CDM Archive

Discipleship Ministries of the PCA

Seniors

Human Resources

by

By Lee Taylor. Godly men and women are complex resources. They are definitely underutilized! But we must be careful with that term or we quickly buy into the prevailing world view. The secular world considers people as meaningful only for their usefulness, their utility (as in under-utilized). People become inter-changeable commodities designed to fit rigid job-descriptions. It is the task and the vacant job slot that is important. Any old body will do, just so they have willing hands.

These job slots are all too often created without regard for the people available to fill them, both in industry and in the church. The church can become an assembly line for nursery attendants, Sunday school teachers, choir members … and pew sitters. Moreover, these assembly line positions can be set up based on the visions of only a few. Where is the best thinking of the best minds in the congregation?

Godly lay people have minds.

Once a church staff personwas trying valiantly to bring in guest speakers for a series of talks on the LausanneCovenant. That city had a wealth of theologians who could have handled the topics. But they were all busy. With deadlines around the corner, this staff person expressed frustration to a lay person. “What in the world can I do?”

“Is that rhetorical question, or are you really asking for an answer?” came the cautious reply.

With a startled look the staff person indicated she would, in fact, be open to suggestions.

“Well, why don’t you approach the lessons from the point of view of the heart, instead of the head. Get someone who has met Christ in a unique way to talk about the awesome uniqueness of Jesus Christ.”

It worked and became a dynamic series of lessons. The first speaker was a black pastor from the inner-city who told how he first met his Savior. Drunk and angry at a man, he broke down the man’s front door to kill him. With murder in his heart, he crashed a prayer meeting! After trying to run away, he later let those praying women be used by the Holy Spirit to introduce him to Jesus Christ that same night! He knows just how special Christ is! Yes, godly lay people are resources for ideas.

They are also good resources in crises.

In a series of tragic events, a deacon ran off with the organist’s wife and with a good chunk of the building fund. Construction had begun, but the building was a long way from being “under roof.” With no funds to continue, that church ran the risk of losing its investment through months of water damage until fresh funds could be raised.

Enter a godly man, a stranger to town. He was both an architect and an engineer, brought to that town to build a factory for a multi-national company. But was that really a transfer from the Lord? He put that church under roof with minimal cost and the congregation had time to heal its deep wounds, worshipping in half-finished, but useable quarters for the next year or two.

This crisis had been faced numerous times by that engineer. While serious, it was not the overwhelming disaster that it seemed to the congregation. While the leaders of that church might have huddled for months debating, he had things moving in no time.

Godly lay people have problem-solving skills.

One church has been helping one inner-city parachurch ministry with its heating bill. That is a worthwhile thing to have done. But now we have a new resource.

The Lord has brought a couple who have joint business ventures. One of their businesses is the installation of special storm windows that are very inexpensive, easily installed and seal the building tight. Presto! Heating problem solved, not for one winter, but for years.

Now what shall we do with the money that used to go toward heating? Somehow, I don’t think there will be a problem answering that question!

Godly lay people have a unique vision of God and His works.

Is the coming week’s sermon on a text that references the building trade? Visit a church member on a construction site. It may shed some interesting light on the passage.

I recently heard a pastor try to explain how the Holy Spirit is the “earnest” money of our inheritance. It would have helped to have had a chat with someone in investments before he preached the sermon.

Suppose it is a healing miracle of Christ, a lame man, for example. What might an orthopedic surgeon say about that story? How would he see the God of the universe dealing with one lame man on a mat by the pool?

Godly lay people bring rich and diverse backgrounds to bear on the life of the congregation.

Many of us from white backgrounds struggle with dualism. Church, Sunday, the Bible and faith are always separate from jobs, cars, risk and reason. Not so with black Americans. They find our struggles with this split a bit juvenile in spiritual terms. But they are usually politely silent, until we ask. Then the least sophisticated black member of our congregation can be far ahead of our best theologians.

God’s people are richly endowed by their Creator with both “natural” and “spiritual” gifts. They are rich resources. They are not just pairs of hands and feet. .Sometimes they come in strange and unexpected packages. Sometimes their skills may not seem to fit the current definition of the congregation’s direction.

