Tuesdays with Morris

While at Sr. High camp, I heard a message from Jeffrey Dean called, “Am I Hiding?” It was a powerful message on our tendency to hide from God when we fail.

He called us to identify the sin that we keep going back to and then asked, “What are you doing about it?” Are we hiding our sins or working on them? What is it that we are keeping in hiding that’s keeping us from a deeper relationship with Christ? Then, he simply said, “It’s freeing to let it out of hiding.”

This brings me to the whole concept of confession. In the modern church, we don’t really get into the practice of confession. James 5:16 encourages us by saying, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so you may be healed.” In today’s church, our practice of communal confession is to write our sins down on a piece of paper and toss them into a fire, nail them to a cross, or stick them in the back of our Bibles.

He then focused on the story of the fall in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve messed up and went into hiding. To me, the most beautiful part of the story is that…even though they are hiding…God comes looking for them. They blew it, yet God pursues them.

Instead of facing the truth and bringing the truth to light, we tend to lie, hide, and cover up our sins. And, while we are lying, hiding, and in the midst of intricate cover ups, God continues to pursue us.

We can run from things…or we can learn from things. We all just need to stop running and allow God to get to work, to clothe us with proper clothes (Genesis 3:21). This is all about choosing to surrender…choosing to come out of hiding…and allowing God to capture us.

As I listened to this, I found myself not only thinking about my personal struggles with hiding…But, I found myself wishing that some people whom I know are in hiding could hear this message. I wish that people who are participating in cover-ups to protect their image could hear this message and let down their guards and come out of hiding.

Now, this morning, I’ve been listening to messages about confession, freedom, openness, honesty, owning up to our failures. And yet, I wonder if the person proclaiming these words is in the practice of owning up to his/her failures…I wonder if he/she is living in freedom, living out confession, living in openness and honesty…Or are we all hiding?

I’m one of the most judgmental people you’ll ever meet. I struggle with that. I’m not very good with money. I’m thankful to have a wife that can save the day. I have problems controlling my tongue…I have a tendency to swear and speak harshly of others.

However, in the talk about hiding, I found myself wondering if I’m participating in the hiding, in the cover up if I know of a brother/sister that is in the midst of hiding. I wondered if it was ever appropriate to encourage or push someone out of hiding. As I think of the calls given to Christian leaders in the Scriptures (see 1 Tim. 3; 2 Tim. 2:15-26; Titus 1:5-16; 1 Peter 5:1-11), I know that we have a responsibility to hold one another accountable. But, how far do we pursue this? Do we call someone out and encourage them to own up to what they are covering up? When I read the words of Paul in 1 Timothy 5, I find myself realizing that we do have a responsibility to call one another out or we run the risk of staying in hiding ourselves. Whether or not the person owns up to it isn’t my deal. My deal is simply to put it out there…to say, “I think if you are going to have any credibility and if you have a desire to bring about the least amount of damage to your community, you need to own up to it before someone owns up to if for you.”

Paul says this, “Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that others my take warning. I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.” (1 Timothy 5:19-21).

Will you come out of hiding? Will you allow God to capture you?

Today, as I read a passage in Colossians, I found myself realizing the great need for congregations to be praying for their pastors, missionaries, and fellow believers.

The words of Colossians 4:2-6 would be wonderful words of prayer for congregations to pray for their leaders. The passage says, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ…Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

This is a call to prayer. It’s encouraging us to pray for open doors and clarity of proclamation. And, it calls us to seek wisdom in our interactions with those outside the church. When was the last time that you prayed for your pastor to find open doors for the message and mystery of Christ and that he/she would proclaim that message clearly? When was the last time you prayed for wisdom in your interactions with “outsiders” and that your conversations would be “full of grace” and “seasoned with salt”?

In addition to praying that our church leaders would find open doors and the ability to proclaim the message clearly, I believe we need to pray that our church leaders would embrace the lifestyle spelled out in the passage I wrote about last night (1 Timothy 3; 2 Timothy 2:14-26; Titus 1:5-16).

But, this isn’t just about “lay people” praying for pastors and leaders…It’s also about pastors and leaders praying for each other and the congregation. By the way, does anyone else think the term “lay people” is offensive? Maybe I’ll write about my struggles/issues with the titles we use in the church…

Anyway, let’s join in praying for one another today and every day.

