BookPastor >> "The Volunteer Church" (Leith Anderson and Jill Fox)

This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on November 6th, 2015.  It is clearly one of the best books on servanthood and how to encourage the laity to serve willingly and passionately.

conrade

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TITLE: The Volunteer Church: Mobilizing Your Congregation for Growth and Effectiveness
AUTHOR: Leith Anderson and Jill Fox
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015, (160 pages).

Every member is a servant in the Kingdom of God. For the Church is not a building made of bricks and stones. It is a Body of Christ made of people serving God and one another in the love of Christ. Volunteerism is in. Compulsory work is out. This is particularly so in a ministry that requires us to put our faith into action. If there is any group of people who deserves more encouragement and praise, it would be the group of people who willingly offer to serve at their own time and own resources. Weekly, they work without official pay. They do their best despite not having the best tools or training. In fact, the best form of leadership development is to increase the level of volunteerism in any organization. A Church grows not on the basis of attendance numbers but volunteer numbers. The challenge for any church is not only to encourage the volunteer numbers, but to increase the cheer among all. This book is written for three groups of people.

1. For leaders exhausted by lack of volunteers
2. For volunteers wanting to have more to join them
3. For ministry staff wanting to train and to cultivate a culture of volunteerism

Midweek Meditation: "What Does It Mean to Serve?"

Here is a paraphrased version of Mother Teresa's teaching on prayer, faith, love, and service to the poor.

If we pray, we will believe
If we believe, we will love
If we love, we will serve. 

Only then can we put our love for God
Into living action through service of Christ
In the distressing disguise of the poor.

Mother Teresa (1910-1997)

BookPastor >> "King's Cross" (Tim Keller)

This book is an exposition on the Gospel of Mark. It puts the pivotal point at Mark 8, which marks the beginning of the end of Jesus' ministry on earth. Read how Keller skillfully weaves in the themes of kingdom, the teachings, and the growing emphasis on the cross, culminating in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on Dec 4th, 2011.

conrade

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TITLE: King's Cross - The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus
AUTHOR: Timothy Keller
PUBLISHER: New York, NY: Dutton Press, 2011, (240 pages).

Tim Keller has a gift for words. He has an ability to weave in a keen understanding of Scripture. Backed by word studies in Greek and Hebrew, he brings the nuances of the original gospel contexts alive to the English speaking world. He has a passionate desire to bring God's people closer to Jesus. Brilliantly, he joins the ancient world with contemporary culture, the Hellenistic texts in the light of modern contexts, and holds together the need for relevance without compromising on biblical truths. This book is another example of this masterful teacher and eloquent preacher.

About the Book

Keller chooses the book of Mark to give readers a deeper insight into how Jesus changed the world by entering into the life of the world. The first part of the book deals with Jesus as King. By focusing on the action-packed gospel of Mark, one sees less of Jesus' 'teaching' and more of Jesus' 'doing.' One recognizes Jesus' identity as King over all things (Mark 1-8). In Part Two, Keller points to the need for Jesus to go to the Cross, highlighting the purpose of Jesus' coming (Mark 9-16). This twin focus of identity and purpose constitutes Keller's interpretation of the gospel of Mark. Together, he exhorts us to 'seriously consider the significance' of the life of Jesus in our own lives. Interestingly, Keller calls the Bible as the book that understands us.


The eighteen chapters roughly follows the gospel of Mark. In the 'Dance,' Jesus comes to earth to give us love, inviting us to relationships of love, of what life is all about. He sets an example for us in obeying the call of God the Father even unto death on the cross. In healing people, he shows us that the deeper need is not meeting our perceived needs, but our truest needs: We need God. My favourite chapter is 'The Rest.' Working through the Sabbath passages in Mark, he says that keeping the Sabbath is more than a pause from work, more than mere observance of the Law, more than a mental or physical time off. It is becoming more aware of Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath. He compares two characters in the story 'Chariots of Fire.'

