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Hey:

Sometimes my best movie-watching experience is an old favorite vs. something new—and I think the same can be true about blog posts. Back in July before the Vertical Church Tour, I posted something I hoped would be helpful to pastors facing criticism, from the trenches of a guy who has gotten and sometimes deserved a lot of it. If that’s what you’re facing in ministry now, I can tell you the principles below have proven both biblical and beneficial in our ministry. As I am deep into my study of the Gospel of John and don’t have a second post ready this week, I hope this ‘rerun�� will be helpful for you.

��A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.�� (Proverbs 29:11)

A complex issue for ministry leaders is how to process the incredible amount of feedback that comes from so many sources, both in and outside the church. It falls into some basic levels, regardless of the source:

•������General input (random and one time)

•������Persistent input (continuous on many topics, not always negative)

•������Irreconcilable disagreement without sin (Paul and Barnabas)

•������Constructive criticism (always negative, but goal is helping)

•������Destructive criticism (always negative, with goal to wound)

•������Harsh unjust criticism (intended to tear down)

•������Personal attack and character assassination (intended to destroy)

The further what you’re facing is down that list, the more this article is intended to guide you.

Part of the puzzle in processing feedback requires evaluation of the person who brings it (let’s save that for another post). A.W. Tozer and many other men of God have had, throughout their ministries, a policy of ‘no attack, no defense�� when the opposition involved unjust or untrue statements from those outside of their own churches. Instead they chose silence, and I believe we should do the same.

1: When Answering Would Cause You to Sin

Every question does not need an answer. For those outside the information flow, the interrogative can be more appealing than the prerogative of love, as the former expands the ego while the latter deconstructs it. Knowing the whole story is a burden that leaders must bear in plurality, so the company or the congregation or the country does not have to carry the weight of full disclosure. In a culture where journalists dictate the information flow, we start to think getting the full scoop is the ultimate good. But seeing firsthand the failings of others without becoming disillusioned is what leaders are called to carry for the sake of all. To keep serving and loving and giving while knowing every detail of every disappointment with yourself and others is a deterrent to sanctification, not an accelerant. Parents, pastors, and all in authority learn that those they lead are better at asking questions than they are at living with the answers they often demand. If the questions are misplaced, badly motivated or beyond the petitioner’s need to know, the wisest thing to do is remain silent. If the answers requested require betrayal or gossip or casting pearls or dignifying someone’s disdain, it’s better to bite your tongue.

��[Herod] plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer.�� (Luke 23:9)

2: When Refusal Turns to Reviling

When the answers don’t come in the right amount at the right time to those who demand explanation, they will sometimes become caustic. Your child will attack your withholding of explanation, your employee will question your loyalty, your friend at church will question your fidelity. Can you continue to keep your mouth shut when your heart wants so badly to set the record straight? Can you wait on God for vindication when you have the information that would silence the scoffers in a second? Can you remain quiet when the incensed strike you in anger for your silence? Can you bear the reproach rather than return fire to injure those whose words are wounding you? Jesus did.

��And while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats���� (1 Peter 2:23)

3: When the Weight Seems Too Heavy

As you wait for God’s vindication you may begin to fear that you will be crushed by this burden. Is that so bad? Maybe crushing is just what the Lord has in mind for the pride that insulates our souls from greater grace. God’s sovereignty is so awesome and all-encompassing that He can capture what others meant for evil and use it for your good (Genesis 50:20). God can utilize the misplaced zeal of the ignorant and the well-intentioned crusade of the uninformed as the crushing that increases your Christlikeness. Often what we think is the worst season to endure will become the best season of our lives, if we handle it God’s way.

��Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him���� (Isaiah 53:10)

4: But Jesus Was Silent and Innocent

The obvious difference is that Jesus was silent while 100% without guilt, and we never are. Jesus could give it over to the Father, knowing that His complete innocence would eventually come to light. However, only by self-deception can we view ourselves as innocent. It’s so tempting to run to the part someone else is getting wrong, or camp on the corner of a third party’s misperception—but is all the opposition without merit? Isn’t it better to find the truth that exists in almost all criticism and embrace your own responsibility? Don’t make the mistake of hiding behind the parts of the problem that flow from the faults of others. Get a mirror and focus, with the help of those you trust, upon the portion of the reviling that is legitimate. Covenant with God and those around you that collective regrets will turn out for better service to God and others in the future. A continued focus on learning what you can from your own mistakes will help suppress your desire to retaliate and keep you focused on the one person you can change, yourself.

