• Are we behind budget?
• How can we tighten up on the budget?
• Why did we go over budget?
• What is the budget?

And while those are important questions, there are even more important questions that you need to answer about the budget. Talk about these questions in your next budget meeting:

• Is our budget in line with the mission of the church? If reaching lost people is a big part of your mission, is that a big part of your budget? It’s likely that you need to adjust your budget or chance your mission?
• Does your spending reflect your core values? If you say children and families are important, do you spend more in those areas than you do on electronic equipment for the worship center?

I’m NOT advocating a right or wrong here. I AM advocating clarity. And making sure our mission and values are reflected in reality.

While the overwhelming majority of our church appreciated this move (after all, she was an excellent, engaging, and Biblically knowledgeable speaker), a small number raised theological concerns.  Of course, we studied the Scriptures in advance and made our decision on our findings.  So here’s a summary of my study and findings.

Simply stated, while I believe the Bible is clear that the role of a Lead Pastor, Lead Elder or Senior Pastor should be a male, we also believe that the Bible not only allows, but encourages women to fill leadership positions in the church.

The Bible

While time and space don’t permit a full discussion on the entire Bible has to say on the subject, it’s worth mentioning a few passages.

In 1 Timothy 2, Paul deals with the roles of women in the church.  He talks about dress, praying in public, and leadership.  These passages have sparked wild debate, some of which has resulted in lively and scholarly debate, while some has resulted in division and denominational superiority.

Paul specifically says, ““I do not permit women to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.” Most scholars agree that Paul is not discussing using authority, but usurping it.  The big question is:  Does Paul forbid a women to teach publically in the church?

I do not believe so.  Even if this was the case in 1 Timothy 2:12, we do not find these same admonitions in other letters from Paul, indicating that this may be a specific response to a specific problem.  Craig Keener believes that Paul was specifically referring to “unlearned” women who were spreading false teaching throughout Ephesus.    Paul’s use of such strong language indicates that it is the abuse or the “stealing” of authority that is out of bounds.

We must not take this one passage, or any one passage, and build our entire belief system.  Books and commentaries have been written explaining the nuanced language the underlying meaning of Paul’s words.  This passage, and others, should be viewed in light of the entire Bible.

The biggest problem with interpreting this passage in 1 Timothy as excluding women from leadership roles in the church is that Paul clearly commended women for their grace and skill in leadership in other epistles.

Context

It’s important to remember that the New Testament was written during a patriarchal time in human history.  Therefore, there are fewer references to women.  However, there is clear evidence that influential women were involved in spreading the gospel and building the church.

Romans 16 lists several women who occupied important positions in the church, including Phoebe, who is described as a minister, deacon or servant, depending on how you translate the word diakonos.  Paul also commends Priscilla, who is actually mentioned before her husband in Paul’s letter to the Romans.   Priscilla and her husband were instrumental in teaching Apolos  and Paul called them both his “fellow workers.”  In the book of Philippians, Paul encouraged Eudioa and Syntyche, two women, to agree in the Lord, noting that they had labored with him in the gospel.  1 Corinthians 11:5 discusses women praying and prophesizing within the worship service.

Paul didn’t approach ministry in every city in exactly the same manner.  Instead, he tailored his approach to the context. In Acts 16, Paul built the evangelistic work on a preexisting prayer group led by an upper-class professional woman named Lydia.   When people came into the church, they did not replace Lydia’s leadership.  In the book of Philippians (written to the church discussed in Acts 16), Paul urged two women leaders to agree in the Lord.  In this church, there wasn’t a discussion about women teaching or leading, because it wasn’t culturally appropriate.  Women in leadership was simply not an issue in this church.

There are many examples in the Old Testament of women leaders and ministers.  Miriam was a prophet (Exodus 15).  Deborah was the leader of a nation (Judges 4-5).  Esther was an advocate who saved her people.

Women are Gifted

Nowhere in the New Testament, does God imply that certain spiritual gifts are given exclusively to men.  1 Corinthians 11:4-5 indicates that both men and women in the early church had the gift of prophecy.  1 Corinthians 12:18, Paul describes properly equipped women who were appointed to teach.   “No restriction is mentioned in the numerous references to teachers and teaching in the Epistles except in 1 Timothy 2:12, where it is required that learning precede teaching,” writes Gilbert Bilezikian.

