God's Design for Leadership Never Changes!

Several weeks ago I had the privilege to preach at the church my family and I are attending, Mountain Community Fellowship. In keeping with our pastor’s preaching series, my sermon was on Exodus 18. Something fresh and insightful became evident to me during my study: God’s design for the leadership of His people never changes!

Exodus 18 is about Jethro’s visit with Moses. Jethro observes Moses judging the issues of the people from morning to evening, and he can’t believe what he sees! He questions Moses, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone...?” Moses replies, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God...and I make them know the statutes of God.” Jethro responds, “What you are doing is not good!”

So what exactly could NOT be good about Moses instructing the people about God’s will? It wasn’t WHAT Moses was doing that concerned Jethro. It was HOW he was going about it, namely, “alone!” Jethro keenly warns Moses, “You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.” In other words, if Moses burns out emotionally and spiritually, and he will, the people will be hurt along with him!

Side lesson: You can do right things the wrong way and end up undoing all of them!

Jethro’s advice for Moses is simple: don’t do this alone! Surround yourself with “able men from all the people...who fear God” and let them assist you in the task of judging the people. The result is that Moses is still the visible, frontman. He still instructs the people in God’s law. However, he is not alone now. Spiritually mature and equipped men also care for the people’s spiritual instruction as well. In a very discerning conclusion, Jethro tells Moses, “It will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”

The benefits of a plurality of leadership in this text are clearly that the burden of leading the people is shared, God’s spokesman is enabled to endure, and the people are spiritually cared for.

Amazingly, one could easily switch a few names around in this narrative and find himself in the New Testament! Replace Jethro with Paul and Moses with Titus and you are in Paul’s epistle to Titus! Titus 1:5,9 “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you.” These elders were to “be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”

Just as with Moses, these elders would share the load upon Titus to instruct God’s people in Crete. God’s design for the leadership of His people never changes!

When the design does change, we have changed it, and the results are never good! Whether we embrace a corporate model for the church or a weakened leadership model, such as deacons without elders, the consequences are the same. Eventually, the pastor/teacher will wear out in one way or the other. He will wear down physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. He will then become irritable, exhausted, frustrated, and impatient. His sermons will grow lacking. In the worse case, he will wear down morally. Usually then after bearing an unbearable load, he then has to bear the ridicule of those inside and outside the church. All of this could have, might have, been avoided. How? He wasn’t meant to bear it alone.

As a result, the congregation will suffer as well. They will suffer through mediocre sermons, a distant pastor, or worse.

For the sake of those whom God has called as pastor/teachers and for the sake of the church, let us adopt and embrace God’s design for leadership. None of our models of church polity will do - no matter if we “think” our church is doing just fine! If we are not following God’s plan, we are only robbing ourselves of His greatest glory among us!

Let our pastor/teachers be surrounded by “able men who fear the Lord” that they may share the burden and help lead the people. God’s man will then be enabled to “endure,” and God’s people will “go to their place in peace.”

News of the Earthquake in Myanmar!

Below is the letter and photos I received from Pastor Joseph concerning the recent earthquake in Myanmar. Pray for the people of Myanmar and Emmanual Ministries as they share the Gospel! Pray that many hearts will be opened!

Over 500 people are killed by a strong earthquake that struck Myanmar since yesterday and over 1,500 peoples are lost without finding their died bodies. Myanmar 1,000 homes and nine government buildings are destroyed. Over 10,000 people are injured and 90,000 peoples endure this suffering. This earthquake is started from night 11:00pm to morning 4:00 and it continue again again and all the peoples of this city and the villagers went out to the jungle and they all shadow under that jungle and they stay now there with hunger and thirst because the earthquake time is happen gain again .

Book Review: The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye. By J.D. Salinger. New York: Back Bay Books. Renewed, 1979.

For the past several years I have attempted to introduce myself to the classics for a couple of reasons. First, I was not studious at all during my school years so I didn’t read any books, except the Bible. Second, I thought it might be helpful to gain cultural understanding and awareness. That being said, Catcher in the Rye has almost convinced me of the futility of this practice!

A couple characteristics of this book are glaring weaknesses, in my humble opinion. The language is horrific throughout. I understand that I will encounter course, foul language in a secular novel. That’s one thing. However, Salinger seems unable to express his character without using an expletive in almost every single line! As is the case when movies are labeled “Pervasive Language,” so with this novel, the language destroyed it! For this reason alone, I could not recommend Catcher to anyone.

Furthermore, the novel never really gets anywhere, and maybe that’s the point. (I’m certainly not an expert literary critic!) For example, I had no idea how the title fit the story until the end of chapter 22. There is no plot, climax, turning point, resolution, answer, lesson, insight, unless of course the reader makes up his own. Again, that is probably the intention of the author but when a story ends without an ending it leaves me thinking, “That was a waste of my time.”

Now here is a shocker after such strong criticism. I believe there is one incredibly redeeming value in Salinger’s work! It is an excellent description of how utterly hopeless, horribly void, and entirely unfulfilled a life can be without Christ! I tend to think that Salinger did not set out to make this point, but his description of a human being without any real, true, lasting purpose is exactly how life turns out when salvation and reconciliation are absent. Holden Caulfield, the main character who tells the story, hates everything and almost everyone, never really accomplishes anything, and spends most of his time depressed. If Salinger has done anything in this novel, he has accurately depicted humanity in its state of lostness.

