The Power of a Life Message

a publication of Life Action Ministries

Volume 50, Issue 1

THE

POWER OF A

LIFE MESSAGE WHY AREN'T WE MORE LIKE JESUS? Del Fehsenfeld III | p. 6

IS MY MESSAGE OUTPACING MY LIFE? Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth | p. 14

RESISTING THE PULL TOWARD SIN Crawford Loritts | p. 22

CONTENTS COLUMNS 03 SPIRIT OF REVIVAL The Power of a Life Message

06

10

05 CONVERSATIONS Who Does God Use to Do Great Things?

30 NEXT STEP

WHY AREN'T WE MORE LIKE JESUS?

MODESTO MANIFESTO

Inviting People to Follow . . . Me?

PERSPECTIVES 19 LEADERSHIP LESSONS I Learned Along the Way

26 REAL WORLD How Honesty Saved My Job

28 MAKING IT PERSONAL

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20

A Conversation with God

31 A LEADER'S PRAYER Asking God for Help

Executive Director/CEO: Byron Paulus Senior Editor: Del Fehsenfeld III Managing Editor: Daniel W. Jarvis Assistant Editor: Kim Adams Creative Director: Aaron Paulus Designers: Allison Richcreek, Emily Stark, Austin Loveing Photography: Graham Ward, Unsplash.com, Pexels.com Volume 50, Issue 1 Copyright © 2019 by Life Action Ministries.

All rights reserved.

IS MY MESSAGE OUTPACING MY LIFE?

22 RESISTING THE PULL TOWARD SIN

Revive magazine is published as God provides, and made available at no cost to those who express a genuine burden for revival. It is financially supported by the gifts of God’s people. Its mission is to ignite movements of revival and authentic Christianity.

Life Action Ministries does not necessarily endorse the entire philosophy and ministry of all its contributing writers. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts or pay our authors for content. We grant permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be photocopied for use in a local church or group setting, provided copies are unchanged, are distributed free of charge, and indicate Life Action Ministries as the source. Revive magazines are also available online.

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35 REASONS I DON'T WANT TO SIN

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Scripture on pp. 6-9 and 29-30 taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

All rights reserved.

ou’re well aware, I’m sure, of the recent scandals and failings of prominent Christian leaders, some of whom were trusted and revered

by Christians and non-Christians alike.

On every level, we’ve been disappointed, heartbroken, and frustrated. What should we do?

I asked our own staff team here at Life Action Ministries to refrain from adding to the “commentary” about any specific ministry or fallen pastor, and instead to respond in the quietness of our own hearts and within the walls of our own ministry. For years we’ve shared a core value together that there is power in a “life message,” and that the inner character associated with this message must be watchfully cultivated.

This issue of Revive is our attempt to encourage a renewal of life message among the leaders of our time. And not just “other leaders” or “prominent leaders,” but us—you and me.

Shortly after the founding of Life Action Ministries, back in the 1970s, our leader (the late Del Fehsenfeld Jr.) was asked if he would ever consider becoming a pastor rather than a traveling revivalist. Del replied with his usual prophetic wit: “I cannot be a pastor, because I don’t yet have enough sermons. It’s not that I couldn’t come up with more, but I made a promise to the Lord that I would never preach a sermon I was not living. The world does not need more powerless sermons.”

Here are five responses I have been striving to remember and apply to the recent reports of failure among leaders: We should not be surprised.

Satan is still a roaring lion looking for opportunities to devour God’s work, and especially God’s workers. He often

targets those whose downfall will have immediate, residual, and long-term impact. Why would we expect anything less? He knows the end of the story, and he only has this life to continue to prowl about as a master liar, killer, thief, and destroyer.

Our hearts should be broken.

Broken not primarily because of the impact it could have on good and godly organizations, but because of the reputation and name of Christ being stained. “Against you, you only have I sinned” should be the f irst response of all transgressors (Psalm 51:4). So shouldn’t our first response also reflect grief that our holy God was sinned against?

God is miraculously redemptive.

He can take evil and turn it to good, no matter how impossible it may seem.

When failure occurs, the foundation of God’s redemptive process is repentance.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones gave wise advice in cases of failure among pastors and leaders: “Restoration to public ministry is only possible when one’s repentance is as widely known as their sin.” Those who have been given much (e.g. huge platform visibility) will struggle to ever have their repentance as widely known as their sin because media feeds on negative, scintillating sin stories, not sacred stories of repentance and restoration. God is able to redeem, but are we willing to let Him? Sin’s carnage and collateral damage are real. Sin of any kind in the community of believers affects all of us.

The Enemy always wants to discredit the way of Christ and His message.

Satan looks for stories to use as ammo.

Right now, he has an abundant supply.

This is why it is so vital to be walking

wisely, “because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16).

But for the grace of God, there go I. We are all one decision away from a ministry-disqualifying sin. Humility, honesty, and a lifestyle of brokenness and repentance, followed by obedience, is our pathway to protection and prevention. No need to fear or doubt IF we are walking in humility, where grace always prevails.

There will be failure. We are each a work in process. Cultivating a life message isn’t a one-time project; it’s a moment-by-moment, choice-by-choice, prayer-by-prayer pursuit.

Someone recently asked me how I account for God using men and women so powerfully while they were engaged in disqualifying sin. I was reminded that God blesses three things—His Word, which never returns void; Godgiven gifts and abilities, which even those who fail may possess; and the power of a life message . . . which begs the following question: How much more could God have blessed these ministries if He could have blessed all three? Not just the first two, but the authenticity of the minister as well.

Today, I invite you to join all of us at Life Action Ministries in asking the Holy Spirit for help.

Byron Paulus Executive Director/CEO

S P I R I T O F R E V I VA L

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THE POWER OF A LIFE MESSAGE

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nterestingly, the Bible only talks about leadership a small number of times.

However, it talks about servanthood frequently. So why are there so many leadership conferences for Christians, rather than servanthood conferences?

