In December 2008, Chip Zimmer, Peacemaker Ministries’ Vice President of International Ministries, was invited to give a keynote address for a pastors’ conference in Lima, Peru. The theme of the conference was “Empowered to Pastor in the Midst of the World Crisis.” Since this topic seems relevant to the Lausanne conversation, I would like to share the text of Chip’s message. It is also available in Spanish (click here for the Spanish translation).
Introduction:
Thank you very much for the invitation to be here today and to reflect with you on what it means to lead God’s people during times of crisis and change. I am honored to be part of your Conference.
The theme of the conference “Empowered to Pastor in the Midst of the World Crisis” could not be more timely. I want to address this theme from three different perspectives:
First, I’d like to think about the current crisis and establish that it is, at its heart, a spiritual crisis.
Next, we’ll take a look at crisis as a time of change, with risks and opportunities, and I’ll share with you some ideas regarding what it means to be a pastor and a leader, as well as some dynamics of change that can help us keep our leadership focus on God, not only on our circumstances.
Finally, crisis and change nearly always result in conflict and I’ll suggest some ways that as pastors and leaders we can serve our congregations and our broader society when such conflicts arise.
My conclusion to all this is that because this is, at heart, a spiritual crisis, pastors and church leaders are exactly the right people to play leadership roles and that we are both called and empowered by God to serve him in times such as these by living and leading through the gospel. God has empowered us to pastor and to lead in times of crisis.
Part One: A Spiritual Crisis
Recently I was reading an article in the American newspaper, the Wall Street Journal. If you are not familiar with the Journal, it is a favorite among the U.S. business community and is widely read among businesspeople around the world.
The article, written by Daniel Henninger, was all about the relationship between the current financial crisis and the growing trend in the United States to avoid using the words “Merry Christmas.” It may not seem obvious to you that there is a relationship between the two. But, Mr. Henninger makes a compelling case that there is.
He notes that the problems that have arisen in our economy are largely the result of the failure of our business community, our political leaders, and ultimately each one of us to pay attention to what he refers to as the “Three R’s:” “Responsibility,” “Restraint ” and “Remorse ” As actors in our economic life, each of us has failed in some way to live responsibly and within our financial means, to restrain ourselves from taking on expenses and debt that we could not afford, and, having made these mistakes, of lacking in the sort of genuine remorse that brings changed behavior.
Had these qualities – which he identifies as fundamentally “moral” in nature – been broadly part of the American character and of the people who made decisions on loans and mortgages, Mr. Henninger suggests, we might not be in the mess we find ourselves in today. Qualities such as these are primarily expressed through individual character. All have their foundation, not in economic theory, but in religious faith, specifically, in the Christian faith.
It is easy in the current crisis to point the finger at the United States or Europe and it is completely true that much of the blame falls on us. However, I am going to assume that in some way the human tendencies that are present in my country and which have contributed to the present crisis are also present in Peru, in fact, are part of the fall en human condition.
For several decades we in the United States have experienced increasing “secularization” of society, based largely on pragmatism on “what works ” We are a people that focus on results and our philosophy of life has become, “If it works, if it produces results – especially if it produces profits – it must be right ” We see this “secularization” everywhere. It has come to define our economic and our political life. Unfortunately, it has crept also into some of our churches, especially when “success” is defined by number of members rather than faithful obedience.
We also see secularization in the loss of a corporate sense that there are eternal truths and that these underlie all morality, all notions of right and wrong. Tolerance or respect has become a key – some would say the key – quality of national life and we work hard not to offend those who are different from us. And this plays out, as Mr. Henninger’s article notes, in the term “Merry Christmas” At this time of year those of us who are Christian are increasingly aware of subtle and not so subtle message that it is fine to wish others “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings” but not “Merry Christmas” lest we offend those who do not share our faith.
I’m not suggesting that as Christians we should be intolerant, or that we should act in ways that offend those from other religious traditions, or no religious tradition. Quite the opposite. I believe that our faith calls us to respect others and to love others in the same way that Christ loves us, by serving them and working for their best.
But, the point that Mr. Henninger makes is that we should not be surprised to discover at the end of the day that a nation that promotes secularism and, in the process, banishes religion from its public life would also banish core values that religion gives rise to, the sorts of values – such as “responsibility restraint and remorse” – that set boundaries on public and private behavior and are at the heart of the moral code that holds communities together.
