What a shocker of a week. But when you think about it this is, sadly what life is like. Conflict is part of our DNA. When the first couple (i.e. Adam and Eve) rebelled against God, everything fell apart and every relationship was destroyed. Since then our world has only known conflict after conflict after conflict. One guy worked out that in the entire span of written history man has only known 300 yrs of world peace. Not a good track record.

OK that’s the world but surely, as believers we should be able to handle it better? Well I believe we should and can but I think we’ve forgotten the key to handling conflicts.

So how do we do it? There are different ways we approach it. The most common is to get people to talk to each other and understand each other. It all sounds good but my experience has shown me that this often doesn’t work. I’m not saying that it’s bad. But I am saying that often there is a lot of bad blood that has already been happened that makes communication very very awkward.

Alternatively we try to by-pass the conflicts and set up some neutral zone to keep both parties apart so that they don’t kill each other. The UN calls this peace keeping but in reality it is only keeping people away from each other. In a church context what we do is set up committee after committee after committee, all in an attempt to address the symptom. In doing this we are trying to organise away the conflict. However all this does is simply make people extra busy, create all sorts of red-tape and ultimately bury the problem.

So what is the way forward? I want to suggest that the missing element is ‘forgiveness’. It is the ONLY way we can deal with the conflict, with the hurt and the only way to reconcile enemies.

Communication and organising things better is good in managing how we work with each other but that is all they are – they are management tools. They have no power to deal with conflicts. Only forgiveness has that ability to reconcile people. In forgiveness we choose not to punish the other person as they deserve. In forgiveness we are willing to wipe the slate clean of the hurt and to aim for reconciliation. In forgiveness we are prepared to put aside the damage that has been done. Indeed in forgiveness we are prepared to accept the damage so that a relationship can be maintained.

Now when you think about it that essentially is how God resolves the conflict between himself and us. He reconciles us by forgiving us. But he is able to forgive us because he was prepared to accept the damage himself by sending his son to die in our place.

What this tells us is that true forgiveness that brings reconciliation is never cheap. it is always painful. But instead of taking the pain on our enemy we absorb the pain into ourselves in order to love our enemy and be at peace with them.

So this is where the rubber hits the road. When things have fallen foul between yourself and someone else, or if you are the meditator between two groups the most important question everyone needs to ask is “Will you forgive me?” and/or “Will you forgive the other person?”

This is why Christians have the edge in dealing with conflict over and above unbelievers. Whereas the unbelieving world has no understanding of forgiveness, forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian gospel. If we have truly understood God’s forgiveness then we will understand what we are called to do with others whom we have hurt.

And this is why, in the world, there can never ever be an end to war. But at least in the church we do have real hope that things can and will get better.

Will you Forgive…..? Until we come to this point we can talk all we like, we can organise all the committees we like but we will never truly reconcile people. We will only bury the conflict and relationships become nothing more than mere diplomacy.

Forgiveness – the missing key in conflict resolution.

This is my reflection

I guess the first thing that comes to mind is “What do you mean by Charismatic?” In other words the label itself masks an enormous diversity that exists within the so-called charismatic movement.  These days we talk about wacko Charismatics and moderate Charismatics. The famous Mark Driscoll talks about Charismatics with seat-belts. We even now have the ‘reformed’ charismatics. Still others use the term, not to describe a theological position but a style of worship. I was talking to a friend who said his worship service was “charismatic”. What he meant was that they have drums, raise their hands and the person upfront uses a roaming mic. In short the question assumes a homogeneity that doesn’t seem to exist within the group, well not from what I can see.

However the problem of ‘labelling’ people is not simply confined to the ‘charismatic’ movement. We use other labels like Evangelical, Reformed, Calvinists, Lutherans etc. From what I’ve heard about in the States an evangelical is anyone who is not a Catholic and calls themselves a Christian. Even the word Christian is almost meaningless these day. Anyway who goes to church, tries to be a good person and knows the golden rule (and nothing else because they have never read the bible) and vote for one political party would happily call them self a Christian. A few years ago I heard a radio talk back show host describe Australia as a Christian country even though, at the time, church attendance at the time was only in the order of about 4%.

