability had come about because of his steroid use. I remember ten years ago, the first time I saw Canseco without a shirt on, and I mused to myself that he didn’t look human, he looked like a horse, a Clydesdale in sweats. Canseco also named in his book several MLB stars as also being steroid users. He claimed in his book that 85% of all MLB players had been taking steroids. Many named in his book have since denied steroid use, but much of what Canseco wrote about has been proven to be true, and, in the past few years MLB hero after hero has been defrocked because of being caught using steroids.

For 20 years, MLB league and team officials turned a blind eye towards steroid use and the result was a whole generation of steroid using baseball players populated the MLB. Kids growing up learned early that if you wanted to compete at the highest levels in baseball that steroids were most likely a requirement, otherwise how else could you compete? Fans came to the MLB games, and the most hallowed records of baseball were broken by those who cheated by using steroids. Yet to me, the worst part of this debacle is the fact that untold tens of thousands of kids had their lives devastated by steroid use as they tried to position themselves to be drafted into the MLB.

To be honest, the thing that makes me the angriest is the fact that those most culpable for damaging kid’s lives and destroying the integrity of baseball, will never be identified. League and team executives, coaches, sportscasters and news media all knew what was going on, but the money rolled in, careers were built upon the game, and so those in the know kept their mouths shut. Who knows how many team executives and coaches helped players to find the right trainer for their doping? Then there is the hypocrisy. Many of these people who turned a blind eye and benefited from the steroid use are the very ones today condemning the use of steroids by players.

Now, I have talked about power hitters almost exclusively, however pitchers also used steroids, it is just harder to discern from their stats and careers who did and did not use them. Steroids helped pitchers to workout and pitch more often, last longer on the mound, etc. Records were also broken by pitchers during the last 20 years, but I fear it will be almost impossible to pin steroid use on most steroid using pitchers apart from the testimony of informants. Among pitchers, Roger Clemens is the big fish that the Mitchell Report stated had used steroids during his late career and who was fingered by four New York Daily News reporters in a book titled, “American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America's Pastime." Clemens has contested these reports and denied ever using steroids, and according to Wikipedia.com he is now under investigation by the Justice Department for perjury for his testimony to congress about his steroid use.

So, now I finally come to discussing what should be done with the steroids era players. We have already seen that regardless of whether league and team officials turned a blind eye to steroid use in baseball, steroid users broke the steroid rules as well as committed federal crimes and felonies by their use of Anabolic Steroids. And, it is only because of cheating with these drugs that a large number of the players of the past 20 years could do what they did. Many of the great players and record breakers of this era have since been caught using steroids. Some great players and record breakers of this era were never caught, and may never have used them. To me, it would be unfair to throw out player’s records of this era who were never caught, nor keep them out of the Hall of Fame. But, I think for the ethic of fairness, that you have to throw out all of the records created by all those who later were tested for steroids. Likewise, those who were caught using steroids, I believe, need to be excluded from the Hall of Fame. I also wish for some players we could look at their personal statistics and say that based upon their body mass increase in the latter years of their career that they had to be using steroids, but I don’t know if this is going to be possible. Some say we ought to keep the Steroid Era records and let the steroid using players into the Hall of Fame, but just put an asterisk next to their name. I can’t agree with this because to me all that asterisk means is that they cheated out a deserving player as well a jail sentence.

Did you know that the MLB does not do even do mandatory steroids testing today for all players? The one thing I have learned from my investigation is that the only thing that stops the proliferation of steroids is testing. The Steroid Era in the MLB is continuing folks… We would not have a Steroid Era of the MLB to discuss if testing had been implemented when steroids were banned. Mandatory testing needs to be done from varsity high school play all of the way through the Major Leagues because if kids and/or kid’s parents realize they can get an edge through steroid use, many are going to do so, even at great risk to their health, or their kid’s health.

Right now, Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is being used by many in sports because there is no accurate test for it as of yet. The MLB needs to use a chunk of its profits to aid in research to provide the very best tests for all manner of illegal enhancement drugs so that every cheater can be caught. Simply dedicating this research money every year would go a long way towards restoring the integrity of the MLB. Finally, I think that MLB ought to own up to its misdeeds, and take responsibility for the entire debacle in the first place. League and team officials cheated too, they cheated to make baseball greater than it is by allowing steroids to go unchecked. Nothing could do more to restore integrity to the MLB than their admitting the 20 year cover-up and the lives that were devastated because of it. Perhaps I have gone too far and am being unrealistic, after all how could I ever expect grown-ups to do that which we require of kids: take responsibility for their actions… Until next time, let the games go on.

Baseball And Ethics, Part #1: "The Reinstatement of Pete Rose"

2009-09-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

If by reading my blog articles you haven’t figured this out yet, I want to tell you that baseball has been a big part of most of my life. As a fan, a player, an assistant baseball coach, and the father of a baseball player, I have spent a huge amount of time involved with and thinking about baseball. As a Christian and now a pastor, I also think about everything in life in terms of morality and ethics. Well, what I want to talk with you about in this article is “Baseball And Ethics.” Professional baseball right now is facing huge and complex moral dilemmas regarding ethics, and the resolution to these will have far reaching effects, including even the potential to bring down the entire Major League and its legacy. This is the first part of a series I am going to do on baseball and ethics. By the way, I could go lots of different directions with these articles because there is much to consider regarding baseball and ethics, and much at stake in this discussion. But, I will start with this first segment by discussing the Pete Rose dilemma.

Issue #1: Should Pete Rose be allowed into the Baseball Hall of Fame? Should his ban from baseball be lifetime, and if the ban is lifted should he ever be allowed to coach, administrate, and be let into the Hall of Fame?

Many have voiced their opinions on this issue over the past twenty years, many doing so recently, and one of the things that seems to be influencing people in favor of reinstating Rose is the fact that apart from his breaking the gambling rules that his efforts and accomplishments on the field certainly merit him being in the Hall of Fame. Many have recently stated that they want to see Pete Rose allowed into the Hall of Fame, including recently one great spokesmen and icon of baseball, Hank Aaron.

Now, no one is arguing about whether what Pete Rose did was wrong. There are rules that have always existed for professional baseball against gambling.

Major League baseball’s first rule states: “Any player, umpire or club or league official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has no duty to perform, shall be declared ineligible for one (1) year.”

It’s second rule states: “Any player, umpire or club or league official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible."

By the way, the reason that Major League Baseball implemented gambling rules in the first place was because since the beginning of the leagues there has been corruption by baseball players betting and then throwing games in order to win money by losing. So, it is not difficult to imagine why stiff gambling rules were needed. Pete Rose is believed to have bet on his team as many as 50 times during the 1987 baseball season, and when this was discovered he was declared permanently ineligible. The baseball commissioner said that the evidence against Rose was overwhelming. Rose twice applied for reinstatement and was denied in 1997 and 2003.

There are two issues I’d like to discuss related to Pete’s ban. First of all, how do you determine what is a fair punishment for crimes and the breaking of rules? There are a plethora of ways in which justice could be served in such cases, and thus I don’t know how someone could say that one particular punishment is the "correct" one. Governing bodies determine laws and rules, however, and we as citizens and members defer to them to make these determinations. Those who were in charge of the baseball league at the time that the gambling rules were implemented had to make a decision about what was just and appropriate, and, the two gambling rules were what they determined to implement. We always abide by their decisions.

The second issue related to Pete’s ban has to do with precedence. In the history of the game, there have been many who have been banned for life for breaking the gambling rules, and to this point in time none have ever been reinstated. The most famous case is what is known as the “Black Sox Scandal.” It occurred when eight players on the 1919 White Sox (later nicknamed the "1919 Black Sox") threw the World Series at the behest of gamblers and received the lifetime ban from baseball. These eight men included the great "Shoeless" Joe Jackson; pitchers Eddie Cicotte and Claude "Lefty" Williams; infielders Buck Weaver, Arnold "Chick" Gandil, Fred McMullin, and Charles "Swede" Risberg; and outfielder Oscar "Happy" Felsch. Oh, and here is a list just of those who were banned from baseball prior to 1920:

• Thomas Devyr, Ed Duffy and William Wansley, New York Mutuals, banned in 1865
for associating with known gamblers. Devyr was reinstated the same year; the
others were reinstated in 1870.
• George Bechtel, Louisville Grays, was banned in 1876 for conspiring with his teammates to throw (intentionally lose) a game for $500.
• Jim Devlin, George Hall, Al Nichols and Bill Craver, Louisville Grays, were banned in 1877 for conspiring to throw two games. No evidence was ever found to suggest that Craver actually had anything to do with the conspiracy, but he refused to cooperate with the investigators.
• Oscar Walker, banned in 1877 for "contract jumping" by signing a contract to play for
another team while still under contract to the team he left. (This was approximately 100 years prior to the advent of free agency in sports.)
• Richard Higham, umpire, banned in 1882 for conspiring to help throw a Detroit
Wolverines game after Detroit's owner hired a private investigator to check out
Higham's background, who found that he was a cohort of a known gambler. To date,
Higham is the only umpire banned for life.
• Joseph Creamer, New York Giants (team physician), was banned in 1908 for bribing an umpire $2,500 to conspire against the Chicago Cubs during a playoff game against the Giants.
• Jack O'Connor and Harry Howell, manager and coach, respectively, of the St. Louis
Browns, were banned in 1910 for attempting to fix the outcome of the 1910 American League batting title for Cleveland Indians player Nap Lajoie and against Ty Cobb.
• Horace Fogel, Philadelphia Phillies owner, was banned in 1912 for publicly asserting that the umpires favored the New York Giants and were making unfair calls against his team.

You can go to a web site and see the list of the names of every person who has been banned from baseball throughout its history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_figures_who_have_been_banned_for_life.

Now, I contend that if we let Pete Rose out of his lifetime ban from baseball, to be fair, that we must also remove the ban from every other person that was likewise banned for life. Pete Rose is no less guilty than anyone on the list, and in fact an argument could be made that because he bet over 50 times on his own team in 1987 that he is perhaps one of the worst offenders. The fact that Rose’s stats are more than deserving for him to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame should not even be part of our reasoning for reinstating him. If we let Rose in then we have a whole bunch of people, many with great stats themselves, whom we have let down in a very unfair manner. If we let Pete Rose back in to baseball then the declaration should also be made that the gambling rules were wrong and unfairly harsh, and that the lifetime ban was a poorly thought out concept. But, if we can’t reinstate all of the ones previously banned for life, then baseball ought to tell Pete Rose that they are sorry but rules are rules, and he was perfectly aware of the rules and their consequences when he chose to bet on his team.

I do know that laws and rules have to be based upon “fairness”, and lifting the ban for everyone is what the ethic of fairness requires, does it not? To say that we will let in Pete Rose because we just happen to like him or think he was a great player, when everyone else who broke the same rules was banned for life, is a precedent that we should not pass along to the next generation either. Since when are the statutes of morality supposed to be bent based upon respecting persons. The scripture tells us that God is not partial to any, not a respecter of persons, and that He judges all by the same absolute standards: Romans 2:11, “For there is no partiality with God.” This is stated very clearly also in Job 34:19, “Who shows no partiality to princes Nor regards the rich above the poor, For they all are the work of His hands?”

Likewise, the scripture tells us that it is a sin for we as God’s people to show partiality to others: Deuteronomy 1:17, “‘You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not fear man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’” James 2:9, “But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”

By the way, do you, and does your church, treat everyone the same, regardless of their race, nationality, station in life, financial status, political and group affiliations? It should. In James chapter 2, the verse above was penned to correct a situation in the church in which the more wealthy members were being given special treatment in the services and ushered in to sit in the better seats, while the poor people were being told to sit somewhere in the back. James' words were meant to be a stinging rebuke. We as God's people are supposed to treat all people equally, and this goes even for those in our own household, and marriage.

I remember the first time I learned this lesson in my marriage. My wife and I had been married about ten years, and one day I came home from work and my wife was looking at a furniture catalogue. I walked over to her and she said we’re buying that one, that one, that one, and that one. I said, “Wait a minute, you’re being selfish wanting to buy all of these things that you want for our house.” She replied, “Well, I have not bought a thing for myself and for all of these years I’ve watched you buy guitar and guitar amp, after another.” I replied, “Yeah, but that was for ‘ministry’ honey?” She replied, “Yes, and our house is part of my ministry, and that is why we ARE going to buy these!” I couldn’t deny her logic. She has often over the years also made this statement, “What is good for the goose is good for the gander!” Oh yes, fairness and not showing partiality, they are central in any system of justice for any civilized people.

I fear for the next generation because of the way we in our world today are so quick to make morality and ethics relative to persons and not based upon one absolute standard.

Now, there are some other arguments that have been made for allowing Pete Rose to be instated. For instance, the argument has been made that Pete Rose only bet for his team, not against them. Therefore, he should be reinstated because his actions weren’t as egregious as if he bet for his team to lose and then threw games, and, the rules against gambling were initially instituted after some had thrown games after betting their team would lose. The problem with this logic is first of all that the rule against gambling doesn’t specify only certain kinds of bets placed on your team. Secondly, if Rose were reinstated based upon the fact that it was determined that he only bet for his team rather than against them, this I believe would set up a precedent that is not good. It would encourage others to bet on their team, and this is probably not what we would want, plus it could cause some real problems and corruption with the game. By the way, I’m not sure it can be proven that Rose only bet for his team.

Another argument some have made for allowing Pete Rose into the Hall of Fame is the fact that it was after Rose had committed his gambling on baseball that Major League Baseball created the rule specifically disallowing anyone into the Hall of Fame based upon gambling on one’s own team. Therefore, Rose should be allowed to be grandfathered into consideration for the Hall of Fame since his offenses occurred before this rule and it would be unfair to hold him to this rule that came afterwards. If followed, this logic could allow Rose to be accepted into the Hall of Fame yet never be reinstated to baseball in general. No one else though has ever been allowed into the Hall of Fame who had previously been banned for life for gambling on his team, and this is because there was an informal agreement that a ban for life for gambling on one’s team included a ban from the Hall of Fame. The rule to disallow into the Hall of Fame for gambling on one’s team was simply implementing as a rule what had always been followed.

Finally, yet another argument for reinstating Pete Rose has to do with comparing baseball to other professional sports, and then determining that since some sports wouldn’t have given Rose a lifetime ban for betting on the sport, therefore, baseball shouldn’t ban him for life. The problem with this approach is that every sport has rules that are unique to it, and fairness in the application of rules has to be consistent within that sport, in order for there to be fairness to those who participate. While in an ideal world it would be good if every sport had the same rules regarding things such as gambling, it probably won’t ever happen, and, hoping that this will occur one day should not influence the decision regarding Rose’s reinstatement.

Again, I reiterate my position that if we are to be fair ethically and Pete Rose is to be allowed to be reinstated into baseball then every other player who has ever been banned for life for gambling on his team should also be reinstated.

In my next thread for this article about Baseball And Ethics, I will discuss whether those who have been discovered to have been taking steroids the past twenty years should be allowed into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

NFL Quarterback Steve McNair: What legacy will he leave?

2009-07-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

What a sad couple of weeks it has been since x-Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair was tragically murdered. The investigation into the events of McNair’s last night has been accompanied by the gradual coming to light of his character and life. Steve was widely known not only as being a talented and successful NFL quarterback, but also as being a family man, a man who had made an impact on his community, and a Christian man of character. But, as the days went by after his murder, another picture of Steve began to emerge, and many have written about his life. Steve had a secret life, a dark side.

