Epistle for November 2, 2001
Posted by: ccfmo <ccfmo@...>
(Weekly ministry letter (successor to "The Whetstone" from Christian Civic Foundation)
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Dr. Curt Scarborough, President November 2, 2001
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In this issue:
Sermon: Acts 15:28
Bible Study: Matthew 6:25-34
"Stress and Burnout"
MERE Bible study
"It Seemed Good to the Holy Spirit and to Us"
A few years ago, the St. Louis Football Cardinals flew south to Phoenix. Millions of dollars later, the Rams have trekked over the Rocky Mountains to fill the void in our football fans' hearts . . . and in our empty, new stadium.
Football, perhaps as much as any other sport, illustrates the Biblical principle of submission. The word, of course, comes from Latin words combining the ideas "to put" and "under." However, I'd like to suggest that submission also implies accepting an assignment which is a small part of the larger mission . . . a "sub-mission."
Football players illustrate this idea of sub-mission. Each man has an assignment for every offensive play. Often the coach on the sidelines calls the play and the quarterback relays it to the team in the huddle. When they break to go to the line of scrimmage, the center knows whether he's pass-blocking or opening a hole for the running back. The guards and tackles also know their assignments.
The tight end and wide receivers know whether they're blocking, decoying, or running a pattern to catch a pass. The quarterback barks the snap count, knowing whether he's scrambling, handing off, or passing. And the running back carries out his assignment (his sub-mission) of running the ball, decoying, blocking, receiving, or even sometimes passing.
The point is: every man is submitted to carrying out his assignment, according to the play called by the coach and/or quarterback. These linemen, receivers, and running backs are not sissy wimps being bossed around by some guy who thinks he's Napoleon! They are functioning as a team, according to their abilities and training . . . in the proper place, at the proper time, doing the proper task.
If each man carries out his assignment correctly, the play results in a touchdown, or at least in gained yardage. Each submits to authority within the over-all structure of the head coach's game plan. Some tasks are more glamorous than others. But it is essential that each of the eleven men on the team does his part according to the coach's X's and O's. Any Lone Ranger who runs around doing his own thing soon finds himself cut from the squad, carrying his suitcase toward the nearest bus station.
Christian ministers and churches could learn
some vital lessons from this football team analogy.
Consider my text, Acts 15:28. "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us." Pastors and churches, the order of submission is absoutely essential. First, it seemed good to the Holy Spirit. Second, it seemed good to us.
The history of the churches at Jerusalem and Antioch, and of their ministers Barnabas, Saul, Simeon, Lucius, Manaen, and even John Mark, clearly illustrates the Biblical principle of submission.
Barnabas is named as one to the original leaders of the Jerusalem church. Alone, he had trusted and sponsored into the church fellowship their former deadly enemy, Saul.
In Acts 11, believers were scattered throughout the world following Stephen's martydom and subsequent persecution. Some Christians fled to Antioch, where their evangelistic outreach produced a great number of new converts to the gospel.
News of the Antioch church's existence came to the Jerusalem church. Barnabas was sent to investigate. He saw God's grace at work there, and he encouraged them to continue. Many more people were added, so Baranabas brought Saul from Tarsus to serve as co-pastor of the Antioch church.
After a year's ministry, the Antioch elders sent a special relief offering by Barnabas and Saul back to the famine-ravaged church at Jerusalem. Following their mission, they returned to Antioch, bringing with them John Mark, nephew of Barnabas.
The Antioch church continued to grow. Soon (Acts 13:1-5) the congregation was led and served by a team of five prophets and teachers, in addition to the "intern" John Mark. This pastoral team included Barnabas (apparently still the senior pastor), Simeon, Lucius, Manaen, and Saul.
"As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, 'now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." Acts 13: 4, 5.
So it was that Barnabas and Saul launched their first missionary journey, accompained by John Mark, Acts 13: 4, 5. Note that they were "called out" and "sent out" by the Holy Spirit. The initiative was entirely God's; not the minister's, and not the church's.
Barnabas and Saul . . . and all the other Antioch Christians . . . were under submission to the Holy Spirit. They responded immediately and graciously to the Spirit's call to His "sub-mission."
Contrast the reaction of the Antioch church with some fairly typical reactions we hear today when a minister announces his resignation to accept another place of service. Things haven't changed much since 26 years ago when I resigned my position on a local church staff to come to the Christian Civic Foundation. I heard these four attitudes expressed. Three are improper and unworthy; the last one is proper and worthy.
