Influence and Change Chapter 4

In church meetings designed to suggest changes and innovations , we need to be persuasive. Look at assets not just deficits. Affirm the congregation for past and current successes. Honor the fathers and mothers for their innovative ways. 

Brag on past leaders. Show photos of key people that have guided the church. Connect them to changes and suggest they would welcome current changes. 

If we know major innovations are needed, being patient in order to select and train innovators to facilitate changes is necessary. We need people to come alongside and support new people. However, it is hard to do, especially when growing fast. It is necessary. 

In one church a new Minister asked himself, "How do I get this board to lead new ways of doing things at this church?" God's answer was clear: 

"This board has no need or desire to change. It will take a group of innovators and change-makers to go where God is leading. Choose key men and women and coach them how to lead." 

He did and five years later the church was booming. yep, it took five years to prepare changemakers. 

Slow down and make small, incremental changes. It has to be one day at a time and one change at a time. 

Start with the structures first. Adult education is usually a great place to begin. Never, ever try to change the morning worship first. We all have memories of our favorite songs and preachers. But few have had great experiences with adult education.

Get a small group to be with you and catch the vision. 

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A Visit by Steve and Janie Sjogren in Cincinnati

Steve and Janie Sjogren moved to Cincinnati in the mid 80's and planted a church. It was called Vineyard Cincinnati and became one of the fastest growing congregations in America.

Steve was an innovator and change agent. He "invented" one of the most creative and effective outreach programs in church history. Hundreds of thousands of people have heard about the love of Christ all over the earth.

I was playing golf with a Pastor from South Africa in the 90's when he began to share how he and several other Pastors in his city organized a citywide campaign to care for the poor and left out people. They called it Servant Evangelism!

I said, "When did you meet Steve Sjogren?'
He replied, "Who? I never heard of him."

Servant Evangelism has spread all over the earth and is being a very effective way to reach out to people even if they do not recognize the founder.

Steve has not finished. he has started a new venture or two. Go to his web page and sign up for his webinars. 

The webinars are on his blog at the same address.

How Jesus DID Confront the Men that tried to trick Him

In my post about Jesus and the mob of judgmental males that tried to trick Him I asked my readers to pick the post apart. I want readers to think and disagree. I attempted to be provocative but no one bit. Is it because I failed to provoke you?

Can you analyze the John 8 passage and see how Jesus was extremely confrontational?

John 8 reveals how Jesus used extremely smart ways to avoid what I call "The Devil's Dilemma". It is a ploy that the enemy so often uses to distract us from the Kingdom.

The Devil knows we are weak and easily fall into the traps of moralism, legalism and judgmentalism. All he must do to divert our attention away from salvation by grace is to throw out an easy question about sin, guilt and punishment.

We easily fall into that trap and the potential converts are persuaded that we hate them and worse, that God hates them. As a result, they run away from us and God as fast as possible.

Please exegete this chapter with me and try to understand how Jesus acted. It might be a possible role model for us as well. Read the passage and ask yourself:

To whom is He speaking?
What was the main question to Jesus from the manipulators?
How could Jesus have answered?
How did Jesus answer?
What did Jesus do to answer them?

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The 12 Steps of Sobriety from Heroin

For decades I have been promoting 12 Step Groups as one of the best ways for churches and community groups to defeat bad habits, compulsions and addictions.

One block for many Christians is a misunderstanding of 12 Steps. They think the way people talk about AA group meetings is a problem. They do not like the fact that people introduce themselves as Alcoholics.

This small detail is to remind everyone that their enemy is alcohol. Theologically it is not wise to identify as an alcoholic but in those meetings it is a way to say "We are in this boat together".

As I read these steps it is impossible to find anything wrong with them from a biblical point of view.

Steps 1-3 get me into a personal, caring relationship with God

1. I admitted I was powerless over my problems-that my life had become unmanageable.

2. I came to believe that a Power greater than myself could restore me to sanity.

3. I made a decision to turn my life over to the care of God as I understood Him

Steps 4-6 get me cleaned up morally and spiritually

4. I made a searching and fearless moral inventory

5. I admitted to God myself and to another person the exact nature of my wrongs.

6. Was entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

Steps 7-9 help me change and get healed in my relationships.

