Drew Boswell

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Abraham and Isaac go to a Worship Service; Genesis 22

Abraham and IsaacLaurent de La Hire, 1650

Abraham’s Example of Genuine Worship: Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13

“After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. . . . .

9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.”

In the story of Abraham being tested by sacrificing his only son Isaac we get see a heart- wrenching story. Abraham who has not had a child his entire adult life, and it is only when he is old that God blesses he and his wife Sara with a boy. They had endured the cultural shame of having no children. Now God had promised to give them a child, and he had finally arrived.

We see from the text that Isaac is old enough to carry a load of wood for the sacrifice, and was very much aware of how such a time of worship would go, and what was required to offer it. He asks along the way, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” He would have undoubtedly experienced many such times of sacrifice.

The story takes place in the context of a worship service and it was to take place at a given location. But, what transpires there is not “Lord I lift you name on high,” or any other lighthearted song sung half-heartedly.

During this time, Isaac was asked to kill his son. If Isaac had become an idol to Abraham – or had Abraham put Isaac before the Lord, we really don’t know. But, what if this is how our times of worship are really supposed to be? What if they are supposed to be deeply personal, and extremely moving?

What if God says, “I don’t want your puny left over offering, I want your children.” What if God says, “I don’t want what you had planned on bringing to the worship service, instead I want that which is most precious to you.” What if he tells us ahead of the worship service what the offering should be, and the act of worship is bringing it to the alter – where you leave it?

Instead of thinking of worship as a place to go to get “fed, fueled, encouraged, excited, etc” or any other completely self-focused objectives, what if we are to learn how worship should be from this passage? What is worship is supposed to be heart-wrenching and truly sacrificial? This is not exciting. A time of worship where our faith is truly tested is not enjoyable. It is quite miserable. What if worship is where we stand before our God and he painfully extracts the sin in our lives. This is not done with a cup of coffee in the hand.

True worship, based on this story, leaves the follower of God truly and deeply joyful that there was a substitute given. This kind of worship leaves the worshipper caring less where they go for lunch after the service. They may even sit and weep because God has given His one and only Son for them (and their family).

At Abraham’s worship service there was deep, deep, deep sense of thankfulness. How long did Abraham hug his son after it was all over; a moment, an hour? Did they weep together?

Notice that God does not rip Isaac from Abraham’s arms. Abraham as to bring Isaac to the alter and lay him on it. We learn to lay down that which is most precious to use, to put God first, and he in His grace provides what we need to worship Him. Praise God for the ram caught in the thicket.

It would be a very risky prayer to ask God to give you this type of worship service. But what we see is God’s love for Abraham. God had a very big plan for this this man, he was to be a blessing to the entire world, and he would not allow anything (or anyone) to get in between Him and his precious child. If you are His child, he loves you with this same jealous love. He will not allow anything to get in-between you and Him. He simply loves you too much to see you caught up in sin.

We are to sacrifice that which means the most to us, so that others may be blessed. Jesus laid down his one and only Son so that all of creation would be restored.

God asks the same of Jesus’ followers. 1 John 3;16 “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” We give and sacrifice to maintain a right relationship with the Father, and he uses that faithfulness and righteousness to bless the world around us.

Pray for your worship service to be truly worshipful (but know this is a costly and dangerous prayer).

A New Cold War: Building Walls in Your Organization

imagesA Cold War

The Cold War was “a prolonged battle of wills, posturing and threats between communist Russia and the United States of America. Although no direct military conflict between the two nations ever ensued, the world was caught up in the constant threat of nuclear proliferation,” [1] . . . “not leading to direct battle and subsequent death, but rather an ongoing disposition between the two parties which never amounted to peace.”[2]

In organizations there can also be a type of cold war. This is where departments see other departments as a threat and this results in ongoing conflict between them. The organization operates with constant feelings of competition and lack of trust. It is known that if conflict erupts then it could lead to war, so there develops a cold war culture of political maneuvering and power plays. For the purpose of this article, we will borrow the managerial concept of “silos.”

What is a “silo” in an organization?

“Organizational silos are when individual people, departments, or companies, conduct business in a vacuum, without taking into consideration the impact their actions have on the entire organization. The term silo literally means a “storage tower,” “ a tall, cylindrical building that separates and stores material on a farm.”[3]

0901_013201What causes “silos” in organizations?

Silos develop when there is no overarching vision, various departments view other departments as competition instead of fellow teammates, resources are not centralized systematically or thoughtfully dispersed, and the leadership culture changes regularly.