��Do not be wise in your own eyes.�� Proverbs 3:7

5: But My Silence is Making Matters Worse

Can you sit quietly even when you see people you care about get picked off in the crossfire? Shouldn’t you stand up for the innocent who get drawn into the campaign to criticize by telling the ‘whole story��? Don’t allow yourself the rationalization that you are breaking your silence so the sheep don’t get scattered. Yes, any leader should be grieved deeply to see a formerly supportive participant become disgruntled or disillusioned. As hard as it may be, though, we must look to a purpose beyond helping those who know better than to listen to self-appointed arbiters of orthodoxy, who do little more than guess and gossip. Your choice to be silent when reviled is not about the 10 that are caustic or the 100 that are curious—it’s about the 1000 that are calling out for a space and time example of how to handle injustice. Scan the horizon of our world and see how seldom those that are falsely accused hold their tongues. Hear the hurting pleas of the men in loveless marriages or the women who keep serving in humility when affection and appreciation are not forthcoming. See the overlooked, underappreciated and often maligned all around us who truly want to handle injustice as God has commanded. Those who think silence means there isn’t a good answer are naïve. Maybe something much bigger is at stake. Maybe it’s not about you or your detractors at all—maybe it is about those who are watching.

��Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to what is honorable in the sight of all.�� (Romans 12:17)

6: Give it Some Time

The most important partner you have in a season of injustice is time. The season will end, the false criticism will be eclipsed by your growth in grace, the loyalty of those with all the facts and the love of those that know you best. The problem with most of us is that we want the issue settled, handled, inventoried with all blame assigned and everything back in the place it belongs for our own peace of mind. Yet Scripture exhorts, ��Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God�� (1 Corinthians 4:5). And while you await your appointment before God’s throne, be sure you are preparing for shock at the things you were wrong about, with a vigor at least equal to your anticipation of vindication. Sit back, listen to those closest, keep silent, and wait for the Lord.

��Avoid foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.�� (2 Timothy 2:23)

7: Can I Ever Say Anything?

I have written and when not to, but the key is to answer only once and then remain silent. Silence may enrage the foolish, but it will model something important for those you are called to lead. If a fuller defense becomes essential, as in Paul’s ministry at Corinth, let others do as much of that talking as possible—you are not Paul, none of us are apostles. Beyond that, your silence helps you turn down the volume on fixing others and focus in on what God is trying to teach you. When I have gotten this wrong I have deeply regretted it, and purposed afresh to keep my focus on what God is teaching me. I am in the midst of a month largely without email or twitter or much of the internet at all. I am following no one and keeping up with nothing, except my relationship with Jesus, my family, and the wonderful leaders of our church. It has been incredibly refreshing to my soul, and the silence has given me a much clearer picture of what God is growing in me.

��The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.�� (Lamentations 3:25-26)

Hey:

Sometimes my best movie-watching experience is an old favorite vs. something new—and I think the same can be true about blog posts. Back in July before the Vertical Church Tour, I posted something I hoped would be helpful to pastors facing criticism, from the trenches of a guy who has gotten and sometimes deserved a lot of it. If that’s what you’re facing in ministry now, I can tell you the principles below have proven both biblical and beneficial in our ministry. As I am deep into my study of the Gospel of John and don’t have a second post ready this week, I hope this ‘rerun�� will be helpful for you.

��A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.�� (Proverbs 29:11)

A complex issue for ministry leaders is how to process the incredible amount of feedback that comes from so many sources, both in and outside the church. It falls into some basic levels, regardless of the source:

•������General input (random and one time)

•������Persistent input (continuous on many topics, not always negative)

•������Irreconcilable disagreement without sin (Paul and Barnabas)

•������Constructive criticism (always negative, but goal is helping)

•������Destructive criticism (always negative, with goal to wound)

•������Harsh unjust criticism (intended to tear down)

•������Personal attack and character assassination (intended to destroy)

The further what you’re facing is down that list, the more this article is intended to guide you. Part of the puzzle in processing feedback requires evaluation of the person who brings it (let’s save that for another post). A.W. Tozer and many other men of God have had, throughout their ministries, a policy of ‘no attack, no defense�� when the opposition involved unjust or untrue statements from those outside of their own churches. Instead they chose silence, and I believe we should do the same.