Then why has God sent them our way? That is a question well worth asking. It is much easier just to plug them like pegs into predefined holes. It is easier to utilize them like inter-changeable machine-tooled parts. But what might we be missing of the riches God pours out on us as a congregation?

Taking Prayer Requests Seriously

by

By Frank Barker. People frequently make prayer requests of us. So many, in fact, that we tend not to take them as seriously as we should. I think of some requests I received recently:

…a mother asking that I pray for her wayward son

… a missionary, for the Gospel to penetrate his area

… a minister’s wife, for her discouraged husband

… a grandfather, for his seriously ill Granddaughter

… a wife, for her marriage

When Jesus Made a Prayer Request

Matthew tells us of an occasion when Jesus made a prayer request. At Gethsemane He said to Peter, James and John, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here and watch with me” (Matthew 26:38). R.C. Trench says Jesus uses a remarkable word that points to an unfathomable depth of anguish. Mark’s term is that he was “sore amazed.” He wanted human comfort, companionship. His hand, in the darkness, gropes for the hand of a friend. He asked that they pray for Him.

He then made a request of the Father: “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (vs. 39). What is the cup of which He is speaking? Hugh Martin in his classic, The Shadow of Calvary, writes:

That curse of God, from which he came to redeem his elect people-the penal desertion on the cross-–the withdrawal of all comfortable views and influences-and the present consciousness of the anger of God against him as the surety, substitute … these were the elements mingled in the cup … which was now to be put into his hands: and the prospect caused him deadly sorrow! Christ is disappointed in His disciples’ response.

“And He cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (vs. 40-41).

The flesh, human nature, is weak. He was experiencing the weakness of His own human nature and theirs was fallen. He says: “You need to watch and be constantly vigilant against anything that would trip you up. Be vigilant against slothfulness in prayer especially. Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation!”

A little later they defected! They were sleeping when they should have been praying. Meanwhile He has peace, having been strengthened in answer to prayer.

Prayer for Others is Crucial

From this story we can see that prayer for others is crucial. Jesus requested such prayer for Himself! Paul requested prayer for himself, “brethren, pray for us” (1 Thessalonians 5:25). James tells us to “Pray for one another” (5:16).

God, on occasion, leads in such prayer, laying burdens on our hearts that He would have us pray for and then giving unusual indication of its effectiveness. Oswald Sanders in his book, Prayer Power Unlimited, tells of Mrs. Ed Spahr being awakened at midnight burdened for missionary Jerry Rose in Dutch New Guinea working among stone-age culture people. She prayed and the next morning wrote a letter telling of it. Later it was learned that he received prayer letters from five prayer partners in five continents saying they prayed for him on that specific occasion. When the dateline and time span were adjusted, it was seen that they all prayed at the same time-the very time Jerry was standing with his arms tied behind his back and a “stone-age” savage was standing before him with a spear ready to pin him to the ground.

As five prayer partners on five continents prayed, another man in the tribe (there were no Christians at this time) spoke to the man and he walked away. As we can see, this was, in a sense, God requesting prayer from these five for Jerry Rose.

How Can We Encourage Taking Prayer Requests Seriously?

We can encourage it in others by giving opportunity for making such requests. On Saturday mornings we have a men’s prayer breakfast at our home. We distribute lists of things to pray for, but when we break up into smaller groups we tell the men to share with each other prayer requests. In a group you’ll say: “Bill, what can we pray for you?”

Bill responds,”I lost my job.”

“George, what about you?”

“Praise God! I got that contract you fellows prayed about!” George exclaims.

“Sam?”

Sam says,”My son is on drugs.”

Well, believe me, you pray for each other in such an environment, and you cry for each other, too.

At our early morning prayer meeting at the church, we spend the last fifteen minutes in small groups praying for each other. Some of our Sunday school classes do similarly. Many churches have telephone prayer chains to handle prayer requests.