7. I humbly asked Him to remove my shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons I had harmed; became willing to make amends to them.

9. Made direct amends to such persons whenever possible except when to do so would injure them or others.

Steps 10-12 offer a continual process of healing, peace and growth

10. Continued to take personal inventory and promptly admitted when I was wrong.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve my conscious contact with God, praying only for the knowledge of His will for me and the power to carry it out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, I tried to carry this message to others and practice these principles in all my affairs.

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John Chapter 8 The Men caught in Judgement

Read this chapter and reflect on what key points the Lord is trying to make. What do the Bible Commentators normally focus on? 

John 8: Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 

5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. 

But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up[g] and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”

8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 

10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her,“Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

11 She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

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Helping Addicts

I am often asked about how to assist people with serious mental, emotional, relational and spiritual problems. Perhaps it is because I am the founder of several Professional and Peer Counseling organizations. Our team established one of the largest Peer Helping Ministries in the USA.

Then we established two LifeWay Inpatient units for people with Psychiatric problems and Addictions. The outpatient centers are still in operation. I am retired from active practice.

For the last few years I have been training churches, schools and community groups how to improve the human relations and healthy activities of their members. We raise the level of positive relationships and prevent more serious problems.

Because of the current issues with heroin, there are many questions about ways to treat addicts. Here are some hints.

1. If you are concerned about addictions of any kind and any substance, start now to equip the healthy members to be healthier! Do not wait until there is a crisis.

2. Helping an addict to find sobriety is possible. However, it is very, very daunting. Do not start with addicts. Support experts that provide Counseling and equip Peers to stop enabling addicts.

3. People can become addicted to anything animal, vegetable, mineral, or spiritual. The object is unimportant. Sex, dope, food, TV, video games, alcohol, violence, ETC.

4. If you want to focus on addiction start Al-Anon in your church or community center. (That is for family members and friends of addicts.)

5. Start a 12 Step Group in your church or community center for addicts can be a good thing.

6. Find people that are in recovery and ask them to advise you. You do not need Doctors or highly educated experts.

7. Stop preaching against addiction.

Preach for people, for healing, for recovery, for grace, for mercy, for love. 

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Jesus Did Not Confront Adulterous Men and Women Because???

In the story presented a few days ago about the woman caught in adultery was used to indicate that Jesus, unlike many of us, did not teach that believers should verbally point out moral failures.  As a result, he did not confront the woman.

Nor did he directly confront the men involved in the adultery. In fact, those men were not mentioned but indeed, if she was guilty as charged, must have been involved with at least one male. (In those days no one was confused about sex and gender roles.)

What was the situation Jesus faced? It can be called, "The Devil's Predicament". It is the way the tempter often appears when we are interacting with a friend or acquaintance that has a difference of opinion, especially about moral choices.

If we are busily building a solid relationship of trust based on mercy and grace, we know that Uncle Screwtape will get mighty nervous. Screwtape gets nervous anytime one of his disciples becomes friends with a true believer. At that point he will go to work to divert our attention from grace to jump on the morality bandwagon.

It is almost impossible for a nice, gentle, pious believer to resist one kind of temptation. It is not just pretty women or strong drink that diverts our attention away from Kingdom activities, it is the need to call balls and strikes when we smell the awful sulfurous stench of SIN!

So, Jesus was in the middle of carrying out Kingdom business when Screwtape saw it on streaming video. He quickly sent a text to Wormwood for an immediate intervention.

Dear Nephew, you must intervene. Jesus is teaching and gaining converts. Stop him now.

Dear Uncle. How?

Dear Nephew. Don't ask stupid questions. Have you completely forgotten "The Favorite Predicament" of our Master? Find a legal scholar to ask an embarrassing question and divert him from the Kingdom.

Dear Uncle. I apologize. I know just the people to bring over and confront Jesus. He will not get out of this one. No one can resist the one about judging sin!

See John 8 for the full story. (But with Screwtape and Wormwood hidden from view.)

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