1. "YOU DON'T LOVE US ANYMORE!" Some folks feel as rejected as an unloved spouse,
deserted for a younger more attractive person. Their response is: since you don't love
us anymore, we hate you too!
Barnabas and Saul's leaving didn't mean their love had died. In fact, I'm sure they loved
them more than ever before. Humanly speaking, they hated leaving their friends in
Antioch, but they were submissive to God.
2. "WHY ARE YOU LEAVING THE MINISTRY?" Some folks think God-called ministry
includes only senior pastors and foreign missionaries. Their idea of a legitimate
"call" stops where they draw the line . . . "our kind of ministry activity; our little
boxed-in vision." So, when a minister leaves their small-minded definition of
God-called ministry, that "deserter" is judged to be a backslider, out of God's will.
Barnabas and Saul no longer functioned as settled pastors of a local congregation;
rather they worked as itinerant evangelists and church planters. But they hadn't
"left the ministry" . . . just submitted to the Holy Spirit's prompting to minister in a
different way in a different place.
3. "EVERYONE NEEDS TO BETTER HIMSELF AND HIS FAMILY; HOW MUCH MORE MONEY
WILL YOU BE MAKING?" Some folks operate entirely with a human mind-set, making
their decisions strictly on the basis of wordly wisdom. They read into the actions of
others those motives which would prompt themselves. Or, they judge a minister's move
as a step up the ladder of success, a promotion . . . proving that he's "materialistic."
4. "THE HOLY SPIRIT IS LEADING YOU; WE REJOICE!" Folks with this attitude are a
blessing and a joy. Barnabas and Saul were blessed by the Antioch Christians
who, with prayer and fasting, laid hands on them and commissioned them to go
out into the fields of service. That early church recognized Barnabas and Saul's
sub-mission to the Holy Spirit, and the church also submitted to God's will with
graciousness and love.
My prayer is that we ministers will take time to teach God's word and by example model the great principle of submission. Someday, each of us will be called to leave our present place of service for the Lord . . . either by Jesus' return, by death, by retirement, or by a call to another assignment. May we always be submissive, and may we carefully teach our people the true joy of "sub-mission."
Don't Worry About It!
(Matthew 6:25-34)
I. Concentration (Observations):
1. "Worry" translates a Greek word meaning "to divide into parts." It
suggests a distraction, a preoccupation with things . . . causing anxiety,
stress, and pressure.
2. The word "worry" is used 5 times in this passage (vv. 25, 27, 28, 31, 34).
3. This passage teaches that God is good, all the time! (Matthew 5:45)
4. It also teaches that spiritual things must have priority over physical ones.
II. Meditation: Christians should not worry because . . .
1. Worry is not necessary (26, 28-30).
2. Worry is not productive (27).
3. Worry is not having faith in God (30).
4. Worry is not Christian, but pagan (32).
"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God,
believe also in Me." (John 14:1)
III. Revelation:
1. Rather than worry, we should seek God's kindgom rule first, (33).
2. Rathen than worry, we shold seek God's righteousness first, (33).
3. When we prioritize spiritual things, God promises to take care
of all our physical needs. (Philippians 4:19)
4. Since worry is unnecessary, unproductive, "un-faithness," and
un-Christian, I need to eliminate it from my life.
IV. Applications: As a Christian, I need to . . .
1. Focus my attention upon God's kingdom . . . His rule and will in this
world and in my life. I must find, follow, and fulfill His destiny for me.
2. Commit myself to being in right relationship and fellowship with God
and with my fellow human beings.
3. Relax in secure faith, knowing that God cares and provides for me.
4. See that worry is a serious sin against God, because it sacrifices
today's peace and joy for tomorrow's troubles and dangers, (34).
"Stress and Burnout"
By Dr. Bruce Morrison
Burnout is no respecter of persons, occupations, gender, or age. It is a condition that we see around us every day, and maybe we ourselves border on the edge of burnout. What is burnout?
The authors of one of the first books on burnout (Edelwich and Brodaky) described burnout as an attitude of "a job is a job is a job." To them, burnout is when people get to the point of just putting in their time by barely going through the motions. Another psychologist and researcher of burnout, Christina Maslach, identified burnout as a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals who do "people work" of some kind. Dr. Hans Selye, and internationally recognized expert on stress management identifies a process where stress causes burnout which leads to depression.