To encourage yourself to take such prayer requests seriously, try the following. First, if possible, pray with the person right when the request is made whether over the phone or if the person is with you. Second, right then write the request down in your appointment book (I have a section in the back for such requests). Third, have time in your prayer schedule for praying about such things.

Something that has been helpful to me is to arrange my prayer time letting the different days form an acrostic. On Monday M stands for Ministers and Marriages; O for Other Evang

The Gift of Giving

by

By Calvin Miller. The wise men started it all, some say. Still, I like the way the Magi gave their gifts, for they presumably returned “to the East” without expecting Mary and Joseph to give them anything in return. Their gifts were meant for the baby Jesus, but there seemed to be no baby shower obligation in their giving. We never read that Luke wrote down the value of their gifts or entered them in the log of people to be thanked later. And we never hear that the kings were back home, feeling bad that no one ever came “from the West” to bring them presents.

Gifts are more blessed to give than to get, says the cliche’. But gifts are seldom given so freely that they don’t result in some bondage. Often at Christmas, gifts become a subtle power play, resulting in obligation. Such gifts may subtly say, “While my gift appears free, repay me in kind,” or “Enjoy this, Joe, but you owe me one now.”

A simple gift from a neighbor may say, “Just remember my generosity the next time I need to borrow you lawn mower.” The milkman’s gift may say, “I really need to keep your business, so don’t buy any eggnog from the Borden’s man this year . . . even though ours costs just a tad more.”

There are, in essence, only three kinds of gifts that one can give at Christmas: the gift-for-gift, the tit-for-tat gift and the genuine grace gift.

Gift-for-Gift

A gift-for-gift present is one that’s carefully measured against what the giver expects to receive in return. A gift-for-gift giver always keeps mental track: Now let’s see. The gift I’m giving cost me $13.95. I wonder what I’llget in return? This approach feeds cash registers all through December. It prompts the last-minute, Christmas Eve dash to the store to be sure some unexpected gift gets repaid in full. This syndrome also generates all those late Christmas cards. Some remote acquaintance surprises us on December 23 with a card that we can’t possible respond to until after Christmas.

Tit-for-Tat

The tit-for-tat gift isn’t motivated by a desire to receive a material gift in return. But the giver expects his present to smooth out some of the bumps of life. Such givers operate primarily in the arena of favors and obligation. At Christmas, bosses often lavish employees with gifts: liquor or expensive cheese-and-fruit wheels. They certainly don’t expect their employees to repay in kind, but they do expect less back talk in the office, at least through March. Their gift says, “Don’t forget what I did for you in December, Buddy-Boy!”

Grace Gifts

The best gift to give or receive is what I call the grace gift. I’ve picked this name because these gifts remind me of the lavish ways that I have received the love of God. Biblical grace, by definition, is a gift so immense, it is unrepayable. When you give or receive a grace gift, you are suddenly in the presence of something too immense to be repaid.

When he was only ten, my son Timothy knew my penchant for collecting Don Quixotes of every size and shape. He and his eleven-year-old sister were shopping when they found a huge unpainted Don Quixote in a plaster shop at an amazingly affordable price. He bought it and lugged it all through the mall.

He wrapped it as well as he could and put it under the tree. In a separate little package, he wrapped the paint and brushes. On Christmas morning, he opened the package and gave it to me. I was delighted. For the next two or three days, Timothy painted the monstrous statuette of Don Quixote charging into life astride his cart-horse steed. As long as I live, I will never forget that wondrous Christmas morning. His art project still stands on our hearth.

The uniqueness of his gift-and all grace gifts-indicates that the giver knows you very well and has put much thought and heart into the giving. You know when you are giving a grace gift, because your heart is saying, “Here I meet you at the place I know you best. You yourself are your gift to me. Nothing else is needed.”

Giving With Grace

Let me suggest two ways to give a grace gift.

First, be sure it’s impossible to measure the cost of your gift. My daughter’s Italian mother-in-law has taught her to cook authentic Italian foods. So when my daughter wants to please me most, she fills a bowl with meatballs swimming in her marvelous marinara sauce, and I am content through long winters. When the snow flies, one of her warm Italian sausage sandwiches says, “Dad, you are so special to me.”

