WHAT GOD WANTS IN A LEADER

It really doesn’t matter what we think makes a good leader. The important thing is what does God want in His leaders.

I have trained dozens of Pastor Search Teams. In the beginning of almost every one of them, someone suggests polling the congregation to see what the members want in a pastor. I always ask, "Which is most important…what the members want, or what God wants?” They always give what they think is the politically correct answer, “Well, what God wants, of course!” Then I suggest to them, “Well, then, why not ask God instead of the members?”

However,knowing that it is the correct thing to do to ask the people what they think, I suggest that they word the questions to the members like this:

1. What do you sense God is doing in our church at this time?
2. In light of your answer to # 1, what qualities of leadership are required for our church at this time?

Our most recent Sunday school lesson was from 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2, where qualities of leadership are discussed. This lesson teaches itself. I asked my class to place themselves on an imaginary Pastor Search Team and think about and share with the class what qualities of leadership they would like to see in a pastor.

Most of them were able to pick up on some pretty great ideas. They talked about things like an obvious walk with Christ, a love for people, better at ministry than administration , etc.
Then I asked them what they most did not want in a pastor. They mentioned things like not an empire builder, not a egoist, not a manipulator, etc.

Then we got into the lesson in 1 Thessalonians 2. This passage talked about five qualities that are desirable in God’s leaders. These five things are courage (vs. 1-2), integrity (vs. 3-4), humility (vs. 5-6), loving (Vs 7-9), and inspirational (Vs. 10-12).

The interesting thing about teaching this lesson was that as we talked about each quality members of the class commented on our own pastor and how he measured up. Don Guthrie is a pastor who just about exemplifies each of those five qualities as well as any men I have ever known.

What was really interesting is listening to my class members tell anecdotes about our pastor that illustrated each of those qualities. It was risky, because it could have degenerated into a gripe session. Instead it was a love feast, where church member expressed how much they loved our pastor and how blessed we are to have him in our church.

It didn’t start out that way, but as I began talking about each of those qualities of leadership, people could not help but see them illustrated in the life and leadership of the pastor we all know best….our own.

A VISION OF GOD

Text: Isaiah 6: 1-7

INTRODUCTION:

The greatest need most of us have is the need to see and understand God.

I am convinced that the greatest shortcoming in our generation is the inability to see and understand God. If there were some way for us to communicate a vision of God completely, there is no doubt in my mind that people would flock to Him.

It is appalling how woefully ignorant our generation is about the Creator. It seems as though everyone wants a designer God, created ju8st the way they like to think about God, and doing only what they want Him to do. They don’t want a God Who gets in the way of what they believe. They don’t want a God Who is going to affect their behavior in any way. They don’t want a God Who speaks in “Thou shalt nots….” They want a God Who will say, “Oh all right. Go ahead.”

We do not want a God Who gives us moral absolutes, or Who imposes Himself on the decisions of our lives.

When I hear people talk about the kind of God they serve or want, I am even more amazed at the people of the Bible. Think about the kind of faith a man like Abraham must have had. God came to him in the desert and told him to gather his family and belongings and move to a land He would show him.

Can’t you just hear the discussion with his wife when he went home and told her what they were going to do? “We’re going to do what? We’re moving? Where to?”

“I don’t know”, he replies.

“What do you mean you don’t know?”, she asks. “Who is guiding us?”

“God,” he says.

“What God? Did you see Him? What did He look like?”

“No,” he said. “I didn’t see Him—but I heard Him speak to me.”

His wife replies, “Now let me get this straight. You heard a voice but saw no one. He told you to pull up your family and move and you don’t even know where we are moving?”

That’s the kind of conversation most of us would probably have had, but I suspect Abraham’s wife was much more faithful. She knew her husband, so she went with him to that unknown land.

Just think about the kind of faith it took to do what they did for no other reason except that God asked them to do it.

Wouldn’t you like to think you had that kind of faith?

We live in a world that doesn’t really understand when we say we know God, that we have a personal relationship with Him. If you say something like that to many people they will look at you like you are some sort of weirdo.

People in out culture doe not want to believe in anything they cannot see, hold and touch. Ours is a world that has to see God in order to believe in Him.

So it is that I conclude, the most pressing need we have in our generation is to the need for a fresh vision of God. But, we will not have it, at least not the way most people want it.