My f irst thought is, “Because nobody would go to a conference on how to be a servant!” (That’s worth thinking about, wouldn’t you agree?)

God delights in using the unlikely— the people who wouldn’t even think about taking the credit or seeking the grandeur for themselves. He used the Magi, not Herod. He used fishermen, not Pharisees. He used a murderer and tentmaker (Paul) to write the New Testament epistles, not a mega-church pastor.

Of course, God can use anyone, and there are examples of people who are “great” in this world also having an open heart and being used of the Lord.

But I do think the Scriptures illustrate that He tends toward the unlikely.

And He tells us why: “. . . to shame the strong” (1 Cor. 1:27). God is saying, “I want to use things that surprise the world and point them to Me. That’s why I like to use weak and unlikely people!”

So, if the Enemy ever whispers, “You’re such a loser!” don’t be discouraged. In Philippians 3:8, Paul wrote, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I . . . count [all my earthly indicators of greatness] as rubbish.”

To the Corinthians, who were wrapped up in “Which popular preacher are you following?” conversations (1 Cor. 3), he wrote, “Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise . . . powerful . . . of noble birth”

(1 Cor. 1:26). These were people who changed the course of the world, but the apostle Paul says, “Let’s be honest, you aren’t the brightest people around.”

Almost insulting, right?

But then he explains: “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; . . . to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (vv. 27-29).

We live in an era when many wellknown and influential people, and even entire ministries, are crumbling at the seams because of character failures. Our hearts should break over those things when we read or hear about them.

And I suspect that many of these tragic stories began when someone wasn’t taking this simple passage seriously. Instead, men and women started thinking they were “something,” when in reality, all ministers are forever and only God’s servants.

In God’s kingdom, the greatest people who have ever lived aren’t the sort who looked at themselves and said, “I want to be great!” Think of Moses and Mary, two examples of people God called who did extraordinary things.

Moses wanted to quit before he even started, telling God, “I can’t even talk, and You want to use ME?!” And can you imagine being Mary, a pregnant teenage girl in Nazareth? She must have wondered, “Your plan is WHAT, God?” God used people like them. And if we approach Him with humility, He will use us too, as unlikely as that seems.

God delights in using the unlikely—the people who wouldn’t even think about taking the credit or seeking the grandeur for themselves.

John Avant President

C O N V E R S AT I O N S

I

WHO DOES GOD USE TO DO GREAT THINGS?

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WHY AREN’T WE MORE LIKE JESUS?

by DEL FEHSENFELD III

“MY SHEEP HEAR MY VOICE . . . AND THEY FOLLOW.” – JESUS 6

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I

decided to become a minister in a therapist’s office. As a new Christian and mental health counselor, I was startled by the seemingly endless stream of evangelical Christians coming to our practice who shared one thing in common: They didn’t look anything like Jesus.

What especially troubled me was the fact that there didn’t seem to be any relationship between the number of years someone had attended church and their character transformation. How was it possible to be a Christian for years and even decades without taking on the attitudes, thoughts, and actions of Jesus?

Several questions soon became irrepressible. Why were so many of my good Christian clients not truly good? Why weren’t years of church attendance resulting in Christlikeness? And why weren’t Christians finding sustainable life-change in their churches? Attempting to answer these questions ultimately became my life’s work.

Two decades later, questions of transformation are suddenly the key questions of our time. What began as alarming surveys documenting the lack of virtue among Christian laity has now exploded as shocking public scandals among large numbers of our clergy. The victims of our sexual abuse, misogyny, larceny, and misuse of power have become too loud and numerous to ignore.

Millions of disillusioned church-goers, not to mention the secular culture at large, are all asking: “How can a faith system be right if it is not good?” The crisis now facing the evangelical church is not primarily one of belief—it is a crisis of character.

This should not come as a surprise. Jesus taught us that the real issues of life flow out of the heart. Knowing about the truth is not the same as the true condition of our inner lives.

To know the root of our heart condition, we have to be honest about the fruit of our lives. According to Jesus, those who love Him come to obey His commands.

Tragically, the necessity of a transformed life is often missing from popular evangelical gospel narratives. When repentance and faith in Jesus are reduced to primarily being sorry for sin in order to go to heaven after death, then the vision or ultimate aim for the Christian life is largely a matter of something that happens later. What happens in the meantime—including obeying Jesus—is logically optional, especially when assurance of salvation is promised as an automatic guarantee of having believed.

Contrast this vision of salvation with that of Jesus and the apostles. Jesus tells us that those who love Him obey His commands, and His final words commission His disciples to learn to do everything He taught, empowered by His abiding presence.

The apostle John picks up this theme in his first epistle, writing so that disciples can know that they have assurance of salvation, which he then defines as an outcome of faith, love, and obedience. The apostle Paul punctuates this vision

The gift of grace includes the desire and energy to obey God. of salvation when he tells us that God’s predetermined purpose in salvation is for every Christian to be “conformed to the image of his Son.” And this is echoed by the apostle Peter, who tells us that those who fail to add virtue to their faith are “nearsighted and blind.” The New Testament writers are agreed—people are saved by God’s grace, which empowers them to live a godly life.

Making Christlikeness the goal of salvation is not legalism or salvation by works. It is what it means to “participate in the divine nature,” to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” and to “set your minds on things above” (2 Pet. 1:4; Phil. 2:12; Col. 3:2). Grace is opposed to earning, but not to effort. In fact, the gift of grace includes the desire and energy to obey God. It is the fuel for the process of transformation. The trajectory of this vision of salvation leads us to cultivating a life message of following Christ from the inside out.

Jesus told a story about how all of this works in our daily lives. A businessman finds a priceless treasure that is buried in a field. With great anticipation, the man gladly sells all of his possessions in order to acquire enough money to buy that field. Then in joy, he purchases the field . . . in order to obtain the treasure as his own (Matt. 13:44).