In 2003, McNair was arrested for a DUI and carrying a concealed weapon in California. McNair’s high priced lawyers helped him to get the charges dropped. He was traded to the Baltimore Ravens in 2005. But, then in 2007 McNair was again arrested on a DUI along with his brother-in-law, this time in Tennessee. But, his lawyers again got his charges dropped. In April of 2008, McNair retired from football after 13 seasons.

But, since his death reports began to emerge that for years McNair was also often seen partying late at night around town, and there are reports that he had had a long term affair with the young woman, one of his employees, who murdered him. It was also recently released that Steve’s blood alcohol limit was twice the legal limit for drunkenness, and the investigation has determined that Steve was murdered in his sleep with a couple of gun shots to his chest and a couple to his head.

Someone once said that some people’s legacy in life is merely to serve as a warning to others, and now it appears that McNair shall be one of them. McNair’s exploits and decisions on the field will for a long time (and perhaps forever) seem meaningless and trivial compared to his exploits and decisions off of it. The children and wife he left behind will now spend the rest of their lives trying somehow to forgive him for the shame and pain he brought them. If McNair’s life shall serve as a warning to us, then we would do well to consider the lessons we should learn.

NFL football coach Tony Dungy has a blog, and in a published thread he summarized rather well what we should be thinking about concerning Steve McNair’s life and legacy:

“For Lauren and me, though, Steve McNair’s death has been troubling. While we didn’t know him well, we did get a chance to spend a week with him and his family at the 2004 Pro Bowl, and the Colts competed against his Tennessee Titans for years in the AFC South Division. From all appearances, it seemed like a beautiful family who had everything going for it and a dad who was an icon in Tennessee.

What went wrong? Right now we can only guess, but perhaps time will answer
some of the questions. There is going to be a tendency to say, “We should remember the good things Steve did and not focus on the negative.” And we should remember all the great things he did on the field for the Titans and in the Nashville community. We also shouldn’t focus on the information that has come out in the last few days in a purely judgmental way. But I think it would be a mistake to just ignore the more disturbing parts of the McNair story.
I think the best thing we could do is try to learn from it. In my mind, the lesson
is that no matter how successful we are, no matter how many good things we do in life, we are all susceptible to temptation and bad choices. And one bad choice can ruin your life; just as it appears to have happened to Steve McNair, it can happen to me.

As a Christian, I believe in the bible, and it talks a lot about temptations and also about the consequences of sin and bad choices. Christians aren’t immune from those temptations or consequences. It appears that Steve McNair made a bad decision as a married man, just as Governor Sanford of South Carolina did, going down a disastrous path with another woman. Those relationships could have started out very innocently, and maybe even with good intentions in mind. However, at some point, both men had to make decisions on the direction those relationships would take, and both men apparently made the wrong choice. Unfortunately, those decisions will have terrible consequences for them and their families.

We have to keep in mind the impact our decisions can have, not only on ourselves, but on our loved ones as well. And it’s not just in the area of extra-marital affairs, but in all areas of integrity–in our personal and our business affairs as well. We have to constantly be on guard and pray about all of our decisions. We can’t fool ourselves into thinking that bad decisions won’t have bad consequences.”

Michael Hyatt, CEO for Thomas Nelson Incorporated, wrote in his blog these five lessons that we ought to learn from Steve McNair’s life:

We never make decisions in a vacuum. Everything matters. Our words and actions will echo into eternity.
One moment of indiscretion will be remembered forever. It can wipe away a lifetime of good deeds, all of which will be forgotten.
We are all vulnerable to lapses in judgment. If we think we are not, we are setting ourselves up for failure.
We need to build a support system of family and friends who will care enough to challenge us when we veer off course.
We need to live our lives on-purpose. In my experience, the best way to do this is to create a life plan and review it frequently. If you don’t have a road map, you could end up anywhere.

All of the revelations that have come out about McNair recently have painted the portrait of a man who on the outside appeared to be one thing, yet inwardly was very different, a man who had for a long time been greatly conflicted. I’m sure his wife today could write a book about the hypocrisy of a man who appeared to be one thing yet was another, a man who wanted to be known as a Christian yet was haunted by demons. His life at one point surely became one misstep that led to another that led to another, until one day he paid the piper. Whether or not he was truly a “born again” Christian, I will not speculate. But, I do know that he was a man who was ruled by his passions, rather than being in control of them. Most likely he was a man who truly desired to be a good person and live that life that God had planned for him. But, temptations were strong for one of his fame, and rather than resist the Devil and desist from sin, he chose to have one foot in God’s kingdom and one foot walking in the ways of this sinful world. But, one cannot continue that game forever without paying a price.

This all reminds me of when the children of Israel were ready to cross over the Jordon river and take possession of the land of Canaan. They had been wandering around in the wilderness, a place that symbolizes the believer in this world in his struggles and failings to serve the Lord, and the trials that that brings. When they got ready to go, the tribes of Reuben and Gad asked permission to stay on the wilderness side of the Jordon because they thought the land over there was ideal pasture for their flocks. But, this wasn’t the land God had prepared for them and called them to. These tribes were finally given permission to stay on that side if they came over and helped the other tribes, their brothers, to capture the promised land, fighting alongside of them. Possessing the land of Canaan symbolizes walking in victory in Christ and claiming all of the promises of God. These tribes agreed to go help their brothers fight and thus were allowed to stay, but the Lord warned them beforehand that if they did not follow through with their commitment to conquer that land and follow the Lord’s commandments, “Be sure and know for your sins will find you out.” Let me tell you my friend, this principle pertains to you. If you try to live with one foot in God’s kingdom and the other walking in the ways of this sinful world that is in rebellion against God, your sins too will find you out. One day there will be a huge price to pay in the consequences of your decisions. Is that what you would like for your life’s legacy?

Steve McNair's life would be a double tragedy if there is someone out there who reads this article who has been living like McNair, living a secret life of sin, and when they read this they don't realize that through Christ there is hope for them. If you realize that I am speaking to you in this, also recognize that a life transformation is available if you will by faith repent (turn away from) your sin and yield your life completely into Jesus' control as your Lord and Savior. If you will humbly accept the forgiveness His life was given on the cross to obtain, then this is the first step to getting victory. This forgiveness is promised you in 1 John 1:9-2:2: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." Next, you need to seek out a pastor of a credible Christian church, or a Christian friend, and let them know that you also need their help to conquer this sin in your life. Then, listen and take heed to their counsel... There are many examples of men and women who made big mistakes and fell deep into sin, who have gone on and later become great examples as Christians. Just look at the lives of Chuck Colson or preacher Jim Bakker, for instance.

My heart aches and grieves for the victims of this tragedy. May Jesus Christ grant His peace to the McNair family in their grieving process, as well as the family of the young woman herself who allegedly pulled the trigger that fateful night.

Philippians #4: Four Keys To Having The Joy Of The Lord Rule Our Lives

2009-06-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

In my first article from the book of Philippians, we talked about what is the source of the joy in our life, and does your joy come from this world or from your relationship with Christ. We saw that the main theme in the book is the joy of the Lord, and that the joy of the Lord comes up continually in the book. Preachers often preach to their people about things they ought to be doing, but they don’t always tell them how to do the things that they ought to do. People need to know how to do the things they ought to do. Chapter 4 of the book, where we find ourselves in this article, is sort of the “how to” chapter of the book. It shows us how we can have the joy of the Lord in our life and thus be blessed and be a great witness for the Lord. I will present to you the four keys that Paul gives us.

The apostle Paul, the author of the book, reiterates this theme of joy and writes in verse 4 of chapter 4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” Then, Paul exhorts us to not worry: “Be anxious for nothing…” What keeps us from having the joy of the Lord is worry and being anxious. Paul admonishes the reader to not worry or be anxious about a single thing. But, how can we as believers in Christ extinguish worry in our lives? Is it really our responsibility to do this? Are we even able to not worry or be anxious? I think that secular psychiatrists today would tell us that this is impossible for many. Yet, Paul tells us how to achieve these things in this chapter. Now, I’m not saying that there are not medical problems which can keep us from being complete as people and having the joy that some have. I also do not think that we should judge others as being less spiritual who suffer from depression, and some people are much more prone to it than others, and life can throw any of us a curve at times and set us off in into the mire of depression. Most people have had some experience with it. Likewise, there are many physical conditions which produce a tendency towards varying levels and types of depression. We must remember that the scripture tells us to “weep with those who weep,” so we do need to be compassionate and empathetic to others who suffer with depression.

I see here in chapter 4 of Philippians that Paul tells us what we can do, what is our part, towards having the joy of the Lord in our life. And, I have to tell you that Paul assumes that we who are in Christ have the ability to do some things, such as: pray, give thanks to God, control what sorts of things we dwell upon, and trust God and the promises of His word.

So, lets look at what Paul says is the first key to having the joy of the Lord in our life instead worry and being anxious: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Paul tells the reader to turn all of his/her cares into prayers, prayers with thanksgiving to God (grumbling and complaining in unbelief is what kept the Israelites from walking in faith and obtaining the blessings of God—Paul says “Do all things without grumbling and complaining,” Philippians 2:14).

The promise here is that if you will turn all of your cares into prayers, prayers with thanksgiving, that you will have the ‘peace of God which surpasses all comprehension’. What a great relief it is when you quit trying to carry your own burdens and lay them on the shoulders of one who is so fully capable of carrying them and sustaining us, and scripture says, “Cast your burdens upon the Lord and He will sustain you” (Psalm 55:22). Worry and being anxious cannot exist where the ‘joy of the Lord’ and the ‘peace of God’ reign, for they are contradictory. Likewise, we as Christians can and do have ‘the peace of God’ in our hearts in situations where this should not be a possibility, and thus this is something that ‘surpasses all comprehension’ beyond the miraculous and supernatural presence and activity of God. I could tell you many stories of people, including myself, having the ‘peace of God’ when this should have been the last thing that we experienced. For instance, once I attended the funeral of a friend, a man with a wife and young kids who had been killed in a tragic work incident, and at the receiving line at the conclusion of the funeral, as person after person walked by thinking they would comfort the widowed wife, what they experienced instead was having her comfort them with ‘the peace of God’ in her life. What a testimony to God’s power to give us ‘the peace of God that surpasses all comprehension’.

One point here I want to make is to point you to the fact that Paul speaks of the ‘joy of the Lord’ being like a mighty divine soldier who will ‘guard your hearts and your minds’ in Christ Jesus, as you turn your cares into prayers, with thanksgiving. Why would our ‘heart’ and our ‘mind’ need to be guarded, even when we are praying about everything with thanksgiving? I think Paul must be thinking that there are demonic principalities and powers all over the world who enslave unbelievers with fear and blind them to the truth, and thus our hearts and minds need to be protected from such as these. It is ‘the peace of God’ who is the divine sentinel guarding our hearts and minds.

The second key to having the joy of the Lord, and the peace of God, in our lives is found in verse 8 and it has to do with our having a responsibility to direct our minds regarding the things that we think about: ‘Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things’. Again, this verse assumes that the believer in Christ has the ability to determine what things his mind “dwells” upon. What a person’s mind dwells upon has a huge effect upon his/her mind and heart. The struggles and trials of the Christian life are all struggles of the mind. The key to having victory over temptation largely hinges upon guarding what we think about, and thus Jesus told His disciples that if a man lusts after a woman that he has committed adultery with her in his heart, or if he becomes angry with his brother he has committed murder. Thus, Paul also wrote how that we as Christians need to learn to take captive our every thought to the obedience of Christ: “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

How many of us have watched a scary movie and then went to bed only to have nightmares? We watch a comedy show or movie, and this helps us to relax and not take life too seriously. Again, what we think about has a great effect on our lives. Notice the things that we are to dwell upon with our minds, they are things that are worthy of our time, things that please the Lord: the things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, and it anything is worthy of praise. Dwelling upon these things, and rejecting the dwelling upon those things that are unworthy, will cause us to have the joy of the Lord and the peace of God in our life. Besides that, since the scripture tells us that our bodies are a temple of the Lord, if we let our mind dwell upon unworthy and sinful objects, then we are defiling the temple of the Lord by our thoughts. And, if we allow garbage to go into our minds, we should expect garbage to come out of it also. We must protect where our mind “dwells,” and passing sinful thoughts are the experience of all of us. It is not a sin to be tempted in our thoughts, but if we let a sinful thought take root, then it becomes sin in us.

In the Psalms, David sometimes expressed depressing thoughts, and yet we see that he would then encourage himself to trust in God to come out of them: “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence” Psalm 42:5. Whenever we lose our perspective and our hope as Christians, we need to plant our mind in the promises of God and remember all the things that He has promised to us. When we are focusing on God and His promises, our circumstances get smaller and smaller and our God gets bigger and bigger. Likewise, when we focus on our circumstances our God gets smaller and smaller. We need to take responsibility for what we are thinking.

The third key to having the joy of the Lord, and the peace of God, in our lives is learning to be content in our life, regardless of our circumstances: “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need” (Phil. 4:11-12). You might think that if everything were going as well in your life as they did for the apostle, that you too might be content in every circumstance. But, I would point out to you that Paul wrote this book as one of his prison epistles, for he was living in a horrible Roman prison at this time. Not only so, listen to what he says about the many difficulties he had gone through in his life: : “Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure” (2 Corinthians 11:24-27). No, you can learn to become content in your circumstances, regardless of what they are. I doubt any of us have suffered in this life to the extent of the apostle Paul, I know I haven’t. Paul was content in every circumstance because his contentment was not controlled by his circumstances, just as should be with our contentment.

Note, that Paul says that being content was something that he had learned to become. Contentment is a great key to having the joy of the Lord and the peace of God in our hearts, but it is something that takes time to learn. The good and the bad circumstances, and in fact all that we do, is working together in our lives for good according to Romans 8:28, and in each and every one we are learning that we can trust our life more with God, trust in the reliability of His promises, trust that He is in control of this world and has a plan that He is working out, even if many times we don’t know why things happen and what He is doing. Believers in Christ are all being taught by God to be content in whatever circumstance we are in, and we can learn this lesson just as Paul learned it.

The fourth key to having the joy of the Lord, and the peace of God, in our lives is found in verse 13 of chapter 4: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Paul tells us that he realized that God would always give him the ability to do every single thing that God wanted him to do. Through the empowering of the Holy Spirit, Paul tells us that he can do these things. Most of us pray for tasks relative to the strength that we have, but Paul prayed for the strength to do all of the things that God wanted him to do. Paul was willing to allow the Lord to stretch him well beyond what he in the power of his flesh and will power was able to do, and this was because he knew that the Holy Spirit will always give you the strength to do whatever God wants you to do in each and every circumstance. Paul has been called “the most successful Christian ever,” and he described his own ministry as being a “demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Corinthians 2:4), and when we consider all of the churches he planted, all of the people he won to Christ, and the fact that he wrote more epistles than any other apostle, we are in awe of how God can work through a man’s life that is completely consecrated to Him.

