Caring for the Church

This is a summary of a seminar taken on Caring for the Church by John Groves at TOAM 2011, Bangalore.

It’s good to have pastoral leaders. While we love to talk about the prophetic and evangelism, we need the patoral ministry. Its important in order to bring people to maturity. Pastors are caricatured into being “nice but not effective”. That’s not true. 

Pastoring is for men and women.I prefer to use the word Shepherd – the bible talks a lot about it. The Bible refers to Shepherd a lot and not “leader”. One can have a very romantic view of shepherds.

Shepherds live dangerous lives – they are strong and rough characters. He has to handle wild animals. It’s a demanding job. It’s not routine – you have to keep finding good pastures, protect them , count them in and out and know them by name. Shepherds in those days were on the edge of society and treated with contempt and seen as quirky. It’s amazing that the angles appeared to the Shepherds. This is the sort of picture of Shepherds that the Bible is referring to – not polished and professional. It requires courage and initiative. He receives criticism and sometimes treated with contempt.

But God loves the word Shepherd.  In psalm 23 he calls himself our Shepherd. The Old Testament god uses it to describe himself a lit. Those who lead his people will be like shepherds according to the Bible.

Psalm 77:70-72 “.. To be a shepherd to his people...he shepherded them with integrity of heart.”Under shepherds can be men and women –there will be different levels of Shepherds – not all are at the local level.

The big difference between us as under shepherds and God as our Shepherd is that we are not perfect.We are meant to reflect God’s Shepherding heart – but we do fail at times just like Moses, Aaron and David did. God gets angry with them but he did not rid himself of the principle of using under shepherds.

In the New testament, God comes as a man – Jesus. Jesus is the perfect man – the archetype of a Shepherd without any flaws. He is the good shepherd/Great shepherd. 1Pet4:4 he is the Chief Shepherd. He is the supreme example.

In the N.T – local church leaders are described as Shepherds. Twice when local church leaders are described in an interesting way 1Pet5:1-3, Acts 20:17, 28. Local leaders are also describes using three terms for the same people – Elders, overseer, and Shepherd. Elder – spiritual maturity and experience. Overseer – manages things well and leads. Shepherds – gifting of God, he has His  heart attitude. Eph 4: Pastors is one of the gifts.

The risen Lord Jesus gives gifts – how does shepherding come? Like all gifts, as you do what comes into your hands – as you show an interest and concern for people, people will recognize the gift in you.

It comes out of being what god made you to be and serving others. That is what we do – serve the leaders and the people. Let God do the promoting. You do what you have to do – that’s all.

WHAT DO WE DO AS SHEPHERDS

There are 6 aspects of biblical shepherding.

1.       Prophetic – It has a prophetic element. You will not always hear this. The Old Testament prophets were shepherds. They confronted sin, warned of consequences of sin. They pointed the way, restored and brought renewal. They proclaimed God’s truth, rebuked, challenged and confronted the people. Jesus shows this element – he challenges religious bigotry and legalism. He challenges the disciples for their lack of faith. He asks penetrating questions. Confronts the hypocrisy and sin.

New Testament is full of care for the people but carrying a prophetic element of exhorting, comforting, confronting and challenging sin.

This is very important – our words will challenge and confront people. It will ask penetrating questions and thought provoking questions. We are accountable to God – we should never be aggressive but don’t avoid the difficult challenges. This may not fit the modern world. There is a strong individualism, emphasis on personal choice, political correctness is important, you can’t criticize an opinion. However we cannot avoid the physical element of confrontation. We cannot avoid that what we sow, we reap We must tell people what God thinks about certain things, we should teach taking responsibility, teach repentance and seeking forgiveness. We should emphasize the corporate aspect of our faith. “Modern pastoral care has too much consolation and too little confrontation". Although we must love we must not be afraid to confront. This is one on one and in groups.

