What is spiritual leadership in the local church?
As we begin the study, let me suggest
that it would be healthy if you could
hear the whole thing through, if at all
possible.
The material is designed as study material.
We're not going to read the entire manual,
but it's designed so that you can take
it home and study it individually as well
as in group settings.
The sessions are not designed to cover every
item that is mentioned in the manual.
The principles apply to any group in the
church, even though we're going to be talking
about, primarily, the highest levels of leadership in
the church.
The principles apply to any group that has
people underneath you.
If you have people underneath you, the same
principles can apply.
As we discuss something like this, it's so
easy to negate our past and say, wouldn't
it have been great if we would have
understood some of these principles sooner?
But it's like everything else that we think
is very important, and that is that we
do not negate our past, but thank God
for bringing us to this hour with open
hearts to hear what God has to say
to us.
The presentation was not born out of books.
It was born out of the live circumstances
of relating to churches with specific problems and
how to find God's answer to minister to
so many of those problems.
The concepts that are going to be shared,
I believe, are biblical.
They are startling in that, in many respects,
we have overlooked them.
They're going to be very striking, both to
church leaders and to the leadership.
Nobody will be left out.
I am very candid to say that I
believe they are very idealistic.
They are very idealistic.
They may not all be attainable, but I
believe that there must be a starting point
in setting biblical principles into motion if we
ever expect to see what God longs to
do in the church.
Also, I feel that they are potentially attainable,
primarily within the framework of revival truths functioning
in a local church.
It's more than just understanding principles, but where
a group of people have seen what it
is like to be able to minister to
each other, to bear each other's burdens, to
relate to each other and praying for each
other in a very real way and see
those things happen, they begin to sense that
the principles that I'm going to share today
are attainable, and I really believe that it's
in that framework.
They function best where there's a body of
people who know what it means to minister
one to another.
What is important are the principles that will
be expounded, not necessarily the methods suggested for
implementing them.
Methods may vary with every local situation, but
the principles, I believe, remain intact.
Of course, I'm realistic enough to know that
there are exceptions to all these kinds of
things that are discussed because of the unique
varied backgrounds of different situations.
Actually, we're all learning together.
There's not a time that I share this
that I'm not learning something else about these
specific truths and concepts of church life.
I learn from you, and we all learn
together.
Therefore, as it's a growing process, God keeps
refining the principles in all of our hearts.
Don't get lost in individual statements, but let's
get the key concepts that I believe God
would have us understand together.
I would warn you against trying to implement
a lot of these things in a local
church body where there is not an understanding
of how the church functions as a body
fellowship or where there's not been the kind
of revival truths that cause people to minister
to each other with transparent honesty.
If you're in that kind of a situation,
I'm glad that you're here so that you
can learn some of these principles and then
keep it on file and believe God to
minister to your hearts and lives, and then,
as it begins to happen, you'll begin to
see it function in your own church.
One man said after taking a series like
this, he said, It will take me 50
years to live out what I've learned today.
Actually, it's not a matter of living it
out.
It's a matter of allowing the life of
Christ to live through us.
And at that basis, we begin to see
that these things are really attainable.
Seriously, God has raised up certain men for
leadership capacity in churches, for a city, for
a period of time, that function in a
manner that may be totally the opposite from
the basic principles I'm going to enunciate today.
In my country, there are several men like
that.
It's as if God raised them up for
a city.
They may be there the rest of their
life as men who lead congregations and they
are strong, dynamic leaders.
And when I share the principles of a
body function and as people outwardly look at
some of those churches and see the success,
they'll say it doesn't seem like they put
those into function and here they are successful
in such a real way.
And that is true.
But let me remind you that there are
not many men that are called like that.
In most situations, in most communities, in most
congregations, it's down to where the rubber meets
the road, where ordinary common people are used
of God in a unique way and must
learn how to minister to each other in
the biblical framework.
Remember, the Bible says that not many mighty
are called.
And not many have those capacities to be
almost, in a sense, genius at organization, at
preaching, at captivating a whole city at a
time.
But there are some, and I want to
keep that as a frame of reference, lest
anybody misunderstand and think that I'm suggesting that
God cannot work in other ways apart from
what I'm suggesting today.
Now, if you looked at the explanation of
purpose, there are some of the points that
are very specific that we should note.
Number eight, we're not trying to tell anyone
what to do or attack any church or
church leaders who have operated in any manner
that is different from what we are suggesting.
We're not interested in depreciating any man or
any man's ministry.
Not at all.
We're not to humiliate or depreciate the past.
We're learning together, and we thank God for
what he has taught us in the past
and what he's going to teach us even
today.
