Leading By Circular Logic

Friday, October 20, 2023

And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches.  I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ.  And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world.  As a fellow elder, I appeal to you:  Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you.  Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.  Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example.  And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.  In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders.  And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  1 Peter 5:1-5

Apostle Peter addresses elders, leaders in God’s church, with instruction on how to lead.  This instruction is mostly about the attitude of a leader.  Note the words the big fisherman uses about the tenderness with which a church leader leads the flock entrusted to him:  care…watch over…lead by example.  And then Peter closes the door on the matter with the fact that humility covers all of it.

There are two caveats we must add to this leadership seminar of Peter’s:

1.    Leaders cannot lead this way unless followers follow this way.

2.    True followers will follow if leaders lead this way.

Every instruction God ever gave is predicated on the truth of God’s creation.  Those upon whom God places His call to lead in the church must respond to God’s call by leading selflessly, caring for the flock without pursuing personal gain.  Those who follow must respond, expecting to follow.  It’s a form of “circular logic” and requires trust (faith) in all directions.

Circular logic (or circular reasoning) is most often defined in a pejorative, or belittling sense.  With those for whom logic is the only acceptable pathway, the idea of faith must never cloud the issue.  That person would say about God, prove to me that God exists.  Believers answer that without faith (defined as a blind-leap without proof) it is impossible.  But if you believe (trust) He is real, you will have all the proof you need.  Another way to express that is from the atheist view:

An atheist says:  I won’t believe in God until I see Him.

A believer responds:  You’ll never see Him until you believe.

This same issue is true in the Leader/Follower issue Peter presented in his epistle:

Skeptical Christian:  I won’t trust or follow unless that leader is proven worthy

God’s Word replies: Have faith and by your faith I’ll make that leader worthy.

For You Today 

Is faith a form of circular logic? 

Absolutely!  

It begins with:  

In the beginning God…

It flows through:  

For God so loved…that He gave…

It ends full circle with:  

Even so, come Lord Jesus…

Circular logic may make the hair stand up on the back of a scientist’s or philosopher’s neck, but faith begins in the heart of a human being, created by God, for His glory and our good.  It won’t float in this world’s view, but for those who respond in faith, they will see God face to face.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library.

Title Image Pixabay.com  Images without citation are in public domain or cited via weblinks.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

Fill 'er Up!

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.  Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives.  Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.  And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.  Colossians 3:16-17

The Apostle instructs the believers at Colossae to make certain everything they do is done as a representative of the Lord Jesus.  That is a heavy responsibility! 

As a pastor, just out of seminary in 1983, my first day on the job I sat in the office (which was a room attached to the back of the parsonage).  All of my books were on the shelves, which, thanks to Mrs. Preacher, had just been dusted and polished, along with the desk, panneled-walls, and everything else.  Even our cat had received a thorough spraying with Lemon Pledge before he was allowed in there. 

My Bible was opened, along with a pencil and a new legal pad.  I was ready to begin work on Sermon #1.  I looked around at the bookshelves, mimeograph machine, and thought:  I’m their pastor, and I don’t have a clue what to do next. 

In some ways I’ve never escaped that thought, because it’s always been a surprise from one day to the next what God will lead us into.  That day I felt something akin to what Abraham must have experienced when God called him to pack it all up and follow Him to a place he’d never seen.  It was an adventure (to say the least) and Abraham had to learn a whole new way of thinking.  He was going to be God’s representative in a strange land.  And that is still happening today.

One of the most sacred responsibilities a believer can accept and practice has nothing to do with being a larger-than-life personality, so you can lead a church or your family, or a few coworkers to follow Christ.  Rather it is allowing the richness of Who Christ is to fully, and firmly, indwell your being.  It’s about opening-up your heart and will to what Jesus shows you is your part of the harvest to labor.

For instance, I came to that small membership church in the tiny town of McIntosh, Florida with the clean desk, and a new legal pad, and no clue.  But I was thrilled to be there, and thought I’d arrived in the place I would spend the next forty years, or more, preaching and growing that little church into a lighthouse.  That was eight churches ago!  The ride along the way has been interesting, bumpy at times, and teaching me all along the way what was really important…letting Christ dwell in me, no matter what the events of the day brought.  In times of plenty, we learned how to share.  In times of scarcity, we trusted God to multiply the loaves and fishes.  In times of sorrow, joy was waiting, just off stage to make an entrance when we’d lift our heads to the Author of our faith.  And in times of success, the enemy was hiding (sometimes in plain view) to steal God’s thunder with his deceiving offers.