"Harold Adams was weary even when he rested, and Eric Liddell was rested even when he was exerting himself. Why? Because there's a work underneath our work that we really need to rest from. It's the work of self-justification. It's the work that often leads us to take refuge in religion." (43)

"Because the Lord of the Sabbath said, 'It is Finished,' we can rest from religion - forever." (47)

In 'The Power,' Jesus is Lord over all nature, that those who trust in Him will not need to be afraid. At the midpoint of the book, Keller turns to the inevitable: Jesus must die.

Part Two is the way of the Cross. Keller calls Mark 8 as the pivotal chapter because the King is going to the Cross. The glory of life needs to endure the gory of death.  The transfiguration of Christ is a glimpse of the resurrection of Christ. He makes a case for the uniqueness of Jesus when compared to other religions. While Buddhism maintains their center in the Far East, Islam in the Middle East, Christianity has branched outward moving from Jerusalem to Hellenistic centers, to Alexandria, North Africa, Rome, Europe, and the rest of the world. He credits Andrew Wells for observing that Christianity 'is always migrating away from power and wealth' (125). He writes:

"Jesus says, 'My power is always moving away from people who love power and money. My power is always moving toward people who are giving it away, as I did. Where do you want to live?'" (137)

Read this brilliant description of Jesus, that we either have to take Him as He is, or reject Him. We need to decide.

"He is both the rest and the storm, both the victim and the wielder of the flaming sword, and you must accept him or reject him on the basis of both. Either you'll have to kill him or you'll have to crown him. The one thing you can't do is just say, 'What an interesting guy.' " (162)

Of the Communion, Keller says that the Lord's Supper points us to the future with Jesus, a 'small' but 'very real' future (172).  He ends the book by saying that Christ's death is but the beginning of a glorious kingdom to come.

"On the Day of the Lord - the day that God makes everything right, the day that everything sad comes untrue - on that day the same thing will happen to your own hurts and sadness. You will find that the worst things that have ever happened to you will in the end only enhance your eternal delight. On that day, all of it will be turned inside out and you will know joy beyond the walls of the world. The joy of your glory will be that much greater for every scar you bear. So live in the light of the resurrection and renewal of this world, and of yourself, in a glorious, never-ending, joyful dance of grace." (224-5)

Closing Thoughts

Keller has a rare ability to bring ancient texts alive with insights that tantalizes the modern mind. He brings out the message of Mark in a very readable way. I find my heart pulsing with the re-telling of the story of Jesus, Keller-style. Immensely quotable, this book is a treasure house for preachers looking for a few nuggets to cite. It is a resource for Bible teachers on how to communicate ancient truths for contemporary ears. Bible students will like it. Laypersons will love it. One learns not only the Bible but also the art of communicating the Bible. This is certainly worth the price of the book. Some books do a great job in getting people more interested to dig into the Bible more. They make readers hunger for more of Jesus. They create a thirst that longs for the living waters of Christ. This book is one of them.

Rating: 5 stars of 5.

conrade

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Why We Serve

Exhausted. Burned out. Running on empty.

Yesterday, I shared during my weekly office meeting about the fifth attribute of the fruit of the Spirit: Kindness. What is kindness? One way to understand kindness is to ask about the opposite of kindness. It can mean cruelty. It can also mean unkindness. Being nice is not necessarily kind. Being kind does not mean we have to be nice. One book I have been following is "The Fruitful Wife" by Hayley DiMarco. Though written primarily for wives, it has lots of application and tips for non-wives and men in general too. She writes about kindness as follows:

"Kindness is me giving up my right to hurt you for hurting me." (Hayley DiMarco)

Think about that. Like porcupines living close together, our prickly edges can hurt. It is the willingness to be hurt and hurt over and over again that keeps us together, regardless.

