Playing to Our Strengths

Playing to Our Strengths

I recently had the pleasure of coaching a baseball team with Matt and Amanda Richard.  It was quite the experience!  The league was made up of 3rd through 5th grade boys.  As if coaching that age group wasn’t challenging enough on it’s own…we were also coming off a year of no baseball, as last season was cancelled due to COVID.  So these kids were rusty.  Some of them had only ever hit the ball off a tee.  While I’m at it, let me lament once more…some of those boys had never played the game of baseball in their life.  Some of them had never been taught how to throw a ball, hold a bat, or run the bases.  And there we were, at our first practice, blown away by the work load we had just inherited.  Imagine a deflating balloon. That was us as we looked at our baseball team for the first time.  Now, don’t get me wrong, there were a few really strong players.  But they were very few!  We had just a few weeks to whip these boys into shape before the games started.  Coach Amanda was a much better coach than I was.  She saw a lot more potential than I did.  I was too focused on what they weren’t doing right while she focused more on their strengths. I was the pessimist; she was the optimist.  The first day of practice I had already figured we weren’t going to win a game this year.  There was just so much work to do.

Sure enough, we lost our first game, 8-12. Better than I thought it would be!  What really surprised me was how much better these kids did in a game setting than in practice.  They made a couple good plays.  Their bats were moving.  This was a good sign!  That was the most any team scored on us the rest of the season.  Sure, we went on to lose most of our games, but not all of them!  In fact, we won our first playoff game and ended up just barely losing to the number one team in the semi-finals.  As we took a knee after our last defeat, Coach Amanda encouraged the boys.  She pointed out all the areas of growth.  Never once did she focus on their weaknesses during that time.  She wanted them to know how encouraged she had been by their progress and she encouraged them to sign up for ball next year.

I could take a page or two out of Coach Amanda’s book.  Yes, for baseball.  But what would it look like if I applied that to parenting, too?  How about pastoring?  I was the guy that was too focused on the negative the entire season.  Do I do that at home?  Do I do that with the believers under my care?  Don’t get me wrong, corrections need to be made here and there, and we can’t shy away from that.  But why put all my focus there?  Why not celebrate the strengths more often? 

The last sermon I preached was from Eph. 1:15-19a.  In verses 15 and 16 Paul encourages the believers by explaining what he sees them doing well.  He commends them for their “faith in the Lord Jesus and [their] love toward all the saints”.  He’s thankful for what they are doing right!  These imperfect people were growing in faith and love, and that was enough for Paul to be thankful!  Of course, Paul desired more for them, as seen in the following verses.  He wanted them to grow in other areas, but He was most delighted in the evidences of their salvation.

Grandview, I am convicted.  I want to see your growth in the major things, not your faults in the minor things.  We can work on “minor” things together with time.  But I don’t want to see our church (or the individual members) for our shortcomings, as I did my baseball team.  I want to remember that some of you are seasoned players, and some of you have never been involved in church life before, but we are all here for the love of the game (or rather, our love for Christ).  I want to be encouraged by our faith in Christ and our love for each other.  I want to see us play hard together and rejoice in our (His) victories.  I want to see us all be encouraged by what we do well and not get caught up too much on the peripherals.  This is the heart of a team, right?  If we constantly badger (or even snub) each other over our failings, we lose a certain effectiveness as a team.  We can’t be cohesive.

Challenge me, Grandview, if I ever fall short here.  And I’m challenging YOU to take a page from Paul’s playbook and look past the imperfections to see the encouraging realities of faith and love.  Start there and work your way out.

--Pastor Joel

Good Stewards or Benchwarmers?

“As each has received a gift (charism), use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace…”

1 Peter 4:10

I feel the need to start this article off with a tremendous “THANK YOU”.  The Well Student Ministries, Awana, Sunday School, and Laker Life are coming to a close until the Fall.  We had incredible leaders and volunteers this year who stepped in, filled the gap, attended faithfully, and rolled with the punches.  I’ll be the first to admit…it was a weird year.  But we got through it as a team.  Thank you to all the volunteers who selflessly donated their time, gifts, and resources to making sure ministry happens for these students.  And don’t let me forget those who served this past year on Ministry Teams and Overseers.  You are all a blessing.