In an important and fundamental way, then, the decline of a religious worldview and, particularly, of the Christian worldview that was once at the heart of the public life in the United States and elsewhere can be seen to underlie the current economic crisis. This is, at heart, a moral crisis, a crisis of character. And, because it is a moral crisis, it is a spiritual crisis.
In my experience, spiritual crises are nearly always the result of misdirected worship. We humans have the all too ready tendency to worship the creation rather than the creator, as the Apostle Paul notes in Romans 1. To put matters at their simplest, underlying the current economic crisis is the love of money and of wealth. Jesus warned us against this. He also showed us that the ultimate solution to any spiritual crisis is repentance, turning toward God and away from the worship of false idols. “You cannot serve both God and money” as our Lord memorably put it.
As pastors and leaders of the church, as men and women called and equipped for ministry, God empowers us with his word and with his spirit and places us in positions to serve him and to serve his Body in the midst spiritual crises, to point the way to the genuine renewal and hope we have in Jesus Christ.
Part Two: Leading in Times of Crisis and Change:
The word “crisis” is variously defined as “a decisive or crucial moment” “a turning point” and “a condition of instability or danger leading to decisive change” Inherent in our notion of crisis is that it is a time of great risk. People normally feel very uncomfortable and are often gripped by fear of an unknown and unknowable future. The media – our newspapers, television and radio – contribute to this as each day brings news of how bad things are and of the likelihood that they will get worse. It is easy to conclude that the world is a very dangerous place just now and it is, we fear, changing for the worse.
Let me give you an example of this, from the United States. According to a CNN poll taken about a month ago “Seventy-five percent of (Americans) surveyed said they are angry about the way things are going that was a month ago imagine how they must feel today Two- thirds of those questioned said they’re scared about the way things are going and three in four said the current conditions in the country are stressing them out” This is in a country, by the way, where the vast majority of people are still comfortably employed.
It is not wrong to conclude that the world is a riskier place today than it was a year ago, but this is only partly correct. It is all too easy to be distracted by obvious dangers. We need to remember that a crisis is a “turning point,” that present in any turning point is change, and that inherent in any change is opportunity. God is always up to something good, difficult as it may be for us to discern at times. As people called to lead the community of believers through a time of change, some of the questions we could be asking are “How might we use this crisis to help bring about Godly change, rather than worldly change?” and “What are some of the opportunities that God is making available to his people in the midst of this crisis, opportunities to serve others and to glorify our Lord?”
My colleague at Peacemaker Ministries, Tim Pollard, has thought a great deal about leading in times of crisis and change. Tim came to our organization out of the corporate world, where he was a consultant to large companies. Let me share with you some of Tim’s insights regarding what we need to understand about crisis and how it affects our attitudes toward the changes that crisis inevitably brings to each one of us:
First, God clearly prescribes in Scripture the need for personal change.
Scripture tells us, for example, that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. In a crisis, as in any time of decision, we move closer to God or further away from him. The question is not whether we will change, but how we will change. The process of sanctification is a life-long endeavor. The difference is that during a time of crisis we are more aware than usual of the risks and dangers involved. The question for each of us, then, is “Do I see the circumstances in which I am placed as an opportunity to honor God? Or will I permit my fear of the unknown, or my anger to drive my heart, my thoughts, my words and my actions?”
Much depends on how we answer this question as leaders and pastors. Only as we decide to seek God in the midst of crisis and change can we lead others authentically in the same direction.
Second, people resist change in part because God created us to value what is familiar.
Traditions provide structure and predictability to our world. And God has prescribed many traditions and familiar patterns for his people. We see this in the cycle of work and rest, in the rhythm of festivals and celebrations. And change – especially major change – is understandably upsetting to most of us the death of a loved one, a move to another town, the loss of a job.
We hate to lose those things that help define our identity. At the same time, such losses remind us that our home, ultimately, is not in this world, but in eternity with our Lord. And our identity is not so much in where we live or what job we do but as a member of God’s family We see examples in Scripture of God’s people wrestling with issues of change and identity. In Exodus, for example, we observe the Israelites in the desert who, to our surprise, at times seemed to prefer slavery in Egypt, with its familiar foods and small comforts, to life on the edge, walking through a wilderness with no certainty of what tomorrow would bring.
Whatever the changes are that will result from this current crisis, we can be sure that they will upset the familiar and the routine in our lives and in the lives of those we lead We can be empathetic, supportive and encouraging in such times, but only to the extent that we have ourselves first learned to trust that God is working all things for our good and his glory.
