Category Archives: Leadership
When Morning Doesn’t Come
One of the more familiar and encouraging verses in the Bible is Psalms 30:5, the later portion of which states: “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.”
That phrase encourages us because we all have experienced weeping nights of sorrow and pain – with the hope that joy will come in the morning. But what if morning is a long way off? What about the times when it seems so dark that morning isn’t coming? What do you do when it seems like the light of morning dawn is unable to rise in the face of your daunting darkness?
Let us consider the author of these words – David, who
- was overlooked and considered insignificant as a child
- was rewarded with the death penalty for sparing the Kingdom of Saul
- lost his best friend
- saw family and friend murdered when the sword couldn’t reach him
- experienced the torment of a daughter abused and the sorrow of a son murdered
- suffered the pain of betrayal at the hands of his closest allies – including his own flesh and blood.
- and alas, saw his glorious kingdom that he fought for divided against him
Yes, that’s the man who wrote, “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” In 2 Samuel 15 David finds himself on the outskirts of Jerusalem after being forced into battle against his own son. The priest began to follow David with the Ark of God. (The Ark was a powerful symbol to all of Israel. No army in the generation of David ever lost a battle while the Ark was in their presence.) Stunningly, David says to the priest in verse 25: “Take the ark of God back into the city.” This had to mystify the priests and all of David’s army. Why would he send the Ark back into the city? It is at this moment we get a peek into the soul of David as he says to the priest, “If I find favor in the LORD’s eyes, He will bring me back and let me see it and His dwelling place again. But if He says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let Him do to me whatever seems good to Him.”
David’s Hope was not influenced by the depth of the darkness that surrounded him. Rather, his Hope – his Joy was shaped by his unflinching trust and confidence in the sovereign goodness of his God. David knew God could never be manipulated, but that He could always be trusted. David’s focus shifted from the surrounding darkness – to the surpassing glory of the one who had originally breathed the light into existence to start with.
Do you find yourself surrounded by darkness and weeping that lasts through the night? Maybe even wondering if morning light will come? If so let me encourage you to pray another Psalmist’s prayer – Psalm 33:22 May Your faithful love rest on us, Lord, for we put our hope in You.
Put your hope in God your heavenly Father, not the coming light. After all, He made the light to begin with.
- Brad
We all need another set of eyes
Recently I asked Rylee what kind of snack she wanted. She replied, “goldfish” referring to the orange childrens cracker every parent with young children know about. I went to the pantry, but couldn’t find any goldfish, so I countered Rylee’s request with pretzels. However she was dead set on having goldfish. So I tried to explain to her that we were out, and didn’t have any goldfish. Pretzels are really good alternative after all, right? Rylee responded by saying “I’ll help you find some goldfish”. She proceeded to march to the pantry and within 5 seconds pulled out a bag of…..goldfish crackers.
I totally missed them. I couldn’t believe it. How could a 2 year-old find in 5 seconds what I was convinced wasn’t there?
Rylee reminded me of a vital lesson all of us need to be aware of: We all need another set of eyes. How many times have I had a poor attitude and not been able to see it? How many times have I let pride and selfish ambition take up residence in my heart and not be able to see it? How many times has there been an obvious wise choice, but I somehow missed it? The answer to all of those questions is: too many times. You see, we all have times when we are blinded to the obvious. We all have blind spots – many of which we are not even aware exist. This is why we need other people who love us and care for us to speak truth into our lives.
Is it possible that there are some things in your life that you’ve been missing? Not sure? Find a good friend and just ask.
- Brad
Eyes on Jesus
My initial reaction to the news of a sex scandal at Penn State involving the abusing of children was avoidance. Literally I didn’t read any of the articles that came out on Sunday and Monday. I feared they would say exactly what they said – that there was sexual abuse of children AND that the people who knew about it did nothing.
The reason I didn’t want to read it is simple. I have had incredible admiration for Joe Paterno. For years I have rooted for Penn State (not like for the Vols) because of him. He was so consistent, ran such a clean program, and with so much class. I knew this scandal would taint him. I didn’t realize how much.