2.Provision – A good shepherd is concerned that people are well fed. This is a major part. You should take your Bible with you when you visit people. This is the food – it carries its own authority. Sometimes people are eating “junk food” and will listen/read nonsense and we should be able to explain why that is not good. It’s important to understand that God’s truth changes people. If we get people to understand what (1Cor60 has done for us it will be life changing. Paul draws attention to their relationship with Christ in order to confront sin. This is called task theology – putting theology and truth into pasturing. This is a good way. A lot of people are in a mess because they do not believe the truth – they believe the lies of the culture or about themselves. They need to know “who am I in Christ”

3.      Priestly – we don’t have priests. That’s Old Testament. In the New Testament we are all priests. But there is a priestly element to a Shepherd – he intercedes for the people he cares for. He prayers for the, He stands before god for the people. The only high priest we need is Jesus but there is a priestly element in what we so. We pray for the people we look after, we receiver things from God for them pictures, words etc. We work at reconciling them to God. We help them to understand that Jesus reconciles them to God.

4. Physical – concern for the whole person – spiritual and physical. All through the Bible it shows he is the Lord who heals you. Jesus healed a lot demonstrates God’s heart for our well being. Real Shepherd’s care will be concerned for people’s health, marriage, children, jobs etc. It’s clear in John 5:14-15. They will pray for the sick, bring deliverance for the demonized. The church has always been on the fore front of leading social reform and practical care, education, hospitals, prison ministry etc. It’s part of the King of God. Its works out in any context. It’s the Shepherd’s heart.  You will try and help them be better workers, employers, etc etc.

5.Protection- This is truer of a church leader but true for all leaders. Acts 20:28-30. There are two types of attack that come on the sheep, external i.e the wolves come in and Internal i.e division n the church. A good shepherd will try and protect them from both i.e false ideas and teachings, demonic. But he ensures peace and unity between the people. If you are a local church Shepherd these are major responsibilities we shoulder.

6.      6.Purpose – the flock need leading. They took the flock somewhere. We need to lead the people with what God gives them. Don’t be too democratic – we need to lead.

7.      We need to give vision and direction. They need guidance about where you want to take them. We do not lord it over them or micro manage but we give leadership and vision through the Word of God and our own faith, what we’ve heard from God, our own example . We also need to explain things so that the understand what you are doing. People want to follow and do what s right but we need to communicate. It’s a lot easier if they can see what you are seeing. It makes it easier. Rom 8:12 – use the gift diligently i.e with a lot of care and effort. It’s not a lay man’s gift. Biblical leadership is hard work.

8.      One of the ways you lead is by example – we must live with purpose and direction if we are asking others to do that. Explain some of your weaknesses ( sensibly). When you are leading, lead from a place of relationships as much as possible. There should be friendship. Keep yourself in the grace and love of God. Be motivated by grace and out of what you know what Jesus has done for you. Legalism is motivating out of a sense of duty, fear and to show what I am. You might slip into that but try and keep yourself fresh in your won motivation. When you are shepherds and care for the needy – don’t forget the strong sheep. Keep the mature Christian informed, inspired and involved.

Leadership from the life of Jesus Part 3:The challenge of leadership. By Peter Brooks.

 This is a summary of a sermon preached by Peter Brooks at TOAM 2011,India.

Leading and helping people are a challenge. We see Jesus restoring people. We see the grace of God. We see the charge of leadership to feed the people.

 TEXT: John 21:18-25

There are three challenges of leadership that I want to talk about ad they also apply to Christian life.

1.     1. Challenge of going where you don’t want to go. Jesus outlines Peter’s future. History tells us that 8 apostles died as martyrs; 2 were crucified i.e. Peter and Andrew. Leadership will take you to death on a cross. In a conference you can say yes to all kinds of things – but the challenge is when the rubber hits the road. Jesus knew what it was to die on a cross.

There are times you have to do things you do not want to do or places you do not want to go.

Peter would not let Jesus wash his feet and then comes a stage in his life where he needed to be dressed. Maturity is allowing God to dress us. Will we allow god to take us places where we do not want to go.

2.     2.  Challenge of remaining undistracted by others: Don’t meddle in other people’s affairs. “What is that to you?” You do what God wants you to do. Keep your eyes on Jesus. “Be a voice not an echo”. Don’t do what everyone else is doing. Doesn’t mean you are independent but just follow Jesus and what he tells you to do.