Third, people sometimes resist change because they have created idols out of the familiar and are worshipping practices, traditions, or ways of life rather than the one true God.
Chapter 4 of James is very illuminating and tells us more about who we are in a few sentences than almost anything else:
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it You kill and covet but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4:1-3.
We tend to cling to the familiar and, often, to reject what is new or uncertain. In many ways, we are exactly like the Israelites, preferring what was known and familiar, even though we were enslaved, to what is liberating, but unfamiliar. There is nothing wrong with desiring what is good or familiar. The problem arises when that desire becomes a demand and we are willing to sacrifice others in order to have our demand met. When we live this way, we place ourselves and our wishes at the center of the universe, rather than God. This is nothing less than false worship and we must help each other see such activities clearly.
As pastors and leaders, it is crucial that we continually examine our hearts, our desires that battle within us, and ask that the Lord would purify us from all unrighteousness, so that we may shepherd people to live in the same way.
A fourth and final consideration is that God calls pastors and leaders of his church to lead gently, wisely, firmly and lovingly.
I want to return to this because it is such a critical point. In times of crisis and change, people will look to their leaders not only to advise and counsel them, but also as models of how God expects us to respond under the pressure of uncertainty.
Let me put this in the context of what it means to be a shepherd:
A shepherd provides for his sheep. He is compassionate and attentive. He notices how each sheep is doing and cares for its individual needs. He is knowledgeable and uses this knowledge and understanding to anticipate problems and devise solutions, even before the problem arises.
A shepherd protects his sheep. He is vigilant and alert to danger and risk. He is relentless and appropriately self-sacrificing In the memorable words of Jesus the good shepherd “lays down his life for his sheep”
Finally, a shepherd guides his sheep. He not only shows them where to go, but he leads them there and they follow because they trust him to provide and protect them. A good shepherd leads from the front, not from the rear.
Our congregations will watch us closely to see whether we live out what we say we believe. This is a time when we must not only boldly proclaim the truth of the gospel, but also be seen to live out the truth of the good news in our daily life.
Let me summarize where we’ve come thus far:
First, the current financial crisis – and I would suggest many crises – is, at its heart, a spiritual crisis. We have been engaged in false worship and are called to repent. God particularly empowers pastors and leaders of his church to lead in circumstances such as these.
Second, a crisis is a time of profound change that poses risks and opportunities. As leaders serving God’s people and our communities in the midst of crisis and change, it is critical that we understand something of the dynamics of change, of how change impacts people, and that we lead our flock as good shepherds as servants rather than “lord it over others”
This brings us to the final part of our discussion: how we can help members of our congregations and our community as a whole respond biblically to the conflicts that inevitably arise when crisis and change are present.
Part Three: Leading in Times of Conflict
People do not do well in times of crisis and change Even changes that we imagine to be “good” and that benefit us can be times of high stress and conflict. How much more when our financial “security” is at stake s pastors and leaders we need to be highly alert to the possibility that difficult times will result in difficult relationships and that marriages, friendships, business partnerships, churches, even whole communities, will be torn apart as a result of the fear and uncertainty that so often accompany crisis and change.
So, what can we do?
You may have gathered from what I’ve said up to this point a t Peacemaker Ministries, we like to talk about crisis, change and conflict providing us with opportunities, specifically, opportunities to glorify God to serve others and to grow to be like Christ Let’s take each of those separately and work through them together.
First, conflict provides an opportunity to glorify God.
As a starting point, it is perhaps helpful to be reminded of what God expects from us. Micah 6, verses 6-8 can guide us in understanding this:
With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
We humans tend to think that giving glory to God primarily resides in what we do for God. But, Micah reminds us that God is much more interested in our character, in who we are before him, and how this impacts our relationship with him and our relationships with others. Justice, mercy and humility are three of the qualities God prizes in us. Are these qualities that we prize and that we diligently pursue? Do they characterize our relationships? To the extent that they do, we bring glory to God. To the extent that we fall short and offer substitutes, we may impress the world with our gifts, but we really bring glory only to ourselves.
Second, conflict provides an opportunity to serve others.
