God's Courier: Finding My Place in the Kingdom of God

By David Ryser

No man can avoid what he’s meant to do.  At the moment he’s meant to do it.  (Marcus Aurelius)

Alan is my friend.  Alan is a great guy.  I am not one who trusts easily, but I trust Alan without reservation.  I would trust Alan with my life, my wallet, and my wife.  Alan pastors a church.  I have tried, on more than one occasion over the years, to become a part of Alan’s church.  But I just can’t seem to pull it off.

When I go to Alan’s church and sit in the service, it feels like I’ve got my shorts on backwards.  It’s not dangerous…it just feels weird.

So I don’t attend Alan’s church.  But I really like Alan.  We meet once in awhile and fellowship together.  We talk about the things that are dearest to our hearts…our hopes and our dreams.  I’m safe with Alan, and he speaks powerfully into my life.

And I appreciate him, and love him, more than he knows.

I am a courier.  I began working at this job toward the end of my 14 year pastoral misadventure.  The church was small, and didn’t have a lot of money to pay to a pastor, so I needed a job to provide extra income.  A courier’s job entails driving around and making pick-ups and deliveries.  It does not require a great deal of brain power.

This is a good thing, in my case.

Typically a courier has an assigned route that varies very little from day-to-day.  The job becomes routine.  This can be advantageous because the courier is able to do the job and think about something else at the same time.  Or worship.  Or pray.  Imagine having a job where you are paid to hang out with God.

No church I served ever paid me to hang out with God.

I kept the courier job after I left the pastorate.  I had a lot to think about, and the job paid the bills.  I kept the courier job when I taught at a school of ministry.  The flexible schedule, the income, and the opportunity to prepare emotionally and spiritually for the next day in the classroom made it the ideal job for me.  I kept the courier job after I left the school and the church I was attending.  I needed to heal, and God wanted to talk with me.

It’s hard to hide from God, or anyone else, in a motor vehicle.

So I’m driving on my courier route one day, and my cell phone rings.  I see that my friend Alan is calling me.  I answer the call.  Alan is very excited.  He’d heard something from God for me and is anxious to share it with me.  “I know what you are!  I know what you are!”   This was potentially very good news for me because during this season of my life, I didn’t know who or what I was.  If you had asked me what part I was in the Body of Christ, I would have answered, “The appendix.”

 “So what am I?” I asked.

“You’re a courier!”

What???!!!  I’m thinking, “Well, duh! Are you joking?  I’m driving around in a courier vehicle.  On a courier route.  Of course I’m a courier, you dunderhead!”  What I said was, “A courier?”

“Yup.  A courier.”

Alan was absolutely thrilled with this revelation.  Me…not so much.  I thanked him, somewhat insincerely, for sharing this word from God with me.  Missing the sarcasm in my voice, Alan assured me it was his pleasure and ended the call.

A courier….  For crying out loud!

  I continued driving on my route.  About 20 minutes after my conversation with Alan, God spoke clearly to me.  He didn’t say much.  Only three words.

“You’re a courier.”

And revelation exploded in my spirit.  For the next several minutes it was all I could do to capture and process the truth that was being poured into me.  And at the end of that time, I was quite content to be God’s courier from then on.

You see, a courier’s job is to pick up an item from one person and take it to another person.  Typically a courier has several items of various sorts (pouches, envelopes, packages, etc.) in the vehicle.  Each of them needs to go somewhere.  Each of them goes to someone.  And each of them must arrive at a certain time.  It is very important that these items be delivered to the right place, to the right person, and at the right time.

They must not be delivered to the wrong place, or to the wrong person, or at the wrong time.  Or all three.

The items the courier is picking up and delivering do not belong to him at any time.  They were the property of someone else when he received them, and they become the property of someone else when he delivers them.  Although they are in his custody, and he carries them, the items never belong to him.  And the courier very rarely knows exactly what is in the containers he is carrying.

Wow.  (I love the word WOW.  You can say it frontwards:  WOW.  You can say it backwards:  WOW.  You can even say it upside-down:  MOM)

In a sense, we are all God’s couriers.  We are carriers of the life, nature, love, compassion, and power of God.  We have been called to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth.  We have been commissioned to be witnesses (not to do witnessing) of God’s kingdom.  We are anointed to minister God’s life wherever we go.  The anointing God has placed on us does not belong to us.  It has been given into our custody by God to pour out onto someone else.  It is important that we take this gift from God and give it to the right person, at the right place, and at the right time.

