Why leaders don't follow?

While reading Dr. Ron Lush’s ChristStyle- Leadership,(A lecture in my Master's class At ONU) I laughed and pondered the story he shared.

"I stood by the dim light of a closet attempting to dress without disturbing my wife. It is as though we live in different time zones, so I was shocked when Kay abruptly raised herself on one elbow, looked directly at me from a deep sleep and said, "Here's what I'm thinking about. Everyone teaches leadership. Everyone wants to be a leader. Everyone is supposed to be a leader. Jesus said, 'Follow me.' No one knows how to follow. Jesus is really mad." Then, she just as abruptly fell to the bed, rolled over and went back to sleep ... or, continued to sleep, I'm not quite sure which."

Was this message directly from God? Direct or not, it was a message that Christian leaders need to hear or at least need to be reminded of. We are called first to follow. In Dr. John Bowling's book Grace-Full Leadership, one of the traits he lists for a Christian leader is being “willing to follow as well as lead” (Bowling 97-102). Even in the business world, it is recognized that leaders have to have the humility to listen and follow the lead of others (advisors, employees, customers) if they are going to do great (Collins). 

With all the evidence and teaching, why is it that so many in leadership refuse to follow? I think we all know the answer, PRIDE. Leaders want to be the hero. They want to be Superman not just a member of the Justice League (DC Comics).

 Some Leaders say in their hearts, "I will ascend... I will raise... I will sit enthroned ....I will ascend above...  I will make myself...”(Is. 14:13-14). Afterward, they wonder what went wrong,  why God did not help them, and people oppose them.  (for those unfamiliar these are the words of Lucifer, AKA, the Devil)

Works Cited

       Bowling, John C. Grace-Full Leadership: Understanding the Heart of a Christian Leader. Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press, 2000. Print.

       Collins, Jim. Good to Great. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 2005. Audio.

       Lush, Ron.  “CHRISTSTYLE - LEADERSHIP” Olivet Nazarene University, 2011. Notes.

Thankful for the Church

Written by Pastor Charles Areson, Tell City First Church of the Nazarene for From the Pastor's Desk

As we enter a season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, our hearts normally turn toward the things for which we are thankful and the gifts we have given and received. In that spirit, I would like to ask you to think of the church, specifically, the churches of Tell City.

Are the churches perfect, no of course not, but neither are our schools, our workplaces, our first responders, nor our government? Our community is made up of people and people even the best are not perfect. We hope to get better, but we aren’t there yet. This is not the point, if you’re looking for perfection outside of God himself, then you will never be happy.

However, when we see the churches of Tell City there is much to be thankful for. For many, they serve as a place of community and support through life’s roughest times. In death, heartache, sickness, the church has reached out to many and stood beside them. We have seen the church reach out with the Great Day of Service to improve the look of our community. In times of need, the church has served as a place of help to the poor and needy. Most know of the Widows Barrel and other smaller food pantries operated by volunteers from the churches of this community giving food to those who are hungry.  If I listed all the works of Catholic Charities does for this community then I could take up an entire page. No one can honestly deny; the church is a force for Good in Tell City.

Are needs still out there, yes, but Jesus seemed to indicate we would always have the poor with us. However, our community would be much, much poorer without the giving and love of our churches.  I doubt we could count the tangible ways the churches of Tell City have assisted this community, let alone the intangible support which has been given. Therefore, in this time of thanks and of giving, let us be thankful for the churches of Tell City.  

Why CS?

Why C.S.?
NO, it's not because my favorite author is a CS.

Above is the copy of the book as it was supposed to look. The author's name is Charles S.(my pen initial, not my real one) Areson is right where it is supposed to be.  

However, I was in a hurry signing up with the publisher, I only put my initials thinking I could change it. I found out that what you place in that section has to be what is on the book cover. You could not go back and change it.

 Oh!

I did not want to redo the entire project, so I just went with it. To be consistent, I have decided that all of my books will carry the name.

The mystery is solved!?

So what does the "S" stand for?

Come on, I'm an author, I need some secrets. ;)

In the church: Too few workers or too many jobs?

Too few workers or too many jobs?

This question was posed to me: What do you say when people say they are working too hard or there are not enough workers in the church to do all the jobs? 

The correct answer is probably, “Your right.” 

The problem is for most people is that they do not want to do what is needed to change these problems. 

There are two possible problems when people say this. 

The first is the people in the church are trying to do too much ministry. God did not call us to do everything, he called us to use the gifts and callings he has supplied us with. There are some churches so committed to doing certain ministries they place people in them who have no business in them. A huge ministry most churches are committed too no matter what is youth ministry. Is this ministry important? Yes, but I would argue that more will be accomplished by teens and children seeing adults growing in Church than by having their own programs running by people who are not qualified. 

Yes, though some churches trying to do too much, I believe the greater problem is people in the church are too busy. 

People's lives are filled with jobs, hobbies, clubs, sporting events, children’s events, and entertainment(look at the TV watching averages). Their issue is they do not want to give anything up. 

