The Cry of the Orphan

In the previous post, we looked at the nature of our spiritual adoption in Christ. This is the second post resulting from my thoughts in light of Orphan Sunday that was celebrated last Sunday to bring awareness and call God’s people to hear the cry of the orphan, as God has promised he will. By the way, Orphan Sunday has already been scheduled for November 7, 2010. Plan to be a part of it!

As we grasp our adoption as children of God, our hearts should be moved toward sharing his heart for those who are without mother or father here on the earth. Exodus 22, right in the middle of the giving of the covenant to Moses and the Israelites, records this, “Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless” (Exodus 22:22-24). That is a stunning passage. God warns his people that failure to care for the orphan is a punishable offense. In fact, God warns the Israelite that if they take advantage of orphans, they will be killed, leaving their own kids as orphans! The stakes are very high.

The orphans will cry out. How we respond matters. The Scriptures lay out two directions our response will take. Either we will fail to come to the rescue of the orphan and face condemnation or we will show our true repentance through justice and defending the orphan. Let us briefly look at a few passages for each of these points…

Failure to defend orphans will be a source of condemnation

“Your rules are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them” (Isaiah 1:23).

“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robing the fatherless” (Isaiah 10:1-2).

“Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good. Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch men. Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the rights of the poor” (Jeremiah 5:23-28).

“‘So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Malachi 3:5).

Ok, so failure to care for orphans is bad. But did you catch that? The Scriptures discusses failing to care for the fatherless in the same breath as making unjust laws, accepting bribes, stealing, committing adultery or perjury and sorcery! Just as we are not to do those things, we are to care for the fatherless.

True repentance means justice for the orphan

“When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, please the case of the widow” (Isaiah 1:15-17).

“If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever” (Jeremiah 7:5-7).

“This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place” (Jeremiah 22:3).

“And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says, ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not thing evil of each other”” (Zechariah 7:8-10).

We have seen the warning against failing to care for the orphan. But consider the verses above. True faith and repentance will show itself in mercy and justice for the fatherless. Learning to do right means seeking justice for the oppressed and defending the orphan!

There are 143 million orphans in the world. It has been asked (don’t know where this originated – I saw it on Twitter!), “If there are more Christians in the world than orphans, why are there any orphans in the world?” James 1:27 tells us that “Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted.” In Christ, we have been adopted and have a spiritual Father who loves us and gave himself us for us. May we be moved to extend that love to the 143 million orphans here on earth that they may be cared for and Christ may be glorified.

Interact: How will you care for the orphan? Are you called to sponsor a child through Compassion? To adopt? To support someone who is adopting? To become a Big Brother/Big Sister?

 

Our Adoption as Sons

This past Sunday was “Orphan Sunday.” My small group tuned in for the webcast live from Nashville. It was great. In fact, I would encourage anyone reading this to watch the archive from the broadcast at www.gospelmusicchannel.com. Over this blog post and the next, I want to look at a theology of adoption and then the resulting call upon all believers to care for the fatherless, as orphans are often called in the Scriptures.

When I was in seminary, as part of my ministry to college students, I led a trip with students from the University of Central Florida to a conference in North Carolina. While driving the van back from the conference, one of the college girls and I were talking about her adoption. She and her sister had both been adopted as young girls.  She shared what I thought a powerful statement that her parents told her all growing up: “Other parents get stuck with their kids. We chose you to be our daughter.” Now, obviously, other parents don’t get “stuck” with their kids. But the picture is powerful: Her parents picked her, chose her, to be their child.

That is precisely the picture of God’s sovereign election f those whom he would save. He picked us to be his children. In the study of salvation, we often speak of the ordo salutis, that is, the order of salvation. In the evangelical church in America today, we have missed out on crucial part of that process: adoption. Consider the following passages…

“But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir” (Galatians 4:4-7).

“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory… Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:15-17, 23).

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13).

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will – to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely give us in the One he loves” (Ephesians 1:4-6).

The Scriptures tell us that those who are outside of Christ are children of Satan. “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire” (John 8:44). We were born to an evil father – one who wanted only our destruction and for us to share in his judgment and death. Yet, in Christ, we have been adopted as his children so that we can pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven…” (Matthew 6:9). Instead of being children of the one who wanted our judgment, destruction and death, we have been “made children” of the God who is the author of life and hope and joy.