What I’m trying to say is that God was always going before us in a prevenient grace that made our way possible, and profitable.  In gains and losses nothing matters except that others see what God is doing in you as His representative.  This is how we are his witnesses.[1]  With Christ living in us, we are filled with the richness of His life, and we live in thankfulness and praise!

For You Today 

Ready to live fully for Christ?  Look around, follow Him, let God fill-up your life’s tank with thankfulness and praise.  Yup…fill ‘er up!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:  Getting Dressed  Part 1    Part 2   Part 3    Part 4    Part 5  

Title Image:  Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©  

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[1] …and you shall be my witnesses….Acts 1:8

Chariot of Fire

 

Friday, May 22, 2020

2 Kings 2:1-12

When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal.  And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Bethel.”  But Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you!”  So they went down together to Bethel.  The group of prophets from Bethel came to Elisha and asked him, “Did you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”  “Of course I know,” Elisha answered. “But be quiet about it.”  Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Jericho.”  But Elisha replied again, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you.”  So they went on together to Jericho.  Then the group of prophets from Jericho came to Elisha and asked him, “Did you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”  “Of course I know,” Elisha answered.  “But be quiet about it.”  Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to the Jordan River.”  But again Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you.”  So they went on together.  Fifty men from the group of prophets also went and watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha stopped beside the Jordan River.  Then Elijah folded his cloak together and struck the water with it.  The river divided, and the two of them went across on dry ground!  When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.”  And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.”  “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah replied. “If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request.  But if not, then you won’t.”  As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire.  It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven.  Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!”  And as they disappeared from sight, Elisha tore his clothes in distress. 

Every leader who cares about the flock they’re charged with leading looks down the road to the next leader of that flock.  There are many moving parts to transition.  In Elijah’s case, his “assistant” Elisha made it an easy choice.  Elisha was, as this account shows, fiercely loyal and unselfish; he would not leave Elijah’s side.  It is an encouragement every leader needs to have an Elisha. 

As the story unfolds it becomes obvious the successor decision isn’t Elijah’s, it is God’s.  Elijah’s last words…if you see me taken your request is granted…has nothing to do with Elijah’s will or Elisha’s, it is the prophet pointing to the sovereignty of God’s will.  His final sentence assures that, But if not, then you won’t.  Elijah was not presumptuous where God’s will was concerned.  When Elijah’s propheting days came to a close, whether or not he wanted his protégé, Elisha to fill his shoes as prophet in Israel, was of little importance; it was always going to be God’s choice.

As it turned out, it was God’s will for Elisha to serve, and do many more miracles than his mentor.  That may refer to Elisha’s request to inherit “a double share of spirit” of Elijah’s kind.  When God honors something you can count on meticulous attention to detail.

The tribe in which I serve (Methodists) has a longstanding tradition of clergy serving at the discretionary choice of bishops.  A bishop, in consultation with his cabinet (of District Superintendents) sends me a notice once a year as to where I will serve in the coming year.  My current charge as local pastor to two churches, is about to enter its ninth year.  I have in served in pastoral roles to ten different churches over the last 39 years.  In each circumstance, upon leaving, I always had that chariot of fire image moment, wondering if I’d left too soon, not left soon enough, or if I’d been obedient as God’s servant in that spot.  From this perspective I now see that as a largely non-productive exercise.  It is enough to know that in each place I served, and the people with whom I served, my heart’s desire was to be obedient.  It is God who chose successors to follow me, just as God put me in those places, following someone else.

It is always interesting, though, the way God does all that; it is a magnificent thing to watch the unfolding of thoughts and ways that are much higher than mine[1].

Let’s Pray

Father, help us to NOT kick at the changes in our lives.  Help us to be loyal, like Elisha, ready for however your Spirit will work in us.

For You Today

Changes cause us to evaluate, adjust the sails, and get busy with the journey.  When God sends a chariot of fire to your group, family, or ministry, it could be a sign a double-share  of His Spirit and power are also on the way.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.  Have a blessed day!