Why? Because3 if God were to show Himself to us, we would not need faith. The Bible says we are saved through faith…there would be no faith…no need for faith, if we could see everything about God.

So, without that vision we are left to other devices. One device we rely on is the Word of God. In God’s Word we are given a wonderful collection of pictures of God.

The truth is, God has allowed us to see and understand Him. His Word, His Son have given us a picture of the God Who created the universe. I contend that what we need today is a renewed vision, a fresh picture of God and a fresh encounter with Him.

Some of us are still running on our childhood vision of God. We have not moved beyond that because we have not had any new, fresh encounters with God since we were saved in childhood. I contend that we all need to have our vision of God renewed once in a while. Once in a while we just need to appear before God and admit we haven’t been close to Him for a while, so our vision is blurred and our behavior has been affected.

Not only do individuals need a fresh vision of God, so do churches. When we get to the point where we think we know better how to run our lives and His church, we need a fresh vision of God. We have got to come back to the point that we are all clamoring with our shouts of “I want this or I want that”…and ask afresh and anew, “What does God want?” But, we won’t come to that point without a fresh vision of God.

Before you can know God’s vision for your life or the church, you have to renew your vision of God. There can be no vision from God until there is a vision of God.

Let me share with you for a few minutes the kind of things you are likely to discover afresh about God, when you seek this fresh encounter. You can join the ranks of the likes of Isaiah, who said, “I saw the Lord….”

Look what the prophet saw when he saw the Lord.

I. YOU WILL SEE GOD’S PERFECT GLORY

One of the big problems some people have with God is about this perfection business. From early elementary school we are taught there is no such thing as perfection. There are no perfect circles, no perfect squares, no perfect triangles or rectangles. Truth be told we don’t eve know how to define perfection because we have never seen anything that was perfect.

Not long ago I saw a young couple on a game show on T.V. They were about to be married. The young woman was asked what the ugliest thing about her chosen mate. Without hesitation she answered, “His feet.”

Then the young man was asked the ugliest thing about his fiancé. He thought for a moment and said, “There is nothing ugly about her. She is perfect.”

Now, remember I told you they were about to get married. Let’s find him and ask him again in about six months.

Even if there was something perfect for us to observe, we would not be able to see it perfectly because of our imperfect minds and bodies.

Perfection is a stranger to us in any area of life, except when we get a vision of God. When Isaiah saw the Lord, high and exalted, he saw the perfection of the glory of the most high God. When we see God we are treated to a view of His perfection. That is His glory. His love is a perfect love. His good is a perfect good. His white is perfectly white. His kingdom is a perfect kingdom. His grace is perfect grace.

If we could hear His choir we would hear every note perfectly sung. All of His works are perfect. Even imperfect man bears testimony of the perfection of God. This perfect God made man with the ability to decide for himself. God chose not to make us robots. He could have, but He didn’t, because this perfect Being did not want man to have to worship Him. He wanted us to choose to worship Him.

God made us all with the ability to become a perfect spiritual being some day. That day will be when our vision of God is of the first-hand variety, when we live with Him in eternity.

A vision of God will enable you to see God’s perfect glory. Also, a vision of God WILL ENABLE YOU TO SEE YOUR OWN IMPERFECTION. That’s what the prophet saw. And, that’s what you will see.

II. YOU WILL SEE YOUR OWN IMPERFECTION

The principle is this: The closer you are to God, the more of your own imperfections you will see. The farther you get from God, the better you look to yourself. If you are not seeing your faults, you are not close enough to God.

Isaiah saw the glory of God and responded like this; “Woe to me. I am a man of unclean lips and I live among people of unclean lips, and my eyes beheld the King.”

So, you see, how you see yourself is greatly affected by how you see God.

It reminds me of those soap[ commercials where they show you a white shirt that has just been washed. It looks nice and white. They then sow you another shirt that has been washed with their detergent, and when it is put up against the first shirt, that first one looks sort of dingy. It looked O.K. until it was compared to the one that was really white.

You know the problem? We are constantly comparing ourselves to other dirty laundry. It is only when we compare ourselves to God’s whiteness that we see ourselves as we really are. And the kicker is this….the closer one gets to God, the more of his own imperfections will be seen.


The prevailing thinking is the closer we get to God the better we become. The reason is this…the closer we get to God, the more of our own imperfections we have to deal with and the more we deal with them the closer we are to the Lord.