Her love produces warm grace gifts from her pantry to which I could never attach a price tag. I know it cost her something to make these dishes, but their real value is the way they show she loves and understands me.

Second, realize that non-material gifts are the best way to say, “Don’t try to pay me back.” There are three types of non-material gifts.

One is what I like to call the koinonia or “togetherness” gift. Four years ago, my son was in the Green Berets and didn’t have the money to come home for Christmas. My wife and I could scrape together his air fare only if we didn’t buy each other material gifts. In the end, we decided our son’s airplane ticket was the grandest gift we could give. His fellowship was our present to each other.

Second is the leitourgia or “service” gift.

One of our young pastors who has a large family wanted to give us a Christmas gift. While we were away, he came to our house and spent several hours polishing all our shoes. December is a busy month and shoes get scruffy from lack of attention. He had given us real “foot-washing” kind of gift.

The third and most wondrous grace gift falls under the category of “spiritual gifts.”

One friend promised to pray for me all through the Christmas season. Another friend who knows I am fond of Shakespeare gave me a book of Shakespearean quotes from his personal library. Still another friend loaned me his favorite Christmas record for two weeks.

All of these gifts came with the assurance that Christ had prompted the gift and that it was given through Christ on the basis of our friendship. It was marvelous to see the Savior so involved in gifts that were not purchased, but given in the highest name of friendship.

I have most enjoyed giving spiritual gifts at Christmas. One of our older church members is like a mother to me. I could give her a material gift, or I could give her what she really enjoys. I take her to dinner, then we go back to her apartment and sit and talk and share in Scripture and prayer. No ribbons are taken from any package, but it is the greatest gift I could give her.

Just the other day, my daughter said, “Dad, let’s not give each other presents this year, Let’s just eat together as often as we can throughout December. I want to make December the month of our togetherness and the season when we hold the treasure of each other and not mere material things.”

I knew what she meant. So we are committed this year. These December days will be grace gifts. They cannot be paid back, for they are one-time offerings from four people who understand and need one another.

Did the wise men’s lavish gifts expect repayment? I think not. They gave and left Bethlehem with a glow in their hearts. Mary and Joseph understood: The gift was theirs. I cannot say what was in the hearts of the Magi as they made their way back across the desert, but I think their sentiment must have been what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 9:15: “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

What Does It Mean To Follow Jesus?

by

When I was fifteen years old, I had a life changing experience. However, I’m not sure exactly what happened. Billy Graham came to town. It was one of those early crusades. He and his team were in St. Louis for about three weeks. Good thing for me. It was a week or more before I was willing to attend with my family. That was the first time I ever remember hearing the Gospel.

I grew up in the church. I didn’t like it, but I went, at least to Sunday school. But I was a trouble-maker. One teacher thought I was retarded. I may be the only kid in history to flunk Sunday school. My friend and I needed to be separated. We fought too much.

I joined the church. There were weeks of classes children had to attend. I learned the Beatitudes and the Ten Commandments. We learned the Lord’s Prayer. The pastor made a big thing out of that because he wanted us to say “which” instead of “who.” Amazing…the little things we remember. But I have no recollection of ever hearing the Gospel.

There could be at least two reasons for that:

1. It wasn’t presented. Maybe some in the church didn’t believe it or, at least, didn’t clearly understand it. It’s also possible that those teachers and leaders (including the pastor) assumed we knew the Gospel. Don’t skip over this! You may be in a church committed to the Bible and have any number of people (children and adults) who don’t really understand what it means to believe in Jesus.

2. The Holy Spirit didn’t tune me in. Because I say I didn’t hear the Gospel does not necessarily mean it wasn’t presented. It may have been pre

Five Steps to Discipling Others

by

By Russ Korth. Discipleship always includes discipline. Both terms stem from the same root word. But people can be disciplined without being disciples. For example, they may faithfully complete Bible studies without allowing the Word to change their lives. But you, as a spiritual leader, must help people become disciples through their disciplines. Here are five steps to help you dis