______________________________

The following is a list of what happens in an environment where organizational silos exist:

  1. Limiting Information – Information is shared only with select committees, or individuals and plans are not shared with other departments. Information is either consciously or subconsciously kept secret or only a select few are allowed into the “knowledge circle.” The idea being that “this information does not involve their department, so why would we let them know this information?” In other words, collaboration and idea sharing between departments is very limited or simply doesn’t exist.

Because other departments are viewed as competitors, this ability to manage and control information puts one department in a better place to harness the resources they feel they need over another department. All departments see information as power chips to be negotiated and used for leverage.

In a silo environment knowledge is power.

  1. Departmental Events – Various departments hold events or organize a specific campaign and no other departments see it as their responsibility to make this event a success. Success for the event rests on the individual department leader’s shoulders alone. If it is a success or failure it is no one’s fault but the leaders.

This also leads to different definitions of success for individual departments. Different definitions of success lead to eventual conflict over expectations. Those that succeed in this environment are those that can go out and gather (personnel, donations, budget, etc.) the best. Staff can grow frustrated as their definition of success does not match the hidden unwritten organizational definition for success.

According to this way of thinking if there is a problem they see it as, “being either all yours to deal with or not yours to deal with at all.”[4]

In a silo environment the leader must be successful

(But who knows what “success” means?)

  1. Separate Decision Making – All leaders are not involved in decisions that effect the organization as a whole. Examples of this may be hiring of staff, budgeting, organizational wide campaigns, facility development, etc. Staff and volunteers grow frustrated as decisions are made that affect them and their department but they had no or very limited input to the process.

In a silo environment you are always reacting to problems (or other leader’s decisions), instead of being proactive toward improvement.

  1. Slow or No Change – Since departments are not working together and have individual free standing goals and objectives, budgets, resources, and personnel there is no grand or “big picture” oversight of the organization as a whole. One department may do very well, or fail miserable but the organization, and how it functions as a whole, changes little. They do not change or adapt as society changes. In fact, they pride themselves in their lack of change.

No one is asking the hard questions of how the unit is functioning as a whole, instead upper level management is focused on keeping everyone happy. So if one uses last years model (where everyone was happy), then why change how things function going into the future? If one department is doing poorly, it is understood that the leader needs to be replaced instead of looking at how all of the departments are working together to make it a success. It is much easier to replace a leader than to ask the hard questions as to why he/she failed.

In a silo environment it is better to keep things the same.

  1. No Common Vision – Each department has it own vision for where it feels it should go, but other departments and their visions are not taken into account when originating these goals. Often times these visions may even be in direct conflict with other departments. If there is no common vision and departments operate individually, then there are no feelings of responsibility for the organization as a whole.

If the organization fails, but the individual leader’s department was doing well, that leader feels that they did a good job, and feels no responsibility for the organizations failure.

In a silo environment it is common to hear, “that’s not my department.”

images1

  1. Competition Between Departments – In any environment resources are always limited. There are only so many people who will volunteer, give, and support an organization. In a silo environment department leaders compete for these resources. No concern is given as to whether or not a given person would function better in another department, or if other departments need stockpiled resources.

Because management’s goal is to keep everyone happy, monies and personnel are not moved from one department to another even if growth or decline has taken place. Individual’s specific talents and gifts are not considered and are expected to stay where they are. Since there is no common vision, each department struggles to ensure their vision is heard and resources are garnered to support it.

Even though the individual leaders know there is a problem (or problems) and they may be intellectually bright, the organization as a whole makes foolish decisions because each department fears that change will cost them individually. If there is a change that helps the organization as a whole, but hurts their department they are resistant to this change.

In a silo environment the other departments are the enemy, and they are involved in a cold war no one wants to talk about.

  1. Wasted or Underutilized Resources – With silos there is duplication of resources. All departments feel as though they need their own staff, stuff, and facility. The idea of sharing these things never even enters into their decision-making. So buildings sit empty, machines sit unused, and staff are limited in hours where as they could be full-time.

In a silo environment there is significant wasting of resources.

What’s the Cost of Having Missile Silos In Your Backyard?

When organizations function with departmental silos the potential of the organization is greatly limited, they are resistant to change thereby becoming obsolete, and creativity is crushed by feelings of competition. It is simply easier to do things as they have always been done before. There is no incentive to help another department, “when they look bad, it makes us safe or look good for the moment.”

