One of the Joys

One of the joys of being Anglican is the close interaction with Christians from around the world.  Here at the College of Bishops meeting and the Provincial Assembly of the Anglican Church in North America at Ridgecrest, NC, we have been blessed and inspired to hear from these Anglican leaders from around the world.  All had a similar message:  Jesus Christ!!

The Most Rev. Hector (Tito) Zavaia, Primate of the Southern Cone, and Bishop of Chile

Suffragan Bishops from Recife, Brazil:  Evilasio Tenorio and Flavio Adair

Archbishop and Primate Henri Isingoma of the Anglican Church of the Congo

Archbishop and Primate Bolly Lapok of the Anglican Church of Southeast Asia

Archbishop and Primate Stephen Than Myint Oo of Myanmar (Burma)

Archbishop and Primate Onesphore Rwaje of Rwanda

Bishop Davies of Sydney, Australia

Anglican Bishop from Germany

Bishop Frank Lyons of Bolivia and soon to be Assisting Bishop of Pittsburgh

Archbishop and Primate Justice Akrofi of West Africa and Bishop of Ghana

Bishop Abraham Niahl of Sudan

Servant Leadership

Today, I had the privilege to lead Bible Study for the College of Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America as we met for our annual meeting at Ridgecrest, NC.  Below is the outline of my teaching on Servant Leadership from Philippians 2.

“Servant Leadership"

Philippians 2

 June 5, 2012                                                 

A. Some Thoughts on Servant Leadership

Robert Greenleaf– Good leaders must first become good servants.

John Maxwell– True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not to enrich the leader.

Leighton Ford– Whatever our career may be, true leadership means to receive power from God and to use it under God’s rule to serve people in God’s way.

Max De Pree– The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.  The last is to say thank you.  In between, the leader is a servant.

Ken Blanchard – Servant-leadership is all about making the goals clear and then rolling your sleeves up and doing whatever it takes to help people win.  In that situation, they don’t work for you, you work them.

Charlie Brown– Few people are successful unless other people want them to be.

B. Overview of Philippians

Paul’s Theme:  Get your thinking right!

                          Right thinking leads to right living

Chapter 1:  Have a Single Mind (1:21)

Chapter 3:  Have a Spiritual Mind (3:19, 20)

Chapter 4:  Have a Secure Mind (4:6,7,13,19)

Chapter 2:  Have a Servant Mind (2:3)

C.  Servanthood Defined  -- 2:3, 4

Eugene Peterson translates this in THE MESSAGE:  Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top.  Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead.

C. S. Lewis – Repentance means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into… It means killing part of yourself, under-going a kind of death.

C. Servanthood Illustrated

1. Jesus (v.5 – 11)

         <  Opposite of servant-heart – v.14 >

2. Paul (v.17 – 18)

3. Timothy (v.19-24)

4. Epaphroditus (v.25-30)

Tony Baron– One of the great temptations for church leaders is to be powerful.  They often seek the prestigious position not because it is a calling from God, but due to a confusion of desires.  But Jesus directed his followers to “take up your cross and follow me.”  And after washing their feet, he taught the disciples to “do as I have done to you.”  These symbols provide a more accurate measuring stick of leadership than a prestigious position. – From The Cross and the Towel, Leading to a Higher Calling

A Question to Ask Yourself:  Am I doing this for me, or Am I doing this for the Glory of God and the edification of His people?

How to Keep Your Relationship with God Alive

            A parishioner asked me recently what he had to do to keep his relationship with the Lord going strong.  I asked him a few questions about what he meant, and then I gave him the following answer.

            First, build into your daily routine a time alone with the Lord.  This is a time away from the television, radio, the Internet, and other people.  It can last from 7 minutes to over an hour. This time should consist of Bible reading and prayer.  I suggested that during the prayer time that he should always have a time of confession asking God to bring to his mind any sin which needed to be forgiven.  I John 1:9 tell us: If we confess our sins, God is faithful and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.   Immediately after confessing one’s sin, I shared that it is always good to ask God to renew you with His Holy Spirit.  Jesus said that if we ask, God will give us the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13).

            Second, stay involved in a church.  Much has been said and written about the failings of the church and of church people, and in many cases, rightly so.  But the church is still the body of Christ, and Christ desires his people to be rightly connected to his Body.  Not every church is right for everyone, but everyone can find a place to worship God together with other believers, hear an exhortation from the Word of God, and gather at the Lord’s Table for the Lord’s Supper (Communion).  Solo Christianity doesn’t resonate with the teaching of the New Testament.  Being in relationship with a local body of believers in important to keeping one’s relationship with Christ strong and alive.