And so the bottom statement might be fitting
here, where it says, beware, be careful not
to look at anyone as a target of
what is being suggested.
We each need to make these truths and
principles personal.
How does it relate to me, where I'm
living in my Christian life and my Christian
experience?
Number nine, not attempting to take into account
the different forms and variables of church structure
and specific ministries that God gives one church
apart from others.
In some situations, the size of a church
and the cultural patterns must be seriously considered.
Number ten, we're here to offer concrete suggestions
to any congregation that feels itself on dead
center, how it can move into an atmosphere
of love and continuing blessing by the lifestyle
and example of the leaders and the leadership.
And if you're here and God is blessing
your church in a marvelous way and you
feel as if this is not necessary, fine.
Maybe there's one concept that you might learn
today that might bless you.
But I believe there are many of us
who feel that our church life seems to
be on dead center and God wants to
teach us some things that can help in
that whole area.
Then number eleven, the most significant thing that
can happen would be that this would encourage
serious discussion and evaluation of every church program,
the direction of the church, the church ministry,
in the light of some basic biblical injunctions
that we believe that God has forced to
understand.
The page that says, use of words, page
that says, use of words, basically discusses some
of the words that we need to understand.
The first one is the word leadership.
The word leadership.
Whenever we refer to the word leadership today,
we are talking about the pastoral staff.
The pastoral staff is leadership.
That's what we're talking about.
When we talk about leaders in the church,
we are now talking about the elected, appointed
spiritual ministries of the church.
Such as the deacons, the elders, the Sunday
school teachers, the sponsors, the lay-level involvement
of people who are leaders in the local
church.
That's what we're relating to.
Keep that frame of reference.
The leadership, the pastoral staff, the leaders, the
laymen who are given the unique privilege of
ministering in so many ways.
Now the basic premise for the study, the
basic premise is this, that the leadership, that's
the pastoral staff, is responsible primarily for the
climate to be right, loving, and spiritual.
And then to transfer God-given initiatives and
directives to the leaders.
To transfer God-given initiatives and directives to
the leaders.
And there's a key statement, and I underline
it in my notes, primarily by a personal
ministry to each of the leaders.
Primarily by a personal ministry to each of
the leaders.
That is a key statement, and it will
come out loud and clear in the discussion
of spiritual leadership in the local church.
Now what about the leaders, who are the
laypeople that are given the opportunity of ministering?
They are primarily responsible for the direction and
the decision-making of the local church.
Direction, decision-making.
Also, I like the term creative initiatives, and
I kind of put that in quotes in
my notes.
Creative initiatives.
That is, to seek God for creative initiatives
to be considered for the church.
And then, of course, keep in mind, responsible
for implementing the directives that come both from
the leadership and the leaders.
That is, directives that come from the pastoral
staff as well as the leaders in the
church.
But the leaders themselves, as a body, a
collective body, are responsible for implementing whatever directives
come from both groups together.
Then I like that third concept, and I
really have double-started in my notes.
Both groups are responsible to each other and
to the congregation so that there will be
no dissipation in either area.
Actually, they are responsible to the congregation to
minister to each other.
To minister to each other so that there
will be no dissipation in either area.
No dissipation in either area.
So that's the basic premise that we are
working on today that will come into focus
as we develop what it is God is
saying.
Now, there are key people in the church.
Key people in the church.
And here they are.
I like to put it this way.
First of all, there is the power, the
power of the church.
The power of the church.
And I like to consider that the power
of the Holy Spirit.
The power of the Holy Spirit.
He is the key person in the church.
The power of the Holy Spirit.
And then I like to suggest that there
is power in the church.
Power in the church.
And that is, first of all, the power
in the few.
The power in the few.
Power in the few.
And that is primarily the church leaders.
The elected, appointed leaders who have specific powers
that God has ordained them to have as
being elected in that capacity.
The power in the few.
Then there is the power in the few.
Power in the few.
And I like to consider that the collective
congregation.
A congregation collectively does have unique power in
any congregation, in any church.
And then there is the power in the
you.
Power in the you.
And that I like to consider two things.
The pastoral ministry.
The individual pastoral ministry.
There is unique power that God has given
in the power of pastoral ministry.
And then more than that, the individual gifts
of people.
The individual gifts of God's people.
Individual gifts of God's people.
And that's what the Bible talks about when
it says every joint is a supplying joint
in the body.
So there is the power of the church,
the Holy Spirit.
Power in the church, the few, the church
leaders.
In the few, the collective congregation.
And in the you, the pastoral staff.