The difficulty of labelling people was highlighted to me a few years ago.  I was participating in a conference where two pastors friends were preaching. Prior to the conference we were gently cautioned to be careful of pushing the “Reformed” label. We were sensitive that in the past there had been some issue with pastors who held to a reformed position, so we wanted to be sensitive, gracious yet not compromise on foundational truths. Although the label was never used, my friends nevertheless preached the scriptures and unpacked what has traditionally been called ‘reformed’ theology (but without the label) They spoke about Scripture alone, Christ alone, Grace alone and Faith alone. There was no holding back on this. My friends preached it hard, powerfully and graciously. After the conference one of the delegates feedback was that she was thankful that we did not preach ‘reformed’ theology but simply stuck to the bible. You can imagine that we were somewhat amused.

No one wants to be labelled but unfortunately it is not something we can avoid. We all do it. It’s part of life.  But that being said, I would suggest that it is not necessarily a bad thing, nor something we should avoid. The truth of the matter is that we need to put labels on things, churches, movements and groups otherwise it’s very very difficult to hold a conversation. Indeed labelling is an essential part of conversation. They are short hand ways of explaining ideas, practices, customs or whatever it is. As such it saves us having to keep describing something again and again in every sentence. Without labels conversations would becomes awkward, tedious and tiresome. Therefore categorizing and labelling people and groups etc makes our conversations both efficient and effective.

Be that as it may,  I want to suggest that the real problem is not in the labelling but HOW we use these labels. As we all know from experience people can often use the same words but mean very very different things. Alternatively we can have people who are essentially saying and believing the same thing but are simply using very different words. Words and meaning – if they do not match up between groups can cause all sorts of confusion and conflict. Now admittedly some conflict is necessary. We are told that the Devil often disguises himself as an angel of light. However in other cases the conflict was purely unnecessary because people were essentially saying the same thing but saying it in very different ways.  So in my experience I find people who don’t like being called “reformed’ still holding on to reform theology. They simply don’t like the label for whatever reason.

What are the implications of this? In some cases an inappropriate use of labels means we end up sleeping with the enemy. So choosing the right label helps to distinguish the truth from the lies.  In other cases it unfortunately creates division between those who are essentially on the same page, but, for various reasons, use the labels differently.

What this essentially means is that labelling, branding, categorizing (whatever you want to call it) only really works between people who use the label in the same way. Outside this group it can cause all sorts of problems and confusion.

What this means is that we need to know who we are talking. When this is clearly established then we will know how to talk with them. So amongst some people when I label myself as “reformed” we are talking the same language and conversation becomes efficient and effective. However in other circles the label is unnecessarily inflammatory, not because they reject reform theology but because, in their mind, it conjures up a certain caricature, which I personally would also reject. Maybe describing myself as ‘biblical’ might be better? However we call ourselves  we need to be conscious of how ‘we’ and ‘they’ are using the label.

So what do I think about the charismatic movement? Well I guess it comes back to my earlier question “What do you mean?”.

The least I can say is this. I’m not a very smart guy. I just scrapped through uni and theological college. I love apple computers and Star Trek. And I am no expert on the Charismatic movement. But this I know. I believe in the supreme authority of scripture and its sufficiency for all matters of doctrine and faith beyond which nothing else is necessary or essential for salvation. I believe that we are saved through Christ alone, Grace Alone and faith alone. I believe that all men, without exception were born in sin and as such are totally and completely unable to do anything good or to save themselves and as such live under the anger and wrath of  a holy and just God. Furthermore I believe that God has generously and unconditionally chosen some from before creation itself to be saved. Without this unconditional election no one could be saved at all.  I believe that Christ died as our substitute and a propitiation for our sins. I believe that those whom he has elected he calls through the preaching of the gospel and, through the regenerating work of the spirit gives them new life so that they can turn to Christ in faith and repentance. And I believe that all those whom God has called to himself he will enable them to persevere to the very end.

This is what I believe. So what do I think about the charismatic? I guess it all depends but like I said I’m not that smart. But one thing I can say – anyone who holds to the above is OK in my books.

• rest
• spend time with family
• spend time with God
• long term planning
• know thyself
• Build relationships

In and of themselves they are not wrong. but I wonder if this is sufficient. Like I said on previous occasions, the drop out rate from ministry is tragically high. Why? I’m sure that many of us have not rested enough and nor invested in our marriages enough. But I wonder if this is still too simplistic.

