Leadership #2. Why Moses Failed!

How can I dare criticize Moses? Who am I to call his methods into question? Many contemporary church writers use Moses as a great example of leadership. And, he was up to a point. But he was human and all humans falter. 

See how his approach to leading failed big time. 

Exodus 18:18 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.⁶ Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

⁸ Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them. ⁹ Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹⁰ He said, “Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians.  

¹¹ Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” ¹² Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God. (Note: This shows that Jethro was converted from paganism to a believer in God.)

¹³ The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening.

¹⁴ When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”(The consultant speaks to Moses.)

¹⁵ Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. ¹⁶ Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.” (I must do everything!)

¹⁷ Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸ You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.

                                                     The Organization Chart of Moses
 

Sweeten Life Bookstore.

Equipping and Leadership #1.

There is a lot of interest in the post about Wimber and The Vineyard Movement. I think John Wimber was a good leader and the Vineyard has had a good impact. However, no leader is perfect and no movement or denomination is perfect.

We humans are tempted by big, shiny things. Healing, prophesy, crowds, styles of preaching, theological fads, nice buildings, a great library, seminary degrees, advanced education, erudite speech, etc. are like candy to a baby.

 I have always been tempted by education, knowledge and being smart. I wish God was as impressed as I. Jerry Kirk assigned me the sermon topic of humility one time. I was often asked to preach when others were on vacation or a difficult topic came up. I asked Jerry  if I got to wear my Doctoral robe with the special stripes when I spoke on humility. I did! I was very impressive!!

So, while admitting my culpability and lack of perfection, let me discuss leadership.
Two factors are crucial in a positive leader-Character and Competency. Character has two parts: Knowing and managing the inner life.

a.     Knowing my inner thoughts, feelings, values, ethics, boundaries and motivations

b.     Managing my inner life through self-motivation, self-nurturing` and self-control.

Competency has two critical aspects: The knowledge about what to do in leading and the skill to carry it out at the right time.

a.     Competency of knowledge about a group, an organization or an individual. For example, a therapist needs to have a basic knowledge about psychopathology as well as a model for interventions for that pathology.

b.     Competency in the skills to implement the intervention is quite different from the theoretical information noted above. A teacher may have great knowledge about a topic but fail in communicating that knowledge in a way that students can understand.

Exponential changes: In the world of the New Testament, the leadership challenges were quite different from those in the Old Testament. Moses led a developed community of people toward a goal. In the New Testament the goal was much more diffused. It was to take the Good News to the whole world. A small group of fanatical monotheists in a tiny place called Palestine could hardly turn the whole world upside down! But, they did. The long awaited emphasis on world evangelization had come.

The only way to accomplish that was through exponential or geometric rather than arithmetic growth. Take a piece of paper and fold it 40 times. How tall would it be? Two inches, two feet two miles? How about half way to the moon?  

 This is the power of exponential growth.  This was the strategy of Jesus and it worked.

Many of us think about ways to evangelize the world or at least our city. Imagine if you won 10,000 people per week to Christ! That is 500,000 people to the Lord annually.  We all agree that such a thing would be wonderful. Billy Graham would stand up and take notice. You would be famous. However, that method is not as effective as the one outlined by Jesus.

If you could win two people to Christ and spend time to disciple them so they could win others and repeat the process every two years you would be far more successful than if you tried the other way.  Jesus and the New Testament leaders chose the exponential process rather than the mass marketing approach to evangelism. They started small, trained well and always reproduced. That approach worked and the world was dramatically touched in a few hundred years. 

Jesus was a genius in multiplication. He had a great "strategearry". Unfortunately, we are not like Jesus. We know so much more than he. We  like to choose the big event approach rather than discipleship. We like the “rock star” approach of the Rolling Stones rather than the Solid Rock approach of the Messiah. 

 I wonder what would happen if we did it Jesus way? Probably not much. He was pretty old fashioned.  We have some books on it in the bookstore. Willing to be challenged?

Influence and Change that Impacts the World

A couple of years before John Wimber the great leader of The Vineyard Movement, died I met with him in his California office. John was supposed to speak in Norway and my friends there asked me to discuss the Norwegian culture and church life with him so he better understood how to minister more effectively. Unfortunately, John's cancer flared up again and he had to cancel.

Wimber had a big impact on the spiritual climate in the world, especially the USA. The size and vigor of the Vineyard Movement of churches are a not due to him alone but he was a key to a lot of it.  John had been a Consultant and Teacher at Fuller Seminary and one of its attendant organizations so he knew very well how to build healthy organizations and multiply a ministry. He was a big proponent of following the commands of Jesus and Paul to "Equip members to minister".