This story highlights the three big moves that lead to transformation of our lives as disciples of Jesus: • First, we discover how valuable the treasure of life with God really is, and obtaining it becomes the primary vision for our lives.

• Second, we form an overriding passion to participate in it, and doing whatever it takes to acquire life with God becomes the organizing intention of our lives.

• Finally, we begin to take action steps to prioritize laying hold of the treasure of life with God, even when it involves great sacrifice—this use of means enables us to cultivate a life rich toward God.

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According to Dallas Willard, this “V.I.M. pattern” (vision leading to intention leading to means) is the vim and vigor of a disciple of Jesus. Each part of this pattern is vital to transformation, and as it repeats over and over, the character of a disciple is progressively changed to be like Jesus. Or, as the apostle Paul puts it, “Christ is formed” in us (Gal. 4:19).

The good news is that Jesus not only knows the way to heaven, but He also knows the way to an abundant life. This eternal kind of life begins now, with the transformation of our lives to be like Him. He leads all who follow Him into an interactive life with God marked by peace and love and joy.

These fruits of the Holy Spirit do not mature in us by wishing or by trying, but rather through following and training as His students. Disciples learn from Jesus how to be like Him as they imitate Him in every aspect of living.

The widespread collapse of Christlikeness in the lives of the people and institutions that call themselves Christian is more than a cause for embarrassment and sadness. We must now ask ourselves whether our definition of what it means to be a Christian can bear the weight of life and reality. It is time for a fresh hearing for Jesus in which His call to faith and discipleship is heard anew in our day. The power of Christ’s life comes to the world through the life message of His people.

Jesus not only knows the way

When you hear about the “fall” of various high-profile pastors, what goes through your mind?

“This didn’t just happen.” That is, these leaders didn’t trip and fall overnight. We have been in the process of becoming who we now are, and we are now in the process of becoming who we will be. So when I hear of these tragic things, I immediately think that something must have gone wrong much earlier. Thus, the issue to address isn’t just the crisis of what they fell into; it is the formation of their attitudes, motives, and feelings that shaped their character, which led to their fall.

to heaven, but

A lot of us are worried that we might be next—that “if so-and-so could fall, what does that mean for me?”

He also knows

Well, we do need to take that seriously. Paul wrote to the Galatians that when we are helping people who have been overcome by sin, we must “be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself” (Gal. 6:1). The key here is not to wait until the moment of your own temptation, and then try really hard not to fall. Instead, we have to be cultivating continual attentiveness to Christ, because we are changed as we are with Him. There’s a big difference between focusing on “not falling” and focusing on “being with Him.” The goal, after all, isn’t simply to hold ourselves back from sinning; it’s to really live for and love Christ. It’s to be adding to our faith, as 2 Peter 1 describes. After sharing a pathway of Christ-empowered character development, Peter says, “The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. . . . Do these things, and you will never fall away” (vv. 8-10).

the way to an abundant life.

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Q &A

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You ask for a “fresh hearing for Jesus” and His call to faith and discipleship. How do you envision this happening? Where could we start?

I’m struck by this idea that we haven’t paid enough attention to what Jesus said. All of us as Christians have pledged our allegiance to Jesus, but are we really sure we know what He taught? Perhaps we need to look again at the gospels and take some inventory.

What did Jesus say? What did He care about most? How did He respond to challenges? What were His priorities for daily life? How do we go about imitating Him? Imagine what might change in our churches if we started to organize all of our classes and groups to develop competency in the areas of what Jesus actually said and did. It would mark an important shift from the pursuit of knowledge to the pursuit of obedience. Thinking this way might really deconstruct some of our ideas about what we prioritize in church, and even what we believe is important. Even who we pick to lead us would change, wouldn’t it?

For example, when we hire a church staff member, how much do we focus on their competency at walking the way Jesus did? How much do we observe their walk and the extent to which they are an example of imitating Jesus in every aspect of life? This was the original framework of discipleship, was it not? And this is what the “qualifications” for church leadership in the epistles are really getting at, right?

As one who grew up right in the center of old-school evangelicalism, how did you end up thinking as you do? Where did your own “fresh hearing” come from?

Del Fehsenfeld III Senior Editor

Honestly, I had all these questions early on, and I really started searching. I think it circles back to what I mentioned earlier—the difference between knowledge and competency.

From there, I started to understand that to develop competency, a person has to “practice” . . . and suddenly the idea of spiritual disciplines started to make a lot more sense. Those disciplines are practices that help me become better at following Jesus; they aren’t ends in themselves. Just like someone learning a sport, a language, or an instrument, the spiritual practices are like the “drills” and the practice sets I do, over and over again, so that when the moment comes, the skill is there, ready, natural for me. So what would it mean to follow Jesus that way, and to seek to grow in my “how to” of following Him?

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MODESTO MANIFESTO

BILLY GRAHAM

We are the Bibles the world is reading; we are the creeds the world is needing; we are the sermons the world is heeding.

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A MANIFESTO OF INTEGRITY In 1948, Billy Graham began a series of evangelistic meetings in Modesto, California, along with his ministry team, comprised of Cliff Barrows, George Beverly (“Bev”) Shea, and Grady Wilson.

Through a series of conversations about ministry life and its challenges, the group met together in Modesto and resolved to uphold the highest standard of biblical morality and integrity. Many pastors, ministries, parachurch organizations, and individuals have been inspired over the decades to adopt these philosophies.

In the following excerpt from his autobiography, Just As I Am, Billy Graham went into further detail about the resolutions these men made in terms of financial integrity, sexual morality, publicity, and partnership with the local church. Their resolutions became known as “the Modesto Manifesto.”

One afternoon during the Modesto meetings, I called the team together to discuss the problem. Then I asked them to go to their rooms for an hour and list all the problems they could think of that evangelists and evangelism encountered.

When they returned, the lists were remarkably similar, and in a short amount of time, we made a series of resolutions or commitments among ourselves that would guide us in our future evangelistic work. In reality, it was more of an informal understanding among ourselves—a shared commitment to do all we could do to uphold the Bible’s standard of absolute integrity and purity for evangelists.