1) Distinguishing Kindness from Niceness

Kindness is about doing whatever we can in order to glorify God. It is in asking how can I exemplify the life of a disciple in my kindness? How do I show my best kindness so that Christ can shine through my acts and deeds? I have read somewhere that there is a difference between boys and girls. When boys fight or quarrel during a game, they let their anger flow easily into fists and punches. They fight openly. After the disciplinary actions, and the reprimands, they continue the rest of the game.

The same is not true of girls. When girls quarrel or fight, the anger does not simply end in fight-kiss-makeup manner. The  emotions can linger on. The hurts continue. The pain persists. The game ends abruptly.

While I do not want to stereotype boys and girls, there is a lesson here to remember. Men and women are made differently. They need different ways in which to resolve any differences. When men or women are hurt, they deal with the pain in very unique ways. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we all agree that we ought to be serving one another in love. What we fail to agree is the extent in which we follow through what we believe. That is why, from time to time, we need to ask ourselves why we serve. More importantly, we need to be reminded about Who we are serving.

Kindness is not niceness. Kindness is in essence another way to demonstrate grace. True authentic believers will let their kindness flow not out of societal expectation of niceness, but Christ-formed grace. See how DiMarco writes about kindness.

"Grace, as we probably all know, is the unmerited favor, divine mercy, or selfless lovingkindness shown by God to his sinful children. It was a kindness shown to us even while we were still enemies of God, dead in our own sinfulness (Eph. 2:1–5). This extreme grace, given with the aim of receiving nothing in return, is the ultimate example of kindness and the model of what it should look like in our lives." (Hayley DiMarco, The Fruitful Wife, Crossway, 2012, 107)

2) The Two Kindness Killers

For DiMarco, the opposite of kindness is "mercilessness." This is also described through the two major "kindness killers." The first is a "sense of justice." Many people have a strong sense of justice and fairness. We can easily see it in our children. It reflects a tit-for-tat culture so prevalent in our society. Unfortunately, the idea of grace goes against anything tit-for-tat. Jesus has said,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." (Matthew 5:38-42)

Impossible? That is why we need the Holy Spirit to help us.

While the Old Testament law has its place, true justice is always fulfilled beautifully with grace. It frees ourselves from being trapped by self-righteousness and a judgemental spirit. It frees us to letting God decide how to deal with those who have hurt us. One reason why a sense of justice is problematic is because it is less about a battle for holiness, but a fight for self-protection. DiMarco writes that our natural tendency toward hurts is either "fight or flight." From Jesus' teaching, instead of fight, we ought to turn the cheek. Instead of flight, we need to follow with a second mile, and not turn away from the need. The key thing is to learn to see the law from the eyes of grace. Kindness is a great way to demonstrate that. Kindness is a profound way to demonstrate love to others, the giving up of any personal right to retaliate. Jesus is trying to teach us to live counter-cultural.

The second "kindness killer" is more sinister. It is a "fear of rejection." It is an emotional tendency to be so self-conscious that we fail to see the opportunity to do good. Imagine if Jesus has this fear of rejection in the first place. He will not have walked into the trap set by Judas Iscariot. He will run away and hide in a cave for safety. No. Jesus prays. He asks to do God's will rather than to obey any human tendencies. Grace comes through in his kindness to people in words and in works.

"Mercy is rooted in kindness, because mercy, like grace, is given not on the merit of the one who messed up but on the unearned favor of the God who forgives." (Hayley Dimarco, The Fruitful Wife, p112)

Respond to any fear of rejection by accepting one another, just as God in Christ, accepted us.

3) Why We Serve?

This article has touched on the fruit of kindness as a reason to serve one another. When we serve one another, getting hurt or hurting others becomes a common occurrence. If I can prescribe one cure for not ever getting hurt at all, it is this: DO NOT SERVE.

If we are fearful of rejection, do not serve.

If we are always on a lookout for justice, do not serve.

If we are always calculating how much we can gain, do not serve.