And then each individual exercising his spiritual gifts.
Now you notice the page that says key
questions.
Key questions.
And there are three basic key questions that
you note on the page.
The first one is something like this.
Do both the leadership or the pastoral staff
and the leaders, those are the elected appointed
positions, clearly have their rightful God-given roles
defined?
If so, what tangible evidence can you state
to substantiate this?
Should the pastoral staff act as organizer, dictator,
manipulator, quarterback, fullback, coach, player coach, or what?
What about the leaders?
What about their role?
Is it a spiritual role?
All of those things are very significant statements
about how we look at the leaders of
the church, the pastoral staff.
Notice the second question.
Is it ever possible for a church to
see clearly God's plan for its ministry so
there need not be a change in the
basic direction and the program of the church
with each change in pastors?
Is that ever possible?
How many think it is?
How many don't think it is?
How many don't think?
Look at number three.
Is it ever possible for spiritual leaders to
be so convinced of what God is saying
so that they can say to a pastoral
candidate, we're not looking for any new program.
God has already made the program clear to
us.
We will happily accept any new ideas, new
concept God has given you that will enhance
or reevaluate the program God has given us.
Simply tell us how you will minister to
us so that we will be more like
Christ to better do the work of the
ministry.
Is it possible?
If it is not possible, then why not?
That's a serious question.
Why is it not possible if it is
not?
That's a very interesting question and we're going
to tie that up as we end up
this discussion on the problem of leadership.
And that is, can a church group say
to a pastoral candidate, we know what God's
saying to us about this church and the
program and the direction.
Will you, what are you going to do
now to enhance our lives so that we
can get on with the thing that God
has already given us to do?
Is that possible?
Is it not possible?
Do you think that layman cannot know God
that thoroughly or must the direction of the
church always come from a pastoral staff?
That's a key question.
Now, the problem that is stated is basically
six-fold.
The problem stated, and you'll note the discussion
of it, and here is the outline of
several pages.
Here's the outline.
The problem stated.
Why do we have a problem of spiritual
leadership in the church?
First of all, the priorities of the church
are not clearly established, defined, and promoted.
Secondly, the philosophy of leadership is distorted, and
that's on page two, second page of that
discussion.
Thirdly, the problem of the use of spiritual
gifts.
I'm just giving you the outline, then we'll
go through it.
That's also on page two.
Then, the pastoral role is often distorted.
Fifthly, the privileges of laymen, misdirected, misdirected.
And sixthly, page three is the problems, this
is what I call the problems of the
tragedy of the new program cycle.
The problems of the tragedy of the new
program cycle.
Now, I understand as I share these concepts
that there will be people who listen, who
will have varying ideas, and may not completely
agree with me on everything that I'll say
today.
I well understand that.
And that's the privilege that we can learn
from each other.
So, don't bog down on a few statements
that you might not completely see, understand, or
even agree with.
Let's keep in mind what I said, that
we're gaining basic principles that will make a
difference in the way we approach the work
of God, as we let God keep us
with open minds and open hearts about these
truths.
Now, let's look at that first one, as
we begin the first one.
First of all, it is that area of
the problem of the priorities of the Church
are not clearly established, defined, and promoted.
Not clearly established, defined, and promoted.
Now, you'll notice the use of those words.
Not clearly established.
Not clearly defined.
Not clearly promoted.
Even though they're run together, if I would
take the room, I would put them individually.
Because there are congregations, I personally feel, who
have never established their priorities.
They really don't know what their priorities are
for that congregation.
There are some that have established them, but
have never clearly defined them for their people.
To be able to grab, or have a
handle to grab hold of them.
To really understand what those priorities are.
And then there are some that may have
established them, and may have defined them, but
do not promote them.
And I see those words as very significant.
All three must be clearly enunciated.
They must be established, they must be defined
clearly, and then they must be promoted, so
that our people know exactly the direction we
believe God wants the church to go.
Now, it is true that a spiritual church
will seek to define its priorities in the
light of God's priorities.
See, we say we want to find the
priorities.
Then we say, well, what are God's priorities
for the church?
Now, we can get many different ideas about
this.
But I would just like to suggest that
the basic priorities that I see from the
scripture are the fact that worship and praise
to God must be top priority in the
church.
Now, is there anybody who really thinks that
that could be out of line?
I really do not feel that people would
object to that.
For worship and praise must be top priority.
In the church, if we understand what the
church is supposed to be and how the
body is to function.
Then I'd like to suggest that ministering one
to another is a top priority, so that
the body will be healthy.