In summary, we have been adopted into the family of God. The Greek word “adoption” (huiothesia) is actually the putting together of two words: “to make/appoint” and “son/child.” We have been appointed to be children of God. And given all the rights as a full member of the family. To God be the glory.

Now, the challenge is what does this mean for us as we consider the world’s 143 million orphans? That is will be the topic for the next post.

Recommended Study Bibles

As a pastor, I am often approached with recommendations on study Bibles and about how to pick a translation. While there is much that can be said on both of these, I created an Amazon list with my recommendations on study Bibles. 1 of the recommendations is NIV and 2 are ESV. A brief discussion comparing the NIV and ESV follows.

• Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible (NIV)
• Reformation Study Bible (ESV)
• ESV Study Bible

Given that list, let me briefly share what a “translation” is. Obviously, the Bible was not originally written in English. The Old Testament was primarily written in Hebrew and the New Testament was primarily written in Greek. Groups of scholars come together to translate from the original languages into English. As would seem obvious, not every group comes up with the exact same wording.

Now, the NIV (New International Version) is probably the most widespread English translation. It uses a “thought for thought” philosophy where the goal is to capture the essence of what the original authors were trying to say. The strength here is that in Hebrew and Greek, like English, they had expressions and colloquialisms that only make sense as an expression, not as individual words. The NIV seeks to preserve these expressions.

The ESV (English Standard Version) is probably the fastest growing in terms of adoption and use, especially among Reformed people. It is more of a “word for word” translation, meaning they were attempting to get every individual word as accurate as possible. The strength of the ESV is that it gets you very close to reading the original words, preserving the authors’ vocabulary.

Anyway, both the NIV and ESV are acceptable and excellent, each with their own strengths. Personally, I still lean a little toward the NIV only because of how widespread it is. It’s easier for me, as a pastor, to being using what I know most people are using. That said, all three of the above study Bibles are excellent and offer insights consistent with Reformed doctrine.

Was Achan a believer?

This past Sunday, I preached a sermon on Joshua 7 (notes and link to video in previous post). The theme sentence for the sermon was this: “The secret sins of one can derail the whole of God’s people from accomplishing the great vision that lay before them.” That is, Achan was the only one in all of Israel who broke the command not to take plunder from Jericho. Yet, because of his sin, Israel lost the battle against AI.

After he was found out, Achan did confess his sin. “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: when I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath” (Joshua 7:20-21).

When confronted with his sin, Achan did confess, telling the truth. That led to this question that I received over on Facebook. “Was Achan a believer?” For the sake of fully answering this question, I thought it helpful to bring it over to the blog where I could have some more space to answer the question. Let me present two main considerations in answering the question, following by an important implication for the church today.

1. This question presupposes repentance on Achan’s behalf. In fact, the original question on Facebook continued, “Is this what Paul would later call a “sin unto death” type of thing because he did repent and didn’t hold back on acknowledging his sin?” I would suggest that this was not true repentance. Walvoord and Zuck, in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, have this to say, “Achan’s response was straightforward and complete. He confessed his sin and gave no excuses. But neither did he express sorrow for disobeying God’s order, betraying his nation for booty, and causing the defeat of Israel’s troops and the death of 36 men. Any remorse he may have felt was probably only because he got caught” (p. 345). That is to say, he probably felt guilty about getting caught, not about the action itself.
2. Repentance is marked by action. The process of sorting through the whole nation from tribe to clan to family to individual must have taken some time. If he was really repentant, he should have come forward, not waiting to be singled out through that whole process. Walvoord and Zuck continue, “Since the method took time it would also give the guilty person an opportunity to repent and confess his sin. If Achan had responded in this way and thrown himself on the mercy of God no doubt he would have been pardoned as was the guilty David centuries later” (p. 345).

So, to summarize: No, I do not believe that was true biblical repentance and no, I do not think that Achan was a believer.

Maybe the most intriguing implication of this question is whether or not an unbeliever can be part of the covenant community.  We often speak about the visible church and the invisible church or, as Dr. Betters from Glasgow Church often calls it, the “true” church and the “show” church. That is, there are people who are members of the visible church – a local, visible expression of God’s people – who are outside of the covenant people of God. They are not part of the true, invisible church.