If you are a person who has suffered a lot from depression, then you might think that Paul must have never faced depression such as you have faced, and thus that what he wrote about how to have the joy of the Lord doesn’t apply to everyone. This is not the case, depression seems to often have been a companion of Paul’s, and many great men of God throughout history have struggled at times with depression. In the book of 2 Corinthians, Paul mentions several times being depressed. He for instance says, “But God, who comforts the depressed…” (2 Corinthians 7:6). He says also that he and those with him were so depressed that they despaired even of life: “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life” (2 Corinthians 1:8). But then Paul speaks in every case about how God ‘comforts’ us in all of our afflictions, and he even calls God, ‘the God of all comfort’. Paul mentions how that God uses us because of that ‘comfort’ He gives us: “…who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor. 1:4). Now today, doctors would probably proscribe anti-depressants or neurotransmitter drugs for Paul, and maybe that would be the right and humanitarian thing to do for him. But, drugs can only help the tiny electrical processes and transmissions in our brain, they can’t make us come to right conclusions and think right thoughts. Though these drugs help many, they just mask problems if we are not applying these four keys to having the joy of the Lord and the peace of God in our life. We still need to apply these keys if we are to do our part, and I hope that anyone who takes these types of drugs does not stop short of doing their part in applying these keys.

Finally, you may ask me what this topic has to do with the realm of and participation in sports. Well, I would say to you that first of all as a person, and especially as a Christian, you should want to have the joy of the Lord as your strength and know the great blessing of the peace of God in your life. Plus, in Philippians we are commanded to not worry and be anxious, and to apply ourselves to these keys. Also, sports are games that are won by the one who has the greatest control of his/her mind. Have we not heard of guys who ‘willed themselves’ or ‘willed their team’ to victory? Have you not heard of someone that, ‘he took over the game’. Learning to control our thought life has great benefits in all that we attempt to do. As Christians we should realize we have a head start over others in this area because we are already learning to take our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ.

Again, the four keys are: always turning all of our cares to prayers with thanksgiving, letting our minds dwell only upon worthy objects, learning to be content in every circumstance, and believing that you can do all things through Him who strengthens you. If you do your part and apply yourself to these keys, you will begin to experience the joy of the Lord and the peace of God that surpasses comprehension.

Philippians #3: Forgetting What Lies Behind & Pressing On To What Lies Ahead

2009-05-29T07:43:00.000-07:00

In the third chapter of the book of Philippians, the apostle Paul speaks of his own perspective on his life, and in the process he presents a principle that is critical to learn for everyone who would be used of God, or be successful in any endeavor for that matter. The context of Paul stating this principle is his speaking of his overarching goal of knowing Christ personally and experimentally: Philippians 3:10-14: “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

It is believed that Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians around 63 AD, or thirty years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul at this point in time had been a believer for perhaps as many as 28 years. He had already completed his three missionary journeys, and planted every church he would plant. All that Paul had written about his hardships to the Corinthians in his second letter to them, had long ago occurred: 2 Corinthians 11:24-27: “Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.” This book of Philippians was one of Paul’s prison epistles, and really all that we know that Paul would do from this point on his life is write some more prison epistles. Paul was an elderly man at this time, you see.

So, why am I telling you these things about Paul? Its because the fact that he wrote these things to the Philippians at this point in his life that makes them even more poignant. Paul tells them, ‘I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus…I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet.” The man who has been called “the most successful Christian ever,” one who was used to plant more churches than any other apostle, and the one who wrote more of the New Testament than any of the other apostles, was still trying to attain that which he had been called to attain. Amazing! He tells us that he is always “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead.”

If I were the apostle, I would be thinking of all of the things that I had already accomplished. I would be writing my memoirs, creating my monuments, and living on the laurels of what I had already accomplished. I would be content for having served the Lord and finished the calling that God had for me. But, not the apostle Paul. He was always looking to what God had for him to do today, always ready to step out in a venture of faith and see how God would meet him, always ready to be used, stretched, and expanded by God. Oh, how we in the church need to be like Paul and always looking to the future and the upward calling of God for our lives.

So many of us are stuck and can’t get passed the past. We cannot achieve our goals, can’t enjoy life or be successful, because of paralysis caused by the past, or simply because we are looking backwards instead of forward. Paul would teach us that we should never let one day’s events keep us from fulfilling that which the Lord wants us to do today.

Jesus told His disciples in Luke 9:62 that any disciple who looked back to his old like was not fit or worthy for His kingdom, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” A Commentary Critical And Explanatory states: “Looking back is sure to end in going back (Lu 9:62): So Lot’s wife (Lu 17:32). If in stemming a current we cease pulling the oar against it, we are carried back. God’s word to us is as it was to Israel, “Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward” (Ex 14:15). The Bible is our landmark to show us whether we are progressing or retrograding.”

In sports, one of the things that athletes have to learn to be successful is to not let failure on a previous play affect them on the next play. Some athletes are more susceptible to this than others. A baseball player might strike out a couple of times at the beginning of the game, and then his head is down and he is down on himself the rest of the game. I have seen baseball pitchers have their fielders make a couple of errors, and suddenly they are afraid to throw a strike because they don’t feel like their team will back them up. Sometimes a batter or two will get a big hit, maybe a homerun, and suddenly they lose their confidence and cannot perform successfully.

In baseball, players need to recognize that if you are unsuccessful at the plate 7 out of 10 times, you are considered a good hitter. Yet, baseball players often lose their swagger and confidence at the plate after only a couple of failures.

The players that stay focused and confident through failure after failure often find themselves in a position to win a game at the end, and this one play that they might make (such as a walk off game winning hit, for instance), makes them extremely valuable to their team. If players will simply be patient and not get ruffled, the game will usually come to them, and they will make a big play. Magic Johnson, and even Kobe Bryant, are basketball players who were always able to influence their whole team to just settle down and remain patient and confident.

There is another application of this principle that we can make for athletes. Many athletes don’t understand that genetics are not enough in order for an athlete to achieve greatness and do great things in their sport. Genetics are an ingredient in accomplishing great things athletically, but athletes also have to have a good work ethic, both in their in season and out of season workouts, and, they need to continue to get better every single day. One athlete we were interviewing for SportsFaith said, “You are either getting better or you are getting worse.” There is no plateau where an athlete maintains a certain level of play. He has to always be working on mechanics and improving his speed, agility, strength, and quickness, or he reverts in his ability. It is a very rare professional athlete who can take very much time off from his sport and then be able to come back and perform at the same or superior level.

After Michael Phelps won more gold medals than anyone in history in swimming at this past Olympics, he was asked how he had been able to do this. His answer didn’t have anything to do with his genetic makeup or body type. He said that he and his team gained the edge by working out all seven days of every week, not six. Therefore, they had 52 more workouts per year than their competitors.

There is also no plateau that we as Christians reach in our spiritual life where we maintain a certain spirituality. You are either growing as a Christian or you are backsliding. One person once called backsliding “slack-abiding’ to emphasize that you really don’t have to do anything to backslide.

Most of us who are Christians have some emotional baggage that we carry around with us from our past, and our memories can hinder us. Here are some things that I have discovered can keep Christians looking in the past instead of pressing on towards the upward call of God and looking to those things that are future:

• Failures.
• Fear of failure.
• Unforgiveness and bitterness towards those who have hurt us.
• Failure to trust God.
• Self pity.
• Our past achievements.
• Laziness.
• Apathy.

The list above consists of items that we in our Christian walk must learn to have victory. When we think about all that Paul endured as a missionary for Christ, he could have used any of those excuses for why he was satisfied in what he had already achieved. There are many admonitions and promises from scripture that can help us to overcome each one of these. Warren Wiesrsbe in his Hebrews commentary states the following about allowing Jesus to lead us in victory in every struggle and challenge in our life: “Hebrews 2:10 calls Him “the Pioneer [captain] of their salvation,” for our salvation experience must never become static. The Christian life is not a parking lot; it is a launching pad! It is not enough just to be born again; we must also grow spiritually (2 Peter 3:18) and make progress in our walk. In Hebrews 12:2, Jesus is called “the Pioneer [author]... of our faith,” which suggests that He leads us into new experiences that test our faith and help it to grow. One of the major themes of Hebrews is “let us press on to maturity” (Heb. 6:1, NASB), and we cannot mature unless we follow Christ, the Pioneer, into new areas of faith and ministry.”

By the way, I do not believe that Paul meant that we as Christians are not to even spend a second of our time thinking about anything in the past. He himself often speaks of things earlier in his life, so if he meant this he would be hypocritical. Even Holocaust survivors remember the things that they went through during that horrible time in their life. I believe the point that Paul is making is not to let the things of the past affect us adversely today. We need to shake off those past things just like Paul in the 28th chapter of Acts after he had been shipwrecked and then swam to the island of Malta, shook off into the fire the poisonous viper that had latched onto his had as he was gathering wood. We must through the empowering of the Holy Spirit continually give our burdens and cares to the Lord, and trust Him to grant us to have victory over sin and victory in the midst of the adversity we face today.

Finally, when Paul tells the Philippians that he ‘presses on’ for the ‘prize’ of the upward call of God, he uses the imagery of the athlete who competed in the Olympic games and always had his body bent forward focusing upon the finish line. In running any race, it is critical to keep focused upon the finish line. It does not help one win to run ½, ¾, or even 9/10ths of a race in the lead. You must finish first and thus you must keep focused upon crossing the finish line. The prize of the upward calling of God for the Christian is described by the Bible Knowledge Commentary as being: ““the crown of righteousness” (1Co 9:24; 2Ti 4:8). Rev 2:10, “crown of life.” 1Pe 5:4, “a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”” How important it is for we who are Christians to keep our eyes focused upon the prize and rewards of eternal life. Dwelling upon these things gives us an anchor for our soul and keeps us from drifting away from the Lord and His will and calling for us.

Are you forgetting what lies behind and pressing on towards the future and the upward calling of God for your life?

Philippians #2: The Christian Athlete And Humility

2009-04-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

Is a Christian athlete or coach to be humble? Does being humble take away one’s edge in being competitive in athletics? Does a Christian who is an athlete or a coach have a pass from the Lord concerning being humble? What does God say about these things?

Last year, during my son’s college spring break baseball tour my wife and I followed around his team and watched all of their games. At one of the games in Indiana, one of the boy’s mom’s had her two year old later-in-life son with her. The boy was along the fence on the left field line, and his mom was throwing a nerf baseball for him to hit with a plastic bat. For only being two, the boy was already showing athletic prowess, hitting the ball maybe one out of four throws. What caught my attention and thoughts though was that every time that she threw the ball to the boy and he swung the bat, whether he hit the ball or not, he threw up his arms up in the air in goalposts like a football fan signaling a touchdown, and he would yell, “Yeah!” You could tell that in his mind he was playing before a huge stadium of people and really enjoying the crowd’s praise. The little tike was cute as a bug and amused all of the parents!

At a very young age kids begin to realize that people who excel at athletics are heroes and the crowds cheer them on. This becomes a major motivator for kids who have the athletic juices flowing within them.

I sometimes joke around and tell people that the only sport that I myself was mediocre at was baseball. Ummmm, the fact is that I was also horrible at the rest of them. But, the same type of motivator was working within me in junior high school and high school when I began playing guitar and got into a rock band because that was a way to get girlfriends. This motivator isn’t limited to sports.

Enjoying praise and recognition becomes a motivator for many athletically gifted, and as they continue to excel the crowds and accolades just get bigger and bigger. If they are part of the statistical few who make it to the pro ranks these athletes begin to find that there is huge worship of the athlete, and what becomes perilous for them is that money, sex, drugs, power, and you name it, are often at their finger tips.

In the NFL, for many years wide receivers have become the biggest glory hounds, and for all but a few their motivation ceases to be for the team but rather all about them. After a touchdown guys used to just spike the football in the end zone, then they began to do the silly dances that drew attention to themselves. Over time these celebrations grew more and more sophisticated (they are finally held somewhat in check today by new rules). In one game after Terrell Owens caught a touchdown pass, he pulled out a sharpie and signed the ball and handed it to his financial advisor seated in a luxury seat in the end zone.

Today, the Terrell Owens’s around the league celebrate their touchdowns by going to a corner of the end zone and expressing to the crowd their greatness while all of the fans encourage their narcissism. Because of the inflated egos of many athletes and their exhibitions, it is no wonder that many around our country have quit watching and attending professional sporting events. We who are Christians know that God is to get all glory.

The emphasis on self and self-glory has all but ruined the entire concept of “the team” in professional sports. I think in many ways our modern free agency has fed these attitudes as well. Athletes are considered naïve and foolish if they don’t go after the biggest buck and leave their team in a quandary for the chance to play for a team that has the ability to buy a championship. In contrast to this attitude of course is the players of old. Great sports organizations of the past have always been those who knew what it meant to build a “team” mentality. After the legendary Red Auerbach’s death a couple of years ago, Bill Walton (a star on Auerbach’s team) was being interviewed on television one night and he said that the thing that had made the Boston Celtics the winningest basketball franchise in history was the fact that every guy in that locker room cared for everyone else in that locker room more than he cared for himself. What a contrast to today’s athlete and the mentality of sports organizations today, with few exceptions.

My son’s college baseball coach has emphasized to his players over and over again that he is not interested in player’s stats because what is important is what the “team” does, and emphasizing or focusing on stats takes away from the “team.” Coach Chuck Knox who once coached the Seattle Seahawks declared before a game one day that he knew that his team was going to win because “you cannot beat 45 guys who are all playing like a team,” and as a footnote they went on to win that game.

In my previous article from the book of Philippians, I discussed the fact that the joy of the Lord is to be the Christian’s strength, and I encouraged us to consider what is the source of joy in our life. I mentioned how the Philippians were Paul’s favorite church, one that had a special bond and allegiance to him, and one which hung with Paul through the good and the bad times as well. But, there was a major issue in the church in Philippi that Paul wanted to confront in the book. There was a lack of unity in the church, and in particular there were two women who were leaders but they fought and refused to get along. Paul addresses in the book the importance of humility and being of one mind.

At the beginning of chapter two, Paul asked the Philippians four rhetorical questions for which the assumed answer is affirmative: Is there any encouragement in Christ? Is there any consolation of love? Is there any fellowship of the Spirit? Is there any affection and compassion? He then went on to say that if they conclude that the answer to these questions is true, he in turn admonishes them to: “make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.”

These questions were designed to show how the work of God within the believer’s life is working towards a goal of making him humble and so he will be willing to be in unity and fellowship with the other members of the body of Christ, intent upon one purpose with them.

Paul then continues this theme in verse three of chapter two: “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.” From this verse we see what the enemies of unity within the church or any group are, “selfishness’ and "pride" or “empty conceit.” These are what kills the team concept whenever they crop up. They are what keeps a bunch of very gift and talented athletes from being able to set aside their selfish interests and ambitions for the betterment of the team.

In verse four he continues his admonishment: “do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

Finally, Paul places the crescendo on his admonishment using an illustration that we could hardly expect, yet one that is a perfect fit. Beginning in verse five, Paul sets before the Philippians the Lord Jesus as our example of humility and obedience: “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Paul tells the Philippians to have the same sort of “attitude” or thinking as the Eternal Son of God, the second personality of the Triune God (God is one being but consists of three persons, each of which are equal in all ways). The eternal Son of God did not hold onto the fact of His being equal with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, but was willing to lay aside His privileges and throne to come and take on humanity. In the incarnation, God was not limiting His omnipotence and omniscience by taking on human form, for we see that Jesus could control the forces of nature, know the thoughts of men, and even heal someone from a far distance. Rather, He added humanity to it, and became what we refer to as the Godman, fully God and fully man. Yet, He set aside His power and privileges to live as a man.