It was the vision of my own sin and the thought of its penalty that made me begin to search for a way out. I found that way out in Jesus, and having found Him I have become aware that I am the recipient of His perfect love.

However, since my salvation I have experienced many more fresh encounters with God, and these serve to continually remind me that my desires and my tendencies are still largely carnal, seeking to become more spiritual.

And that brings us to the last thing Isaiah saw. He saw an angel place a burning hot coal on his unclean lips and said, “Behold this has touched your lips; and you iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.” So, not only will you see God’s perfection and your own imperfection, but you will see purifying for perfection.

The Apostle Paul told the church at Colossae, “…let us cleanse ourselves from all the filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

He went on, “We warn and teach everyone with all possible wisdom, in order to bring each one into God’s presence as a perfect individual in union with Christ.”

Here’s the bottom line: We can never be good enough to deserve to live with God in Heaven. The only way we can get good enough is to be made perfect by the blood of Jesus Christ. In theological circles that is known as the doctrine of justification. We are justified by our faith in Christ.

God’s kingdom is perfect. How could it remain perfect if He allowed imperfect beings into it? That is the essence of our Christian faith. Before we can live with God in Heaven we need an overhaul. We need to have some work done on us in order to be able to live in eternity with God. Jesus does the overhaul, and it has an eternal lifetime warranty.

However, He wanted us to have a “fullness of life.” The way we do that is to go back periodically for a tune-up, consisting of a fresh vision of God.

The only hope we have of entering the Kingdom of Heaven lies not in our ability to make ourselves perfect, but in the fact that Jesus, our Advocate, has said we can come into Heaven on His perfection.

Also, the only hope we have of living the triumphant, abundant life Jesus wants us to have, is to refresh our vision of God from time to time.

CONCLUSION:

How long has it been since you have had a fresh encounter with God? Is your understanding of God dependent upon what others tell you about Him? Is God nothing more than a Santa Claus, a vending machine, perhaps a computer or even a museum oddity? Do you need a new, fresher understanding of God?

Why deprive yourself one more day without coming to God for the blessing you need and He wants you to have?

BGCT LOSES A STRONG VOICE

Lee Saunders has been a strong voice on BGCT matters for some time. A former candidate for First Vice President of the convention, Lee’s voice was respected by all of us in the blogging world. He, of course, writes the blog called, Deep In The Heart.

Lee’s church has voted to leave the BGCT and become part of another convention in Texas. That means, of course, that Lee’s commentary on the BGCT will, of necessity, be that of an outsider in the future. My guess is he has too much integrity to comment on a convention in which he no longer participates, just as I have refrained from commenting on the inner workings of the other convention.

I for one will miss Lee’s analysis. He always helped me sharpen my own views and helped me to see some things I may not have otherwise seen. For the most part, he was spot on with his observations. I sometimes felt, though, that he never really understood how the BGCT was different from most other state conventions. That is true of a lot of guys who come into Texas from other states. It takes a bit of time to understand the culture in Texas denominational goings on. I know how elitist that sounds, but I do not mean for it to be.

I believe Lee understood us about as well as anyone else who comes into our state from other convention experiences. Perhaps it is that very fact that enabled him to provide some insights we might otherwise not have known.

Texas is one of a handful of states that is able to stand on its own without any help from the SBC. That is one of the things that caused so many SBC leaders so much consternation back in the eighties. They knew Texas did not need them and that birthed a number of issues that caused great divisions to exist.

All in all, Lee contributed. His voice was welcome and it will be missed. God speed, Lee.

AN INSPIRING STORY

(The following story was written by Luke Matheson and published originally in the Arkansas Varsity. I was so moved by the story that I wanted to share it. It has been edited here for length.)

“Thamail Morgan took the kickoff and headed up the field.

He was at the 20 ... 30 ... 40

He had been avoiding, dodging or just simply running through tacklers on the way. Football always had come easily for Morgan. This game was no different. By the time he hit midfield, only open space was ahead of him. The two-time Arkansas all-state selection was headed for a touchdown.

40 ... 30 ... 20

He glanced at the clock and saw the final seconds ticking away. He realized his team, Cave City, was on the way to a victory over Yellville-Summit, comfortably ahead, 34-16. He also realized two other things: This wasn't an ordinary game. And he wasn't the same Thamail Morgan.