1: When Answering Would Cause You to Sin

Every question does not need an answer. For those outside the information flow, the interrogative can be more appealing than the prerogative of love, as the former expands the ego while the latter deconstructs it. Knowing the whole story is a burden that leaders must bear in plurality, so the company or the congregation or the country does not have to carry the weight of full disclosure. In a culture where journalists dictate the information flow, we start to think getting the full scoop is the ultimate good. But seeing firsthand the failings of others without becoming disillusioned is what leaders are called to carry for the sake of all. To keep serving and loving and giving while knowing every detail of every disappointment with yourself and others is a deterrent to sanctification, not an accelerant. Parents, pastors, and all in authority learn that those they lead are better at asking questions than they are at living with the answers they often demand. If the questions are misplaced, badly motivated or beyond the petitioner’s need to know, the wisest thing to do is remain silent. If the answers requested require betrayal or gossip or casting pearls or dignifying someone’s disdain, it’s better to bite your tongue.

��[Herod] plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer.�� (Luke 23:9)

2: When Refusal Turns to Reviling

When the answers don’t come in the right amount at the right time to those who demand explanation, they will sometimes become caustic. Your child will attack your withholding of explanation, your employee will question your loyalty, your friend at church will question your fidelity. Can you continue to keep your mouth shut when your heart wants so badly to set the record straight? Can you wait on God for vindication when you have the information that would silence the scoffers in a second? Can you remain quiet when the incensed strike you in anger for your silence? Can you bear the reproach rather than return fire to injure those whose words are wounding you? Jesus did.

��And while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats���� (1 Peter 2:23)

3: When the Weight Seems Too Heavy

As you wait for God’s vindication you may begin to fear that you will be crushed by this burden. Is that so bad? Maybe crushing is just what the Lord has in mind for the pride that insulates our souls from greater grace. God’s sovereignty is so awesome and all-encompassing that He can capture what others meant for evil and use it for your good (Genesis 50:20). God can utilize the misplaced zeal of the ignorant and the well-intentioned crusade of the uninformed as the crushing that increases your Christlikeness. Often what we think is the worst season to endure will become the best season of our lives, if we handle it God’s way.

��Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him���� (Isaiah 53:10)

4: But Jesus Was Silent and Innocent

The obvious difference is that Jesus was silent while 100% without guilt, and we never are. Jesus could give it over to the Father, knowing that His complete innocence would eventually come to light. However, only by self-deception can we view ourselves as innocent. It’s so tempting to run to the part someone else is getting wrong, or camp on the corner of a third party’s misperception—but is all the opposition without merit? Isn’t it better to find the truth that exists in almost all criticism and embrace your own responsibility? Don’t make the mistake of hiding behind the parts of the problem that flow from the faults of others. Get a mirror and focus, with the help of those you trust, upon the portion of the reviling that is legitimate. Covenant with God and those around you that collective regrets will turn out for better service to God and others in the future. A continued focus on learning what you can from your own mistakes will help suppress your desire to retaliate and keep you focused on the one person you can change, yourself.

��Do not be wise in your own eyes.�� Proverbs 3:7

5: But My Silence is Making Matters Worse

Can you sit quietly even when you see people you care about get picked off in the crossfire? Shouldn’t you stand up for the innocent who get drawn into the campaign to criticize by telling the ‘whole story��? Don’t allow yourself the rationalization that you are breaking your silence so the sheep don’t get scattered. Yes, any leader should be grieved deeply to see a formerly supportive participant become disgruntled or disillusioned. As hard as it may be, though, we must look to a purpose beyond helping those who know better than to listen to self-appointed arbiters of orthodoxy, who do little more than guess and gossip. Your choice to be silent when reviled is not about the 10 that are caustic or the 100 that are curious—it’s about the 1000 that are calling out for a space and time example of how to handle injustice. Scan the horizon of our world and see how seldom those that are falsely accused hold their tongues. Hear the hurting pleas of the men in loveless marriages or the women who keep serving in humility when affection and appreciation are not forthcoming. See the overlooked, underappreciated and often maligned all around us who truly want to handle injustice as God has commanded. Those who think silence means there isn’t a good answer are naïve. Maybe something much bigger is at stake. Maybe it’s not about you or your detractors at all—maybe it is about those who are watching.

��Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to what is honorable in the sight of all.�� (Romans 12:17)

6: Give it Some Time

The most important partner you have in a season of injustice is time. The season will end, the false criticism will be eclipsed by your growth in grace, the loyalty of those with all the facts and the love of those that know you best. The problem with most of us is that we want the issue settled, handled, inventoried with all blame assigned and everything back in the place it belongs for our own peace of mind. Yet Scripture exhorts, ��Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God�� (1 Corinthians 4:5). And while you await your appointment before God’s throne, be sure you are preparing for shock at the things you were wrong about, with a vigor at least equal to your anticipation of vindication. Sit back, listen to those closest, keep silent, and wait for the Lord.

