IT’S WORTH IT
A Fresh Perspective on Faith, Religion and Relationships
PRAISE FOR IT’S WORTH IT
“I have never read such a heartfelt and inspiring perspective on the potential of the local church and the importance of each person’s role within it. Pastor Jeff Little is a man with a purpose—a purpose that builds up the lives of others and brings transformation to his community. Here is a man who leads by example; through integrity and dedication he has shown what it means to embrace the calling that God places on each of our hearts. It’s Worth It will encourage the reader to live their life as an expression of Christ’s love, constantly growing in their faith and strengthening their values. The Lord is raising up a new generation of leaders who are making an impact on the world, and this book will make you excited to be a part of that.”
MATTHEW BARNETT, Co-founder of The Dream Center, Senior Pastor of Angelus Temple
“I spend a lot of time with people and leaders from all over the body of Christ, but I’m a local church girl. I truly believe the local church can transform lives and impact culture.
“In It’s Worth It, Jeff Little clearly communicates the divine relationships and God-given purpose available to all of us through the church. As someone who has had the privilege of ministering with Jeff and his team, I can tell you these aren’t unproven ideas or hypotheticals, they’re the kind of hard-learned insights that can only come from seeing God change real people. If you’re looking for a fresh perspective on faith and relationships, you’ll find it here!”
CHRISTINE CAINE, pastor, author, co-founder of The A21 Campaign
“It’s Worth It is a beautiful picture of the local church—colored with faith-filled wisdom, fiery passion and rich humor. Having known Jeff for almost twenty years this book is literally his heart on a page. You will never regret picking up this book—it’s completely worth it!”
STEVE ROBINSON, Senior Pastor, Church of the King, Mandeville, LA
“One has to be around Jeff Little to realize how he loves and values people – and to experience his passion to connect people with the work of God’s Kingdom. His new book, It’s Worth It: A Fresh Perspective on Faith, Religion and Relationships, is practical, inspiring, and a great resource for anyone who wants to live the kind of life God created them to live. This book is a must read for those who love people and the Kingdom of God.”
TOMMY BARNETT, Co-Pastor, Phoenix First Founder, LA & Phoenix Dream Centers
“I had the opportunity to meet Jeff before he planted Milestone Church and I’ve watched as God has done something truly special through him. I believe God has given us a unique partnership with churches in cities right next to each other who learn, glean and benefit from one another to advance the Kingdom in our region. His new book, It’s Worth It, communicates life-changing biblical insights in a fresh, conversational way. I highly recommend it.
ROBERT MORRIS, Founding Senior Pastor, Gateway Church Bestselling author of The Blessed Life, From Dream to Destiny, and The God I Never Knew
“I’m proud to call Jeff Little my friend and I’m convinced God is doing something incredible at Milestone Church. God’s hand is on Milestone because it’s a church that cares about people who don’t know Jesus. That matters to God. It’s Worth It is more than the story of Milestone — it will inspire you and give you fresh insights into the things that God values.”
RICK BEZET, Lead Pastor, New Life Church, Arkansas
“I am proud to call Jeff Little a friend and ministry partner. He has a contagious passion for the local church that not only comes through in his book It’s Worth It, but even more so in his day-to-day love for God and people.”
TOM MULLINS, Founding Pastor of Christ Fellowship
“God has placed in the church uniquely gifted, anointed leadership to build up the church into the fullness of Christ. In God’s kingdom every member is valuable and vitally important to His purpose. Pastor Jeff Little is a leader who inspires and instructs the church family in righteousness, and stimulates believers to good works and compassionate action. I have witnessed up-close and personal Christ revealed in Jeff’s life and relationships with others. Both his life and message profoundly impact all who know him and hear his messages. As you read about his journey, you will be encouraged to find your part in God’s heart and in His family. Every member is important!”
JAMES ROBISON, President, LIFE Outreach International, Fort Worth, TX
“Walking alongside Jeff Little in spiritual family, I have seen him demonstrate his willingness to give whatever it takes to lead those around him into something extraordinary. As a brother in the Lord, Jeff is always there supporting me, continually modeling the very same principles he discusses in It’s Worth it!