The first point on our combined list was money. Nearly all evangelists at that time—including us—were supported by love offerings taken at the meetings. The temptation to wring as much money as possible out of an audience, often with strong emotional appeals, was too great for some evangelists.

In addition, there was little or no accountability for finances.

It was a system that was easy to abuse—and led to the charge that evangelists were in it only for the money.

I had been drawing a salary from YFC (Youth for Christ) and turning all offerings from YFC meetings over to YFC committees, but my new independent efforts in citywide campaigns required separate finances. In Modesto we determined to do all we could to avoid financial abuses and to downplay the offering and depend as much as possible on money raised by the local committee in advance.

The second item on the list was the danger of sexual immorality. We all knew of evangelists who had fallen into immorality while separated from their families by travel. We pledged among ourselves to avoid any situation that would have even the appearance of compromise or suspicion. From that day on, I did not travel, meet, or eat alone with a woman other than my wife. We determined that the apostle Paul’s

mandate to the young pastor Timothy would be ours as well: “Flee . . . youthful lusts” (2 Timothy 1:22 KJV).

Our third concern was the tendency of many evangelists to carry on their work apart from the local church, even to criticize local pastors and churches openly and scathingly. We were convinced, however, that this was not only counterproductive but also wrong from the Bible’s standpoint. We determined to cooperate with all who would cooperate with us in the public proclamation of the Gospel, and to avoid an anti-church or anti-clergy attitude.

The fourth and final issue was publicity. The tendency among some evangelists was to exaggerate their successes or to claim higher attendance numbers than they really had. This likewise discredited evangelism and brought the whole enterprise under suspicion. It often made the press so suspicious of evangelists that they refused to take notice of their work. In Modesto we committed ourselves to integrity in our publicity and our reporting.

This became our Modesto Manifesto, as Cliff (Barrows) called it in later years. In reality, it did not mark a radical departure for us; we had always held these principles. It did, however, settle in our hearts and minds, once and for all, the determination that integrity would be the hallmark of both our lives and our ministry.

Above cont ent found online: BillyGrahamLibrar y.or g/ on-this-date-the-modesto-manifesto

WHAT’S IN YOUR MANIFESTO? Graham’s team ended up with clear integrity standards in four key areas that impact every kind of church and organization. At Life Action Ministries, we see all four of these issues as not only matters of honesty but also of humility (pride being the only reason not to invite public accountability). Prayerfully, let’s ask, “Lord, what standard would You like us to uphold, and what should be our personal/organizational policy to do so?”

Financial integrity: _____________________________ __________________________________________________ Sexual purity: ____________________________________ __________________________________________________ Attitude toward other ministries: ______________ __________________________________________________ Publicity and reporting standards: ____________ __________________________________________________ Other areas of needed accountability: _________ __________________________________________________

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A MESSAGE PREPARED IN A MIND

A MESSAGE PREPARED IN A

A HEART

A MESSAGE PREPARED IN A LIFE REACHES AND

by NANCY DEMOSS WOLGEMUTH

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We can’t be content to be teaching others truth that we ourselves have no intention of living!

W

hen it comes to spiritual things, many of us are talking further down the road than we’re actually walking.

I’ve honestly struggled with this over the years. At Revive Our Hearts we have, on daily radio, 260 programs a year. The demand for new content doesn’t stop just because I say, “Hold on, I need to let my life catch up!”

This is a struggle for me because we’re talking about so many areas of life and ministry where I’m challenging women to be right with the Lord, to be loving Him and passionate about Him. Yet on any given day, I can point to areas where I know my life has not caught up to the truth I’m trying to share with others.

Sometimes the Enemy can use that to blackmail me.

I don’t think the standard here is perfection, but rather, that we’re pressing toward living the way we know God has called us to live. We can’t be content to be teaching others truth that we ourselves have no intention of living!

I’ve heard it said that the last one to write up a will is the lawyer. And sometimes the last one to get a complete physical is the physician. Is it possible that the last ones to know they have a spiritual need could be those of us in the ministry?

I believe it was A. W. Tozer who said that the curse of the twentieth century (and it’s even more so in the twenty-first) is that

we think that because we know something, therefore we have it.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

We know about prayer; we know about a devotional life. We know about walking by faith; we know about an attitude of gratitude. We know about putting on compassion and kindness and humility and meekness and patience. And since we know these things, we assume that we “have” them, when in some cases our lives are way behind what we’re teaching others.

We’re talking further down the road than we’re actually walking. That’s why I think it’s an amazing thing that the apostle Paul was able to say to the Corinthians, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). In other words, Follow me.

He didn’t say, “Read my notes, listen to my messages, download my podcasts . . .”

He said, “Follow my life, because by God’s grace, I am following Christ. So when you follow me, you will be following Him.”

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It’s who I am in those hidden, private moments that matters.

It’s not just the life we display in public or on the platform that matters here. We can all make the necessary adjustments to be who people expect us to be on the platform.

And by “on the platform,” I don’t mean just speaking at conferences, but when we’re counseling with others, when we’re discipling others, when we’re leading a small group or a Bible study—any kind of public ministry.

We all know we’re not going to be rude, unkind, or selfish when we’re out doing ministry. But that’s not the only measurement here. It’s important who we are in private, when our public doesn’t know what we’re doing or what we’re like or who we are.

When no one else sees or knows the choices I make—where I am on my laptop, what I’m searching on the Internet, how much time I’m spending on computer games, what my attitude is within the four walls of my home or office, what I do with my free time, how I respond to my family behind the scenes . . . it's who I am in those hidden, private moments that matters.

Who I am in those obscure and hidden times has a lot to do with whether I will be able to stay in the race and honor the Lord all the way to the finish line.

The apostle Paul talked to the Romans about the power of a life message. In Romans 2:21–24 he said, “You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law.’’