��Avoid foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.�� (2 Timothy 2:23)

7: Can I Ever Say Anything?

I have written and when not to, but the key is to answer only once and then remain silent. Silence may enrage the foolish, but it will model something important for those you are called to lead. If a fuller defense becomes essential, as in Paul’s ministry at Corinth, let others do as much of that talking as possible—you are not Paul, none of us are apostles. Beyond that, your silence helps you turn down the volume on fixing others and focus in on what God is trying to teach you. When I have gotten this wrong I have deeply regretted it, and purposed afresh to keep my focus on what God is teaching me. I am in the midst of a month largely without email or twitter or much of the internet at all. I am following no one and keeping up with nothing, except my relationship with Jesus, my family, and the wonderful leaders of our church. It has been incredibly refreshing to my soul, and the silence has given me a much clearer picture of what God is growing in me.

��The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.�� (Lamentations 3:25-26)

Paul discussed the connection between truth and family relationships in 2 Timothy 3:14��16. First, there must be a relationship with the learner. Here’s verse 14: “You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them.�� Take a moment and read that verse again. Do you see anything strange? There is something in there that I would not have expected to see. I would have expected Paul to say, “Timothy, keep on going in the things you have learned, knowing what you have learned.�� But that is not what he says. I would have anticipated Paul to say, “Timothy, keep on going in the things you have learned, knowing how you learned them. You do remember all the stuff you had to go through to learn this, don’t you? Do you want to go through that again?�� But again, that is not what Paul says. My third choice would have been, “Timothy, keep on going in the things you have learned, knowing why you learned them. Everyone knows the importance of remembering the lessons we learn during hardship.�� But he doesn’t say that either.

The thing Paul highlights is this: “Timothy, keep on going in the things you have learned, knowing from whom you learned them.�� Paul says, “Hey, do you know what’s really important? It’s the relationship.�� What matters most is not what or how or why Timothy learned—it’s who did the teaching that was paramount.

You say to yourself, “Well, of course he would say that. I mean, if the apostle Paul had been my teacher, I think who taught me would have been really important, too. But I didn’t have a teacher like that.�� Hold on! Paul wasn’t talking about himself teaching Timothy, because in the beginning of the next verse, he references Timothy’s childhood: “Knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings.��

Who teaches the members of our family truth is a very important matter, and it must not be overlooked. And who had taught Timothy? Flip back to 2 Timothy 1:5, where Paul wrote, “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.�� That ought to encourage every single parent. Timothy’s father was Greek and apparently did not worship the God of Israel (Acts 16:1, 3), but Timothy had a faithful mother and grandmother who poured truth into his life. It is absolutely vital for us to understand that truth is most powerfully taught in the context of relationship.

I remember a family from the church where I grew up. The mother was very musical and played an instrument in every worship service. The father was there with his kids every time the doors of the church opened. He even taught the truth at home over the dinner table and lived a life of integrity. But he was not a friend to his kids. He was cold and harsh and distant. He was often angry, and he consistently and increasingly withheld himself from his kids as they began to rebel against his “rules without relationship.�� Suffice it to say, some of his kids did not come back to the Lord until they were in their mid-thirties, and others have still not come back.

The father may be with the Lord by now, but sadly some of his kids may never be because truth was not taught in the context of relationship.

It is not your pastor’s job to teach the Word of God to your kids. It is not the AWANA leader’s job. It is not the Sunday School teacher’s or the youth worker’s responsibility. Praise God for those supplemental things. But it is our job as parents to teach our children the Word of God.

Parents, if you are getting that done, I just want to encourage you. Even if your kids struggle, even if they wander, I believe with all of my heart that they are coming back. They won’t stay away forever. The blessing will bring them back, and they will return to the truths that you have over many years poured into their hearts—provided you taught that truth in the context of a relationship.

Upon moving into our Elgin campus, we made an amazing discovery. In a random filing cabinet drawer buried beneath boxes and trash, we found a stack of paper three inches thick, bound together with rubber bands. They were copies of A. W. Tozer’s last ten years of sermon outlines. We have no idea how they came to be in that filing cabinet. I have spent protracted time reading through these reams of Tozer’s original preaching notes. What I see is that the quality of his ministry came from the depth of his suffering. God kept taking him back again and again to that school nobody wants to attend. Viewing his life in retrospect, you see that the seeds of suffering produced the abundant fruit in his work.

