Jesus Christ, Who Cares

Here is my message for this Sunday. Feel free to comment!

Pastor Tye Male We Believe #4 October 11, 2009

Jesus Christ, Who Cares
Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 4:14-16

1. The Son of God – His Deity (Philippians 2:5)
   Jesus was fully God before the incarnation and after.
1. Present in Creation (Genesis 1:1; John 1:3)
2. Possesses the attributes of deity

·Omnipotence

· Omnipresence

· Omniscience

3. Claimed to be God (John 8:58)

·Lord, Liar, Lunatic

2. The Son of Man – His Humanity (Philippians 2:6-8)

Jesus was as much God as if He were not man, and as much man as if He were not God.

1. He became a servant
2. He willingly emptied Himself (2:6)

·He chose to “empty Himself”

·He did it obediently to provide man’s redemption (2:8)

·His divine attributes were still present

3. He became flesh

3. Because of the incarnation, we have an empathetic High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16)
1. He understands and empathizes

·Jesus was tested

·“Without” sin

2. We can approach God confidently

·It is a place of grace

·We receive mercy because of Jesus’ sacrifice

·There is grace to help in our time of need.

Jesus is the Son of God and He cares for me!

I don't wear "Christian gear"

Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) donned a hockey jersey with his basketball jersey #23 for a recent Chicago Blackhawks hockey game. The rub? Reebok has exclusive rights to the equipment and hockey gear for the NHL. Jordan is "Mr. Nike." So, they sewed a red patch over the Reebok emblem. Click here to read the entire article.

This is pure craziness. But it demonstrates to me the power of influence. If Michael Jordan is sponsored by a company, their revenue goes up because of his ability to influence people.

As Christ-followers, we have the power to influence people for Jesus Christ. Many people wear "Christian Gear" and some even have Christian bumper stickers. Anyone care for a "Testamint" to freshen your breath? Not me.

Love God, love people. Mark 12:30 paraphrased. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. Mark 12:35

Christ-followers are the best advertisement for a God who loves us, died on the cross for our sins, and rose from the dead three days later. And we advertise best when we are loving people the way Christ loved us, unconditionally.

Tye out.

How well are you leading?

I read a blog over at LifeChurch.tv: Swerve and this one written by Chris Johnson, one of the leaders at LifeChurch.tv, caught my attention. Like Chris, I have met some really great leaders, some so-so leaders, and some not-so-great leaders. I've met servant leaders who are extremely successful as well as some self-serving leaders who while being successful burn out people and organizations.

Chris offers a list of good vs. not-so-good leader characteristics.

Good leadership vs. Bad Leadership

1. Passionate about one’s job vs. It is just a job

2. Values one’s team vs. Has employees

3. Knows one’s team vs. Should not be personal at work

4. Takes time to develop their strengths vs. Focuses on their weakness

5. Gives people a chance to fail vs. Controls every decision

6. Takes time to reward good work vs. It is their job

7. Click here to read the other six.

Tye here. So, how did you do? Let me know. Tye out.

A word for the day: Love is...

I read these words from the The Message bible and thought I would share them with you today:

Love never gives up
Love cares more for others than for self
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have
Love doesn't strut
Doesn't have a swelled head
Doesn't force itself on others
Isn't always "me first"
Doesn't fly off the handle
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others
Doesn't revel when others grovel
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth
Puts up with anyuthing
Trusts God always
Always looks for the best
Never looks back
But keeps going to the end.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 The Message

Let me encourage you to pick out a couple of these phrases and determine how you are going to love someone based on what this passage says? Be specific. Let me know how it goes. Tye out.

Who I'll never be

One of my top five strengths on the StrengthsFinder is adaptability. This word needs no definition or description. And it serves me well, especially when I go Southeast Asia in November to train pastors. As a jazz musician you are constantly adapting to the ebb and flow of the band so it is also good in that setting. As a pastor it really serves me well because it helps me adapt to the ever-changing needs of people. It also helps me to embrace change - I love change!

Adaptability also has a negative side. In fact all strengths have a downside, and for me the downside is that I can adapt so well that I often become some besides myself. It also causes me to doubt my leadership ability because I see some of these incredible leaders and think that I will never measure up.