Over the last few days, I’ve been doing some studying, thinking, praying, and reflection on Christian leadership. And, I’ve come to a conclusion…

I wish that those of us Christians in positions of leadership would put down all the Christian leadership books. That’s right…put down that John Maxwell book and burn your copy of “Jesus as CEO”. It’s not that these books are ALL wrong. There is some good stuff if you learn how to sift through the dung. But, rather than relying on the words of these authors, how about relying on the Scripture?

I’ve read many of the Christian leadership books out there and have gained some wisdom from them. However, I think the Church today would be much better off if we simply expected our Christian leaders to be “above reproach, the husband of but one wife (or the wife of one husband), temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money…have a good reputation with outsiders…” and people that are “worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.” (see 1 Timothy 3)

And, I think the Church would be better off if we held accountable our leaders that aren’t living up to the call. Pastors should be people of integrity. Pastors should be open and honest. Pastors that aren’t living up to the call and try to hide their failures do so much more damage than good. The fear of people “finding out who I really am” has motivated many pastors just to brush the crumbs of their failures under the rug…not owning up to them. And, when the truth comes out…it’s often disastrous for the church, the pastor, and those outside the church. Every time there is some church scandal or some pastor says something stupid on Larry King, my heart breaks because I know my non-Christian friends are going to grow even more cynical and skeptical.

I think pastors should start off each morning by reviewing 1 Timothy 3; 2 Timothy 2:15-26; and Titus 1:5-16. These passages remind us of our call, our responsibility. Use this as a measure…as a tool to help motivate us and lead us throughout our days. It’s easy for pastors to get caught up in pride, ego, business, and loose sight of reality. We are not above sin…but we have a lot of responsibility. “Not many of you should presume to be teachers because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” (James 3:1). So, in light of that, we need to make sure we are living up to the call. And, if not, maybe we shouldn’t be doing what we’re doing.

Over the last few days, I’ve been struck by Paul’s words to the Galatians. “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.” (Galatians 6:1-5).

When I learn of others failures, I’m usually quick to become self-righteous and voice my disgust. I’m one of the first to the soapbox. When other leaders face moral failures and sins, I usually puff up my pride and thank God that I’m not like them. I find myself thinking I’m “something” when I’m really “nothing.”

You see, I’m messed up and broken just like everyone else. While my sins may not sound as harsh as others, they are still sins. I believe most of us would be disqualified if it weren’t for God’s amazing grace. That’s why I appreciate Paul’s words here.

We are called to the act of gentle restoration when we learn of others sins. Does that mean we should simply overlook these sins? No! It means we should approach our fellow brother/sister with love, grace, peace, mercy, and forgiveness.

I also appreciate Paul’s words because he calls out our pride and self-deceit. We should look at ourselves openly and honestly. And, I believe church leaders have an even greater call to be open, honest, and at times vulnerable. I believe the Bible has some clear mandates for the integrity and lifestyle of leaders within the church. When a leader fails, gentle restoration is the call. Yet, can a person continue in ministry without openly and honestly dealing with the sin? And, what if a church fails to fully practice gentle restoration and not deal with the sins of its leaders in Biblical ways?

Later today, I’m going to be having a conversation that may test my ability to practice the act of gentle restoration. I fear that in the conversation I may become bitter, angry, disappointed, and deeply troubled. I am concerned about what kind of action I will need to take when confronted by the information I will hear.

How do we begin the act of gentle restoration with the unwilling? How do we begin the act of gentle restoration with ourselves? How do we get to the point where our acts of restoring are motivated by love, grace, and mercy and not so much by anger?

Last night, I heard a bit of a sermon by the smiling pastor (aka Joel Osteen). I like to listen to him every now and then just to make sure it’s okay for me to think he’s crazy. Indeed it is.

He talked about how God wants to pay you back for the injustices you’ve faced (almost as if God was the cause of the injustice). What makes me sick is that he’s basically making it out that God owes you. He sort of makes it out that God blesses us because he wants to pay us back for the bad things we’ve faced.

To me, that’s ridiculous. God doesn’t owe us any thing and doesn’t need to pay us back for any thing. God’s blessings aren’t some kind of payment. They are undeserved.

Of course, millions love Osteen because he says that if you have faith, you will prosper (in health, wealth, success, etc). God does bless us when we are faithful…but it’s not some kind of payment. Yeah, you may have faced some injustices in life, but to take a “God, this sucked…you owe me” attitude is just wrong.