And when we speak God’s word to someone, or minister His power to them, we many times do not know the situation in the person’s life we are speaking into or ministering to.  We just make the delivery.

We are couriers.  God’s couriers.

By the way, I recently had the opportunity to thank my friend Alan for speaking this life-changing word from God into my life.  Of course, he does not even remember the conversation.

It figures….

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

Plans? We Don't Need No Stinking Plans!: Living God's Adventure

By David Ryser

If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.  (Sean Bastable)

I’m not a good planner.  Never have been.  I don’t make plans.  I don’t identify short-term and long-term goals with action steps in between to make the achievement of these goals a success.  I pretty much take each day as it comes.

This trait of mine drives my friends and family crazy.  They see this lack of foresight on my part as an invitation to disaster.

As my acquaintances in the insurance business like to say:  “People don’t plan to fail; they simply fail to plan.”  I suspect this catchy little phrase has helped to sell a lot of insurance policies.  And it does have the appearance of wisdom.  I’m just no good at planning.

It seems I prefer adventure.

Now, the Bible does have much to say about prudence and the benefits of exercising wisdom.  God certainly does not place a premium on foolishness or stupidity.   But the Bible also has a lot to say about making plans...and about the pitfalls of relying upon man-made plans.

Too bad, because I could really use a good plan right about now.

You see, I’m at a crossroads in my life.  I need to make a change…a major change.  What I decide to do will alter the course of my life from now on.  And if I don’t make a decision fairly soon, life for me could become very difficult.  I think having a good plan would be a wonderful thing.

Would it?  What does the Bible say about plans?

Actually, although the Bible is high on wisdom, it seems to take a remarkably dim view of planning.  Appears to downright disapprove of it.  In at least one place, the scriptures teach that all human planning is boastful, arrogant, and evil (James 4:13-17).

But I need a plan!  What am I supposed to do?

Actually I have lots of plans.  Too many of them, in fact.  There’s nothing like a good dose of fear concerning the loss of financial or personal security to get the creative juices flowing in my mind.  When I feel threatened, my fight-or-flight instinct kicks in with a vengeance, and I come up with all sorts of plans for my deliverance.  This is biblical (Proverbs 19:21a), but it is a trap.  Because as long as I consider only my own plans, I will be operating in my own wisdom.  And what I really need is the counsel of God (Proverbs 19:21b).

If I want to make the decision that will most positively impact my future, I suppose it might be best to seek and obtain counsel from the One who knows the future.

The Bible tells me that God has thoughts toward, and plans for, His people.  Plans for good and not for evil (Jeremiah 29:11).  It assures me that even as I make my plans, God is directing my steps (Proverbs 16:9; Psalm 37:23).  This is a great comfort to me.

Because I don’t know what’s best for me.

I’m a lot like a three-year-old child in this regard.  I know very much what I want.  And I know how badly I want it.  And I know when I want it…I want it now!  But I don’t know what’s good for me.  Every loving parent and devoted older sibling knows what it is like to struggle with a small child who greatly wants to run out into traffic.  The child will make it’s desires known in no uncertain terms by crying, screaming, squirming to break free from the restraining grasp, and by other such means as we routinely employ to get our way with God and others…even as adults.

Love prevents the child from running into harm…without regard for the feelings of the child.  And so it is with God.

And I think I’m beginning to catch onto this.  Unfortunately, I’m not catching on just because I’m becoming more spiritual.  It’s because I have gotten what I wanted only to find out I wished I hadn’t gotten it.  And I’ve not gotten what I wanted and been thankful that I’d not gotten it.

And both have happened often enough so that I now realize that I don’t know what is good/best for me.  So I should defer to the counsel of the One who knows the future and who loves me like no other.

And this can be an adventure.

Because parents do not always, or even normally, explain their decisions to a three-year-old.  They shouldn’t have to.  And the child most likely wouldn’t understand the decision anyhow.  Whether the child responds positively to the instructions and actions of the parent is not usually dependent upon the child having more information...it is more often a matter of the child having a loving and trusting relationship with the parent.

And so it is with me and God.