If we are going to work out how to survive and thrive in any ministry we obviously need to have an accurate and clear understanding of the threats we face. What are they?  When I read the scriptures these are some of the dangers it warns us of?

• The love of the world
• The world’s hatred of us
• Fear of man rather than the fear of God
• False teaching
• Ungodliness
• The attack of the evil one

As I think about this list I think of  Demas (2 Tim 4:10) who loved the world more than God. I think of Hymenaeus and Philetus (2 Tim 2:17) who have wandered from the truth. I think of Peter, James and John  in Galatians 2:12 who were fearful of the circumcision party and compromised the gospel. And then there is Diotrephes in 3John 9 who was a real problem for the church. Revelation reminds us of people who were cowardly and gave up for fear of persecution. Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 5:1-3  to be careful of doing things for the love of money. And we have the book of Hebrews where people were losing hope in the Lord Jesus and going back to Judaism.  In other words, when I read the scriptures the dangers it warns us of are much much bigger than busyness, lack of time with our spouse, not having a vision etc. Sure these are things we have to watch out for but the bible draws attention to very different things and, dare I say, more foundational issues we need to be careful of.

Given this what then is the key to surviving and thriving in ministry? I started thinking through some of the passages where we are exhorted to hang in there. I’ve just collected a random sample. They are not in any special order. I just wrote them down as they came to mind, but it was enough to make me rethink about how to survive and thrive in ministry.

John 15:18-21  In a world that hates us Jesus reminds us to hold on to him 15:4

Heb 3:12,13; 10:24,25     Encourage each other less any of us be hardened by sins deceitfulness.

2 Tim 1:7,8 Be a man of courage. Hold firmly to the gospel

2 Tim 3:10-17 – Knowing there are dark days and difficult days ahead remember to hold firmly  to the scriptures and to the gospel

1 Tim 4:16 Watch your life and doctrine carefully so that by this you will save not only yourself but all those who listen

1 Tim 6:13-ff- remember we are serving the Lord and not the world

Heb 11 – we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, so look to them for encouragement in the face of uncertainty

Heb 12:1-3 – we have Jesus who is the pioneer of our faith so look to him

1 Peter 3:17,18 – If we are treated unjustly (which we will) then rejoice because we follow in the footsteps of our Lord and Saviour

Jude 20 – in the face of false teaching we are to build ourselves in our most holy faith

2 Cor 1:3,4 – in the midst of great heartache we need to remember there is a God who, in time will comfort us in order that we might be a comfort to others

Gal 5:25 – keep in step with the spirit

Ephesians 6:12-18 – stand firm and put on the full Armour of God

Matthew 7:24-27 – everyone who puts his teaching into practice will be able to stand firm against the storms of life

The exhortations are numberless but it’s made me think about what I need to be doing, however I think it can be summed up as follows

• Remember that ministry is a bloody war, both inside and outside the church, not a walk in the park
• Saturate yourself in the word of God
• Clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus
• Encourage one another because ministry is not a solo effort.
• When you get smashed and you will remember your not the first nor will  you be the last, nor are you alone. (Just make sure you don’t get smashed for being an idiot) We have a cloud of witnesses and besides Jesus got smashed as well.
• Remember that we serve God and not man so be a man not a wimp
• It is better to die for the gospel than of boredom.

We all know (well I hope we do?) that our ministry needs to be driven and shaped by our theology. All good and well. Unfortunately one important theological pillar we often ignore or have forgotten is our theology of the church, or more specifically the teaching of the ‘invisible’ vs. the ‘visible’ church.

This distinction goes back to the 4th century and has been used ever since. So what do we mean by the term? When we talk about the ‘visible’ church we are basically talking about bums on pew. In other words the the visible church is the church we can ‘see’. it refers to the church down the road and refers to all who are members – however we define membership – whether they are members because they come regularly, or because they have signed the form or because they call it home, or because they are serving in it – however we define it, the visible is the local church.

However the phrase was more significant than this. When the theologians used the term they were saying that the local visible church is a mixture of all sorts of people, both true believers and unbelievers. Sometimes this is easy to work out, but often times, even those who have been solid members for many years and are professing Christians may in fact be unregenerate.  As the great Augustine said, the visible church is a mixture of Wheat and Tares.

