Let's Not Forget

These days it seems like I forget a whole lot more than I remember. Somebody tells me something, and just a short time later I try to recall the details and can’t quite remember. Oh, but we are all a little challenged when it comes to remembering things. Forgetting just seems to be par for the course in life.

Sometimes this includes remembering what God tells us. For example, Jesus clearly tells us in the Bible that the primary role of his followers is to “Go and make disciples.” Do you remember that? It’s easy to forget. After all, we have so much to do. It’s hard to live a life really focused and not forget.

This is true even in the organized church. There’s just so much to do. In our American culture, a lot of pressure has been put on pastors to put on stellar church services. Churches are compared to each other based mostly on who puts on the better service.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that services on the weekend aren’t important. As a matter of fact, we put a lot of effort to bring incredible church services at New Life week after week. What I am saying is “let’s not forget” what we are actually told to do: “Go and make disciples.”

At New Life, we describe a disciple as a Christ-follower who "gets it, believes it and lives it." A person “gets it” when they begin to understand who Jesus is and begins to align their thinking with his thinking. When a person “believes it,” they feel about things the way that Jesus did. It becomes more than just acknowledging with their mind the things of God; they actually begin to feel passionate about the same things. It’s from here that a person begins to “live it.” After all, you can’t live counter to what your mind thinks and your heart feels.

I’m talking about our head, heart and hands working together for the cause of following Christ - we think the way Jesus thinks, we feel the way Jesus feels, and we do the things Jesus would do. That is to be a disciple of Christ. At New Life, we call it becoming a 5:16 disciple.

In Matthew 5:16 of the Bible, Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven.” To be a 5:16 disciple is to live out this verse. It’s about letting the light of Christ shine through us in a way that people see the goodness of God in us and they praise our Father in heaven.

Let’s not forget that this is the main thing - “Go and make disciples.” As individual Christ-followers and organized churches, we must not forget what Jesus told us to do. Let’s shine the light of Christ and make disciples. If we remember that, we’ll be okay.

Learn more at www.newlifeonline.com or follow Steve Lingenfelter on Twitter, @stevOLL.

The Discipline of Rest

In today’s harried and fast-paced world, rest seems to be that elusive thing that everyone wants and few find. Some of us even pride ourselves on how hard we work and the lack of rest along the way.

As I write this, I admit that I am one of those. I was inspired to write this article after hearing a message about rest from a fellow pastor named Jeff Henderson. I am one of those people who values hard work and needs to be challenged to rest.
I’ve heard it said that life is a marathon - pace yourself. I see it more as a series of sprints. By sprint I mean an intense season of work accomplishment. The challenge is to discipline ourselves to include breaks between the sprints. Otherwise, one sprint leads to another and then another and pretty soon you are running on empty.

Have you ever noticed in the Bible that Jesus was never in a hurry? As a matter of fact, Jesus would often remove himself from people right after he had accomplished something incredible. Today, we would say, “seize the moment and ride the wave of momentum!”

Jesus didn’t do that. He did just the opposite. He pulled back and practiced the discipline of rest. One such moment was when he preached to a large crowd of people on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where 5,000 people gathered to hear his words. After speaking and healing the sick, he fed them - this was the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 - but what oftentimes gets missed is what he did next: “After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.”

Jesus understood the importance of rest. Although he was fully God, he also felt the limitations of a human body. He needed to get recharged for the next sprint.

Of all the disciplines mentioned in the Bible, I think the discipline of rest may be the most ignored. God modeled it for us through creation by resting on the seventh day. Was he tired? I don’t think so. He wanted to establish a pattern for living right from the beginning. Think about it, he didn’t even have to create a seventh day. He gave us this day so we could rest.
Like me, you’ve probably heard people say, “I’d rather burn out than rust out.” Well, who says that it has to be either of those extreme choices? I believe that God wants a replenished, energized you. You are at your best when you are rested. The discipline of rest should be treated as just as important as other spiritual disciplines - like prayer, fasting, giving, Bible reading and so on.

Resting doesn’t necessarily mean sitting and doing nothing, unless that is what you want to do. It could mean enjoying your favorite activity. It means doing something that feeds your soul. Take the challenge. Practice the disciple of rest. You’ll be better for it.

Learn more at www.newlifeonline.com or follow Steve Lingenfelter on Twitter, @stevOLL.

*This column was featured in the Peoria Times - click here

Leadership You Can Respect

I am a student of leadership. Once I start talking about leadership, you can’t shut me up. I have been in various leadership roles and leading a church now for many years. I’ve learned a lot through the years about leadership.

I think one of the most important lessons I’ve learned about leadership is that respect is earned. People today are starved for leaders they can trust. People are looking for leaders they can respect. Let’s be honest, we’re all feeling a little burned by our political leaders. Whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat, or whatever, we want leadership we can respect.

In the church world, earning people’s respect is even more critical. Aside from the fact that, as a leader, you stand as a representative of God, in the church world, people choose their leadership. They don’t have to follow you. That said, it’s vital to earn the respect necessary to effectively lead people. Respect is easy to lose and hard to get. Earning respect takes time and hard work.

When you think of respect, you have to think about integrity. They just go together. You cannot separate one from the other. Think of integrity as being like a strong foundation. Storms may come and blow everything else away, but the foundation (integrity) remains. When the foundation is weak, the storms of life soon expose the cracks and can cause the foundation to crumble. Integrity and respect are like that.

Not everyone succeeds in leadership and some blame their circumstances for their failures. The truth is, your circumstances are as responsible for your failures as a mirror is for your looks. What you see only reflects what you are.

People choose to follow leaders because of who they are and what they represent. They want leaders they can respect, but you have to earn it. Earning respect is less about position and more about personhood. Titles and position mean little without respect. The Bible describes the character traits of a leader as it describes the position of an elder:

“An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless, not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it” (Titus 1:6-9).

Did you notice that the biblical qualifications for an elder are about character, integrity and respect? Very little is said about the duties of an elder. The biblical focus is on the quality of the leader. May the church be filled with leaders you can respect.

Learn more at www.newlifeonline.com or follow Steve Lingenfelter on Twitter, @stevOLL.