And then I have listed a third priority,
and that is to maintain a climate in
order that those two things that I've just
mentioned, worship and praise and ministering one to
another, can continue in the church.
And the statement is that when that is
true, I believe that spirit-filled witnessing will
proceed out of that kind of a church.
Now, I'm not suggesting there will not be
some witnessing going on without that.
I'm not suggesting there will not be some
souls being saved.
But I'm talking about corporately as a body.
I believe that the greatest way for spirit
-filled witnessing to occur is when these things
are intact.
Worship and praise, where we have such a
relationship with God in the body.
And then where we've learned the importance of
keeping the body healthy, where we are ministering
to each other at a very real level.
It is at that kind of a situation
that I believe that God will bring spirit
-filled witnessing.
There will be a motivation to be able
to serve God at such a level as
some of us have not seen before.
Then notice that I suggest that the priority
of worship and prayer in the average church
has been seriously diminished.
There's a key statement.
Worship is always Godward in direction.
It is Godward in direction.
Now, let's just take a few minutes and
talk a little bit about worship.
Not too long, but just a few thoughts
about worship.
Here is a very interesting statement.
Here's a statement.
The greatest thing a believer can do for
God is to engage in a personal direct
communion with God, which becomes the fountain of
all God-honoring service.
Souls which touch God personally become magnetized with
a spiritual force which the world can neither
deny nor resist.
The world can neither deny it nor resist
it.
That is a profound statement.
Souls that touch God personally are magnetized with
a spiritual force that the world cannot deny
nor can it resist.
A.
W.
Tozer makes this statement.
God wants worshipers before workers.
Indeed, the only acceptable workers are those who
have learned the lost art of worship.
It is inconceivable that a sovereign and holy
God should be so hard up for workers
that he would press into service anyone who
had been gifted regardless of his qualifications.
The very stones would praise him if the
need arose and a thousand legions of angels
would leap to do his will.
Very interesting statement about worship.
Here's one more by Catherine Dubois who said,
and I quote, if God wanted Christians only
in order that they could rush around working
for him, he could have done better by
creating robots.
They would not make the many errors or
rebel against him as we do.
But this was not the case.
God did not want robots.
He wanted people who could be loved and
who could respond to love.
He wanted people to see him worthy of
worship and to respond voluntarily to him with
praise, love, and adoration.
I have an interesting picture that looks something
like modern worship.
Modern worship.
The words are rather small, but there is
Sally sitting in church and she's looking at
someone else.
She says, that's a terrible color Sue's wearing.
And Ronnie couldn't carry a tune in the
bucket.
I wouldn't wear shoes like Debbie's wearing to
a dog fight.
And then it pictures her on the way
out of church saying, I feel sorry for
people who don't bother to worship on Sunday.
Doesn't that seem to be so significant of
so many of us who say we have
been in an hour of worship and there
are so many things that have distracted us.
Here is a key statement.
Worship is always Godward in direction.
It is always upward.
Upward, Godward in direction.
So the key is not what you received
out of it, but rather what did God
get out of your time in his presence?
What does God get out of it?
And if we say worship is top priority,
let me suggest that we owe to God
in worship several things.
We owe to God several things in worship.
And you have a page that talks about
this, so you might as well put it
in.
I believe if it is top priority, we
owe him our greatest reverence.
Our greatest reverence.
If it is a top priority, we owe
him our greatest reverence.
We owe him our intense love.
Intense love.
We owe him extreme devotion.
If it is top priority, we owe him
extreme devotion.
We owe him complete adoration.
Complete adoration.
If worship is top priority.
We owe him unrestrained honor.
Unrestrained honor.
We owe him unlimited praise.
Unlimited praise.
He said that it is Godward in direction.
Will you allow me to suggest that many
things that we do in the church are
manward in direction as far as the ultimate
goal is concerned.
Just think of the average Sunday morning service.
Think of the fact that most of the
announcements are manward in direction.
They relate to how we will make out
next week and all kinds of details that
we need to know.
Think of the kind of songs that we
sing most of the time in our worship
services.
I use the word worship in quotes.
Think of the songs that we often sing.
We sing, There shall be showers of blessing.
What a friend we have in Jesus.
All our sins and griefs to bear.
What a privilege to carry everything to God
in prayer.
When it's time to pray, someone will thank
God for all of his blessings to us.
And then he will go from there and
ask God for all kinds of other things
that we need.
Whether nationally, whether in our community, whether in
our church, whether in our families, or for
individuals.
When the choir sings, it will sing, I'm
so glad I'm a part of the family
of God.
Or some other song like that.
Or whatever it might be.
