If I were a basketball coach...
I suspect I would have been fired by now.
The firing of ISU basketball coach, Wayne Morgan, has got me thinking. Here's a guy that in 3 years took his team to the NIT final four and the NCAA second round, but after one season of struggling and losing he gets flat out fired. Ouch! So much for being able to learn and grow from his mistakes... at least at Iowa State.
So I thought, what if pastors were treated the same way as basketball coaches. Within the last 2 or 3 weeks, it's been brought to my attention that since Pat Sokoll left with the Iowa City church plant in 2003 (in other words, since I've been the lead campus pastor of The Rock), we've seen "no visible numerical growth in the Rock", "I do not feel like I am being fed" by my Sunday morning messages, and I'm failing to provide adequate "training for leaders in discipleship and shepherding".
Sounds like grounds for termination to me.
But how is effectiveness measured in God's Kingdom? Is it by measurable results: salvations, large attendance, producing lots of leaders? To be honest, I would have a hard time saying no to any of these things.
But then I reflect back on a few words Mark Darling had for me during Encounter '04. He shared with me that God measures things on a completely different economy than we Americanized Christians do. We think God's affirmation and pleasure is seen in results, whereas, in reality, it's determined by faith.
Mark pointed out that the man with the smallest discernable faith (in fact he had a bad, unwilling heart), Jonah, was used by God to see the greatest response of repentance recorded in the entire Bible. Compare that with Jeremiah who had a heart for God and did whatever God told him to do yet saw next to no response from the Israelites. So what's the deal? Why did resistant Jonah see so much fruit and responsive Jeremiah see so little?
God's ways are not our ways, are they? It's not for us to know all the reasons why he chooses to use one person over another to accomplish His purposes, but we do know for sure that "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb. 11:6) and that this faith cannot be measured in ways common to man.
What's fascinating about the people of faith in Heb. 11 is that "They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance" (Heb. 11:13). And to such heroes as that the Bible says, "God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (Heb. 11:16)and that they "were all commended for their faith" (Heb. 11: 39) even though they never saw great results during their lifetime.
If I would only have enough faith to get me included in this number (even as a alternate :-) ), I could live with that... even if I did get fired.
Comments
Hey Tim,
Yes, you must be a failure, despite being so encouraging to so many people. ;)
I never contrasted Jonah and Jeremiah like that before. Very cool.
Here's a summary of discussion on this faith from my theology class the last two weeks. Faith is a gift of God, not something we produce (Eph. 2:8-9). It's kind of like God supplies faith on an as-needed basis. This is the significance of the mustard seed analogy, I think. We don't need to worry about producing faith. We need to obey. God supplies faith. We supply obedience.
"Do all that you have in mind. I am with you heart and soul." I Samuel 14:7
And we need to leave outcomes up to him too.
"Trust in the Lord and do good." Psalm 37:3
Thanks for sharing, Mr. Borseth sir. That was really encouraging!
Posted by: Bob Biang at March 27, 2006 06:28 PMTim~
I'm no Theologean (I'm not even sure how to spell it!), but I just can't see how you are a failure! Okay, so the Rock hasn't seen tremendous growth, but it hasn't seen tremendous decline either. The Rock has many loyal soldiers for the kingdom, and there are plenty who weren't around when Pat was pastor. In Romans 11:5-6 it says: "It's the same today. There's a fiercely loyal minority still--not many, perhaps, but probably more than you think. They're holding on, not because of what they think they're going to get out of it, but because they're convinced of God's grace and purpose in choosing them. If they were only thinking of their own immediate self-interest, they would have left long ago."
This minority is being shepharded and discipled by you and those working under you! They are still here because they feel God is working through the Rock and through you. You may not see it, but we are "fiercely loyal" to God and to you, and our numbers are "more than you think"! And personally, I find your sermons very filling! I connect with them not because you are speaking, but because I hear Him speaking through you! I have often thought to myself that you are one of the most convicting speakers I know simply because you let the Holy Spirit speak for you! But don't take my word for it, God is the best judge. He would have removed you long ago if He felt you weren't doing what He asked. He'll reward you in Heaven and show you all you've done for the Rock someday, but now, it'll just take faith to believe God is indeed using you! If you are in God's Will, then don't let the Devil or anyone else tell you otherwise!
Posted by: Holly at March 29, 2006 12:30 AMWow Holly. Thanks. I'll just get back to the business of serving God then. :-)
Posted by: Tim at March 29, 2006 01:14 PMHey Tim,
theres something that God has been showing me, because I lately I feel so unable to produce good fruit, etc. Its that you need to produce results for a business, you are accepted for who you are in a family. This last week I spent some time asking God why He still cares so much about me, Im pretty sure I'll never know for sure, but he reminded me of something i saw in a movie. There was a series on TNT called Into the West, amazing movie, highly recommended. Anyways, a white settler woman is captured by a Cheyenne tribe, and a man from the tribe takers her as his wife. In one scene another native american tries to buy the woman from this man. After he offers horses and other supplies, the husband asks the other man if the horses can sing. Then the other native american offers him a family heirloom that has been in his family for decades, the husband simply asks if the family heirloom can sing. Obviously the other native american man left offended. I can imagine this dialogue happening between God and Satan. God used that to remind me that I can sing, I can give glory to God. Results and fruit come and go, a heart shaped by God never leaves. Our worth is not wrapped up in what we do, but in Whose we are. Keep serving God, you'll find you still have an army behind you.
Posted by: T.J. Lyttle at April 3, 2006 09:52 AM