So here are a few things about the goodness of God that Tozer learned. I see these lessons in my own life, and I hope you are learning them too. Let’s do a flyby of Scripture that boasts in the goodness of the Lord.

God’s goodness is something He wants us to experience.

Psalm 34:8 invites us to “taste and see that the Lord is good.�� I’m a big- time taster. If I’m ever around you at meal time, guard your plate. I admit I like to sample. To me, friends share food; that’s intimacy. People who are territorial about the helpings on their plates sometimes get a little leery when I show up, but the good news is that God is totally on that program. He’s like, “T�����ٱ�! Sample and see. Find out for yourself that I am good.�� God’s goodness is something that He wants us to experience.

God’s goodness is the eventual conclusion of every generation of His children.

You might not think it now, but if you’re one of God’s children, you’re going to figure it out by the end of your life—God is good. Before your last day, “God is good�� will come from your lips. I don’t know what He’s going to have to take you through to get you to that place, but eventually your value system will be set up in such a way that you say, “The Lord does all things well—and good!�� Everything that He allowed, everything He withheld, every difficult season, every stretching circumstance, He meant for good.��His disposition is kindness. His default action is for your benefit. He’s good! And someday, you will taste it!

Psalm 100:5 says, “For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.�� Every generation learns the truth—God’s goodness is something He wants us to experience. It flows to us as steadfast love and faithfulness and is present in everything that He does.

God’s goodness is all over what He does.

Psalm 145:9 says, “The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.�� I haven’t found God to be superfast in answering questions like, Why did You allow this, God? or When will this end? But I do believe His mercy or His kindness is over all that He is doing.

God’s goodness may not be immediately obvious.

Lamentations 3:25 says, ��The Lord is good to those who wait for him.�� But if you’re like, “I’ve got to see it now! God; You’ve got like ten days to show me that You’re good or I am out of here!�� That’s not going to work out very well for you. God doesn’t respond to bullying. He’s not shaking and saying, Wow. We’d better go over and help him because he could leave. That’s not how it works. Even His timetable is good, but we can only see this after events have transpired. Our prayer must be, “Father, I’m waiting for You because I know You are good in what You do and in when You do it!��

God’s goodness is a refuge, and He is aware of the people��who find it.

I don’t know what you know about the goodness of the Lord, but God knows what you know, and what you’re discovering about Him. Nahum 1:7 says, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.��

As God watches us live our lives, He points to you and says, “She’s trusting,�� or “He’s not,�� and “He’s trusting a bit,�� and “She did last Thursday.�� He knows those who are taking His promises to heart. He’s proving the Word��of God in our lives. He knows the people who are resting in and the people who are resisting His promises. Stronghold is what God’s goodness looks like to the enemy on the outside; refuge is what God’s goodness looks like to us on the inside. He knows in this verse doesn’t just mean He recognizes; it also means He draws near in intimate fellowship when we protect ourselves within His character.��

��

��And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.�� Mark 1:22

��And they were all amazed…saying, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.���� Mark 1:27

��And they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.�� Luke 4:32

��The chief priests…came up to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?���� Matthew 21:23

��And [God] gave [the Son] authority to execute judgment.�� John 5:27

��All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.�� Matthew 28:18

As I wrote out the pillars of a Vertical Church more than twenty-five years ago, I prayerfully jotted down what flowed from my reflection on the above Scriptures about Christ’s authority. I put into words another pillar, which became my lifelong commitment: “Preaching God’s Word with authority and without apology.�� In time I adjusted the wording to clarify that the authority was in the Scriptures, not in the messenger, so for many years the better wording has been, “Preaching the authority of God’s Word without apology.��

The spectacle of pastors sitting in their offices with their Bibles closed, working on “talks�� instead of sermons for people who want horizontal intuition instead of Vertical inspiration, is probably the single greatest point of pathos plaguing the church today. For the life of me, I cannot understand a pastor racking his brain for points of human persuasion while the absolute authority that incinerates human folly and ��[fills] the hungry with good things�� (Luke 1:53), gathers dust on the corner of his desk. For a man to stand in a pulpit with some relevant remarks when he is called to sound forth the Word of Life is a failure of proportions that defy parallelism. Had God left us without resource, we would have no choice but to suffocate on superficiality. Instead, He has given us His very breath in writing, always true, ever new, and eternally compelling when dispensed in His strength—and with His authority. To stand in a pulpit with a false authority flowing from your own thoughts would be the height of presumption, and to apologize for God’s written revelation with eternal binding is worse still.