If we are serving out of people's wishes, do not serve.

If you want to be servants of the Church, seek not a reason why you need to serve. For every reason you can think of in serving, there is always a counter-reason why NOT to serve.

If you want to be servants of the Church, seek not a method about how you serve. For every good method you can think of, there is always a corresponding method that is BETTER than how you are serving.

Instead, if you want to serve, let it flow out of your love for one Person. Let not the "why" or the "how" determine your reason for service. Let your motivation and convictions for serving be your pursuit of that Person of Jesus Christ. The 'why' reason can provide you answers. The 'how' reason can give you methods and strategies. For us as a Church, the WHO trumps the 'why' and the 'how.'

Let me close with the following from Thomas Kelly's classic book on devotion.

"Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously return. Eternity is in our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself. Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and completely, to the Light Within, is the beginning of true life. It is a dynamic center, a creative Life that presses to birth within us. It is a Light Within which illumines the face of God and casts new shadows and new glories upon the face of men. It is a seed stirring to life if we do not choke it. It is the Shekinah of the soul, the Presence in the midst. Here is the Slumbering Christ, stirring to be awakened, to become the soul we clothe in earthly form and action. And He is within us all." (Thomas R. Kelly, A Testament of Devotion, HarperSanFrancisco, 1992, p3)

Christ is within us. Let us share His glory in our life, through our service.

Why do we serve? Let it be because of this one Person Jesus. Let it be because we want to honour the Son of God. Let it be because service is a privilege.

The moment we move our eyes away from this Person, toward seeking other kinds of reasons, for self-fulfilment, or obligations, we will become distracted. Serve not because you are asked to, or because you have to. Serve because you love to. More importantly, serve so that the Christ that is in you, will be made known to all in your service, in your works, and in your kindness.

Remember the parable about the man who found a great pearl in the land? Let them remind us all over again, how much we love that great pearl in Jesus Christ.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it." (Matthew 13:44-46)

For those of us who are serving, we need to be reminded from time to time. How valuable is the pearl that you have found? Who is that pearl in your life? May your desire to serve illustrate that very finding.


conrade

A Few Good Servants

TITLE: A FEW GOOD SERVANTS
Written by: Conrade Yap
Date: 6 Feb 2012

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45)

One of the most famous lines said by Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, and Daniel Craig is this introduction of the British secret agent: "My name is Bond, James Bond." Yesterday, I joked with one person. "Our name is Bond, Bond Servant." In a twist to the familiar line uttered proudly by the world famous secret service agent, 007, it reminds us that as far as Christian service is concerned, 'servant' is our lastname. We are bounded to one another in love, to God in Christ. We are bonded to Christ in service. The Greek word 'doulos' typically means being under the will and direction of the master. He follows the will of his Lord, his Master, his Superior. Paul, in his letter to Titus, begins with the following,

"Paul, a bond-servant of God. . . " (Titus 1a)

This is significant because of the very nature of Paul's illustrious past as a top solicitor, a famous Pharisee, and a prominent Jew. In a remarkable contrast to his glorious past, he submits himself to a lowly position. Servanthood is a mark of discipleship. Serving becomes a joy because servants of God serve the King of kings. In this article, I want to argue that it is more important for a few good men, than many unwilling people thrust into serving. People are not made for structures. Structures are meant to facilitate serving one another.


A) The Servant Leader

Servant Washing another's feet.
(Credit: gospelcentric.com)

Sometimes I feel the term 'Servant Leadership' is an oxymoron. Can a lowly servant actually lead? The phrase 'servant leadership' was first made popular by Robert K. Greenleaf who published a book entitled: "The Servant as Leader." In that book, the key point is:

"The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. The best test is: do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?" (Robert Greenleaf)

Robert Greenleaf's inspiration for the Servant Leader concept comes out of a book by Hermann Hesse. In Hesse's "Journey to the East," there is a story of a group of men on a pilgrimage to find the great 'Truth.' Among the group, there is a servant by the name of Leo, a simple servant, but with a great joyful heart. Working behind the scenes, he serves the rest of the group. He serves them in every possible way. He sings to them. He encourages them. Leo demonstrates his servanthood through simple acts of kindness and service. He is diligent. He is cheerful. He caters to the needs of the group as much as possible. Unfortunately, he is taken for granted. Along the way, due to the group's distrust and suspicion of Leo, even accusing Leo of stealing their things, Leo disappears. From that point on, the group disintegrates, and the journey ends abruptly.

