LEADING WITH LOVE

January 4, 2019 By revheff in Leadership Tags: Books, Hospitality 1 Comment

An Excellent Resource for Peacemaking Leaders of All Kinds

Nazareth Shepherd

In a recent conversation with church leaders, we wrestled with some of the challenges associated with shepherding the people in our churches.

I suggested that this year we might read and discuss A Christian Leader’s Guide to Leading with Love by Alexander Strauch.

Of all the books on leadership I’ve worked through in my years as a peacemaking pastor, few have made a greater impact on me than this one. The publisher bills the text this way:

This book provides leaders and teachers a clear understanding of what the Bible teaches about love. This understanding is essential to you as an individual leader and to the church as a whole. It will significantly improve your relational skills, enhance your effectiveness in ministry, diminish senseless conflict and division, build a healthier church, and promote evangelism. If you lead or teach people in any capacity in the body of Christ, this book will help you become a more loving leader or teacher.

Strauch accomplishes those aims by working through the details of the Bible’s great love chapter–1 Corinthians 13–in parts one and two. Part three focuses on The Works of a Loving Leader.

These include practices like Caring for People’s Needs, Laboring in Prayer, Protecting and Reproving Loved Ones, Disciplining and Restoring the Wayward, Managing Conflict a “More Excellent Way,” and Practicing Hospitality.

Regarding hospitality for example, Strauch argues from Romans 12:10–“Love one another with brotherly affection”–that leaders must create loving community by bringing others into our homes.

Brotherly love entails knowing one another and sharing life together. Unless we open the doors of our homes to one another, the reality of the local church as a close-knit family of loving brothers and sisters is just one more empty religious theory. It is impossible to know or grow close to our brothers and sisters by meeting for an hour a week with a large group in a church sanctuary. It is through the ministry of hospitality that we provide the fellowship and care that nurtures true brotherly and sisterly love (100).

For an illustration of the effect produced by practicing hospitality, Strauch cites research conducted by a news reporter measuring church friendliness.

Each visit resulted in a rating based upon a point system. Greeters at the door–two points. Welcome form letter from the pastor–three points. Coffee hour–five points. Warm greeting from individuals–ten points. Personal invitations to dinner?” SIXTY POINTS!

Such is the power of hospitality.

If you lead others in your church in any capacity–but especially as a pastor–I urge you to include Leading with Love on your 2019 reading list.

Question: When have you been loved well by a leader practicing hospitality?

IS YOUR CHURCH LOVING?

March 2, 2016 By revheff in Ecclesiology Tags: excellence, Hospitality, unity Leave a comment

How To Help Your Church Abound in Love

I certainly hope so. It should be. Jesus declared love the distinguishing mark by which all others would know that we are His disciples (John 13:35).

love one another 2

But here’s the deal. Paul prays in Phil. 1:9 that their church’s love may abound more and more. He exhorted another church very much the same way:

⁹Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, ¹⁰for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more (1 Thess. 4:9-10, emphasis added).

It seems we can’t afford to rest on our laurels when it comes to the degree of love operational in our congregations.

Here are seven ways you can potentially affect the abounding of love in your church so as to ensure its peace and unity:

Admit to the Lord any failures on this front, believe the gospel again, and determine to obey in His strength in the future.
Embrace the commandment to excel in love as just that–marching orders from Jesus. We can’t treat this virtue as optional. Also, regard it as the A-priority responsibility it is. Why else would Peter write: Above all, keep loving one another earnestly (1 Pet. 4:8, emphasis added).
Never assume you have arrived on this front. The Bible doesn’t make room for complacency in our love performance. Ask the Lord to help you push the edge of envelope in ways you haven’t done so before.
Make it a habit to do loving things. Build your love muscles by practicing kindness. Alexander Strauch calls kindness love with work clothes on. Write notes. Give gifts (even little ones). Make a phone call. Buy someone lunch. Drop by for a visit (ask first).
Practice hospitality. Texts teaching about love often include the exhortation to open our home to others. For example, Paul exhorts, Let love be genuine in Rom. 12:9. Then in v. 13 he adds, Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
We find another example of this combo in Heb. 13:1-2. One commands, Let brotherly love continue. Then v. 2 quickly follows with, Do not neglect to show hospitality. Few things say love more persuasively than sharing a meal with others around your table.
Pray for one another in your church to grow in love for one another. Last Sunday we studied that text in Philippians (1:9) where Paul prays for their love to abound. So this week I am praying through our member/attender list for each household for the same thing. Your church has such a list, doesn’t it?
Finally, and most importantly, meditate often on the love of God for you in Christ Jesus. I think Paul prays in Eph. 3:18-19 the way he does for this very reason. He knows if we can even remotely comprehend the breadth, length, height, and depth of Jesus’ love for us, it cannot help but overflow through us to refresh others.

Churches that love well in Jesus advertise well for Jesus. And members who abound in love are the kind of members who excel in helping preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace in their churches. Go for it!

Question: What’s one thing you want to do this week to push your love for others towards an abounding level? You can leave a comment here.

How Gospel Grace Can Shape Our Grand Opening

July 5, 2012 By revheff in New Building Tags: grand opening, Hospitality, New Building, outreach, service 1 Comment

After four soft-launch Sundays, Grand Opening Sunday at OGC’s new facility has finally arrived. Thanks to everyone who has worked so hard to move us in and make us functional in this terrific resource the Lord has entrusted to us.

Here are some thoughts on how the gospel of Jesus who gave His life for us to redeem us from sin and the curse of the law can shape us in continuing to prepare for and engage in this historic day in the life of our church.

First, it can shape the way we reach out to those where we live work and play. I have a colleague in ministry who regularly reminds his folks of the three I’s – Intercede, Invest, and Invite. We will never have another opportunity quite like this one to invite unchurched people to a service. We still have some printed invitations available if you would like to come by the church and grab some. If you can only come after hours, let us know and we will leave some out for under the covered walkway.

Second, it can shape where we park and where we sit on Sunday. In our efforts to reach others, we may well have a full house on Sunday. To make room for the additional cars we have secured the use of the vacant lot to the south of our property. Please consider parking there or in other spots on the grass around the periphery to ensure plenty of spaces for our guests. Also, seating in the auditorium may be tough to come by. We will have the overflow sections (W1 & W5) set up. Please consider starting in one of those rooms to allow space for newcomers. Also, in the auditorium the back tends to fill up first. Consider coming to the front and filling in the rows to leave the outer seats available.

Third, it can shape they way we engage on Sunday. Rarely does anyone like visiting a church and going away without a warm greeting. Let’s look first for those we don’t know to talk with and save our familiar friends for later. May we follow that pattern in the reception hour after the service too. Let’s be ready to ask folks if they have any questions as they move around the building checking things out. Let’s put out the most hospitable welcome mat we can.

Fourth, it can shape the way finish up things on Saturday. Yes, that means another work party. We need to do some key things on the exterior in order to look a bit less like a jungle and more like a cultivated garden. I am concerned for this not only because of this Sunday, but also for the sake of our guests who will attend the Mitchell/Welsh wedding on the 13th. The fun starts at 8:30 AM. Please bring the standard lawn equipment (labeled with your name – rakes, weed pullers, wheel barrows, etc.) This is a great opportunity for anyone who has yet to pitch in on the new property to put in some volunteer hours as part of the body.

Why do I couch these things in terms of the gospel? Because reaching out to others in all these ways, our mission as a church, must stem from the fact that Jesus sought us out and bought us to make us His own. That is the only motivation that will sustain through any ministry effort.

May we all pray fervently that God in His grace will show up on Sunday with power and glory so that some indeed will bow the knee to King Jesus and know the all-satisfying joy of knowing Him!