Here is Achan, an Israelite living in light of the blessings and protection of YHWH himself. Yet by his actions, he proved himself not to be among the elect. Though dwelling among God’s people, he himself was not one. Interestingly, in the couple chapters prior, there is a non-Israelite, and a prostitute at that, who proved herself to be elect by her faith. The lesson is this: there are non-elect pretending to be God’s people while those we least expect will show their election by their faith and be adopted into the covenant community.

Derailed: A sermon on Joshua 7

You can view this sermon at Glasgow Church’s media page.
Here is the outline of my notes from the sermon.

Introduction – Excited about Vision

• Quote on Twitter – “If you chase two rabbits, they both will escape.”
• Point of that quote: you must pick a single vision/objective and pursue it relentlessly. If you waffle or get distracted by another goal, you won’t accomplish any of them.
• Exciting time in the life of the church – most exciting in my time here
• Last week, at the congregational meeting, we voted on a cool plan
• What excites me is the Acts 1:8 component of this plan – “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
• Local, regional and global
  • Renovations & sports fields here to further our ministry locally
  • Planting a church in Middletown
  • Building an orphanage across the world

Transition

• This is an amazing vision – an exciting one to be sure
• The Scriptures, this morning, will offer us a caution to be heeded
• It is possible to be derailed from that accomplishing that vision

Joshua 7

• Set the stage – Moses led the people out of slavery in Egypt
• After wandering the desert for 40 years, the Israelites stood just on the other side of the Jordan, the Promised Land in site
• Moses’ last act was to lead the Israelites in renewing the covenant and passing the mantle of leadership to Joshua
• Under Joshua, the Israelites march on to take possession of their inheritance – the land God promised to Abraham
• The first city they conquer is Jericho – in a most amazing way – God demonstrated that this was all about him – He was the one who would give the victory

Defeat at Ai (2-5)

• Talk about energy and momentum – they just experienced a great victory over mighty Jericho
• Next up is a little town called Ai
• Read verses 2-5
• Ai is so small and weak, no sense sending the whole army – just send a couple thousand people
• Wait, what just happened here? They defeated mighty Jericho then fall to Ai?
• They were routed!
• Some think this was a result of overconfidence – only sending 3000 men – I’ll suggest that is not what was happening here – let’s continue on

Joshua’s Confusion (6-9)

• Read verses 6-9
• Joshua goes before God and says, “God, what just happened here? This isn’t the way it was supposed to happen!”
• Professor at Notre Dame who wrote a book, “Not the way it’s supposed to be”
• That’s how Joshua feels right about now
• He tears his clothes and falls on his knees, utterly confused
• After defeating big, mighty Jericho, how did we lose to little ole’ Ai?
• I thought we were supposed to take possession of this land, and we lose?

God’s Wrath Revealed (10-15)

• God hears Joshua’s prayer and responds
• Read verses 10-15
• God reveals to Joshua that there is sin among the people
• Someone took the devoted things – took plunder – from Jericho
• The culprit must be found and punished

Achan is the Guy (16-18)

• In every episode of the TV show, Monk, there is a point at which Monk figures it all out and says, “He is the guy”
• That is what happens here in verses 16-18 (read)
• God weeds through the Israelites by tribe (Judah), clan (Zerah) family (Zimri) and finally man by man until Achan is revealed to be the perpetrator

Achan’s Sin (19-21)

• Achan is brought forward and asked to account for his actions
• Read verses 19-21
• Achan confesses to stealing the plunder – taking a robe and gold and silver
• He coveted the plunder from Jericho and so, in secret, he stashed it
• Listen to Deuteronomy 7:25-26: “The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the Lord your God. Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Utterly abhor and detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.”
• Yet, this is precisely what Achan does

Two Consequences

• There are 2 consequences for Achan’s action
• We, like Achan, have a tendancy to downplay just how bad sin is
• But listen to the words of Jeremiah 8:11: “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious.”
• As I was preparing, I came across two quotes from the same author as he was discussing this passage.
• “We Christians generally have such tame views of sin; wrongly, we have no paranoia over this contagious power” (Davis, p.62)
• “Our problem here is – sinners that we are – we don’t think breaking Yahweh’s covenant is all that big a deal” (Davis, p.64)
• Breaking Yahweh’s covenant is a big deal – sin is a big deal
• And Achan and all of Israel is about to find out just how big a deal sin is