So what should I do now?  I still need to make a decision.  My situation is not improving through my failure to address it.  Fortunately for me, Jesus has told me how to walk through this situation and every other that will ever come into my life.  In Matthew 6:24-34 (cf. Luke 12:22-31), Jesus tells me that I cannot serve two masters.  I cannot simultaneously serve both God and earthly money/riches/provision.  He tells me not to be anxious about anything that I need, especially those things that I think I will need in the future.  He counsels me that the answer to my concerns and fears is to seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness.

It is in relationship with God that we find provision for all of our needs.

That means I don’t have to worry.  I don’t have to live in fear.  I don’t need to scheme my own deliverance.  I don’t need to plan…which is good news for me because, as I’ve previously stated, I stink at planning.

So what am I going to do?  I’m going to go on an adventure with God.

I’m going to take God’s hand and walk with Him through this situation.  I will explore opportunities as I come across them, and I will ask God what He thinks of them.  I will pursue the possibilities that present themselves and trust Him that it’s best when I don’t get what I want, when I want it.  I will not put God, or His decisions, on trial.  Because I cannot say that I love God, or even know Him, if I don’t trust Him.

 I will joyfully accept whatever He supplies, or denies, to me.

And everything will be fine.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

"The Muslims are Coming!": Confessions of a Christian Bed-Wetter

By David Ryser

God favors a certain type of heart, not a certain type of people.  (Mark Pederson)

I recently had to give up listening to political talk shows.  In part, I did this because I found myself fuming against the stupidity of human government.  What other kind of human government is there?  I also discovered that I was beginning to be in fear concerning (among other things) the current state of the economy and the threat of terrorism fomented by some practitioners of “the religion of peace.”

I find that neither anger nor fear brings me any closer to Jesus.

As I was perusing a Christian website yesterday, I came across a bed-wetting article warning of the coming of the Muslim hordes to America.  It seems these demon-worshiping monsters are dedicated to the overthrow of the United States and the imposition of their religious law.  And, for good measure, they are also out to kill me and my family.

I am, as yet, unclear as to just exactly how they propose both to kill me and impose their law on me at the same time.

This is not to say that I am unaware of, or unconcerned with, this worldwide threat against life and liberty.  But I get very nervous when nominal lovers of Jesus confuse patriotism/nationalism with Christianity.  The Kingdom of God managed to muddle along somehow before the United States was founded, and I imagine it will continue to thrive even after the United States ceases to exist.

God is not an American.

As for the Muslim threat to the world, I defer to the expertise of my friend Cliff who ministers in the Muslim villages of Uganda.  Pointing to the book of Jonah, Cliff believes that we Christians will either convert the Muslims or serve them.  He prefers the former, so he preaches the gospel with power to people who respond in faith when they see the miracle workings of a God who is near to us, alive, and active (as opposed to a god who is distant, unknowable, and inactive).

I prefer Cliff’s methodology to that of the author of yesterday’s article who suggests we either deport or kill the Muslims in order to safeguard ourselves and the nation of Israel.  After all, the United States is vital to Israel’s survival…isn’t it?

Not according to the Bible.

Anyhow, because I am currently teaching a semester-long class on the book of Jonah, I have thought about Cliff’s theory a lot recently.  Some lessons from this wonderful little book might be helpful in assisting us to respond to a very real threat in our world.

The story is a familiar one.  The prophet Jonah is called by God to go to Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian empire, and prophesy its destruction (1:1, 2).  Because he is a prophet, and a contemporary of the prophets Amos and Hosea, Jonah knows that the Assyrians will be the instrument of God’s judgment upon Israel.  He also knows that if the Ninevites respond with repentance to his prophecy of destruction, then God will likely relent of His judgment upon them (4:2).

Jonah hates the idolatrous Assyrians.  And he loves his people.  To safeguard Israel (Where have we heard this line before?), he opts to go in the opposite direction from where God wants him to go (1:3).  He figures that if the Ninevites don’t hear God’s warning, they will be destroyed in forty days (1:2 & 3:4).  Israel will be saved!

Of course, it never occurs to Jonah that God’s doomsday clock does not even begin to tick for Nineveh until he arrives there.

Along the way, Jonah gets several lessons about God’s character and His love for all people…even the Assyrians.  The Ninevites repent at Jonah’s preaching, turn from their wicked ways, and are spared from God’s judgment (3:1-10).

Jonah responds badly (4:1-3).  And, quite possibly, God’s plan for Assyria (and for Israel) is ruined.