Or then when it goes to the sermon,
the preacher will preach.
And generally, by the time he ends his
sermon, we have heard all kinds of things
that will make us better people.
If we would just respond to them.
Now is there anything wrong with that?
No, I didn't say there was anything wrong
with that.
But I'm asking you one question.
What went Godward in direction in that whole
hour?
If I look at all of what I've
just mentioned, primarily, almost all of it was
manward in direction.
It's what will help me.
I'll have a friend in Jesus.
Isn't that wonderful?
He's going to bear all of my griefs.
There shall be showers of blessing.
Oh, see, I'm going to be blessed.
And all the songs.
And the pastor is saying, if you'll respond
to God, you'll be better for it.
You'll be richer for it.
You'll be happier for it.
See, I am blessed.
Don't misunderstand me.
God is not opposed to that.
But I'm suggesting to you that in the
truest sense, I wonder if that really is
worship.
You see, I believe that worship is not
primarily what we receive from God.
But it's primarily what God receives from us.
You see, we are the inheritance of God.
The Bible says that.
And if we are the inheritance of God,
then the recipient ought to be the one,
the recipient of an inheritance is the one
who gets the greatest blessing.
And if we are the inheritance of God,
then if we say we are worshiping, and
that's top priority, then the recipient ought to
get the greatest blessing.
And there are very few times in our
church life where we really concentrate on genuine
worship.
Such as a song service.
Holy, holy, holy Lord God almighty.
Such as when the scriptures read all the
earth adores thee.
The book of Revelation.
The creation manifests the glory of God.
Or other portions of scripture.
Such as when the prayer is offered.
The prayer is not asking God for anything.
But only giving glory to God for who
he is as God in his glory and
his majesty.
Such as when the sermon is preached.
It relates to the holy character of God.
And when we leave, we know that we
have extolled and exalted a holy God.
Without asking him for anything.
To just give praise and honor to his
name.
Now every church will see that from a
different perspective.
But I am suggesting that I believe that
we need to get back to teaching our
people the difference between what we receive from
God and the holy adoration that must go
to him on the basis that we say
worship and praise is top priority in the
church.
Now letter B suggests that the worship and
praise has been seriously diminished.
It has been seriously diminished in the average
evangelical church.
And I've given some ways in which I
believe that's true.
First of all, the time consciousness the time
consciousness of the average evangelical church has seriously
diminished worship and praise from being a top
priority in our local church situation.
It has been seriously diminished worship and praise.
Now what do I suggest there?
The worship service on the Sunday morning in
the average evangelical church seems to be the
most time conscious hour of any hour in
the church.
It seems to be the one hour that
people are punching the clock or watching the
clock more than any other hour in the
church.
Now I suggest that it is the most
time conscious hour in that we have kind
of boxed God in when we talk about
worship and praise.
We have boxed God in in a very
unique way.
We have carefully seen to it that everything
is limited and yet we say it is
top priority.
Then also let me suggest that the emphasis
given to activities limits the concept of worship.
The emphasis given to activities limits the concept
of worship.
Now I'm suggesting two things here.
One is that the morning worship service has
so many activities that are related to it.
By the time you have the opening song
and the prayer and the announcements and the
offering and the choir number and the special
number and the sermonette which makes Christianettes and
the beckoning benediction that has to all be
in before twelve o'clock there is really
very little time for any concept of what
I'm suggesting.
In relation to genuinely worshiping God in many
churches.
And so that, the emphasis on the activities
going on limits it.
Also could I suggest on that thought that
the emphasis in the church life on activities
limits the concept and the importance of worship
in many of our churches.
Our people are so busy as busy beavers
keeping the program going and running taxi service
between their important functions of the church and
their children's important functions of the church and
so many homes have been so splintered by
even the running back and forth by the
automobiles to keep everybody happy in the life
of the church for all their individual functions.
Now I'm not speaking against the functions but
I'm really suggesting some of the ways in
which the area of worship has been diminished
because so much activity has taken the place
of the priority.
If we say it's top priority we have
to take a good hard look at it.
Either it is or it is not in
the life of the church.
There's a third thing that limits worship or
that diminishes the priority as far as people
understand it.
Now that seems strange to say.
The empty front pews in the average church.
Whenever a congregation needs new pews I often
feel very sorry for the front pews because
they are still new.
They've been used so little in so many
churches.
Well you say what does that have to
do with worship?
Well have you ever had the displeasure of
walking into a church where everybody sat in
the last four or five rows and the
pastor was way up front and between him
and them was a great gulf mix and
it was a lot of woodwork.
Have you ever gone through a service like
that?
