Courage: A key to Church growth
“Leadership is not about the conference room or the boardroom; it is all about the battlefield. Leadership is always about verbs, action. It is not about the safety of ideas (as important as that might be), but about implementation and movement in the face of opposition. And that takes courage.”
— Crawford Loritts in Leadership As An Identity
“The descendants of Joseph responded, “It’s true that the hill country is not large enough for us. But all the Canaanites in the lowlands have iron chariots, both those in Beth-shan and its surrounding settlements and those in the valley of Jezreel. They are too strong for us.””
Joshua 17:16 NLT
I have been studying the book of Joshua which details the ancient Israelite community’s move into to present day Palestine and the stories of their journey. The Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt for much of the previous 450 years when, God told their leader Joshua (name literally means God saves) that He was literally taking the people of Israel into a land that is currently inhabited by many different peoples. I have struggled on so many levels to understand the violence and cruelty of the campaign, particularly in light of non-violent, others-First kingdom approach of Jesus, but that conflict is for a different discussion. My understanding of these events has been greatly aided by Theologian Greg Boyd’s work: “Crucifixion of a Warrior God’. I strongly recommend this for those of you are also struggling with this.
After the people of Israel, led by Joshua had conquered over 32 kings/kingdoms, they experienced peace and Joshua divided the new territory, that was promised by God, among the tribes of Israel (each tribe was the descendants of the sons of Jacob). The allotment of land was not equitable but based upon God’s favor, discerned through prophecy and discernment. Among the allotment, both tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (both actually grandsons of Jacob), received a disproportionately large inheritance. They are described in the text as the “sons of Joseph”.
In the text, we find that despite their large inheritance, it was not enough for them and they desired a larger territory. Joshua responded to their request by informing them that within the land that they were already allotted, there were lands to occupy that they have chosen not to use. Their response was to say in my paraphrase “Yeah, but those lands have people in it that we are afraid of”. Their implication was that we want more land in someone else’s allotment.
While, I am about to use Israel’s conquest of Canaan as a metaphor for the church in ministry, I want to clearly and unequivocally state the limitations of this metaphor. The Church is never called to conquer, kill, enslave, or in any way destroy the people it engages. Its goal is completely the opposite; The church is to promote the flourishing of the people it engages in a wholistic manner. Yet, the church is promised that God is with us as we make/develop devoted followers of Jesus and that nothing can stand in the way of its growth, in the same way that God promised Joshua that he would go with him and that no other kingdoms can stand against him when God is with him.
So, the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh recognize the need for more space and the divinely promised inheritance but are unwilling to use what they have been given, trusting God for success. This is the pattern that I have seen so many times in churches. They desire to grow and understand the divine promises of God for the Church, but they struggle. A couple of lessons from this text for Church leaders:
1. God calls Churches to see their entire community as their parish. Your congregation is a small part of your parish and your goal is the demonstrate the love of God in your parish in tangible ways.
2. God calls you to grow through engagement, not transfer. Some of the most dynamically growing churches are those who become “the hot church” and people begin to leave their smaller churches and transfer. While this is not a sin, it also does not increase the Kingdom. Kingdom growth is an apostolic phenomena that expresses the Kingdom of God in places where it is currently not appreciated. This means engaging aspects of your parish or community, they may be significantly dissimilar to you and your congregation.
3. God is calling your Church to take courage in engagement of your parish. In the United States, we are a cultural mess. Never in my life have I seen the degree of polarization in every aspect of our culture with an equally deepened ignorance of one another. The courage comes in getting to know those in your parish who are different than you and listening to their stories to gain understanding. In that listening process, you may find that people of our parish have been deeply wounded and misunderstood, often by peoples in your cultural and faith tradition, and that’s when the hard work of engagement and reconciliation occurs.
God, through Jesus, is telling his church:
“Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””
Matthew 28:18-20 NLT
To my fellow pastors: Take courage, the presence and authority of God is with you as you minister to your parish. Be strong and know that there are people who deeply desire to know God and are waiting for you and your church to demonstrate the gospel.