Punishment (22-26a)

• Read verses 22-26a
• The first consequence is punishment
• Sin must always be punished
• You all know the words of Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death”
• The JB Phillips says it this way: “Sin pays its servants, the wage is death.”
• Achan and his whole family – every family member and everything he owned – are stoned to death and then burned
• Men, let me speak to you for just a moment
  • This passage should serve as a strong caution for you
  • Your sin will affect your family – they will pay a price for your sin
  • Exodus 34:6-7 – “And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”
  • Men, if you are faithful, your family will be blessed
  • If you are unfaithful, your family will pay the price

The Whole of God’s People Suffer (1)

• Achan’s punishment was simply the first of the two consequences his sin would carry
• For the second, we need to go back to verse 1, which you probably noticed we skipped at the beginning
• Read verse 1
• Here, the author of Joshua previews what is about to come: Achan took some of the devoted things and as a result, God’s anger burned against Israel
• This is what we call “the reader’s advantage” – when we read this, we get a feel for what is going on in the story
• Joshua, remember, didn’t have the advantage of that perspective. It was happening to him!
• Have you ever watched a movie and you knew that a character was about to walk into a trap?
• That is why I don’t watch horror movies: the characters always walk into the scenario!
• Girls, don’t decide on your own you are going to go investigate a creepy old house where someone was killed! What do you expect to happen!
• That is what we mean by the “reader’s advantage” – we have a perspective that the characters do not – we know things they do not.
• Remember, Joshua was utterly confused because he didn’t know what just happened!
• But there is something very important for us to see in verse 1.
• It says that Achan took the plunder AND that the Israelites acted unfaithfully!
• One person broke the covenant, yet ALL of Israel was counted as unfaithful!
• The second consequence of Achan’s sin was Israel’s defeat at Ai

Secret Sins

• Here’s what I want us to learn from this story this morning…
• The secret sins of one derailed the whole of God’s people from accomplishing the great vision that lay before them.
• The Israelites were God’s chosen people
• He had promised this land to them
• So why had they experienced defeat?
• Because of one man’s sin – The secret sins of one derailed the whole of God’s people from accomplishing the great vision of capturing Canaan, the land of promise, as their inheritance forever.

Our Secret Sins

• Likewise, we have a great vision before us of taking forth the gospel in Glasgow and Bear, in Middletown and around the world
• We have a vision to carry forth the gospel in word and deed. It’s an amazing vision
• But there is something that can derail us – your secret sin, my secret sin.
• The secret sins of one derailed the whole of God’s people from accomplishing the great vision that lay before them.
• The secret sin of one of us can derail the whole church from accomplishing this great vision.
• Your secret sins, my secret sins, have an impact beyond what we know.

The Grace (7:26b-8:2)

• This passage does not end without hope and without grace.
• Read verses 25b-26
• “Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger” – when sin is punished, God turns away his just wrath
• The hope for us is that Christ has taken our punishment. Like Achan, we deserve to be stoned and burned. Yet Christ has take it upon himself.
• “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)
• The first consequence of sin is punishment – but God has taken that punishment upon himself
• If you are here this morning, and have never received Christ’s love, I encourage you to do so now. The Bible says that “If we confess our sins here is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9)
• Because Christ has died, your sin can be forgiven. God’s wrath against you can be turned away! Ask for that forgiveness right now.
• The second consequence is that the whole of God’s people are derailed from the great mission that lay before them.
• Read 8:1-2
• After sin is punished, God turns away his wrath. When that happens, he restores then to the mission he gave them.
• After Achan was punished, Israel returned to the task of capturing the Promised Land
• Notice the real irony of the story – at Ai, Israel was given permission to take plunder!
• If only Achan had been content to wait, he would have found that God had a plan that would have allowed him to have even greater riches than he could have imagined!
• When we confess our sins, Christ forgives us AND he restores us, as a church, to the mission, to the great vision, that lies before us.
• And, like Israel, we have great riches awaiting us: “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms n Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6-7)

Conclusion

• As a church, we have a great vision before us.
• Personally, I can’t wait to see how God work in and through our congregation in the days and weeks and months and years to come.
• Only one thing can derail us: secret sins.
• Bring your secret sins to light because sin dies in the light.
• And then receive the forgiveness of God made available through Christ alone
• And then, together, let us set forth to fulfill the great vision, to the glory of God.