“I strongly encourage you to experience Jeff ’s journey through the pages of this book, where he shares his story and highlights values that are truly ‘worth it.’ Take another look at some key concepts, live the life you were meant to live and open your heart to embrace what God is passionate about. It’s time for this fresh perspective!”
ERIK LAWSON, Senior Pastor, Element Church
“It has been my privilege to walk with Pastor Jeff Little for almost twenty years. I’ve seen him grow from being a communicator and a teacher of God’s Word, to someone who has become a world-class leader and master builder.
“It is without hesitation or reservation that I can endorse not only what Jeff Little communicates in this book but the very person who communicates it. The greatest message any of us will ever communicate is not what is written or spoken but what is lived. Jeff Little is a man of God and that qualifies him to speak on God’s behalf.”
JACOB ARANZA, Pastor, Our Savior’s Church, Broussard, LA
“When you’re in the middle of a challenging struggle it’s difficult to see the other side. In his book It’s Worth It Pastor Jeff Little will infuse you with encouragement through his own trials and triumphs as a pastor, husband, father, church planter and leader of a growing church. No veneer. No façade. No platitudes. An awesome reminder—It’s Worth It!”
SAM CHAND, Leadership Consultant and author of Cracking Your Church’s Culture Code (www.samchand.com)
“Jeff’s new book, It’s Worth It, shows again how God’s mighty power works through leaders yielded to God’s leading, even when the way seems illogical. If you are a pastoral leader that has ever thought ‘I must be crazy’, then this book is for you. You are probably not crazy but dreaming dreams of what God is calling you to and in leading a church that can be used for God’s glory.”
DAVE TRAVIS, Chief Executive and Chief Encouragement Officer, Leadership Network
“Pastor Jeff is an exceptional leader because he leads by example. His humility and exceptional character are evident when you meet him and watch him lead. And one of his most admirable qualities is his humor. He lifts you and inspires you to love life and live with integrity. It is an honor to know Jeff and be his friend.”
GREG SALCICCIOLI, President Coachwell Inc., Author of The Enemies of Excellence
IT’S WORTH IT
Copyright © 2015 by Jeff Little
ISBN: 978-0-692-35169-7
eISBN: 978-1-947-16508-3
For further information, write to
Milestone Church
801 Keller Parkway
Keller, Texas 76248
itsworthit@milestonechurch.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or other-wise—without the prior written permission of the copyright owners.
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture references taken from
Scripture quotations from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
Scripture quotations from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
IT’S WORTH IT is dedicated to the faithful people of Milestone Church who honor Jesus, live for His mission, dream, serve, give, get over offenses, care, grow, and love.
Thank You,
PASTOR JEFF
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
1The Church Is Worth It
2“Some Were Sent…Some Just Went”
3The Church God Has in Mind
4What’s in a Name?
5A Monument or a Mark
6Lessons in Leadership
7The Value of Values
8The Bible Is Worth It
Core Value Summary #1: Bible
9The Mission Is Worth It
Core Value Summary #2: Mission
10Spiritual Family Is Worth It
Core Value Summary #3: Spiritual Family
11Development Is Worth It
Core Value Summary #4: Development
12Generosity Is Worth It
Core Value Summary #5: Generosity
13DNA Part One
14DNA Part Two
15Charismatic with a Seat Belt
16The Story Continues…
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
INTRODUCTION
Jesus told a story about a man who stumbled upon a treasure buried in a field.1
From a distance, it looked like a typical plot of land. People passed by it all the time. But when the man found the treasure, the field was no longer ordinary. In a moment—everything changed. In his joy, in his excitement, he sold everything he had to buy the field.
This wasn’t one of those decisions he labored over. He didn’t take the time to write a pros and cons list. It’s an impulse buy…but not one he’d regret later. The man acts immediately because he knew what he was gaining was worth far more than what it cost.
Like many people today, the original audience loved the idea of this man unexpectedly hitting the jackpot. But this wasn’t the idea Jesus was communicating. He was describing what happens in the heart of an individual who sees the Kingdom of God2 as it truly is.