(I took the following from Craig Groeschel's website LifeChurch.tv: swerve)

I’ll never be as a great a leader as Bill Hybels.
I’ll never be as deep as John Piper.
I’ll never be as smart as Mark Driscoll.
I’ll never be as creative as Ed Young.

Click here to read the read the rest of the list.

Craig goes on to say what he can do:

• Cast a compelling vision and move people radically toward Christ.
• Recognize talent and gifts in people most overlook.
• Reach people for Christ who are far from God.

I have to be the very best Tye Male that I can be. I may look to some of these leaders as examples, but at the end of the day I have to be me and do what God wants me to do in the context where he has placed me.

I'll never be Hybels, Warren, or Westfall, but I am absolutely committed to being me. Tye out.

P.S. I'll never be as good a writer, speaker, and church founder as Craig Groeschel either!

Flood relief update

On July 2 we sent out our last team down to the flood zone. We received word that the safety of our volunteers was at risk due to the mold that was growing. Mold is an extremely hazardous thing to deal with and it requires safety precautions that we are not prepared to deal with. It was a difficult decision, but one that we felt was necessary to protect the longterm health of our volunteers.

Right now we are interacting with a group that may be coming to do construction. If they decide to come they believe they will be bringing somewhere around 6-800 volunteers, which would include up to 50% skilled workers. Please pray that this would come to fruition. Tye out.

NCBC Flood Relief 1

One of our Flood Relief Teams
(click the pic for a slideshow)

New Covenant Bible Church, the church where I serve in Cedar Rapids Iowa has been intensely involved in disaster relief as we saw much of our city go under water just a week and a half ago. Our newly formed ministry SWAT (Service with a Tool) took on a whole new meaning when the flood hit and we have been busy ever since figuring out the logistics of hooking up around 170 volunteers with the overwhelming needs of our community.

Wednesday afternoon I received a desperate call from Serve the City who was trying to coordinate the city's volunteer effort and they asked if we could take 40 homes to help. Well, after I had to be shocked to start my heart pumping again, I said yes because I believed at the time we had a mechanism in place to deal with that number. I was nearly right.

Thursday morning I shared with our SWAT leadership team that we had been asked to serve 40 homes and they came up with an awesome solution. We would invite people to "just show up" at the church Monday-Friday from 5-6 PM and Saturday from 7:30-9:00 PM and we would form teams and train Team Leaders on the spot and deploy teams right then a there.

It worked.

To date we have sent out about 14-15 teams with a total of nearly 70 volunteers. What an awesome church I get to serve at! Tye out.

A cup of cold water in Jesus Name - Flood update #7

Our church, New Covenant Bible, is manning one of the water distribution sites here in CR. We have 75 volunteers a day passing out water that has been supplied by FEMA. On Sunday they passed out 5 truckloads, and on Monday 2 1/2 truckloads.

Thanks for all the volunteers, and especially George Bushlack for heading up the site. You can see his back in the photos leading the group in prayer at the end of the day. Tye out.

Team leadership vs. top-down leadership in the church- part 1

(You probably ought to read my disclaimer on the right hand column prior to reading this blog post.)

I read an article yesterday in Leadership Magazine about The Next Level Church that has done away with the concept of having a "senior pastor" in favor of a team approach to ministry. Here is a couple quotes from the magazine:

“Eight years ago TNL Church dispensed with a senior pastor to implement a team leadership model.” Managing editor Skye Jethani of Leadership magazine says “They are not alone. I am in touch with churches from South Carolina to California that intentionally avoid a “senior pastor” in favor of a team model.” TNL’s Dave Terpstra says, “Just because we believe in a flattened structure doesn’t mean we don’t believe in leadership.”

Click here to read the entire article.

At New Covenant Bible Church we have not dispensed with the idea of a senior pastor, but we have embraced the team leadership concept where we are all equals serving in various areas according to our strengths. Our ministry is truly a collaborative operation and lacks that "top-down" CEO mentality of many churches today.

But there are some keys that make this work and I would like to discuss some of these over the next couple of days. Tye out.

P.S. So, why the PC vs. Mac pic? When I think of the top-down authoritarian style leadership I think of people wearing suits and ties, having special parking privileges, and big corner offices. When I think of team style leadership I have a picture in my mind of tennis shoe wearing, backpack carrying, coffee-shop hanging out guys. Whatever. : )

National Day of Prayer and the National Day of Reason

Thursday, May 1, the Linn County Association of Evangelicals (I serve as secretary) sponsored a National Day of Prayer observance on Mays Island in Cedar Rapids. It was a great day and I am thankful for a fair turnout of folks who came to show their support of this great nation we live in and to ask God's continued blessings on it.