You’re Not Preaching if You’re Not Heralding the Bible with Authority and without Apology

I believe preachers do well when they unfold both the precept and any rationale God has revealed, helping the hearer see the Lord’s heart behind what He forbids and allows. None of this is what I mean by apologizing. By apologizing I mean anything that betrays a greater loyalty to the response of the hearer than to the Author of the Bible.

Peter L. Berger (whose list of honorary doctorates and scientific awards is as long as Shaquille O’Neal’s arm) frequently laments apology in the pulpit:

“Strong eruptions of religious faith have always been marked by the appearance of people with firm, unapologetic, often uncompromising convictions—that is, by types that are the very opposite from those presently engaged in the various relevance; operations.�� Put simply: ages of faith are not marked by ‘dialogue�� but by proclamation.��

Why have so many preachers adopted the tone of Oprah then? My goal is to address the biggest leak in the boat of biblical authority during proclamation: apology. How did we come to the place where we think God needs PR? Who is responsible for the constant concern about how culture hears what God has to say? When did we become more anxious about offending people than offending God, and why? Preachers who manufacture content or marginalize what God has said because they are concerned that people will be offended by it or the culture won’t be comfortable may convince themselves they are giving God a leg up, but the one they are really protecting is in the mirror. Trust me on this; God is never watching in appreciation when we make His Word more palatable to pagans. I am not for pulpit ranting, and I don’t believe God is honored in making the Bible complicated where it’s simple. Preaching should not nullify the Word of God through tradition or negate the Word of God by speaking in religious terms the uninitiated can’t access, but Vertical, biblical preaching should never place loyalty to the audience’s sensitivities ahead of loyalty to God and His Word.

You know when you are in the company of someone who denies by their words or tone their loyalty to someone who is absent but under discussion. Similarly, it is obvious to everyone when the preacher is more concerned about winning the hearer than remaining faithful to what God has said. What’s different in preaching is that God is actually present, listening in on how we speak about what He has spoken. Preoccupation with making sure the listener is not offended leads inevitably to offending God. Or to say it another way, if no one ever says, after hearing you, ��This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?�� (John 6:60), you don’t have a ministry like Jesus had, and you’re not being faithful to the Word of God! What arrogance to think we can eliminate offense from the message that Peter and Paul and Jesus couldn’t.

Excerpted from .

This is the statement read in our church this weekend. Later this week our elders as a whole will respond.

��

As we approach the Lord’s table today, let me say that we are back to reality.��After 40 cities and almost 80 thousand people ministered to on the Vertical Church tour, we are gladly back to our church family—but also to the reminder that spiritual warfare is real, and that I have some pretty dedicated detractors. ��

��

I call them detractors, not enemies, not wolves, because I’m maintaining the hope that—though I believe they are misguided—I’m maintaining the hope that��they do desire God’s best for our church. God knows the hearts of these detractors and I pray that when the truth is brought out they will relent in the distribution of error and adjust their opinions to fit the record of what has actually happened. ��

��

Regardless of what they choose to do, as we’re reminded today, we are following Jesus who taught us how to respond to those who oppose us. We are to love our detractors, we are to pray for them, and we are to seek to do them good. Now if Christ could do this while 100% innocent, then surely we can love and pray and do good to those whose criticism of us is certainly not entirely without merit.

��

This past Thursday night more than 200 of our Elders/Deacons/Pastors and spouses met together with more unity and mutual love than I have known in the history of our church.��Our church has never been stronger—not financially, not in systems of accountability—our church has never been stronger in our commitment to obey the Scriptures and to make disciples for Christ. So it grieves me deeply that our church family is being subjected to attacks on me personally and upon our Elder board. Thankfully, our detractors are mainly outside of our church and entirely, totally outside our church’s leadership.��

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Your trust in Harvest Bible Chapel is well placed, and when the facts are brought out I believe anyone who has been caused to doubt will have renewed confidence.��I wish I could share the missing facts now, but I have to wait and go over all of this with our Elders, which we are doing at our monthly, regularly-scheduled meeting this Tuesday night. ��

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Later this week, maybe on my blog, we will acknowledge again what we should have done better in 2007-2009. We’re going to supply the background needed for you to feel truly confident about existing structures for accountability and fiscal integrity. ��

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I would appreciate your prayers for me and my family. I know from a distance I can appear to have very thick skin, but these kind of things wound me and my family very deeply, and your prayers for our faithful and Christlike response are needed and deeply appreciated. ��

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A couple of times in our past we have endured seasons of opposition resulting in greater fruitfulness and joy in service to Christ together. And��I am believing God for that same result as we respond with truth and humility and transparency.��This we are determined to do. ��

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More to follow.