Not religion. Not trying to be a better person. Not the faith of your culture or your parents. Not a generic spirituality that helps you get what you want.
When Jesus uses the phrase, “Kingdom of God” He’s not so much talking about a physical place or a future era.3 What He’s actually describing is reality as it was intended to exist. The life you were created to live.
When you catch a glimpse of that…you’re immediately willing to sell everything to get it.
The price you’re willing to pay is a direct result of the value you place on the item you’re considering. If you don’t see its worth, you leave it alone. For many, faith and religion are impractical and largely unhelpful.
But what if we’ve missed something? What if there was something more to them? Faith and religion frame the way we view the world, and largely, our approach to the relationships in our lives.
What if we thought we understood the whole “Jesus thing” but what we saw was the empty field instead of the treasure buried there?
A new perspective on the priceless value of these three things could change everything.
I heard a story recently that may help you see what I’m describing.4
A brother and sister were cleaning out their parents’ home in England not long after they died. These moments are difficult. As an emotional default, some of us shift into administrative mode and try to get everything done as quickly and efficiently as possible. For others, we move forward by sentimentally reflecting upon the memories we shared.
As the siblings were packing everything up, they found an old vase that wasn’t included in the will. It wasn’t really impressive but they wondered if it was worth something, so they decided to take the artifact to an expert in antiquities for an appraisal.
To their surprise they learned the vase was from an 18th century Chinese dynasty and could be worth as much as between eight hundred thousand and 1.2 million pounds.5 While they were finishing all the details of the estate they set the vase on top of a bookshelf while they waited for the auction. They weren’t sure what they’d actually get when the bidding finally started.
What happened next would forever alter their lives. A bidding war broke out and near the end of the proceedings, each alternating bid was a million pounds. The sister nearly passed out. The winning bid of 43 million pounds ($69 million) is believed to be the highest sum ever paid for a Chinese piece of art.
THAT’S WHAT JESUS IS SAYING
ABOUT HIS KINGDOM.
MOST PEOPLE HAVE NO IDEA
HOW TRULY PRICELESS IT IS.
We don’t know how their parents got the vase. We don’t know if they ever considered selling it. It’s safe to say no one in the family realized the incredibly valuable treasure sitting in the open in their home. They may have admired the vase or thought it was nice, but they had no idea how valuable it truly was.
That’s what Jesus is saying about His Kingdom. Most people have no idea how truly priceless it is.
I’m passionate about the things of God. I’ve joyfully traded everything for the Kingdom of God.
Go ahead, call me crazy, but I think it’s still possible for you and I to experience reality as God intended it to exist. We can actually live the life we were created for.
And here’s the craziest part: I believe the place we find this is in the local church.
I know you’ve been hurt. So have I. I know what it feels like to have your hope crushed when people who called themselves Christians showed self-righteous judgment in a moment that called for forgiveness and mercy.
I’ve met the hypocrites, the fakes, the flakes and the “spooky-spiritual.” I’ve seen the guy with the fish on his car who cuts you off and gives you the hand gesture that doesn’t mean “Hello!” I know about the numerous leaders who’ve had moral failures. I’ve seen the pain caused by poor leadership and the human propensity to control and criticize those who disagree.
But it doesn’t matter. I still believe in the church.
As a young preacher, people often told me that my only future in the ministry was as a traveling speaker; I was way too direct to stay in the same pulpit week after week. I was like hot sauce—a little bit added flavor and spiced things up, but take too much and you end up sweating and feeling queasy.
A lot of these people were right. Over time, I’ve added different tones and approaches to my communication. I’ve tried to refine my message, improve my articulation, and broaden my appeal. People matter to God—I believe this message is more important than the messenger.
But my passion wasn’t for effect…it’s at the core of who I am. I can’t help but get excited when I think of God’s heart for people and His plan for the world. And I can’t think about either one of those things without thinking about the church.
Where other people see an empty field of dirt, I see something worth far more. I see a buried treasure. After more than twenty years as a pastor, my love for the local church continues to grow.