When he reached the 2, he stopped. He took a few steps back and took a knee at the 5-yard line.
Yelleville-Summit is a co-op program, a combination of two small rural schools in the northern part of Arkansas, near the Missouri border. Combining the schools allows them to field a football team. But even then, the squad is so small that coach Calvin Mallett has to bring extra uniforms in case a lineman gets hurt and someone needs to fill in.

On Sept. 11, before a game with Salem, the schools came together for a pep rally. Afterward, four of the players piled into the bed of Kymball Duffy's truck to head to his house for a pre-game meal. As Duffy came over a hill, he quickly came upon a brush pile in the road. Duffy swerved into the other side of the road, attempting to avoid it. He lost control of the truck, sending it into a tumble.

The four players in the back - whose names are not being released - were thrown from the vehicle. Miraculously, three of the players in the back suffered only minor injuries. A fourth remains in the hospital but appears to be headed for recovery. Duffy was killed at the scene.

Players from Yellville-Summit and Cave City met at midfield before the game for a moment of remembrance. Players on both teams wore a No. 72 decal - Duffy's number - on their helmet.
The game began and Cave City quickly scored. Minutes later, it scored again. And again. All hope for a storybook ending appeared lost.

Thamail Morgan is the type of player who can dominate a high school game. On every play.
He was coveted by most Division I programs in the South. Then it all changed. In January, he violated an unspecified school rule that banned him from athletics for a year. Morgan would be eligible for basketball during his senior season but not football.

A year away from football would hurt his chances of gaining a scholarship, so - after considering a number of options - he transferred roughly 40 miles away to Cave City. His scholarship offers did not travel with him.

"Before I screwed up and got myself into trouble, I had some schools like Arkansas, Florida State, Ole Miss, and some other big schools looking at me,'' he said. "Now they are not looking at me, but I have no one to blame but myself for that. Hopefully I can get on someone's radar, even if it is a lower level D-1 or D-2 school."

Cave City coach Jon Bradley was willing to take a chance on Morgan. But only if he met certain conditions. He not only is required to attend extra weight lifting and conditioning exercises, he is required to participate in after-school activities with a local church and meet with a pastor on a regular basis for counseling.

"Everyone makes mistakes," Bradley said. "Thamail made some mistakes that did not allow him to play football anymore at Newport, and we knew what those mistakes were when he came here. I sat him down and talked to him, and let him know I was willing to give him a chance, but there were certain things that he would have to do in order to play for our program.

"So far, he has accomplished, and continues to do everything he has been asked to do, and then some. He has transitioned well and the kids here have accepted him. He is doing well in class, and is a leader on the football field and is a great athlete. We feel fortunate to have him."

Bradley said he didn't get word the game with Yellville-Summit was going to be played until Tuesday. He then wondered all week how it would play out. I did not know what to expect due to the tragedy,'' he said. "You go into the game wanting to win, but then, you feel bad doing it. When we went up 21-0 in the first quarter, I just can't explain how I felt. The atmosphere was so weird. I just can't explain it."

His players sensed it too.

"They told me on the sidelines that Yellville-Summit was not into it and they did not want to pad stats or run up the score,'' he said. "At that time, I started substituting our kids in and out of the game."

At this point, what the game represented became clear to Bradley.

"Everyone was glad that they were out there playing, getting some sort of return to normalcy,'' he said. "But everyone was going to be glad when it was over."

It was 28-8 at halftime. Then 34-8 at the end of three quarters. Yelleville-Summit scored a second time with little time left to make it 34-16.

They had to kick off, sending a line drive that bounced its way to the back. To Morgan.
"We didn't even think they would kick off," Bradley said. "And we had him (Morgan) all the way back. It was our top return team, but we only have one return team."

What he did next surprised Bradley.

"I did not tell him to kneel down, he did it on his own," Bradley said. "I did not expect them to kick it to him. I figured they would kick away, because he has the ability to break away. I did not know that he was going to do what he did. He broke tackles, ran sideline to sideline, and got to the 2, and just stopped. That is when he backed up and took a knee on the 5-yard line."

The gesture was well received.

WHAT IF GOD WAS ONE OF US

Text: Luke 1: 26-38

INTRODUCTION:

ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING FACTS IN OUR HISTORY IS THAT WE SERVE A GOD WHO WAS ONE OF US.