With all my heart I believe the battle that rages in the heavenlies is for the glory of God and His great Son, Jesus Christ. The enemy is very happy with horizontal church. As long as church is boring, entertaining, or self-help, it does not threaten the kingdom of darkness. If the church of Jesus Christ could universally resound with Vertical priorities, it would revive the body of Christ and rock the world. That pursuit is what keeps me on my knees, and I hope you will join me there in prayer, asking God to “show us Your glory.��

Here is a brief recap of our 40-city . Grateful for some time this week to reflect on all that God did in the past two months. Thank you for praying for us, and for His purposes to prevail. ��To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.�� (Ephesians 3:21)

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Church consultants are everywhere these days,��flying in, costing a fortune,��and teaching church leadership teams to “establish their vision,�� “figure out��their��unique value proposition,�� “settle on a purpose statement and what��they will offer to the community.�� Demographic analysis, carefully targeted��music, and ad campaigns to catch the eye of consumers, all designed in��hopes of attracting people to your church.��The results are tastefully crafted��church names that remove offense for the irreligious, facilities that are hip��with coffee shops, and mini Disney Worlds for kids, stage lights, sermon��bumps, and preachers on stools with a bottle of Snapple. None of these��things are wrong! Some of them are unquestionably helpful—but they are not,��not, not what makes a church of Jesus Christ distinct.

It is not a refutable��point, and I confess to hitting the computer keys somewhat harder just��there. What makes a church distinctive is��where we must draw the line��and fume and fuss—so let the��sparks��fly. Regardless of a thousand��legitimate ways our churches can��distinguish themselves from one��another, this single thing we must��all have as our greatest commitment��and passion. Whether you are 15��people around a candle and a coffee��table or 150 people in a tired��building trying to turn it around��or 1,500 people on the rise with��plans for another service—regardless��of size: if you don’t have the��thing that makes us distinct, you��have nothing, no matter what you��have. And if you do have it—what we were made to long for; what makes��us a true church of the one true God—you have everything you need, no��matter what you lack.

Moses Hit the Bull’s Eye

Moses continued his foaming-mouth frenzy:��“Is it not in your��going��with us, so that we are��distinct, I and your people, from every other��people on the face of the earth?�� (Exodus 33:16).��Moses knew in the depth of his being��that his only point of identity, his people’s only scintilla of significance,��was the distinction of God’s manifest presence in their midst. If you��accept the authority of God’s Word, you must embrace the distinctive��mark on the people of God: what separates us from all other people��groupings on the planet is the presence of God manifest among us. What��Moses pleaded for can’t be had at the rotary club and has never visited the��PTA. God’s manifest presence doesn’t come to the NFL or the NRA. What��God gave to Israel then and wants to give your church today is our birthright��as His children—the distinctive of His manifest presence in our midst.

It’s not for the parachurch per se and it’s not promised to the Christian��college or the mission agency. As wonderful as all those ministries are, their��own leaders readily admit that they have to��find a church to��find this. What��we pastors and church leaders too often lose sight of is that the only thing��that makes a church worth shouting about is God showing up in power and��doing what we cannot do for ourselves—and so many churches miss it completely!

Does its availability ensure its inevitability? No! Good speakers and��great music are nothing unless God breathes into them. Even a little church��with a corner on community and a happy, contented pastor who is faithful��to the text are worthless without this. And bigger churches with lots of��“baptisms�� may be far less than they appear when��“the fire [tests] what��sort of work��each one��has done�� (1 Corinthians 3:13).��Is it my work, or is it God’s? Am I the��one pulling this off with my cultural savvy and my superior programming,��or is the fruit I see a work done in God? Are my struggles and failures the��result of my paltry pursuit of His presence? Is the lack of lasting fruit from��your faithful disposition of duty a concern? These are hard questions to ask��people in ministry who work so��hard and care so much, but I��pray you resist the temptation��to get defensive and endure the��discomfort of a deeper reaction.

I write as a friend whose��only goal is to increase our joy��and effectiveness in church ministry:��“We are writing these things so that our joy may be��complete�� (1 John 1:4).��Maybe it’s time we��stopped hiding behind omnipresence��and assuming it is the��same thing as manifest presence.

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One of the key ministry values here at Harvest is recognizing the difference between equipping and serving. Serving is great, but serving is not the primary calling of a full-time pastor. The primary job of a pastor is not to do the work of the ministry, but to ��equip the saints for the work of the ministry�� (Ephesians 4:12).�� Check out the video below for more on this distinction.