Pray

God’s great plan

I am now returning from my blogging hiatus brought on by the missions trip to New Orleans that my wife, Kim, and I led. We had 50 people over 2 weeks go and serve that city. In returning to the blog, I wanted to share some thoughts from our theme passage, Ephesians 3:14-21.

When I think of the greatness of this great plan, I fall on my knees before the Father (from whom all fatherhood, earthly or heavenly, derives its name), and I pray that out of the glorious richness of his resources he will enable you to know the strength of the Spirit’s inner reinforcement – that Christ may actually live in your hearts by your faith. And I pray that you, firmly fixed in love yourselves, may be able to grasp (with all Christians) how wide and deep and long and high is the love of Christ – and to know for yourselves that love so far beyond our comprehension. May you be filled through all your being with God himself.

Now to him who by his power within us is able to do infinitely more than we ever dare to ask or imagine – to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever, amen! (Ephesians 3:14-21, J.B Phillips)

As I read that passage, I stop on the first line and the use of the word “great” – twice in one sentence – almost redundant and certainly need to be careful as it rolls off the tongue. What is God’s plan and what makes it so great? That is what I would like to explore in this post…

Before we can grasp what makes it so great, we must grasp what it is. Paul says that in the paragraphs (and chapters) that precede this passage. “Yes, to me, less than the least of all Christians, has God given this grace, to enable me to proclaim to the gentiles the incalculable riches of Christ, and to make plan to all men the meaning of that divine secret which he who created everything has kept hidden from the creation until now. The purpose is that all the angelic powers should now see the complex wisdom of God’s plan being worked out through the Church, in conformity to that timeless purpose which he centred in Christ Jesus, our Lord” (Ephesians 3:8-11, J.B. Phillips). God’s great plan was to use the church to draw unbelievers to repentance and life in Christ!

Verses 14-21 lay out five key elements that reveal what makes this plan so great…

• God’s great plan makes us God’s children – We are adopted into his family, made his own children (see John 1:12). We who were orphans, our only the father being the father of lies, have been made sons and daughters of the Great King!
• God’s great plan gives us God’s power – This passage promises us the strength and power of God through the Spirit’s indwelling. And through that power within us, God promises to do even more than we could think to ask him to do. What a wonderful promise. We do not need to live as those who are weak and afraid because we have God’s power within us.
• God’s great plan wraps us in God’s love – Paul challenges his readers to know how wide and deep and long and high is the love of Christ. That is, he invites us to catch just a glimpse of the breadth of God’s love. No matter what direction we go, we can not get past his love.
• God’s great plan fills us with God’s presence – Twice in the passage we are promised that God himself is indwelling us. “That Christ may actually live in your hearts by your faith” and “May you be filled through all your being with God himself!” All the Scriptures are the story of God’s presence with his creation. His indwelling now anticipates the day we will walk and talk with him in eternity.
• God’s great plan is for his own glory – This is not about us. It’s about God’s great plan, centered in Christ, to draw people to himself for his own sake. “To him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever, amen!” God has given the church a profound role to play in this plan, but it is not of our own strength, it is by the strength he gives us through his presence, that we can fulfill our great mission. And because it is by his power, it is he who gets the praise as he does infinitely more than we ever dare to ask or imagine.

Interact: What aspect of God’s great plan do you struggle to believe? Do you struggle to see your new identity as a child of God? Are you living without power? Do you wonder if God still loves you or if he has abandoned you? Do you think this is somehow for your glory, not his? Why? Confess your unbelief and ask God to reassure you as you meditate on this passage.

Mission to New Orleans

While I hope to do some blogging over the next couple of weeks, I am currently leading a missions trip to New Orleans. Follow our journey at http://missiontoneworleans.blogspot.com

Book Review: The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley

The Good Witch of the East, after telling Dorothy she needs to the Emerald City, tells her to “follow the yellow brick road.” While she encounters a variety of experiences along the way, she does end of in Emerald City. Why? Because that is where the yellow brick road leads. If you walk down a path, you will get to where that path goes. That illustration provides the conceptual framework for Andy Stanley’s new book, The Principle of the Path.