And here’s the sad part: “As it is written, ‘The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’” You see, 16

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if we proclaim one thing and live another, those who know us best and who see the discrepancy are going to have every right to say, “I can’t believe what you’re saying. You’ve lost credibility.”

It’s our life, walking with Christ, that gives credibility to the message we’re teaching to others. Oswald Chambers said it this way: “The message must be part of ourselves. . . . Before God’s message can liberate other souls, the liberation must be real in you.”

So, I encourage you to ask yourself these questions: • Is there any issue God has revealed in His Word that I’m not obeying?

• Am I living and walking as a repenter?

• Am I quick to say, “Yes, Lord,’’ and to turn from my own way?

• Is my private lifestyle consistent with what I proclaim to others?

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth has served with Life Action Ministries since 1979. Her daily audio can be heard on hundreds of radio outlets or online at ReviveOurHearts.com. This article was adapted from her series on Potential Pitfalls of Ministry, accessible here: ReviveOurHearts. com/series/potential-pitfalls-ministry.

You see, if we proclaim one thing and live another, those who know us best and who see the discrepancy are going to have every right to say, “I can’t believe what you’re saying. You’ve lost credibility.”

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LIFE-CHANGING EVENTS FOR YOUR ENTIRE CHURCH

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LEADERSHIP LESSONS I LEARNED ALONG THE WAY

God is more concerned with my character than with my comfort or convenience.

Praying is foundational to preaching. Prayerless preachers cannot move the heart of God. Personalizing God’s Word is more important than theological knowledge.

Commitment to truth is more important than commitment to friends and their opinions.

Being a shepherd is more important than being an administrator.

My personal devotional life is foundational to and more important than my public ministry.

Faithfulness to God is more important than successor accomplishments.

Pleasing God is more important than pleasing people.

Being a servant is more important than being served.

A pure church is more important than a large or popular church.

Living by faith is more important than living by sight (feelings, frustrations, figuring).

My most important ministry is in my heart and my home.

The attitude, spirit, and lifestyle I long to see in others must first be in me.

Love the Lord with all your being.

Don’t allow your faith in God to become stagnant.

Don’t become bitter and hard through difficult circumstances.

Don’t compare yourself, ministry, church, or situation to others. Be content.

Don’t look for another place of service.

Look for God! Be accountable to God, to your wife and family, to those over you in the Lord, and to those you are leading.

Be teachable. Be a learner. Don’t let pride cause you to fall.

Be authentic in your life, marriage, family, and ministry. Be truthful. Be a person of integrity.

Personal, family, church, and national revival is our greatest need. Pray for and expect God’s intervention and invasion.

The kingdom of God is bigger than my local church.

Being filled with the Spirit is essential to a powerful and God-honoring life and ministry.

Brokenness and repentance are essential to fellowship and personal revival.

Eternal things are more important than temporal things.

Don’t focus on people, problems, or circumstances.

Focus on the Lord.

Pastor Bobby Moore (1934–2010) was a humble mentor and life example to many of us in the Life Action Ministries family. He served as a Board member, guest speaker, contributing author, and host to more than ten Life Action team events in his church. Shortly before his promotion to heaven, he shared this list with us.

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REASONS

I DON'T WANT TO SIN

by JIM ELLIFF

Because a little sin leads to more sin.

Because my sin invites the discipline of God.

Because sin may keep me from qualifying for spiritual leadership.

Because the time spent in sin is forever wasted.

Because the supposed benefits of my sin will never outweigh the consequences of disobedience.

Because my sin never pleases but always grieves God, who loves me.

Because my sin places a greater burden on my spiritual leaders.

Because in time my sin always brings heaviness to my heart.

Because I am doing what I do not have to do.

Because my sin always makes me less than what I could be.

Because others, including my family, suffer consequences due to my sin.

Because my sin saddens the godly.

Because my sin makes the enemies of God rejoice.

Because sin deceives me into believing I have gained, when in reality I have lost.

Because repenting of my sin is a painful process, yet I must repent.

Because sin is a very brief pleasure for an eternal loss.

Because my sin may influence others to sin.

Because my sin may keep others from knowing Christ.

Because sin makes light of the cross, where Christ died for the very purpose of taking away my sin.

Because it is impossible to sin and follow the Spirit at the same time.

Because God chooses not to respect the prayers of those who cherish their sin.

Because sin steals my reputation and robs me of my testimony.

Because I can never really know ahead of time just how severe the discipline for my sin might be.

Because others once more earnest than I have been destroyed by just such sins.

Because my sin may be an indication of a lost condition.

Because the inhabitants of heaven and hell would all testify to the foolishness of this sin.

Because my unwillingness to reject this sin now grants it an authority over me greater than I wish to believe.

Because sin and guilt may harm both mind and body.

Because sin glorifies God only in His judgment of it and His turning of it to good use, never because it is worth anything on its own.

Because sins mixed with service make the things of God tasteless.

Because suffering for sin has no joy or reward, though suffering for righteousness has both.

Because when I sin, I am committing adultery with the world.

Because, though forgiven, I will review this very sin at the Judgment Seat, where loss and gain of eternal rewards are applied.

Because I promised God He would be Lord of my life.

Jim Elliff is an international speaker, author, and the founder/president of Christian Communicators Worldwide (CCWToday.org). He is also one of six pastors of Christ Fellowship of Kansas City (ChristFellowshipKC.org).

Reasons

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BECAUSE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SIN AND FOLLOW THE SPIRIT AT THE SAME TIME.

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RESISTING THE PULL TOWARD SIN

by CRAWFORD LORITTS

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ne of the godliest men I’ve ever known was Bill Bright. Bill was in many ways an unassuming man, but God gave him the incredible assignment of building a movement that would proclaim the gospel around the world. Under his leadership Campus Crusade for Christ [today called Cru] grew to be the largest parachurch organization of its kind, as well as one of the most effective evangelistic movements in the history of the church. My wife and I had the privilege of serving with Cru for twenty-seven years, and today I serve as a member of the Board of Directors.