Consider the infinite greatness and majesty of the Lord, and His humbling of Himself to take on humanity in order to become the Savior of the world and die upon the cross to pay or atone for mankind’s sins. His humbling of Himself would be like one of us deciding to limit ourselves and be born and live our whole life out as a mosquito because of our great love of mosquitoes.

The fact of taking on humanity and living a life here in a finite human body is impressive enough. But, Paul says here that He also became a “bond-servant” (one who freely commits himself to serve as a slave to another), and that He also humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death upon a cross. Obedient in all things to His Father and the Law that He had created, Jesus Christ suffered the most horrible of deaths in going to the cross on Calvary’s hill. Having all power to halt the events, He allowed Himself to be beaten, given thirty-nine lashes, made to carry His cross to the hill, spit upon, railed against, stripped naked, have a crown of thorns pounded into His skull, nailed by His hands and feet to a cross, and even after death have a soldier’s spear thrust into His side to pierce and drain out His heart. Now that is a perfect example of humility. That is our example as Christians for how we are to humble ourselves before God and men.

In case you are wondering whether or not this humility thing is optional for a Christian, it is not. The scripture says that we who belong to Christ have been bought with a price by Him and that our life is not our own (1 Cor. 6:19-20). We who are Christians have given up our rights to the Lord, and we are His servants, servants to obey, bond-servants.

Everyone in the church is responsible to maintain unity. Its not just the responsibility of the leaders or the staff, it is equally each of our responsibility. On any team or group, just one person who puts themselves and their interests and ambitions above the group or team has the potential to destroy the effectiveness of the entire team.

Being humble does not mean that you cannot and should not be competitive in athletics, nor that you lose any competitive edge. But it does mean that you play your sport as unto the Lord, and you give Him the glory for all that you are able to accomplish. Many great athletes of the past have been humble committed Christians (Reggie White-football, the Doctor Julius Erving-basketball, Orel Herschiser-baseball, etc., etc.)

Here is an illustration that ought to serve well as a reminder. The year was 2003. The Cubs hadn’t won a World Series in 95 years, but it was looking like they finally were ready. It was Game 6 of the National League Championship Series and the Chicago Cubs were leading the Florida Marlins 3 to 2 in the series. The Cubs were ahead 3 to 0 in the 8th inning of this game, with one out. Moises Alou was playing the outfield when a fly ball was hit up against the fence just foul. Alou was in position and ready to jump up and snatch the ball just before it went over the fence, but a Cubs fan named Steve Bartman in the excitement of the game and wanting to have a very valuable souvenir for himself, deflected the ball from Alou causing it to land one row into the stands. This would have been the second out of the 8th inning and the Cubs up to that point in the game had great momentum. But, encouraged by Bartman’s interference the Marlins went on to score eight runs in that inning, and the Cubs, who had been leading handily lost the game 8-3, and, eventually lost the series in seven games. It was the actions of just one man, a man who was just a fan, who caused the team to lose all of their momentum, never to gain it back.

After Bartman interfered, the whole stadium started chanting, “Kill him!,” and security had to lead the man out of the stadium for his own protection. Eventually, because of the infamy of his name and image from television, Bartman had to move completely out of Chicago. The same kind of thing that Bartman did can happen in the church or on any team. So many churches and so many teams have been ravished because one member put his selfish interests and ambitions before the team. Sometimes this can happen as easily as Bartman simply sticking his mitt out in a thoughtless instance in time.

Here are some tips for the parents of athletes:

• Christian parents need to get a handle on keeping their son or daughter’s pride in check. They need to encourage their child from the earliest ages to ask themselves regularly what his/her motivation is for what he/she is doing? Why is he/she excelling at their sport?

• When your child emphasizes personal stats over how the team did, the child needs to a talking to.

• Someone once said, “The true test of a man’s humility is not when he is down on his luck but when he is successful!” How does your child act when he/she does well? Does he/she get puffed up and think that he/she is really something?

• How does your son or daughter who is excelling treat the other members on their team, especially the ones whose stats aren’t really that good?

• Is he/she a team player and willing to do whatever the team needs even if it is at the expense of personal stats or even preferences, and even if that might mean sitting the bench for a time or playing a small role? The sacrifice fly, bunt, or ground ball that advances a runner in baseball is all about “team” because it kills personal stats, but it is something that every baseball player must be willing to do.

• Is your child happy when he/she did good but the team loses? Is the child unhappy when the team won but his/her stats suffered? What are your child’s motivations?

David wrote in the Psalms, “Search me O Lord and see if there be any hurtful way in me.” Christian athletes need to allow the Lord to examine their hearts on a regular basis. The real statistic that counts in life is whether or not our lives are pleasing to the Lord. We were created for His glory and to be a grand expression of His grace and mercy in human flesh. We need to glorify the Lord not ourselves in all that we do.

Philippians #1: What is the Source of Your Joy?

2009-03-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

It has been an interesting and yet painful past six months for all of us living around the world. It is not just in America that the economy has tanked in a manner unseen since the days of the 1930’s depression. Every person who is retired or considering a future retirement in the not too distant future has seen their future options become much more limited than they were previously. Some people are going to have to come out of retirement because their retirement funds were tied to the collapsed economy, and some people are considering whether they will ever be able to retire. All adults in America have found ourselves outside of our comfort zones and pinched in ways we hoped we would never experience.

I was talking with an NFL representative the other day and he was expressing how that NFL teams have already found themselves being significantly impacted by the failed economy. He brought up the fact that many other sports leagues long ago went bankrupt and ceased to exist, and that such a thing could happen to the NFL. I find that prospect very depressing. Hey, here’s an idea, what if Obama suggested a bail out for the rich professional athletes who find themselves overextended? I know I’m being sarcastic in bringing this up, but in my opinion that’s no more absurd a consideration as some of the ones that I have seen implemented… Yet, I ask myself what can I do about the situation I find myself and my family in? What can any of us do about the situation? Everything is going to play out according to God’s plan, and that is about all I can say...

I believe that part of the reason why these things have come upon the world, and America in specific, is because God wants to show to the church that was purchased by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, what the source of their joy really is? And so I ask you, what is the source of your joy?

I take you to the book of Philippians in the New Testament. Paul the apostle wrote this epistle to a church that he called "my crown of joy," a church that he himself felt closest to, one that he personally loved so much that he said that they were in his heart: Phil. 1:7, “…is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart...” Paul goes on to say in this verse that the Philippians participated with him in all that he did: “since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me.” The Philippians were with Paul through thick and thin, good and bad. They were no fair weather friends to him.

At the city of Troas, early in Paul’s second missionary journey of the book of Acts, he had a vision of a man from Macedonia pleading with him, “Come over and help us.” So, Paul headed to Macedonia in the area of modern day Greece. This man is believed to be the Philippian jailer that Paul led to the faith after Paul was beaten and jailed when he got to the city of Philippi.

At the city of Philippi, chapter 16 of the book of Acts tells us how that church was formed. Paul met a group of women gathered for prayer at a river, and Lydia, a woman who sold purple, came to faith in Christ and became the first convert from Europe. She then started a church in her home. Paul later cast a demon out of a slave girl that was used by the people of the city for divination because she was going ahead of them telling everyone that they were servants of the most high God. This woman probably became the next convert into the church. Later, Paul and Silas were beaten and jailed for preaching the gospel, and as they were praising God and singing, an angel caused an earthquake and all of the jail cell doors opened. The Philippian jailer was about to fall on his sword knowing how he would be treated when the authorities discovered that the men in the jail had been freed from their cells, however Paul told the jailer that everything was OK and that they were all still in their cells. This man then asked Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul’s reply was, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” The Philippian jailer came to faith along with his household, and he most likely next became part of the church in Philippi.

Paul loved the Philippian church like they were his own sons and daughters because they were his children in the faith. Likewise, just like they were his own children, whenever they did well he rejoiced in what they had done. And when they sorrowed, he sorrowed. When they were increased and blessed, he was increased and blessed. Paul primarily wrote the epistle of Philippians to the Philippian church to thank them for their financial contributions and help and also to encourage them to unity and being of one mind since there were a couple of the leaders in the church who were disputing and at odds with each other (they were probably leaders of different house churches in Philippi).

But, the main word and theme in the epistle of Philippians is that of “joy.” Every remembrance of the Philippians brought “joy” to Paul, and he had “joy” in every prayer he prayed for them (Phil. 1:3-5). He even commands them in Phil. 4:4 to “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”

People often have sought to have joy but sought in all of the wrong places, as illustrated by these quotes I found on a web page:

· Unbelief — Voltaire, the French philosopher, who was an avid unbeliever wrote, “I wish I had never been born.”
· Pleasure — Lord Byron (English poet known for his “life of pleasure”) wrote concerning his life, “The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone.”
· Money — Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: “I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth.”
· Position and Fame — Benjamin Disraeli, one time prime minister of Great Britain who enjoyed more than his share of both position and fame, wrote, “Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.”
· Military Glory — Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, before he said, “There are no more worlds to conquer.”

Joy for the believer in Christ is inseparably linked to fellowship with Christ and is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:24) in his life and linked to obedience (John 15:9-11). The joy of the unbeliever is a giddy joy that is an emotion determined by circumstances. But, the joy of the believer involves a choice to have joy and essentially it is an attitude of faith and trusting in God, an attitude of counting and considering your blessings in life instead of constantly considering your setbacks and losses.

Michael Gunn has written the following on a web page on the internet: “Philippians has been a book about the “Fellowship of Joy” found in a relationship with Christ, and His mission in the world. Paul’s joy is not a fanciful joy separate from real world living. So many struggling people eschew help because those that want to help simply “Don’t understand!” Or, “No one feels my pain.” This can’t be said of Paul and the Philippians. Paul was in prison, facing imminent death. The Philippians faced relational division, heresy, ostracism, persecution, poverty and possibly even death. In spite of this Paul urged the church to find their way to God’s peace, “Which surpasses all understanding!””

The joy of which Paul writes about is not a joy that is based upon our circumstances, but rather one that comes from the Lord and exists in spite of our circumstances. I don’t normally quote Karl Barth, but I will here. Quoting again from the same web site, Karl Barth has written the following about this joy: “That Joy in Philippians is a defiant ‘Nevertheless!’” The idea of rejoicing (Which has been used to mark off sections in this book) has come in the context of personal turmoil (Philippians 2:18; 3:1, and here in 4:4). As one commentator says, “Rejoice certainly does defy the thankless, complaining nature of humanity and human custom throughout history.” Rejoicing in Christ is rooted in salvation, and not circumstantial blessing. This is not a trumped up, plastic smile rejoicing, but a real joy in the midst of human pain. The joy that comes from a hope that is outside of our control. It’s a joy in spite of… It’s a joy that allows you to work through human relational problems, because this kind of joy releases you from the need to be right. This rejoicing is done “Always,” not circumstantially. If you are trying to find joy outside of Jesus, you will always be joyless, and you will continually be chasing harmful relationships and lifestyles in order to fill your giant void in your life. We are created to find our happiness in the Lord. Nehemiah 8:10 reminds us that, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” To this US Senate Chaplain Loyd Ogilvie adds, “Rejoicing in the Lord is not a luxury, it’s a necessity! In the midst of our pain, we cry out defiantly and embrace a “Nevertheless” mentality, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice!”"

The book of Philippians speaks of numerous occasions we as Christians have for experiencing joy, including:

· 1:1-3-11 Joy in fellowship – in the world, at best you have friendship
· 1:4 Joy in prayer
· 1:12-30 Joy in affliction/suffering – in the world, you endure without purpose or hope
· 1:25 Joy in the faith
· 2:1-30 Joy in submission – in the world, there is promotion of self
· 2:18 Joy in sacrifice
· 2:28 Joy in Christian relationship
· 2:29 Joy of Christian hospitality
· 3:1 Joy in rejoicing in the Lord
· 3:1-4:3 Joy in salvation by grace – in the world, the hopelessness of works
· 4:1 Joy with other believers
· 4:4-19 Joy in spiritual blessings – in the world, physical accumulation of things or experiences

When you get to chapter 4 and Paul tells you to worry about nothing, you can see that worrying is a signal that our joy is based upon our circumstances not in our relationship with Christ. Then, Paul will go on in chapter 4 to talk about how we need to control our minds and the things that we think about (whatever is pure, lovely, of good repute, etc.) in order to experience and know the joy and peace of God.

Paul had a proper perspective on life, and this enabled him to continually have joy. He knew that God is in control of all that happens in our lives. He knew that God is behind the scenes orchestrating what happens, fulfilling His plans. He knew that God raises up and brings men to power (Dan. 2:21; 4:17; John 19:11; Rom. 13:1), and that He is sovereign and self-determining and in spite of the wickedness of men and angels He brings about His will and plans upon the earth. This truth is seen, for instance, in what the scriptures tell us about Christ’s crucifixion being a wicked plan carried out by wicked men, but one that was also determined by God before all creation: Acts 2:23, “Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death”; 1 Peter 1:20, “He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.” Paul knew that God is causing all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28), and He knew that the Lord promises to meet our needs each day if we seek Him first (Matt. 6:33). He knew that we are not to worry about tomorrow but just concentrate upon today: Matt. 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Paul wrote in Phil. 1:6 that he was confident (or knew) that God was going to continue that work that He had begun in the lives of the Philippians when they had come to saving faith in Christ: “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Paul knew that God never begins something that He does not complete, that is not the nature of God. Paul doesn’t negate the importance of our willful choices as people in saying this though, for in verse 12 of the very next chapter he states: “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

I you were in a horrible Roman prison of the first century, what would your perspective on life or your ministry be? Would having joy be dependent upon getting out of that hell hole? In Phil. 1:12-18, Paul reveals that he was content in his situation and that he knew his life was right on course with God's plans. He states that even his own current imprisonment for the preaching of the gospel wasn’t hindering his ministry and God using him, but rather expanding it, because the guards he was chained to were hearing the gospel, and because many in the church were now preaching the gospel because he was imprisoned, even though the motives of many were wrong (something that Paul didn’t concern himself with): “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice.”

What is the joy meter reading in your life, oh reader? What is the source of your joy? Are you experiencing the joy of the Lord as your strength? Or, is your joy tied to your circumstances like the rest of this world that is perishing and soon to incur God’s judgment? I tell you to rejoice in the Lord always, and why not, it’s a lot more fun to laugh than to cry…

If you are an athlete or coach and you are able to play your sport today, then rejoice. If you are a parent of an athlete who is able to play his/her sport today, then rejoice. If you are just a sports fan and you are able to watch your sport today, then rejoice. Rejoice in spite of any circumstance, any set back, any trial, because of what you know about God and His sovereign will and plans for your life and mankind! And do not worry in the slightest about tomorrow, live life for Jesus today and worry only about today…

Effective Leadership, Part 4: Dealing With The Conflicts From Within

2009-02-27T09:21:00.000-08:00

This is the fourth part of a series on leadership gleaned from a study of the book of Nehemiah. In our previous three articles we have already learned several incredible lessons on leadership from the book. Seeing how Nehemiah led the Israelites to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem in just 52 days provides those lessons for us. In our previous article we discussed how there was continual opposition that Nehemiah faced during this entire project, and we looked in that article at how Nehemiah dealt with the opposition of enemies outside of his group of Judeans. Here, we will discuss conflicts that arose from within the group of Judeans in the midst of rebuilding the wall, and how Nehemiah dealt with those things. Seeing how Nehemiah handled these conflicts will help us as leaders, even if it is only a few that we lead.

