Many have experienced a variety of approaches to Church government at the human level. A widely accepted government in the Churches was a more autocratic, authoritarian style. It was government from the top-down, investing a large amount of authority in the one at the top. Eventually this led to a more “lordship” style of leadership within the Church. It was not an altogether illogical deduction from a human point of view. God’s governance is from the top down. It flows from the Father to His … [Read more...] about Godly Church Governance
Culture
Politics During Jesus’ Time
How should we respond to the politics that invade our daily lives in the news, workplace, school and from so many social media platforms? According to Wikipedia which often conveys modern thought regarding a subject: “Politics (from the Greek word, politiká, meaning 'affairs of the cities') is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations between individuals, such as the distribution of resources." This is a well-thought-out … [Read more...] about Politics During Jesus’ Time
Ideological Subversion
In an interview dating back 38 years, defected KGB spy, Yuri Alexandrovich Bezmenov, made a very sobering prediction about the United States. He warned that America could be defeated through an incremental process of ideological subversion. He defined it this way: “What it basically means is: to change the perception of reality of every American to such an extent that despite of the abundance of information no one is able to come to sensible conclusions in the interest of defending themselves, … [Read more...] about Ideological Subversion
When Leaders Are Lawbreakers
The world is a mess. It's a sentiment that I believe we could all readily agree with. There are reasons why the world is a mess and we need to be very clear about them. We are certainly experiencing a crisis of leadership. And there are ramifications when leaders are lawbreakers. They bring upon their nations self-inflicted destruction. I want to address the reality of what it means to have leaders who are lawbreakers and to reinforce a Christian’s responsibility to become leaders who are law … [Read more...] about When Leaders Are Lawbreakers
Handling Conflict
We all deal with conflict daily, in many forms. Even the church has conflict, internal and external, from time to time. With the Bible as our guide, which biblical examples can teach us about a specific quality that foils conflict? Where does this quality come from? What does it lead to? Let’s consider Gideon’s example to identify this quality. Chosen by God as a judge of Israel he was assigned to defeat a threat from neighboring Midian (Judges 6:1-8:21). He assembled an army of 32,000, but … [Read more...] about Handling Conflict
Navigating Church Dichotomy Without Cynicism
The Church today presents a fairly complex panorama. Many different organizations each claim in their own way to be the true Church. But there are various flavors of culture and to some degree flavors of doctrine. Consequently, it is important to help young people figure out how to navigate the Church landscape today. There is a chasm between what the Church is and what it’s supposed to look like. It’s difficult for all of us. But it is especially problematic for young people who are … [Read more...] about Navigating Church Dichotomy Without Cynicism
The True Nature of Leadership
I think we can say factually that we are in a crisis of leadership in this country and the world. It is not just political government. Leadership is also suffering in education, business, city governments, families and in the Churches. Today I want to take a practical look at this issue of leadership. It’s not so much a discussion of leadership principles but more about the whole concept of leadership, the nature of leadership. First, I want to look at leadership from a worldly … [Read more...] about The True Nature of Leadership