May God bless you!
Dr. M Traylor
— Crawford Loritts in Leadership As An Identity
“The descendants of Joseph responded, “It’s true that the hill country is not large enough for us. But all the Canaanites in the lowlands have iron chariots, both those in Beth-shan and its surrounding settlements and those in the valley of Jezreel. They are too strong for us.””
Joshua 17:16 NLT
I have been studying the book of Joshua which details the ancient Israelite community’s move into to present day Palestine and the stories of their journey. The Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt for much of the previous 450 years when, God told their leader Joshua (name literally means God saves) that He was literally taking the people of Israel into a land that is currently inhabited by many different peoples. I have struggled on so many levels to understand the violence and cruelty of the campaign, particularly in light of non-violent, others-First kingdom approach of Jesus, but that conflict is for a different discussion. My understanding of these events has been greatly aided by Theologian Greg Boyd’s work: “Crucifixion of a Warrior God’. I strongly recommend this for those of you are also struggling with this.
After the people of Israel, led by Joshua had conquered over 32 kings/kingdoms, they experienced peace and Joshua divided the new territory, that was promised by God, among the tribes of Israel (each tribe was the descendants of the sons of Jacob). The allotment of land was not equitable but based upon God’s favor, discerned through prophecy and discernment. Among the allotment, both tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (both actually grandsons of Jacob), received a disproportionately large inheritance. They are described in the text as the “sons of Joseph”.
In the text, we find that despite their large inheritance, it was not enough for them and they desired a larger territory. Joshua responded to their request by informing them that within the land that they were already allotted, there were lands to occupy that they have chosen not to use. Their response was to say in my paraphrase “Yeah, but those lands have people in it that we are afraid of”. Their implication was that we want more land in someone else’s allotment.
While, I am about to use Israel’s conquest of Canaan as a metaphor for the church in ministry, I want to clearly and unequivocally state the limitations of this metaphor. The Church is never called to conquer, kill, enslave, or in any way destroy the people it engages. Its goal is completely the opposite; The church is to promote the flourishing of the people it engages in a wholistic manner. Yet, the church is promised that God is with us as we make/develop devoted followers of Jesus and that nothing can stand in the way of its growth, in the same way that God promised Joshua that he would go with him and that no other kingdoms can stand against him when God is with him.
So, the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh recognize the need for more space and the divinely promised inheritance but are unwilling to use what they have been given, trusting God for success. This is the pattern that I have seen so many times in churches. They desire to grow and understand the divine promises of God for the Church, but they struggle. A couple of lessons from this text for Church leaders:
1. God calls Churches to see their entire community as their parish. Your congregation is a small part of your parish and your goal is the demonstrate the love of God in your parish in tangible ways.
2. God calls you to grow through engagement, not transfer. Some of the most dynamically growing churches are those who become “the hot church” and people begin to leave their smaller churches and transfer. While this is not a sin, it also does not increase the Kingdom. Kingdom growth is an apostolic phenomena that expresses the Kingdom of God in places where it is currently not appreciated. This means engaging aspects of your parish or community, they may be significantly dissimilar to you and your congregation.
3. God is calling your Church to take courage in engagement of your parish. In the United States, we are a cultural mess. Never in my life have I seen the degree of polarization in every aspect of our culture with an equally deepened ignorance of one another. The courage comes in getting to know those in your parish who are different than you and listening to their stories to gain understanding. In that listening process, you may find that people of our parish have been deeply wounded and misunderstood, often by peoples in your cultural and faith tradition, and that’s when the hard work of engagement and reconciliation occurs.
God, through Jesus, is telling his church:
“Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””
Matthew 28:18-20 NLT
To my fellow pastors: Take courage, the presence and authority of God is with you as you minister to your parish. Be strong and know that there are people who deeply desire to know God and are waiting for you and your church to demonstrate the gospel.
May God bless you!
Dr. M Traylor
That's a good word. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAmen!
ReplyDelete