In most cases, those who forbid women to teach in the church based on Paul’s words in 1 Timothy, do not require women to wear the head coverings described by Paul in I Corinthians 11.  Furthermore, those who would not permit a woman to teach in a “main service,” often have no such problem with women or couples teaching in children’s or student ministry, yet the Bible makes no such age distinction.  These two examples are not meant to deflect the argument, but to point out the complexity of the situation.

Wayne Grudem writes:

We must also admit that evangelical churches have often failed to recognize the full equality of men and women, and thereby have failed to count women equal in value to men. The result has been a tragic failure to recognize that God often gives women equal or greater spiritual gifts than men, a failure to encourage women to have full and free participation in the various ministries of the church, and a failure to take full account of the wisdom that God has given to women with respect to important decisions in the life of the church. If the present controversy over women’s roles in the church can result in the eradication of some of these past abuses, then the church as a whole will benefit greatly.

In Gifted to Lead, Nancy Beach encourages male pastors to develop women leaders and teachers for several reasons:

• For the sake of the congregation:  Women leaders and teachers offer an important perspective and experience essential for both men and women in the church.  She notes that most churches have a higher percentage of women in attendance.  We’ve certainly experiences this through Suzy’s teaching.
• For the sake of the unchurched in our community:  A church that does not rely on the leadership of qualified and skilled women can appear out of touch with reality.  What we communicate, and the way we communicate, and who communicates, speak to our values.  Women need to hear from Godly male and female leaders.
• For the sake of the staff:  A team that involves qualified women will make better decisions.  Women have gifts, skills and wisdom that can help a church accomplish it’s mission.
• For the sake of our daughters:  Decisions about women in leadership will have a ripple effect for years to come.

The women on staff at Oak Leaf Church are extremely talented and gifted.  Those gifts deserve a platform and a place of expression.  Ladies like Suzy Jordan have been called and gifted to teach, and we would be wise to learn from their insight.

The Senior Pastor

The Biblical relationship of women and men in marriage, and the example of Christ’s headship in the church provide a good model for leadership in the local church.

The senior pastor or lead elder is ultimately responsible for the leadership of the local body of Christ.  The financial situation of the church, the ministries of evangelism and discipleship, and the effectiveness of the staff all points back to my leadership.  I am responsible and accountable for everything that happens during our church services.

If a guest speaker comes in and teaches false doctrine, that’s a reflection on my pastoral leadership and I’m responsible to correct it.  No matter who is teaching from the platform or pulpit, I am accountable. When Suzy, another member of the teaching team, or a guest speaker preach at Oak Leaf Church, they do so under my authority, regardless of if they are male or female.

Can a Woman Be a Senior Pastor, Lead Pastor or Lead Elder?

Before answering this question, we must affirm that the Bible teaches that there are important distinctions between men and women.

In Biblical Eldership, Alexander Strauch writes “Discrimination against women is a grievous sin and a dishonor to God in whose image women are created. Yet in our zeal to right the wrongs committed against women, we must not forget that God designed male-female distinctions in order for the sexes to beautifully complement each other and to exercise different functions in society. To deny those distinctions is as destructive and dishonorable as it is to discriminate against women. We need to be perfectly clear about the biblical teaching regarding women and men as fully equal in personhood, dignity, and value, but distinct in gender roles.”

John Piper writes in Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, “Over the years I have come to see from the Scripture and from life, that manhood and womanhood are the beautiful handiwork of a good and loving God. He designed our differences, and they are profound. They are not mere physiological pre-requisites for sexual union. They go into the very root of our personhood.”

God created us male and female, with unique attributes and distinctions.  There is a difference.

In the Old Testament, the highest spiritual authority came from the priests, the male descendants of Aaron.  In the New Testament, Jesus appointed men to be apostles, and this pattern is carried forward in the early churches, were the elders and pastors (the words are often used synonymously) are men.  In listing the qualifications of an elder, Paul tells Timothy that an Elder must be the husband of one wife.  In 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Paul consistently uses male pronouns to describe the office of an elder.

