Tag: Leadership

Temple Cleansing and Leadership Failure

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Leadership, PastoralLeave a comment

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In Mathew 21, Jesus enters Jerusalem, sees the temple is being defiled by money changers, animal salesmen and their customers, and He drives them out. He cleanses the temple. While He explicitly confronted these three groups, He is also confronting a fourth group – The religious leaders in Jerusalem.

The Leaders Failure

You see, the money changers and animal salesmen were only in the temple because the leaders allowed it. So through His actions, Jesus is both revealing and confronting the leaders failure to lead the people properly.

Instead of shepherding the Israelites, they let them do whatever they desire. Instead of leading them to honor and glorify God, they allowed them to dishonor Him and seek their own glory.

What Does This Have To Do With Us?

While their actions are negative, they reveal to us what godly leaders should do, and that is lead those in their care to honor and glorify God.

This goes for any form of leadership. From Pastors, to Husbands and Fathers, to Mothers, we are all to lead those under our care.

PASTORS

It’s the Pastors responsibility to lead His people to honor God, just as it is the husbands responsibility to lead their wives to do the same.

HUSBANDS

As husbands, we have been given this role by God. We are to wash and sanctify our wives, so that they honor and glorify God. This involves ministering to them in times of need. As well as encouraging and counsel them from God’s Word. If you don’t know God’s Word well enough to accomplish your God given task, then you better get started learning it.

PARENTS

Parents, just like Pastors and Husbands are to do the same. They are to lead their kids to honor and glorify God.

Challenge

So through the negative example of the Jerusalem leaders, we learn how we are to function as leaders. May we take our role seriously and do what God calls us to do. May we lead those whom God has placed under our care to honor and glorify Him.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Godly leaders are supposed to lead their church, family, and children to honor, glorify, and obey God. How can each group practically do that?
  2. How are you doing at leading the flock God has put you over?

Resources

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On True Church Growth

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Pastoral, Quotes4 Comments

The growth of the gospel happens in the lives of people, not in the structures of my church.

Or to put it in terms of our opening metaphor, the growth of the trellis is not the growth of the vine.

We may multiply the number of programs, events, committees and other activities that our church is engaged in; we may enlarge and modernize our buildings; we may re-cast our regular meetings to be attractive and effective in communicating to our culture; we may congratulate ourselves that numbers are up. And all of these are good things!

But if people are not growing in their knowledge of God’s will so that they walk ever more worthily of the Lord, seeking to please him in all things and bearing fruit in every good work, then there is no growth to speak of happening at all.

Questions for Reflection

  1. How do you measure growth at your church?
  2. Do you seek to fill the pews, or to fill people’s hearts with the truth of the gospel?

Resources

Colin Marshall and Tony Payne, The Trellis and the Vine, 82.

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How Should We Motivate Those We Lead?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Leadership, Pastoral5 Comments

Old Brick Church

How should godly leaders motivate those they lead? The first king of Israel, Saul, provides a good case study.

Why Saul?

Saul, along with David, Samuel, and Jonathan are the main characters of the books of 1 and 2 Samuel. After reading through these two books, you might wonder why I chose Saul for a case study on leadership instead of Samuel or David. After all Saul is the inadequate leader the Lord rejects for David, who is the man after His own heart. I chose Saul not for his positive example, but for his negative. In other words, his actions show us how we shouldn’t lead.

Goliath’s Challenge

In 1 Samuel 17, Israel faces off against the Philistines. As they are set for battle, a man from the Philistine camp emerges who is 9 feet tall, decked in armor weighing 121 lbs, carrying a spear that is 15 lbs and as thick as the fat end of a baseball bat. Goliath is his name, and he is calling Israel to send a man to fight him in a winner take all match.

Goliath’s challenge is met with fear, anxiety, and distress. Not a man in Israel is willing to fight Goliath. Knowing the hesitancy of his men, Saul does what any leader would do. He attempts to motivate a man to take up the challenge.

How does he motivate his men?

In 1 Samuel 17:25, Saul promises the man who defeats Goliath great riches, his daughter’s hand in marriage, and freedom from taxes. Essentially, Saul motivates his men with worldly possessions.

Saul’s rewards were extended to all the men in Israel, not just a special group. Everyone in the army knows what Saul is offering, but none are willing to risk their lives against Goliath.

Saul’s motivation shows us what not to do

Saul’s actions show exactly why he was rejected as the king over Israel. He doesn’t trust God, nor does he lead his people to trust God. Instead he attempts to exploit his people’s idolatrous hearts.

Saul’s action are exactly the opposite of what a godly leader should do.

Godly leaders don’t push their people toward idolatry. Godly leaders pull their people away from idolatry toward God.

Why did Saul lead in this way?

He didn’t trust God. He focused on the challenge in front of him instead of remembering the Lord’s promises and His past victories. Not only had God promised them the land, but He had defeated the Ammonites, Amalekites, and Philistines under Saul’s rule already. Instead of reflecting on these things, he allowed his fear to take over.