In reading a brief bio of his life, I discovered that Salinger’s life is much like his character Holden. Salinger endured much scrutiny, unwanted attention, and became something of a recluse. Could it be that Holden’s view of life was that of Salinger’s?

I can only hope that other readers of Catcher would catch a glimpse of how desperate humanity is, set out to find the answer, and embrace Him! I can only hope that was also true of Catcher’s author before his death.

A Tribute to My Grandmother - In Her Own Words!

Mittie Owens (July 3, 1917-Feb 28, 2011) was the fifth of seven children. Her father provided for them by farming, working in the mill, and sharecropping. Her childhood was filled with hardship and joy. She lived through the Second War, the Great Depression, the death of siblings, and several moves. However, when reflecting on her childhood, she recalled a caring father, a sweet mother, nightly family worship, and making the best of their life together.

On March 2, I had the privilege of joining my brother, brother-in-law, and her pastor in her homegoing celebration. As difficult as it is to preach the funeral of a loved one, I found the weight of honoring her and comforting her family to be a light one. She had preached her own eulogy while she lived. She was known by extended family as a caregiver because she would often provide food and clothes. She was known by her church family as a teacher because she taught Sunday School. She was known by the community as a prayer warrior and a student of the Bible because she prayed for others and diligently, daily studied the Scripture.

In 1973, our family gave her a Bible. It was for her a treasured possession. She left it to me, and now it is a treasured possession of mine. It is literally worn out. She had duct-taped the spine to hold it together. She has notes, quotes, sayings, insights, lines, and highlights on almost every page. Some of her favorite preachers signed the inside cover. There is no doubt about it, Granny loved her Bible. She loved her Bible because she loved her Lord!

But that's enough of my thoughts. I'd like to share with you some of her own words. The following are some lines she wrote in the pages of her Bible. These dear words, which she took the time to write down, are a tribute to her, her faith, and her Lord!

"What I spent, I had. What I saved, I lost. What I gave, I have."

"There is no limit to what a man can do if he doesn't care who gets credit for it."

"Law - Do and Live. Grace - Live and Do."

"God owes us nothing but gives us everything."

"I want Wil to have this Bible. Wil, I love you. I love this precious Bible given to me by Bruce and his family. I will treasure it all my life. I want Wil to have this Bible to read to his children and grandchildren after I'm gone."

"Praise is the pay we owe for the space we occupy."

"Kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the blind can see."

"Sin is your greatest problem and forgiveness is your greatest blessing."

"God formed us. Sin deformed us. Christ transforms us."

And my personal favorite - "I treasure this Book. I love every word in it."

Happy Birthday Spiderman!

5 years ago today, Talitha gained a little brother, Summer gained a "little man," and I gained a great little buddy! The Lord graced us with His gift to us, Haddon Carey Owens. He is my partner. We ride together, work together, and play together. Children are indeed a blessing from God! In fact, the only difficult aspect of being his father thus far as been that time has not flown by, it has sped by at lightening speed! Where did five years go?

Summer and I realize that having Haddon as a blessing from God is a matter of stewardship. He has been given to us in order that we might care for him, and that means so much more than protecting him physically and guiding him into maturity. We are responsible for directing him toward the greatest joy and treasure in the universe, the Lord Jesus Christ! We fail miserably at times, no doubt, but it is in our hearts, minds, and prayers, and we do not sit idly by and hope. We strive to point Haddon to Christ through personal piety, family worship, and loving care.

Nothing would please us more than for Haddon to spend his life for the glory of God. It's fine if he excels in sports, music, academics, or vocation, as long as he does those things in pursuit of God! It's also fine if he does none of those things but yet has a passion for Christ! Nothing would hurt us more than to see him get sidetracked from true joy by the allurements, trinkets, gadgets, and pleasures of this world, especially if we contributed to that end!

Parenting well is a burden because we want the absolute best for him; we want him to embrace Christ! We desire to foster that outcome, not hinder it. Parenting well is also an incredibly joyful experience! There is hardly a greater delight in this life than seeing your child live as a child of God!

3 John 4 "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth."

Happy Birthday Spiderman!

Search And See - Feb 2011 Update

Dear Friends:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! I hope this update finds you well and enjoying all that God is for us in Christ! Please continue to pray for us as we continually strive to utilize every tool available in order to accomplish our mission, and thank you for your faithful support and friendship!

1. Sermon Ministry: 209 sermons downloaded in 21 States and 12 Nations. Two sermons each week broadcasted in Liberia.

2. Preaching Opportunities. I had the privilege of preaching once at our church in KY in Feb and for my grandmother's funeral on March 2.

3. I have finished the rough draft of the children's book on salvation and am now in the process of securing an illustrator!

4. We have a team of 7 that will be ministering in India and Myanmar this October!

5. Search And See Kenya has established three new orphanages and three new preaching points!

6. Please continue to pray with us as the Lord is leading us to a new place of pulpit ministry.

Blessings!

Wil Owens

Galatians 2:20