A lack of trust and a rise of suspicion spell the end of the servant relationship. The loss of the servant Leo leads to the loss of overall direction of the group. The one big lesson in this story is this: It is the presence of servanthood that sustains the health, the unity, and the purpose of the group. Behind every functioning organization is the presence of a team of people with a servant heart. For that, we need to create a culture of serving one another. Do not look for great numbers of people who are willing to serve as leaders. Look for a few good servants who are not just willing, but MORE than willing. We need a few good servants. In true servanthood, quality trumps quantity. Jesus didn't have hundreds of people. He had only 12 disciples.

B) A Few Good Servants

This ties in very closely to the way Jesus does discipleship. Let those who have, serve the have-nots. Let those who are strong, bear with the failings of the weak. Let those who know, take initiative to share what they know freely and graciously. A few good servants of high commitment and humble hearts are to be intentionally prayed for. It is much better than hundreds of half-hearted individuals who happen to volunteer simply because no one else is doing it. In fact, I am even inclined to suggest that if no one is willing to step forward for any particular ministry, mothball that ministry. I remember a time when no one is willing to head up the Evangelism and Mission subcommittee. I said to the leaders, "Why not just leave it for the year? Structures need to be made for people, and not people for the structures."

We need to pray for a few good servants. We give thanks for those who are serving behind the scenes all the time. Perhaps, instead of 80% of our time trying to look for new leaders, why not spend 80% of the time encouraging our present set of leaders? Encourage them to look for new leaders too. Disciple them. Motivate them from time to time. Build in rhythms of work and rest. Forbid them from serving for a year when they have done a continuous tour of duty for say, 4 years.

As servant leaders, we serve not out of our own strength, we serve out of a recognition of God's empowering us. A few good servants will rock the world. A few good servants will cover greater ground. Just like the proverbial saying, 'too many cooks spoil the soup,' too many mediocre servants spoil the overall effectiveness of the organization.

C) A Few Good Soldiers: Sparta

Recreated scene of the Battle of Thermopylae
(Credit: awesomestories.com)

Let me end with a story. In the fame battle of Thermopylae, mighty Persia with its huge army of hundreds of thousands, found stiff resistance in a small ragtag group of Spartan soldiers protecting a Greek land. Spartan soldiers are trained from young with discipline, grit, and utter courage to brave any kinds of difficulty. When a spartan man goes to war, the wife will come alongside him and motivates him to fight well for the higher purpose of the kingdom. Whole families are behind the Spartan men called to war. With such emotional support, with the intentional training by the military, with the courage of iron sharpening iron within the ranks of the army, the Spartan army is a formidable force to be reckoned with. The recent movie, 300, dramatizes how 300 Spartans manage to hold back more than a million Persian soldiers. Even though the Persians eventually won, the Spartans struck a death blow to the morale and emotional confidence of the mighty Persians.

As servants of God, leaders in the Church that God has given us, we are called to spiritual warfare to defend the kingdom from false teachings, and mediocre lifestyles. We are called to be bold, to be strong and courageous to serve. Let not the numbers or the lack of it discourage us. Leaders of the Church must lead from the Spirit of God.

"We must be silent before we can listen. We must listen before we can learn. We must learn before we can prepare. We must prepare before we can serve. We must serve before we can lead." (William Arthur Ward)

We serve because Christ first served us.

conrade