Consider with me these verses from Romans 12, 17—20:
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge my friends but leave room for God’s wrath for it is written “It is mine to avenge I will repay ” says the Lord On the contrary “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this you will heap burning coals on his head”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
These words of the Apostle Paul remind us of the words of Jesus himself, that we are to love our enemies and bless those who persecute us. Yet, time and again, we who are followers of Christ construct reasons, often very logical reasons, why we are right to act with hostility toward our enemies, to do them harm and to seek to advantage ourselves over them.
I want to be careful here because I understand something of Peru’s history and of the difficulties that you have been through. I am not in any way suggesting that justice is not important and that sinful actions ought to be excused or glossed over. Far from it. All actions have consequences and our obligation as Christians is to be responsible for the damage we have caused others and to help others be responsible for the harm that they have caused us.
What I am suggesting is that in my experience Christians, too often, take justice into their own hands, seeking to punish those who have harmed us in some way. Sometimes we do this by acting violently, at other times it is simply present in our tone of voice, or our words. Jesus himself tells us that “anyone who is angry with his brother is subject to judgment” (Matthew 5:22).
It helps to keep in mind the words of pastor and author John Piper, who put it this way in a talk I heard him give several years ago: Either the person who has harmed us is a Christian, in which case his sins are covered by the blood of Christ; or he is not a Christian, in which case he will someday have to answer to the Lord of all creation. This frees us to ask different sorts of questions such as what are this person’s needs physical and spiritual and how can I bless him? Paul goes so far as to suggest that when we love our enemies we “heap burning coals on his head” that is we may actually help our enemy to repent and change.
Finally, conflict provides opportunities to grow to be like Christ.
There is a saying in the United States “Everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die” similar sort of logic applies to the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23: Everyone wants to be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled. But, few people want to actually live the sort of disciplined life that development of such traits requires. We generally prefer to live as we please and hope that God adds these qualities to us.
I think there is a sense in which God anticipates our stubbornness by permitting conflict to come into our personal lives. Nothing reveals our innermost character or where we place our ultimate faith and trust more than times of crisis, change and conflict.
In the same way, nothing presents better opportunities for us to grow spiritually, to acquire the fruits of the spirit in our daily lives, than the pressures brought upon us by difficult circumstances.
As in so many aspects of my life, God had to teach this to me the hard way. I have always thought of myself as a patient person and so have others. And this is generally true; God has blessed me with a temperament that is generally tranquil, not easily upset. I took it for granted that I could always respond in any circumstance with patience and kindness, despite occasional serious lapses. I took pride in my patience.
Then, my wife and I had children.
There is nothing like a baby screaming at 2:00 in the morning when you’re on duty to help you realize that you are not as patient and kind as you thought. To my shock, I learned that my patience was largely superficial and founded on a life that had experienced few serious, patience-testing events. I learned that true patience is developed not in circumstances that are comfortable, but when life is uncomfortable and when my nicely-ordered world is upset.
In a similar way, we learn to love others not when they return our love, but when they consider us an enemy. We learn joy, not when life is easy, but when life is difficult and we ponder, often for the first time, what it means to find joy in the Lord, not in our circumstances. And, so, crisis, change and conflict challenge us to produce fruit that is lasting, qualities that demonstrate the presence of Christ in our lives, to recognize the poverty of our own efforts and surrender ourselves to the Lord of creation and to the power of his spirit to work within us.
As pastors and leaders, we will be personally challenged by crisis, change and the conflicts that it produces. We may experience them in our personal lives. We will certainly be asked to walk with members of our congregations and our communities as they walk through difficult times.
We must ask God to help us in all circumstances to bring him glory, to look for ways to serve others and to accept the challenge to grow more like his son each day. The good news for us who know Christ is that, through his Word and his Spirit, he empowers us to do just this.
Closing Thoughts:
Seldom do pastors and leaders in the church have life easy. Each day is filled with pressures and demands that those who do share our responsibilities seldom appreciate or understand. Times of crisis and change magnify these pressures and demands, particularly when they bring conflicts that we did not ask for.
But, God has brought us to this time and place with purposes in mind. Times of crisis, change and conflict challenge us, but God has not left us defenseless. This is, at its most fundamental level, a spiritual battle. God equips us with his Word and he empowers us with his Spirit to lead from the front, to understand that a crisis as a time of opportunity, and to walk patiently and faithfully with him along whatever road he has, in his wisdom, set before us.
Let me close with this encouraging word from our Lord himself, recorded in Matthew 28:18-20:
Then Jesus came to them and said “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
May God bless you as you serve his people and this community in the days ahead