How to Recognize the Right Approach

After using the illustration of people who are invited to a feast, Jesus concluded with His explanation of WHY He was correct:

Lu 14:11 "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Notice what  Jesus said : "Whoever" exalts himself will be humbled. Jesus did not say, "Whoever exalts himself, unless he is right," or "Whoever exalts himself unless God told him to do it," or "Whoever exalts himself except those with decades of experience in leadership positions." Jesus taught that ANY Christian who exalts himself into a possition of leadership is going to get humbled.

So, how do you humble yourself? How do you know if you are humble? How do you not know that you aren't so proud that you think you're humble, when you're not? Despite all the jokes about "Humility and How I Obtained It," the Bible really does gives ways to become humble, and ways to tell whether or not you are humble.

The Right Approach

Lu 14:10 But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.' Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.

We have seen that people who will only take positions of leadership usually fail in their Christian service. But Christians who are willing to take low positions succeed because any advancement they make comes from God, not themselves. Are you willing to go to your pastor and volunteer to do any task that needs to be done? What if the task is setting up chairs, mopping floors, cleaning rest rooms, washing dishes after church meals, or tending to the church grounds?

One large Baptist church that we were members of always had plenty of nominees for deacons, but the pastor had to plead nearly every Sunday for nursery workers. Everyone who ran for deacon could not possibly have been called to do so, but everyone who volunteered to work in the nursery had genuine opportunities to serve God. In another large Baptist church, some men who were not elected as deacons were so upset that they were put on the school board as a "consolation prize," where they hindered the work of our Christian school. In other churches, people would fight and scheme to be put in charge of an adult Sunday School class, while refusing to teach a children's class; and although it may have happened elsewhere, I know of no instance in which such a person did a good job teaching the adult class. In yet another church, we had a successful teen-age Sunday School class, because inexperienced young Christians were bringing their friends; meanwhile, older, more experienced Christians seized the leadership, and ran off 3/4 of the attendance in one year.

Do you want to serve God to get results, or do you want to serve God to glorify yourself? If you want results, seek out opportunities to SERVE, not opportunities to rule.

The Wrong Approach

Lu 14:8 "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him;

 9 "and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.

Walking into a church and demanding a position of leadership is the wrong way to serve God. "Backstabbing your way to the top" often works in the secular world, but not in successful Christian service. All kinds of Christian ministries have been hurt or crippled when unsuitable people, who were not being blessed by God, became leaders. The Greek for "the best place" refers to the best reclining place; it is a place that does not require work or service. It is a place for a person who is too important to work.

God can demote these people in various ways. Sometimes, church attendance plummets after the wrong people seize leadership. Sometimes Christian ministries even shut down as the result of bad leadership. Generally, God's people leave, because they do not want to be under that person's authority. The ones who stay usually do so because they hope that things will get better.

Jesus warned that when God does demote someone, that person "with shame" begins to take the lowest place. The Greek word "shame" can also refer to dishonesty; the demoted Christian lies to himself and to others about what went wrong. When you see a Christian "on the way down," it is likely that you shouldn't believe his explanation of what happened.

In the next post, we'll see the right approach to serving God.

Welcome Back!

Folks, God has blessed us with a good year in Mexico.

We have a lot of retired Christians here in the Gringo Zone of Mexico, and there are a lot of hard feelings when older Christians feel that they should be leaders--far more leaders than are needed. In our three-and-a half years in Mexico, we have seen two Christian churches close, five missionary families leave after failing, and one church badly damaged by a small group of people who seized control. 

At the same time, we began the year averaging seven kids for Saturday morning cartoons in one station wagon, and we are now averaging thirty kids in three vehicles. Wednesday night children's church is running about a dozen, and the Christian cartoons at the orphanage are also running about a dozen. We're hoping and praying for more opportunities to serve the Lord in 2009.

Why do some Christians fail and others succeed? Is it sin, is it methods, or is it how you understand the Word of God? We'll be going through a series, posted about twice a week, of short, interesting explanations about how to succeed in God's work.

Taking a Break

Folks, I'm sorry that I've been neglecting my blog. I started out with the intention of helping people who've been hurt by churches, and I said about everything that I have to say. I'm going to take a break until January 1, 2009, while I figure out what to talk about next.

The people who are trying to start a church here in Mexico quit, despite their success in getting a successful Sunday School started in another church. We have also started a Wednesday night children's church in a third church, and we have begun working in a Christian orphanage. The outreach is successful, but we lost 15 faithful people in five weeks, so our attendance dropped. The church in Texas that sent them out is working with us, and we hope to keep things going.

In Titus 1:5, Paul told Titus " that you should set in order the things that are lacking." When a Christian church goes bad, God's plan is usually to correct the problem, not destroy the church. You might have been hurt by a church, only to realize years later that God is blessing them. It doesn't mean that their blessings are phoney, nor does it mean that it was your fault. It could well mean that God has corrected the problem.

I sometimes have to deal with bitter Christians here in Mexico who have difficulty with the fact that God is blessing people who harmed them. God doesn't abandon any of His children, and He tells us to pray for those who wrong us. If He answers your prayers, your enemies will do well.

I do put out a weekly e-mail entitled "The Italian Gringo," relating our adventures to our friends back in the United States. If you'd like to join my free mailing list, drop me a line at Threeofu@hotmail.com 

I'll see you next year. Adios, Vicente

Why Should You Stay in Crete?

It is a good thing when a Christian wants to be a success for the Lord. Big crowds, large numbers of people saved, lots of lives changed for the better, etc., are good things to want. But many times, those same Christians don't want to pay the price for those things. They want to sit in leadership positions, ruling over the Christians whom God is using. Sometimes, they want to seize control of ministries that other Christians have built.

Crete was a rough place to serve God, but the apostle Paul left Titus there anyway. However, Paul explained to Titus why he needed to stay where he was:


Tit 1:5 ¶ For this reason I left you in Crete,

1) because Crete needs you
Titus 1:5 that you should set in order the things that are lacking,

2) because Cretans need you
Tit 1:12 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons."13 This testimony is true

3) because someone has to teach them God's Word
Tit 2:1 ¶ But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound
doctrine:

4) because someone has to give them a good example
Tit 2:7 in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works

5) because God gave you enough grace to do the job
Tit 2:11-12 ¶ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,

6) because Jesus is working in you to get the job done
Tit 2:14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every
lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

If you're looking for an easy path to Christian leadership, you'll have to rely on backstabbing and politics. But if you want success, you'll have to pay a price.

Get Tough!

Judges 3:2 (this was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it)

God left some of His enemies in the land of Israel so that He could force His people to learn war. Why? Israel went through lengthy periods of peace, but only after they won a war. The United States has never had forty continuous years of peace in its entire history, but the book of Judges describes various times of forty and even eighty years of peace in Israel AFTER they had won a war.

If you start accomplishing something in your Christian life, you're likely to have war. Jealous individuals start demanding leadership  positions over successful Christian works, and Christians who are doing little or nothing for the Lord start criticizing those who are. It is inevitable that if God starts using you, you are going to have problems.

Over the years, I have seen several occasions in which a Christian would be successful at some work for the Lord, someone would start criticizing, and the Christian would quit. No bad testimony for anybody; but the work stopped. If you want to sicceed in God's work, you need to get tough. Endure the hardship, and continue with the Lord's work.