Posted on 01/16/2008 4:28:26 PM PST by Terriergal
You can’t have opportunity without opposition. One of the great tests of leadership is how you handle opposition. Do you panic under pressure? Do you get uptight, lose your temper, blow up, become discouraged, or give up? Part of the job description of leadership is dealing with people who oppose you and your vision for the church.
To find out how to handle opposition, we’re going to look at Nehemiah 4. You probably remember the story. Nehemiah had returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall around the city – a very big project for his team of Jewish exiles! And it didn’t take long for Nehemiah to start getting opposition. People were ridiculing him and his vision.
Here’s what we can learn from Nehemiah:
1. Rely on God.
“Then I prayed, ‘Hear us, O our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in the presence of the builders’” (Neh. 4:4-5 NLT).
Nehemiah is upset. He’s letting off steam. When you’re being ridiculed, you don’t suppress it, you confess it. Nehemiah doesn’t get caught up in a name-calling game. Instead of calling names, he prays.
The greater the opposition, the more you need to pray. Don’t take it out on other people; talk it out with God. That’s what Nehemiah does.
2. Respect the opposition.
“But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves” (Neh. 4:9 NLT).
How do we know that Nehemiah respected the opposition? His people guarded the city and protected themselves. He was prayerful and practical. It’s fine to lay in bed at night and pray, “Protect me from the burglars.” But you also need to get up and lock your door! Petition without precaution is presumption.
3. Reinforce your weak points.
“So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears, and bows” (Neh. 4:13 NLT).
Nehemiah reinforces the weak points, the lower points. These low points left people vulnerable to attack from the enemy. You don’t have to worry about fences that are 10 feet high. An enemy couldn’t get through a wall like that. But the shorter walls were a different story, so Nehemiah placed guards there.
Do you know where your church is most vulnerable to attack? Good leaders know where they are vulnerable, and they reinforce that area.
4. Reallocate resources, but don’t stop what you’re doing.
“But from then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. The officers stationed themselves behind the people of Judah” (Neh. 4:16 NLT).
When his people were attacked, Nehemiah had three alternatives: give up, leave the wall and go fight, or build the wall and arm everyone. Nehemiah knew he couldn’t give up building the wall and couldn’t leave the wall to fight. He really had only one option.
Leaders must build and battle at the same time. You never leave the wall to fight the enemy. You could spend all your time putting out fires and never complete what God has called you to do.
5. Reassure the people.
“Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the leaders and the people and said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your friends, your families, and your homes!’” (Neh. 4:14 NLT)
Nehemiah rallied the troops. He relieved their fears and reinforced their confidence. That’s the task of leadership. When your church is under attack, your job is to raise people’s morale.
Nehemiah pointed people to the Lord. That’s where true confidence comes from. In American history, many wars have been fought with slogans that started with “Remember...” The Spanish-American War had a slogan of “Remember the Maine.” In World War I soldiers were asked to “Remember the Lusitania.” In the Mexican-American War, the slogan was “Remember the Alamo.” Troops in World War II were told to “Remember Pearl Harbor.” All of these battle cries were based on defeats.
Nehemiah does the exact opposite. He points people to God and the future he has planned for them. When you’re under attack, if the devil can get you to focus on the opposition, he’s won a major victory. You either focus on the opposition or you focus on the Lord. When you’re facing opposition, it’s your job as the leader to help your people “remember the Lord.”
6. Refuse to quit.
“When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall” (Neh. 4:15 NLT).
Leaders like Nehemiah model persistence. They are the last to give up. They are the last to jump ship. They refuse to quit.
Persistence is the ultimate test of leadership. How do you handle ministry when the going gets tough? The secret of success is to simply outlast your critics. There is nothing the devil would rather do more than make you stall on what God is calling you to do. Don’t let him do that. You’ve got to be persistent.
You’ll face opposition some time in your ministry. How you handle that opposition will go a long way in deciding whether or not you complete the task to which you’ve been called. Nehemiah completed his. Will you?
_______________________________________________
Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose-Driven Life and The Purpose-Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for ministers. Copyright 2005 Pastors.com, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Rick Warren
Christian Post Guest Columnist
>>”If you have read Nehemiah recently, you will remember that Sanballat is Nehemiah’s greatest critic and number one enemy. Let me put it plainer than that. Sanballat is a leader from hell. We all have some Sanballats in our churches. This is the guy who opposes whatever you propose.... You cannot call this guy a leader from hell to his face - but you could call him Sanballat.”<<
What an erroneous view of the book of Nehemiah. Talk about bending scripture to get it to fit within your preconceived ideals...
Opposition is viewed by Rick Warren as anyone who points out his error. His method of dealing with opposition is to remove the members, just as he did in his own church recently when many complained about his bringing pro-abortion Democrats to speak. The man will answer to God for all the sheep he has scattered.
Here is how Rick Warren deals with conflict. This link is to his own site, and it contains lies about the Winston-
Salem First Assembly of God Church, where Warren claims that the departing members “took” money with them. That makes it sound like they stole money. What the did do was to move their tithing to elsewhere, a very honorable thing to do.
http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/article.asp?ArtID=8232
You oughtta read the book it’s very eye opening how cold and unfeeling and selfish these people are.