In contrast to this is the ‘invisible’ church’. Within the ‘visible’ church is the  ‘invisible’ church. In other words with the local church are true believers who are not just members of the local ‘visible’ church but ALSO members of the ‘invisible’ church. The ‘invisible’ church is truly the church of believers and the community of God’s people in the real sense of the word. And the reasons it is called ‘invisible’ are two. Firstly it is invisible because it is made up of believers throughout history and throughout the world, both alive and dead. Secondly, it is invisible because we can’t really distinguish, with all certainly within the local church, those who are genuine believers and those who are not. We’ve come across people who are a real a pain in the neck yet are still believers. Conversely we’ve come across really nice guys but who are still unbelievers. So it is invisible because we really can’t see the church. It is invisible not in the same way like the ‘invisible man’ but invisible in the sense that it cannot be discerned with our senses. Paul makes this point in 2 Tim 2:19. In the midst of some big names who have gone wonky with respect to the gospel we are reassured that God knows those who are truly his.

OK this is not a blog about the doctrine of the church. If you want to find out more just type in “invisible church” or something like this in google, or better still, go to one of the websites I’ve listed down the side column. The real point is that we need to know this doctrine because it will affect the way we ‘do’ church. A few things comes to mind.

a. It means we are always going to have problems in the church. Why? Because we will always have those who are not touched by the work of the Holy spirit. They might be regular church going people and serving on various boards etc but they may still be unregenerate. They might have all the trappings of being Christians but are still not believers. Whatever the scenario, because they are not believers they will always always be hostile to the gospel, either in a very overt manner, or in a quiet passive manner. Whatever the case they will always be a thorn in our side. But here is the thing we need to remember, no matter how hard we try, as long as we have the local visible church there will always be wheat and tares until the return of the Lord Jesus.

b. It means that the mission field is not just outside the church. It is also WITHIN the church. One of the biggest mistakes I hear many preachers make is to keep preaching as if everyone is a genuine believer.  However this doctrine should remind us that, no matter how long our members have been coning to our church and no matter how well we know them, the local church is the ‘visible’ church, and the ‘visible’ church will always consist, not only of the ‘invisible’ church but also those who are only members of the ‘visible’ church.

Understanding this means I need to come to church every Sunday recognising there will always always be people who are unbelievers, even some of the die hard church going members who have been very active members of the church for many many years. This is why I’m not too worried if I organise an evangelistic meeting, event or whatever and only church members come. I’m sure there are some of these guys who think they know the gospel but in actual fact don’t have the foggiest idea or the gospel has not taken root in their hearts.

So we leaders need to remember that mission must begin WITHIN the fall walls of the church.

Finally  I want to suggest that if our church is not missional maybe it is because we have forgotten that the mission field is right there in front of me when I get up and preach.

OK that being said what do you do with the church? Well here is the problem. For every question we have there are undoubtedly a thousand and one different answers.

You see the problem has to do with the nature of the problem itself. In most cases, and I would say most cases, the issue falls into the grey zone.  People have complained  about the quality of the sermon, the quality of the leadership, the style of the service, the language used, music, ethnicity, buildings, money, ties, caps, raising hands or not, the length of the service, communication protocol or lack thereof, red tape, rudeness, arrogance, laziness etc etc etc. Very rarely has anyone talked to me about anything that is life or death, heaven or hell or anything like this. And even when they have, there is still a world of difference between how we deal with the problem. Some want to take the issue head on. Some believe we need to take it slowly. Others think we should leave. Still others think we should stay. The range of answer are as many as the sands on the seashore. Ok that’s a bit of an exaggeration but I think you get my point. Life and ministry is COMPLICATED.

So simply asking for different opinions only results in different opinions. Who is right? Who is wrong? Well that’s problem – in grey zones cases there is no right or wrong. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m no fan of Rob Bell or Brian MacClaren. I believe there are truths and black and whites. But I also believe there are many grey zones where there are no definitive answers.

How do we make decisions in these areas? We need wisdom. But here is the thing with wisdom – for every answer to a question there are probably ten other questions that follow close behind. There are many factors that lead one person to do one thing and someone else to do something entirely different. Is it any wonder that we wish someone would just tell us what to do. But herein lies the problem – who do I listen to? Who is right or who is wrong? Ok were back to where we began.  Ugggh. Why couldn’t life be so simple?