To review the historical context for this story, the southern kingdom of Israel, Judea, had been taken captive to Babylon in 587 BC by the Babylonians. The Babylonians destroyed their temple, their houses, and tore down the wall around Jerusalem, burning its gates. Then, when Cyrus the Persian later conquered Babylon, he immediately allowed the Israelites who had been taken captive by Babylon to return to Jerusalem. Zerubbabel first returned with a group of Jews in 538 BC to rebuild the temple. The Jewish temple was finally completed in twenty years, but then the rest of the work of rebuilding stalled for seventy years. Next, an Israelite priest named Ezra returned to Jerusalem in 458-457 BC to enforce the Jewish law and continue the rebuilding of the city. His work on the wall and city stalled and accomplished basically nothing, though he did teach the people faithfully.

Nehemiah, was a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia, and in 445 BC he heard that his people in Israel were in great distress and reproach. Their temple had been rebuilt, but the city wall was still broken down and its gates burned. Nehemiah was grieved by this news and wept and mourned for days, then fasted and prayed for four months for his people in Jerusalem and the work of God to be rebuilt there. Nehemiah prayed and prayed that the Lord would put it in the heart of the king to allow him to go and rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, and as he prayed he planned everything that he would need and what he would do in rebuilding the wall. The Lord finally opened the king’s heart and allowed him to return and rebuild the wall around the city. He returned with a group and they began rebuilding the wall.

In our last study, we discussed the fact that whenever we as God’s people attempt any work for God, we are going to face opposition, and that this happens because we have an enemy of our souls that we are always engaging. The Lord, for His own purposes, sometimes allows the Devil to work through people who oppose us, and the Devil is always attempting to keep people from coming to saving faith in Christ. So, when we are God’s messengers, if the Devil can’t hinder us by placing obstacles in our way or leading us into compromise in our faith and morals, then he will attempt to hinder us by sending people to join us so he can work within our group and hinder us.

It is actually the opposition from within that is the most destructive because history has shown over and over that God’s people are usually made strong by persecution from without. However, when they can be corrupted and compromised from within their own ranks then the consequences are much more destructive and long lasting. A whole denomination can be rendered totally apostate, for instance.

There are lots of admonitions in the scriptures to be of one mind in the church and not cause division or factions, such as Romans 12:16: “Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.”

It is important for any leader to watch carefully for those who cause turmoil and conflict within your group. In the New Testament there are lots of warnings to beware of factious and contentious people who can and will come in among the church and cause lots of problems, just as the apostle Paul warned the church in Acts 20:29: “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.” What I see that, more than anything, keeps churches from being healthy and growing is that often people in the churches don’t get along with each other, and they don’t follow Jesus’ command to love one another even as the Lord has loved us.

In considering conflicts that occur with people when you are doing service to the Lord, you need to always keep in mind that there is a spiritual force or entity that is interacting with your life through circumstances and people. Paul wrote about this in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers , against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” In that chapter in Ephesians, Paul goes on to discuss important things to consider when you are involved in spiritual warfare, including what are the weapons of our warfare. Conflicts between people in the church must be looked at and dealt with as a "spiritual warfare," and never just on the basis of a personality or cultural basis. "Personality conflicts" should also never be an excuse for not getting along in any church, or any team, not if you are seeking what is best for the whole.

Several weeks back, my wife and I took a diversion from our normal routines and visited a newer church plant nearby on a Sunday morning, and I was talking with the pastor before the service, he told me, “We have such a great group, there are no bad attitudes or conflicts in our group we have such great people.” I told him that this was great, but this is not going to last. Unity and getting along are things that everyone in the body of Christ is responsible for and must learn and take pains to “strive” to maintain.

My own pastor once gave me some sound advice about dealing with conflicts that occur within the body of Christ. He said, “Deal with conflicts quickly because the longer you wait the more damage that will be incurred in your group.”

Haven’t we all seen many sports teams decimated by a coach allowing destructive and divisive attitudes to go unchecked? Don’t we all know of many examples of teams that are filled with incredible athletes who cannot achieve great things because of poor chemistry? On the professional level, there are the T.O.’s and Moss types in the NFL that have wrecked many teams. But, I have seen this same sort of thing happen in amateur sports at every level. This “chemistry” problem usually boils down to a situation where a coach is so enamored by the potential a very gifted athlete brings to the team that he is unwilling to discipline that person because of their destructive and negative attitudes. I have seen several times that good athletes have quit teams because they can’t deal with that one superstar bad apple that spoils the whole barrel, and, what is ironic is that the athlete who causes the trouble usually quits the team before a crucial game, is made ineligible because of grades or code of conduct violations, or doesn’t even go out for the team their last year or two of eligibility. Then, the team is left decimated because some the good athletes have long since quit the team. I have never seen a team succeed with one key player with a terrible attitude that has been left unchecked. I do not believe it is EVER a good idea to put up with one player’s destructive and bad attitudes.

The way in which some individuals are destructive to a team is in their refusing to accept and follow your leadership. Others are discouraged by this, and some can pick up the same attitude. A team has to follow its leaders to be successful. So, this too is an attitude that must be confronted and overcome if the team is to work together towards their great goals.

The initial opposition which Nehemiah faced in the rebuilding of the wall occurred not long after he arrived in Jerusalem, when he was derided and made fun of by Sanballat and Tobiah, the powerful governors of Samaria and Moab. Then, when quite a bit of progress on the progress on the wall had been made, the enemies of Jerusalem on all four sides began to unite together and discuss a joint assault against the city to stop the work on the wall. However, this threat was countered and averted by Nehemiah telling the people to carry a weapon with them whenever they worked on the wall, and by setting a guard on the wall 24/7. Then, after this external opposition had occurred, progress again continued until all of a sudden the workers on the walls went on strike and quit working because of conflicts within the Judeans. There had been a famine in Judea due to the number of people who had come to rebuild the wall, and many had run out of money needed to buy food. The rich and nobles had lent money to the people to buy food, but at a high interest rate (this is called “usury”). Then, when people had not been able to pay their debts, their property had been taken away from them. Many of the people had even sold their daughters as slaves to their countrymen to whom they owed money. The people had given up the work on the wall because they realized that having a rebuilt wall wouldn’t matter a bit to them if they and their children were just made to be slaves afterwards. What would be the point? No one could concentrate on the work any longer.

After consulting with himself (iow, thinking and praying about it), Nehemiah reacted quickly and decisively to this crisis: Nehemiah 5:6-8 - “Then I was very angry when I had heard their outcry and these words. I consulted with myself and contended with the nobles and the rulers and said to them, “You are exacting usury, each from his brother!” Therefore, I held a great assembly against them. I said to them, “We according to our ability have redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us?” Then they were silent and could not find a word to say.” Nehemiah followed Jesus’ admonition in Matthew chapter 18 about what to do when you discover that your brother has sinned. First, Nehemiah went and personally confronted the rich and nobles about what they were doing. Then, when they wouldn’t listen, he called an assembly and publicly exposed the fact that the rich and nobles were taking advantage of their brothers in a crisis, questioning the rich and the nobles about how they could enslave their brothers when they had all come to Jerusalem in the first place to rebuild the city since the Jews were slaves captive in Persia. The rich and nobles were speechless and couldn’t justify themselves.

Then, in Nehemiah 5:9-11 Nehemiah demanded that they give everyone back all that they had taken from them, and quit charging usury: “Again I said, “The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? “And likewise I, my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let us leave off this usury. “Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine and the oil that you are exacting from them.” The rich and the nobles agreed and returned everything that they had confiscated, evidently the people forgave and forgot the transgressions made against them (a key ingredient to any successful conflict resolution), and the crisis from within was squelched. Work continued on the rebuilding of the wall and it was completed in just 52 days.

Glenn C. Daman, an author who has written a very good book on the dynamics of pastoring small churches called, “Leading The Small Church,” has written a very informative and pertinent internet article called, “When Sheep Squabble — Dealing With Conflict in the Smaller Church” (http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/200502/200502_086_squabble.cfm ). He makes a number of incredibly good points and applications that relate to all of us who lead any types of groups. He writes, “The small church revolves around the close relationships formed within the congregation. Because of this, many believe that a small church is a place where deeply caring people who love one another and mutually support each other gather to worship, where conflicts are nonexistent, and where “never is heard a discouraging word.” While this is true of many smaller congregations most of the time, it is not true of every congregation all the time. Conflict is a reality that confronts a congregation regardless of how loving and caring the people are. The difference between a loving congregation and one settling into patterns of warfare is not the amount of conflict or the intensity of conflict, but the way they respond to and resolve conflict. Loving churches resolve conflict with minimal damage to long-term relationships. Warring congregations allow conflicts to fester and grow. They never seek resolution and often add new conflicts to their existing problems.”

Daman goes on then and discusses a number of important points about what conflicts produce, including:

Conflict undermines the morale of the pastor
Conflict undermines the morale of the small church
Conflicts affect the whole
Conflicts affect the testimony of the church

Daman discusses in the article also how that because of the dynamics and nature of the small church, the pastor can go about to resolve these conflicts so that harmony can be regained and the church again be strong, united, and effective in its mission: “Because the small church is relationally driven, the first and most crucial element of conflict resolution is personal and direct interaction with the other person. Many conflicts between two people can be handled by a personal phone call or visit. The pastor can serve as an informal mediator between the two parties, helping them understand one another and come to a common and agreeable solution. The foundation of this approach to problem solving is the relationship the pastor has with the two people. If a pastor develops solid relationships with his people, they will respect and welcome his involvement in the situation. If the pastor, however, remains aloof and distant from his congregation, his involvement will be seen as an intrusion and cause the conflict to escalate. When issues arise between people that cause tension, the pastor should be able to go to them, listen and assess the issue, and provide suggestions for a quick and fair resolution. In a small church, the pastor is quickly aware of conflicts and usually has a positive, personal relationship with the people involved. This relationship provides opportunities for pastoral involvement in conflict resolution.”

So, in conclusion, it is important for you as a leader to pay attention to how those under your leadership get along, as well as for destructive and bad attitudes in team members which could have the effect of ruining the entire chemistry and effectiveness of the team or group. Pray and ask God for wisdom and discernment, but deal firmly and quickly with those who cause dissention and division, in order to minimize the fallout that can and will occur. In your confrontation of individuals, always follow the biblical admonitions to hope the best and believe the best about people (see 1 Corinthians 13), and if possible, try to consider that you are providing a way for that person to be restored back to the group after they have had a change of attitude.

If you are involved in a ministry, remember that you are really waging spiritual warfare and that the real battle is going on in the spiritual realm. Therefore, approach what you are doing prayerfully and carefully. When the men had pummeled Jesus numerous times, put a crown of thorns on his head, pounded nails through His hands and feet, and hung Him on a cross, He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” Jesus realized those men were being duped and deceived in carrying out their malicious act against Him.

Remember, it is never worth it to gamble or sacrifice your whole team or group for one person, no matter how gifted they are. And finally, don't think that conflicts within your team or group are going to somehow just fix themselves if you, like the ostrich, stick your head in the sand and ignore them. My personal experience and the stories I have read throughout my lifetime tell me that they just get worse if you do that. That these sorts of conflicts are dealt with effectively is part of what defines great leaders, and it is also what also produces the chemistry necessary for successful teams...

Effective Leadership, Part 3: Dealing With Those Who Oppose

2009-01-31T19:02:00.000-08:00

This is the third part of a series on leadership gleaned from a study of the book of Nehemiah. The book of Nehemiah is unique in that it reveals to us at every turn incredible lessons on leadership. Nehemiah led the Israelites to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem in just 52 days, which would be an incredible feat even in our day. There was continual opposition that Nehemiah faced during this entire project though, both from enemies outside of his group of Judeans, as well as conflicts that came from within the group. This article will discuss the first of these, the opposition from without. In the next article I will address the latter. Seeing how Nehemiah dealt with the opposition and conflicts he faced will prepare each of us for the struggles we will face as leaders, even if it is only a few that we lead.

The southern kingdom of Israel, Judea, had been taken captive to Babylon in 587 BC by the Babylonians. These conquerors destroyed their temple, their houses, and even tore down the wall around Jerusalem and burned its gates. However, when Cyrus the Persian later conquered Babylon, he immediately allowed the Israelites who had been taken captive by Babylon to return to Jerusalem. An Israelite named Zerubbabel first returned with a group in 538 BC to rebuild the temple. The Jewish temple was finally completed, but then the rest of the work of rebuilding the city and the city wall stalled for seventy years. Next, Ezra an Israelite priest returned to Jerusalem in 458-457 BC, and his purpose was to enforce the Jewish law and continue with the rebuilding of the city. His work on the wall and city eventually stalled as well.

Nehemiah, an Israelite, was a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I of Persia, and in 445 BC he heard that his people in Israel were in great distress and reproach, and, even though their temple had been rebuilt, the city wall was still broken down and its gates burned. Nehemiah was so grieved by this news he wept and mourned for days. In fact, he ended up fasting and praying for four months straight for his people in Jerusalem and the work of God to be rebuilt there. Nehemiah prayed through this whole time for the Lord to put it in the heart of the king to allow him to leave to rebuild the wall around the city, and as he prayed he was also planning everything that he would need and what he would do in rebuilding the wall. The Lord finally opened the king’s heart to allow Nehemiah to return and rebuild the wall around the city, and Nehemiah left with a group of Israelites to rebuild the wall. We will talk now about what Nehemiah faced when he arrived in Jerusalem after the 800 mile journey.

Whenever we as God’s people attempt any work for God, we are going to face opposition. This happens because we have an enemy of our souls that we are always engaging. This is a world that is in the midst of a civil war in the spiritual realm. Satan and his demonic hordes are in rebellion against God, and they are also always seeking ways to hinder people from finding Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Satan also tries to hinder those who are God’s messengers and servants because these are the ones who can influence others towards Christ, and he often works through others to do this. In 1 Peter 5:8-9a, we read about the fact that we Christians have an adversary that is we must always be wary of: “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith.” In 1 Peter 4:12-13 we are told not to be surprised by fiery trials that come upon us to test us as we are serving the Lord: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.”

In the case of Israel, the Devil wanted to hinder the rebuilding of the temple, the wall, the houses, and the peoples’ lives in Jerusalem because if he could keep the work of God from being rebuilt he knew he could also keep the Messiah from being born of the tribe of Judah and descent of David, as the scripture had prophesied He would come.

God allows spiritual warfare in the lives of His children, but the Devil cannot do whatever he wants to do in our lives. The Devil has to get permission to do the smallest things to God’s people, the first chapter of the book of Job proves this out. There we read that Satan appeared before the Lord and asked and obtained permission for him to cause harm to Job as Satan accused Job of only serving God because of the blessings he had received. Satan was given strict parameters in what he could do to Job, and Job was severely afflicted and tested. God will allow the Devil to test a Christian’s moral resolve, his perseverance, the purity of his motives, etc. So, expect that as you serve the Lord you are going to face continual opposition. In fact, if you are not facing spiritual opposition, then it is the case that you aren’t in the place where God wants you to be. If you are experiencing genuine spiritual warfare it is a good sign because it says that God is planning to use your life for His purposes.