We live in a time when so many in our current generation are open to investigating the claims of Jesus. Although they enjoy a good debate and interesting banter, they are genuinely searching at a deep spiritual level.
I believe these are just a few of the things they want to know:
• Who was the real, historical Jesus of Nazareth?
• What does He have to do with us today?
• Did Jesus have the answers to life’s deepest questions?
• Can we best understand Jesus as a great moral teacher who summarized the deepest truths of the world’s great religions?
• Or was He more than a man—did He claim to be God and if so, was He right?
Often this genuine passion and interest all but disappears when the subject turns to the church. Maybe you’ve seen the bumper sticker: “I love Jesus, but I hate his followers.” One of the easiest ways to make new friends, sell books or raise page views on your blog is to talk bad about organized religion in general, but specifically, about the church.
Somehow I don’t think this pleases God.
The Bible calls the church “the bride of Christ”6—most people have respect and admiration for Jesus, they’re just not too into His wife. And believe me, I’ve had more than my share of run-ins with some of the most embarrassing and troubling parts of the body of Christ.
Despite my personal nightmarish experiences, the numerous scandals in the newspapers, the goofy guys on TV we’ve all seen and the countless bad clips on YouTube, I still believe the book of Ephesians when it says God’s wisdom will be made known to the world through the church.7
God hasn’t given up on His Church. The local church is the hope of the world.8
AND ONCE YOU FIND
THAT TREASURE BURIED IN
THE FIELD… YOU WANT EVERYONE
ELSE TO FIND IT TOO.
I’m convinced Jesus believes in His Church too. Ephesians 5 says He loves her so much He gave His life for her and He’s continuing to sanctify her—a word that literally means, “to be set apart for sacred use.”
In His entire life He promised to build one thing: His Church. That’s it. He told a rag-tag group of followers who were afraid to be in a strange city near a cave where sketchy things went down that He was going to build His Church and He said nothing would be able to stop it.9 The local church is His Plan A and He doesn’t have a Plan B.
I wrote this book for several reasons.
First, I want to provide a new perspective for anyone who can only see an empty field of dirt. I understand why you’ve looked at the church or at Christians in the past and decided, “There’s nothing there.”
But I want you to take another look.
It’s tragic when people pass by something of incredible worth and completely miss what has been there waiting for them all along. Jesus is worth it. His Church is worth it. Becoming who God created you to be is worth it.
I don’t have all the answers and I’m not perfect, but I know where to find the treasure. And once you find that treasure buried in the field…you want everyone else to find it too.
Second, I want to inspire and encourage those who haven’t given up on the beautiful idea of the church, the bride of Christ, a genuine community of real people who aren’t perfect but who genuinely love God and love people.
Listen, there are no perfect people, and so it follows that there are no perfect churches, but when you find this contagious atmosphere that cultivates the biblical truth and unconditional love that we’re all desperately seeking, there’s nothing like it.
It takes courage, a willingness to risk, and more than a little trust to look for this kind of church, but if you’re looking, DON’T GIVE UP. God is still making His home in the midst of those who love and obey Him.
I meet people all the time who theoretically believe that this could work, but somewhere along the way they lost hope that they’ll ever find it. They decided that the cost of investing their time, making themselves vulnerable in relationships, and risking disappointment was just too high. It was more than they were willing to spend.
ALL THEY CAN SEE IS AN
EMPTY FIELD OF DIRT. I WANT
THEM TO FIND THE TREASURE
THAT’S BURIED IN IT. HIS NAME
IS JESUS. HE’S BUILDING HIS
CHURCH. AND HE’S WORTH IT.
It breaks my heart every time I hear that gifted people have checked out a local church and decided that there was nothing there for them. Many times, serious leaders who want to make a difference in their community end up deciding this is not something the church cares about.
Several years ago one of these couples visited our church. They’d had so many challenging experiences with church in their past they were ready to give up on not only a particular congregation, but the idea of a church as a whole.