This does not mean that women are not gifted to teach and called to leadership, however it does mean, that based on the example of the Old Testament priests and New Testament apostles, that the role of Lead Elder should be a man.

For Further Reading

• Paul, Women and Wives by Craig S. Keener
• Gifted to Lead: The Art of Leading as a Woman in the Church by Nancy Beach
• Beyond Sex Roles by Gilbert G. Bilezikian
• Women in Ministry: Four Views by Bonnidell Clouse, Robert G. Clouse, Robert Culver and Susan T. Foh
• Women and Ministry:  An Article from Dr. Tim Keller.  Accessed at http://www.upc-orlando.com/resources/written/doctrines/doctrine06.html
• Biblical Eldership by Alexander Strauch

That’s insightful, and it made me think of pastors, and my own time as a pastor of a local church.

• As a pastor, I had to learn how to deal with criticism from people who didn’t think my sermon was deep enough. As a human being, I wanted everyone to like me.
• As a pastor, I felt the need to be “careful” about what I shared in a small group. As a human, I just needed to be honest.
• As a pastor, I was concerned with going to the next level in leadership. As a human, I needed to be content with where I was and who I was.

Pastors aren’t super-spiritual Christians with a members only call in number to Jesus. They are real people, with real families, mortgages and problems. We may fake a lot of things, because like the professional comedians, we feel the need to insulate ourselves from hurtful things, but deep down, we’re human like the rest of you.

I ended up making a lot of decisions because leaders at the next level made them. I hired some staff members because churches at the next level hired for those positions.  I put things into place around me because that what was necessary to go to the next level.

When I read the gospels, I don’t see Jesus nor his followers trying to get to the next level. New things happened and the church grew, but there wasn’t a relentless pursuit of what’s next. It seems like they did the next right thing and followed Jesus on a daily basis, and what’s next just happened next.

Looking back on my own leadership, I believe NEXT LEVEL THINKING was HARMFUL thinking. I wonder if it’s not an issue for you, too. Let me explain.

1. Next level thinking keeps you from appreciating WHERE you are. When you’re constantly looking to go to the next level, you’re not likely to appreciate the place were Jesus has you. Trying to get to 500 people might make you fail to appreciate (and lead) the 250 people God has entrusted to your care. As leaders, we’re always looking ahead, but if we’re not careful (and intentional), we will rush past our people. I see it happen in things as simple as the announcements. We spend three weeks announcing a huge event, but we send out one short email celebrating the results.

2. Next level thinking keeps you from focusing on WHO you are. I hope it’s not true for you, but in my own life, I tried to adopt what other people did, because I thought if those actions or behaviors were present in my life, the next level would come faster. In some ways, trying to go to the next level isn’t authentic – it’s forced, when perhaps it should come naturally.

This push back on detrimental next level thinking might sound strange coming from a self-proclaimed organizational or strategic buff. I’m FOR planning – in fact, I think we need to do more of it. I’m FOR strategy – the Bible says we need it. But constantly creating strategies and plans to usher in what’s next might have a detrimental result on the present tense.

Don’t let next level thinking keep you from appreciating WHERE you are and focusing on WHO you are.

My friend Mark does an incredible job with all things video. He produced last year’s Giving Rocket conference and he’s producing the Preach Better Sermons event on March 15.

Mark just announced a new service that could be an incredible help to your church. It’s called Video Announcements, and here’s how it works.

1. You send an announcement script with exactly what you want to say in your announcements
2. They professionally film and edit them, adding graphics and cool stuff.
3. They give you the finished files.

Many of my tasks reoccur on a regular basis, so I use my Task Management software (Things, from Cultured Code) to create a scheduled task. These tasks automatically show up on my “Today” list according to their due date. When I check them off, they go away, until they automatically reappear at the next interval.

Here’s a screen shot of my repeating task tab in Things.

You’ll notice that I plan and schedule the things that are important.