Bill was a man who seemed to walk and work in a state of continual worship.

Yet he never lost his sense of how weak and fragile he was; he never forgot that he was a sinner. I recall hearing him say many times, “Please pray for me. I don’t want to lose my first love. I don’t want to do anything that would bring shame to my Savior.”

He understood that God’s blessing and favor on Cru did not mean that he was somehow less capable of falling into sin. If anything, he clearly understood that the awesome, holy God of the universe had entrusted a vision and an assignment to a mere man who had weaknesses and temptations like everyone else.

And he wasn’t afraid to let others know that he needed the prayers of God’s people to help him overcome and finish well. His humility and sincerity drew your heart to him. You wanted to follow his leadership because he was aware of how much he needed God and His strength to resist the pull toward sinful disobedience.

In this regard Bill Bright was just like the rest of us. When a leader operates from a position of brokenness, he realizes that he is capable of sinful failure.

ONE DECISION AWAY It’s important to understand that as long as we are standing on this side of heaven, we are very capable of hurting the heart of God, betraying His trust, and damaging the cause of Christ. As Jim Reese, a businessman and the chairman of the elders at our church, says, “A challenge not only for young leaders but for all leaders is that you are one decision away from losing the ability to lead.”

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Seeking God and surrendering to Him has to be a disciplined process because the struggle and battle with the flesh is never over. Tim Kimmel points out that “Brokenness empowers a leader because it forces him or her to do more than lip service to the grace of God. When we realize how utterly helpless we are and how utterly self-destructive we are capable of being when left to our own devices, we gain a better understanding of just how amazing God’s grace really is.”

The apostle Paul touched on this theme several times in his epistles. In 1 Timothy 3:6–7, for example, he writes that a leader “must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.”

Also, take a look at Paul’s direct, sobering words to the young leader Timothy: Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart (2 Timothy 2:20–22).

Finally, notice how intentional and passionate Paul is about his life and ministry as he shares his heart motivation in 1 Corinthians 9:24–27: Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.

Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.

But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

NOBLE ASSIGNMENTS There are three big lessons in these passages.

First, the lives we lead as leaders should be well thought of by a watching world. People may not agree with us, and they may even despise what we stand for, but we should never give them an objective reason to reject us and what we believe due to the sinful inconsistency of our lives. How many times have we seen Christianity ridiculed in the press over the past few decades because an outspoken leader fell into the very type of sin he publicly condemned?

Second, our lives should match the message and the noble assignments that God entrusts to us. This is what Paul means by being a vessel of honor. God wants to serve His meals on clean plates. Our job is to make sure that our lives are clean. Again, God is not so much concerned about our abilities and gifts as He is about our personal holiness. We have to keep the plate clean.

Third, we will be disqualified by God if we do not run His race according to His rules. God does not put up with sin. And if we continue to sin, He will take His assignments away from us and declare us unusable and replace us with someone who will live for Him (1 Samuel 15). And in some cases the failure to clean up our lives will be the cause of physical death (1 John 5:16–17).

I am not saying that godly leaders never sin. But what I am saying is that patterns of sin should not dominate our lives, and our call to lead must be viewed as a call to Christlikeness in every area of our lives. Overcoming sin and keeping our hearts and lives pure is our passion. We want people to follow us because we are following Christ. We’re not just telling people what Jesus said; we are by His grace and strength living what He said.

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A PULL TOWARD SIN It is true that God will use our past failures, as in the case of King David’s adultery and murder (2 Samuel 11) and Peter’s denial of Jesus (Matthew 26:69–75). These failures break God’s heart and, if followed by repentance, keep our hearts tender, producing a sweet, God-dependent life.

But failure should not be the primary source of our brokenness. It is the ever-present realization that we could hurt His heart—that we carry within us the pull toward sin—that ought to keep us pushing toward God. We should be most afraid when we forget that we need His help to stand. “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

In an essay entitled “Becoming a Leader of No Reputation,” Scott Rodin wrote of his convictions about leadership after several years as a seminary president: If I could put one Bible verse on the desk of every pastor and every Christian leader in the world, it would be this, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). As Christian leaders we must be engaged in a constant process of self-evaluation and repentance. It is so easy for us to be tempted in a variety of directions, and when we stray, we impact our entire ministry. Good leaders undertake their work with a deep humility and a keen awareness of their own weaknesses and shortcomings.* Again, this humility is what I observed and learned as I watched Bill Bright and so many other leaders who influence my life. Their conscious awareness that they are capable of being overcome by sin produces a humility and authenticity that draws people to them but, more importantly, draws the attention and favor of God to them (1 Peter 5:5–6). As leaders, we should plead with God to help us never forget this.

LIVING HIS LIFE THROUGH US Leaders need to be particularly aware of whose life is on display. Our brokenness reminds us that Christ must live His life through us. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Those who follow you as leaders should see Christ both in terms of who you are and in how you go about fulfilling the assignments God has given to you. Your human tendency for sin should drive you to the cross, shouting all the way that you need Jesus. When you place your brokenness at the foot of the cross, you declare that you have nothing to prove and that Jesus Christ Himself makes Himself known through mortal, fragile human beings.

*Scott Rodin, “Becoming a Leader of No Reputation,” Journal of Religious Leadership 1, no. 2 (Fall 2002): 105–19.

Dr. Crawford Loritts is an author, pastor, and Bible speaker. He and his wife, Karen, have four children and live in Georgia. This article was adapted from chapter 4 of Leadership As an Identity (Moody Publishers: 2009); used by permission. Crawford shared more about these principles at a 2011 Revive Our Hearts conference, the audio and transcripts of which can be found at ReviveOurHearts.com/events/ revive-11/four-traits-leaders.

