Accidental Pharisee, Part 2

As we become weary with a culture that drifts farther away from Christ's ways, our own souls can become sour. At a recent conference, Larry Osborne gave a talk about becoming an “Accidental Pharisee,” stumbling into a critical and bitter life that becomes angry at unbelievers instead of showing compassion.

In part one of this article, I mentioned the trap of arrogance. Osborne highlighted five additional pitfalls for Kingdom workers:

1. You trust in your own righteousness, your work performance, your knowledge of doctrine, and your “give-it-all” attitude as you grow bitter at people who don’t perform like you. You may even take credit for God’s successes. The answer? Remember who you really are: a broken sinner who has received the precious gift of God’s grace in Jesus. This levels the playing field in a big way.

2. You raise the bar that Jesus came to lower. It’s so easy to become frustrated when people don’t take the church as seriously as you do. In fact, you can become downright angry, coercive, and rude. You may even start to despise “carnal Christians,” nominal believers on the fringes who don’t perform for the church. The answer? Jesus didn’t come to enhance our spiritual performance. He went to the cross to lower the bar! His yoke is easy and burden is light. It’s time to reflect that grace to the world and to bless the world, not curse it.

3. You demand from others what you fail to do yourself. This is the curse of hypocrisy. We can’t pretend to be what we aren't and teach people to do what we don't. The answer? Not perfection. Not expertise in every area of life. The answer is simple authenticity, acknowledging that you are a fellow struggler sitting at the feet of your Savior.

4. You idolize the past. This will cripple your ministry. The Pharisees loved everything the way it was. But God put us here right now. He wants us to live right now. The answer? Give God thanks for the past, but ask Him to give you wisdom and grace for this time and this generation.

5. You put sacrifice and rules above mercy. The Pharisees turned the gift of the Sabbath into a set of regulations. As we become more passionate about God’s gifts, we may also get more black and white about living out the Gospel. The answer? Remember what God requires: To act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Mercy, not sacrifice. The Bible is not a rulebook. It is written that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, we may have life in His name.

As the culture becomes less church-like and as you get more passionate about God’s work, be careful that you don’t wake up as an accidental Pharisee. If you find yourself getting angry about Kingdom work, you may need a good dose of the Living Word--leading you to repentance and the refreshing grace of God for us sinners.

Tiger and Integrity

Church Planting Series, Part twenty-four

Although our culture cries out, “Anything goes! There is no truth! You have a right to do what you want!”, advertisers aren’t so sure about that.

By now you’ve been inundated with news about Tiger Woods. He is in the difficult position of dealing with his infidelity. He must face his own flaws. He bears the weight of inflicting deep hurt on his wife and family.

Tiger was not exempt from the expectation of integrity and faithfulness. Society’s voice may play fast and loose with morality, but advertisers serve as a social conscience. People won’t buy duplicity. The lack of integrity doesn’t sell. Just ask his sponsors who are ending their relationship with Tiger. The reason? Tiger doesn’t represent the qualities the advertisers are trying to convey.

No one is exempt from integrity.

Church planters, servants of Jesus, missional workers take note!

It may be exciting to ride the challenging and entrepreneurial wave of reaching out for God’s Kingdom. You may enjoy seeing people hang on your every word as you teach and lead. You may revel in the life-change you witness as you serve. But a lack of integrity will make your message hollow. A lack of integrity will destroy God’s work through you. Where do you need to watch carefully for integrity—-an integrated, whole, and truthful life?

Body integrity: This includes sexual purity. It also means you take care of yourself.

Soul integrity: This means you practice what you preach. You’re a person of the Word and prayer.

Heart integrity: You’re called to be a person of peace, kindness, and compassion. You speak the truth—always with a loving spirit. You refrain from being mean.

Thought integrity: What images and ideas are you letting dominate your thinking? You are called to dwell on whatever is pure, right, praiseworthy, etc.

Tongue integrity: You keep promises, don’t tell lies, refrain from gossip, and do not speak profanely.

Family integrity: You honor your wife; you actively parent your children. Family does not get leftovers after ministry.

Communication integrity: You answer phone calls and e-mails. You respond to people as best you can. You don’t ignore people whom God has placed in your life.

Work integrity: You live an industrious life, serving faithfully and going beyond the base expectations of those who entrust you with tasks.

Relationship integrity: You practice impartiality, not playing favorites. You don’t intimidate or abuse your position of authority. You build others up as a mentor and encourager.

What additional areas of integrity are we called to as followers of Christ, redeemed by Him, new creations in Him? Let me know your thoughts.

Living as a Finisher

I've been recovering from a running injury. I tweaked my knee in early fall, so I'm now in the process of regaining my form, feeling comfortable with my stride, and getting accustomed to the miles. It's not easy. But my greatest struggle doesn't happen at the beginning of the run. Starting out is no problem. It's near the end of a run that I struggle most. When I hit the final hill of my course today, I was physically and mentally beaten. My mind said, "Stop. It's time to walk. Take it easy. You've done enough."

As you get closer to Christmas, your mind may be crying out the same things: "You've worked hard enough. You've done plenty. It's time to lay back. It's time for YOU. Indulge. Moderate preparation will be fine. Take a break from focusing on integrity. Stop."

It's near the end of a spiritual journey that most struggles surface. You may be tempted to fizzle out just days before the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations. You may be tempted to throw in the towel as you enter the second half or final quarter of your ministry. You may feel like you've put in your time as a believer and it's time for others to take over.

As the Apostle Paul entered the home stretch of his ministry and knew he would encounter ever more challenging trials, he summed up his focus this way, "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace" (Acts 20:24).

Paul wasn't going to stop. It was crunch time and he was going to finish.

How did he do that? Was it because he was so well trained? Was it due to his high energy level? Was he one of those overachievers who is never behind in his e-mail?

Acts 20:28 gives the answer. Paul said, "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers."

The key to living as a finisher? The Holy Spirit. Zechariah 4:6 says, "'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty."

In these days before Christmas you need the Spirit saturated Word of God more than ever. In the home stretches of life as a believer, you need the gifts of God in Word and Sacrament. YOU can't finish. But the Savior who died and rose again can finish for you. He is, after all, the finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2).

For inspiration, for staying power, for joy, for faithfulness, for new beginnings, for all you need to keep going, the Living Savior will bring you home. Living as a finisher means living in His Spirit and His grace.