The Incarnation of Christ

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that

provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters. As we prepare

to celebrate the birth of Christ at this Christmas holiday, we remember the

words of the Apostle John: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling

among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came

from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

That’s right, the word became flesh. The eternal God who was present before

creation, the one who brought into being all that exists, that very God took on

human life in flesh and blood. The God of all glory came to live as one of us.

His birth was miraculous, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the

Virgin Mary. But in so very many ways, his life was like ours.

We are challenged by many, many difficulties in life. So was Jesus, the Word

made flesh. Jesus was born in a place where animals were kept. It was dirty,

smelly, and lacking in privacy. Shortly after his birth, he and his mother and

adoptive father had to flee to Egypt because King Herod sent soldiers to kill

him. He grew up as the son of a carpenter/construction worker. Life was not

easy. Jesus often had to sleep in very rough conditions. Jesus said about

himself, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no

place to lay his head.”

Jesus was a rabbi. That means he was a teacher who had disciples who

followed him and assisted him. But Jesus’ disciples were so problematic. They

often misunderstood his teachings. They quarreled among themselves. Jesus

followers were constantly looking for a better position for themselves. They

made the life of their teacher very difficult.

And then there were the Pharisees. These men should have understood the

will of God very well. They spent much time in the study of God’s word

including the Pentateuch, the psalms, and the prophets. But they utterly

failed to understand the character and the will of God. Worse, they tried to

stand in the way of others who were hungry to know God.

Jesus’ life was not easy. Isaiah said about the incarnate Son of God, “He was a

man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” Why did God send his one and only

Son to suffer all of these indignities, hardships, and difficulties? Why? The

answer is wrapped in the words of the angel who spoke to Joseph in a dream

saying “…you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people

from their sins” and “they will call him Immanuel (which means “God with

us).”

This is the message of the incarnation, this is the message of Christmas: the

One who came to save us from our sins is God with us, Immanuel. He identifies

fully with your suffering, your challenges, your disappointments, your

heartache and your pain. The book of Hebrews says “He is able to deal gently

with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject

to weakness.”

So my brothers and sisters, this Christmas let Immanuel minister to your heart.

Find a quiet place to draw near to him in prayer. Ponder the difficulties and

challenges of his incarnation. Remember that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us,

God with you. Let him encourage your hear just now. Renew your strength by

drawing near to the One who identifies fully with you and loves you more than

you could ever know.

Merry Christmas!

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #Incarnation #WordBecameFlesh

Principles of Leadership - Communicate 2

 

This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters and leaders. 

During 2022, my theme has been “10 Principles of Spiritual Leadership”.  Today we complete our final principle which is Communicate!  It is my experience that when there is good communication, problems can be overcome and issues resolved.  However, when communication breaks down, everything suffers. This is true whether the context is inter-personal or organizational.  

Some years ago, I read an excellent article on Communication written by Dr. Dan Reiland, an American leadership consultant and Christ-follower.  His main points – which I share today – are an alliteration in English, and his instruction applies to both personal conversation and public speaking.  

1. Heart – is about connection. It's about being real and authentic.  When we reveal our humanity, people connect with us, and when they can connect with us, they begin to trust us. Connection is often best accomplished through storytelling; this is a skill that I’m personally working to improve upon. Heart is also about caring. When we genuinely care about the people we communicate with, it will show.

2. Humility – at its core, deals with conquering our pride. People are turned off by egotistical and arrogant communicators … by men and women who just love to talk about themselves.  Here’s a great diagnostic question to ask as we evaluate our communication.  Am I more concerned about what people will think of me, or am I more concerned about others and how their lives are impacted? 

On this point, Reiland offered some strong counsel for preachers and teachers.  “You may be a gifted communicator, but if you are tempted to teach on your own power, you are flirting with grave danger. Christ expects you to be fully dependent upon Him and His power, and He longs to grant it to you. But if you live in such a way, even subtly, that suggests you can handle it on your own, He will remove His anointing from you.”

3. Help - is the practical element of our communication that offers the listener useful truth that can be applied. Whether speaking in private or public, we need to ask ourselves, “what is the desired response of my audience?”  

4. Humor - Sometimes tension builds as communication is taking place.  The use of appropriate humor may help to temporarily break that tension and allow yourself and others the chance to calm down, step back from the emotions and refocus upon the discussion at hand.   

