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Month: August 2019

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A Culture Of Building Empires

Welcome to part 4 of my series on kingdom culture. Today I want to continue to address leadership through the analogy of shepherding. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Let’s listen to Him talking about His craft (Luke 15:1-7):

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

What intrigues me about this parable is that the shepherd seems to risk the entire flock to go get one sheep! It makes no sense to my logical mind! But that’s Jesus. And that’s the culture of the kingdom.

The question is, “What is the culture in our churches?” I submit to you that church leaders today operate by the mandate to secure the flock at all costs. Resources are expended to keep the congregation fat and comfortable and stray sheep are viewed as toxic and expendable. The ethos is not to risk anything to win the lost but to secure and expand the pastor’s church empire.

The value of the world system is to protect:

  • The income of the church/leader.
  • The reputation of the church/leader.
  • The success of the church/leader.

More like a business than the church of Jesus Christ, right? But that is exactly how many churches operate today. Overtly or tacitly it’s all about the numbers; the revenue; the size of the congregation; the number of churches in the network; the popularity on twitter. In other words, the modern church and their leaders are focused on the 99; the big number. Whereas, Jesus is focused on the one; the individual. Kingdom culture invests in building up people. World culture invests in building up empires.

Back to the parable… These sinners that Jesus associated with were Israelites ; Jesus’ ministry was to the lost sheep of Israel. It was the Jewish people who were living immoral lives. The parallel to the Jewish sinners of Jesus’ time would be the backslider in our local church context. For example, the couple living in fornication or the young lady who comes to church after partying every Saturday night or maybe the smoking cussbud or maybe the struggling homosexual. How do we treat these people? Are we willing to meet them where they are? I know a pastor who said you had to discipline and expose sin otherwise a demon would break loose in your church and ‘infect’ others. In other words, protect the flock. I have also witnessed backsliders trying to make a step back to church and back to God, and their leaders put barriers in their way. The leader made them apologize to him and to the church or they had to get permission from the leader to attend a service or to partake in communion.

Kingdom culture is radically different! Take the parable of the prodigal son which is also in Luke 15 (Not by coincidence. Jesus is making a point.). The prodigal son takes all his share of the Father’s resources and goes and wastes it. When he comes to his senses and comes back the Father seeing him afar off runs out to meet him and celebrates his return! The Father doesn’t shame him, doesn’t ask him to apologize and He isn’t worried about the prodigal son infecting his ‘good’ boy. In fact, He takes resources from the faithful son’s share to celebrate his wayward son’s return! How counter-world-cultural is that!

Kingdom culture is intensely personal. Kingdom people take a personal and genuine interest in each individual, especially those weakest and furthest from God. Kingdom people are motivated by love, not by increasing church numbers or pleasing the crowd or keeping a righteous image.

When we are more concerned with protecting the reputation of our church than reaching the sinners in our church, we are operating in world culture. When we are so concerned about our personal reputation that we won’t go somewhere questionable to find a fallen brother then we are operating in world culture. When we are more concerned with keeping the high status or big-tithing members happy than reaching the furthest from God then we are way off course.

James 5:19-20

19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Kingdom culture is shaped by the values of the King who left the glory of heaven behind to come to a fallen, sinful earth to redeem His lost sheep!

Copyright Matik Nicholls, 2019. All rights reserved.
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When Your Children Ask Hard Questions

Me and my little man.

Over the last 3 weeks I’ve been doing a series on kingdom culture which I hope you have been enjoying but today I’m taking a break to share something a little different. Actually, a lot different. Recently, I was going over the website for my blog, making a few updates, and I realized that I’d drifted a bit from my initial mission.

When I started this blog, it was my goal not only to share some of my thoughts but also some of my life. So, today I want to share an interaction I had with my son.

My new wife had popped into the grocery while I waited for her in the truck with my daughter and youngest son. And out of the blue he looks at me and asks, “So dad how long do you think this marriage will last?” I could hear my daughter snickering at the question. It was one of those hard questions that usually only children will ask so unabashedly.

As a side note, I encourage my children to ask me anything. I love the fact that they think about stuff and that they feel free to ask me whatever is on their mind. I never scold them and I never sidestep the answers.

So, in that vein, I said, “I expect this marriage to last for the rest of my life.” But I wasn’t going to get away so easily.

“Didn’t you expect the same thing for your other marriages?” he pressed.

“Well son, nobody goes into a marriage expecting it to fail.”

He looked thoughtful, “That makes sense.”