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REAL WORLD

HOW HONESTY SAVED MY JOB As told by Revive editor Dan Jarvis

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hen the Life Action team arrived in his Texas church, Rick Lawson had no idea what God had in store for him. “I was an engineering supervisor with one of the largest defense contractors for the U.S. government. In that role, I had top-level security clearance,” Rick explains.

“During revival meetings at my church, God began to convict me about being dishonest years earlier when I had filled out my security clearance forms.”

Rick had falsely checked “No” regarding pre-application drug use. “I had used drugs repeatedly while I was in college and on a few isolated occasions after that. I thought that if I told the truth on the application, I probably wouldn’t get the job. So I lied.”

That lie went unchallenged and without consequence— until he heard a preacher discussing the importance of a clear conscience. “On Sunday morning he addressed the issue of pride, and that evening he explained what it means to have a clear conscience,” Rick remembers.

Reflecting on what areas of his life might need change, the security application came to mind almost immediately.

“The form made it clear that any willful false statement could result in ‘imprisonment of up to ten years and a fine of up to $10,000.’” Rick thought that if he came clean, he would lose his job and possibly wind up in prison.

“My wife missed the clear conscience sermon, so I had to summarize it for her when I got home. Then I had to tell her about my security clearance problem. She was stunned.

“As I went to bed the next couple of nights, I lay awake 26

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thinking about the rich young ruler, the one who was not willing to obey Jesus. I kept thinking about that, even trying to negotiate or justify something else I could do to appease my conscience. I had so much joy from my new obedience to God, but I knew that if I refused to obey, that joy would be gone.”

Rick decided that obedience to God meant more than his job or even his freedom. He resubmitted his security paperwork, expecting the worst. “I told them I had recently surrendered my life to the Lord Jesus Christ. When I did, He had shown me how wrong it was for me to have lied on my clearance forms. I asked them to forgive me and told them how sorry I was that I had lied. I can still remember walking down the hall with that envelope in my hand. Satan kept harassing me, telling me that I was blowing my job and life for nothing.

“About a week later, my boss took my security badge away, informing me that the government would be investigating my case.” Rick was still allowed to work as a supervisor, but he wasn’t allowed in the facility, which meant he worked at a remote office or a desk moved to a hallway close to the entrance of the facility.

Co-workers knew that his security clearance had been suspended, but they didn’t know why. That gave Rick an interesting opportunity to share his situation, and therefore his faith. “I ended up having to talk to them individually. I was very clear and honest; after all, I’d already been convicted of lying! I was so conscious of my dependence on God, and I let people know that.”

Four months went by, and no word on the security clearance was forthcoming. “My wife and I were expecting that I’d have to go to jail. I went to work each morning knowing that I could be escorted out in handcuffs.”

Finally, the investigators called Rick for an interview. They had him write out his story by hand, and he was asked to explain what happened at his church that made him confess his deception.

“After they left, I waited for another five months before I heard anything further. Then one morning my boss said, ‘I’ve got bad news for you. Let’s meet in my office after lunch.’

“None of this was playing out as I had expected, but I was still prepared for anything. I went to my boss’s office at one o’clock. Just as I entered his room, the phone on his desk rang.

He answered and spoke briefly, then hung up. He had brought me into his office to inform me he could wait no longer for the results of my clearance investigation and would have to reassign me to another area. However, that phone call was from the Security Department, informing him that my clearance had been reinstated.”

Rick could sense God’s miraculous power at work, not only from the timing of the phone call, but in light of the fact that many security concerns like his are never resolved in this manner.

The level of clearance Rick had received was only the first step in getting back onto the classified project. The Navy also had to reinstate his access. The Navy contacted the company

two months later, denying his access to the project. The timing of this news coincided with the beginning of an unclassified F-16 project, to which he was transferred.

A short time after Rick’s transfer, the funding was cut for his previous project, and 3,500 engineers were laid off in a single day. “I had been certain that telling the truth would cost me my job and probably send me to jail, but the Lord used it to put me in a place of safety—a different project!”

The effects of Rick’s obedience went further. “My oldest daughter (then five years old) knew about my situation. One night at dinner, she said, ‘Daddy, would you tell me about Jesus?’ She later said, ‘I could tell how much Dad needed Jesus.

He was a liar, and I’m a liar too.’ Years later, the story led to my younger son’s profession of faith as well.”

Rick’s journey toward a clear conscience didn’t end there. He also had to confess to his company that he had lied on expense reports. He admits that these confessions (small and large) aren’t easy, but he encourages others to come clean as well.

“Being now years on the other side of a big decision like this, I have to say that it is worth having a clear conscience. Nothing is worth losing your fellowship with God.

If you need to clear your conscience, go with humility; be completely honest, realize that you deserve consequences because of your behavior, and throw yourself on the person’s mercy.

You just have to resign yourself that you’re going to obey the Lord regardless of the outcome.”

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MAKING IT PERSONAL

A CONVERSATION WITH GOD 28

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“How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin” (Psalm 19:12-13).

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eavenly Father, in the spirit of Psalm 139:23-24, I come with an important request: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

Lord, let’s begin our conversation talking about You rather than about me. I know that’s important, because You are holy; You are love; You are my vision of all that is good.

Here are some things I know to be true about Your character and perfection: 1. _________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________ And in view of that, Lord, I am grateful for the love, attention, and mercy You offer to me, one of Your creations. When I consider Your grace toward me, I feel: ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ Now, as I think about my own life message, I really want it to reflect You, Lord, and to bring glory to You. I want others to know what a difference You have made in my life. Looking back, I recall ten things that You saved me from: 1. _________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________

6. _________________________________________________ 7. _________________________________________________ 8. _________________________________________________ 9. _________________________________________________ 10. _________________________________________________ However, Lord, I do recognize that not everything in my heart has been right since the day You saved me. There have been times when my motives, thoughts, words, and actions haven’t honored You. Today, I want to confess those sins I am aware of, and ask You to surface any others I need to confess.

My prayer of specific confessions: _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Finally, Lord, as I think about my life message to the world, I want to represent You and Your holiness in the best way possible.