As someone who has suffered under the influence of Warren’s cancer in my church, I carefully read both of his Purpose Driven books to see what his world view is. That so many laud his books is, to me, an indication that they warrant close scrutiny, as “broad is the way to destruction” and “narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
To the end of helping others see the danger of the Warren/Schuler school of theology, I have written and posted critical reviews of these two books:
http://brogdensmuse.menofhonorministry.org/Apologetics/PDC.htm
http://menofhonorministry.org/Discipleship/ThePurposeDrivenLife.htm
He really doesn’t see the irony in his insistence on relating himself and his struggles to Nehemiah.
Nehemiah was responsible for restoring, not creating something new. He was responsible for returning people to Godly worship - it was their sinful ignoring of God’s law that led them into captivity.
Rick is not restoring anything. In fact, he’s directly responsible for leading more people away from the Truth, rather than to it.
Rick is Sanballat - not the Christians seeking to hold fast to the truth.
And that's where IMO the "seeker-sensitive" argument falls apart completely, at least for Warren & Saddleback. There are no "discipling programs offered by Saddleback. Check their website and see! Rick has a PEACE plan for eliminating (not just reducing, but eliminating) poverty in Rwanda, but no such plan exists to eliminate poverty from the congregation at Saddleback. Discipleship simply doesn't occur at Saddleback. Period.
So what is there? Relationship-building workshops and classes on using the "40 days" and "purpose driven" materials to bring in others to do the same. In other words, discipleship at Saddleback equates to developing book discussion groups that exist to promote sales of Warren's PDC and PDL books. Oh, and to walk the aisle and make a "decision" for Christ in between book purchases.
The Purpose-Driven Church, Warren's first book, was published more than ten years ago, and was based on his doctrinal thesis at Fuller Theological Seminary, written a decade prior. Purpose-Driven Life simply expanded that concept. Content-wise, what's he published since? If I had to guess, I'd say he's exhausted all his own ideas, biblical knowledge and education. After becoming suddenly successful in his original area of expertise (if you can call it that), he has surrounded himself with advisers and sycophants who have groomed him for mass-consumption - telling him what press releases to make, what social projects to pursue, and what market segments to appeal to, to increase his influence and, market share. If there was "deeper meaning" material for new converts, why hasn't Warren written it, or used the profits from PDL to publish it and promote it? From what I've seen in his books and on Saddleback's website, I don't Warren has any idea how to transition a milk drinker into a meat eater. Content-wise, in two decades Rick has shown us that he's out of ideas. He's done. Discipleship just isn't in his bag of tricks. It's over.
The Great Commission does not command us to "go ye therefore and make converts of all nations". It commands us to make disciples. Disciples do more than learn how to make more converts. If one's theology teaches that Christians shouldn't "polish the brass on a sinking ship", then the same would probably discount or avoid other ship-related disciplines as hull & sail repair, mastering sea-sickness, and simple navigation. What good is it to ask people to repent and convert, and not prepare them for how to live afterwards?
The gospel's content is more than just "get out of jail free" instructions, and the proper response is more than the empty-headed repetition of a prayer. There is far more that the Church is called to do for it's members than to just to be "seeker-sensitive" and count converts.
A small sampling of articles/interviews.
Wall Street Journal Article
VENERATION GAP: A POPULAR STRATEGY FOR CHURCH GROWTH SPLITS CONGREGANTS
Across U.S., Members Divide
On Making Sermons, Music
More ‘Purpose-Driven’
No More ‘Wrath of God’?
http://www.apprising.org/archives/2006/09/veneration_gap_1.html
How to transition an established church – Part 1
by Chuck McAlister
http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/article.asp?ArtID=4702
How to transition an established church – Part 2
by Chuck McAlister
http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/article.asp?ArtID=4701
How to transition an established church – Part 3
by Chuck McAlister
http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/article.asp?ArtID=4768
Changing worship: how to transition an established church – Part 4
by Chuck McAlister
http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/article.asp?ArtID=4811
Give ministry to the people: how to transition an established church – Part 5
by Chuck McAlister
http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/article.asp?ArtID=4844
Moving your Education Ministry to Life-Empowerment: how to transition an established church – Part 6
by Chuck McAlister
http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/article.asp?ArtID=4667
Many purpose driven critiques
http://www.extremetheology.com/purpose_driven_critique/index.html
The Gospel: A Method or a Message?
How the Purpose Driven Life Obscures the Gospel
http://cicministry.org/commentary/issue80.htm
Redefining Christianity Radio Broadcasts
http://cicministry.org/radio_series.php?series=redefining
A Berean’s Discernment Tool
for The Purpose Driven Life
http://cicministry.org/berean.php
Easter Region Media Watch discernment ministry collection on Church Growth movement:
http://www.erwm.com/Church%20Growth%20Movement.htm
Purpose Driven Confusion
http://www.erwm.com/PDConfusion.htm
There’s Ingrid Schlueter’s Crosstalk
http://www.vcyamerica.org/crosstalk/crosstalk.htm
especially the August 12 show from this year here:
http://67.36.84.226/crosstalk/ct050812.asf (various callers testifying about what is happening in their churches, with James Sundquist)
http://67.36.84.226/crosstalk/ct050811.asf (part 1 of the same show)
In addition Rick doesn’t think anything of lying to someone like Joseph Farah in an attempt to protect his reputation, and then turning around and smearing Farah and any other detractors publicly, questioning their motives for critiquing his teachings. (because of course there couldn’t possibly be ANYTHING WRONG that we could legitimately be pointing out...)