______________________

[1] http://us-history.com/the-cold-war-a-brief-synopsis/

[2] Ibid.

[3] http://qconsultinginc.com/blog/risks-of-business-silos-and-tips-for-breaking-down-barriers-to-success/

[4] http://process-cafe.blogspot.com/2010/01/silo-thinking-and-why-it-is-bad.html

Valdosta Kids and Catechism

On Wednesday and Sunday evenings Valdosta Kids we are currently going through Lifeway’s the Gospel Project. We began in Genesis with creation, progressed through Moses’ leadership and the wilderness, and are currently beginning a new series on the book of Judges. What I like most about the curriculum, other than pointing every character and book to Christ, is how they have a “big idea” question for each lesson.

Screen Shot 2014-10-07 at 10.24.34 AMBefore we begin a new lesson or introduce a new character we quickly review previous weeks by reading these questions.[1] This forms over a three year period a type of catechism for the children. Traditionally, Baptists have moved away from catechismal type of questioning for various reasons (see linked article below), but this is a good example of how one can cover and review large sections of material very quickly.

Screen Shot 2014-10-07 at 10.24.53 AMThe following is an excerpt of an article written by John Piper and posted to the desiringgod.org website.[2]

 A Catechism?

1. What is a catechism?

In 1 Corinthians 14:19 Paul says, “In the church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.” In Galatians 6:6 he says, “Let him who is taught the word share all good things with him who teaches.” Acts 18:25 says that Apollos “has been instructed in the way of the Lord.”

In each of these verses the Greek word for “instruct” or “teach” is katecheo. From this word we get our English word “catechize”. It simply means to teach Biblical truth in an orderly way. Generally this is done with questions and answers accompanied by Biblical support and explanation.

2. What is the history of this catechism?

This is a slightly revised version of “The Baptist Catechism” first put forth by Baptists in 1689 in Great Britain. It was adopted by the Philadelphia Baptist Association in 1742. It is patterned on the well-known reformed Westminster Catechism. The few comments in the earlier questions are meant to help parents make things plain to their children.

3. Is there a Biblical pattern of doctrine?

Several texts teach that there is. For example, in Romans 6:17 Paul gives thanks that “you have become obedient from the heart to the pattern of teaching to which you were committed.” 2 Timothy 1:13 says, “Follow the pattern of sound words which you heard from me.” Acts 2:42 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.” 2 Thessalonians 2:15 says, “Stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us.” And Acts 20:27 says, “I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.”

So it appears that there was a body of authoritative instruction and even a way of teaching it in the early church.

4. Why is it important?

  1. We are required to “continue in the faith, stable and steadfast” (Col. 1:23).
  2. We are urged to “attain to the unity of the… knowledge of the Son of God…so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:13-14).
  3. There are many deceivers (1 John 2:26).
  4. There are difficult doctrines “which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16).
  5. Leaders must be raised up who can “give instruction in sound doctrine and also confute those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9).

5. How shall we begin?

Make them part of your family routine or just use them for yourself. I am excited about being a partner with you in building a “stable and firm” generation who hopes in God.

Learning and teaching with you,

Pastor John

I included this excerpt by John Piper because of his emphasis on using it to teach children and how this methodology links the church and home.  Click here to see related articles that deal with catechism and teaching children.

[1] Click here to see why review is so important.

[2] http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/a-baptist-catechismhttp://www.desiringgod.org/articles/a-baptist-catechism

 

Gain is Loss, and Loss Is Gain: It’s All In How You See It, 1 Timothy 6:6-10

00-rat-race-01[1]1 Timothy 6:6-10

 “. . . imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

This is a transition from Paul’s discussion of false teachers and teachers desiring to preach the gospel for the express desire to become rich. In response to those trying to make the gospel merchandisable Paul says, “godliness with contentment is great gain.”

First, what does the author mean by “godliness?” For our discussion, I interpret godliness to mean one’s relationship with Christ, through faith, and what He has done upon the cross. The contentment that we find through this relationship is where one finds meaning and happiness in that relationship. It is a sufficiency that comes completely from Him, as we trust in Him.

If one can learn to be content in their relationship with Christ then the lure and bright lights of this world will fade. There is a refrain in the old gospel hymn “Turn Your Eyes,”

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,


And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,


In the light of His glory and grace.”

Paul then references eternity. Contentment in Christ will keep one focused on what is truly important in this world. For you can’t take the car, the home, the clothes, the awards, diplomas, or anything else we have in this world with you into eternity (Job 1:21).