Sometimes it hurts to hope. If you’ve been there, you know exactly what I mean. As long as you believe what you’re longing for is out there, you live with the painful reality of what you’re missing.
But if you decide it’s not real—it doesn’t exist anywhere—it becomes far easier to let go. You stop thinking about it. Those hopes and dreams fade away until they’re ultimately gone.
This is where this couple found themselves. After their first visit they said it all seemed too good to be true. The people were too friendly, the children’s ministry volunteers were too considerate, and the guys in the parking actually seemed to care. They were unsettled by the experience. Why were these people behaving this way? There had to be an ulterior motive.
But they kept coming. We just tried to patiently love them as they worked through what God was doing in their hearts.
I’ll never forget what the wife told me: “When you tell me that the church can work, even after what we’ve been through, I find myself WANTING to believe you.”
We’ve seen this story repeated over and over. There are tens of thousands of people in our region who’ve had a bad experience with church and religion and right now they’re wondering whether they’re going to give up on God.
I can’t stop thinking about these people. They keep me up at night.
All they can see is an empty field of dirt. I want them to find the treasure that’s buried in it. His name is Jesus. He’s building His Church. And He’s worth it.
It’s my prayer that God would allow Milestone to be the kind of community that repairs injured faith and restores lost confidence in the value of the local church. The purpose of this prayer is not to make us famous or to give us a great reputation to build our pride. Instead, it’s our hope that through this community of people, God would be loved and honored in our city, our region, our nation and throughout the earth.
What God has been doing in our community has caused us to see the local church from a fresh perspective. It’s not a dirt field any more; it’s a buried treasure. And when you’re in this kind of environment, it leaves a mark. Like a cup of coffee that leaves an impression on a napkin.
God hasn’t stopped telling stories. Each of us has our own story, our own walk with God, and there are moments in life when God is doing something special, something sovereign, innocent and pure and it’s absolutely inspiring. When we’re fortunate enough to be involved in these moments, God wants us to tell our story.
For the last several years the church that I have the privilege to pastor has been experiencing one of these moments. As our church continues to grow, I want everyone who comes in contact with us to have access to the story so they too can experience the love and goodness of God. There have been so many times where we could relate to the church in Acts 2:43—”Everyone was filled with a sense of awe… “ We don’t want to ever lose this.
Communication is an interesting thing, and the larger a community grows, the more intentional we have to be. I want to continue to include others in this family while maintaining what Jim Collins describes as “a humble resolve This notion balances an unshakable belief in who you are and what you’re doing with an extraordinary value for others.
We believe that God has given us a mission, values, tools and resources to empower this church and to train and release leaders. It’s our goal that this book will become a valuable resource in this process.
Honestly, as a leader I do have a fear that by writing and publishing our story it could somehow take away the humility, the grace, and the focus on serving others that’s found in the culture of our family. Our hope in sharing our story is not to promote my ministry, Milestone Church or to build our brand. We want to inspire and transform others with the unstoppable love of God and the mission of His Kingdom, which is available now and can be experienced through, the local church.
Finally, I know God uses ordinary people who have all kinds of weaknesses and fears. A tragic misperception of too many people says a great church is only full of gifted people with no problems who never make mistakes. We’ve all been tempted to feel that way, even though the idea is ridiculous.
I recently heard the story of a man who drove to Milestone and sat in his car in the parking lot several weeks in a row. He wanted to come inside but he was nervous and afraid—he didn’t think he’d fit in. Each week he came with the intention of walking through the doors, but instead each week he drove off without setting foot inside. On the sixth week, he came in and was overwhelmed by the love and acceptance he experienced.
The first time I heard this story, tears started to well up and even as I’m writing these words now I can feel them returning. The purpose of the church is not for self-righteous religious types to remind themselves of how much better they are than everyone else.
If Id been sitting in the car next to him, I would have simply said: “You’re welcome here. Not a better version of you, just as you are today. I know it’s not easy. But there’s a treasure for you. It’s buried in a field…but it’s worth it.”
The church is a place where anyone—no matter how old they are, where they live, who their parents were or weren’t, what they’ve done or what they know or don’t know—can meet God through Jesus and be supernaturally transformed.