5. Hope – Men and women worldwide are searching for hope in these days.  As leaders, we have the opportunity – and responsibility – to point them to the One who is our Hope Giver. 

Colossians 4:6 (MSG) reminds us, “Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.”  

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Equipping Gifts

 

Welcome to Multiply; a podcast to encourage church planters, pastors and Christian leaders and I am Daneille Snowden.

As a Christian leader, we know that Jesus; “…gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:11 

God has a special purpose for each member in His Church! As stated in the VCP Reader Term 4, each church planter accepts the fact that we do not have all the equipping gifts. This is exciting because this unifies us all to work and flow together powerfully as one. 

Author Shirley Giles defines equip: “…as to supply with necessities such as tools or provisions, to furnish with the qualities necessary for performance.  It’s an action word—leaders are engaged in ministry, but their primary engagement is to use those gifts to engage others.” 

The first equipping gift listed is apostles. They are individuals that are sent out, especially to new areas. They are visionary in the ministry God has called them. [Read VCP Reader Term 4]

“The term apostle came from the Roman Empire. When the Roman Empire would conquer a city, instead of destroying it, they would send out apostles with the kingdom mindset to shift the government and how the city functions.” D. Kovalevich

Second is prophets. They are proclaimers of God’s Word and share it with others. They also equip others to be prophets. 

Third are the evangelists. They are the ones who share the Gospel of Jesus to many who have not heard the ‘Good News!’ They also equip other evangelists and send them off to evangelize.

Fourth are the pastors. They are the nurturing shepherds of the flock, the church. They guard and protect through God’s Word, His Love and prayer. They do this by preaching and teaching.

Fifth are the teachers! They are instructors, who clearly teach God’s Word. They equip the church to not only live in this world but be fully equipped to do God’s Work. 

The equipping gifts bring a unifying balance to the church, as it can then function as God created the church to be! 

I personally have enjoyed teaching on the equipping gifts throughout my ministry, as I did, I could see individual’s faces as they would lite-up with a revelation of what God has gifted them to do. 

Thank you for listening, please share this podcast with others. Our website is www.vcpencouragement.org, we are on Facebook and YouTube as well.

Model, Assist, Watch, Leave Part 2

 Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters. One of the greatest demonstrations of love a leader can provide is to model, assist, watch and leave ministry responsibility with a disciple. 

This was Jesus’ method of equipping his twelve disciples to change the world. He spent three years with them casting out demons, healing the sick and proclaiming the Kingdom of God.  He showed them how to preach the message of repentance and believing the Good News.  He assisted them as they ministered in the same way he did. Then he left them with full authority and full responsibility to make disciples of all nations. Jesus’ example was so clear: Model the way in ministry. Then assist your disciples as they learn to do what you do in ministry. Next, watch them minister without your help. Then release them to minister leaving them with the authority and responsibility of multiplying disciples. Model, assist, watch and leave.

So if his example of leadership development was so clear and so simple, why is it that so few pastors, teachers, and missionaries follow Jesus’ example?  There are plenty of Christ-followers who model good ministry practices.  But there are not so many who allow others who are less experienced and less skilled to join them in ministry. But Jesus certainly did. His disciples, were not skilled, or educated or cultured. They were often confused and tried to do just the opposite of what Jesus wanted to do. But he stuck with them and invited them to be his representatives. They assisted him in ministry. He assisted them and watched them as they carried out ministry on their own.

What was the result? When Jesus’ disciples ministered healing and clearly proclaimed Jesus as the Savior of the world, the rulers and elders of Israel “…saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).  How did Peter and John learn to heal a lame man and proclaim Jesus as Savior of the world?  They spent time with Jesus. Jesus modeled the way, assisted them in ministry, watched them minister and then left them with the responsibility and the authority to minister the way he did.

But many of us are impatient. We’d rather do ministry by ourselves. We don’t want to take the time required to train others.  We are happy to model, but we are afraid to assist, watch, and leave ministry responsibility in the hands of others who are not as skilled as we are. However, when we act on that fear, we play right into the devil’s hands. Satan does not want to see skilled, empowered witnesses for Christ going out from your church to minister with authority in Jesus’ name. So he tempts you to believe that you are more effective in ministry if you don’t take time to model, assist, watch and leave.