Maybe some of you were interested and watched a Friday night T.V. show called “Joan Of Arcadia”. If you were a watcher of this interesting show, you probably remember hearing the theme song, “What If God Was One Of Us.” The song was originally recorded by Joan Osborne several years ago. The refrain of the song goes like this:

“What if God was one of us?

Just a slob like one of us?

Just a stranger on the bus

Trying to make his way home...”

The premise of the song was the premise of the show. It was about a teenager named Joan Girardi who received visits from God, usually in the person of some ordinary everyday person. He might be another teenager, or a gardener, or a painter, even a cleaning woman. His purpose in visiting her was to give her specific assignments, some of which sound a bit flaky to the girl, but, when she completes the assignment, usually some good thing happens as a result.

Her assignments usually resulted in lifting someone else up and making them feel like their life was worthwhile. His messages to the girl were always simple, to the point, and doable.

In one show, Joan was exposed to the study of another Joan to whom God had also spoken. Many in her day considered Joan of Arc deranged when she told them God had spoken to her and told her to gather an army and lead a revolution to liberate France.

The modern Joan learned that she was not the only one to have conversations with God.

The truth is, our generation does not think too kindly of people who claim God has spoken to them. Consider what they said about Jimmy Carter when he claimed to have a personal relationship with God while running for president. One wag asked, “Do we really want a president who THINKS he has a personal relationship with the Almighty?

In the light of society’s reluctance to embrace the idea that God speaks to us, try to put yourself in the place of the young woman about whom we read in Luke’s gospel.

Mary was probably still in her teen years when she was visited by a messenger from God and was told that she was going to have a child.

Mary was not a prophet or a priest; she was not in God’s temple performing acts of service. Instead, she was simply a young woman who was living at home and planning her wedding. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. In ancient Jewish marriages, the word “engaged” (or “betrothed”) had a different meaning than today.

Thomas Aquinas once said, “In order that the body of Christ might be shown to be a real body, he was born of a woman; but in order that his Godhead might be made clear he was born of a virgin.”

Mary was young, poor, female—all characteristics that, to the people of her day, would make her seem unusable by God for any major task. But God chose Mary for one of the most important acts of obedience he has ever demanded of anyone. You may feel that your ability, experience, or education makes you an unlikely candidate for God’s service. Don’t limit God’s choices. He can use you if you trust him. Take him at his word.

Now, Mary knew that she was sexually pure and had never engaged in the sexual act, so the news of her impending pregnancy came as something of a surprise….perhaps even a shock. “How can this be”, she asked, “since I am a virgin?”

Suffice it to say, when the deed with God’s Spirit was done and she was with child, this woman had, as Ricky Ricardo used to say, “..a lot of ‘splainin’ to do.” Making people believe she had experienced an encounter with God was not going to be an easy task. Any way you slice it, this young woman was in a jam. Only she knew what had taken place, and she had to convince others. Not an easy task.

It occurred to me on that it might be a good thing to look at this woman, the mother of Jesus, and see what we can learn from her that would be helpful to us troday. The key questions, it seems to me, are these: “What did God see in this woman that made Him look with favor on her?” Why was she, as Scripture said, one with whom God had found favor? Why did God choose to use this girl to become one of us? Can we learn anything from this experience which has value for us today? I believe we can.

These verses tell us at least three reasons why Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus. First of all…

I. SHE HAD BEEN OBEDIENT TO GOD

Mary was probably still a teenager when the angel came to her to announce that she had found favor with God. Great pains were taken to make sure everyone knew that Mary was a virgin. Mary apparently had parents who taught her that sexual abstinence until marriage was the right way and the God way to live her life. And Mary did just that.

It was God’s desire that she keep herself pure, and she did. That makes her an obedient woman.

Obedience to God is never the wrong way to go when living one’s life or when teaching one’s children about life. Would that all parents were as Mary’s mother, and that all our children were as Mary—listening when spoken to about such important matters.

Mary had been taught to be obedient and she had been obedient. I think that was one of the reasons why God looked upon her with such favor. It occurs to me that God still looks with favor upon those who are obedient to His precepts.

But, there is another reason why Mary might have been chosen. It was that…..