Now if you have I want to ask
you a question.
How did you feel about worshiping in a
place like that?
What are your thoughts when you walk into
a church where you see people sitting like
that the last four or five rows?
Can you give me very quickly a few
of your thoughts?
What would you think if you walked into
a church and you saw people sitting like
that?
What are some thoughts that would go across
your mind immediately?
They're not really interested.
What else?
What other thoughts would go across your mind?
No.
Not a close relationship to each other.
They're way back there.
To whom?
To the pastor.
Not too much communication there.
What else?
It's a cold church.
Why?
Because there's what?
No love?
You couldn't feel love?
Well they seem to be all back there
together.
Just stay at the back door and you'd
be alright.
Close to the back door.
What else would it be saying to you?
What happened?
They want to get out in a hurry.
What's that?
They got in late.
Could be.
All of them come late.
Maybe some of them would be self conscious
about misbehaved children.
Could be.
Anything else?
Well let's not lose any more time but
we could have a field day right here
and sometimes I have where I've gotten all
kinds of ideas of what people would think
walking in a church like that.
Now let me just switch it around.
Can I?
Yes?
Uh huh.
Alright.
Okay sometimes it says maybe the ushers are
not ushing properly to lead people up.
Well there are all kinds of things that
we could say.
But I was in a church like that
where I was asked to preach.
Now do you think that I would preach
to a congregation all sitting on the last
four rows and we were way up here
and it was a long narrow church.
Do you really think that I would preach
to a congregation that looked like that?
Well you're right.
I really wouldn't.
Because I really believed that that congregation needed
to be taught a very unique beautiful lesson.
That we're really as a body and I'm
in that body as well.
I'm a part of it.
Otherwise you say well what would you do?
I would do one of two things.
One is I would possibly consider if they're
not interested in moving I would take the
pulpit and move right down there and put
it right in the aisle way close to
the back.
So I could see the white of their
eyes.
But before that I would do the other.
I would use the song that is generally
used and that is we're marching to Zion.
Everybody stand and sing we're marching.
Don't you feel sorry for that song how
it gets abused.
Or onward Christian soldiers march against the war.
Force march.
But you know we would try to march
everybody up.
And I actually did it in one congregation
where it was so necessary.
And I said now I would like to
see what this congregation would look like sitting
all in the first three rows.
And when they started to march from the
back to those first three rows it was
amazing.
When they began to move forward I was
watching the expressions on their face.
The expressions started to change.
They started to smile.
They almost seemed like they came alive.
And when they all got in those first
three rows, guess what happened.
The rows I was watching them sitting next
to each other like that.
And they were just kind of looking and
I think maybe they were not, they had
never been quite that close before.
And guess what happened.
There was one man who couldn't fit on
the first three rows.
I don't mean because of his size, but
because of the fact there was no more
room.
The rows were full.
What do you think he did?
He had the rest of the church to
sit in.
What do you think he did?
Sat on the floor in the front?
No.
What do you think he did?
Sat behind me on the platform?
No.
What do you think he did?
Sat on the fourth row?
No.
Sat on somebody's knee?
Now, I know they were loving, beginning to
love, but not quite that intimate yet.
Sat in the back view?
No.
Well, so you can save my time.
Here's what he did.
He just looked at that fellow in the
end of that row and he was sitting
there and I watched it.
He just went like this.
Boom!
And it was like the domino theory was
in effect.
All those hands all down the row fell
over this way.
And they had to squeeze over.
He wasn't going to miss out for anything
in the world.
He was going to be in it no
matter what he did to squeeze.
Guess what happened by the time the service
was over?
One fellow couldn't breathe.
Squashed.
You know, the pastor said, I've been trying
for three years to get this to happen
in this church.
And he said, now that we're here we're
going to stay here and just rejoice and
enjoy.
And you should have seen it made all
the difference in the world.
Now let me ask you a question.
If you were just coming to town and
were looking for a church and you walked
into a Sunday morning service and you saw
people all sitting together in a huge church
and they're all sitting together in the first
three rows right very close to each other,
what would you think about that?
What would you think about it?
Give me your thoughts.
How would you react to that?
Or relate to it?
What's that?
They're rejoicing?
Well, how would you relate to it?
What else?
Good fellowship?
What else?
They...
That's a good one.
He said that I must have preached there
the Sunday before.
What else?
Well, let me tell you what you think.
They must really want to get close to
God.
They must really want to get as close
as they can to the preaching.
They don't want to miss anything that God
wants to say to them that morning.
And if any group of people is that
close together with such a big church, I
would love to see what would make them
be so close to each other and close
to the pastor.
