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Hello my name is Jerral Campfield and this web site is dedicated to Moral Recognition Therapy using Biblical principles. Please come back often to join me in understanding Gods hands are outstretched still to forgive. |
Ephesians 4 New life! |
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Contributed by Jerral Campfield
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Friday, 04 September 2020 |
Ephesians 4 21st Century King James Version 4 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.8 Therefore He saith, “When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” 9 (Now the saying, “He ascended” — what does it mean but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He that descended is the same who also ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.) 11 And He gave some to be apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we henceforth be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and their cunning and craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. As a pastor how will we lead as a board in the post-COVID era? Is it possible that we are all becoming church planters without a church buildings? Perhaps that’s exaggerated, but not by much. We have adopted the State mandate for Church planter’s mental, emotional, and spiritual disposition, it’s an exciting time to lead right now. As a Church we are 1. living in the realm of the unknown 2. Have no guarantees 3. Are not sure how many people they will have when the dust settles 4. Have a clear and passionate vision 5. Possess unbounding faith and hope Is this the way your feel to lots of questions. Yes, we have buildings, some resources, and a number of people. However, most church leaders admit they don’t really know how many people are still part of the congregation, their buildings are not full, and many of their best leaders are not ready to come back. Fear is paralyzing many for being what God wants us to be under the conditions of this pandemic. Yes, we need to be couscous and wise. But not controlled by fear of any kind. In this message, I want to talk about leadership in this transition period and in the post-coronavirus era to come. Perhaps the term church planter is not accurate. Something like a “new start” or a “second launch” might be better. Even the though of what now? Are we going to stop proclaiming the way, truth and life? No The terms doesn’t matter near as much as how you think about your church and how we lead into the future. Understanding the season we are in and focusing on who we become as leaders will be far more important than our specific church leadership methodology. (There have always been lots of ways to build a healthy church.) If we adopt a church planter’s mental, emotional, and spiritual disposition, it’s an exciting time to lead right now. Click To Tweet Let’s look at 5 Helpful Thoughts on leading in transition and preparing for the future: 1) We can no longer lean on the past to help us navigate the future. We are taught the principle that we must learn from the past so as not to repeat our mistakes in the future. That is still true. However, the playing field is not the same, and while we may learn from the recent past, it is no longer the same guide it once was. No leader has ever been able to fully predict the future, but there were a number of predictable factors, or at least had a relative degree of predictability. That has now changed. For example, attendance patterns had a certain predictability, and that is no longer true. Not for a while, at least. The availability and dependability of your volunteer leaders had a degree of predictability, that is also no longer the case, and understandably so. COVID has disrupted people’s lives to a staggering degree. This means we are in a hyper-learning curve, which requires us to learn in the moment rather than counting on the past. It’s a different kind of learning and requires faster adaptation and change. We have so many questioning what they should or should not be doing and cause a tremendous amount of frustration if we do not know God is still in control if we let Him. We are in a hyper-learning curve, which requires us to learn in the moment rather than counting on the past.Click To Tweet 2) This season of transition is critical in setting trajectory. Or where are we going! Let me state the obvious. We are not yet in the post-COVID era. Since the past is gone and the new is not yet here, that means we are in a transition season. In this transition from pre-COVID to post-COVID: · We are anticipating, discerning, and sometimes guessing. We are seeing no assurance of it is going to be ok! · We are learning, changing, and moving rapidly. Really this is sickening no one has the answers, could it be we have left God out of the picture. But let everyone else do what they please! · We are preparing, adapting, and praying… lots of praying. If you try to lock in right now, (in this season of transition,) to what your church will eventually be and how you will lead in the post-COVID era, you will become frustrated now and perhaps discouraged then. Lord help us to see Your still in charge of the boat that capsized and the wind that is blowing to destroy our boat and Your asleep but not at all asleep you know what is going on!
We lead differently in transition than we lead when we understand the cultural landscape. Transition is about letting go (of the past), adapting in the moment, and preparing to build again in the future. Trying to hold on to what was or build the new right now will likely be very frustrating. Who are you trusting to show you the way and the truth is the question of the day? That does not mean we are all stuck; it means we are leading through transition. The two are very different. We are making progress, people are getting saved, and lives are still being changed! Transition is about letting go of the past, adapting in the moment, and preparing to build again in the future.Click To Tweet 3) A spirit of optimism and hope is essential. A person with a pessimistic personality is a person who tends toward a more negative—or some might say, realistic—view of life. Optimists, on the other hand, see things more positively. Pessimism is defined by the American Psychological Association as "the attitude that things will go wrong and that people’s wishes or aims are unlikely to be fulfilled." A pessimistic view of the future never redesigned a new start or launched a new church. As leaders, we must never be guilty of sticking our heads in the sand and avoiding reality, but a perspective of doom and gloom never built anything. A small measure of strategic defense helps protect what must be protected, but it’s important to be at least 51% or more in strategic offense, or you’ll never gain ground of startagy. Since thinking more offense than defense is difficult in transition, then each decision made now must set you up to build for growth in the future. That means keep taking the next right step toward what will eventually be a new era, rather than trying to establish it right now. Genuine optimism and hope are what will take you church through this difficult season. Genuine optimism and hope are what will take you church through this difficult season.Click To Tweet 4) This season of transition and coming new church era requires more effort and energy. More energy? That sounds daunting. How can we do more? The main reason that many leaders are exhausted and discouraged is that in comparison to all the work, the amount of measurable results is relatively small. We are all willing to work hard, but don’t be too hard on yourself, progress puts wind in your sails, and without it, the work is daunting. Keep reminding yourself; this season will pass. (It will.) Transitions never last forever. Rather than focus or get stuck on how it could be possible to expend more energy, it’s better to remind yourself why you are expending more energy. The following truths describe why more effort and energy is required now: 1. Regaining momentum always requires more energy. We need to get the second wind now! 2. The more culture shifts in moral disposition and drifts from biblical truth, the more resistance you face. Look at the rioting and lawlessness today like at no other time! 3. Building something new into a new era will always require more energy than during more peaceful and common times. (You are leading change during change.) This season will pass. It will. Transitions never last forever.Click To Tweet 5) The name of Jesus will define and declare each church as never before. The name of Jesus has always marked the delineation and definition of a biblically evangelical church. So what is different? As I inferred in the last point, culture is shifting how it defines what is good, right, and moral. It is drifting from long-standing biblical truth. In fact, truth has become individualized and personalized rather than what God declared as a standard. The more each person defines their own truth, the greater we experience division. The greater the cultural division, polarization and resulting tension, the more the name of Jesus will stand out as its own definition. (Even there, the temptation will be to personalize the message of Jesus and the truth connected.) For example, in John 14:6, “Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The idea that Jesus is the only way to heaven is already greatly challenged. This brings us back to who we are and how we lead. We may be challenged by culture to stand by what we believe at a cost, that’s part of our preparation in this time of transition. Your leadership is needed now more than ever. What a great time to get to lead!
No church was ever planted by pessimistic leaders. The Pessimistic Personality Type |
Copyright 2005 Jerral Campfield, All rights reserved.
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