Category: Kingdom Community

Fellowship and koinonia

orchestra

Everyone Gets To Play

Posted on by

If we ask ourselves the question “what does scripture say should happen when believers gather together” (i.e. the weekly service) we might be surprised. One thing that dominates the various passages (Rom. 12:6-10; I Cor. 11:17-24;I Cor. 14:26-33; Gal. 6:2; Eph. 5:19-21; Col. 3:16; Heb. 10:24-25; James 5:14-16) is that there should be the mutual exercise of gifts to edify one another. This may not seem radical at first but it is. How many Sunday services have you been to where many different people exercise gifts to edify others in a mutual way? Usually the preacher does nearly all the ministry. The worship time is a time when people other than the pastor exercise their gifts. But where are the different people exercising the various gifts in Romans 12 (e.g., exhorting, teaching, leading, mercy, service, prophecy)? Where are all the different contributors mentioned in I Cor. 14? In Eph. 5:19 Continue Reading →

patience patient

Accepting The Faults Of Others

Posted on by

We should be patient with the faults of others as well as our own faults. We can pray that God will give us strength to be patient and kind. We can remind ourselves that others have to bear with our faults. We can remember that we usually cannot correct our own faults without great effort; why should we be impatient with the habitual faults of others? Besides, human faults are an opportunity for us to allow our character to be refined. If it is our place to say something about someone’s fault, and we have mentioned it more than once then we should not nag someone so that we get into a dispute over it. We can just fulfill our proper role without becoming angry or aggressive. We should not take the situation out of God’s hands and into our own, but rather seek to honor God with our meekness Continue Reading →

humility

Upside-Down Leadership – Part 2

Posted on by

Last week we looked at three foundational attitudes for leadership: thinking of oneself as a student, a servant, and a messenger. Together these attitudes form humility in us. Today we build on humility with more ideas that deepen humility and equip us for mature leadership, whether we lead as a parent, a spouse, an employee, or in ministry. This is a straightforward discussion so please don’t get offended. Truly Love People. This means our heart is committed to the well being of the people we serve, with at least some measure of affection. If we don’t truly love the people then we need to find a way to change our heart or reconsider our calling. Be Weak and Strong. We are a flower in the field but also an anchor in the storm. This sounds like a paradox but it actually makes a lot of sense. Jesus made himself vulnerable for Continue Reading →

humility

Upside-Down Leadership-Part 1

Posted on by

You just finished leading a great meeting. Everyone was happy and happy with you. Several smiled and thanked you personally. At home you are feeling thankful for being able to lead. Then as you relax your mind starts wandering and thinking about what a great person you are. You are a fantastic leader, so much better than most…whoa! What happened here? You were just thinking about being thankful then you started getting delusions of grandeur. How quickly spiritual pride rears its head. Scripture teaches that you have an old self, or “flesh” that you have to fight. This explains why these temptations and impulses rise up within us. We also have an Enemy that takes advantage of our old self. So we shouldn’t get discouraged by temptations to pride. The early devout Christians considered pride the deadliest of enemies for those pursuing spiritual growth. They observed that once someone decides Continue Reading →

relationships, couple

12 Keys To Tackling Relationship Difficulties – Part 2

Posted on by

This is Part 2 of this post, Part 1 can be found here. KEY 7: Be courageous. One of the big reasons we don’t tackle relationship difficulties is that we are afraid. We are afraid of conflict, we are afraid of getting hurt, we are afraid of doing it wrong, etc. In order to combat this ask yourself if you are afraid. Then ask yourself if the fear is really as big as you think. Then ask yourself if that fear should really stop you from tackling a difficulty. Is it worth some discomfort to improve a relationship? The antidote to fear is faith. Trust God to help you and to help you learn. Trust the advice you have gathered. Trust the fact that your heart is in the right place and if you express true care then nearly everyone will respond reasonably. KEY 8: Grow your communication skills. When Continue Reading →