What if Jonah had received more than just the message (eyes and ears) of God?  What if he had received the heart of God also?  What if he had overcome his racism and religious bigotry, and taken advantage of Nineveh’s turn toward God and stayed there to teach them the ways of the Lord?  What if the Assyrians had become a godly nation, loving and serving the true God?

What if the Assyrians had conquered Israel by their godliness rather than by their armies?

God is not an Israeli.

We will never know what would have happened if Jonah had been God’s apostle to the Assyrians.  Over time, the Ninevites returned to their old ways.  They became enemies of Israel.  Because of Israel’s ungodliness, and failure to repent of it, the armies of Nineveh conquered Israel and took the nation captive.  Because they did not convert the Assyrians, Israel ultimately ended up conquered by…and serving…them.

End of story…for ancient Israel.  But what about us?

The world faces a dire threat from radical Islam.  Military and political solutions to this problem are doomed to failure.  The “Christian-American” solution of deporting or killing all Muslims will not work.  Even if it did work, it would be an obscenity.

The answer to this problem is and always has been…Jesus.

What if Christians would reach out to Muslims and demonstrate to them the life, love, and power of God?  Of course, this would mean that we would need to have all of the above qualities operational in our own lives…which makes it a bit of a religious crap-shoot.  But what if Christians could show Jesus to Muslims?

Do you even know what the foundation of the Muslim faith is?

The whole Muslim religion is founded upon the belief that their god is distant, unknowable, unloving, capricious, and inactive in the affairs of people.  If we will proclaim and demonstrate a God who is near, intimately knowable, loving, just, and active, then we could see a great harvest for the Kingdom of God.

And Muslims are not as far from God as you might imagine.  For one thing, they believe in the Jesus of the Bible more than does the average seminary professor.  For another, they have a heart after God and desire to serve Him.  They don’t know Him.  They’ve never experienced His passionate love for them.

And they have never seen an example of Him apart from us.  Which makes the task of converting them even more daunting.

But convert them we must.  Or serve them.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

The End of the World: Some Thoughts

By David Ryser

Jesus is coming.  Look busy.   (My all-time favorite bumper sticker)

One of the mixed blessings that comes with having the title of “doctor” in front of my name is that people ask me a lot of questions.  Normally I enjoy the interaction that comes from considering a thoughtful question.  At other times I am struck by how we Christians can be so concerned about things that don’t really matter.

For example, I am regularly asked about my opinion of the end of the world.

I don’t often get this question when the economy is robust and life is easy.  I usually get it when times are tough for the person asking the question.  I’m happy to respond to the question, but most people don’t understand the answer.

So before I share my answer, it may help to explain how I arrived at it.

It was March of 1997.  I had been in the professional ministry for 13 years.  And I was at the end of myself.  I was tired, burned out, fed up, and spiritually comatose.  My faith, once characterized by an intense love for Jesus, was on life support.  I was going through the motions, but had no passion for Jesus or the work of His kingdom.

I was, in short, a typical pastor.

Then one night I attended (somewhat against my will, I might add) a revival meeting held by people who had been mightily touched by God.  The congregation was made up of people who were passionate lovers of Jesus.  They prayed and worshiped with all their heart.  Their passion and intensity instantly convinced me of two things:  1) They loved Jesus, and 2) I did not.  I wanted to love Jesus.  I used to love Jesus.  Could I be in love with Him again?

And the service hadn’t even started!

The worship service was powerful.  The presence of God was so strong, even I could feel it.  I basked in Him.  It had been so long since I’d last experienced Him so tangibly.  How could I have lost Him?  Could I find Him again?

Then the preaching began.

But this wasn’t preaching like I had expected.

The simple country preacher humbly spoke about how he had encountered God.  This pastor had been broken, burned out, used up, and ready to quit.  In his lowest hour, God had come and restored his life and his strength.  Jesus became real to him like never before.  This man of God had come alive again and was living in the presence, love, and power of God.

And then this pastor asked us if we wanted what he had.

Did I want what he had?  Does a land animal crave oxygen?  Yes, I wanted what he had!  I didn’t know if I could get it, or even what “it” was exactly, but I thought I would die without it.

God finds that kind of desperation irresistible.

As I received prayer at the end of the service, I began to feel hope come alive in me.  The love and life of God began to be poured into me, displacing the disappointment, pain, and death.