The woman whom I am pictured with above is Dr. Lydia Hartunian, and she teaches at Kirkwood College where my son is attending, my wife attends, and I perform with the CR Jazz Band. Dr. Hartunian teaches Encounters in Humanities, Working in America, and Culture and Technology. She is also the faculty advisor for s student group called The National Day of Reason, a group that believes in secularism and humanism. She is also President of Atheists United for a Rational America. Dr. Hartunian is the founder and director of THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT!–an annual lecture series/celebration in November that encourages people to learn about godless living and critical thinking skills.

So you're asking yourself, what in the world are you doing in a pic with an avowed atheist? Dr. Hartunian came to the National Day of Prayer observance in order to show that there are citizens who do not embrace theism of any sort and so that they would be represented. But there's a twist...

Lydia led a group of students who held up signs encouraging people to "Pray, then act." In fact, they were collecting money for veterans in order to help them because they believe that hope is found in us rather than in God.

I thanked Dr. Hartunian and the students for their support of veterans and assured her that as a church we could always do a better job at reaching out to the downtrodden and disenfranchised.

We chatted for a long time and found that we have common ground in many things, not the least of which is that people need to be reminded that one of the greatest things we can do is to reach out to others, regardless of our motives.

As believers in God, our motive for loving others comes directly from God's own son Jesus Christ:

“I give you a new commandment – to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples – if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35 NET Bible

I thank God for bringing a new friend into my life. Tye out.

Thought of the day

Quote of the day from "SparkPeople"

Panera Ponderings

Today was a short day at Panera. They had too many people and offered to let me leave early, at 10:30 AM, after only working for 4 1/2 hours. So I ran home, showered, and headed on back to Panera to work on this side of the counter. I left the church last night at 6 PM with about 3 hours work left.

Last week I had a lady come to my register at Panera who was quite condescending and difficult. Worse yet, she had her teen daughter watching her pushy ways. She rattled off her order so fast not even Superman could have kept up! Then, I asked for clarification and she did it again!!! In the end her impatience and demeaning ways cost her more time than it saved her. She was back in this morning and was treating Susan like a cheap servant. Why do people do this? Is she any better than us? (hmm, I am sure glad you asked that question!)

(a slight rant warning) Some people feel they are better than others. They are demanding and demeaning to others who lack their social status. Often they are handsome or pretty, have social as well as financial capital, and are used to being in charge everywhere they go. How do I know this? (keep reading)

But for the grace of God, there go I. Once upon a time I treated people like this - ouch. I was brutal to waitresses and sales people. But you know what? Now that I work in a grace environment I cannot bring myself to act this way. But for the grace of God, those beautiful, wealthy people would not have all the above. I'm not rich, but God has blessed me as far as this world is concerned.

Instead, I want to strive to be thankful for what God has given me and use it for his honor and glory.

That's it for now. Love God, love people. Lord help me to do this. Tye out.

But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33 The NET Bible

a self-serving king

As my blog readers know I have a passion for servant leadership, partly because of the pain I have experienced in the past due to abusive leaders.

A few days ago I was reading about King Saul who started out well, but did not finish that way. David killed Goliath the giant and won the affections of the people. Saul was happy that David took the big guy down, but became sad when David's fame rose above his own. Here's what Samuel records:

The women who were playing the music sang,

"Saul has struck down his thousands,
But David his tens of thousands!"

This made Saul very angry.... So Saul was keeping an eye on David from that day onward.
1 Samuel 18:7-9 NET Bible

Later we find Saul trying to kill David. This is because deep down inside Saul is a very insecure leader and because of that could not celebrate with David. This is a tragic mistake many leaders make.

So, how do you respond when someone else succeeds? When the team chooses another's idea over yours? Are you able to celebrate other people's accomplishments, even when they supersede your own? It's not always easy for me, but I sure try. Tye out.

Observations on Servant Leadership from the Bible

I am wrapping up my second read-through of the Bible (NIV) and each time different things stand out to me. This time I noticed several mentions of servant leadership that I bookmarked and would like to share with you.