3.       To seek His glory only! How do we do this?  “Not my will, but yours be done”. Peter went from swearing curses upon him self to being willing to die for the church. The Christian life is a journey of transformation.

2Cor 3:18 we are being changed to be more like Him. We are self centered creatures – we want praise, glory, affirmation and admiration all for ourselves. The Devil wanted this and he was cast out for it. Be Jesus centered. Let the passion of you life be about bringing glory to Jesus. You won’t lose anything by doing this. Jesus is so gracious- he says “bring your fish”. Jesus did not need the disciples fish to cook breakfast for them. He was already cooking some.

Living for his glory on this earth will allow you to enjoy the spoils of heaven.

1Peter 5:4 When Jesus appears you will receive a crown of glory that will never fade. God is going to reward us for catching “his “fish”. We have one short life to live and eternity to celebrate.

Keep being filled with the Holy Spirit and you will be able to face these 3 challenges. The call is still “Follow me”.

The Charge of Leadership - Peter Brooks

This is part 2 of a sermon series preached by Pete Brooks at TOAM India 2011.

A bride takes great care whilst preparing for her wedding day. Everything has to be just right.

There is a great wedding day coming up. Rev 19- the wedding of the Lamb and the bride is making herself ready for Jesus. The bride is a BIG bride. We need to gather that bride for Jesus.

Matt9: Jesus had a great compassion on the crowd and asks the Lord of the harvest to send out the laborers. Remember this is His bride and the wedding will happen. We are to be involved in preparing the bride. That’s what leaders on a mission are there for. Jesus cares deeply about his bride. He expresses his deep affection for his church." If you love me you will care for my bride." It’s an awesome responsibility.

TEXT: John21: 15-17

Jesus gives Peter a great responsibility.

Verse 15-17: Jesus instructs Peter to Feed his lambs, the care of the sheep, and feed the Sheep. Both men and women are involved in this.

1.       Feed my lambs – the Greek verse in v15 is “ania” – little lambs. These are 2 groups of people i.e. children and new believers. Feeding and caring of children and new believers is a massive responsibility. From the lips of children god has ordained praise.

Luke18: Jesus called the children to him and said we need to acknowledge them and care for them and feed them well. Young believers need to be treated in the same way – we need to care for them. Mission is about making disciples and not just converts. We need to be acknowledging children’s ministry as important and not just to keep them out of our hair.

2) Tend my sheep – the Greek word for tend is ‘pomenade. ’It is a verb which implies guiding, guarding, protecting. Be a shepherd. We are under shepherds with the task of looking after HIS people. The pastor, apostle, shepherd, teacher, evangelist all need to be involved in this. Philip Keller wrote some good books on this. A good shepherd will spare no pains to get good grazing grounds. He will protect them from disease because they are susceptible. So from morning to night he looks after them. Even at night he is alert for wolves. That is some description of a shepherd. Sheep are stupid and silly creatures. Sheep require more attention than any other live stock. Unless the shepherd make them move on they will eat grass till its barren. They are near sighted and easily frightened. They are timid. They have no homing instincts. They can’t find their way home. Sheep are lost without a shepherd. Leadership and pastoral ministry involves in this. They are God’s silly sheep. We have to look after them. How?

·         Look and listen- always be on the lookout for wolves and trouble. They are alert at night. They are alert for an intruder. Be aware of what’s going on. Simple questions are needed. Why is xyz? Who is xyz? Why is xyz down? Listen to what people are saying. If you are a pastor listen to your wife. Always believe the best but keep your ears to the ground.

·         Pray and tune into the Holy Spirit – He will nudge you in the right directions. Pray for those under your care and the unsaved.

·         Be caring, courageous and confronting – People are made in the image of God. Don’t beat the sheep verbally. – feed them. Take time to listen to what they are saying. Listening – is really hearing what they are saying. Jesus ‘speech was full of grace and truth. We need to be truthful but is it filled with grace? The tongue is the only instrument that gets sharper with use.

If you show sincere care and concern God will use you to save souls and build people up.