If you fall to his temptation you will miss a great opportunity to expand the kingdom of God.  So hear my word of encouragement for you today: model, assist, watch, and leave. Yes it is hard, sometimes your disciples will do things that bring embarrassment on you and on themselves. But in the end, your ministry and theirs will be far more extensive, far more impactful than if you had simply chosen to ministry by yourself. 

How will we fulfill the vision of a church in every African village by 2050? Model, assist, watch and leave. 

This has been “Multiply.” And I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #ModelAssistWatchAndLeave

Model, Assist, Watch, Leave Part 1

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that

provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters. When I lived in

Ecuador, I took my car to a very good and careful mechanic. Don Walter never

worked on my car by himself. He always had one of his four sons help him. If

all of his sons were in school, he would not work on my car. He said it was too

easy to make a mistake if there were not another set of eyes watching the

mechanical work being done. Don Walter was an excellent mechanic; his sons

were too!

A wise missionary once told me, “Never do anything alone.” He taught me to

take someone with me when I evangelize, to take someone with me when I

teach, always have a partner when I train. In ministry, “Never do anything

alone.” Don Walter practiced this precept as a mechanic and the result was

that his sons also became very good mechanics, just like their father.

When Jesus ministered, he took his disciples with him. When Jesus sent out the

seventy, he sent them two-by-two. Jesus modeled the way. And he expected

his disciples to follow his example. He explicitly told them to follow his

example after he washed the disciples’ feet in the Upper Room. Jesus said in

John 13:15-17, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done

for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a

messenger greater than the one who sent him.  Now that you know these

things, you will be blessed if you do them.” Jesus led by example; he taught by

example. His disciples learned by following their teacher’s example.”

Jesus way of teaching is powerful. It can be summarized in four words: Model,

Assist, Watch, and Leave. Model the way in ministry; be an example. Assist

your disciples as they minister. Then watch your disciples minister without

your assistance. Finally leave ministry responsibility and authority in the hands

of your disciples.

The four Gospels show that Jesus was very consistent in his application of this

leadership development methodology. He modeled the way to his disciples. His

disciples joined him in ministry. He gave them clear instructions for ministry

and then watched them minister. He helped them when they struggled and

failed. Finally he gave them full authority to minister without his supervisory

presence. Upon his ascension into heaven Jesus said, “All authority in heaven

and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all

nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the

Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And

surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Let me encourage you too to model, assist, watch, and leave. If you want to

train and multiply disciple makers and church planters, model, assist watch and

leave.

This has been “Multiply.” And I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this

encouraging word with today?

Delegate Responsibility and Authority

 

This is Multiply, a podcast to encourage Village Church Planters, Pastors and Christian leaders and I am Daneille Snowden. 

 “The things which you have heard me teach in the presence of many witnesses, entrust [as a treasure] to reliable and faithful men who will also be capable and qualified to teach others.”

2 Timothy 2:2 These are the words of the Apostle Paul to his disciple (his student) Timothy. 

To delegate means to assign responsibility or authority to another trusted person or persons. Majority of the time we delegate responsibility to others we personally have trained. We feel confident enough to relinquish a job or a position to them, knowing they are fully capable. 

We have over 35 years’ experience in leadership, one mistake we have done, and I have seen others do, is we did all the work and did not delegate to others. It crippled our future Timothy’s (our disciples), and it crippled the church. In Village Church Planting, the vision is Multiplication. As we read at the end of 2 Timothy 2:2; it says, “…who will also be capable and qualified to teach others.”  We will be able to do more when we delegate to others, and they will be qualified to continue with the work and vision God has called us all to do. 

When we were young pastors in our twenty’s, we found ourselves what we call in America ‘burnt-out’ (that is we had no more left in us to give), we were preparing the messages, the Sunday school class lessons, leading the worship, administrating the church and the list goes on. Until, we had a wake-up call when we saw no one was wanting to learn or participate in the work of God. God is so patient, by His grace He sent others to disciple us on the importance of discipleship and delegating. 

Take time now to stop and reflect on how you do ministry. Ask yourself the question; “Am I leaving room in the work God has called me to do, to bring along disciples and teach them?” And ask God how to transfer over to delegating authority to your well taught and trained disciples for them to ‘GO’ into all the world and preach the Gospel and teach others. 

I hope this has encouraged you today! This is Multiply and would you share this podcast with others? We are on www.encouragement.org and Facebook, plus YouTube.