I want to throw this out there, though: This is not our collective time of rest.  As some of the more intensely time-consuming ministries wrap up, new ones may come up on our radar.  As I look through the ballot for our annual election, I am beyond excited to see that every Ministry Team has been filled!  We could use a couple more Overseers…but we’ll get there.  We were even able to add the Outreach/Strategic Opportunities Committee (or “Strat Ops”, as I like to call them).  Thank You, God!  These teams have a lot of work to do, and just because you might not be a part of the elected group, you can still offer your gift of service to them.  One big ask that I have is that everyone would honestly consider where they might be able to plug in and serve.

I know, I know.  Another plea for volunteers...  Well, I’ll make a deal with you – when we all start doing, I’ll stop asking.  This isn’t a plea specifically to those who already serve in various areas, but to the whole church.  In the verse above, Peter writes that each person (every one of you) has received a charism (a gift of God’s grace).  These gifts are varied (multi-faceted).  God designed it that way - for us to put our gifts together, complimenting one another. The word stewards should remind us that these gifts were given by the “household owner” (God) “for the purpose of managing his household”, as one author has put it.  He gave us these gifts not for our own benefit, but for using within the church.  There is no Christian who is not needed by the body of Christ; everyone plays a part.

Part of my job as a shepherd and teacher is to help equip you for that work (Eph. 4:11-12).  If you need help discovering where you fit in, or how to do the work you believe you are called to do…I want to help you.  It would be my joy.  You know where to find me.

I’m asking you to consider what joint or ligament you might be in the body of Christ, and I’m asking you to work.  Whether your gift involves your body, your mind, your experience, your resources, your time, your hospitality, your musical ability, your computer skills, or relational ministry…suit up!  Get off the bench!  You are valuable to this team…but not from the bench.  Let us be good stewards together… “that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.  To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.  Amen.”

Your Co-Laborer for the Sake of the Gospel

Pastor Joel

Under-Shepherds: Who They Are and How We Love Them

Let’s start with some definitions:

Under-Shepherd, Elder, Bishop, Overseer; they go by many names.  However, the office is the same.

The Greek word for “Overseer” is the same word used for Elders and Pastors.  So first things first; Overseers are essentially Pastors, perhaps without a seminary degree and/or ordination.  We see them used interchangeably many times in the New Testament.

Grandview’s Constitution defines our Overseers in this way: “men of the church who exhibit a Christlike life and set an example for others.  They shall show their commitment to this church through regular church attendance and involvement in ministry.”

The office of the Overseer is one of nobility (1 Tim. 3:1), and it is not filled out of compulsion, but willingly and voluntarily. (1 Peter 5:2)

The duties of the Overseers require them to devote much time to prayer and the study of God’s Word.  

They are the church’s sole authoritative interpreter of Scripture. (Titus 2)

They are the shepherds and caregivers of the church. (1 Peter 5:2)

They are the guardians of the church (Acts 20:28, Titus 1:9), protecting her from wolves and false teachers.

They are teachers of sound doctrine. (Titus 2)

They are the stewards of the church (Acts 20:28, Titus 1:7), whom God obtained with His own blood.

They keep watch over our souls. (Hebrews 13:17)

Overseers are to be above reproach and respectable. (1 Tim. 3:2)

If their lives are not characterized by the standards God has set forth in His Word, they must answer to Him. (1 Peter 5:4)

At times, they will undergo fiery trials (1 Peter 4:12), be accused by insubordinate members, empty talkers and deceivers (Titus 1:10), and they will be reviled.

Other times, they may be called out for real infractions and transgressions. But this should not happen in public. Bringing it before the entire church is Jesus’ last step in confronting sin (Matt. 18:15-17).

*Read through 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9, and 1 Peter 5:1-5 for more complete lists of Overseer qualifications.

Beyond what Overseers are called to do for us, maybe we can focus on what we can do for them. After all, if church life is all about what we get out of it, our focus is not where Christ desires.

We ought to consider how we can be helpful to the leaders of our church.