We also need the courage to confront – sin in people’s lives. Kick a wolf out of the church.  Be honest about people’s behavior. Confrontation is never easy. Courage is not the absence of fear but mastering it. This is the Shepherds role.

• TEAM it – Jesus sent us out two by two. Appoint Elders – it’s impossible to shepherd a church on your own. If you have no one, phone a friend, use those over you in the Lord. The devil loves to isolate shepherds.

Always be diligent- if its children’s works do it with all your heart. Remember you are serving Jesus. Jesus hands are on our hands and he will help us do it. Professionals and God TV can’t do it for you.

3. Feed my sheep

What are you feeding your people? Is it junk food? Give them a healthy diet.

Barny coombs – if we want to see people grow strong and stand in tough times they should be like trees in Psalms 1.  A good shepherd makes them lie down in green pastures and still waters. Teach the bible systematically and do topics i.e. grace, who am I in Christ, Holy spirit, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, finances, worship , prayer, Family , faith, the lost the cross , the gospel.

If you are going through a book, you need to teach but you also need to teach people how to read the word of God for themselves. You don’t have to have an 8 course meal every Sunday. Prepare well. It’s not just preaching – when you meet people one on one – don’t just talk nice platitudes. Help them find strength in God. We must help them find God.

Shepherding is the key to seeing disciples being made. This is the heart of Jesus.

LEADERSHIP FROM THE LIFE OF JESUS Part 1- PETER BROOKS

 This is a summary of a preaching by Peter Brooks at Together On A Mission at Begaluru,Oct 2011.

 Text :John 21

Remember one thing – Jesus will never disappoint you. Others will and you will disappoint others. But, not Jesus.

If you came back from the dead, what would you do? How would you announce your return? Jesus did not come back in great fanfare. He came back quietly and cooked breakfast for the disciples.

I am going to be doing to be discussing the 1) Core of leadership. 2) The charge of leadership and  3) The Challenge of leadership in three sessions.

THE CORE OF LEADERSHIP

Have you ever blown it as a Christian? Have you been a bad witness? We’ve all gone through this. Peter is about to be one of the key apostolic leaders – what is Jesus’ interaction with him? What would you do with the person who is your key leader and he lets you down? In a very critical and crucial moment in Jesus’ life Peter lets Jesus down by denying him.

But when Jesus rose from the dead, in Mark 16:7  he says go and tell the disciples “.. and, Peter”. When God called your name it’s going to change things for you. Jesus did not have to reinstate Peter like the sub heading in our bibles say- Jesus was  always for him.

We need to know the grace of God in leadership because it:

1)      It keeps you humble and hopeful – the scourge of many leaders is pride – we think more of our selves than we should. Phil 2 reminds us that our attitude should be like Christ. We are saved because he loves us. It is easy to stay humble when you have a lot to be humble about. Don’t lord it over people. God has entrusted people to you and me. God entrusts me with HIS family. Grace underlines that no one is outside the love of God.

Grace maintains our hope for others and for us. He who began a good work will complete it.

2)      Loving and laughing – do you get tired out with people? We get frustrated but we can still keep loving people. Don’t you think we as leaders frustrate god at times? Leadership is all about loving people – that may mean loving them, rebuking them, correcting them, crying with them. Prov 7:22 When was the last time you laughed? Don’t take yourself too seriously.

3)      Filled and fighting – To lead like Jesus we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Its not easy being a leader. It’s a fight for people’s souls and their maturity. Col 1:28-29- to this I end I labour. Paul struggled for this.

 1Thes3:7-8 “Since you are standing firm in the Lord”. Our goal is to help people stand firm in the Lord. Keeping them in love with God, keeping them married, keeping them from ship wreck. Grace keeps us.

Don’t give up the fight. Jesus prayed for them and for them  to get through. He is interceding for us.

4)      Relational and Real : God wants a relationship with us. His actions are radical. As leaders we need to demonstrate that heart. 1Thes 2: 6-8, 11-12. Paul was gentle as a mother. Don’t be professional, but be a shepherd. Be relational.