Paul says to be content with food and clothing. Why does he mention these items? And not shelter, security, family, etc.? Why food? Why clothing? Each time we sit down to eat or put on our clothes we know that these things will not last. Hours later we will crave something else to eat, and eventually our clothes will wear out, fade, unravel, or stain and we will need more.

contentment1Paul is saying that if we have food for the moment and clothes for the moment then be content in that moment. Don’t worry about lunch as you are putting the fork in your mouth at breakfast. Trust him now. Contentment is being satisfied with what you have at the moment and not having anxiety about the future.

Matthew 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (ESV)” 

But the real question is “are we content with the provision that the Lord has given to us?” Are we thankful for the grace of the Lord and His hand upon our lives? There are consequences for those that continue to stretch out from under His hand. The love of money is described as a snare and a temptation. He even has one metaphor lead to another.

 Temptation – Snare – Harmful Desires – Ruin & Destruction

The progression is one from freedom to slavery. You have a choice to give in or walk away from a temptation (Hebrews 2:18). Then if you walk into the temptation then you are snared. With a snare the more you move the tighter it becomes. Once you are tight in the snare and have given up on resisting your desires change. Then when you have become trapped in these desires you are ruined, you are destroyed.

The Greek word used for “love-of-money (specifically love-of-silver)” is “philarguria.” It’s root is “phila” like Philadelphia, “the city of brotherly love.” Wikipedia describes it as,

“Philia (φιλία philía) is “mental” love. It means affectionate regard or friendship in both ancient and modern Greek. This type of love has give and take. It is a dispassionate virtuous love, a concept developed by Aristotle. In his best-known work on ethics, Nicomachean Ethics, philia is expressed variously as loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue, equality, and familiarity. Furthermore, in the same text philos denotes a general type of love, used for love between family, between friends, a desire or enjoyment of an activity, as well as between lovers.[1]”

It’s interesting that Paul uses the “root” as a metaphor for this love of silver. Those that seek after it see it as something that sustains them and gives them nourishment. If a person loves money and sees it as the source of happiness and fulfillment then they will do “all kinds of evil” to get it. It doesn’t last so they must continue to seek after it, continuing to do even more evil in pursuit of it. We are encouraged to have this kind of love and pursuit after Christ — so the lie is that we give something else this adoration.

The true evil of lacking contentment in our relationship with Christ and desiring the things of this world above Him, is that we lose the freedom to pursue God’s calling upon our lives. We lose His voice and direction upon our day-to-day lives. This is one of the greatest strategies of the evil one.

If Satan has lost someone to Christ (eternity), then he will seek to make him ineffective for Christ’s kingdom (here and now). Satan will encourage him to seek after smoke, fool him into believing it will last forever, and convince him into taking time to store it in bottles. While he is chasing smoke a world dies around him.

Paul also describes this behavior as a “craving” or “to stretch toward” as if reaching for a fruit on a branch just out of reach. The love of money has one always reaching, stretching, and craving something that will not last.

tumblr_mz9pxuJK091s32vjxo1_500The stretching and craving after money leads one away from their God given calling and purpose and “pierced themselves with many pangs.” Another way to say this is to be “pushed on all sides to pain” The world seems to be falling in on them to the point of pain. They feel as they are starving to death, the pangs of hunger. Instead of having peace and contentment in Christ, they are always anxious and in pursuit of something that fades.

The folly of having love for money (above one’s love for the Lord) is that it changes our perception. We don’t see money as a tool instead it becomes our source of happiness. We walk away from our God given purpose, and we believe that our purpose is to be rich (or to have just a little more than we have right now). We see the world as permanent, and believe that eternity will never come (even though we would never admit that at church). Even if death knocks at our door, we can take our wealth earned on earth to heaven.

But those that see the truth have been so focused on Christ they have been seen by others as being poor. Their lives were not spent in seeking after riches but instead were steady predictable servants for Christ. If they do stand out in the crowd for their dress or meal it was because of its’ apparent poverty. What the world didn’t realize that their wealth was stored up in heaven, their purpose firmly understood, and their paths straight.

What the world sees as gain, Christians see as loss. What the people of God see as gain to the world it appears as loss.

_________________________

Francis Chan is one “celebrity” pastors who seems to have taken this idea to heart. Click here to read an article about how he has put his into action.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_words_for_love

"For by grace you have been saved through faith." Ephesians 2:8

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