Tag: Leadership

Morning Musings: Judges 12:7

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“Jephthah judged Israel six years.  Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in his city in Gilead.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Most of the Judges receive some kind of a summary statement that the people sought the Lord for the extent of their leadership and then turned away from Him afterwards.  Jephthah just gets this note that he died and was buried in Gilead.  This is a reflection of the continued decline in the spiritual state of the people.  They cry out to God for help, but don’t even both to turn to Him when He answers.  They are reaching a dangerously low point.  I think there are a couple of reasons for this. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Judges 8:33-35

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“As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god.  And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

The epitaph for Gideon is presented as an indictment of the people of Israel.  They were so incorrigibly wicked that they turned away from God at the first chance they had and didn’t honor the memory of this great leader.  But, I tend to see this as more of an indictment of Gideon himself.  He may have fulfilled the calling God placed on him to free the people from the oppression of the Midianites, but he was a terrible leader and not a very good person to boot. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Ephesians 5:25

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“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

If Paul’s words to wives were tough here, his words to husbands are even more challenging.  Wives are called to submit to their husbands as a function of their prior and larger submission to Christ.  Husbands are called to love their wives after the pattern of Christ’s love for the church.  That, of course, prompts a question: How did Christ loved the church?  Answer: He died for her.  He committed Himself to the last breath to seeing her become fully who God created her to be.  Everything he did was for her benefit.  Every single decision He made was filtered through the lens of whether or not it was going to be to her advantage.  For husbands, this is our standard. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Ephesians 6:4

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“Father, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

As a father of three boys, this verse has always struck me with a particularly strong force.  The first part of this little section important, to be sure.  My children should obey me because that is right and life will go better for them if they do.  But, am I being the kind of father who invites obedience? Read the rest…

Empowered Servants

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This past Sunday we had the pleasure of ordaining two new deacons, installing them along with two others, and ordaining a veteran minister out of a sister tradition into our own.  In other words, it was a great Sunday.  At the end of the morning, I took a few minutes to tell the story of where this all came from and to point the way forward to where we’re headed as a church.  Keep reading to see what I said.

Empowered Servants

Hasn’t this been a good morning?  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love being a part of the church being the church.  Seeing a group of Jesus followers come together to do the basic things we were called, equipped, and empowered by our Lord to do is really exciting to me and I hope it is to you.  Frankly, it’s hard for it not to be at least a bit exciting.  Whether you are part of a group or not, there’s something exciting about seeing one fulfill its purpose.  We are naturally drawn to purpose ourselves and so when we see one being fulfilled we root for it. Read the rest…