5)       Forgiving and free- -I have been forgiven much. God has wiped the slate clean. We all get hurt but the grace of God helps us to forgive. Keep short accounts. Be free, Be free to be yourself.

Extravagant!

Think about the most extravagant gift you have received.  Mukesh Ambani gifted his wife an aeroplane on her birthday.

What do we know about extravagant people in the Bible? What do we know of extravagant people in Church history?

C. T Studd was a very, very rich cricketer – he was the Tendulkar of his time. One day his brother came close to death and that got him thinking. It made him think about his popularity, his money, his fame. He went to listen to D. L Moody and there he became a Christian. His life was transformed and he became passionate about telling people about Jesus. He continued to play cricket for a while so that he could take his friends to listen to D. L Moody.

At the age of 25 he came into a rich inheritance. He decided to give it away- he gave a part of it to D.L Moody, to George Muller, the Salvation Army (from that money, they sent 50 people to India), Hudson Taylor (who went to China)and  he gave a bit to the lady he was to marry (she in turn gave it all away).

C.T Studd went to China. After that he went to Africa. He said “no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him” What an amazing life!

Of course, the most extravagant giving of all time has been from God. He gave His only son, Jesus, to come to earth and died a horrible death on a cross, so that our sins could be paid for and we can be forgiven and experience new life.

There is another life I want to talk about this morning. It’s in the bible. Our text for today is

John 12:1-7 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ²Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.³ Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

 ⁴ But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages” ⁶ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

   ⁷ “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. ⁸ You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

In the gospel of Matthew in chapter 26 we are told this dinner was given at Simon the leper’s home.

Simon the “leper”_ - possibly he was healed by Jesus or else he would not have been socializing with people. (He would have been ostracized and living in a “leper colony”). Martha was serving – probably helping the hostess. She was always serving in the background. People may not have noticed but God records it for us here. When you serve, don’t think that God doesn’t take notice of what you do.

Verse3- Mary takes a pint of pure nard and expensive perfume. (Commentators say it came from North India – must have been what we call “Attar”) She does the unconventional thing i.e. enter the men’s section in the house and pours approximately 300 grams/ ml of perfume. The Alabaster jar was no ordinary jar. The jar was expensive in itself. She could have delicately poured out the perfume – but she spares nothing – she breaks it. She poured it on his feet and head and then wipes his feet with her mixed that gets mixed with her tears as well. This was indeed a demonstration of very extravagant love and devotion.

Luke 7:36-48 Records it as Mary’s expression of love because she realized how much she had been forgiven. By contrast, Simon who was healed gets rebuked for not washing Jesus’ feet ( Luke 7:44) which was the customary thing to do when a visitor stepped off the dusty streets into your home.

The reality is that we are all BIG sinners. We need to reflect on how much we have been forgiven. When we do this our prayers and thanks giving will overflow.

How did the disciples react?

Verse 4 – Judas was vocal but the others also rebuked her harshly. Judas calculated that it was a year’s wages. They were calculating the cost. Mary was thinking with her heart.

Today is Gift Day. Let’s give with our hearts and not our heads. Let us express devotion to Him.

Jesus’ response

Did he say “Oh you shouldn’t have done that! He allowed it. Mary got a chance to participate in Jesus’ burial. The perfume was wasted on Jesus – it prepared him for his burial.

How can we be extravagant like this?

1)      Extravagant devotion – in worship. Mary wasted all she had on Jesus. Who and what are you wasting your life on?

2)      Serving – out time and energy for things of the kingdom. Steven Jobs is dead – he left it all behind. Where is he now?

3)      Reputation – she did the unconventional. Only slaves touched another’s feet. That’s what she did and more. Nothing is below our dignity when it comes to serving Jesus. WE are unworthy to untie his sandals.

4)      J. C Ryll – “the grateful act of one humble woman is recorded in 150 languages (maybe more today) and all over the globe” and will be remember for generations to come.

Are we willing to waste our time, money, serving, and reputation for Jesus? There are great rewards when we do this.

Colin DCruz

Oct 2011

At the foot of the Cross- Navaz DCruz

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Colin.