• There’s one task I do daily: Read the Bible (and pray)
• There are some tasks I do weekly: Review our website and tag stuff I clipped into my Evernote inbox.
• There are some tasks I do every month: Write in a journal to the kids, review Evernote clippings, spay my house for bugs, look at household spending, etc.
• I also have some annual tasks:  Go to the doctor and request my credit report.

For the past six months, Casey and I have been working behind the scenes on something that I believe can revolutionize your church. The idea: Preaching Rocket – intentional, focused coaching to help preachers develop their skills in communicating the Gospel.

Since preaching is one of the most visible things in all of the church, we wanted to create a place where people could get coaching and resources to help them prepare and deliver their own sermons. Not an online database of content, but a coaching system to help them find and develop their own unique voice.

To kick that off, our friend Jeff Henderson helped us put together an amazing event called Preach Better Sermons. It’s a 100% FREE 3-hour, online conference on March 15 with some of the best speakers in the world.

Check this out.

Andy Stanley, Dr. Charles Stanley, Louie Giglio, Dr. Vanable Moody, Jud Wilhite, Perry Noble and Jeff Foxworthy.

All of these incredible communicators are going to open up about how they prepare and deliver sermons. Or in the case of Jeff Foxworthy – how he delivers some of the funniest stand-up comedy in the world.  They are going to talk about what happens behind the scenes.

The event is absolutely FREE, and it will enrich you as a communicator.  And it’s just the beginning.  Preaching Rocket is going to deliver world-class coaching beginning on April 1.  Check out some of the coaching topics:

• Personal development
• How to get three weeks ahead
• How to preach to the unchurched
• Finding your unique voice
• Creating an annual teaching plan
• Developing a team
• Evaluation

Here are my notes from Andy Stanley’s the Grace of God, one of the books on my 2012 Reading List. The first half of this book could be called “Grace in the Old Testament” and would make a great sermon series. In fact, much of the material in the book comes from sermons Andy has preached. Here are some highlights and quotes.

• Grace is what we crave most but what we are hesitant to extend.
• When we are the receiving end, grace is refreshing. When it is required of us, it is often disturbing.
• You can no more deserve grace than you can plan your own surprise party.
• Creation is all about grace. When you look at the Garden of Eden, you’ll see that his expressions of grace were innumerable and his requirements were minimal.
• Sin brings shame and blame.
• In the life of Abraham, God showed that a righteous standing with God comes through faith.
• Grace is not reserved for good people.
• In the life of Joseph, we see that the law of sowing and reaping was thwarted by grace.
• With the Ten Commandments, we see that God initiated a relationship with his people before he even told them what the rules were. God’s law does not establish a relationship it confirms an existing one.
• The purpose of the law is not to make us good but to keep us free.
• Grace is slow to judge and quick to deliver. When people around me mess up, I default to the opposite.
• In the life of Rahab, we see God punishes sin, AND extends grace to the sinner.
• In the life of David, we learn discipline is often an expression of grace. If grace had a limit, David’s actions would have exposed them.
• You can run from God, but you can’t outrun him.
• In the life of Jonah, we see that the purpose of God’s discipline is not to pay people back but to bring people back.
• Receiving grace is often easier than dispensing it.
• The New Testament reveals people who were nothing like Jesus liked Jesus and Jesus liked people who were nothing like him.
• Jesus did not strike a balance between grace and truth. He dispensed full measures of both.
• Jesus was not uncomfortable surrounded by those who needed grace.
• Nichodemus showed us grace is not a reward for good people but it’s God’s gift to forgiven people.
• It’s always easier to talk about theology than our pain.
• We can talk about fairness, but the grace of God isn’t fair. Philip Yancey talks about “the scandalous mathematics of grace.” Interestingly, we don’t complain about fairness when we something works in OUR advantage. Jesus was extravagantly unfair.
• The church is most appealing when the message of grace is most apparent. The church is most effective when the message of grace is most evident.
• If the local church is God’s vehicle for dispensing the message of grace, then the local church is clearly not for church people. It’s for everybody.
• The church should not make it difficult for people who are turning to God (See Acts 15:23-29)
• As much as you may want to qualify this with statements like “what about the person who…,” grace can’t be qualified.
• First and foremost, God celebrates restored relationships.