The purpose Driven Lie
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52969
Thursday, November 16, 2006 by Joseph Farah — “For a long time I’ve held off criticizing mega-church leader Rick Warren,...”
Megapastor Rick Warren’s Damascus Road experience (Joseph Farah)
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53030
Rick Warren disciples: Where are you?
Tuesday, November 21, 2006 by Joseph Farah
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53048
Calling Rick Warren!
Wednesday, November 22, 2006 by Joseph Farah
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53007
Rick Warren on Syria: ‘A moderate country’
Sunday, November 26, 2006 by Joseph Farah
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53092
Warren defender: Change the subject
Tuesday, November 28, 2006 by Joseph Farah — New Age leader Marianne Williamson has come to the aid of “The Purpose-Driven Life” author Rick Warren...
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53116
Rick Warren says he’s sorry
Wednesday, November 29, 2006 by Joseph Farah — “I received the following apology from Rick Warren Sunday night:”
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53135
Rick Warren continues to deceive
Friday, December 15, 2006 by Joseph Farah — “I’m ready to let go of the Rick Warren-in-Syria controversy – just as soon as Rick Warren stops deceiving people...”
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53372
There you go, again, Rick Warren!
Tuesday, December 26, 2006 by Joseph Farah
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53502
Rick Warren: Is he or isn’t he?
Tuesday, January 09, 2007 by Joseph Farah — “Who are you going to believe – Rick Warren or your own eyes? That’s the dilemma I face...”
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53688
The last Rick Warren column
Tuesday, January 16, 2007 by Joseph Farah — “Last week, in the latest of a series of columns I have written about mega-church leader Rick Warren, I wondered out loud about mixed signals coming from Saddleback Church.”
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53773
Rick Warren says I’m wrong, again
Thursday, May 17, 2007 by Joseph Farah — “Rick Warren Chief of Staff David Chrzan wrote to me last week to say WorldNetDaily made “some errors in definition, assumption and application” in our news story about the mega-pastor’s relationship with Rupert Murdoch.”
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55723
Rick Warren’s Inquisition
Friday, November 30, 2007 by Joseph Farah
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58942
— “While mega-pastor Rick Warren has joined a group of 100 church leaders calling for interfaith dialogue and the building of “common ground” with Muslims, he has a slightly different outlook toward toward Christians with whom he disagrees.
In his latest missive to fellow pastors, he writes: “You’ve got to protect the unity of your church. If that means getting rid of troublemakers, do it.”
Why Warren embraces Hillary
Monday, December 03, 2007 by Joseph Farah
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58986
“It’s more than an effort at bipartisanship and consensus-building that causes Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren to embrace Hillary Clinton in his efforts to battle AIDS.
It is the fact that they share a mistaken and dangerous commitment to expensive, extra-constitutional, globe-trotting, international socialist spending policies by the U.S. government in waging that battle. “
Rick Warren’s distortions of reality
Thursday, December 13, 2007 by Joseph Farah
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59183
“Rick Warren loves to apologize for things he didn’t do, for things other people did that weren’t wrong, even for things that occurred hundreds of years before he was born.
For instance, he recently apologized to Muslims worldwide for atrocities committed against their ancestors during the Crusades.
He also recently apologized for American “excesses in the war on terrorism.”
And he has apologized for the church because it hasn’t done enough about the spread of AIDS and problems like global warming.
Yet, I must observe that despite his predilection for apologies, he has a great deal of trouble owning up to his own personal mistakes. “
Global warming and Christian discernment
Wednesday, December 12, 2007 by Joseph Farah
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59124
“One the macro level, we see Rick Warren and other evangelical leaders insisting global warming is a real crisis that should be a preoccupation of the church and a focus of government action.
Now, Warren tells WND his signing of the “Evangelical Climate Initiative” was misinterpreted. “
Rick Warren: ‘I always own up to mistakes’
‘Purpose-driven’ megachurch pastor answers evangelical critics
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59110
Rick Warren: ‘I never wanted fame’
But pastor with global vision says he ‘loves making an influence’
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59161
Rick Warren: AIDS too big for church alone
Traditional values challenged in unusual alliance to combat disease
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59181
Incidentally, up through last year he was saying that the ONLY thing that could handle these five big GLOBAL GIANTS was the church... well now he’s changing that... kinda like Animal Farm. He revises as he goes, never acknowledging he was wrong before. (in spite of his insistence that he owns up to his mistakes).
http://www.purposedrivel.com/2007/12/rick-warren-does-two-step-yet-again.html
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