II. SHE WALKED WITH GOD

Verse 28 of our text stated, “The Lord is with you.” Now, I believe that was much more than just a salutation. I sincerely believe the angel was observing that this young woman had such a walk with God that He was indeed with her.

When Gabriel appeared to Mary, he called her a favored woman. She was favored because she would be a special recipient of God’s grace. That the Lord was with Mary indicates that God would give her his help in the privilege and responsibility she was about to receive. Mary was fearful at the words Gabriel spoke. This young maiden from a small town was confused and disturbed as to why she was being greeted in such a way by this heavenly visitor. It is not a huge leap to think that the reason Mary was chosen was that she already had a relationship with God.

Mary joins a large company of people about whom it was said, “….he walked with God”, or something similar.

As we look at this young woman we are impressed that she was obedient, she walked with God and also, we see that she submitted herself to God’s will.

III. SHE SUBMITTED HERSELF TO GOD’S WILL

Did you see how Mary responded to the message of the angel? Look at verse 38. The Message put it this way.

“And Mary said, ‘Yes, I see it all now: I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say’.”

A young unmarried girl who became pregnant risked disaster. Unless the father of the child agreed to marry her, she would probably remain unmarried for life. If her own father rejected her, she could be forced into begging or prostitution in order to earn her living.

She risked losing Joseph, her family, and her reputation. And her story about being made pregnant by the Holy Spirit risked her being considered crazy as well. Still Mary said, despite the risks, “Let it be with me according to your word.” When Mary said that, she didn’t know about the tremendous opportunity she would have.

She took the risk of faith; she didn’t consult with anyone else; she didn’t take time to weigh the pros and cons. She only knew that God was asking her to serve him in the most extraordinary way, and she willingly obeyed.

Believers need Mary’s kind of trust and responsiveness. Too many want to wait to see the bottom line before offering themselves to God. God wants willing servants. The example of Mary is a good one for all of us. Whatever the probable difficulties, submit to God’s will. Mary must certainly have lived in such a way as to have no difficulty getting people to believe her story.

CONCLUSION:

So, today we gain some understanding how God became one of us through a young woman who was one of us. The example of that young woman about to become a mother is an example any of us would be wise to emulate. Remain obedient to God. Walk daily with Him. Be submissive to His will.

“Many years ago there was a serious coal mining accident in the Allegheny mountains. Many miners escaped, but three men were trapped somewhere deep in the earth. No one knew if they were alive or dead. As the hours passed, intense heat and noxious gases built up within the mine itself. Two days passed before a search expedition was allowed to enter the mine. The camera teams from the local news station interviewed the three-man rescue team as they prepared to enter what could be their grave. A reporter asked one of the men if he was aware of the noxious gases and the extreme danger of the mine. When the man said yes, the reporter asked, "Are you still going down?"

The man replied, "Those men may still be alive." Without another word of explanation, he put on his gas mask, climbed into the elevator, and descended into the mine.

"Are you still going down?" I wonder if a similar discussion didn't take place in heaven when Christ was still in his exalted position with the Father before he descended to earth to take human form and to die. Are you still going down into that world where darkness reigns: where might makes right and people value temporal things and ignore the eternal? Are you still going down when you know that only a few will listen and even fewer will heed your message of peace and good will? Are you still going down when you know that you will be despised, rejected and finally die a most cruel death with nails in your hands and feet and a spear thrust into your side? Are you still going down?

We will never know what was said then, but we know the answer. It was, “Yes.” The result is that you and I are in this place today. He has come down. And the effect on this planet has been enormous. And because He still came down to become one of us…

· LIGHT HAS SHONE INTO OUR DARKNESS.
· THE LEAST OF US HAVE BEEN EXALTED.
· WE EXPERIENCE HIS GRACE

THE AUDACITY OF DISSENT

Effective leaders know there will always be people who disagree with them. It is how they deal with that dissent that determines to a great extent, the quality of their leadership.

It seems to me, however, that our country is besieged by people who cannot abide dissent. From the president to pastors, people who disagree are looked at with that, “How-dare- you-disagree-with-me-look”.

Dissent is a time-honored right in our nation. We are not one of those countries that persecutes people just because they disagree with the government. Or are we?

Whether it is the president’s administration attacking Fox News because they dare to shine the light of truth on goings on in the government, or in a church, where the pastor attacks deacons for asking questions regarding his leadership, this attack on dissent is a bit scary.

