Tag Archives: maturing in the faith

On Being a Bondservant of Christ (Pt. 5)

Part Five

“Good Reputation a Qualification of Leaders”

When talking about being a “bondservant” of Christ, we have to take the Word of God and rightly divide it to come to the correct teaching about what it means to be a true bondservant.  Should we be concerned about our reputations?  Evidently so, because when Paul was instructing Timothy about the qualifications for a leader in the church, he said in 1 Timothy 3:7 AMP “Furthermore, he must have a good reputation and be well thought of by those outside [the church]…”  The entire chapter of 1 Timothy 3 instructs those who are leaders in varying capacities to be mindful of their behavior so that they will represent Christ Jesus in an honorable way.  The Bible even says that your children must behave well – Lord have mercy!

Have you ever seen the driver of a car with a religious bumper sticker exhibiting bad driving manners?  This example sounds a little foolish, but it’s true that those who are not Christians are always watching because they know a Christian is theoretically expected to be ‘Christ-like’.  Then, when they aren’t – it brings reproach not only on the person exhibiting the bad behavior, but also on Christ Jesus himself.  “Well, if that’s the way a Christian acts, I want no part of that. What a hypocrite!”  And that goes double if the person is the known leader of a Church.

Does being a bondservant of Christ mean that you will never behave badly, or that your flesh will never show up and show out, as they say?  Does it mean that we will never sin?

Does being a leader in the Body of Christ demand that all people everywhere think well of you?

I sure hope not – for if it does, I am completely undone.

But getting back to leaders:  Several of the Disciples of Christ described themselves as bondservants in the Bible.  Beginning as Disciples, and then later on, as Apostles – all of them were bondservants.   In the leadership of the Church as described in Ephesians 4:11,12 God gave Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry and to build up the Church.  Other leadership offices mentioned in the Bible were Deacon, Bishop and Elder.

For those who lead in the Church, a good reputation is a requirement.  But in our next conversation, we’ll balance the letter of the ‘law’ with the spiritual principles of  mercy, grace and love, remembering that Satan is the ‘accuser’ of the brethren.  We’re not going to excuse sin, but we will talk about how God’s chosen leaders struggled with their flesh.

And I promise you we will get to the topic of Christ making Himself of no reputation.

We will come back to this series “On Being a Bondservant of Christ” after this coming week’s program with Philip Cameron.  Be sure to tune in for a heart-stirring time with us on the show.

On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 1
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 2
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 3
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 4
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 6
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 7
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 8
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 9
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 10

Ghetto Christianity

There’s a phenomenon in the inner city called the “ghetto mentality”.  I learned a lot about the way people in the ghetto think when I was in Master’s Commission in the inner city in Phoenix.  This mentality encompasses many things, but for the sake of this blog, we’ll focus on anyone who tries to better him/herself.

In the ghetto, the thinking is largely that one will never improve his or her circumstances, and anyone who tries will be belittled and intimidated until they give up the dream of ever achieving anything or becoming anything else.   “Who do you think you are – you think you’re better than us?”  Keeping the proper order is important in the ghetto.  If you upset the rank, then others will be forced to take a hard look at themselves and the excuses they have adopted for not even trying. 

It’s even worse than that.  In the ghetto, people assign importance to learning how to “get over” on the system and therefore, knowing how to get what they want without any effort.  Those who work are ridiculed.  Why work when you can learn how to get free handouts, i.e. entitlements.  This mentality spills over into every part of life and it becomes a very cynical, shallow  and dishonest way of dealing with life.  It takes a miracle to break out of such an existence, so many have learned what they believe is how to be “happy” within it.

You will often hear me say on the show “don’t be a victim!”  That may sound like such an overly simplistic thing to say to some people.  But having learned from those in the ghetto the mentality of always blaming something else for your circumstances or situation in life, it’s a commonly held belief that needs to be torn down.

Even in the inner city, there are ways to help yourself and to dig out of those circumstances if you put your mind to it – which often entails hard work and preparation!  One thing is for sure, if you do nothing and blame everything and everyone else for your station in life, you have NO chance of ever changing it!

And so it is in the church.

In many ways, those who try to be anything other than a nominal Christian are often ridiculed.  Their mentality is to let others do their studying, praying and spiritual warfare for them.  Then when the events or circumstances of life turn out badly, they are angry, unprepared and can’t muster the faith they need to overcome.    

Jim says he learned the same lesson from Billy Graham many years ago.  It went something like this; if you stick your head up above the crowd, you’re going to get the tomatoes!

It’s time for the church to rise above the ghetto mentality.  It’s time for the church to pay attention to those who are telling them to prepare and be ready.  It’s time for the church to work together to help one another.  It’s time to encourage one another to rise above the “happy church” mentality and to get ready for difficult times that are surely coming.  We can’t depend on the government to do it for us.  The church should be prepared to help ourselves and others.

Pay no attention to those who ridicule you for being prepared.  Learn to dodge the rotten tomatoes!

It’s time to break out of the “ghetto mentality” within our ranks!

Love,

Lori