Nehemiah faced opposition by powerful leaders and people groups that surrounded Judea, and this opposition increased in proportion to his progress in getting the wall rebuilt. In any endeavor that is worth undertaking there are going to be many obstacles as well as much opposition, and counting the cost ahead of time, as well as persevering, helps us to be successful. James Montgomery Boice has written about how that success itself, in any field, tends to breed opposition. He brings out several reasons why people oppose the success of someone else:

1. Some people are threatened by another person’s success.
2. Others are jealous.
3. Some oppose others or their projects because they have a different agenda than they do.
4. Some feel excluded.
5. People suspect the motivations of those they oppose.
6. Some people, especially leaders, lose face when others succeed.
7. Opposition comes from traditionalists—those who prefer the way things have been done in the past and do not want change.
8. Because it is opposed by Satan.

I see six principles of effective leadership working in the life of Nehemiah that helped him to deal with the opposition and conflicts that he continually faced.

First of all, Nehemiah took every difficulty immediately to prayer. Prayer was his first resource, not his last recourse (as is often the case with us), and thus we see that “the good hand of the Lord” was always blessing everything he did. Oh, how different our lives would be if we learned this lesson of seeking the Lord early in our trials and difficulties.

Secondly, Nehemiah always had discernment and wisdom needed to know how to handle each one who opposed and every difficulty, and, this was because of point number one, he prayed about everything. Discernment, specially of the spiritual kind, reveals the true nature of a problem as well as people’s true motives and intentions, and thus it is absolutely essential for any leader. Fortunately, God in His word has promised to give us wisdom and discernment whenever we ask Him in faith for it: James 1:5-6a, “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting.” Nehemiah always saw people’s real motives and the real issues and problems before him because of the discernment that God gave him as he brought every need to prayer.

Third, Nehemiah was always optimistic and kept a positive mental attitude, and, he saw every trial as an opportunity to trust the Lord and see what He would do. Very few leaders are successful without these character qualities. Charles Swindoll includes in his Nehemiah commentary a story penned by Charles Edison about his father, Thomas Edison, and how that his father was an inventor with a contagious determination and optimism:

“I especially recall a freezing December night in 1914, at a time when still unfruitful experiments on the nickel-iron-alkaline storage battery, to which Father had devoted much of ten years, had put him on a financial tightrope. Only profits from movie and record production were supporting the laboratory. On that December evening the cry of “Fire!” echoed through the plant. Spontaneous combustion had broken out in the film room. Within moments all the packing compounds, celluloid for records, film and other flammable goods had gone up with a whoosh. Fire companies from eight towns arrived, but the heat was so intense, and the water pressure so low, that the fire hoses had no effect.

When I couldn’t find Father, I become concerned. Was he safe? With all his assets going up in smoke, would his spirit be broken? He was 67, no age to begin anew. Then I saw him in the plant yard, running toward me.

“Where’s Mom?” he shouted, “Go get her! Tell her to get her friends! They’ll never see a fire like this again!”

At 5:30 the next morning, with the fire barely under control, he called his employees together and announced, “We’re rebuilding.” One man was told to lease all the machine shops in the area. Another, to obtain a wrecking crane from the Erie Railroad Company. Then, almost as an afterthought he added, “Oh, by the way. Anybody know where we can get some money?”

Later on he explained, “You can always make capital out of disaster. We’ve just cleared out a bunch of old rubbish. We’ll build bigger and better on the ruins.” With that he rolled up his coat for a pillow, curled up on a table and immediately fell asleep.”

Swindoll continues, “…we enjoy the microphone, the stereo, the incandescent light, the storage battery, talking movies, and more than a thousand other inventions. In addition to being a technological genius, he refused to be discouraged.”

Before we leave this point about the importance of optimism in a leader and a positive mental attitude, I have to share with you this excellent quote by Charles Swindoll on attitude: "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on my life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than what other people say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude that we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitude."

Fourth, Nehemiah was decisive and persevered in administering what he had been appointed to do.

Fifth, and this is a critical point, Nehemiah was always able to keep himself, and everyone else as well, focused upon the task at hand.

Sixth, Nehemiah recognized the importance of time management in achieving goals.

Let’s look at the opposition from without that Nehemiah encountered in the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem. When Nehemiah first got to Jerusalem, he discovered that he was surrounded by powerful governors and leaders who did not want to see Jerusalem rebuilt and become a financial and political force. Sanballat to the north was the governor of Samaria, Tobiah to the east was the governor of Moab, Geshem to the south was the leader of the Arabs, and the Ashdodites were located to the west.

These leaders first taunted Nehemiah and the Judeans and made fun of them. They laughed at Nehemiah and said that he would never be able to complete the wall’s rebuilding. Nehemiah’s response was that he just kept the people focused upon their task and ignored these idle threats: Nehemiah 2:19-20, “But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard it, they mocked us and despised us and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” So I answered them and said to them, “The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem.””

As work on the wall progressed, the enemys’ anger and threats increased in the same proportion. These men spread rumor after rumor that all of these enemy nations had become united and were planning an imminent attack against Jerusalem that would stop the work. Nehemiah determined that now all the Judeans would need to always have a weapon in one hand or strapped to their side as they worked on the wall. Also, around the clock a guard would now always be on the wall to spot any advancing attackers. Nehemiah didn’t give in to paranoia and foolishly spend his energies worrying about the attacks he feared he might face, he only dealt with the enemy that he knew about. Nehemiah 4:14 tells us what how that Nehemiah mustered the people to be ready to fight, telling them, ‘fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.’ Most importantly, again Nehemiah kept the people focused upon their task at hand. The result was that when their enemies saw the Judean’s readiness to both fight and work, they gave up on following through with their plot.

Finally, when the wall was almost completely finished, Sanballat and Tobiah invited Nehemiah out to the plains of Ono ostensibly for the purpose of accepting that he had succeeded in his rebuilding of the wall and that Jerusalem would now be recognized as a legitimate political and financial capital with Nehemiah as the leader. However, after praying about what he should do the Lord gave Nehemiah discernment and he realized that these men were planning to assassinate him in the plains of Ono. Nehemiah refused three subsequent invitations to come, showing that he could not be persuaded by men to do otherwise when the Lord had shown him plainly what he should do. When Sanballat in desperation finally sent a public letter to Nehemiah accusing him of planning to rebel against Persia, proclaim himself as king, and then pull away of paying tribute to the king of Persia, Nehemiah responded immediately with a letter denying the accusations and telling Sanballat that he had made these things up in his own mind. Because Nehemiah realized also that he could not afford to take a three or more day journey away since there was still a little more to do to fully complete the wall, he also replied to Sanballat with this: Nehemiah 6:3b, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” Nehemiah was keenly focused upon good time management.

Nehemiah’s decisiveness and perseverance is perhaps best seen in the last chapter of the book. Nehemiah had led the Judeans to rebuild the wall in 52 days, and then he was appointed and ruled as governor for twelve years. After this, Nehemiah returned to Persia and the king he had served. It could have been up to fifteen years after this that Nehemiah, now believed to be an elderly man, returned to Jerusalem. But, when he came he discovered that all of the things that the people had made in an oath of obedience they had made in chapter 10, they were now breaking. Nehemiah could have given up on the Judeans at this point and just let them do whatever they wanted to do. But, instead chapter 13 sees him dealing decisively and perseveringly with the people who were being disobedient to the Lord. He persevered in his administration in rebuilding the work of God even after all of these years. He went straight to the top and confronted the rulers for disobeying the law and their oath they had made, as well as allowing the rest of the people do it. Then, in Neh. 13:23-25 we read about what Nehemiah did when he discovered that for at least the third time the Judeans had disobeyed the Lord’s commandments and inter-married with the people of the land, and he knew that the entire work of God in Judea could be torn down in just one generation by this, so he could not let it go on: “In those days I also saw that the Jews had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. As for their children, half spoke in the language of Ashdod, and none of them was able to speak the language of Judah, but the language of his own people. So I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.” When Nehemiah said, “Come over here I want to lay hands on you,” he wasn’t talking about prayer!

So, in review this is what we need to apply from Nehemiah’s example in order to effectively handle opposition that we encounter as a leader: 1) Take everything problem and need immediately to prayer. 2) Pray continually for wisdom and discernment. 3) Remain optimistic and keep a positive mental attitude believing that trials are opportunities to trust the Lord. 4) Be decisive and persevere in administration of your appointment. 5) Keep yourself and everyone else focused upon the task at hand. 6) Be a good time manager.

Effective Leadership, Part 2: How To Motivate Others

2008-12-31T13:03:00.000-08:00

This is the second part of a series on leadership gleaned from a study of the book of Nehemiah from the Bible, with special emphasis as to how these concepts apply to our lives as Christians, as well as athletes and coaches. The book of Nehemiah has been called the first book ever written on leadership, and it has also been called the best book ever written on leadership. Aside from Jesus Christ, there is probably no one in the Bible who more models being an effective leader than this man named Nehemiah, as story after story in his book details. That Nehemiah led the Israelites to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem in just 52 days, is an incredible feat and should cause us to contemplate what made him successful. The reader must remember that the principles comprised in this article are broad and apply to all of us as people because we all are leaders of others at times and in some ways.

The people of Judea had been taken captive to Babylon in 587 BC after the Babylonians had destroyed their temple, their houses, and even torn down the wall around Jerusalem and burned its gates. Next, Cyrus the Great became the king of the Median Empire in 549 BC, and then conquered Babylon without a shot in 539 BC. Upon commencing his rule, he immediately allowed the Israelites who had been taken captive by Babylon to return to Jerusalem, and an Israelite named Zerubbabel first returned with a group in 538 BC to rebuild the temple. Jerusalem’s temple had finally been completed after twenty years, but then the rest of the work of rebuilding the city and the city wall stalled for seventy years. Next, Ezra an Israelite priest returned to Jerusalem in 458-457 BC, and his purpose was to enforce the Jewish law and continue with the rebuilding of the city. A revival began when Ezra learned that many Israelites had broken God’s Law by intermarrying with the people of the land, something specifically forbidden by God, and Ezra admonished them to give back their foreign wives and even the children born by them. But, then the work on the wall and city stalled again.

In 445 BC Nehemiah, the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I of Persia, heard a report that the people of his heritage, the Israelites, who had returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon eighty years earlier to rebuild the temple, the city, and the wall around Jerusalem, were in great distress and reproach, and, that the city wall was still broken down and its gates burned. This news was very disturbing to Nehemiah, and he wept and mourned for days. It may be hard for us to realize how this news could affect a man as it affected Nehemiah, but it has been said that the heart of a true Jew is in Jerusalem. Allan Redpath has also written about how the Israelites felt about the wall around Jerusalem: “Jerusalem’s walls were in ruins and its gates were burned. To a modern city, of course, that means nothing, but God’s purpose for Jerusalem was that its walls should be salvation and its gates should be praise, and the emblems of salvation and praise lay in utter ruin.”

Nehemiah ended up fasting and praying for four months straight for his people in Jerusalem and the work of God to be rebuilt there. For these four months, Nehemiah was praying for the Lord to put it in the heart of the king to allow him to leave to rebuild the wall around the city, but as he prayed he was also planning everything that he would need and what he would do in rebuilding the wall. When the Lord finally opened the king’s heart to allow Nehemiah to return and rebuild the wall around the city, Nehemiah had gained favor from the king and left with a group of Israelites to rebuild the wall. The king even financed the entire work and provided Nehemiah with the official paperwork needed, and a large military escort. In this article, we will discuss Nehemiah as a leader after he returned to Jerusalem with this group. We will analyze how he was used to motivate the Judeans to recommit to rebuilding the wall.

When we think of good leaders the “it factor” is often brought up. A leader is a person whom others follow, and thus he has “it.” This type of thinking has a flaw though. In our world many people don’t realize that being an effective leader is something that you can learn if you have some inclination for it. Leadership isn’t just something that some people are born with, while others are not, and it is an area of our life that all of us need to grow in.

Vince Lombardi, the NFL Hall of Fame football coach who led the Green Bay Packers to several national championships once said, “Leaders are made, they are not born; and they are made just like anything else has ever been made in this country—by hard effort. And that’s the price that we all have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal. And despite what we say about being born equal, none of us really are born equal, but rather unequal. And yet the talented are no more responsible for their birthright than the underprivileged. And the measure of each should be what each does in a specific situation. It is becoming increasingly difficult to be tolerant of a society which has sympathy only for the misfits, only for the maladjusted, only for the criminal, only for the loser. Have sympathy for them, help them, but I think it’s also time for us to stand up for and cheer for the doer, and the achiever, one who recognizes a problem and does something about it, one who looks for something extra to do for his country, the winner, the leader!” Coach Lombardi did not have a spiritual perspective, but I think there is truth in what he says here regarding leaders being made not born.

H. Ross Perot, who ran for president a couple of elections ago, once said, “People cannot be managed. Inventories can be managed, but people must be led.” Nehemiah was a great leader, so let’s take a look at how he was able to motivate others.

To consider how effective a leader Nehemiah was, it is probably a good thing at this point to take stock of exactly how great of a feat was accomplished through him in leading the Judeans to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. For three days after his initial arrival in Jerusalem, Nehemiah was secretly riding his horse around the city at night and investigating the current state of the wall. He was “counting the cost” of undertaking this project, trying to ascertain what all it would take to rebuild the wall. He must have realized with each ride the enormity of the task he had undertaken, and how without God’s help and leading there was no way that he would be able to accomplish the task, much less get it done in the short timeframe that he had promised the king.

James Montgomery Boice has written the following about the rebuilding of the wall being an overwhelming task: “Commentators differ over the size of the city at this time and therefore over the length of the wall Nehemiah was to build. But even by the most modest estimates, the circumference of the city was one and a half to two and a half miles. Moreover, the destruction was great, and the stones to be reassembled were massive. This was not a case of a group of workers merely constructing a garden fence, a brick wall, or even a large earthwork fortification. The blocks that had been tumbled down into the valleys below were of great weight, and these had to be exposed and then hauled back up to the site of the wall and reassembled. This required many workers, diverse skills, and even, we may suppose, a certain amount of lifting and moving machinery…Not only was the task itself overwhelming, but it also had been attempted before and had been given up, which meant that he was bucking a history of defeat. The work had actually begun in the second year of King Cyrus in 538 BC, more than ninety years earlier…When Nehemiah arrived, the most recent failure was only thirteen years in the past. Nehemiah faced not only a difficult task but inertia as well…To make matters worse, the only people Nehemiah had to work with were discouraged…But overwhelming tasks are opportunities for great men, which Nehemiah was.”

Nehemiah’s method for motivating the Judeans was unconventional. The way leaders usually try to motivate others is by providing some sort of external rewards for their achievements. Parents tell their children that if they clean their room that they will take them to watch a movie. Bosses offer bonuses for certain achievements, or sometimes they will do things like give the best employee the parking spot right closest to the front door for the month, etc. But, Nehemiah did not use this type of approach.

When a complete assessment had been made for the work that should be carried out to rebuild the wall, Nehemiah was ready to appeal to the people to begin the project, and Nehemiah 2:17-18 records his motivational speech to them: “Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.” I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” So they put their hands to the good work.”

Nehemiah was a rare but extremely effective leader who was able to motivate people by appealing to their inner motivations of pride, altruism, building character, etc. He didn’t dangle a carrot and promise external rewards, he appealed to and brought out their inner zeal for God and His glory and worship, something that they already possessed as God’s people.

Now, at this time I believe that Nehemiah also presented a detailed construction plan to the Judeans for the rebuilding of the wall, but it was because of the manner in which he presented the information to them and because the good hand of the Lord was with him, that the people of Israel responded to Nehemiah’s appeal with this: ‘Let us arise and build.’ The narrative continues by stating that the people ‘put their hands to the good work.’