I can’t tell you how much it comforts me that God didn’t hire a PR firm to write Scripture. If He had, there would have been way more “spin”; they would have edited out the mistakes, the blunders and all the bone-headed moves that make the characters of the Bible so real. These aren’t simple, one-dimensional Sunday school stereotypes who can’t relate to the complexities of modern life—they’re messed-up people just like you and me that God used to change the world.
I have seen faithfulness outdo talent with my own eyes and I’ve witnessed passion for God outshine superior knowledge and tradition. The Apostle Paul had it all—faithfulness, talent, passion, and knowledge and tradition and he said God used him more through his weaknesses than his strengths.
Jesus is still using fisherman, shepherds, and ordinary sinners that have been radically changed by His grace. He hasn’t given up on His Church and He hasn’t given up on you.
It’s not perfect. It’s not easy. But it’s worth it.
It is my prayer that as you read the Milestone story you’ll be filled with new passion and love for God, a renewed hope and confidence in the local church, and a child-like excitement to be a part of what God is doing in the earth.
The truth is, it’s not just a prayer I’m praying for you. This prayer is for me, for our team, for our children, for your children, for our neighbors, our city, and for all those who hear our story.
I HAVE SEEN FAITHFULNESS
OUTDO TALENT WITH MY OWN EYES
AND I’VE WITNESSED PASSION
FOR GOD OUTSHINE SUPERIOR
KNOWLEDGE AND TRADITION.
CHAPTER ONE
THE CHURCH
IS WORTH IT
Jesus never promised to build a religion. He never promised to build compassionate, creative non-profit organizations. He never promised to promote one particular denomination, or to even pick one country at the expense of the rest.
And no matter how many athletes or rock stars give Him a shout-out after their latest triumph, Jesus never promised to build anyone’s career or make their dreams come true.
Each of these in their own way can accomplish a great deal of good and can be a wonderful benefit to many. But they’re not what Jesus is after. They’re not His primary mission. They’re not what He gave His life to build.
The only thing Jesus ever promised to build is His Church.
His Church is not insignificant, an afterthought, or an anachronistic symbol of old-time religion lingering on the margins of a progressive culture. Despite what we may have seen, His Church is not petty, small, impotent, myopic, safe or self-serving.
He told His disciples, “the gates of hell” would not overcome it.1 We’ll come back to what He meant by this strange little phrase later.
Peter wrote the early churches and told them that they were a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God so that they would declare the praises of the One who called them out of darkness and into His marvelous light.2
The author of the book of Hebrews believed that it was absolutely critical for followers of Christ to meet as the church no matter how much opposition they faced in the process. He challenged his audience not to give up on the church, as many are inclined to do, because the church is where we encourage each other—where we motivate fellow Christ followers towards love and good deeds.3
Paul told his young partner in ministry, Timothy, that the church was God’s Household, the pillar and the foundation of the truth.4
Paul had a lot to say about the importance of the church in his letter to the large, thriving church in the culturally significant city of Ephesus. He told them that Jesus loves the church so much that He gave Himself up for her to make her holy, blameless, and radiant.5
There have definitely been points in my life where I didn’t feel like the church was worth it. You’ve probably had an experience somewhere along the way that made you question whether or not the church is worth it too.
MOST PEOPLE DON’T VALUE
THE CHURCH. THEY DON’T
THINK IT’S WORTH IT
BECAUSE ALL THEY’VE SEEN
ARE FIELDS OF DIRT.
Eventually, all of us end up investing our lives, our talent and our energy into something. For some of us it’s a business, for others it’s their family and for some it’s their own reputation and accomplishments. The question is: what kind of return are we going to receive from our investment?
Jesus told the story of a man who found a treasure buried in a field.6 Once he saw the treasure, it changed his perspective completely. No price was too high. He sold everything in order to gain the field.
Most people don’t value the church. They don’t think it’s worth it because all they’ve seen are fields of dirt. They’ve never been able to dig down deep enough to find the buried treasure.