In such matters it boils down to a judgement call. At the end of the day we have to make up OUR MIND. No one can tell us what to do. People can help us think through things but each person has to make up their own mind and here is the thing I’ve been saying again and again. – people will come to different  conclusions. That’s just the way life is and there is nothing we can do about it – read Ecclesiastes.

I remember when I first decided to go back to the Chinese church many of my friends thought I was insane. The Chinese church was a waste of time they said. Many thought I could use my time better outside the Chinese church. For this reason many have opted for  “greener pastures”. Despite this I decided to stay and to stick it out. My years in ministry have not been easy. There have been times when I’ve contemplated leaving. Sometimes the wheels of change move very very slowly. But was it the ‘right’ decision? Who knows? Maybe I could have done more for the gospel outside the Chinese Church but then again it might have been a dead end. Who knows? That’s the nature of  wisdom. We can only make an ‘educated and prayerful guess”. Again read Ecclesiastes as well as Job. At the end of the day everyone has to make up their own minds what to do.

That being said, this is not a jump in the dark. We are constantly reassured in Scripture that God will grant us wisdom if we ask for it (James 1:5). Paul reminds us that our minds are being renewed so that we will be able to know the mind and will of God (Romans 12:2). God has constructed the wisdom in wisdom (See the book of Proverbs) and we have this word which is the source of all wisdom. Finally we are encouraged that God works in all things, without exception, for our ultimate good (See Romans 8:28,29).

What does this mean?

1. Pray for wisdom
2. Seek godly advice
3. be courageous
4. Make a decision
5. Trust God

One final thing, if people decide differently show respect. We need to heed the words of 1 Cor 4:4,5

“My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.” 1 Corinthians 4:4, 5, NIV.

What is sadder still is that these conflicts are often between two well meaning, and in many cases, godly people whose intentions, while noble and right, have been misconstrued and taken in the wrong way. I can think of major blow ups between minister and minister, between ministers and between ministers and lay leaders. Sad isn’t it. In fact I can say quite categorically, that in all my years in ministry I can’t think of one example where one party has been particularly demonic and malicious in their intention to plan the destruction of someone else.  It may  end up like this but it never started this way. It may have started with a desire to be helpful but as things developed things got out of control and ended up blowing up in everyone’s face.  So it’s really really sad when this happens and it happens all too often.

Is it any wonder that love and peace is so big in the bible. Is it any wonder that in Jesus High Priestly prayer in John 17 his focus is that we will all love one another.

So how can we avoid misunderstanding’s people’s intentions? How can we avoid the many many unnecessary conflicts which plagues our churches? How can good intentions be read as good intentions even if we might disagree with their methods etc?

I was preaching through Romans 12 the other day and I was struck by the simplicity of Paul’s answer to conflict in vs. 16

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

It’s so simple and yet something we have to stop and mediate on. How is it that good godly people can have a major fall out? Because, whether we like it or not, pride always always creeps in. What someone does or says to us is one thing, but how we respond can turn a calm into chaos. Humility will lead us to listen, learn and try to understand what the other person is saying. On the other hand, pride will lead us to get on the defensive and shoot back with some unhelpful comment. And when round 2 comes along,  how we respond can either defuse or escalate the problem. Again in round 2, humility we lead us to listen, learn and try to understand why the person was so defensive and agro. Otherwise we will return fire with fire and then ………… well the rest is history or rather World War.

Of course dealing with pride is no easy matter. It is the very heart of sin but let’s face it – it always boil down to pride – pure and simple. Either the other parties pride or our pride.

Misunderstanding is a fact of life. God is the perfect communicator – not us. However before we read conspiracy theories and demonic intentions into other people’s action or words, let’s put to death the pride in us (and let’s face it – we ALL, without exception, struggle with Pride and Conceit) and listen to others with the intention, not just to hear their words, but to truly understand where they are coming from.

And when we do so we might actually discover, as I have found in 10 out of 10 times that they do have good intentions even if their execution or delivery is less than desirable.