Apply God's Word 2

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters. We have been talking about the three steps to Bible study: Observation, Interpretation, and Application. All three steps are important and so must be done well. But Bible study is always incomplete until we have made application.  A fundamental principle of the Village Church Planting ministry is to be practical, be doers of the word of God, not merely hearers.

But how will we know what to do until we have observed what the Bible says and have interpreted it accurately?  You’re right.  We won’t know what God wants us to do until we have studied his word through careful observation and honest interpretation. Then we are in a position to prayerfully identify practical steps of obedience. We must each take steps, in our own context, to put into practice what God’s word teaches us to do.

So often we are satisfied with good observation and sound interpretation.  We love to learn new ideas.  We feel strong when we have understood new concepts. These are attitudes we have acquired from school.  The world honors us when we demonstrate a powerful intellect and the ability to speak about new ideas with clarity.  This is all good, as far as it goes.  But this is not what God is looking for. God is looking for men and women, boys and girls who both understand his word and apply it in the context where they live.

So, when you study God’s word, don’t quit until you have determined at least one practical action step that you yourself can take.  Sometimes our application is monumental in scale. For example, you understood the Great Commission from your study of Matthew 28. Then you said yes to Jesus when he called you to plant churches in order to fulfill the Great Commission. That was a big decision with life-long implications.  But sometimes the steps we take to apply God’s word are seemingly small.  Let me share an example.  

One time I was studying Luke 19:1 – 9 with a group of friends.  You know the story. It is about the time Jesus was in the town of Jericho and went to stay at Zacchaeus’ house.  The first verse says, “Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.” As I was praying about how I would follow Jesus example of noticing people and ministering to new people, the Lord prompted me to take a prayer walk in a certain neighborhood near my church.  My wife and I went with another couple to walk and pray. We prayed for persons of peace.  It was a very cold day and everyone was inside their house… except one family.  That family stopped and talked with us and invited me to visit them the following week.  Through this prayer walk, I found a person of peace in the town of Greenwood just as Jesus found a man of peace in Jericho.  I’m sure I wouldn’t have gone on a prayer walk that day if I hadn’t been studying God’s word with a commitment to apply it in a practical way.  It is so clear to me that the blessing of finding a man of peace in this instance came directly from intentional application of God’s word.  And my obedience was not monumental. I went for a short walk. The prayer walk only lasted for 90 minutes at most. But lives were changed because of it.

So when you read or hear God’s word, don’t stop with observation and interpretation. In prayer ask God how you can put into practice what His word teaches. Then, without delay, apply the teaching of the Bible to your own life, context, and sphere of influence.  As you obey the Word of God, the Lord will meet you, strengthen you, and give you abiding fruit.

This has been “Multiply.” And I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #ApplyTheWord

Apply God's Word

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that

provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters. We have been

talking about the three steps to effective Bible study: Observation,

Interpretation, and Application. If we leave one step undone, our Bible study

will be fruitless.

As a church planter, you are often called upon to teach or preach from the

Bible. This is a great honor and a great responsibility. Knowing that many

people will listen to our words and be influenced by them, we often take time

to prepare our message very well. We pray. We read the Bible. We study the

Word. We make careful observation so we can have good interpretation. And

then we make plans to apply the teaching of the Bible to the lives of our

listeners. When we prepare this way to preach or teach, we feel good. We feel

confident. We have understood the Word of God and we know how our

listeners should apply that word to their lives.

There is just one problem with this Bible study method. We put ourselves in

danger if we only study the Bible in order to teach others what they should do.

We are in danger of becoming hypocrites who teach others to do what we have

not done.

Jesus was surrounded by religious hypocrites during his earthly ministry. He

said of the Pharisees, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you

hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the

outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything

unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but

on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” (Matthew 23:27,28).

These words of Jesus are very strong words indeed. When we teach others to

take steps to apply God’s word in ways we are not willing to do, we are like the

Pharisees. We look good on the outside, but on the inside we are not filled with

light and life.

So here is my word of encouragement to you today. When you study the Bible,

your first application should be personal. Study the Word, obey the word, and

then teach the word. Study the word to make application in your own life. Ask

yourself, “What must I stop doing, start doing, or keep doing in order to apply

this Bible teaching in my life?” Once you have applied a Bible teaching in your

own life, home, and family, you will be in a strong position to teach others.