Charles Swindoll writes about how Winston Churchill was a man who was able to motivate others by appealing to their inner motivations:

"I have always been impressed with the life of Winston Churchill. In Churchill’s speeches, I cannot find a time in which he ever employed extrinsic [external] motivation. Listen to the words he spoke as England prepared to confront Nazi Germany just three days after Hitler rapidly occupied Belgium, France, and Holland:

I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this Government: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.”

We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.

Long after the bombs fell and it appeared Great Britain would have to stand alone against Hitler, he declared:

We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

And I will never forget the amazing speech he gave to a very fearful people in Britain when he addressed the House of Commons on December 30, 1941. It included these words:

When I warned [the French] that Britain would fight on alone whatever they did, their generals told their Prime Minister and his divided Cabinet, “In three weeks England will have her neck wrung like a chicken.” Some chicken; some neck.

The Nazis never wrung England’s neck. Somehow Churchill, stubby little creature that he was, could stand in front of a microphone and strengthen Brits by the thousands with intrinsic motivation. He appealed to their inner strength, their sense of right and wrong, and to their zeal.”

Now, there are a multitude of ways that people can be effectively motivated by a leader, and surely knowing well those whom you lead will help you to know the best way to motivate each one of them. This ability to understand people and calculate what is the best motivator for an individual is a key characteristic of an effective leader. We see that Nehemiah knew just what the Judeans needed for motivation.

A friend of mine sent me an email this week in which he shared how in his career as a school teacher that he motivated his students, he writes:

"During my career as a teacher, I felt that my strongest impact could be made by being a "facilitator" for students. Being a facilitator requires giving direction as needed, helping with skill building, giving opportunity, and encouraging. There are many ways to motivate students--fear of failure, rewards--immediate and distant, peer group pressure, fear of punishment, and more--but the best is when you can take a bit of something they've done well and let them see the next possible thing through that lens. That's encouraging. Believing in a student, having specific evidence for that belief, and then expressing both the belief and the evidence. That's how I encouraged others."

I could also tell you what I believe to be some poor means of motivation that I have seen coaches use. A college baseball coach in this area is known for absolutely demoralizing his players as a means to motivate them. For instance, one extremely gifted pitcher his first year on his team threw a very poor game in what I believe was his first outing. After the game was over and all of the guys had headed off, this coach walked with the kid into the outfield. In the outfield, the coach asked the kid, “What do you see here?” The kid shrugged his shoulders. The coach asked him the same question a couple more times. Finally, the player said, “I don’t see anything coach.” The coach replied, “That’s right 'nothing', and this is you, and this is all that you are ever going to be.” Not long after this incident the player quit the team. I believe that after a successful college career playing with another college team that this kid ended up getting drafted into the major leagues. This happened to him not because of this first coach, but in spite of that coach’s poor ability to motivate others. Many players have left this coach’s team after similar experiences, and many very gifted athletes won’t consider playing for him.

I have already written an article about the importance of encouraging others, and mentioned that there may be a time for yelling at a kid you are coaching, but an effective coach must also know how to build up a kid, and kids need to also be complimented when they have done well. Some coaches only know how to tear down kids, not build them up, and thus they can never produce winning programs.

There are a few things that I have seen every time I have observed coaches who tend to yell continually at their players as their form of motivating: a) Their players don’t know when something is “really” important that they are trying to tell them because the coach yells about everything, b) Their players often don’t understand what their coach is telling them because he is yelling, c) Their players tend to tune them out and thus the coach loses his team, d) Their players won’t communicate important things with the coach like when they are injured, when the player knows the coach’s scheme won’t work, when the player knows a better scheme to use than the coach has suggested, etc.

Back to Nehemiah. From this book, we see that Nehemiah was so effective as a leader he was able to motivate just about everyone in Judea to help in the building of the wall, including the people of the city, the officials of Judea, the high priest as well as the rest of the priests, the people living outside of Jerusalem, and even the children in the various families. Growing in leadership skills enables a person to be able to effectively lead lots of people, not just a few.

As an effective leader, Nehemiah used a combination of methods to motivate the Judeans to rebuild the wall, utilizing internal motivating factors more than external ones. Nehemiah knew that the Judeans already had inward zeal for the Lord and thus desired to see the wall of the city rebuilt, they just hadn’t yet had a leader who could draw that out of them so they could follow him and get back to the work. Nehemiah simply said to the Judeans, “See the ruins? We’re in a terrible strait. Let’s rebuild this wall.” And the people said, “Let’s do it.”

Nehemiah was wise in his approach too, for he told all of the people in Judea to rebuild the wall by their own house. This motivated the people to work hard for a number of reasons, including: a) They knew that they would have direct personal benefit for their work on the wall, b) They didn’t have to travel far to work so this helped them both in their productivity as well as in their morale, c) They were able to work together as whole families, and d) They were able to have some control over their work. It’s good to remember that wisdom and discernment are promised by the Lord to those who pray to Him for it, if they pray in faith (James 1:5).

As I see it, we in the church today have mostly been motivated by our leaders in such a way that we serve the Lord for what we may get out of it. This results from the fact that our secular culture has inbred in us that everything is about “me, me, me.” However, the church should never be motivated to do what they do just for what they will get out of it. Likewise in coaching I think that if this is the sole motivator a coach uses that he will not produce team players who always give 100% and do everything for the team, but rather a bunch of selfish, self-centered, and self-serving athletes who have a sense of entitlement that only the creator of all deserves. Oh yeah, I guess this describes in many ways the age in which we live…

Before we end our discussion of how to effectively motivate those whom we lead, using Nehemiah's life as an example, there is one more area I want us to consider, and unlike the rest of these points this one isn’t found in the first couple of chapters of Nehemiah. An effective leader motivates those whom he leads by his own personal example. Nehemiah never asked anyone to do anything that he himself did not do. We read that as he was working alongside those who were rebuilding the wall, he didn't even remove his clothes throughout the entire project, and, he also was an example of vigilance and focus as he never was without his weapon: Nehemiah 4:23, “So neither I, my brothers, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us removed our clothes, each took his weapon even to the water.” You can never underestimate the importance of leading by example. Those who are lazy uncommitted leaders will find that they create lazy uncommitted followers.

Later on in chapter 5, verses 14-18, when Nehemiah had finally been appointed governor of Judea, where he served for 12 years, he writes that during that whole time he did not use the stipend that he was allowed for food and hosting banquets, but that instead he himself served 150 people at his table each night. Not wanting to exact a tax from the already burdened Judeans for this stipend, Nehemiah proved he was a servant leader to the people. What better example could he have been?

So, in conclusions I ask you to consider this today, "Are you are using the best methods for motivating those whom you lead?"

Effective Leadership, Part 1: Seeing Needs & Problems / Praying & Planning

2008-11-20T09:55:00.000-08:00

This is the first part of a series on leadership gleaned from a study of the book of Nehemiah from the Bible, with special emphasis as to how these concepts apply to our lives as Christians, as well as athletes and coaches. It has been said that the book of Nehemiah was the first book written about leadership, and when one reads the book he comes away with example after example of how to be an effective leader. Aside from Jesus Christ Himself, there is probably no one in the Bible who more models being an effective leader than this man named Nehemiah. The task that Nehemiah completes for the Lord in rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem in just 52 days, a marvel even by today’s standards, should cause us to pay close attention to how he operated as a leader in getting a group of people to accomplish this task. It has been said that an effective leader is one who gets people to do things they wouldn’t normally do and enjoy doing it in the process. In case you think that this article might not apply to you because you aren’t a leader, just remember that all it takes to be a leader is to have one follower. We all are leaders of others at times and in some ways.

The historical setting: Babylon had taken the Judeans captive in 587 BC, after burning down the temple in Jerusalem, tearing down the wall around the city, and burning down most of the houses. Now, both the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel were removed from their land. A number of years after the Judean’s captivity, in 549 BC the Persians conquered the Babylonian empire. King Cyrus of Persia immediately began allowing the peoples taken captive by Babylon to return to their homeland and re-establish their religions, including the Israelites in 538 BC. Amazingly, about a hundred years before Babylon even conquered Judea, Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 44:28 about King Cyrus of Persia, calling him out by name, and stating that after the future captivity of Judea that would occur that this man who would be named, Cyrus, would declare that Jerusalem and the Jewish temple would be rebuilt. See also the Lord speaking directly to Cyrus in Isaiah 45:1-7.

A man named Zerubbabel had been sent to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple in 538 BC, and after much struggle with opposition both without and within, the temple was finally completed twenty years later. However, the rebuilding of the city wall and the houses in Jerusalem had stalled and never got completed. In 458 BC, a Jewish priest named Ezra (who also wrote the book of Ezra) was allowed by the ruling King Artaxerxes I to go to Jerusalem and help complete that work, while also going to teach and enforce the Mosaic Law to the people in Judea. Ezra had been used to bring revival to the people in the land. However, that work of rebuilding had again stalled.

Nehemiah was a Jewish cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I, the king of the Persian Empire. In that position, he was sort of the king’s right hand man and his most trusted confidant, drinking every cup before the king drank from it. In 445 BC he hears a report that his people in Jerusalem are in great distress and reproach, and that the city wall is still broken down. This news is very disturbing to him, and he wept and mourned for days: Nehemiah 1:1-4, "...Now it happened in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capitol, that Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. They said to me, "The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire." When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven."

Nehemiah ended up fasting and praying for four months straight for his people in Jerusalem and the work of God to be rebuilt there.

The first principle of effective leadership I want to bring out is that an effective leader recognizes needs and sees problems for what they are. This is such a key for those who lead. Leaders need to understand those whom they are leading and recognize their short-comings and real needs. A pastor should look over his flock and recognize general needs that the congregation has, and he should also evaluate the individuals he tends and recognize their needs as well. A pastor may recognize that his congregation needs a building more than anything else, or maybe an individual to lead their middle school kids, or whatever it may be. These are over-arching needs. Within those whom he is shepherding he may recognize, for instance, that there are some men that have great potential to become leaders, but they need some training. Or, there may be individuals that need to be taught the basic principles of the Christian life, etc., etc. There are numerous examples of needs I could mention. But, the effective pastor will recognize the needs of those in his fellowship.

But, this principle of the importance of recognizing needs extends far beyond just the realm of church. A baseball team coach may recognize that his team needs, for instance, to gain a winning mentality. Maybe, the team is good offensively but there is a tremendous need for defensive skills and drills. Maybe, the team needs conditioning or speed or strength training. Then, there are the individuals. Perhaps an individual is a great second baseman defensively, but has no clue how to hit a breaking pitch. Perhaps someone else is a great hitter but when it comes to base running they are clueless, etc., etc. The more needs and problems that are diagnosed by a coach, the better chance he/she will have of being able to make the team better able to win.

The second principle of effective leadership I see is having a proper balance between praying and planning. Nehemiah could have just prayed that somehow the Lord would put it upon someone’s heart to go and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He could have prayed that God would just somehow miraculously do the work Himself. Many Christians react in this way to needs and problems. Those who believe strongly in God’s pulling all of the strings and bringing everything that happens on earth together can be in this group. Conversely, Nehemiah could also have not prayed at all and been like a Jacob who schemed and manipulated events to happen. I had a friend once who told me that he never prayed for God to open any doors for ministry, he just kicked doors in. But, this type of ministry is completed in the flesh and thus does not achieve what one desires, nor does it glorify God. A proper balance is needed between human responsibility and divine initiative, between praying for God to lead you and work in a great way, and planning what you may do for Him.

Nehemiah prayed and planned as he prayed. For those four months of praying and fasting he was asking God to open a door for a conversation between himself and the king and that God would move the king’s heart to allow him to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the city’s walls. But, Nehemiah was also planning the entire project. He knew that he should get officially signed permission papers from the king to give to the governors along the 900 mile route he would travel, otherwise he might not be allowed passage. He also knew he would need officially signed permission papers to purchase the timber he would need to rebuild the wall’s gates; since wood was such a valuable commodity he knew without this paper he might not be able to purchase what he needed. Further, he knew he would have to give the king an estimate as to the time he would require to rebuild the wall, and when he would return. Being the king’s trusted cupbearer he knew he could only be gone for as short a time as possible, so he would have to give the king a time estimate that was of short duration.

The day finally came when the king noticed that Nehemiah’s countenance had fallen and that he was sad in heart (Nehemiah knew that to be unhappy in the presence of a Persian king would mean death so he had tried to be happy all through these four months of fasting and praying); he asked Nehemiah why he was sad. Nehemiah told the king, “Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?” Then, the king asked Nehemiah what he would request of him; Nehemiah prayed a quick prayer and said, “Send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”

Here is what happens next: Nehemiah 2:6-8, "Then the king said to me, the queen sitting beside him, "How long will your journey be, and when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me, and I gave him a definite time. And I said to the king, "If it please the king, let letters be given me for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, for the wall of the city and for the house to which I will go.""

So, when asked, Nehemiah gave a definite time estimate. Nehemiah next asked for the officially signed permission papers he would need for safe travel and also for lumber to build. The result was that the king was so impressed with Nehemiah, and his plan, that he not only granted him all that he had asked, we find later that the king also gave him an armed escort of troops to accompany him on his trip. If Nehemiah hadn’t both prayed and planned, he would have failed in his mission. Nehemiah's proper balance of human responsibility and divine initiative, and praying and planning, did not keep him from being successful, nor did it show him to have a lack of faith. This is what caused him to be successful.

Many times we who are in the ministry fail simply because we fail to plan. We need to pray for God’s leading, direction, and provision, but we also need to make plans. We want to get groups to go out and canvas the neighborhood and share the gospel, perhaps, but because we don’t plan for their training we are ineffective. We want to see men develop into leaders in the church, maybe, but we don’t invest in their lives like Jesus did with the twelve, and the men do not grow up and mature into leaders. We need to prayerfully make our plan, and then we need to work our plan.

Again, this concept goes way beyond the church. A coach who has ascertained his team’s needs and problems needs to come up with a plan to address them. Perhaps, a baseball coach realizes that his teams offense is just offensive, they can’t hit. He needs to plan a program to teach them hitting, or bring in a specialist in hitting, or whatever it may take to teach them how to hit. A coach who has a first baseman who misses lots of throws from the infield when they bounce needs to come up with a means to train that player how to scoop the ball and catch the bad throws, etc., etc. The more the coach makes plans to meet the needs and problems he has determined, and then follows through with those plans, the more successful his team will be.

I watched an interview with coach Mike McCarthy, coach of the Green Bay Packers, filmed just after this football season began. He was asked if he was worried about losing Brett Favre and having to rely upon untested third year quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, for the season. Coach McCarthy's reply helped me know he understood the importance of planning. He said, "I'm not worried, we have quite a program in place here." The panel of five or six football color commentators were hooting and hollering after McCarthy said that. They began saying that you can't lose a Brett Farve without your team being decimated. The fact is though, as I am writing this article eleven weeks into the season the Packers are in first place in their division, and Aaron Rodgers is ranked number five among NFL quarterbacks for the season (one ahead of Brett Favre), and, this is thanks to McCarthy's understanding of the importance of planning and working your plan. The reaction of these color commentators also brings out how few there are in our world that truly understand the importance of planning. It seems often that all that the media sees and values is the rare superstar who possesses other worldly ability that can't be learned or taught. Yet, to put together a "team" capable of winning championships requires lots and lots of planning and working to plan.

