One of my favorite sermon series I did while planting LifePoint was one that examined the leadership of Moses. We took about six weeks and looked at the various aspects of his leadership, from his calling to how he handled challenges. Numbers 11 is a good example. The burden of leading a surly group like the Israelites was taking its toll on Moses. The chapter begins with the people complaining (no surprise there). Scholars estimate the number of people Moses was leading to be between 500,000 and a million. That's no small number. Moses is ready to walk away. The loneliness of leadership is almost too much. That's when God offers a remedy. It's found in Numbers 11:16-17 ... "The Lord said to Moses: 'Bring me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting,…
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Numbers 14 is a great chapter in the Old Testament, not so much for how it starts. The chapter begins with the Israelites grumbling and complaining: That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt." (Numbers 14:1-4) Listening to their complaints, one might have thought they had left behind the lifestyle of the rich and famous. To hear them speak, life in Egypt was life on easy street. It's remarkable how…
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Since the time I felt called to preaching, I have tried to be a student of how to communicate. One of the things I have enjoyed most about having Dr. Mark Scott on our teaching team has been the opportunity to observe how he crafts and delivers sermons. For nearly 30 years Mark was a professor of preaching at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, MO. I think he's even read a book or two on preaching. At any rate, since we share the preaching duties it gives me a front row seat to see how he does it. If you want to be a better preacher or communicator, study others who are good preachers or communicators. Below are a few tips on how to learn from others. Use Your Eyes. Take everything in -- content, movements, gestures, vocal inflexions. How do their movements complement their points? Does their posture change…
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In N.T. Wright's book, "After You Believe," he has a short phrase - a small, two word phrase - that really grabbed me: "uncomfortable borderland." His point? For Christ-followers, we live at the intersection of God's desires and designs and the actual world we live in. The world the way God wants it to be and the world as it is. This is the "uncomfortable borderland" God has called us to navigate. There is tension in the uncomfortable borderland. We see a wrong that needs to be righted - who should do something about it? I can't do everything. It seems overwhelming. It is overwhelming. That may be the whole point of dragging us into the uncomfortable borderland. To only live on one side of the border or the other releases us from the tension. We hole ourselves off and become hermits or we immerse ourselves in the darkness and…
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Seth Godin has a great, short post about the origins of trust. Here is a snippet: "We trust people because they showed up when it wasn't convenient, because they told the truth when it was easier to lie and because they kept a promise when they could have gotten away with breaking it."
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