The truth is you can not do them all. What will happen is you will do good in a couple of these areas(maybe) but the rest will be lackluster or even failures. (Okay, maybe you can't really accomplishing anything great when you watch TV, but rest is important too, in moderation) 

 I have been just as guilty as others in this. 

The choice we have to make is to let some things go. Some things are nothing more than a waste of time however others in our lives are good things but they keep us from excelling in what we really wanted to do. Choose what is important let the others go,

 And if church work isn't important, then get your life right with God.

The Hospice Pastor

There comes a time when all organizations put together by man either die or are transformed into something new.

I spent many nearly 9 years as a hospice chaplain. I was glad to be able to help people navigate through one of the most difficult times they will face. People appreciated you being there even though there was nothing you could do but comfort the dying and grieve with the family who remained. People appreciated the work it took to be there when nothing could be done, and as far as physical life death was certain. No one looked at you and questioned your faith or saw you as a failure. It was never a thankless job.

However, during part of that time, I had another job. It was nearly the same, it was the job of being a hospice pastor. I won’t go into details but both churches were on the verge of closing. I was asked to go in and “just keep the doors open.” We did. At the first visit to each church, my family doubled their attendance (we have a family of 4). We keep both churches going and paying their bills for 5 years. The first nearly turned around until the death of “the” key person who did live in the community the church was in. The second never showed signs of a turnaround. Both churches saw people saved and lives changed, but when we left the churches closed.

My reward? Two black marks on my record. (Thankfully, the church I’m at now looked beyond that) However, if I hadn’t taken the churches, they would have closed so maybe it was foolish on my part to do as my denominational leader asked? However, the experiences I had and the lives which were helped pleased God, so I try and be satisfied with that.  

So why am I writing this? I’m not going to change the minds of the people who believe that if you just do the right things the church will always grow. However, for those who see pastors with good hearts doing what they can in what may be a hospice church situation, I ask, give them your support and your praise.

For the hospice pastor, be faithful, you’re doing more than you realize. If it is just two mites worth, remember the person who gave two mites gave the most. Know that there are times when you need to let something die. This isn’t failure it’s life in this world. Also, remember this sometimes God raises the dead, so keep trusting him and give it your best.  

Review of IMPOSSIBLE TO FORGIVE

I thought I would share a review written by a retired pastor with thirty years of experience. I was humbled by what he wrote. CSA

A book review on the book, 

“IMPOSSIBLE TO FORGIVE?” What God Can Do When You Can’t by Charles Areson.

As a pastor I often said, one of the most dangerous things we could ever pray is, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12 NLT).  I mean really, do we want God’s forgiveness of us based on how forgiving we have been towards others?  Jesus added the following to these words, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15).  Simple and to the point, if we don’t forgive others, God will not forgive us.

The same is true of this book.  Simple and to the point.  Areson shows us how God can, indeed will, help us do something that is impossible for us to do on our own.  Forgive others!  No matter what they have done.

In the book, Areson is honest.  He tells us that though God commands we forgive, He was not able to do so.  He shows us how, if we are willing to admit we have a problem (not being able to forgive) and allow God to take us through the process, we too, might reach a point of rebuilding trust and finding reconciliation.

I believe the words of this book are invaluable.  I believe there are many “Christians” struggling with the same problem.  I have already thought of someone I want to purchase a copy for.  Perhaps you will think of some as well as you read and work through it.

Mark Bechtel

Bloomington,  Indiana

Does ministry and love call us to put ourselves at risk ALL THE TIME?

Just thinking out loud...

Does ministry and love calls us to put ourselves at risk ALL THE TIME?

The answer for many Christians is: if a Christian isn’t risking it all then he/she is disappointing God. They give the example of Jesus at the cross, of Paul in Jerusalem, and the Old Testament prophets losing their lives as they spoke the truth. All of these are true but is this the whole story?

Jesus knowing the crowd was going to throw him off the cliff, walks away (with God’s help), Jesus came secretly into Jerusalem when he knew the religious leaders wanted to kill him and then left. Paul on multiple occasions left town after persecution. Peter moved to another house (hid) after an angel released him from prison. Elijah in the Old Testament hid for three years as the drought took place. Obadiah hid the prophets of God from an unrighteous queen. In the book of Acts, the Christians fled Jerusalem during persecution. In all these cases the people took precautions to save their lives and the lives of their families.

Yet today I hear people making accusations toward those that call for precautions as being unloving and being based on fear or hate. I want to acknowledge here that some of those that call for caution is being motivated for the wrong reason, but isn’t it possible that those calling for fewer precautions might have less than honorable motivations? 

This can cover areas from help for the poor, to social justice, to dealing with refugees. What I fear is that both sides have steeped themselves in their own ideas that they can not or will not admit there might be another side on the issue in question. Many can’t accept the other side may love God and are truly trying to follow the example of Christ. 

Perhaps there is a balance between the two? Perhaps not? Perhaps, rather than calling others out to a fight we should just express our thoughts and let it go. Perhaps, we need to ask God to show us what we need to do to change our lives rather than try and change the opinions of others? 

So where do I stand on most issues? In the middle usually, which means both sides hate me but that is okay. As I read it this is where Jesus stood and both sides of the religious community hated him.