Too much stress and burnout affect the whole person - physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Each of us is a potential target for burnout. The authors of How to Beat Burnout (Minirth, Hawkins, Meier, and Flournoy, 1986) discuss three areas of burnout.
The first is mental; the feelings of disillusionment of failure as a person or worker. Signs of anger, cynicism, negativism, or increased irritability spring up. Feeling of frustration, helplessness and hopelessness can lead to depression. The second area is physical; the physiological manifestations of backaches, neckaches, headaches, migraines, insomnia, loss of appetite (or the opposite), ulcers, high blood pressure, constant colds, digestive problems, etc. The third area is spiritual; a loss of perspective and a failure to recognize their personal limits. Often, the person slowly grows to feel that God is powerless and that they themselves are the only ones with the power to help in their current situation. Without realizing what they are doing, they refuse to rely on God's power to create change in their life. Their personal walk falters; no more quiet time, meditation, reading of God's word, etc. and this leads to a spiritual vacuum. A good tool for the pastoral counselor to use with a suspected burnout victim is the "Burnout Inventory" found on pages 37-38 of the above cited reference. The authors also have a "Checklist for Workaholic Burnout" (pages 70-73) of the same reference. Although the term "burnout" is not found in the Bible, there are many examples of people who lose two important elements from their life: strength and hope!
The Bible provides a prescription for restoring these elements back into our life. This account is not focused on an individual but rather on the nation of Israel and can be found in Isaiah 40. The first 26 verses direct your attention toward God, showing Him to be both powerful (the Creator) and caring (the Shepherd). In verse 27, Isaiah lovingly confronts the people of Israel the nation as an individual suffering from attitudes (isolation and unjustice) generally present in what we now call burnout. In verses 28-31, Isaiah presents the solution to burnout. It starts with a basic reminder (v. 28), it is marked by the character of a gift (v. 29), and it is experienced by those who wait on the Lord (v. 31).
The authors do a marvelous job of outlining the causes of burnout, they give case studies, and they lead you through a Christ-centered way of dealing with burnout. You will find the following references to be of great assistance in understanding and dealing with burnout and stress in your pastoral counseling ministry. Before Burnout: Balanced Living for Busy People by Frank Minirth, Don Hawkins, Paul Meier, and Chris Thurman, Moody Press, Chicago, 1999 and How to Beat Burnout, Moody Press, Chicago, 1986.
Mere Bible Study
Dear Co-laborer with the Lord,
Do you spend at least 10 hours each week in private devotions?
Not in sermon preparation . . . not in studying to teach a Bible class . . . not in planning to lead a seminar or workshop . . . not in outlining an agenda for a committee meeting!
I mean, do you spend this much intimate time with the Lord: abiding and communing . . . reading the Bible and meditating . . . praying and listening . . . hearing and journaling?
A number of ministers have chosen to join me in the Spiritual Mentoring program of the Pillsbury Insitute of Applied Christianity. They have convenanted with me to engage in MERE Bible study, under my personal tutoring. Here's how this program works:
1. A minister enrolls in the Spiritual Mentoring track, agreeing to spend a
minimum of 10 hours a week in disciplined private devotions under
my guidance.
2. The goal is to develop personal and practical outlines and notes on a
selected portion of Scripture; for example, many have chosen to focus
on the 260 chapters of the New Testament within a twelve month period.
The mentoring partner will write on at least five chapters each week,
selecting a few verses in each chapter and using a suggested simple outline.
3. Every four to six weeks, the mentoring partner will meet with me to review
the work, to compare spiritual insights, to discuss revealed truths, and to
sharpen each other's ministry skills (Romans 1:11-12).
4. At the end of one year, the mentoring partner in this example will have
produced a 260-page personal and practical devotional commentary on the
New Testament to use in his preaching and teaching, to publish as a book, to
perserve and pass along to his family, and to serve as a resource for mentoring
others.
If you are interested in hearing more about this program, contact me today!
Blessings upon you!
Curt Scarborough, Ph.D.
President
Pastor:
As you lead your church in planning the annual budget for 2002, please remember to include an amount in your "missions allocations" for CCF. Just a small amount per month to this work would be a tremendous help to our mission of "Christian character building and lifeskill development for successful living" . . . in the public sector (schools and communities) as well as in the Christian community (churches and homes). If "e-pistle2equippers" has been a blessing to you, perhaps you, in turn, could be a channel of blessing to us . . . just as Paul encouraged the church in Rome toward giving and receiving mutual support and encouragement, Romans 1:11-12.
Blessings! Curt