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Title Image:  By Giuseppe Angeli (Public Domain) via Wikimedia Commons

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

For another post on Elijah’s leadership see When Kings Must Bow

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[1] Isaiah 55:9

A Special Place in the Heart

Thursday, April 2, 2020

Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.  Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.  And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.  So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart.  You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News.  God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.  I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.  For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.  May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.      Philippians 1:3-11

We all have those who occupy a special place in our hearts.  For me their number is legion.  First, by absolute default, and by choice, my family; blood is, as is said, thicker than water.  There are also those people who have mentored me in the art and heart of living the Christian life.  And there are just those people who are inexplicably wonderful to my heart, dear ones God brought into my pathway that opened new levels of friendship. 

I think Paul had that with the believers at Philippi.  There is something that happens between people, either over the course and events of our lives, or in an unexplainable bonding moment, because the Holy Spirit is working in some way to knit people together for God’s purposes.[1]  Who, really can say how it happens, or know the mind of God completely to understand why it happens; but the connection is there, and Paul expresses it as a special place in [his] heart. 

And it is a gift.  Not as in the gifts of preaching, teaching, healing – spiritual tools with which God has blessed for His service – but in the sense of a personal blessing of encouragement God has dropped on your life.  It is a comfort to know your friend will be there whatever the winds of happenstance.  It is a bond of assurance to know you can go forward, and your sister-in-Christ will forgive you, even if you mess it up big time.  It’s strength for the long haul.  It’s your touchstone person when the forecast is for 100,000 COVID-19 deaths in your country, and you don’t know how to minister to that kind of fear.  It’s that special place in your heart where there is darkness, and that person is your candle.

I don’t think this is a possibility for manufacturing.  You cannot make this up, force it in, or demand it in prayer.  This is that thin place between you and heaven, where God just knows what you need, and God’s graceful hand pulls back the fuzzy wool from your spiritual eyes and you see that person’s stamp on that part of you….and it’s a surprising moment when you realize how connected you really are to another human, eternal soul.  And, yet, it’s no surprise on the other side of that realization; you somehow sensed it, but may have resisted being that vulnerable.  And, suddenly, it’s upon you, and there is joy, like the kind of joy Peter wrote about how we love Jesus:

You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.  1 Peter 1:8

For You Today

With that gift of unspeakable joy in your life there’s not a moment to waste on wringing hands in worrying fear; it’s time to step out in assured faith and live big!  After all, YOU are in a special place in God’s heart!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO 

Title Image:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

For another post on Philippians 1:3-11 see Together also see A Pastor’s Prayer 

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[1] See Romans 8:28

From Whence We are Drawn

Thursday, March 5, 2020

I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.  For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.  2 Timothy 1:3-7

When you look at some family photos (in this case spanning nearly 100 years), it’s hard to ignore similarities.  My dad’s childhood pictures and those of his great-grandchildren, make family resemblance, the well from which we are drawn, an unmistakable connection.  

In this particular family album, the little guy born in 1918 and the little guy born in 2008 not only look alike, both were born baseball players, and both were frequently found behind a catcher’s mask.  

The link in between 1918 and 2008 (born in 1947) preferred third base but was known to catch a few games in high school.  Some links in the chain are undeniable.There is another set of links in that which is passed along; in Timothy’s case it was the faith, a strong sense of commitment to God’s promises, passed along from Lois to Eunice, and now found blossoming in Timothy; grandmother, to mother, to son.  Paul called it a gift that was placed in him by his upbringing, and an active calling which, by the laying on of hands God had bestowed on the young man to be a pastor.  Now Paul was urging his young protégé to stir-up that gift, to fan the embers into a useful fire.

For some of us it only takes a little reminder, a nudge in the right direction to get us started in the holy work of building God’s kingdom.  For others, including yours truly, the 1947 vintage, it takes a two-by-four applied to the noggin; some of us are slow learners.

For You Today

I see two lessons for us:

1.     Being Timothy, we need to review from whence we came, and how that faith was entrusted to us.  We need to respond to God’s calling without fear or selfishness.

2.     Being Paul, some of us need to grow beyond just thinking about our own work in the ministry and become an encouraging force to help draw others into their calling.

Both lessons require faith, commitment, and surrender to the will of God.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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[1] For more posts on 2 Timothy 1:3-7 see Facing Your Fear and a
       4-Part series on The Fear Factor:  Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4

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Title Image:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©