They must certainly love each other and I
think I'd love to chip in here and
see if I can help them fill this
church.
Am I right?
I believe I am.
Do we get the point?
The way we even sit in a church
has a reflection as to whether or not
we give priority to worship and to the
body of Christ.
I cannot resist this one.
By the way, one lady told us in
an Eastern Canadian crusade, she said, you know,
the thing that has happened in our church
since the Revival ministry is this.
Before Revival, we would have to beg people
to sit in the front of the church.
Now we have to beat them off with
a club to keep our front seats.
That's very interesting.
Somebody said, we're really peculiar people.
We want the front of the bus, the
back of the church, and the middle of
the road.
But I cannot resist this one.
It was in a Reader's Digest article, and
it was entitled Almost Heaven.
A West Virginian coal miner was a very
wealthy man, and he said to the pastor's
wife, I want to send you on a
holiday, on a vacation, for three months to
Europe, and when you come back you're going
to be surprised to see what you're going
to see.
And what he was designing to do was
to build a brand new church while the
pastor and his wife were gone.
And that's exactly what he did.
He built the finest church that money could
buy, and when the pastor came back, he
said, oh, pastor, look here, it's the finest
building that money can buy.
No expense has been spared.
And he was right.
A magnificent edifice, both outside and inside, but
there was one striking difference about that church.
Here was the striking difference.
There was only one pew, only one pew
in the sanctuary.
A church with only one pew, the pastor
said, you just wait until Sunday, the coal
miner said.
Just wait.
So Sunday the people came to church, the
early arrivals, those who come early, they arrived
at church and there was only one pew.
So they filled in the one pew.
But where was it?
The pew was in the back of the
auditorium.
Way in the back of the auditorium.
So when the pew was full, a switch
clicked silently, a circuit closed, gears meshed, a
belt moved, and automatically the rear pew began
to move forward.
When it reached the front of the church,
it came to a stop, and at the
same time another empty pew came up from
below at the back, and more people came
in and sat down.
And so it continued, pews filling and moving
forward until finally the church was full from
front to back.
And when the pastor saw it happen, he
said, wonderful!
Marvelous!
Wonderful!
Marvelous!
Well, the service began, the preacher started the
preacher's sermon, he launched into his text, and
when twelve o'clock came around, he was
still going strong with no amen in sight.
You know what that's like.
Of course you know what that's like.
Especially in the deep south we learn some
of those things from our wonderful black brethren.
You know, one of those black brothers had
been preaching for an hour and a half
with no end in sight on the Sunday
morning service.
And he was preaching all the way from
generations to revolutions, and not one sermon.
And he got to Prophet Jeremiah, you know,
he's got one book of the Bible, and
he finally got to good old Prophet Jeremiah.
And the black brother said, now children, here
we am, come to good old Prophet Jeremiah!
Where else are we going to put good
old Prophet Jeremiah?
And one deacon got up and said, Pastor,
he can have my seat because I was
going home.
Well, that's what it was like the Sunday
morning.
Twelve o'clock, and I was still going
full force ahead, and guess what happened?
Just at that time quietly a switch clicked,
a circuit closed, gears meshed, and a belt
moved, and automatically the pulpit with the preacher
sank out of sight.
And the congregation said, wonderful!
Marvelous!
Wonderful!
Marvelous!
Well, what am I suggesting?
That the way we sit, the empty pews,
and the back-to-the-front idea often
gives people that we're not so sure that
worship and praise has top priority.
Here's another thing that limits it.
The physical building, the physical building itself, the
physical building itself says that we're not so
sure that worship and praise and prayer has
top priority.
Now, where in your church building, the physical
structure, is there a place where people can
get alone with God in prayer and not
be disturbed for anything?
A place that is specifically designed just for
that purpose.
Where in your church is it?
I asked a pastor like that one day.
I said, where in your building can you
get alone with God and know that you
will not be disturbed for anything else?
And he thought a moment, and he said
to me, he said, you know, he said,
when you ask a question like that, he
said, objectively about it, I think the only
place like that is in the boiler room.
I said, that's a pretty hot place, isn't
it?
He said, that's one place I would not
be disturbed.
I asked another pastor that question.
He said, I said, where do you go?
Well, he said, if we want any special
times of prayer, we just use the choir
room.
Use the choir room.
I said, that's interesting.
Here you are on your knees, or a
group of people on their knees, and the
choir director comes whistling a merry tune down
the hall.
You know, a choir director's always singing and
whistling something.
And he comes down the hall, and he
barges into the choir room.
He doesn't know anybody's in there.