            Third, find a way to serve the Lord either in His church or in His world.  Nothing enlivens the Spirit within us and deepens our soul more than reaching outside ourselves in the Name of the Lord.   The self-centered, self-oriented, and self-absorbed life becomes empty and dry very quick!  Frankly, this is the problem with most of modern day Christians – it’s all about us and what can I get out of it.  Each of us has a purpose and a part to play in God’s big plan for the world, and we will not be fulfilled and at peace until we are doing what the Lord desires of us.

Jackie Bruchi: The Greatest Play in Baseball

The Greatest Play in Baseball with Rick Monday.

Click here:  http://www.standfirminfaith.com/?/sf/page/28871

From John Chrysostom

Here then is a demand for a noble soul, and one which far surpasses my mediocrity, in order to chastise this unruly and profitless pleasure of the multitude, and be able to divert their attention to something more beneficial: so that the people may follow and yield to him, and not he be led by their likings.  This, however, can in no wise happen, except by these two means - by despising applause, and by power in speaking. 

 

From "On the Priesthood" by St. John Chrysostom,Book V., Chapter II. Sectons 453-454.

Our Favorite Sins

I have been reading Our Favorite Sins, the Sins We Commit and How You Can Quit by Todd Hunter.  Great read and practical applications to the sins we Christians and those we love so easily get hooked on: Anxiety, Overeating, Procrastination, etc.   He brings in a wonderful Ancient-Fruitful Practice to apply in one's life.  A few quotes...


Sin is basically stupid and repulsive.


Do you want to quit?  You can.


Every Monday night at bedtime I am delighted to see these two prayers during Compline.  The first I use to think about my heart, both on that particular day and in general.  The second I use to pray against evil: both what I can see within my desires and any stimuli coming at me from without.  Try this approach.  If it works for you, stick with it for a few days.      "Living God of the universe -- may the Light of Lights come to dark heart from Thy place; may the Spirit's wisdom come to my heart's tablet from my Savior."   "Circle me, Lord, keep protection near and danger afar... Circle me, Lord, keep peace within; keep evil out."


We live from the unseen depths of our being.  We behave from our hearts, our imaginations, our deep dreams, and of our fears.  What comes out of us in terms of attitudes, words, and deeds, or laziness, as we are considering here, come from what is often called, in common conversation, the spiritual portion of us.  But too often we try to deal with temptation by controlling our environment and our body parts.  These tactics are not without merit -- in a crisis.  But no one lives in crisis mode all the time.  You and I need a strategy for dealing with temptation that is doable within our ordinary life.

Have You Had Your Pentecost?

            On Sunday, May 27^th, Christians all around the world will celebrate the Day of Pentecost.  This celebration is based on Luke’s account of the giving of the Holy Spirit to the followers of Jesus on Day of Pentecost in Acts 2.  The disciples had been gathered in Jerusalem praying in an upper room of someone’s home, and Jewish pilgrims had flocked to Jerusalem from all over the world.

            According to Acts 2 there was a loud sound and a wind.  Then tongues of fire descended upon the disciples and all were filled with the Holy Spirit (God’s Presence) and began to speak in other languages.  Those who had come from other parts of the world began to hear the Good News about Jesus spoken in their own language.  Of course, this created quite a stir and the people wanted to know what was going on.

            The Apostle Peter gives a sermon explaining what has happened.  He begins by quoting from the Hebrew Prophet Joel about how the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all people in the last days. He proclaims that what they had experienced and seen in Jesus was the fulfillment of this. Peter talks about Jesus’ life and ministry, speaks about how he died, explains about his resurrection, and how Jesus ascended to the Father.

            The people began to believe and were “cut to the heart” asking “What must we do?”  Peter replied:  “Repent and be baptized, everyone of you for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call”(Acts 2:38,39).  Three thousand people responded and became believers that day.

            This is what the Church remembers and celebrates each year on Pentecost.  However, this is not just some historical remembrance and celebration like the 4^th of July.  It is a time when the Church challenges its members to be filled with the Holy Spirit, the promised gift to the believer (John 14:15; John 16:7f). 

The Holy Spirit is the very Presence of God who will indwell the believer if there is a willingness, a yielding, a submission to the will of God. It is the Holy Spirit who brings love, joy, and peace into the believer’s life (see Galatians 5:22).  Without the Holy Spirit the Christian life is just legalism and ritualism.

            Have you had your personal Pentecost?  Does the Holy Spirit live within your life?  If not, why not ask God today to fill you with His Spirit?  Jesus said it this way in Luke 11:13 – “How much more will the Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”