Servant leadership has almost become a passion for me because for years I was more of a self-serving leader. I enjoy serving other people but I must say that most of the leaders that I knew - ones who were very successful - were more top-down, authoritarian leaders who were quite self-serving.

The Bible gives us ample insights into the life of many leaders. The first servant leader I noted in my read-through is Moses:

Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth. Numbers 12:3 NIV

The irony of this is that a few chapters later Korah (who led a rebellion against Moses' leadership) accused Moses and Aaron of being self-serving:

Why do you set yourselves above the Lord's assembly? Numbers 16:3 NIV

The fact is that God chose Moses and Aaron, and God had to do some convincing to get Moses to agree to lead Israel. You see, servant leaders often do not see themselves as some kind of great leader and they typically shun publicity. Here we see Moses being attacked simply because he said yes to God (reluctantly) and was serving God's people.

Another passage I noticed was in 2 Samuel 7:18-21 where God tells David that his son would build the temple. His response was typical of a servant leader:

7:18 King David went in, sat before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you should have brought me to this point? 7:19 And you didn’t stop there, O Lord God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant’s family. Is this your usual way of dealing with men, O Lord God? 7:20 What more can David say to you? You have given your servant special recognition, O Lord God! 7:21 For the sake of your promise and according to your purpose you have done this great thing in order to reveal it to your servant. 2 Samuel 7:18-21 NET

Did you see how many times David referred to himself as a servant? KING David! He was truly a servant and his reaction to God speaks to this. A self-serving leader would have called a meeting, sent a memo out, and demanded to be treated with respect, even citing past accomplishments or levels of education. Not King David.

Finally, this morning as I was reading I noticed in 3 John 9 this morning and unfortunately it is in the negative. John the apostle writes:

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. 3 John 9 NIV

Self-serving leaders love to have their names in lights and desire position and prominence. John goes on to say that he will call attention to this fact and warns the believers about him.

I don't know about you, but I want to lead like Jesus who was the ultimate servant leader. Tye out.

Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.... Philippians 2:6-7 NIV

Happy Anniversary Judy!!!

Today my wife and I are celebrating our 22nd anniversary, although we actually had the celebration part Wed-Thu in Walnut Creek, Ohio. See previous post.

As I look back over our 22 years together there have been some really cool times and some really difficult times. We were married while still in College - not the best idea! But I was looking at six years of school to get a four year degree - i rn't tu smart - and waiting another four years didn't seem like the right thing to do.

In our early days of marriage I was very self-serving and much of the difficulty was because of this. Years later I would take Eph 5:25 seriously and begin loving my wife unconditionally.

Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her.... Ephesians 5:25 (NET Bible)

I am most certainly not the husband I want to be, but by God's grace and with his strength I am trying to become the servant-leader, loving husband my wife needs from me.

Happy 22nd sweetheart! I love you so much and thank God for you daily! Tye out.

Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as the weaker partners and show them honor as fellow heirs of the grace of life. In this way nothing will hinder your prayers. 1 Peter 3:7 (NET Bible)

Staff meeting at Mr. Beans

First of all, let me say how much I love serving at New Covenant Bible Church! It is an awesome place to serve!

Yesterday we had our offsite half-day equipping staff meeting today at Mr. Beans in Marion. Mr. Beans has a conference room and free wi-fi. Is that utopia or what!

During this four hour meeting we eat, pray, and discuss strategic topics.

I love serving with servant leaders who "check their agendas at the door." We work together as a team for a common goal.

I especially like the fact that there are no "superstar, free agent types" on the team. There is no positioning and posturing - just a will and attitude to work together for the advancement of the kingdom of God.

Does your church staff sound like this? If so, you have a "one in a million" and we should thank God for what he has done! Tye out.

Servant Leadership

At New Covenant Bible Church we are on a mission to raise up servant leaders and one way we do this is through an 8 week study called Lead Like Jesus by Ken Blanchard, author of the One Minute Manager. Click here to check out the book.

This morning we reviewed the four tests of a servant leader:

1. Welcoming and accepting feedback.
2. Succession planning when your season of leadership is past.
3. Letting God be the leader and you be the servant.
4. When you are treated like a servant you should respond like a servant.