Don’t be discouraged; don’t be afraid. The Holy Spirit will lead you. He will

help you understand the truth of the Scriptures and apply its teaching to your

life.

This has been “Multiply.” And I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this

encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #BibleStudy

Three Parts of Bible Study

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters. 

One of the greatest experiences for a new follower of Jesus is to discover the stories, the wisdom, and the truth contained in God’s word, the Bible. As a new believer, I loved to listen to people tell stories from the Bible and teach from God’s word. I also loved to read the Bible for myself. I was thrilled by what I discovered about Jesus, his wisdom, authority, and righteousness. It seemed that as I first started walking with Jesus, I paid attention to every word I read in the Bible.

But later in my life, I became much more casual in my reading of the Bible.  Sometimes, instead of reading to discover, I read because of duty. I tended to read whole paragraphs and even chapters without paying much attention to detail. This is not helpful!

As a village church planter, you have been taught the 3 major parts of Bible study: observation, interpretation, and application. To observe is to pay attention to the big picture and the small details of a Bible passage. To observe is to notice what is important and significant in what you read.

To interpret is to discover what something means. Sometimes one word has many meanings. When we interpret the Bible we determine what the Spirit-inspired biblical writer meant by the words that he wrote down. Interpretation is very important if we want to truly understand God’s word.  

But observation and interpretation is not enough. We are commanded in James 1:22 to not merely listen to the word, but to do what it says. If we are to be doers of the word of God, we can’t stop with interpretation, we must move on to application. To apply the word is the third step of Bible study. Once we interpret the word and come to understand its meaning, we must make plans to apply the word of God to our lives and the context in which we live.

I’ve been reading God’s word on a regular basis for 54 years. Over that period of time I have notices a sad truth about most Bible readers. We rarely practice all three steps of Bible study. Sometimes we read, but we fail to observe well. Sometimes we observe well, but we don’t take time to interpret a Bible passage to discover what it means. And often we are not very intentional about applying the Bible to our life and our situation in the world.

Oh, but when we do all three of these steps to Bible study, we experience the glorious liberty and joy that is the birth-right of the children of God. We have peace because we have discovered something about the heart of God and his will for our lives. And not only have we discovered something new and fundamentally true, we have begun to put that truth into practice. Living out the word of God results in blessing for ourselves, for our family, and for our community.

So let me encourage you today. Don’t just to read the Bible, take time each week to also interpret the scripture you read and make concrete plans to put what you learn into practice.  As you do so, you will experience power, wisdom and joy in your life and ministry.

This has been “Multiply.” And I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #BibleStudy

Principles of Leadership- Communicate

 

This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters and leaders. 

During 2022, my theme has been “10 Principles of Spiritual Leadership”.  Today we have reached our final principle, “Communicate!”  This is not the tenth principle because it is least in importance; rather, I have saved this for last because communication is fundamental for the successful execution of all the other principles. 

It is my experience that when communication breaks down, everything suffers, and when there is good communication, problems can be overcome, and issues resolved.

The following are some of the desired outcomes of clear communication.

• Clearly understood information or instructions 

• Alignment on desired objectives or goals

• Motivation toward a desired response

• Mutual understanding between the one communicating and the listener.  It has been said that “a man shouting down a well is not communicating.”  We will speak more about this in the next podcast.  

The book of Acts has many examples of clear communication as early disciples were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Consider the afore mentioned list of desired outcomes as we look at examples from Peter, Stephen, Philip, and Paul in the book of Acts.  

• In Acts 2, we read about Peter’s great sermon on the day of Pentecost.  "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?'" (37)  I would suggest that Peter’s message - and the desired response - must have been very clearly understood.

• Stephen gave his defense in Acts 6 and 7.  Scripture records that "These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke."  (6:9b-10). Stephen was able to offer a defense for the gospel that was clearly understood, though not accepted.    

• The story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch is recorded in chapter 8.  We read, "Then Phillip began … and told him the good news about Jesus … and the eunuch said … Why shouldn't I be baptized?" (35-36).  In this account we see clearly understood information, motivation toward the response of the eunuch, and mutual understanding between these men.  

• Finally, in chapter 17, we read about Paul speaking to those at the Areopagus.  "When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, 'We want to hear you again on this subject' … A few men became … believers." (32-34) Like those already mentioned, Paul was able to clearly communicate to his audience.

