Kingdom Minded or Church Minded?

It seems that every few months a new catchphrase rides a wave and washes over every church activity or gathering I encounter. Pastors jump on the catchphrase ship and sail out into the sermon ocean in hopes of capitalizing on the latest spiritually edifying craze.

Pastors, teachers, and Bible study leaders delve into, study, and impart their Christianese wisdom on topics like, "Let go and let God"; "What would Jesus do?"; "On becoming the emerging church", "It's not religion, it's a relationship", etc...

Lately, I've encountered a number of conversations and messages that could be titled, "Kingdom-minded, or church-minded?" Under which category do you think your church falls? I've been attending a few different churches in the past couple of years, and I see a huge chasm filled with differences between the two types of congregations.

The Kingdom-minded congregation recognizes that everything you do - where you work, where you live, and how you spend your leisure time - affords opportunities to be Jesus with skin on to the people with whom you come in contact. The church-minded body attempts to micromanage your life outside of Sunday, i.e., discouraging certain activities and friendships.

The Kingdom-minded church understands that God can use non-believers to teach and enlighten. The church-minded pastor refuses to read leadership books or attend conferences written by or featuring non-Christian speakers - regardless of their intelligence or experience.

A women's ministry director removed one of her leadership team members because she began attending Sunday services at another church. But wait. Are we not all one body? The church is not a building, but rather a family of believers from all over the world and from all walks of life, economic stations, experiences, and cultures, right? This women's ministry director is church-minded, and not Kingdom-minded.

So, of what mind are you? Is your loyalty to Father and His purposes, or to a pastor and his human whims and wishes? Do you live in legalistic bondage to a church, or the freedom and grace gifted to you by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

Get off the pew and pray for the heart and mind of Christ.

Are You A Pharisee? Am I?

A wonderful Christian friend of mine posted the following status update on her Facebook, “Wondering why Christians don't ENCOURAGE other Christians to be all they can and want to be for Christ. It isn't a contest is it? It hurts.” This woman has endured many trials. Her husband left when her children were young, her daughter was a teen mom, and her son rebelled, left home, and ended up spending time in jail. My friend has been judged, condemned, criticized, and abandoned. After all, her family is not exactly a poster family for Christian values. But, you know what? They are the perfect family to put on a poster that promotes forgiveness and family support. They are incredibly strong and resilient.

Why do some Christians feel compelled to point out the weaknesses and shortcomings of others? There are so many hurting people who are crying out and in need of some love and support. When challenges come and the waste hits the spinning blades, the last thing we need is to add aloneness and worry over what the gossips are saying about us to our list of problems.

When I was in the lake of sadness and fire, my Christian family stayed as far away as possible. It was almost as if they believed that my bad luck was an infectious disease. The more alone I was, the sadder I got. The sadder I got, the more desperately isolated I felt. We want to see the good in ourselves and sadly, many of us choose to look for the ugly in everyone else in order to prove our goodness. Luke 18:9-12 tells the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector: To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

Listen, all of us can be embarrassingly weak. I am thankful, however, to have seen brave strength at one time or another in every person I’ve ever known. Each one of us have goodness and kindness inside of us and even when others can’t see it, we must find the lens through which we can see it in ourselves. It is through the lens of pride that we see the weaknesses of others. When we present our inadequacies humbly to God, we will be exalted in His presence. The passage in Luke 18 continues with verses 12-14: "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Get off the Pew and reach out to someone in crisis. Pain, whether self inflicted or brought on by others, is NOT a contagious disease! Pouring criticism out over the wounds of the hurting might make ME feel better about ME, but it lessons who I am in the eyes of God. I don’t ever want to be compared to a Pharisee. Get off the Pew and see – really see – how your words cut deeply and leave lasting scars on the body and the family of God Himself! Get off the Pew!

Ministry Servants

We live in a scary economic time and no one wants to lose their job. Unemployment can be especially frightening for people that are over the age of 50, as ageism is a very real fact in America today. So, people are willing to do almost anything to hold on to a job. Employees are working late nights and weekends with no financial compensation, and they are taking extra measures to keep their emotions and feelings in check so as not to make waves. Fear and intimidation are powerful tools.

Over the past few weeks I have become increasingly aware of just how negative the workplace environment can be for church employees. Because Pastors have the right to fire employees with little provocation and can decide to move in a "new direction" on a whim and at the drop of a hat, being a part of the church staff can be very oppressive. I've met a number of church employees who have said, "I don't dare express my dissatisfaction for fear it will get me fired." We're not talking about spiritual or Biblical debates here, but rather we're talking about an overworked, underpaid, and under-appreciated staff. Pastors love to tell their staff members that they are not just "employees", but they are co-workers in "the ministry", and as such they should be willing to make whatever sacrifice is needed for success. If employees are not willing to give it "their all", then they need to find another job!

Our "ministry" is our life. Every aspect of our life - our job, our children, our family, our friendships, and even our grocery shopping outings - everything about our lives ought to minister to those with whom we come in contact. The Bible is riddled with instructions for employers. They are definitely held to a high standard in God's eye. One example is Ephesians 6:9; "And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him". I am not suggesting that you pastors out there are threatening your employees. But if they are working in an environment of fear and oppression then they may feel threatened. If you have told your staff that they need to give selflessly and without fair compensation "for the good of the ministry" then you are may be taking unfair advantage of your employees.

Come on Pastors, get of the pew and be an example to the world. Most of you have families, and you go home to them - as you should. If you're not willing to work seven days a week and twenty-four hours a day for the ministry, then you really ought not expect that from your staff. Their ministries expand to their families and friends and they need to go home.