And I began to fall in love with Jesus all over again.  In a moment…on that night…in that place…my world ended.

So when people ask my opinion of the end of the world, my response tends to be, “What world?”

Most folks find this response unsatisfying.  And they assume I’ve misunderstood the question.  So they reword it.  They ask, “Do you believe that Jesus is coming soon?”  And I tell them that, for me, Jesus has already come.

He came when my world ended.

You see, I don’t live in my world any longer.  I live in God’s kingdom.  I’m experiencing the truth of the words of John the Baptist and Jesus:  “The Kingdom of God is at hand.”  It’s near.  It’s here.  And I’m living in it.

I experience the presence of God every day.  God’s kingdom, as with any kingdom, is where the King reigns.  If God lives and reigns in me, then I am in His kingdom.  If not….

It really is just that simple.  Of course, one should not confuse simple with easy.

It can be tough living in a kingdom.  Especially if you are full of yourself.  I’ve discovered that what I want is not always what the King wants.  And in a kingdom, the king rules.  He always gets what he wants.  I don’t always get to have things my way.

Jesus is the King of Kings.  He’s not the Burger King.

Do I believe Jesus is coming again to rule over a new heaven and earth?  Yes.  And I yearn to see Him and experience Him in ways not possible before.  To know Him as I am known by Him.  To reach out and touch Him as He goes by and hold onto His feet if only for a few seconds.  That would be heaven for me.

You can keep your mansions.  There aren’t any mansions, anyhow.  Read your Bible…and not in English.

Is the world coming to an end?  My world has already ended.  Is Jesus coming?  He has already come.  Am I looking forward to seeing Him?  More than you could ever know.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

Not Everyone Who Kisses Your Butt is Your Friend: And Not Everyone Who Kicks Your Butt is Your Enemy

By David Ryser

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.  (Proverbs 27:6, NKJV)

Recently, a friend of mine kicked my spiritual butt.  I had missed God, and she called me on it…without bothering to use a whole lot of emotional anesthesia, I might add.  Are we still friends?  Of course we are.  If we hadn’t been friends, she wouldn’t have been allowed to kick my butt in the first place.

Perhaps I had better explain that.

This lady and her husband are dear friends of mine.  They held my hand and ministered the love of God to me during a very difficult time in my life.  They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.  As a result, they have earned the right to speak into my life.

What?  A person has to earn the right to speak into my life?  Well…yes.

Is that scriptural?  Perhaps a lesson from the book of Job will help here.

In Job 1:1, we are introduced to Job who is described as a person who is blameless and upright, and who fears God and shuns evil.  And God has blessed him.  Job is a wealthy and great man (Job 1:2, 3).  Life is good for Job.

Until one day….

God has a conversation with Satan about Job (Job 1:6-8).  God brags on Job.  He describes Job in glowing terms.  What is Satan’s response?

Satan calls Job a whore.

Yes, he does.  Satan says, “Does Job serve God for nothing?” (Job 1:9).  And then he goes on to say that Job loves God because God pays for his love (Job 1:10).  He then predicts that if God would stop paying for Job’s love, then Job would cease to love Him (Job 1:11).

That’s quite an accusation.

God is not going to stand for Satan talking about His good friend Job that way, so He decides to prove that Job’s love is genuine (Job 1:12a & 2:6).  Soon, Job suffers great loss.  He loses his oxen, donkeys, and several servants to a Sabean raiding party (Job 1:14, 15).  His sheep are killed in what sounds like a terrible lightning storm (Job 1:16).  He has his camels stolen and more servants killed by bands of Chaldeans (Job 1:17).  His children are killed in a windstorm (Job 1:18, 19).  And then his health takes a turn for the worse.  He is covered from head to toe with painful boils (Job 2:7).

Job ends up sitting in ashes and scraping the pus from his boils with pieces of broken pottery (Job 2:8).  Not a pretty picture.

Some men hear of Job’s adversity and come to comfort him (Job 2:11).  When they see him, they are so overwhelmed by the picture of his suffering that they weep, tear their clothes (a sign of extreme grief in their culture), and sprinkle dust on their heads (Job 2:12).  Then they sit with Job for a week.

A week!  Without saying anything.   Not a word.

These men suffered with Job for a week without opening their mouths.  They earned the right to speak into Job’s life by suffering with him.  And the Bible says that these guys were his friends (Job 2:11)!  Even they had to be with Job for a time before speaking to him.