My second reaction was sadness for the victims combined with anger and disappointment towards the Penn State leadership – especially Joe Paterno’s. How in the world could he not go to the police. What was he and the other administrators thinking?! How in the world could a known pedophile be allowed such access to the school in the aftermath? The passivity of it all just shocked me. I’ve been angry, especially since this hits close to home. I’ve seen first hand in many lives the painful affects of sexual abuse.
Now I have another emotion: Fear. Can you imagine making 1,000 good decisions that turn you into a successful person, then 1 terrible decision that derailed it all? Can you imagine building a reputation that is revered by all for 61 years, then in 1 week have it all destroyed? Tuesday and Wednesday of this week I was saying how could you Joe?!!!!!! Today I am asking, Could I? Could I spend years building a reputation as a family man, a pastor who is supposed to love Jesus, who lives honorably, makes moral decisions, has integrity AND then see it all collapse and burn in a fire of regret? Could I be that person?
Yes I could. So could you.
I was reading Hebrews 12 this morning. What incredibly poignant and timely words these are:
Hebrews 12:1, 2 1Therefore since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.
I’ve had to put my stones back in my pockets this morning, lest I do exactly as Joe Paterno and the other leaders at Penn State did. My prayer today has been, “Lord, rid of me the sin, the blind spot, the weight that will tear me down. Give me strength to keep my eyes fixed on You.” I hope you’ll make it yours too. Want to finish well? We better keep our eyes on Jesus.
- Brad
when you pastor a nightclub
OK, I don’t actually pastor a nightclub, but sometimes it feels that way. Maybe I should explain…
Discovery Church is just 10 months old. We’re a baby church. I’m new to the role of Lead Pastor. I’ve learned more about leadership this year than any of my previous 30. It’s been a wonderful, rewarding year. With that said, let me be honest about one of the weirdest aspects of planting a church like Discovery: Atheists and Agnostics like me/us much more than many of my conservative Christian fundamentalist brothers and sisters.
That seems like an outlandish hyperbole, right? In the last year we have seen faithful attendance from various Agnostics. I’ve had dinner and coffee with them. Atheists have written me to say they appreciate what our church does for the community. One Agnostic friend from another state wrote me this year and said he would regularly attend on Sundays to hear my sermons. He doesn’t buy what I say about Jesus, but he likes the message and practical application enough. Of course I’m sure not every Atheist/Agnostic feels this way, but that is the interaction I’ve had with them over the last year.
On the other hand my more conservative, “fundamental” Christian friends have had the exact opposite reaction. As a matter of fact, it would seem I pastor a nightclub. “Brad, I’d love to visit Discovery, but I’m not allowed too.” I’ve pretty much lost count how many times I’ve heard that one. One high school student had to beg their Christian parents to see their friend get baptized at Discovery. Just this past Sunday a young woman in tears said to me she loves coming to our church, but that it caused her a great deal of conflict with her Christian family and she is torn with whether she should continue to come. Her family is convinced she’s being taught a false gospel because I don’t preach from the King James Version. I’ll leave some of the other backlash out. It’s important to note here that not all of my fundamentalist friends have responded this way – some have been very encouraging and gracious, and not mean spirited.
So why have some acted as if Discovery Church and other churches similar to it are like nightclubs or other worldly places ‘good Christians’ avoid?
I would totally understand it if we soft sold the Gospel, weakened who Jesus was, viewed the Bible as just a nice piece of ancient literature, or embraced sinful lifestyles. But we don’t do any of those things. Watch our Beautiful Collision, or Captured by Grace sermon series and if you come away with those conclusions then you might fit in well at a Westboro Baptist Church protest.
So what is the issue? The issue is almost always in the HOW.
Not what I preach, but HOW (usually in jeans)
Not if we sing hymns, but HOW (with electric guitar and drums)
Not if we love and believe the Bible, but HOW (we don’t exclusively use the King James Version)
Not if we have church, but HOW (We meet on Sunday mornings, but not evenings. We meet for small groups in homes, not in classrooms for Sunday School)
HOW we do WHAT we do always creates the tension with some in the christian community. We’re OK with that because of WHO we do it for. We do it for those lost and in need of salvation from their sins. And we do it for those burnt by previous experiences with the church. If that brings criticism, that’s OK, I don’t lose sleep over it. I do hurt for those Christians who get caught in the crossfire.