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My mom, who went to heaven in July 2010, was the most effective personal evangelist I have ever known. It was extremely common during my childhood to see my mother sitting at the kitchen table with her Bible open in earnest conversation with another mom who lived on our street. Some of these were friends, some became friends, and some remained friends though they did not respond to the gospel. I have never sensed my mother’s friendship was a bargaining chip in evangelism. She found the biblical balance between influence and boldness. My mom led to Christ a woman named Shirley, who lived to the north of our house and now resides in heaven; in the two houses directly across the street, she reached Judy and Marg and a fourth woman (whose name escapes me) who lived behind us. What’s more incredible is that even after moving three times since those days in the 1970s, she continued to influence each of these women for Christ. They remained friends until my mom died, and the three still living were all at her memorial service. But what of the woman to the south and the other neighbor women who had equal opportunity to hear my mother’s bold witness but refused it?

When Harvest started, I wanted our people to experience success in personal evangelism and thought a lot about the women my mother reached versus those who refused the very same messenger with the very same message using the very same bold method. Hidden inside the stories of the women who responded to her compelling witness for Christ are stories that shatter their apparent similarity, revealing what God was doing to ready their hearts. In each instance where my mom was able to win and disciple a woman for Christ, there was an overarching life issue that ripened that woman’s heart to the good news of Jesus. Understanding that difference is the key to effective evangelistic ministry in a Vertical Church.

Same Lesson, Different Location and Time

Lest you think I built our entire evangelistic ministry on my mom’s witness pattern, let me show it to you in Scripture, and then how we seek to implement it in our Vertical Church. What did Jesus mean when He exhorted every future evangelist? “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest��? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are already ripe for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life�� (John 4:35-36). Please don’t miss what Jesus is saying about the people He wants you and your church to get the good news to.

Stop saying the harvest is months away; it’s today.
All around us this moment are people ripe to the gospel.
Look past the preference of who you want saved and locate those God has ripened.
I can reap now where others have sown, if I look for the ripe fruit.
Gathering ripe fruit is reaping souls for eternal life.

In Vertical Church, we seek to adopt the most biblical language possible. In evangelism, we refer to people ready to respond to the gospel now as red apples; they are ripe to the gospel. For that reason we refer to people not yet ready as green apples. If you take that thinking out of John 4:34��38 and into Jesus’s interactions with people, it changes the way you see the Gospels and gospel work today. Jesus Christ constantly cut through the crowd filled with green apples to focus His energy on the red ones already ripe for His message. He left a crowd of green apples to talk with Zacchaeus, the lone red one. He turned to the desperate woman with the issue of blood even though surrounded by masses. He stopped for the centurion determined to see his daughter healed, He embraced the woman shamed by her sin whom the crowds despised, He talked at great length with Nicodemus who longed for more than his formulaic religiosity. In every instance Jesus invested in the ripe red apples, those with strong readiness abandon the life they knew for something better. Repeatedly Christ even explained His rationale: “The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost�� (Luke 19:10),��“Those who are well have no need of a physician�� (Matthew 9:12),��and there is “more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance�� (Luke 15:7). Jesus gave time without limit to the red apples He met, but would hardly give the time of day to the green apples. Without insulting those not yet ripe, Christ did refuse them. When the rich, young ruler came to Jesus, he asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?�� (Luke 18:18). How many churches in our day would have that guy’s name on a card or serving as an usher in a matter of minutes? “He seems so interested, so passionate, so hungry for the things of God.�� But Jesus used the law to elicit his prideful assertion that he was not sinful: “All these things I have kept from my youth up; what do I lack?�� Christ responded to him, “Go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor�� (Luke 18:21-22).��Why did Jesus say this? Not because divesting his wealth would gain him eternal life, but because his refusal to do so revealed his unreadiness for a God other than the god of his possessions.

This revealing of a green apple’s unripeness was common with Christ. In the closing verses of Luke 9, Jesus had three quick encounters with green apples as He walked down a road. Two expressed a desire to follow Christ; the third He invited. In each instance Christ responded in a way that revealed the person’s unripeness: “You’re not ready to follow me, I don’t have a place to lay my head down,�� “Leave the dead to bury their own dead,�� “Followers don’t look back; you’re unfit�� (Luke 9:57-62).��Too shallow, too superficial, too slow, in each instance Christ turned the green apple away. But when people become aware of personal sin, open to complete life change, humbled enough to see their needs, they are ripe, red, and ready for a gospel witness. Those are the ones Christ sought out.

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