You can find so many people who will tell you that they like Jesus; they just can’t stand His followers.7 Ghandi, a favorite of people who are vaguely spiritual, famously once said: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike Christ.”
But that’s not how Jesus feels about it. He doesn’t love His perfect followers who are as mature, strong and righteous as He is—He doesn’t have any. He loves and uses broken people who make mistakes but put their trust in Him. He believes by His Spirit they can do great things. He calls them His own, His family, His Church.
And Jesus believes His Church is worth a lot…it was worth His life.
He has never regretted His decision. He’s not re-thinking His approach. Through all the mistakes, all the pain, all the terrible ways people have let Him down— from snake-handling to selling indulgences, He refuses to change His strategy.
There is no Plan B—Jesus is all in with His Church.
He designed the church to show the world what He’s really like through a community of believers characterized by grace, peace, forgiveness, redemption, encouragement, power and transformation.
And whether or not the church does a good job, God hasn’t given up on that part of the church’s responsibility.
An Early Call
I grew up going to church with my family every Sunday. I never struggled to believe in God and I didn’t mind going to church. I actually liked listening to the messages and learning about the Bible. The people there were nice enough and they were polite and treated me well. But after a while, I started to wonder what the point was.
We just showed up each week because we were supposed to. I knew what we were against—no smoking, no drinking, no cussing, no chewing and definitely NO SEX before marriage. But I couldn’t really tell you what we were FOR. I didn’t see any clear intentionality, an over-arching purpose or a measurable goal.
And most of all, I never saw any of the kind of people of influence and significance I hoped to one day become at church. I wanted to be a leader, I wanted to do something with my life—run a successful business, play offensive line in the NFL, or win dramatic cases as a powerful and compelling attorney.
But then I had one of those defining moments.
JESUS BELIEVES
HIS CHURCH IS WORTH A LOT…
IT WAS WORTH HIS LIFE.
I was 12 years old. I was in my bedroom, sitting on the floor next to my unmade bed that showed my NFL pennant sheets. If you were a boy and you grew up in the ‘80s, you either had that matching set or one of your friends did, and you wanted one. They were awesome! Tampa Bay had that crazy old bright orange pirate as their mascot and the Bengals had just put stripes on their helmets. Those were simple times with simple pleasures.
With each year that goes by I realize how blessed I was to grow up in my home. It was a loving and stable environment that forged character in me. I can vividly remember sitting in church as a young boy and hearing the Gospel message. It captured my heart and my imagination. Just a few months before that day in my room, I sat around my family’s kitchen table, prayed and gave my heart to Jesus—I wanted Him to be the Lord of my life and I promised to serve Him forever. I was baptized a week later.
But as I sat in my room that day, I heard a clear, distinct message: “I am calling you to ministry.” The impression was unmistakable and I immediately knew without a doubt that it was God who was calling me. I didn’t know what to do next so I jumped up and ran out and told my mom and dad. I figured they would know how to handle this kind of situation.
Their balanced response further demonstrated God’s goodness and wisdom at work in my life as an impressionable young man. My mom immediately started rejoicing and breaking out into a spontaneous, Charismatic worship service.
My dad wasn’t quite ready to party. He’s an engineer, a deeply practical and rational thinker. He got out a pen, a piece of paper and a calculator and began to ask me how I planned to provide for myself (and eventually a family) while pursuing this call to ministry. In his own way I know he was excited about it and he was joking with me—which was often his way—but in hindsight I appreciate his reaction. I’ve actually used it on others who’ve shared a sense towards the same call. He was being a good dad—he simply wanted to make sure I understood the magnitude of this decision. This was not something I was to take lightly.
In the moment, I had no context for what my dad was saying. My twelve-year-old brain could barely grasp what my plan was for the rest of the summer, much less the rest of my life. I did know I didn’t call myself—God had called me. I figured if He wanted me to do it, He’d provide a way to make it happen.