As I reflect on these questions, a few things comes to mind.

a. God is our first mentor. We mustn’t forget that God is our ultimate mentor. He is committed and active in our sanctification and in equipping us for ministry. I think of great passages like Romans 8:28,29 where Paul reminds us that God works in all things to bring us to maturity. Jude 24,25 encourages us that God is able to present us perfect on that last day. Hebrews 12: 5-6 reminds us that God is our loving heavenly father who will discipline us for our good. James 1: 2-4 encourages to rejoice in all circumstances because they are sent by our gracious God to make us mature and complete lacking nothing. The scripture is filled with such pages where we are reminded over and over again that God is our first and ultimate mentor. This is not to devalue the importance of having human mentors but we mustn’t forget that even our human mentors are graciously sent to us by our heavenly mentor as instruments of training.

b. Our church is our mentor. With all this talk about mentoring it always seems to zero in on finding ‘one’ person who we can meet up with regularly and be like an accountability partner. Well that’s OK and nice, but even if we can’t find such a person,  which seems to be the common problem, we mustn’t forget that we have the church. I don’t mean the ‘institution’ but the fellowship of believers. A constant theme of scripture is how we are all responsible to consider how to encourage each other in their life and ministry. It seems that the responsibility to encourage someone else is not the responsibility of the “one” ie the mentor, but the responsibility of the community. Some great passages comes to mind. Ephesians 4:15, Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 3:13; 10:24,25. If we become so fixated on finding that “ONE” person who can mentor us we can unconsciously miss out on the opportunities to be encouraged by the community of believers.

c. We need to look AT not necessarily look FOR. Everyone is looking FOR the mentor who is willing to meet up with them regularly but when I read the scriptures the constant encouragement is not necessarily to find an accountability partner or whatever but to look at the life of those around you, in particular your leaders.  In Philippians 3:17 Paul  calls on the Philippians not only to look at his own life but also the life of others who are following Paul’s example. In other words Paul is reminding them that there are indeed other examples to follow. Just watch them and look at them. This does not necessarily mean having to meet up weekly etc, but it does mean “watching them”. Similarly in Hebrews 13:7 author encourages his readers to look at the life of those who taught them. I know for myself I have been greatly influenced and impacted by many of my leaders. I don’t think I would call them my mentors – well not in the normal sense. We never met up regularly but they impacted my life and ministry in ways they never realised. In other words, just because we can’t find someone to meet up with doesn’t mean we can’t look at their life. Indeed if their life and ministry is truly worth emulating, it will shine out. All we need to do is just look and learn.

d. We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. I think the other thing we keep forgetting is that we are truly surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. As we know , in the book of Hebrews, the Christians were greatly discouraged and on the verge of giving up their faith. After having devoted much of his letter to telling them why Jesus is better in everything, he wraps up by turning their minds back to cloud of witnesses who have gone before them and encourages to stand firm and hold to the faith. In Hebrews 12:1 we have these words;

therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses….

In other words our mentor doesn’t have to be the one whom we meet up with every week for coffee. Our mentors can be found in the pages of scriptures. We can read about the lives of men and women who have gone through the same things we have gone through. Our mentors can also be found in the pages of history. Reading the biographies of great men and women who have gone on before us – People like Hudson Taylor, Charles Simeon, Charles Spurgeon, Martin Luther, Jim Elliot, William Carey, William Tyndale, William Wilberforce, George Mueller, Helen Keller, can be a heart warming, inspiring and encouraging.

I’m all for mentoring. I’ve been doing it for almost 40 yrs and continue to mentor others in their faith and ministry. But with all the emphasis on this very invaluable ministry we need to be careful that we do not place it on such a high pedestal that we forget Our heavenly father, who is our first and ultimate mentor, the community of believers, the leaders who are already leading us but may not be able to meet up with us and lastly the wealth of men and women whom God has raised up to be examples and encouragement for all generations.

It highlights one important truth  – often lay leaders simply do not understand the nature and the complexities of full time ministry. This is not because they don’t want to know or because they are rebellious. I think it’s simply because they don’t know any better. In my experience most, if not all the lay leaders I’ve met from  different churches have the best of intentions. They are godly men and women,  passionate about the gospel, serving their church and honouring God, but unfortunately, due to a lack of awareness of what Full time ministry entails, this passion can often be more problematic. Often such ignorance can unintentionally lead the  lay leadership to make unreasonable demands (like unsuspectingly asking the pastor to work 127 hours per week) and make simplistic assessments. And it is not because they want to work the pastor to death. It is simply that they don’t understand what they are asking.