Title: How a failed video game led to the most successful game franchise in history
Tags: failure, second chance, leadership, mistakes

In 1980, a Japanese company called Nintendo came out with an arcade came called Radar Scope. If you’ve ever seen a game called Space Invaders, it looked a lot like that. It was a shoot-em-up, one button, one joystick video game.

It quickly became Nintendo’s biggest game of the year in Japan and Nintendo looked to expand into America. Hiroshi Yamauchi, who took over the company from his grandfather in 1949 set up his son-in-law to run Nintendo of America.

Yamauchi decided to go all in on Radar Scope and started manufacturing thousands of cabinets and shipping them from Japan to a warehouse in New Jersey. They were able to pre-sell about 1,000 of them, but 2,000 more remained in that New Jersey warehouse collecting dust. Nobody was biting…nobody was buying.

When they realized that Radar Scope wasn’t going to sell anymore, they began promising a new smash hit.

So here was Hinoru Arakawa with 2,000 useless video game consoles and a promise to deliver a smash hit that nobody had developed yet. He announced an internal competition and received several ideas from a young employee with no video game experience.

He took a basic story – a guy trying to rescue a girl from an evil villain. And the villain would be a giant gorilla. They made the decision to take these 2,000 Radar Scope video games and convert them to a new game.

At the time, conversion kits were commonly used to update older games to get a few more quarters out of the kids. It’s the equivalent of reheating yesterdays leftovers.

They took the Radar Scope cabinet and turned the monitor sideways, so the game would play from the bottom of the screen to the top of the screen. They created a story…a common plumber saves a girl from an evil villain. The little plumber with the mission of rescuing the girl was known as “jumpman” and was given the name Mario, a suggestion from the owner of the warehouse where these 2,000 video game cabinets were being retooled. The evil villain holding the girl hostage would be a giant gorilla. The game would be called King King.

They removed the old game board and put a new one in. They connected the wiring harness, slid out the old plastic art and slid in new art panels. It took two months, but all 2,000 video games were converted.

The hero from King Kong would go on to star in several other video games, including Super Mario Brothers…Nintendo’s biggest selling video game ever. Mario has starred in more than 200 titles.

If Radar Scope had been more popular, Donkey Kong probably wouldn’t have been invented. But a leader named Arakawa and his team at Nintendo took a failure and turned it into a successful game, and in the process, created the most successful video game character of all time.

WHERE YOU COULD TAKE THIS

1. Second Chances. 
“God, my God, I yelled for help and you put me together. God, you pulled me out of the grave, gave me another chance at life when I was down-and-out.” – Psalm 30:2 (The Message)

2. God isn’t through with you. “…for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” – Romans 11:29

3. Failure isn’t fatal. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength
of my heart and my portion forever.”
Psalm 73:26 (NASB)

A few other people jumped on board, and later that night, #DinosaurRoom became a worldwide trending topic for a few moments.  It was actually crazy to watch it all unfold.  Lots of fun all the way around.

Here were some of my favorite #DinosaurRoom tweets.

• When you use the Bill Gaither Trio to explain the Trinity (3 people, one song), it’s a “Possibility” you’re in the #DinosaurRoom – @Tobymeis
• The potluck is the true and better buffet.
• A real church is where songs come out of a book and not off the wall. – @chadhunt
• Do you call the youth ministry service X-treme or Souled Out?
• We are very open to tongues in our church…someone sings El Shaddai almost every Sunday. – @hasonbhuffman
• Those guys literally ripped a phone book in half with their bare hands, then I got saved.
• What color robes do the young people like? – @cnieuwhof
• It’s not a skit…it’s an interpretive movement.
• Is it a vestibule, an atrium, or a narthex? We’ll decide in the #DinosaurRoom. – @jayhardwick
• The WMU is broadcasting for 24 hours from the roof of the fellowship hall this Sunday
• Should we take down the thrones on the stage that pastors sit in or leave them? – @caseygraham
• Do we sing the 3rd verse, or skip it and go right to the 4th?
• When is the best night to make everyone cry at youth camp…the first night or the last night? – @charlieswain
• Should offering plates be gold or silver? – @willgoodwin