A Bondservant's Musings

My wife and I set out for a hike this morning on the Big Island of Hawaii. We read up on where we were going -- from Highway 19 down to the ocean along the Kohala coast to the Golden Pools of Ke-awa-Iki -- and how to get there (using our standard Hawaii guide book, this time Hawaii the Big Island Revealed ). We took the description of the hike and a map with us. And still we managed to make the hike longer and harder than it should have been. Instead of following what the book laid out, I got us off track after rushing down to the black sand beach and starting to explore. Then we didn't stop and look back at the instructions or the map when we had a question about where to go next. (I won't be quitting my day job to become a guide anytime soon.) Never fear, we didn't really get lost. And no one was in any danger. We got to see everything we set out to see, including those golden pools. And all it cost us was a little more time and a little more exercise as we backtracked t...

"Get out of the way" is not something you normally associate with strong leaders. But stick with me here. There are certain things a leader has to give up as he or she moves up in leadership. I want to concentrate on one of those areas for flock leaders. The typical path to the flock leader role is to promote a current small group leader or couple. That means there is a decision to be made about the future leadership of that small group. Let me make this easy for you. When promoted to flock leader, the soon-to-be former -- that should give away what is coming next -- small group leader(s) needs to give up leadership and ownership of that small group. I say this for a couple reasons. First, as a flock leader, you are now a leader of leaders. Your responsibilities have changed. You are now expected to identify, shepherd, train, equip and release new leaders. That should start with what until yesterday was your small group. (By the way, it was never your small group. Rather the ...

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:5-7) Be subject to? Humble yourselves? These are not familiar pictures for North American Christians. We don't bow down before the Mayor, the Governor (resisting political comment here in Illinois) or the President. Nor should we. But we do have a King. And our proper place before Him is one of humility and lowliness. When I think of Jesus and who He is (Creator, Redeemer) and who I am (created for His worship, blood-bought sinner), I am naturally -- make that supernaturally -- brought low where I belong. So I get verse 6 of I Peter 5 and by extension verse 5 since as followers of Jesus we are to be like Him (Christian =...

For the second consecutive summer, my wife and I are spending a good chunk of our vacation touring US national parks. I see signs at park entrances, visitor centers, in the park brochures, etc. urging park visitors to "Leave no trace" of their visit. The gist is to pick up your garbage, recycle and not impact the park, really to reduce man's impact on the land. While we could debate how we as bible-believing Christians should interact with, use and steward the earth, the thing that strikes me about this "Leave no trace" campaign is that is opposite of what we are to do with our lives as followers of Jesus. We too are visitors, even aliens, on this earth. But God has called us to impact this world -- think people instead of the terra firma -- for His kingdom. How are we to do so? Focus on the eternal If we are going to leave a trace, we must focus on eternal things. There are only two eternal things in this world -- God's word and people. As Pastor James has ...

When I was a teenager, we went to Great America every summer. I still remember the safety announcement for the Yankee Clipper flume ride, as you were getting in the boats, while you waited to go up the incline for all the fun. "Keep your hands and feet inside the boat at all times." I thought of this recently as I read Mark 4:35-41. When Jesus says, "Let us go across to the other side" in v. 35, the disciples go with Him. They are close to Him, in the boat with Him when a "great windstorm" comes. Notice that the storm comes at night when it’s dark and after a day of ministering when everyone was tired. The waves are filling the boat with water. The disciples are afraid. They fear for their lives. So what do they do? The disciples go to Jesus calling out for help. They aren’t concerned about bothering Jesus. The disciples don’t consider jumping out of the boat and swimming for it. They don’t try to get in a different boat thinking it might be a better fit t...

Small group leaders and flock leaders carry a lot of responsibility in their ministry roles. Besides their own walk with the Lord, small group leaders carry responsibility for leading and shepherding their small group members. And flock leaders are responsible for shepherding the small group leaders in their flock and helping them grow as leaders. But for those of you who are married, your first area of ministry and spiritual leadership is with your wife. But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. (1 Corinthians 11:3) I want to concentrate on three areas: Prayer - Pray for your wife and your marriage. Pray with your wife. Have your ears and eyes open for opportunities to take an issue or a trial to prayer. Then take the lead. Be the one to say, "Let's pray about that" (i.e., HBC "Let's pray now" principle). Put your arm around your wife or hold her hand and pray with h...

Since HBC introduced the flock leader role 5+ years ago, God has blessed Men’s Ministry with many gifted flock leaders. But I sense there are still questions about the flock leader role. So let’s answer some of those. What is a flock leader? Advocate for small group model, purpose and vision Resource for small group leaders for support and escalation Main ministry is to the small group leaders in their flock in the spirit of 1 Peter 5:2-4 … shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. What is the biblical basis for a flock leader? OT: Jethro tells Moses in Exodus 18:13-26 to look for able, trustworthy men who fear God to watch over the people as chiefs of 1000s, of 100s, of 50s, of 10s NT: 2 Timothy 2:2 … and what...