You see, speaking into someone’s life is done most effectively in the context of relationship.  Especially when what you need to speak to me is unpleasant for me to hear.  You don’t need to be in relationship with me to tell me how great I am.  I’m open to hearing that from anyone.  Relationship is for when you need to admonish me.

Relationship is for when you need to kick my butt.

If I believe you love and care about me, I will allow you to give me a swift kick in the rear…even if I think you are wrong.  But if I don’t believe you love and care about me, I’m unlikely to let you within kicking range…even if you’re right.

You must earn the right to speak into my life.  And I must earn the right to speak into yours.

You earn that right by investing time in developing a relationship with me.  You don’t earn it by virtue of having your name on the door of a church office.  You don’t earn it by having a title such as “prophet” or “bishop” or “apostle” or whatever.  Self-sent apostles are a dime-a-dozen.

No, thanks.

If you don’t have time to be in relationship with me, then I might not have the time to listen to your “word” for me.  You can take your “word” and stick it…oops…take it somewhere else.

Titles and offices are not suitable substitutes for relationship.

Are there exceptions to this rule?  Yes, of course.  But not as many as we’d like to think.

And, church leaders, please don’t bother to introduce yourself to me as “Pastor (whatever your name is).”  I’ll know what you are when I see how you behave around the sheep.

And who among us has not been beguiled by the smooth tongue and flattering lips of someone whose goal is to get something from us?  We think we’ve made a lifelong friend who loves and values us, only to have them reveal their true colors and betray us in some way.

Remember that Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss.  Not a slap.  Or a kick.

In truth, it is a shame that we are susceptible to flattery in the first place.  Do we have such a high opinion of ourselves?  We shouldn’t (Romans 12:3).  I’m not such a great catch apart from Jesus.  Or do we have such a low opinion of ourselves as to need constant affirmation…and that from people we don’t really know?

And whose opinion of us counts more than God’s?

Is His love not enough for us?  Is His praise not enough for us?  Are His presence and blessing and power in our lives not enough for us?  What about God isn’t enough for us?  Why do we desire the kisses of an enemy more than the kisses of God?

Actually, I’ve learned to appreciate my enemies.  They can teach us as much as our friends can.  God has used these people to show me a lot about of myself that needs a good God-makeover.  When I’m deceived and/or wounded by an enemy and I complain to God about it, He typically wants to talk to me about me…and not about them.

And the most valuable lesson both friends and foes have taught me is that not everyone who kisses my butt is my friend, and not everyone who kicks my butt is my enemy.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

"Wolf! Wolf!": The Cry of Insecure Leaders

By David Ryser

Wolf!  Wolf!  (The sheep in the movie Babe upon seeing a sheepdog approaching them.)

I was reading an interesting article in which the author divided people into three categories:  sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs.  Most people are sheep.  They are cute, cuddly, harmless, and clueless.  Wolves are predators.  And they are violent.  They take advantage of, and even harm and kill, sheep.  Sheepdogs are, to simplify a bit, wolves with a conscience.  Like wolves, sheepdogs are predatory by nature and are prone to violence.  Unlike wolves, sheepdogs use violence to protect the sheep.

And sheep typically have difficulty distinguishing between sheepdogs and wolves.  To sheep, a predator is a predator.  All predators look alike.

What does all of this have to do with the Kingdom of God?

A common theme in Christian preaching and teaching has to do with wolves among the flock.  Insecure church leaders use this as an opportunity to warn their parishioners against people who will come into the congregation from the outside and try to scatter the flock.  To steal them away and/or kill them spiritually.  Such sage words of warning are typically accompanied by guidelines to assist the sheep in recognizing wolves.  During one such church meeting, the pastor told his congregation that wolves never come from among the church leadership; but rather, from among the other worshipers.

This is a convenient teaching.  Especially if, in fact, church leaders can be wolves.  But why even suggest such a thing?  A wolf wouldn’t lie…would he?

Anyhow, when I read the article about sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs (an article, incidentally, that appeared in a non-Christian magazine), I began to be curious about what the scriptures have to say on the subject.

As it turns out, there are very few scriptures (only 13 verses) that even speak about wolves at all.  And even fewer speak of wolves in the way the Church speaks of them (a mere 4 verses).

