Over the years I’ve noticed that, if the devil can’t get you to leave the ministry, he’ll use tactics to render you completely ineffective.  The evidence of this is great, just look around and you’ll see many churches stagnant, dying, and irrelevant.  Or they simply implode.  In the driver’s seat of the majority of these ministries there is a common thread.  It’s like these leaders have been bitten by the same bug.  This nasty malady can be difficult to detect and almost impossible for the infected to recognize, let alone do anything about it.  They have been bitten by the double-headed snake of pride and insecurity.

I know you might be thinking, “Aren’t pride and insecurity opposites?”  The answer is “Nope.  They’re not.”  In fact pride feeds off of insecurity and insecurity is fueled by pride.  This demonic duo just keeps on going and it’s a hard cycle to break.  Let me give you a few examples:

Insecurity whispers inferiority and discouragement when attendance is consistently low.  Pride comes along and says, “I don’t know why we’re not growing.  I’m just as good of a preacher as the guy at the mega-church.”  Instead of evaluating and making course corrections, we assure ourselves that we are not the problem and nothing changes.

We really need to keep growing and reading, but pride convinces us that “all we need is the Word” and those authors don’t really know what they’re talking about anyway.  Then insecurity makes us believe that we have to prove that we have nothing to learn by acting like a know-it-all idiot.

Our group starts growing and making a difference, then pride kicks in and we start drinking our own cool aid.  Suddenly, our spiritual leadership doesn’t seem to know anything.  Eventually things fall apart and insecurity drives us to manipulate the people we used to inspire and lead.

What ever the case, we’re all susceptible to this wicked pair.  We all have to make a deliberate effort to stay humble and teachable. How?  Here are a few tips:

1. Have people in your life that will shoot straight with you.  Ask them to critique you as a leader and let them be brutally honest.

2. Don’t defend.  When criticism comes, let Jesus be your defense attorney.  Always ask God to show you what you need to learn from each criticism.

3. Pray, pray, and pray some more.  A lifestyle of prayer is conducive to humility because it reminds us of our true power source.

4. Stay teachable.  Keep reading a diverse selection of books.  Don’t just stick to your favorite authors.  Listen to those who have gone before you even if your ministry has the outward appearance of greater success.

Remember pride and insecurity may not get you out of ministry, but it will severely limit your ability to produce true, Godly fruit.

Proverbs 11:2 says, “Pride leads to disgrace,but with humility comes wisdom.“

I’ve debated for a while about sharing my opinion on this subject.  The reason is that there seems to be two very established camps on it.  One says, “Never touch alcohol!  It’s devil pee!”  (I exaggerate.)  The other says, “Hey, Jesus drank wine.  It’s OK as long as you don’t get drunk.” as they stagger to the fridge to finish off that six-pack.  (Again, exaggerating.)

I’m not writing this to say that believers who drink are sinning, or Christians who don’t drink should loosen up.  My issue is with relevance.

There seems to be a misunderstanding about what it means to be relevant.  Webster’s dictionary describes relevance as relating to the matter at hand, practical and social applicability, and the ability to retrieve material that satisfies the needs of the user.  Somehow the meaning has changed in church culture.  We’ve turned relevance into a subcultural fashion.  It’s become about what we wear, what kind of music we listen to, and a “whatever” attitude about “old fashioned” values.  If I listen to bands you’ve never heard of, read authors who only bash the church, get fresh ink every quarter, and drink socially then I must be relevant.  There’s nothing wrong with that, but those things don’t make you relevant.  (And yes, I know what an old codger I sound like.)

That brings me back to drinking.  There’s a popular belief (even by people I highly respect) that refusing an alcoholic beverage from a seeker is a huge turn-off.  That having a beer together communicates how accepting we are and may even open a door for us to lead them to Christ.  That by not having a drink, we’re irrelevant.  I strongly disagree with that.

For one thing, not all unbelievers are drinkers.  When they refuse a beer, I’m sure their friends aren’t thinking, “What a jerk!  He thinks he’s better than us.”

Many people just don’t drink and there’s no religious reason behind it (myself included).  There are plenty of reasons why I don’t drink.  Here are a few…

1. I don’t like the taste.  Seriously, like furniture polish.

2. It’s too dang expensive.  $9.49 for a six-pack of Samuel Adams?  What the heck?  $24.99 for a bottle of Bailey’s?  I can think of hundreds of things I’d rather spend my money on.

3. I find it difficult to associate with a product that can be so destructive.  I’ve seen it destroy homes, wreck healthy bodies, and take lives.  (I know, food can do that too, but no one has ever been killed by a full driver.)

Secondly, I’ve heard many great stories of how people came to Christ and not once was it mentioned how meaningful it was when believers shared a drink with them.  In fact, I’ve had the great honor of leading many people to Jesus without ever sharing a beer with them.

What I want to say is this: If you don’t drink, it’s OK! You’re not irrelevant.  You’re not turning people off (and if you are, maybe you should evaluate your overall attitude).  It’s alright if abstinence is a value to you.  There’s nothing wrong with you.  You’re not “old fashioned”, legalistic, or a pharisee.

Be free NOT to drink!

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This year we decided to start a new family tradition.  Like many families hit by economic downturn, we didn’t exactly have a ton of presents under the tree.  That’s tough for a parent.  We want to spoil our kids with all sorts of toys and goodies.  Our three boys have been anticipating this day all year and we wanted to do it right.

Something struck me a few weeks ago, though.  My work with WorldHope.us has been seriously educating me on what it means to not have much.  I felt down about semi-empty stockings while people in my own community are sleeping under the bridge.  And you know what?  We have something so many don’t have: each other.

So, we decided to share each other this year at a local homeless shelter called King’s Harvest.  In 2009, they served 27,000 meals to the poor and needy.  Our objective was simply to go and be a blessing to someone during Christmas lunch.  It turned out to be the best Christmas experience I’ve had in a long time.

There were so many volunteers there that they didn’t need us to serve so we found someone who was all alone and planted ourselves next to her.  Her name was Shelby and she had no family.  Her children all lived far away and she hasn’t heard from them in several years.  Her only companion was a kitten, and he ate half of what little food she had.  We had the great privilege of being her family for the next hour.

We learned that she’s lived in New Mexico, Colorado, Wisconsin, and Upper Michigan just like me.  She was a Farah Faucet fan and she likes Lee Majors.  She finds the mountains of Albuquerque beautiful and a spiritual experience to explore.  As we shared stories, laughs, and observations, I couldn’t help but notice the gradual change in her countenance.  Life begun to show in her eyes, she smiled more, and she became much more demonstrative.

At one point, a homeless woman stood at the front of the room and sang “Silent Night” with incredible passion and grace.  The whole room erupted in applause and then we continued our conversation.  Shelby told us how she’s been so lonely and depressed and what a gift it was to spend time with us.  It lifted her spirits and blessed her heart.  It was a blessing to me too!  Thank you Shelby, for letting us be your family for an hour!

I have to admit, it was such a blessing to be a blessing.  Acts 20:35 is SO TRUE!  “It is more blessed to give than to receive.“ I’ll treasure the experience (and keep going back to help some more) far longer than any of my Christmas presents will last and my boys are learning the value of giving of themselves to bless others.

So what?  I’m learning that no matter how little we have, we still have enough to bless those with less.  What an incredible lesson!

Merry Christmas!!

Cole, Forrest, and Hudson with their new friend Shelby