I had met John only once before this but we had a fairly trusting and open relationship. Perhaps because of his illness John was very reflective about his career. He said that the biggest mistake he ever made was to veer away from the original call he received as a Minister. He was concerned that he got too much involved with the Prophetic Movement. He said that big events with famous and infamous "prophets" taken him away from the teaching, training and multiplication call of the Lord.  I agree that an Ephesians 4 Equipping call would have made an even greater impact than what he focused on.

I did not comment but silently agreed with him. It took many Vineyard churches and Vineyard Pastors away from their central role and replaced equipping with traveling miracle shows. Their "prophets" stopped teaching and prophesied over needy people who had gathered to hear them. The Vineyard has grown nicely but nothing like what was possible if they had pursued the original vision.  

Was he right in that assessment? Let me know what you think.

To learn about equipping, get our materials from the web store.

Divorce & Beyond(One Day) Seminar

 

                                                  Half Gone-Only Half There!

 Saturday, Sept. 21st, 2013  - 9:00am to 4:30pm.

Divorce hurts, but there is hope. If you are separated from your spouse, going through a divorce, or are divorced, we encourage you to seek support. We understand the feelings of guilt, rejection, fear, confusion, isolation, and helplessness that can result from divorce. You may feel like you are on an emotional roller coaster. 

Emotions have a way of fooling us into believing that things will never get better. During this time it is critical to gain a healthy perspective so that you can take the necessary steps to move forward with your life.  Join us for our seminar where we address these issues in a safe environment.  An optional 10-week support group follows the Seminar.  

My friend Bill Koontz heads this seminar and thousands have attended it with great benefits. 

KidKare  Divorce & Beyond Seminars

During the adult seminar, 9:00am to 4:30 pm(registration begins at 8:30am)

Your children are dealing with their own emotions about divorce and it is important for them to understand that they are not to blame. While you are attending the seminar, your children (ages 8-12) can participate in activities and discussions that deal with their feelings, changes in the family structure and self-esteem. The KidKare  program is coordinated by a team of qualified volunteers and are offered at the same time as the Adult Seminar.10 weeks – beginning week of – Tues., Sept. 24^th ,  and/or Thurs., Oct. 26th, 2013
Support groups offer an open and honest discussion of the issues surrounding divorce. We will discuss several topics, from loneliness, anger and forgiveness to moving on and what it takes to have healthy relationships. We will use resources including books and videos to facilitate our discussions. These groups are ideal for those who are going through divorce, recently divorced or who were divorced several years ago.  You do not have to attend the Seminar to participate in the Support Group.   

To register for the Seminar or the Support Group

• Please call 513.671.0422 ext 425, or e-mail at carroll@vineyardcincinnati.com, or register on-line at www.vineyardcincinnati.com, click Care & Support, Divorce & Beyond.

·       Fee for seminar is $25 before Sept. 18th or $30 on/ after Sept. 21st.  Fee covers workbook, continental breakfast & lunch.  If finances are a problem, we understand.

·       Childcare for Seminar for children under 7 is FREE.  Preregister for childcare by calling 513.671.0422 ext 6328.

• Fee for KidKare Seminar is $5 per child.
•  
• 10 week Tuesday Support Group is free.10 weeks – beginning week of – Tues., Sept. 24^th ,  and/or Thurs., Oct. 26th, 2013
  Support groups offer an open and honest discussion of the issues surrounding divorce. We will discuss several topics, from loneliness, anger and forgiveness to moving on and what it takes to have healthy relationships. We will use resources including books and videos to facilitate our discussions. These groups are ideal for those who are going through divorce, recently divorced or who were divorced several years ago.  You do not have to attend the Seminar to participate in the Support Group.  
  To register for the Seminar or the Support Group
   
• Please call 513.671.0422 ext 425, or e-mail at carroll@vineyardcincinnati.com, or register on-line at www.vineyardcincinnati.com, click Care & Support, Divorce & Beyond.

·       Fee for seminar is $25 before Sept. 18th or $30 on/ after Sept. 21st.  Fee covers workbook, continental breakfast & lunch.  If finances are a problem, we understand.

·       Childcare for Seminar for children under 7 is FREE.  Preregister for childcare by calling 513.671.0422 ext 6328.

• Fee for KidKare Seminar is $5 per child.
• 10 week Tuesday Support Group is free.

Location
The seminar will be held in Springdale at The Healing Center,(follow signs) 11345 Century Circle West, Cincinnati, OH 45246, (behind Dick’s Sporting Goods off of Kemper Road).