In Ezekiel 22:27, the term “wolves” is applied to the princes of Israel.  Leaders.  In Zephaniah 3:3, the word “wolves” is used of the judges of Israel.  Leaders.  In Matthew 7:15, “wolves” refers to false prophets.  Leaders.  In Acts 20:29, Paul warns a meeting of believers about “wolves” who will come “in among you” and do damage to God’s flock.  So who is the “among you” being referred to here?  Acts 20:17 tells us that this was a meeting of church elders.  Leaders.

Do you see a pattern here?

And don’t even try to play the “Absalom card” on me.  Absalom was a member of the royal family.  A leader.

Now I’m not saying that there should be no leaders in the Church.  God has placed people with leadership giftings in His Church to guide, protect, and nurture His sheep.  I am in favor of godly church leadership.

They are God’s sheepdogs.

But I also know that sheepdogs sometimes go rogue.  When they do, they run in packs as wolves (and even sometimes with the wolves), terrorizing and killing sheep.  The Church is not immune to this phenomenon.

And if I were a rogue sheepdog, I would want to “take out” the true sheepdogs.

I have long contended that the most common and most persecuted gift in the local church is the gift of pastor.  People with this gift are naturally drawn to the “sheep” and the sheep are drawn to them.  Those with a pastoral gifting are loving and kind with sheep, but can be quite violent toward those who would harm them.

They are sheepdogs.  And insecure church leaders loathe them.  And persecute them.  And try to get rid of them.

Perhaps you’ve had this happen to you.  I have.  I was once part of a large church where the leadership did not value relationship and actually discouraged relationships among members of the congregation.  The stated fear was that “wolves” would take advantage of false friendships and draw the “sheep” after themselves to harm them.  Those who ignored this teaching did so at their own peril.

I knew it was dangerous to love people in this church, but I couldn’t help doing it anyhow.  I just find sheep irresistible…they’re so darn cute.

People need to be loved.  They need to feel valued.  They need someone to listen to them.  I was happy to accommodate them.  And it wasn’t long before I had lines of people waiting to visit with me after every service.  It got to the point where a young lady in the church printed up numbers (as a joke…she never used them) to hand out to people wanting to talk with me.

Of course, this got the attention of church leadership.

The persecution began with warnings in sermons about wolves in the congregation.  My behavior didn’t change.  So the warnings became more pointed.  Friends would come to me after the church service and say, “Do you know that the pastor was preaching about you?”  At first, I didn’t.  I could not imagine a person as gifted, talented, and anointed as our pastor being so insecure as to be threatened by the likes of me.  But over time, I was forced to concede their point.

So what could I do?  The scripture encourages me to love God and to love people.  I did my best to do both without offending those in leadership, but was not willing to stop loving.  Eventually I felt it best to leave the church because of a piece of gossip that seemed to confirm the fear that I was going to lead a coup of some sort.

The ironic thing about this is that the pastor preached vigorously against gossip in the church.  It turns out that the right kind of gossip was welcomed.  Only the wrong kind of gossip was frowned upon.

Don’t ask me to explain it.  I don’t understand it either.

I no longer attend traditional church services.  If I did, I would love God and love the people.  If that was a problem for the church leadership, then it would be their problem.  I would love the people without fear of consequence.  I simply refuse to violate scripture, and quench the life and love of Jesus in me, for the sake of insecure leaders.

Love God.  Love people.  If God has made you to be a sheepdog, be what you are.  Watch yourself…don’t go rogue.  Most wolves in the church were once sheepdogs.  If persecuted, guard your heart.  If you can continue loving people without regard to the persecution, do it.  They need love more than you need to be comfortable.

And pray for your leaders.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

You Can't Get There from Here: Making Good Time on the Road to Nowhere

By David Ryser

You cannot spend your way out of a recession or borrow your way out of debt. (Daniel Hannan).

When I saw this quote, I was stunned because the statement was made by a politician.  My mental equilibrium was restored only after I discovered that Mr. Hannan is not an American politician.

It is self-evident to some people that a nation cannot spend itself into prosperity.  Many such obvious statements could be coined.  For example:  You cannot drink yourself into a cure for alcoholism.

Or how about this one?  You cannot religion yourself to God.

I’ve had friends who have left the professional ministry.  They’re usually happy to be out of the religion business, but have to work through some hurts and disappointments they’ve picked up along the way.  And they don’t realize how much of their troubles were self-inflicted.  Typically, they’re not ready to hear about it for a long time.  Because we are friends, we talk about it when the time is right.