As I was reading the Bible this morning I ran across a verse that talked about the problem a leader faces when they experience success. King Uzziah followed the Lord in all he did:

He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success. 2 Chronicles 26:4-5 NIV

Check out what happened later in his life:

But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. 2 Chronicles 26:16 NIV

Uzziah's pride led to his downfall. We have to constantly guard against pride. Pride results in a self-serving leadership and although there may be short term successes, ultimately it will be the downfall of the individual and/or the downfall of the company/church they lead.

Lord, help me not to become proud, but to have a humble, servant's heart fully submitted to you to be a servant leader giving you all the glory! Tye out.

Christian McBride - your humility is cool man!

Christian McBride performs with the CR Jazz Band

Our big band (CR Jazz) had the awesome privilege of playing with bassist Christian McBride. He was fun to hang out with and talk jazz with. He was fun to be around and exuded humility. And you all know that I love to talk about humble, servant leaders. Check out this cut and paste from Christian's blog My Thang as he defers the credit for an upcoming album release to the other guys in the quartet:

New York Time Posted on 4/17/2007at 4:57 AM
Last September, a CD featuring myself, Javon Jackson, Cedar Walton, and Jimmy Cobb entitled "New York Time" was released on Chesky Records. I've gotten a number of e-mails congratulating me on "my latest CD". "I" even got a five-star review in BBC music magazine with a big half-size photo and everything. But I must tell you, this in no way, shape, or form is my CD. It was my understanding that this was to be a co-op CD that was centered around Mr. Jimmy Cobb, as there was another CD recorded the day before "New York Time" with Mr. Cobb, myself, and Hank Jones entitled "West of 5th." As you can see, my name is listed first on the CD jacket insinuating that it just might very well be my CD. I wish I could take credit for putting together a band like this, but I can't. So, the next time you see Jimmy Cobb, give him some extra dap! HE'S the man on this CD! (written by Christian McBride on his blog)

It is so refreshing to meet people who are humble, yet great. Thanks Christian for blessing us with your musical talent, and your humble ways! Tye out.

The Ascent of a Leader

I just finished reading The Ascent of a Leader. This book is really all about servant leadership and the difference between servant leaders and self-serving leaders. They talk about two ladders that leaders typically climb: 1. The capacity ladder and 2. the character ladder.

The capacity ladder is short ladder and it's rungs help a person climb to the top on the backs of others in many circumstances. The four rungs are:

• Discover what I can do
• Develop my capacities
• Acquire title of position
• Attain individual potential

There really isn't anything wrong with each of these, until you know that the rungs are attached to two runners: 1. Environments of mistrust and ungrace, 2. Relationships of power and leverage. Can you see the problem? This ladder is about being self-serving! I have worked with leaders like this and they typically use and abuse people on their climb to the top. It creates a toxic environment!

Then there is the character ladder. Here are the rungs on the character ladder:

• Trust God and others with me - humility
• Choose vulnerability - submission
• Align with truth - obedience
• Pay the price - suffering and maturity
• Discover my destiny

The runners on this ladder are 1. Environments of grace, 2. relationships of grace. These healthy environments create the fertile soil for leaders to serve and people to grow.

I have worked in both kind of environments and I can tell you that now that I am in an environment of servant leadership and grace, I'll never go back to serving in an environment of ungrace.

In order to reach the fifth rung (which is really all about legacy) and stay there the author gives seven things a leader can do to prepare for this:

1. You must confront complacency, avoiding patterns that may lead to indifference or hubris.
2. Seek out new ways to express your compassion and convictions
3. Remain teachable and make yourself available to teach others
4. Instead of comparing your influence to others', place your future fully into the hands of God
5. Share the benefits of your influence with those around you, rather than at their expense.
6. Approach your relationships and priorities in a fluid way instead of scheduling your life to the point of excluding relationships that really matter.
7. Aggressively seek to resolve your own character issues and weaknesses, continuing to trust others with your vulnerability and to align with the truth, even when it exacts a high price.

I feel pretty positive about each of these challenges. I am more often than not guilty of #4 and need to work on this. #6 can sometimes be a problem for me too.

If you have studied servant leadership at all, this book will be a different perspective on the same topic. I am still angry about the self-serving leaders that have hurt my family and me over the years and I need to practice forgiveness, sometimes on a daily basis. Tye out.

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant....
Mk 10:42-43NIV