For many years I’ve prepared people for the rigours of full time ministry but now I’m coming to realise that this is not enough. We also need to help our lay leaders – elders and deacons who may never go into full time ministry but will invariably work alongside the pastors of the future the ins and outs of full time gospel ministry.

But when you think about it, it isn’t just the leaders who need to understand -  it’s everyone. We need to help and equip our congregation to understand the nature of ministry. By doing so the pastor is then able to work well with the congregation and visa versa and give himself to the task God has called him and the church to.

However, failing to do so we should not be surprised to find unfortunate conflict arising between pastors and the laity. Let me stress again that many church members are very well meaning brothers and sisters but sadly it can be driven by ignorance than by a clear understanding of scripture.  For this reason the pastors’ responsibility is not merely to raise up a generation of pastors and teachers, they need to raise up generations of lay leaders who truly understand what ministry is all about. In so doing they will become the pastors’ greatest advocate and supporter.

Is it any wonder that when the apostles handed the responsibility of taking care of the food distribution in Acts 6 that this became a catalyst for greater gospel growth

a. Succession planning is not a luxury but a necessity. It arises from the very nature of ministry itself. Every person has a use by date even if that means being taken up in a chariot of fire. Whatever the case everyone of us, without exception will move on. Therefore the need for succession planning is a necessity.

b. Succession planning is also a necessity due to God’s plan of salvation. We keep talking about spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:19,20) however God’s plan is not only to spread the gospel to all nations, but to all generations (see Psalm 78, Joel 1:2,3). Therefore it is not enough to raise up more workers for the current harvest. We need to be raising up workers for future generations ie Succession planning.

c. Succession planning starts, not when we are coming to the end of our ministry – Big Mistake. We should start succession planning whenever we start a ministry. If we know that everyone, including ourselves will leave, it only makes sense to start thinking of our successor when we start. If we start it towards the end we choose people out of desperation. When we start at the beginning it gives us ample time to groom the right people into the right job.

d. Succession planning best takes place within an environment where equipping the saints is the first priority. In other words when there is a culture of training finding our successor will be easy.

e. Finally when we talk about succession planning we need to ask what we are asking them to succeed into. The danger is to pass onto them a ministry, but really what we need to be passing on to our successor is the gospel. How they shape the ministry is between them and God.

There – short and simple. Wow the shortest I’ve ever been. Miracles do happen.

I could go on and on but it was so obvious that it was a misunderstanding I just had to laugh (Quietly within myself)

Like I said there are cases where sin is the cause of the conflict, but sadly too often it arises from a mistake. So what do we do in such cases?

a. Always always remember there is two sides of the story. We are too quick to jump to our conclusions. I remember trying to solve the dispute between two people. After hearing one side I was convinced that the other side was wrong and rebellious and needed to repent. But when I talked to the other side – Whoa – I heard a completely different story and he explained clearly what had happened. I did the research and it confirmed his side of the story. So bottom line – DON’T DON’T jump to conclusion. LISTEN LISTEN to other side

b. Distinguish between actions and attitude. In nearly all the conflicts I’ve tried to resolve people keep reading ungodly attitudes into wrong actions. Now I know there are actions which are down right ungodly. But in many of the cases I’ve come across the action was not ungodly just unwise. When I’ve talked to people about what they did they explained to me their intentions – all noble and godly – it’s just that they made an error in Judgement. There was no conspiracy theory. No maliciousness or hurt intended. It was just a simple error of judgement. OK people need to be careful next time. But that being said you don’t smash someone and criticise them because, while their intentions were noble, they made an error in judgement. Now if there was conspiracy theory or ungodly motives then – YES – Rebuke them. But this has not been the case in most of the cases I’ve had to deal with

c. Graciousness in all things. Lastly we need to learn the grace of the Lord Jesus in our dealings with others. We need to learn to forgive, to give people the benefit of the doubt etc etc. And even if we were right and our suspicions were correct we still need to learn to forgive as the Lord Jesus has forgiven us. We need to take seriously Ephesians 4:32

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

After the discussion I asked the person if he is able to give thanks to God for his leaders? You see him squirming and trying to be the pharisee – aiming to love according to the letter of the law but not the spirit of the Law.

So friends, please let’s stop all the conspiracy theories. In all honesty people many people do stupid and silly things even despite their good intentions. But let’s remember that what is important is that we love one another as Christ loved us. By this will the world know that we are his disciples.