Location
The seminar will be held in Springdale at The Healing Center,(follow signs) 11345 Century Circle West, Cincinnati, OH 45246, (behind Dick’s Sporting Goods off of Kemper Road).

Luther's Use of New Technology

Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg c. 1395 – February 3, 1468) was a German blacksmith, goldsmith, printer, and publisher who introduced printing to Europe. His invention of mechanical movable type printing started the Printing Revolution and is widely regarded as the most important event of the modern period.^[1] It played a key role in the development of the Renaissance, Reformation, the Age of Enlightenment, and the Scientific Revolution and laid the material basis for the modern knowledge-based economy and the spread of learning to the masses.

Gutenberg was the first European to use movable type printing, in around 1439. Among his many contributions to printing are: the invention of a process for mass-producing movable type; the use of oil-based ink; and the use of a wooden printing press similar to the agricultural screw presses of the period. His truly epochal invention was the combination of these elements into a practical system which allowed the mass production of printed books and was economically viable for printers and readers alike. Gutenberg's method for making type is traditionally considered to have included a type metal alloy and a hand mold for casting type.

Gutenberg's workshop was set up at Hof Humbrecht, a property belonging to a distant relative. It is not clear when Gutenberg conceived the Bible project, but for this he borrowed another 800 guilders from Fust, and work commenced in 1452. At the same time, the press was also printing other, more lucrative texts (possibly Latin grammars). There is also some speculation that there may have been two presses, one for the pedestrian texts, and one for the Bible. One of the profit-making enterprises of the new press was the printing of thousands of indulgences for the church, documented from 1454–55.

(It is extremely ironic that his press was originally used to print cards that caused Luther to protest and start his Reformation! In the same way Moses used the gold and silver of Egypt to fund the Exodus.)

In Renaissance Europe, the arrival of mechanical movable type printing introduced the era of mass communication which permanently altered the structure of society. The relatively unrestricted circulation of information and (revolutionary) ideas transcended borders, captured the masses in the Reformation and threatened the power of political and religious authorities; the sharp increase in literacy broke the monopoly of the literate elite on education and learning and bolstered the emerging middle class. Across Europe, the increasing cultural self-awareness of its people led to the rise of proto-nationalism, accelerated by the flowering of the European vernacular languages to the detriment of Latin's status as lingua franca. In the 19th century, the replacement of the hand-operated Gutenberg-style press by steam-powered rotary presses allowed printing on an industrial scale, while Western-style printing was adopted all over the world, becoming practically the sole medium for modern bulk printing.

The use of movable type was a marked improvement on the handwritten manuscript, which was the existing method of book production in Europe, and upon woodblock printing, and revolutionized European book-making. Gutenberg's printing technology spread rapidly throughout Europe and later the world.

His major work, the Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible), has been acclaimed for its high aesthetic and technical quality.

Gutenberg's inventions brought reading to the masses and then they could read the Bible in every church, university and the homes of wealthy people.


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Does the IT Revolution the Gutenberg for this generation?  How can innovations bring new ways to share the gospel? Every home in America has TV sets, computers and phones that can be used to share God's word.

See our free videos and eBooks. We need your support to develop technology for discipleship and family healing.  We are already spreading the good news of the Great Physician to the far reaches of the planet.

Hinges in History that Opened Doors for Massive Change 1.

FR. Martin Luther nailing his protests on the door of the Wittenberg Castle

 Martin Luther was just one more dissatisfied Catholic Priest who longed to see revival and change in his beloved church. However, his message spread like wildfire and caught the imagination of much of Europe. It started a Revolution it thinking, theology, government and church life. We call it "The Protestant Reformation" because Luther started out by "protesting" what they saw as faults in their church.

Why was he successful when so many reformers had failed before him? There are many reasons not the least of which was God's Spirit was involved. However, God usually works through temporal means. God uses fallen men and women, fallen organizational structures and various means of education and training. 

Few people in the time of Luther could read much because there was not much to read. It was rare for a Priest or church to have a Bible and no one was allowed to read it or interpret it except a Priest. Thus, the people had to take whatever the Priests said as God's word. For example, when the people could read the Bible they discovered that it did not say that King's had a "Divine Right" to rule over others. In fact is says that "All persons are created in the image of God" not just Kings. This was one thing that led the Monarchs to burn the Bibles and persecute the people who translated the Bible into the vernacular. Reading the Bible can be a dangerous thing.

Tomorrow we will look at the "Rest of the Story".