The same can be said about denominational circles. I can remember during the early days of the conservative resurgence (you can’t know how I hate to use that term), anyone who questioned SBC leadership was immediately ostracized. In fact, that was the cause of the great divide between the BGCT and the SBC. The BGCT leadership had the audacity to question SBC decisions, so the punishment was to demonize the BGCT and try to make them look like a bunch of flaming liberals. A whole new convention was established on the premise of not disagreeing with the SBC. In an effort to create this new convention, lies were told to churches, basically demonizing the BGCT.

That is the way of tyranny. When someone disagrees with you, find a way to demonize them and make them look bad. That’s what president Obama is doing with Fox News (“They are not a real news agency.”) and that’s what poor leaders do in churches.

Pastors who find themselves being questioned by deacons or ordinary church members find a way to demonize those dissenters, or in some cases, just do away with them. One pastor remarked, “I am not going to have my decisions questioned by a bunch of ignorant deacons.” How arrogant can you be? But this is the way of tyrannical leadership. Shine the spotlight on the flaws of those who disagree with you. Demonize them. Minimize their influence by ridiculing them.

Many of us said in the days of the SBC takeover, that if people would just leave them alone they would begin to devour each other for not being conservative enough and that is exactly what has happened. As leaders find more and more reasons to disapprove of others, they eventually get around to some who initially agreed with them.

Look what they did to Wade Burleson, one of their own, who dared to disagree with his peers on the International Mission Board. They demonized him and ran him off the board. That is the way of tyrants, no matter how well they speak, no matter how persuasive they might be, eventually, if you disagree, they will pound you.

I believe that kind of behavior has its roots in one’s feeling that they are superior, which some call elitism. President Obama has a gift for speaking and he has been told that so often that he has started to believe that is enough. He feels he can make a speech and everyone will be back on his side. The truth is he is such a great speaker that it often works that way.

Pastors do the same thing. Many pastors have been told so often how great they are and what great sermons they preach that they have begun to believe that is enough. If someone disagrees with them, they will simply take a text and make it fit their situation and preach their way toward no dissent. At least they think they can.

We are watching that happen in government, as we always have, as the president first demonized Wall Street, then the national Chamber of Commerce, then insurance companies, and now the only news agency that dares to call his hand on some things.

Many of us have learned to recognize these tactics, because we have seen them used in our churches and our denomination. The idea that someone would dare to disagree with a leadership decision is nothing short of audacious!

WHAT IS A GOOD CHURCH

We have been studying Galatians in our Baptist Way Sunday school materials for the past two months. (BTW, if you haven’t looked at the Baptist Way curriculum, you should do yourself a favor and take a look at it. This is the material published by the BGCT publishing arm, which was inaugurated when Lifeway quit using many of our Texas people to write Sunday school materials.)

This week’s study was in chapter six, and was titled, “Life In A Good Church.” I asked my class to discuss what they think it means when someone calls a church “good”. We all agreed that we were members of a good church. But we discussed what we think it meant to be able to say that.

Galatians 6 gave the description of a good church. Of course, a good church is all about the kind of people that occupy it. This passage in Galatians suggested at least five things that determine if the church is a good church or not.

First, a good church is a church where the people help those who sin. Verses one and two help us see that spiritual people do not approach sinners accusingly , but in a spirit of restoration. Good churches can be forgiving as they work with those who have been caught in sin. Galatians 6:1-2 works beautifully with Matthew 18, the steps to follow in helping to restore a brother or sister who has sinned.

Also, a good church is a church where the members are consistently examining themselves. This is a spiritual examination, according to verses three through five. Each church member is responsible for the examination of his or her own life to see if we are up to date on our confession of sin.

Then, a good church takes care of its leaders. According to verse six, we are to share the materials things God has given us with those who have been called top instruct us. Quite frankly, there is nothing uglier than a selfish church, a church that does not adequately care for her leaders.

A fourth characteristic of a good church is that it never ceases doing good things for the expansion of the Kingdom. This is seen in verses seven through ten. There are really two kinds of people in most churches. Those who invest in kingdom ideas and those who selfishly desire to have their own ideas developed.

Finally, as seen in verses eleven through sixteen, a good church stays focused on Jesus.
All of Galatians was Paul’s arguments against the legalists in the church. His summation of what it means to be part of a good church is one where the legalists have little room to operate.