As leaders, it is important that we communicate clearly and with purpose. Good communication provides a foundation for relationship, mutual understanding, and resolution of problems and issues.  

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Interpret the Word of God

 

Hello this is Multiply the podcast to encourage village church planters and I am Brad Snowden.

It is so very important for us as church planters, pastors, leaders and Christians to interpret the word of God correctly. When I was asked to help fix a problem on a house the first place I went to look was the foundation. How was it built? If there were problems with the foundation no matter what I did to help the problem it would always return. I first had to address the most important part the foundation, then we could actually fix the issue.

2 Timothy 2:19 Paul writes to his young student Nevertheless the firm foundation of God stands sure … When we want to grow deeper into God’s word it’s very important to make sure our foundation is strong. Interpreting the word of God is important so that we can fully understand and use it to its greatest potential. Interpreting God’s word is simply understanding it in the way it was written. There are many ways to understand something but for me the best way to understand the portion of God’s word you want to understand is to study who it was written to. There can be many different ways to read something but the WHO can tell us culturally how this was important. 

If something was written with a Jewish cultural background, then how does this apply from that context. Bible scholars use the term context to discuss various aspects of the original writing of the text—historical, social, political, religious aspects will mean a great deal. When we study a certain passage there will be the need to read the passages before and after the passage and that will help us to know where and what the writer was saying. This will help in understanding the complete word and help us not misinterpret the word.

 I have found asking the Holy Spirit to help me to understand the writers intentions can be a great value. The apostle Paul writes in the epistles some harsh words but when we know the WHO, WHERE, WHY and in the context of the letter we can understand his passion to get the point across so there was no doubt to what he was trying to teach.  I know that we all strive to want to understand God’s word in a way that is impactful and I know that there is a very long list of ways to interpret God’s word but if we can use a few ways and practice these it will help. It has been my experience that as I wanted to learn more the Holy Spirit has always made it to be understood.   

 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workmen tested by trial has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth. My brothers and sisters as we lean on the Lord for the clarification of his word He will be faithful and you will be blessed by it. It is my desire that you continue to gain great knowledge through observing His word and interpreting His word all for His glory.” This has been a word of encouragement for village church planters I ask you who will you share this with today?

Principles of Leadership- Practice Accountability Part 2

 

This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters and leaders.

During 2022, my theme has been “10 Principles of Spiritual Leadership”. Today we complete the ninth principle which is Practice Accountability.

I closed my prior episode by saying, “Effective leaders have the courage to hold others responsible when they have done wrongly.” Today, we will discuss how good and godly leaders respond to serious mistakes and failures. I offer the following nine points for consideration.

1. Determine, is the situation serious? Not every situation is severe. Leaders neither ignore

problems nor over-react to them. Ask for wisdom from God and also consider seeking the

counsel of a mentor.

2. Meet with those involved and determine the cause … not only what happened, but why? Often,

understanding the “why” will not only help solve the problem but also help avoid similar future

occurrences.

3. Work with the individual(s) to determine what should have been done. Many times, those

responsible for the mistake know what should (or should not have) been done. Engage them in

the review process; listen to their thoughts and ideas.

4. Make it an opportunity for learning. Turn mistakes into a teaching opportunity.

5. Work with the individual(s) to determine what needs to be done to correct it. Here is an

important point. In most situations, do not try to fix it for them. Let them correct the situation;

they will learn much better if they have to do the work to correct the problem.

6. Make it a corrective experience. As I shared a few weeks ago in the episode about providing

feedback, “As leaders, the goal of our feedback is redemptive; it is intended to correct or

restore.”

7. Do “damage control”. By this, I mean that the leader needs to assess the nature and extent of

the problems resulting from the mistake. Who has been impacted? Are relationships damaged?

Has the reputation of the organization suffered? Are apologies needed? The leader needs to be

accountable to see that the necessary action steps occur (though he / she may not be the

person responsible to do each one).

8. Whenever possible, let the person who failed do the activity again in order to make the proper

corrections. This is part of the learning process. (see #4 above)

9. In extreme cases removal may be in order, e.g., gross and willful insubordination, recurring

failure without effort to change, or repeated integrity lapses. Courage may be required to do

what is best for the mission or the organization.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.