LIVING ON THE EDGE

All around us are people with low self-esteem and insecurities. Fact is, we all have some sort of insecurity and if we say other wise we are living in the river of denial. Matter of fact the more successful we become in life we tend to become more insecure. This fact is fleshed out everyday in HOLLYWOOD. Studies have shown the younger we were when we first experienced rejection the more serious our insecurities are now. It’s like a curse was cast when someone in our early years told us we were not going to amount to anything. That statement just sucked the life out of us and to some degree still haunts us and we are not able to become everything God intended for us to be because we believe in a lie.

The Apostle Paul was giving some people some straightforward instructions on how to really love people with more than just rhetoric and shallow words. He was telling them “if you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.” 1Cor. 13 (LB)

For LOVE to be life’s greatest aim we need to love with more than just words. We need to back it up with our life.

That’s what Jesus did. He affirmed people. He looked at people not for what they were but for what they could become. He saw their potential. Jesus is a “You can do it! I believe in you. Nothing is impossible for you if you put your faith and trust in me” kind of guy.

Jesus believed in people so much he entrusted the future of HIS church and the world to eleven fishermen. (One burned out) They were normal guys. No HS education. No college degree. They didn’t have Brad Pitt looks. Just plain ordinary guys like us. Jesus said, “I believe in you. You can do this.”

And Jesus is saying that about you today. YOU CAN DO IT. Jesus believes in you when no one else does. He sees and knows what you can become when you put your faith in trust in HIM.

I know we’ve all been hurt and been rejected by peers or parents. But God cares. Just look at the cross. He loves us so much it hurt.

So today make Jesus the most important person in your life and start filling your mind with what he says about you. YOU CAN DO IT.

We can’t really love until we fully understand how much God loves us.

My prayer for you is “May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep God’s love really is.” Eph 5:18

Have you ever heard the term “POSER”? Those people who act like or want to be something they’re not? (The movie “WILD HOGS” comes to mind here). These people are often called POSERS!

Well there’s another term you may have seen or heard and it’s called “PLEASER”-those who want or need to please people for the sake of not offending or avoiding conflict. Churches are full of PLEASERS.  For some reason we have decided that being a PLEASER is safer than being a LEADER. WRONG!!!!!

When you have made as many mistakes in leadership as I have over the course of my life and then you try to correct those errors, it’s hard for some of those people you are trying to lead to get on board with what you are doing and they begin to push back.  They have a sense of entitlement to tell you what to do and lead you and in some respects they are correct. It’s not all their fault. But nonetheless it’s tough for them to understand what real leadership looks like when they have not seen it or had it modeled before them.

For most of my 36 years in ministry I have had this desire or should I say “compulsion” to please everyone I work with or have led and relegated pleasing God last. I know that’s wrong but it is what it is. I’m a people pleaser.  So shoot me.

This character flaw has been my albatross for years. Don’t get me wrong here, I love people and really enjoy meeting their needs but as a leader you cannot please everyone or be every ones “buddy”.  Once you cross that leadership line from leader/pastor to buddy, it is next to impossible to go back. You can go back across, but in most cases the people you need to lead will become frustrated, hurt, offended or just plain ticked.  Trust me, I know. People are looking for and need strong leaders. They may not say it but it’s true just the same.

In the process of crossing back over that line again to leader you have to make some very strategic moves and make some very difficult hardcore decisions. That is the process I am in at this very moment in my ministry. It has not been easy and I would never recommend this course for anyone.  Learn NOW how to be a leader and avoid as much of the pain as possible.

I have sought God and the counsel of those I consider to be very Godly men and women concerning this issue of crossing back over the leadership line and have begun that journey. Not sure yet how it will turn out but I do know that as long as I strive to please GOD FIRST then I trust that those I am leading will be satisfied and fulfilled in their quest to know HIM and please HIM as well.

In 2 Samuel 8:15 it says “David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people.”

David pleased the people (2 Samuel 3:36), not because he tried to please them, but because he tried to PLEASE GOD. Many times those who try the hardest to become popular never make it. We should never spend our time thinking up ways to become accepted by our peers or the public. Instead we should be striving to do what is right, and both God and people will respect our convictions.

This week has been great thus far. My times with God have been awesome and very intense. He has really been speaking to me about WC, our mission and what He has planned in the very near future. The REVISION in January is becoming more and more clear and laser focused.

One area God is speaking to me about is LEADERSHIP. This is an area that has been lacking and in need of re-focus. God has always worked in and through leaders to get His will done. He has used some strange people that I’m sure you and I would never have dreamed of using. God was very plain when he said WC needs LEADERS who have been CALLED by God to help lead His people.

All through scripture you find men and women who were “called” to lead. Many stepped up and others didn’t. They made excuses or just walk away. They missed it. God never calls only the rich or the pretty or the best looking or those with the best skill set. He always equips those he calls. But too many times in church we find people who have been “romanced” into ministry and not ever called. What I mean by that is they were “stargazers”. They viewed the pastor or worship guy or Kids Pastor as some sort of celebrity, thinking how much fun that would be and then wanting to be like that. After all, “pastors only work one day a week. How hard can it be? They never fully understand all the ramifications of their decision. All they think is “GOD CALLED ME”. When in reality it was the bad pizza the night before or something mama told them they should do. So when it gets hot or the people they deal with start looking like SATAN incarnate, they bolt and run. And…they will use all sorts of excuses for quitting. I’ve heard them all and even thought of some in 36 years of ministry.

I believe God wants a Pastor and a people who are sold out to HIM, HIS vision. People with palms up ready and eager to receive from God. People who are hungry for and expecting a move of God where lives are changed for eternity. Not people romanced by a ministry or a personality but called out to radically impact this world for HIS Kingdom right here at WESTCHESTER CHURCH.

God works through leadership…I’ve seen it all through the Scriptures. And He will not give WC more people and resources than we, the leadership is able to handle.

God is speaking. God is calling. God is moving and greater things are yet to be done in this city.