The Principle of the Path is a pretty easy read whose thesis is simple and straightforward: you get to where you are going because paths always lead to the same destination. Certainly, the strength of the book is how tightly it builds on this thesis. It never wanders too far from this central theme, while expanding on the role of submission, pride and even friends play in the process. Through excellent storytelling, Stanley reflects on Scripture, offering challenging applications, without ever alienating his readers. In fact, Stanley is careful not to let his readers let themselves off the hook. He recognizes the temptation in a book like this to say, “Yeah, I know someone like that,” without ever applying it to ourselves.

While I enjoyed the book, I perceived two shortcomings. First, it remains so tight to the thesis that at times it feels as if Stanley is repeating himself. I will take that every day, though, over a book that doesn’t stay close to its core. Second, I would like to have seen the introduction of grace. His assessment of the path we walk and the implications are excellent. But I would like to have seen him discuss the grace of God that makes new creations and can put them on a new path. In fact, I thought that was where Stanley was headed in the last chapter. “Because sometimes it is the destinations that are out of our reach that create the circumstances God uses to remind us that we are never out of his reach” (p. 159). Unfortunately, that is not where he goes with that chapter.
The subtitle of the book is “How to get from where you are to where you want to be.” If you are trying to figure out how you got to where you are now and how to change directions in life, The Principle of the Path is an excellent read.

When failure is the path of successful leadership

One of us met recently with the new CEO of a large company who was profiling his team of direct reports. As the CEO talked with us, he focused on the skills and background of each direct report. Impressed with the diversity of the group, we asked “Is there anything that everyone on your team has in common?”

He nodded. “At one point or another, each one of us has been fired.”

The CEO said this proudly. To him, being fired was a badge of merit (Dotlich, Noel & Walker – Learning for Leadership: Failure as a Second Chance in Business Leadership – p. 478).

I read this essay by Dotlich, Noel and Walker some time back as part of my doctoral studies in leadership. I have never been able to forget this quote. Did you notice that last sentence? To this CEO, he bragged about the fact that he and all of his senior execs had been fired somewhere along the line?

When I was fired from a job years in college, I wanted to stick my head in the sand and pretend it never happened. I tried to forget that experience, not make it a talking point.

Instead of denying it happened, lying about it or pointing fingers at others (cause, obviously it was someone else’s fault!), the successful leader finds a way to grow through it. What flaws of mine did this reveal? What could I have done differently? What part did I play in getting myself to this point?

As a leader, you are going to fail sometimes. You may even be terminated. Are you going to play the blame game, or are you going to look inward with a goal of growing personally and professionally? To this CEO, “being fired was a badge of merit” because each member of his executive team had grown through that experience. Their leadership since had been shaped and reshaped by experiencing failure. How will you respond when it happens to you?

Interact: How have you grown as a leader through a past failure?

Book Review: Matt Bell’s Money Strategies for Tough Times

Following is a review of Matt Bell’s Money Strategies for Tough Times
as part of my ongoing participation in the NavPress Blogger Review Program.

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Matt Bell’s Money Strategies for Tough Times is an excellent resource for all of us. Both personally and professionally, many of us find ourselves having to buckle down as jobs are lost and bills are due. With an excellent combination of biblical reflection, market insight and practical helps such as charts and assignments, Bell provides the reader a framework by which to think Christianly and then to act diligently with the money God provides.

Throughout the book, Bell asks simple, but piercing, questions. “Are you in a financial crisis or a financial crunch?” (p. 30). “How did you get here?” (p. 33). These questions set the stage for the reader to honestly reflect on his/her own financial situation and then to heed Bell’s clear plans for getting out of debt and for saving. If your wallet is being crunched, read Bell’s book. If you feel inadequate to talk about money, you will find Bell’s consistent habit of defining his terms helpful (“secured” vs. “unsecured” debt, etc). Additionally, the book contains several sidebars where he lays looks at some specific issues, offering warnings on payday loans, 0% percent loans and other potential pitfalls that offer more hope than they are likely to deliver.

If you are looking to cut back some bills, turn off your lights. If you are looking to get radical with your finances to get out of debt and to give generously, read Matt Bell’s Money Strategies for Tough Times
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