A King’s Conscience and A Leadership Failure

What rules your decision making? What drives you to the choices you make? These are critical questions for every person and especially critical for leaders. How you answer these questions will likely indicate what the character and outcome of your life and leadership will be.

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church says of King Henry VIII, “Henry’s conscience often followed where his wishes led.”

Now conscience is an important element of our make up because it, in many ways, is the thing that guides our decisions. We talk about following and violating our conscience as if to do the former is admirable and to do the later is deplorable. However, that depends on what is driving your conscience.

Henry’s conscience was driven by his wishes, and his wishes seemed to be focused on power and pleasure. The result was disastrous. Many heads were lost because Henry allowed his conscience to be ruled by his wishes, including that of Sir Thomas More who was a beloved friend of Henry.

A good leader follows his conscience and insures that his conscience is lead by good desires. A good Christian leader follows his conscience and insures that his conscience is lead by a desire for God, His glory and the good of God’s people.

So, are you lead by a godly and sanctified conscience where your desires are for God and not the flesh? To be so lead is a vital key to effective leadership. To be lead in contrary ways is the the key to disappointment and failure for you and those you lead.

Mandate to the Church – Part Five – Church Discipline

The last time I wrote on this topic I talked about the fact that churches are to practice church discipline because it is commanded of us by God. I also noted that its purpose is for restoration and the saving of souls.

This last point is well illustrated by 1 Corinthians 5:5. Paul’s instruction concerning the handling of a particular man caught in an incestuous relationship with his step mother was that they were to “deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved.”

Paul’s point is that when we discipline a believer in Christ, the act of discipline is a means of sanctification designed to help bring victory of the Spirit over our flesh. Church discipline, a godly rebuke, a humble and caring correction: we ought to covet these things for ourselves and those whom we love.

In addition to the benefit to the one being disciplined there is also a benefit to the church. Paul continues: “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened.” (1 Cor 5:6-7a)

The church must be pure. It must not be defiled by open rebellion against God. The church that coddles sin as a sign of its progressive and tolerant nature is defiling itself and becomes no better than a den of robbers. The church that lovingly and firmly rebukes sin and reproves the sinner to the extent directed by Scripture cleanses itself and signals a love for God and His people, thus demonstrating to the world that God sent Jesus, His Son to save the world.

That is probably the most important point I want to make about church discipline. It is the appropriate action of a loving people. To tolerate sin is to signal a hatred of God and a disdain for the sinner. If we always remember that church discipline is an effort to restore and save a person’s soul we can never go wrong in glorifying God and demonstrating true love to His people and in so doing we preserve the witness of the gospel inherent in the Church.

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Part Four

A Good Question About Christmas!

I just read a blog post by Doug Wolter, which I think you should read. Doug won’t promote his thoughts this clearly, and I respect that, but I think you should take five minutes and read the blog. It is worth the time. Be blessed.

Christmas – A Time of Giving or Receiving by Doug Wolter

You’re Not Qualified!

In his book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't Jim Collins quotes Darwin E. Smith, CEO of Kimberly Clark as saying, "I never stopped trying to become qualified for the job."

The opposite of this mindset is being apathetically content with where you are right now. I used the word "apathetically" because contentment is not wrong at all. In fact, it is one of the keys to personal sanity. But contentment in the present should always be coupled with a desire to be better tomorrow. This is, I think, a major key to success in any area of life.

So, we who desire to be successful should never stop trying to become qualified for the job. We should never stop learning. We should never stop allowing ourselves to be stretched outside of our comfort zone. We should never stop seeking for ways to be better today than we were yesterday. In fact I think this is the personal duty of every individual alive, a strong influence upon success, and a certain key to personal fulfillment

This post is a re-post from Feb of 2008.

Leaders Promote More Leaders

If you are a leader and want to be a better leader then I suggest to you that you will pray for, mentor, train and encourage other people to be leaders. This is not just my opinion. It is biblical.

When Moses appointed the 70 elders there were two men who did not come to the council to be appointed. It is thought that they considered themselves unworthy or unqualified to be elders. Nevertheless, God had the Spirit rest upon them so that they prophesied, which was how God confirmed the 70 elders.

This concerned Joshua. He knew that they would be seen as leaders of the people of God. He approached Moses and said, “My lord, stop them.” Moses’ response was, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” (Numbers 11:26-30)

Moses wanted everyone to be so affected by the power and presence of the Spirit of God that each of them would be qualified to lead the others and themselves.

Leaders, who truly are leading for the benefit of others and not their own glory, desire that others become leaders themselves. I want to lead you to be a leader of yourself and a leader of others. Is that how you define leadership? Are you a leader? Who are you raising up to be a leader?

Ignore God and Die

It can be very easy to ignore God. Like a child with selective hearing, we can listen to God when He is offering us a blessing and ignore Him when, in our perception, He is restricting or correcting us. But we ignore God to our own peril.

When God first created, He placed Adam and Eve in the garden,

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17 (ESV)

Now, Adam and Eve were clearly listening but only in part. They heard that they would die, but they did not really listen to God. Like so many of us, they heard what it fit there needs to hear, but when a more satisfying idea was presented they ignored God. Satan said,

“You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:4-5 (ESV)

He convinced Eve that what she thought God intended for her good was really not for her good and that God was withholding good from her. She believed the lie and chose to ignore God, and while she did not perish at that moment, she and the entire human race died an awful death that day. The very wholeness that she sought to find in eating the fruit was lost to the entire human race.

Don’t ignore God. He truly does want what is good for you, in fact He is storing up goodness for you (Psalm 31:19). Trust Him and receive the goodness. Ignore Him and die.

What are some of the good things God has done for you?

Mandate to the Church, Part Four – Church Discipline

When we talk about church discipline the reaction is varied depending on who is in the conversation. Some are uncomfortable with the idea and even revolt against it. Some are receptive to the idea but too timid to practice it. Some are receptive to the idea and too eager to practice it. Some are simply obedient to God and therefore seek to understand it, look for ways to prevent its necessity and engage in it when necessary.

The final group holds that perspective because they understand why church discipline is so necessary. Those who are convinced that it is necessary are typically better at preventing the need of doing so through sound teaching of new converts and candidates for church membership as well as biblical instruction concerning the responsibilities of each individual to the body.

Let me first say what church discipline is not. It is not simply kicking people out of the church who do not comply with the church’s rules. Sometimes church discipline results in a person being removed from the privileges of church membership, but only as an ultimate measure and even that is discipline not punishment. The two are different.

So why practice church discipline? I will give my first reason today and return to other reasons in the following days.

First, church discipline is commanded of each of us by Jesus.

Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. NASB95

Note that there is a progression to church discipline and each stage involves showing a person his or her fault. The goal is to seek to win them over – to gain their repentance. Jesus expects me to love you enough that I am willing to seek your purity through the act of confronting your sin. It is a weighty responsibility for all believers but is a command of the Lord that we should obey, albeit with trembling hands and prayerful lips.

Please feel free to share your thoughts with me on the subject.

To gain an understanding of the background to this post please see the previous posts listed below

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three