So let me offer these pointed thoughts. You’re a fool if you are critical of other churches and pastors for doing church ministry differently than you would prefer it be done. If you criticize a church for using ‘contemporary’ Christian music (I hate those terms) instead of hymns, you are a fool. If you criticize churches for using the organ and singing hymns instead of being cool and hip like your church, you are a fool. If you use your church sign to let everyone know you use the KJV and still have night church unlike those weak watered down churches, you are a fool. If you scoff at pastors who still wear suits and not True Religion jeans, you are a fool. And there is a lot of foolishness out there.
The HOW is important because we should try to be as effective as we can in reaching people, making disciples, meeting the needs of the poor, sending missionaries to the nations etc. Discussion about discernment in the methods we use is absolutely helpful and necessary, but pot shots and back biting have no place in the kingdom. The HOW should never be the focus. The focus should be the WHAT. The WHAT is the GOSPEL. It’s the Gospel of Jesus Christ that matters.
Just to be clear it is the Gospel that is critical, not my jeans or your suit.
- Brad
Daddy, hold my hand.
Recently I’ve been in a situation where I have to make some really big, really important decisions. The toughest decisions aren’t usually between good and bad things. The tough decisions are when you have to choose between two good things, or even more daunting – two great things.
I felt lead to do three things in this process. 1) Pray. 2) Read the books of Proverbs. 3) Journal those prayers and insights from Proverbs. I’ve been stuck in Proverbs chapter 3, meditating and praying through three relatively familiar verses, verses 5-7.
“5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 7 Be not wise in your own eyes…”
This morning I was focusing on verse 6. I was writing in my journal that I need not be preoccupied with what I think, what others think, but to be tuned into what God thinks. Not what God thinks of me, but what the heart of God is concerning the tough decisions I’m wrestling with. I was making a note on how if I made God’s heart in this decision my focus, then I would be guided on the right path.
At that moment Rylee, my 2 year old daughter, walked up next to me and said, “Daddy, hold my hand.” She was putting on shoes that were too big for her to wear and needed stability so that she wouldn’t fall. Without hesitation she sat the shoes next to me and asked me to hold her hand. I held her hand, and she slipped on the high heeled shoes that were too big for her to wear without a problem. She had no stress, no worries. Why? Because she knew that all she had to do was ask daddy to hold her hand.
My 2 year old realizes a simple profound truth that this 30 year-old forgets so often. When you have a problem, when you have something in front of you that is way too big for you to deal with on your own – ask Daddy to hold your hand. After all, daddy is never too busy to hold his daughter’s hand when she asks.
Do you have something in front of you that is overwhelming? A big decision? A difficult circumstance you need help getting through? Ask your heavenly Father to hold your hand – He’s never too busy for His children.
- Brad
The Essence of a Man
This past weekend at Discovery Church featured some straight talk for men and fathers. The statistical and anecdotal evidence for the need for real men and real fathers in our society is is overwhelming. But what makes a good man and a good father? What does authentic, Biblical masculinity look and feel like. We take a hard look at what a real man isn’t and what a real man is.
The Church and Sexual Assault
The interview linked below is with Justin Holcomb, a pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA. Justin and his wife Lindsey have co-authored the book Rid of My Disgrace. 1 in 5 people have been or will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime.
This statistics may seem exaggerated, but 10 years of ministry experience has confirmed the reality of this darkness. I am so grateful for this resource because of how it will help those who are victims, but also pastors, family, and friends of those who are. There are hurting people all around us who feel shame and disgrace because they were violated and abused by someone. It’s important that we know how to communicate to them how much they are loved and valued by God and how the Grace of God can rid them of their disgrace.
Justin has been a valuable counselor to me personally as I have encountered people who need healing as a result of sexual assault. Check out the interview and pick up a copy of the book.
If you’re a victim of sexual assault – we want to help you. You are loved and valuable! I can be contacted confidentially by email HERE.
- Brad