So, let’s take a look at how a Jesus-loving church leader can be his/her (and the Kingdom’s) worst enemy.

In Mark 2:22 (cf. Luke 5:37, 38), Jesus tells us that new wine cannot be put into old wineskins.  If new wine is put into an old wineskin, the fermenting wine will cause the wineskin to burst.  The wine will be wasted, and the wineskin will be destroyed.

And so it is with churches.

Much is made of the subject of the new wine in sermons...along with mention of the old wineskin.  Usually, and incorrectly, the use of the term “old wineskin” is in reference to Judaism.  All of this talk about new wine and old wineskins is particularly noteworthy when we consider that the two scriptures mentioned earlier are the only verses in the entire New Testament that speak of new wine and old wineskins at all--and they are referencing the same teaching.

So Jesus possibly spoke about the new wine and the old wineskins only once.

Reading these verses in context, I have become convinced that when Jesus speaks of the new wine, He is talking simultaneously about powerful moves of the Holy Spirit in our time as well as the people affected by this outpouring.  He’s talking about us!  He’s speaking about what happens when God’s Spirit is poured into people…and what happens when those people grapple with incorporating this move of God into a religious system that is not able to contain either the move of God or the people of God who are filled to overflowing with His Spirit.

When God pours out His Spirit (His presence and His power) onto His people, one of three things usually happens.  And all of them end badly.

First, religious people may accept neither what God is doing nor those who have been impacted by it.  They prefer the old and the familiar ways.  When Jesus speaks about the new wine and the need for new wineskins to contain it (Luke 5:37, 38), He goes on to say (in verse 39) that people do not immediately acquire a taste for the new wine.   They declare that the old wine is good enough.  They can reject the new wine.  They hold on to the old religious ways for any number of reasons:  out of a love for tradition, a preference for the old and comfortable way of doing things (no matter how perverted and unbiblical), to maintain their standing or position in the church, etc.  They will reject an obvious move of God in favor of the old wineskin.

I have seen this happen on more than one occasion.  Once it occurred in a church I was pastoring.  It’s why I don’t pastor anymore.

Second, the church leadership might try to preserve both the new thing God is doing and the old religious church system, methods, and programs.  Trying to please everyone, they end up pleasing no one…including God.  The pressure of the old straining against the new will eventually come to the breaking point, and the church explodes--and is destroyed along with what God was trying to do.

And the new move of God, and the people who went for it, are usually blamed for the church’s demise.

Third, and perhaps most common, the church leadership may see that the new move of God is straining the church’s religious structure (and threatening their power).  If something is not done soon, the church will be destroyed.  But they want to retain the new wine as well.  So they try to co-opt the move of God by tinkering with their church system in an effort to accommodate God’s outpouring without substantively changing the church “wineskin.”  They bleed off just enough of the new wine (such as by adding closely-supervised “small groups” to simulate church as an organism rather than just an organization; or by simply dampening, or even removing, those “troublemakers” who are contending for the move of God) so that the remainder can be contained within the old religious system. 

Over time, the new wine resembles the old wine.  The church services might be more exuberant, but God is nowhere to be found.

When we do this, we usually just end up where we began.  It’s different.  It’s exciting.  It’s fun.  It makes us feel good.  We’re moving fast…we’re making good time…but the road we’re on doesn’t go anywhere.

Just ask my ex-pastor friends.  When God began to move, they initiated a few changes to accommodate Him.  But they simply would not give up their role as “the sage on the stage” and were unable, or unwilling, to let God take control of the church service.

Including their beloved sermon.

We would be well-advised to follow the biblical model for responding to what God is doing.  We should embrace it…totally and fully.  We need to allow God’s Spirit and power to transform us…first.  Having received a transformation of heart, we then can go about the business of changing how we do things.  We should receive, and become, the new wine.

And then we should seek God about the new wineskin to hold the new wine.

So when God moves in a new way (new to us, anyhow), we need a new way of doing things as well.  How we “do church” must change…radically change.  But transformation of our heart should precede a change of methodology.  If not, we will change what we do without experiencing a transformation of what we are.  This is always a grave error.

If we do not experience a transformation of our heart before we change what we do, we will find that we’ve done nothing except discovered a new way to do an old thing.

And then both what we had, and what we could have had, will be lost.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com