with Bob Condly
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leadership

Giving the Greatest Gift

By Bob Condly
April 13, 2018
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Last week I warned about the danger of adopting an Old Testament-styled perspective on the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Under the old covenant, God gave His Spirit to select individuals so they could fulfill their responsibilities. Most of the Israelites received no anointing.

In the new covenant established by Jesus, God blesses every Christian with the Spirit. In fact, the presence of the Spirit in your life defines you as a Christian.

“If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” – Romans 8:9b

The Bible lays out three important principles about the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian.

First, the Spirit is a gift for you.

“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” – Acts 2:38

Second, the Holy Spirit is a gift from God.

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” – Luke 11:13

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever– 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” – John 14:16-17

Third, people can impart the Holy Spirit to others.

“Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19and said, ‘Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’” – Acts 8:17-19

“Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord–Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here–has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’” – Acts 9:17

“When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.” – Acts 19:6

The first two points are foundational to Christian life and ministry; every church worth its salt ascribes to them. The Spirit is God’s gift to His people.

But believers bicker over the third statement. They dispute whether Christians have the capacity to bestow the Spirit because it seems to put people on God’s level.

In general, Pentecostal and charismatic preachers believe that Christians do indeed possess such a capacity. They base their teaching about impartation on two passages in the Pastoral Epistles which the apostle Paul wrote to his young protege Timothy.

Here’s the first verse:

“Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.” – 1 Timothy 4:14

The elements of this Scripture are as follows:

  1. Timothy has a spiritual gift.
  2. A prophecy accompanied the the bestowal of that gift.
  3. The gift was conveyed when elders laid their hands on Timothy.
  4. For an undisclosed reason, Timothy shirked from using his gift.

And here is the other passage:

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 8So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.” – 2 Timothy 1:6-8

And the basics of this exhortation are:

  1. Paul wants Timothy to stir up his gift.
  2. He received that gift when Paul laid his hands on him.
  3. Timothy feared putting it into practice.
  4. God gave Timothy the courage necessary to operate in his gifting.
  5. Fear of rejection and persecution led Timothy to neglect his ministry gift.
  6. Paul challenges Timothy to be ready to suffer for the gospel.

Combining these verses from 1 and 2 Timothy leads me to conclude that Paul and the elders in Ephesus teamed up to pray for and dedicate Timothy to gospel service. On that occasion, the Holy Spirit filled the young man with a ministry gift.

Furthermore, he received prophetic instructions and encouragement about the use of his gift. The Lord could very well have counseled Timothy about how to operate in the Spirit and warned him about the resistance he would encounter from those who reject the gospel.

I suspect that Timothy enjoyed initial success but the pressure of objections, arguments, and threats unnerved him. As a result, he retreated from active service, so Paul tried to get him back in the game.

What does Paul’s experience with Timothy tell us about the impartation of the Holy Spirit?

  1. God sends His Spirit in response to the prayers of His people.
  2. The Holy Spirit does not force you to cooperate.

The central theme in these passages is responsibility.

Leaders have a duty to prepare and support those whom they consecrate to ministry. While many Christians doubt the ability of church leaders to release the Spirit in the life of another believer, Paul treats it as unremarkable. He assumed that elders enjoyed that privilege.

If you’re a church leader, you’re going to be called on to raise up new leaders and groom them for the work of the Lord. When you consecrate them, God is going to fill them so they can serve Jesus in the power of the Spirit. This may seem amazing to us, but it was normal for Paul. What worried him was the ongoing reinforcement Timothy needed.

Those who serve the Lord have an obligation to operate in the power that God has granted them. It’s a privilege to receive the gifts of the Spirit but a responsibility to use them. The gifts are given to us for others. That’s why Paul was challenging Timothy. Too many people needed what Timothy had; they were depending on the young man to return to his ministry.

Who is waiting for you? Who stands to benefit from the spiritual gifts God has invested in you? More people than you know!

Paul encouraged Timothy to serve Jesus without fear. Today, church leaders should heed that admonition and dare to equip and dispatch people into ministry. God will honor those prayers by sending His Spirit to anoint and enable new leaders to spread the gospel.

For servants of the Lord, the Holy Spirit is the greatest gift one can give or receive.

Let’s be generous and bold!

 

Solving the Problem of Servant-Leadership

By Bob Condly
December 1, 2017
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In John Maxwell’s pithy phrase, “leadership is influence.” It applies to government, business, sports, education, etc. And church.

In that influence lies our power as leaders. But for His disciples Jesus turns upside down the common notion of leadership.

“Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45

Not to argue with the Lord, but I could never resolve what looks like a logical contradiction. Leaders tell others what to do while servants do what they’re told. You can fill one role or the other but not both at the same time.

What does Christ want His disciples to do? Suppress their ambition to lead and content themselves with compliance?

Paul believed otherwise; he commends those who aspire to lead churches.

“Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.” – 1 Timothy 3:1

So the answer isn’t to disparage leadership. To the contrary, it’s a gift from God for His people.

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” – Romans 12:6-8

But this passage highlights the problem; Paul distinguishes service from leadership. So is servant-leadership a vain attempt to join what God has separated?

Perhaps the answer has to do with mindset. You can strive to be a powerful leader, but stay humble.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; 7rather, He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death– even death on a cross!” – Philippians 2:3-8

Jesus adopted the mindset of a servant to fulfill the will of God and pay the price for human sin and failure.

But didn’t Jesus exercise authority over people? Didn’t He instruct, command, and direct? If He had the heart of a servant, He had the behavior of a leader.

So how do we reconcile the two?

In his Building a Story Brand podcast, Donald Miller interviewed Todd Duncan about his new book, The $6000 Egg, which deals with customer service. They stressed that putting customers first doesn’t demean employees; rather, it empowers them. In Miller’s opinion, you should have the mentality of a coach. Help people flourish; change the world by serving others.

Miller and Duncan integrated servanthood and leadership by focusing on purpose. And that’s what I’d been missing.

The issue is motive. Why do you want to be a leader? To get your way? Or to help people succeed? Do you want to promote yourself or the Lord and others? What drives you?

We’re beginning Advent, so let’s apply the question of motivation to Christmas. Why did Jesus come to this world? He could have assisted us from heaven without the hassle of taking on human nature!

Christ came as a substitute. He became like us so we could become like Him. That’s what we call “the reason for the season” and it informed Jesus’ leadership.

If you embrace Christ’s purpose as your own, God can and will bless your leadership.

“Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed–not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence–continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.” – Philippians 2:9-13

Want to be a servant-leader? Attend to God’s purpose for you in Christ Jesus. When you do, you’ll find all the humility and authority you need.

with Bob Condly

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