How about you, do you ask the Lord to reveal needs and problems to you of those who are under your care and leadership? Do you keep a proper balance of praying and planning the ways that God will use you? Do you make plans, and then work your plan?

If you’re a father do you recognize that elephant in the living room when you are at home? When you ignore them, elephants don’t usually just go away on their own. Do you pray and plan for how to talk with your spouse or children about their spiritual walk and welfare. If you are a Christian and interested in seeing a friend, neighbor, or coworker come to Christ, are you doing like Nehemiah and praying for an opportunity to speak to them, and then also planning what you will say when that door opens up?

Recognize needs and problems, pray and plan as you pray, and you will have come a long way towards being an effective leader.

Be A Barnabas

2008-11-18T07:30:00.000-08:00

In the New Testament there is found an incredible and important man whose name means “son of encouragement,” or Barnabas. He was a Levite from Cyprus and in the New Testament he is constantly seen encouraging someone.

Initially Barnabas is seen in Acts chapter 4 selling a tract of land and giving it to the church in Jerusalem, who was living together communally in that first generation of the church.

Next, Barnabas appears on the scene after Saul, the zealous Pharisee of Pharisees who had been persecuting the church, converts to Christianity yet no one in the church would trust or associate with him. Barnabas takes Saul to the apostles at Jerusalem, introduces him, and tells them about Saul’s conversion to Christianity and how that Saul in Damascus had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. Saul is accepted by the apostles and soon he is called, “the apostle Paul.”

In Acts chapter 13, the Holy Spirit speaks to the church in Jerusalem and tells them to set apart Barnabas and the apostle Paul for the work of missions in planting churches. As Paul’s greatest helper during that first missionary journey, Barnabas was an encourager.

In Acts chapter 15 as Paul and Barnabas were getting ready to begin their second missionary journey, everything got off on the wrong foot. Paul suggested they go and visit all of the churches that they previously had planted, and Barnabas wanted to take John Mark along with them. However, because John Mark had abandoned them during the first missionary journey, Paul refused to allow John Mark to come along. A sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas resulted, and Barnabas left with John Mark to go to Cyprus and minister. Now, there has been much disagreement among Bible commentators about whether Barnabas or Paul was wrong in this instance. But, because Barnabas as an encourager and did not want to give up on John Mark, we read later in Paul’s letter to pastor Timothy, 2 Timothy 4:11, a reference to John Mark: “Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.” Barnabas’ encouragement to John Mark had proven to change John Mark’s life, and this occurred because that is what encouragement does, it changes lives.

I cannot emphasize too much how important it is that we as Christians encourage others in their faith, the use of their spiritual gifts, and to step out in faith to attempt great things for God such as winning the lost for Christ and making disciples of others. In 1 Thessalonians 5:14, we are commanded to encourage others: “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”

The need for encouragement goes well beyond the church and Christian realm. I wonder how many people in this world would have attempted great feats that would have benefitted all mankind if there had been someone there in their life at one point to encourage them. There are multitudes of coaches of athletes who know how to teach the athlete the mechanics and basics of their sport. Likewise, there are many coaches who know how to tear and break down an athlete so he/she will be able to see their weakness and areas that need work. But, it is a rare coach who can do those things and also encourage and build up the athletes they coach. Thus, it is a rare coach who has such balance in his/her coaching style as to truly bring out the best in his/her athletes. If a coach is wise he realizes that he must not only point out what an athlete needs to do to improve, but also the things that the athlete does well, and the athlete’s achievements. For every criticism a coach gives, I believe that there needs to be at a bare minimum one “at a boy” that is given.

I am a pastor and was raised by non-Christian parents who tried hard but had many flaws in their parenting. But, the greatest gift that they gave me was in believing in me. Because they believed in me and were convinced that I could do whatever it was that I ever attempted, I was encouraged to attempt great tasks and achievements in life. To this day I believe that my mother thinks that I am just a few steps away from being a brain surgeon, and able to achieve anything I set my mind upon. I believe that what you tell your children or those you coach or supervise that you believe about them usually becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy in their life, whether good or bad. That itself shows how powerful and essential it is to encourage others.

As a parent I don’t mean to brag here, but in order to give real example to what I’m saying, I remember encouraging my son that he was good enough to sign up and play high school baseball when he doubted himself. I remember encouraging him to be a baseball walk on at one of the best NCAA DIII schools in the country. After he had been red-shirted a season by that team and then cut at the beginning of his second year, I remember encouraging him to transfer to another school in the conference because I knew he could play baseball at that level. I have encouraged him through hitting slumps, elbow injuries, and a slew of other things. Today, he is still playing for the second school and doing well. Don’t we all sometimes need encouragement in our endeavors in life? I know I sure do. Let me ask you this question, “Can you imagine what impact your life might have if you started each day committing yourself to be a Barnabas, and encourage at least one person during your day?”

The Importance Of Coaching And Mentoring

2008-11-18T07:22:00.000-08:00

This past week as I was doing my Bible study to teach the last five chapters of the book of Exodus, I read something that caused me to ponder. As the Lord was giving Moses the requirements for construction of all of the various elements of the Tabernacle and the priest’s garments, the names of the two chief craftsmen were given: Bezalel and Oholiab. Bezalel was skilled in all aspects of construction and knew how to craft anything ornate from gold and silver. Oholiab was an expert in all aspects of weaving of different materials and fibers. What struck me though was that it stated that these men were great teachers. Though they could have done all of the work for the Tabernacle by themselves, this was not the Lord’s plan nor what would be beneficial for the people at large. The people would be benefited and the work progressed most efficiently by men who could involve everyone and teach and mentor others to do the very things that they were able to do.

Taking this concept one step further, the most efficient use of anyone’s time is to teach others to teach others to do God’s work. Wasn’t this also why Jesus mainly avoided the big crowds choosing instead to spend the majority of His time with twelve men, and even in that group an inner group of three consisting of Peter, James, and John? A number of books have been written about Jesus’ method of making disciples, including for instance, “The Master Plan of Evangelism,” or “Disciples Are Made Not Born.”

Recently, a friend of mine had a friend of his arrange a very special birthday present for him. This person arranged for J.I. Packer, the great and elderly theologian, to be interviewed by my friend over the phone. He could ask Packer any question that he wanted. As the time drew near for the interview, my friend began to ask everyone he could think of to give him possible questions to use for the interview. During the interview, my friend asked Packer one main question: “What do you think are the biggest needs for the church today?” J.I. Packer responded, “There are just three things I can think of. Teach, teach, teach.” The church needs the teaching of God’s word as its all encompassing and greatest need. God’s people need to be taught.

It is an awesome thing if God has done a great work in our lives as Christians. It is even greater if He is using our lives in some ministry. But, if we are investing in people and helping them to be equipped for their calling and ministry, then we are more than adding fruit to our lives, we are multiplying fruit from our lives with each person in whom we invest our lives. I submit to you that multiplication is much more important than addition in the kingdom of God. I do not know of anyone who has achieved true greatness who has not had many people invest in their life as a mentor or coach. I could give you the names of four different men who have had such an impact in my life that I know that I would not be doing the things in ministry for the Lord I am doing today if they had not been a mentor and coach to me. In Ephesians 5:16 in the Bible we are admonished as believers about the importance of using our time wisely: “making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” All of us who are Christians ought to strive to be mentors and coaches of others. How about you, who are you mentoring and coaching today?

Youth are a great investment of our time. As a pastor I am often reminded of the importance of investing in youth because every church is just one generation from extinction. As a Christian you can have a tremendous impact upon kids by getting involved in coaching. I know a few Christian men who coach athletics and have affected many kids lives in a positive way by their own life example and by teaching life lessons to kids. Many kids have been reached for Christ by their coaches as well. Think about the reasons why it is good for adults to coach youth in athletics:

1. You can have a positive influence on the next generation through investing your life in kids.
2. You have the opportunity to teach Christian values.
3. You can teach life lessons and principles that will extend far beyond the world of sports.
4. You can teach and enforce good sportsmanship.
5. You can teach the importance of being a part of a team: setting aside selfish motives and pursuits for the sake of others and the group you are a part of.
6. You can instill in them discipline, work ethic, and commitment.
7. You can be a role model to kids, and remember many kids these days are being raised in single parent homes.
8. You can be a mentor to a kid who looks up to you.
9. You can help a kid to be able to achieve the potential that he has in his athletics (something he couldn’t do without good coaching).
10. You can be salt and light to the people of this world who might not know the Lord.
11. You can use the opportunity to build friendships (with parents and kids) from which friendship evangelization of the gospel can occur.

You don’t need to be a head coach to coach kids, you can assist as a coach. You also don’t need to be an expert in any sport, you can learn as you go. It is important to be committed to learning the basics and the mechanics used by athletes in any sport. Even if you just coach and mentor your own kid in an athletic sport there are great rewards for you. Fifteen years ago I began teaching my son to play baseball, and up even into high school I helped coach him and his teams as a hitting coach, and many times throwing batting practice. This year as a senior in college he is still playing baseball. One thing I have noticed is that the kids that go the farthest in their sports have in almost every case had a parent who was very involved personally in coaching and mentoring them in their sport. This concept though is much more far reaching than just athletics. A person once remarked, “If a person wants to be great in this life he must be very careful how he picks his parents!” It is such a joy to see your children succeed and do well in life.

Telling the Real Story and Giving Credit Where it is Due

2008-11-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

Being a Green Bay Packer fan and having the privilege the past nine years of living in Title Town itself, I have followed every movement the Packers management and coaching staff have made during my stay. Like most diehard sports fans I have known in my lifetime, I often find myself in utter disagreement with the news media about the real perspectives and stories about professional players and teams. We know that the press feeds off of any news that they can use or even twist to defame players and coaches, they also have been known to manufacture sports heroes because sports-hero stories sell. If a good story isn’t at hand the media have shown they are up to the task of making a story up out of thin air. The media having this MO often makes them blind and oblivious to the obvious. I have to say that nothing has rankled my sensitivities more than noting in the past couple of years the fact that the media has almost completely missed what should be the big story about the recent rise of the Green Bay Packers. What I am speaking of does not have to do with the greatness of Brett Favre, but rather the giving of GM Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy their just due. They are the geniuses in the Packer’s conglomerate. Yet, how little those whose job it is to opine have paid due attention to them.

The year was 1999, and the Packers had just lost to the Denver Broncos in the 98’ Superbowl. Mike Holmgren had decided to leave Green Bay to become the coach of the Seahawks so that he could have the responsibilities of both head coach and GM, something that had been denied him in Green Bay. Ironically, Mike Sherman was then hired to be the head coach and also GM of the Packers, and coincidental to these events we moved our family to town from Seattle. Being from the city that took the Packer’s coach we were not always well appreciated. Mike Sherman took over an incredibly talented team, one that the previous year had made it to the Superbowl. Initially Sherman showed quite a bit of coaching prowess and had success with the team, including winning division titles in 2002-2004 and also getting them to the playoffs via a wildcard in 2001. But, in the 2005 season, the Packers won only 4 out of 16 games. The problem was that Sherman was a much better coach than GM and there were too many draft picks that he had used on guys like Jamal Reynolds, Amad Carrol, and Joey Thomas. The Packers had a roster deficient in talent. The previous year the Packer organization had realized that Sherman needed to concentrate only upon coaching, and that was when they hired Ted Thompson to be their GM. This hiring occurred before the 2005 draft.

Thompson’s first actions were to decline resigning starting guards Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera and releasing starting safety Darren Sharper, all which were considered risky and somewhat controversial moves. Then, in that first draft he picked the Packer’s current starting quarterback, Aaron Rogers, with his first pick. This was followed by selecting today’s key contributors in safety Nick Collins and linebacker Brady Poppinga. During that draft Thompson began to reveal his strategy for rebuilding the team that had been decimated under Sherman. His plan was not to build the team by seeking out big names and egos in free agency, as had been the tendency in professional team after team, and sport after sport, for years. Rather, Thompson sought to obtain as many draft picks as possible and rebuild with the most talented youth available. This was never more obvious than after the 2006 draft when Thompson revealed that he would not be drafting according to the need at the moment but according to the best player at any position, and at that time the Packers needed someone to replace star receiver Javon Walker who had demanded a trade and ended up in Denver for a second round pick. Thompson stated he would not be building his team upon free agents.

The philosophy of spending the bulk of your salary cap on a few highly expensive free agents and surrounding them with mediocre talent just doesn’t work, especially when so many players have to contribute significantly to make a football team successful. A successful team needs a bunch of very talented players at various positions. But how do you build such a thing? Thompson had the answer that had eluded so many franchises for so long.

Few understood Thompson’s philosophy at that time, nor why it would work. This includes Brett Favre. This was evident when it was reported after the 2007 draft that Thompson had not picked up receiver Randy Moss as a free agent that Brett had initially asked for a trade.

Thompson’s first act after the dismal 2005 season was to remove Sherman as coach to find new blood in someone who could teach a bunch of young players the fundamentals of the game, make them competitive, and be strong enough in character to tell them what they needed to do to improve. Mike McCarthy was the man hired for the job because Thompson knew McCarthy had such ability and also the guts to promote the players not that have the big names but that make the big plays. McCarthy proved to be a miracle worker and even the best thing for quarterback Favre since Holmgren.

Having followed many sports and teams throughout my lifetime, I have never seen a GM turn around a sport’s franchise like Ted Thompson has done. In just three years the 4-12 talent deficient Packers were 13 and 3 and Superbowl contenders in 2007, just one playoff victory away from the big dance. To everyone’s amazement, they were not only the youngest team in the NFL at that time, and thus had incredible upside potential, but even Brett himself remarked they were the most athletic team he had ever played on. And, imagine this, before the 2007 season began it was reported that they were $10 million dollars UNDER the salary cap. Such things cannot be, can they? Yes, in Green Bay and with Thompson!

Likewise, why coach McCarthy was not chosen as the USA Today NFL coach of the year in 2007 over the Patriot’s coach Belichick who was caught early in the season cheating by taping the Jet’s signals during a game and fined $250,000, is completely befuddling to me. In the first place, what does awarding Belichick teach youth about the importance of having good sportsmanship? But, no one had a harder job than McCarthy in bringing such a young team to the point of achieving such feats, and everyone in the media was shocked by the Packer’s success.

The media has largely enveloped the Packer’s story of the past few years to be about Brett Favre, and I don’t want to take away in any sense his greatness. But, to me it should be obvious that the bigger story should have been about Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy. Last summer, I even heard that the NY Yankees were finally trying to build their team from the bottom up in draft picks and talent rather than buying their pennants, and no one has more epitomized the doomed philosophy of free agent building than the Yankees. I think they have paid attention to what Thompson has done. The other thing is that sports franchises are meant to be a community chest, not about individuals, and what Thompson and McCarthy have done has been for the benefit of the community of Green Bay and the state of Wisconsin. They have made everything about the team.

Since I am a pastor, I will end by making spiritual application from my perspective I have shared in this article. We need to give credit to where it is due. Those who truly do good should be recognized. We ought to start by giving all of the credit and glory to the Lord just as king David of Israel did in 1 Chronicles 29:10-13: “So David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, O Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever. “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. “Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. “Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.”

Likewise, we need to realize the wisdom in not going with crowd in the things that we do in life, but rather swim against the current when it is going against the Lord’s will and plans, just as Jesus taught us in Matthew 7:13: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.” We need to stand up for all that is right in God’s sight, even if doing so isn’t popular. This starts by believing upon Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.