Here are some important, practical ways to love our Overseers.

1. Pray for them.  

We are blessed with the extraordinary gift of prayer.  In fact, prayer is a necessity to Christian living. “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing” .  Many times throughout the Scriptures, we see people praying for others.  Jesus models this practice in John 17:9. More to the point of this article, we see this practice as the church prays for the blessing of her selected leaders in Acts 6:6.  It is right and biblical to practice praying for one another. In fact, this is a way for us to show love. And aren’t we called to love each other?

When Jesus was asked what the greatest command is, he responded with not one, but two commands:  “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…soul…mind…strength…and you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31). What connects these two greatest commands is love. One love is a vertical love (for God), and the other is a horizontal love (for others).  However, we are able to show our vertical love by our horizontal love. Our love for God may be seen in our love for others. John says it well; “If anyone says ‘I love God’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen…whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:19-21).  Love the Overseers by practicing faithful prayer for them. They are your brothers in Christ.

2. Show them Respect.

In Paul’s Pastoral Epistle to Timothy, he declares that anyone seeking to fill the office of Overseer desires a noble task.  This almost feels like an understatement. Overseers at Grandview are responsible for the care of the church, oversight of spiritual issues, oversight of ministries, and oversight of finances; each with a surplus of addition responsibilities.  They devote countless hours each month to meetings, prayer, studying the Word, teaching, discipling, training, and caring for individual members in the church.

All of this voluntary work falls ON TOP of their full-time work and home lives. They take seriously the responsibilities of protecting the church from flawed doctrine and false teaching so that we would not be led astray.  They are instrumental in guarding our souls from the unquenchable fire. A noble task, indeed. God desires for His church to love and respect those appointed to lead it. He knows the weight of their duties. And He knows all too well the wanton flame of human nature to disregard authority (see Genesis 3 through Revelation 22!). He calls us to be submissive and to respect the authority He put in place.

3. Show them Grace.

Overseers are men.  Men are human. Humans aren’t perfect.  There will be times when you disagree with them.  And there will be times when they will be wrong. With all the responsibilities listed above, how can we expect them to get it right every time?  Think about where you are serving in the church (assuming you do serve in the church. It is what we are called to do). Are you put under that amount of pressure?  Do you fall under public scrutiny? Do you feel the weight of failing God and His church when you make a mistake? Do you feel a brokenness over failed ideas and wayward members? They do. I know this to be true because I am in the meetings, the text message groups, the emails, etc. Now I want you to answer this question: where is Christ in your life if you can’t show others grace?  This one cuts me to the core. Looking past the mistakes and into the heart of their intent is paramount.

Mercy is a subset of grace.  Both revolve around kindness and compassion, but mercy carries with it the idea of withholding punishment.  Jesus said “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matt. 5:7), implying that those who refuse to show mercy will not be shown mercy.  It’s similar to the concept of forgiveness. “If you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:15).   This is a serious priority in our faith community. It is a determining factor in a person’s eternal destination. We are to rightly exercise grace and forgiveness to our brothers and sisters, and that includes our Overseers. When you are free and clear of sin, you can cast the first stone. 

4. Bring them Joy.

My favorite verse involving those who have taken on the office of Overseer is actually about those that they oversee.  Hebrews 13:17 says “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.  Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you”. Obey, submit, and let them watch over us with joy!  What a selfless and loving act our Overseers carry out in keeping watch over us!  The least we can do for them is to not grieve them. It’s easier to carry out your duties when joy is involved.  You probably don’t perform well when someone is making life difficult for you, either. So let’s refrain from being insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, dissenters, dividers, puffed up people craving controversy (1 Tim 6 & Titus 1). That’s the Devil’s work, don’t be his tool.

Let’s come alongside our Overseers and love them with prayer, respect, grace, and joy for the glory of God in the body of Christ!  Amen? (And you respond with “Amen!”)

Dave, Layne, Chris, and Dennis; Thank you for your faithful love of Christ and His church.  May your countless hours of prayer for and service to our church family earn you the unfading crown of glory. I am eternally blessed to serve alongside you.

Blessings,

Associate Pastor Joel Sadler