He barges in.
Why?
He has to get all of those choir
gowns.
He has to get them off of their
hangers and take them to the dry cleaners.
And so, while you're on your knees, there
he is, trying to pull down those choir
gowns, and a few hangers fall on the
floor while you're praying.
Or, he's got to get all that music
for that special cantata, and he's opening those
hard, those heavy drawers.
You know, the choir drawers are generally where
all the heavy music is, and it's going
to squeak as he opens it while you're
praying.
That's a nice way to be praying and
have a priority of prayer, isn't it?
I was being taken through a quarter of
a million dollar building a number of years
ago.
It would be a lot more now.
And I saw a nameplate on every door.
Choir room, Sunday school office, pastor's study, the
nursery.
Beautiful, metal plate names.
I said to the pastor, I said, where's
the prayer room here?
I said, you have a room for everyone
else here.
Where can anybody get along and meet God?
Oh, he said, I never thought about that.
I'll tell you how this truth got to
me.
Several ways.
One is by a little cartoon in the
newspaper.
And maybe you've seen a cartoon that says
a child's letter to God, when the children
write a letter to God in picture form.
And here's a child who was writing to
God and saying, Dear God, it was a
picture of a church.
And a child at the front door of
the church.
And the door slightly open.
And the child knocking and saying, Dear God,
if this is your house, which one is
your room?
That's all it said.
And you know, that made such an impression
on me.
If this is your house, which one is
your room?
And I began to think of a child.
What is the most important place in a
home for a child?
Well, you say, you could have a lot
of things answered there.
But one specific place.
I believe it is his own room.
That's the place where he can take Johnny
in and close the door behind him.
And that's where he and Johnny tell their
little secrets to each other.
They don't want anybody to know.
That's where they can be alone.
Where they can really map out the strategy.
How they're going to do this and that
and the other.
Nobody will ever know about it.
That private place.
That's my room.
That's where, let's go, we can play alone
there.
We can talk alone there.
You know that made such an impression on
me?
You know, in most of our churches, we
have a room for everything else to happen,
but not a place where people can get
alone with God in his house.
And I understand, I understand that we as
believers are the house of the temple.
I understand that.
But in a physical sense, the building that
is designed to be a place where we
can really learn God, the priority of being
alone with him, and worship and prayer is
seriously diminished in many of our churches.
I'll tell you the second way in which
I learned this lesson.
It was in Dallas, Texas, when they said
to me, you go through this beautiful church.
It was called the Lighthouse Mission.
And at that point, it was worth a
half a million dollars, and now it would
be about two million dollars worth, I'm sure.
It, up until that time, was the most
beautiful church that I'd ever seen.
And when I looked at it, they took
us, the nursery, I've never seen such a
nursery.
I've never seen such facilities for the Sunday
school.
I've never seen a beautiful, more beautiful pastor
study, the secretary's office, everything.
And I don't want to take the time
to describe it.
It seated about a thousand people.
Beautiful all the time.
But by the time we got finished, the
man said, now I've saved the best till
the last.
And he took us from the foyer right
down there.
It had two aisles, just like the church
we're in now.
And we walked down there.
He said, come with me.
We walked down these aisles to the front
of the auditorium where the pulpit was, the
platform.
And he said, now come with me.
And when we came down those two aisles,
there were stairways, two stairways right in front
of the platform that went down this way
and down this way.
They met together right in the center at
the lower level.
They met together at the lower level.
And when you went down those stairways and
looked in, now if you looked in, you
would be right underneath the whole platform.
When you looked in, you are in the
Garden of Gethsemane.
There's Christ on the wall, picture of Christ
on the wall.
Whether it has to be or not, that's
not the point.
Indirect lighting.
Imitation shrubbery.
Kneeling pads all around the wall where people
could kneel.
Plush carpeting where no sound would be a
problem.
Acoustical tiles so that it would be...
Right at the entrance was a bulletin board
where people would call in prayer requests and
people as they come to pray would come
into that place and pray, take those requests.
There was no other way to get in
that room or out of that room.
No other purpose but for people to meet
God.
When invitations would be given, people would walk
right down the aisles and right down into
the prayer room and there they were, ready
to meet God.
People come in all hours of the day
and they knew that church as a praying
church.
People call in prayer requests all the time
around the city.
Why?
The physical building itself said that prayer, worship,
praise, meeting God is top priority.
I think that is the most significant thing.
And God has taught some of our churches
to take a good hard look at that.
I know you can meet God everywhere.
I'm not realistic enough to know that.
But in a true sense, I believe physical
building limits that whole area.