Volume 2, Number 6 – June, 2008

In a month three men will join me to travel and teach in southern Africa. Ross, Craig and Marty have been diligently preparing. These men are excited about what God will do in their lives and how He will use them to minister to the wonderful people of Africa. Please pray for us. We leave July 2^nd and return the 23^rd. During that first week in Africa, Zambian pastor Allan Kasungami and I will fly to Namibia to teach the spiritual leadership material to church leaders. Allan was in Namibia last year and told the church leaders about this training. Thus that opened a door for WILD. We will see what God has in store for WILD in July. Blessings, Mike Prom

PETER’S BLEPO EYES – SEEING LIKE JESUS

“When it came close to the time for his Ascension, he gathered up his courage and steeled himself for the journey to Jerusalem. He sent messengers on ahead. They came to a Samaritan village to make arrangements for his hospitality. But when the Samaritans learned that his destination was Jerusalem, they refused hospitality. When the disciples James and John learned of it, they said, ‘Master, do you want us to call a bolt of lightning down out of the sky and incinerate them?’ Jesus turned on them: "Of course not!" And they traveled on to another village. (Luke 9:51-56, The Message)

Fast forward several years with the apostles hearing God was moving in Samaria (Acts 8:14-18). They sent Peter and John there as their representatives to check out what was happening. These areas might have been the same areas Jesus walked through with the apostles in Luke 9. John was one who had suggested to Jesus that a bolt of lightning be sent to dot turn the Samaritans into “crispy critters”. Even though Peter is not mentioned in Luke, one can only wonder whether he was of the same mind-set because of his personality and lack of spiritual maturity. The other factor is Peter, James and John were the inner three for Jesus. They had to converse often and received the similar experiences, so it is very possible Peter had similar thoughts.

So what does this have to do with being a spiritual leader? One aspect of our spiritual lives we must develop is seeing life as God sees it, looking at what is going on through the eyes of God. Mark 13:1-2 Jesus indicates as they are leaving the Temple that the stones of the Temple will lie in debris, even though at that moment the Temple was a magnificent building. The Greek word for see in verse 2 is “blepo”, to see below the surface, to see what is not obvious, what God sees.

The common response by the apostle in Luke 9 would probably what most of us would have echoed. “These Samaritans must be Jesus’ enemies, so let’s destroy them.” Obviously it was not their time to hear the Gospel and have the Holy Spirit work, for when God worked in Acts 8, the Samaritans were responding.

One of the distinguishing differences between a leader and spiritual leader is the spiritual leader is allowing the Holy Spirit to lead him or her. This is yielding or being controlled by the Spirit. By being led by the Spirit, you seek to see people and situations through the eyes of Jesus, having “blepo” eyes. Questions like, “What is Jesus doing in this situation?” or “How does He want to use me to impact a person?”, are striving to see things as Jesus sees them.

From personal experience, how I would naturally look at situations or people and how Jesus does is often opposite of each other. I need to ask the Lord to give me blepo eyes through the help and being controlled by the Spirit. Spending time in the Bible, conversing with other Christians who also desire blepo eyes, meditating on the Word of God and also taking time to be quiet and listen to God’s leadings (the still, small voice), are all part of the process of seeing as Jesus sees life.

Peter gained that understanding in Acts. The difference between the way he viewed spiritual activity in the Gospels versus in Acts is like night and day. His willingness to be controlled by the Spirit is extraordinary as we read in the situations he dealt with in Acts.

Spiritual leaders need that transformation to properly and diligently lead the Church. Let us not stop any where short of totally pursuing being controlled by the Spirit and looking at every part of life with blepo eyes.

ILLUSTRATION

To Make the Most of your Time, Make the Most of Yourself

Robert Zemsky and Susan Shaman of the University of Pennsylvania did a study of 3200 U.S. companies. What they found was that a 10% increase in spending on capital expenditures led to only a 3.8% increase in productivity. However, a 10% increase in spending for training led to an 8.5% increase in productivity. (from Warren G. Bennis, Managing the Dream: Reflections on Leadership and Change (New York: Perseus Books, 2000), 56-57

YOUTH MINISTRY INSIGHT

How do your friends know that you have been with Jesus? That question comes from Acts 4:1-22, specifically verse 13, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

If we have to wear a Christian slogan T-shirt to indicate that we are Christians, there is something wrong in the way we live our lives (not the fact we wear the shirt). St. Francis of Assisi has been given the notoriety of sharing this principle of always share the Gospel and when necessary, use words. How do people know we have been with Jesus?

The first step is making sure you have placed your faith and trust in Jesus to forgive you of your sins. Secondly, sit at His feet, meaning being with Jesus, spending time and nurturing your relationship with Jesus. Spend time with Him through reading the Bible. Memorize, meditate, discuss the Bible with other growing Christians, learn from them. Experience your faith through listening to and talking with God, serve others, perform acts of loving kindness and forgiveness Let people know that Jesus is alive and desires to be a part of their lives.

Being with Jesus gives you understanding and insight, wisdom that can awe people. This is not simply book knowledge. It is taking that book knowledge and being obedient and experiencing life, sitting at His feet and going through life together. It is allowing the Holy Spirit to control all areas of your life, developing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in you.

Peter and John were simple, ordinary men, unschooled. What gave them understanding and boldness, wisdom and insight? Being with Jesus and the Holy Spirit guiding them.

As Christians we have a responsibility to live our lives before others so that they will see what our relationship with Jesus means to us. When the school ends, your daily routine is different. What can you do to develop your relationship with Jesus? It may mean going to camp or spending time reading the Bible on a consistent basis. Maybe you will have time to take two to three hours, several times to get alone with just God and you. During that time be quiet so that perhaps you will hear God’s Spirit impressing upon you something brand new for your life.

Keep asking, “How do people know that I have been with Jesus?” or another way to say it, “How do people know that I am a Christian?”. If people cannot see that you are different because of your faith in Jesus, evaluate where you are at with Jesus and obediently change what needs to be changed.

SCRIPTURE-BASED PRAYERS

To Have Your People Pray For You and Other Pastors

1. Lord, as You have promised, grant my beloved shepherd lasting fruit (Mal. 3:11, Jn. 15:16). Let my pastor’s converts become disciples who in turn disciple. Bless my pastor with disciples who grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
2. Lord, keep my pastor in the fear of God. Let my pastor not fear people (Prov. 19:23). Give ______ boldness to confront sin and church controllers. Honor my pastor’s stand for You. Come to my pastor’s rescue. I claim Psalm 35 for my shepherd.

QUOTES ON PERSONAL GROWTH

The whole point of developing a personal growth plan is to intentionally and proactively

experience life-changing action in specific, doable steps. Bill Allison

When we are foolish, want to conquer the world. When we are wise, we want to conquer ourselves. John Maxwell

Nothing so conclusively proves a man’s ability to lead others, as what he does from day to day to lead himself. Thomas Watson

Most people don’t lead their lives, they just accept them. John Kotter

You will never change your life until you change something you are doing daily. John Maxwell