Are there any sins I need to confess to others, or make right with those who were affected? If so, how? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Do I have any heart-level accountability with a fellow believer, someone I could share these confessions with and ask for their help? Who would that be, and when could I connect with them? ________________________________________________ In conclusion, Lord, I’m going to read Psalm 32 and pray along with the David about the joy of Your forgiveness and love!

Amen.

5. _________________________________________________

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re you willing to say, along with the apostle Paul, “Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1)?

Contemplating my own life message, I’m tempted to add an asterisk to that verse, leading to some small print with a disclaimer: *Certain exclusions apply. Imitate some of what you see in Dan, but not everything!

It gets more convicting when I think of the verse in the negative.

Should I say to a new disciple, or even to my whole congregation, “Hold on!

Don’t imitate me, since I don’t really imitate Christ”?

Paul wrote about this dynamic in other places as well, encouraging Timothy and others he was training to carry on the lifestyle he was modeling.

When writing about being productive, he said, “You know that you ought to imitate us” (2 Thess. 3:7).

The two problems I keep running into regarding this are, first, I don’t feel worthy of being followed, and second, I don’t have time to get that close to people!

My sense is that in church culture (at least in North America), we’ve placed such a premium on preaching and teaching that it’s possible to neglect the central part of discipleship, which is lifestyle imitation. And alt hough appropr iate humility would never allow us to claim full 100% mastery of the Jesus walk, it is false humility, and a dereliction of Christian duty, to casually wave off lifestyle imitation altogether.

If you are a follower of Jesus, people should imitate you. And if you are a pastor, a father, a mother, or in a position of any influence at all, people will

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imitate you, even if you don’t realize it. As they do, you should keep imitating Christ. It’s not an option reserved for top-level leaders, elite monks, or long-dead desert fathers; it’s a calling, a reality, and a vision for you.

“Follow me as I follow Christ” is, in fact, another way of stating our Great Commission. Right?

I’m actually quite sure the Great Commission would survive without church organizations. People learning how to follow Jesus could still occur without doctrinal compacts, denominational meetings, expository preaching, youth groups, small groups, worship music, leadership conferences, theology textbooks, and even parachurch organizations like Life Action. In fact, you might even be able to make the case that disciples are multiplying faster in areas of the world that lack access to these amenities—which is a disturbing thought, isn’t it?

Maybe it has to do with focus—that when we aren’t tied up maintaining a discipleship system, we spend time making disciples instead? Or maybe there are aspects of discipleship that simply can’t be accomplished through sermons and group discussion questions—that require something more personal, more daily, more “watch this” rather than “hear this”?

We’ve tended to define Christian engagement as participation in church activities rather than in developing the character qualities of Jesus and mimicking His approach to life. The support systems we’ve erected might actually be holding us back!

I’m not suggesting we abandon those systems—at least not yet. But we

can’t let them become our mission; we can’t let the means become the end. We can’t let our involvement in so many Christian things become our excuse for not doing the thing Christ actually did.

So the challenge is before us: to live and model the way of Jesus, to cultivate a life message worth sharing with others, and then to intentionally share it.

Somewhere nearby to you, right now, there is a person who needs to take his or her next steps of faith. They need someone like you to invite them into something intentional—call it mentoring, call it apprenticing, call it friendship, call it lunch, call it hanging out, call it serving together, call it career coaching, call it whatever works in your context. The point is that the person doesn’t just need words; they need you. They don’t only need to hear something, they need to see something—your life message.

Perhaps it begins here: “My life has been transformed by Jesus, and He’s changing me from the inside out as I follow Him. Follow me, and I’ll show you what I’ve learned so far!”

Dan Jarvis Managing Editor

NEXT STEP

INVITING PEOPLE TO FOLLOW . . . ME?

A LEADER'S PRAYER Since my position announces, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ,” I’m definitely going to need Your help, Lord Jesus. In order to safeguard my life message, to live a life worthy of the calling I’ve received:

I choose to reject pride and embrace humility. My ministry must never become about me, or about my brand, or about my own success. This week:

I choose to reject bitterness and embrace forgiveness. My relationships with all people need to reflect Your love, purity, and grace. This week: •

Are the private aspects of my relationships with my spouse, children, and colleagues healthy?

• In my conversations, did I talk more or listen more?

•

Am I harboring resentment toward anyone or anything, in any aspect of my life?

I choose to reject secrecy and embrace honesty. My soul must not harbor wrong motives, thoughts, behaviors, or attitudes. This week:

•

Did I do anything to cause hurt or loss that I need to seek forgiveness for?

• Did I treat anyone with arrogance or condescension?

• Who did I elevate and empower instead of myself?

• Have I confessed all of my known sins to You, and to those they impacted?

I choose to reject self-leadership and embrace obedience.

My heart must always be saying YES to You, my Lord and Savior. This week:

• Did I view or dwell on anything I would not wish to be made public?

• Have I obeyed all the promptings of Your Holy Spirit?

• Who asked me difficult questions to hold me accountable?

• Was there any instance when I said no to You? Have I dealt with that?

I choose to reject my own way and embrace repentance.

I must turn away from evil and toward You, every day, especially as I invite others to do the same. This week: •

Did I spend money on anything that did not glorify You?

•

Did my acts of obedience to You flow from proper motivations?

I choose to reject earthly priorities and embrace a kingdom-first life. My highest vision is to give all I am because I love You, not to gain status or comforts for myself. This week:

• Was my use of time honoring to my call and to those who support me in it?

• Did I do anything purely to serve, not to show?

• What would my closest co-workers, children, and spouse report about my personal holiness?

• When did I spend time talking with You about Your priorities and vision?

• What did I give up because of my commitment to the gospel?

Lord, it is with a profound sense of gratefulness that I accept afresh my call to lead Your people—not merely in a leadership of words, but in a leadership of lifestyle— beginning with what I do next, after I say amen.

Amen.

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