“But I guess what you are really asking is why do I think this one will be different. I believe that God chose this marriage not us. I believe that both of us followed His will when we decided to get married. Also, I believe there is a greater element of compatibility than before.”

“Well I really never saw you all quarrel so you could be right.”

And that was it. As I pondered the conversation, I felt the weight of past failures. Would it really be different? However, the feeling lasted no more than a moment. I have no illusions of my greatness as a husband or an easy road ahead but I am still very excited about the future. I am excited because I know Jesus is always with us in our marriage. Where we are weak, He is strong. With Jesus, our past does not dictate our future. He is THE reason for our hope.

I have rarely had the luxury of being able to tell my children that I did it all perfect so follow my example. My hope is that they will take the best from their parents and learn to avoid the worst. More than that, my ultimate hope is that my life will point them to Jesus, not to me. And I believe that that is a better heritage than a perfect track record!

Copyright Matik Nicholls, 2019. All rights reserved.
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A Culture Of Compliance

Welcome to part 3 of the kingdom culture series. Today I want to talk about how we lead people in the kingdom. Due to their span of influence, leaders have a great impact on the culture of the organizations or teams that they lead. Arguably nothing influences culture more than how we treat the people we lead.

Although it still exists in some organizations, I believe that the pitfalls of leading through intimidation, punishment and domination are well known and accepted in both the secular and church arenas. However, what is still prevalent and widely accepted today is a culture of compliance. Meaning that followers are required by leaders to comply with their instructions, no questions asked.

While compliance may be acceptable in the world value system, a culture of compliance is not kingdom culture. Many church people do not get this. Perhaps it is because in the Old Testament times it was all about compliance. The leadership system centered around a strict compliance with the religious laws and rituals enforced by the leader/king. It fostered an ultimate leader culture that was so dominant that the spiritual health of the entire community rose and fell on the character of the leader alone.

Then, over two thousand years ago Christ entered the scene and flipped the script. He modelled and taught a different kind of leadership. His leadership placed supreme value on winning the heart not just enforcing surface obedience. He said (Mat 5:27-28):

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Jesus was the ultimate change agent for this new culture. Changing the compliance culture that had grown deep roots over hundreds of years of Jewish tradition was a monumental task. Jesus repeatedly confronted it head on as he butt heads with the religious leaders. He did not mince words. Check Him out in action(Mat 23:27-28):

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

In the corporate world many leaders are focused on compliance with the company’s rules and the leader’s instructions. Insubordination is severely punished and not towing the line leads to victimization. When we consider that many churches function along the same lines we should be cut to the heart. The culture of the world has deeply infiltrated our churches. We have lost our saltiness.

Jesus walked in this earth humbly. He modeled the type of leader that God desires. His first response to sin was mercy and forgiveness. He did not seek to lord it over others and assert His authority and control as so many religious leaders do today. He loved us first and demonstrated it by dying for us while we were yet His enemies.

Remember when Jesus gave an experiential lesson to His disciples in servant leadership by washing their feet? He even washed Judas’ feet! The feet of the man whom He knew would cause Him so much pain and suffering; that man’s feet. In other words, Jesus loved and served the rogue church member who was out to assassinate His leadership. Think about that. Jesus’ objective is not to get us to serve Him by coercion or manipulation. He is committed to winning our love through loving sacrifice and service.

The church is rife with leaders who believe that their followers are best served by a culture of complete compliance to their leadership. Sin is shamed and punished. Those who obey unquestioningly and fawn over the leaders are favoured. Corporate world culture with a side order of hallelujah. I believe most church leaders are genuine but just do not understand how kingdom submission works. Submission is VOLUNTARY and in the church it is supposed to be RECIPROCAL. Forced submission is domination, period. Sometimes more subtle approaches like social pressure or withholding love or withholding opportunities are used but the cancer is the same. Corporate leaders use the same tactics.

The missed opportunity here is the opportunity to transform the heart through love. That is what Jesus is after. That is what the Father is after. That is what Jesus came to demonstrate. Gaining compliance without transformation of the heart is no gain at all in Christ’s books. The body of Christ is supposed to operate as a community of equals serving each other. We each have different roles and gifts but we are all directed by one head; Jesus Christ. We submit to one another. We honour one another. We love one another. There is no hierarchy of value in the body. The toe has the same value as the eye. Jesus says it this way (Mat 23:8-12):

8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

As kingdom leaders we have one job; to love all and to serve all. Our objective is not to gain people’s compliance but to win their hearts for Christ. That, is kingdom culture.

Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.