Real Time Evaluation

This is an article from my M-F Radio Program. Apply this in your ministry and be blessed.

As we have repeatedly rehearsed on A Different Perspective, everything rises and falls on Leadership. The Pastor is key. He MUST exercise gracious, effective and persistent leadership. That leadership must focus on, and, be shaped by PURPOSE. That purpose is Make Disciples. This means guiding those already redeemed to an ongoing maturity in Christ. It means effectively connecting with the community in which the church is located and reaching lost people via the powerful declaration of the pure Gospel of Grace. If these two factors are not in place, not much else will matter. The church will simply engage in a ‘ministry of maintenance’.

How does the pastor accomplish this monumental task in a culture of indifference?

Jeff Immelt assumed the CEO responsibilities from Jack Welch at GE. He immediately introduced a practice that should be standard practice at every church in every ministry venue. He calls this practice Real Time Evaluation. Let me explain.

Many churches have what they label ‘An Annual Review’. This is typically comprised of people stating whether they ‘like’ what the pastor has been doing all year.

Question? When a married couple has a disagreement, what I like to refer to as a ‘Domestic Altercation, do they wait an entire year to resolve the difference they are facing? Not if they have a single brain cell between them. Eph. 4:32 provides excellent guidance here:

Ephesians 4:26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

The wisdom in this passage is found in resolving conflict BEFORE it erupts into unresolved relational dysfunction. The same applies in ministry in the local church. It is simply foolish and unfruitful to only engage in honest assessment once a year. IN that mode if there is a problem it festers for an entire year. Not good.

                   

Here is the problem. Most nearly all pastors are terrified of honest objective assessment. They resist any attempt to pull back the curtain on reality. The truth is when a dysfunction is identified early on it may be readily resolved with a minimum harm to the overall ministry.

So pastor, do yourself a favor and frequently do what Immelt calls Real Time Evaluation. You will be well served and your pastoral longevity will be greatly improved.

Lydia's Heart

This is Tuesday February 14th. Happy Valentine’s Day. We love because God first loved us!!

This is Session #6 in our Theology of Evangelism. We are considering God’s work of redemption in the life of Lydia.

"And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul." (Acts 16:14)  The NIV says: "The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message."  

First of all we note that Lydia did indeed "attend" or listen to the words of Paul.  She gladly heard and willingly believed his message.  As we have already shown, she had to do this in order to benefit from the gospel and be saved.  Lydia's attending," or hearing and believing, illustrates points One, Two, and Three above, and refutes hyper-Calvinism, (which says the elect will be saved regardless of whether they hear and believe the gospel or not).  Lydia did choose to believe, and she herself did it only because she wholeheartedly wanted to.  She did not do it "unwillingly" nor did God hear and believe for her.  It was her own response and it was a most willing response.  

Next, we notice exactly what God did.  We see here demonstrated what God must do before Lydia can be saved.  

(1) He provided a salvation of "by grace through faith" that could be preached.  Obviously "the things spoken" by Paul were the gospel facts concerning the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and surely this Lamb is God's gracious provision. 

(2) God also brought the message of His provision to Lydia.  He sent a preacher to tell her about this great plan of salvation. God went to a lot of trouble to provide such a gospel-He gave His only begotten Son up to death.  He went to great ends to provide such a preacher as Paul-read about it in Paul's testimony in Acts 22.  It is at this point that Arminianism departs from the Bible and proceeds to apply human logic. They tragically fail to look at the rest of the Biblical text and see that God must do something else.  

(3) God must open Lydia's heart (or give her spiritual life) so she will be able to believe.  Her natural mind is blind, her natural heart is averse to God, and her will is in bondage to sin and spiritual death.