What we learn

When we don’t trust God and lead out of fear, we start planning and thinking in worldly terms. We leave God out of the picture, and we attempt to lead guided by our own fallen intellect, which is woefully inadequate. Turning within and leading our people by exploiting their idolatrous hearts is not the answer. Instead we must turn ourselves and our people to God.

Question for Reflection

  1. How do you lead? Do you turn your people to God, or to the world?

40 Days of Prayer Devotionals – Day 3

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

Devotional Day 3

Day 3 – Pray for Your Leaders (1 Timothy 2:1; 1 Peter 2:13-17)

Given the current political and social climate in our nation we might conclude that evangelicals are at odds with our culture. While there may be an ever increasing divide between evangelicals and secular society, withdrawal is not the answer. It is not the answer because it breeds an us against them mentality.

Instead of withdrawing from society, we are to live in it, honor our leaders, and pray for those over us. Both Peter and Paul agree.

Peter writes,

Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor (1 Peter 2:13–17).

Paul writes,

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:1–4).

The Challenge

As believers, even though we are often at odds with the world; told not to marvel if the world hates us (1 John 3:13); and told that friendship with the world puts us in conflict with God (James 4:4); we are not to withdraw from society. Conflict between God’s wisdom and man’s wisdom should not drive us to seclusion; rather it should motivate us to prayer and action that the world might know Christ.

Resource

If you would like more information about 40 Days of Prayer, including how you can download a PDF copy of the information and link with us on social media, visit our website: sycamoredecatur.com/40DaysofPrayer

No One is Above Culture’s Influence

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical1 Comment

Culture's Influence

No one is above the influence of their culture. Even Samuel, the great prophet of God was not above the influence of his surroundings.

Samuel Not Above the Culture

1 Samuel 16 tells of Samuel’s journey to anoint the next king over Israel. After traveling to Bethlehem, escaping the suspicion of Saul, and convincing the elders he came in peace, Samuel calls the elders and Jesse’s family together for a sacrifice.

After they gathered, Samuel noticed Jesse’s son Eliab. He was tall and his appearance was pleasing. He stood out from the rest. Samuel thought he was God’s next king. He was not, however, the one the Lord would anoint as king. Sure, he looked the part, but his heart was not right. He was not a man after God’s own heart; that would be his brother David.

Samuel’s thoughts and the Lord’s declaration tells us something important. No man is above their culture’s influence. When Saul was installed as king, Israel praised and exalted him because he looked the part. He looked like all the surrounding kings. Samuel’s thought shows culture rubbed off on him; it influenced him.

Understand Culture’s Influence

If we are honest with ourselves, we are all influenced by our culture and traditions in one way or another. Knowing that anyone can be influenced by their culture, we must ask ourselves:

  1. How does our culture influence us?
  2. How does our traditions sway our thinking and decisions?
  3. How does God’s Word tell us we should act?

It is important we ask ourselves all these questions when approaching a decisions, especially the last question because God’s Word should be our guide in everything we do.

Question for Reflection

  1. How have you noticed your culture influencing you?
  2. How do you deal with its influence?

Resource

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14 Leadership Lessons from 1 Samuel 14

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Leadership, PastoralLeave a comment

The Leader

How are leaders supposed to interact with those they lead? How should they interact with other leaders under them? How should leaders handle failure? 1 Samuel 14 offers answers to these questions and more.

Recently, I have been preaching through 1 Samuel. My last two sermons have been from chapter 14, where I found that by contrasting Saul and Jonathan, and by highlighting the effects of Saul’s decisions, the writer shows Saul is an inadequate and ineffective leader.

Admittedly, that doesn’t sound like a great introduction to 14 leadership lessons. When you realize, however, it’s the contrast and the antithesis of Saul’s actions that we are after, valuable leadership lessons emerge. What are those lessons? Here are 14 from chapter 14.

14 Leadership Lessons from 1 Samuel 14

1. Godly leaders trust in God even when the odds are stacked against them (14:1;6 cf. 14:2-3).

2. Godly leaders evidence a relationship with God, which motivates others to follow and seek God (14:7 cf. 14:26;40).

3. Godly leaders recognize the Lord is the One who is in control (14:23).

4. Godly leaders think before they speak (14:24).

5. Godly leaders effectively communicate their expectations to those they lead (14:27). 

6. Godly leaders communicate to all to those they have placed in leadership, so they may communicate to those they lead (14:28).

7. Godly leaders do not place undue burdens on their people, which hinder their abilities and morale (14:29-30).

8. Godly leaders do not set their people up to sin (14:33).

9. Godly leaders know their role (14:35 – Saul was a king not a priest).

10. Godly leaders seek spiritual guidance (14:36).

11. Godly leaders present true heart change instead of external religious change (14:35-36).

12. Godly leaders grieve and mourn the sins of their people (14:35-36).

13. Godly leaders recognize when they have made a mistake, repent, and are willing to face the consequences (14:43).

14. Godly leaders know there are limits to their leadership (14:45).

Resource

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