Looking back I’m incredibly grateful for the way both of them responded. I needed both the encouragement and joy my mom gave me, along with the strategic discipline from my dad. In the months and years that followed, I wrestled with what “being called” actually meant. How do you respond to this kind of thing as a kid? Do you drop out of school and join a monastery? Do you try to get a good preacher to coach you along and give you some help?
I didn’t know what to do, but I was pretty sure that I didn’t want to be a pastor. I didn’t think I fit the pastor mold. I liked excitement and adventure too much to stay tied to a local church. It seemed pretty boring. Whenever I saw people who were passionate and excited about God who were also strong leaders it was usually a dynamic speaker who held big events, an outspoken athlete, or an influential leader involved in some sort of specialized ministry.
When I left home to go to college at Baylor University—for those of you who don’t know, it’s what we call “Jerusalem on the Brazos”—I planned to pursue one of those roles in ministry. I wanted to be anything but a local church pastor. However, while I was at school, I began to see the strong, dynamic Christian leaders I’d hoped were out there. Seeing them in action moved me—I wanted to get in the game, I wanted a chance to lead.
I was a college student attending Baylor University studying to become an effective Christian leader, but little did I know that decision was like enrolling in my own personal ministry school of hard knocks.
The School of Hard Knocks
I went to college to get trained and to begin my career…not to find a wife. So you can imagine how surprised I was when God supernaturally orchestrated a situation to cross my path with a beautiful young lady named Brandy.
Our moms knew each other—they’d spent a season walking and praying together in the mornings. Let me tell you, something miraculous happens when a mom prays—and the Bible says when two or more come together and agree about anything they’ll receive it—and if those two are moms? Forget it.
I may be a little slow to catch on, but I’m not stupid. Before long, we were engaged to be married.
During this time I was busy doing all kinds of youth events—speaking at camps, youth rallies and retreats—but as the date continued to draw closer, I started to think about how I would make a living and provide for my new bride. My mentor/ministry leader at Baylor was a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Not only did he approach me about applying for a job, but he wrote my parents a letter describing in detail how he saw the call of God on my life through my gifts and talents. I wasn’t expecting that—it’s not like I’d ever had a college professor write a letter to my parents before.
I still had all the same fears and hesitations about being trapped into a local church situation. I feared that would suck the life out of me as it slowly suffocated my goals and dreams until I ended up looking like the deflated and defeated leaders I’d seen growing up around church.
But I did what any 20-year-old kid who was soon to be married and in need of a job would do. I reluctantly said, “Okay.” My name went into the school’s ministry guidance and placement center where churches with job openings searched to find candidates they were interested in.
The two job leads that came back to me were similar in some ways and very different in others. The first opportunity was at a large, established church with a well-developed youth program, a decent salary and even a nice expense budget. To a college kid living off student loans and the spare change he could find in couches, payphones (remember those?), or Coke machines, this looked like the big leagues.
The second offer was at an older, smaller church that needed a lot of help and was offering a robust salary of $50 per week. Looking back, I know why God wanted me to choose this option, but I’m amazed I actually obeyed. I took the tougher job at the smaller church for less money.
I am deeply competitive and sometimes this gets me into trouble—but I would need every ounce of fight I had in me to survive what was waiting for me around the corner.
The “Temporary Interim” Pastor
There I was, the youth director at this little church with lots of “seasoned” members. That’s a nice way of saying some of these guys went to high school with George Washington. A few might have even hung out with Moses. Not exactly the same crowd as my youth circuit. I had to get some new material—but I had all the confidence in the world…which didn’t always work out so well.
The first week I was there, they asked me, “Can you do music?” I may be wrong sometimes, but I’m never in doubt. How hard could it be?
All I knew about leading music was that I should wear a suit coat. I’m not exactly sure why I thought wearing a jacket was all I needed to pull it off considering that my musical skills lie somewhere between tone-deaf and dog torturer.
I guess that’s one of the perks of being a leader—sometimes you’re not scared when you should be.
I got up there the first week and a wave of panic hit me. I had no clue what I was doing. I told the people to open their hymnal to the proper page so we could sing verses one, two and four (insider tip: you never sing three). I started waving my arms in a rhythmic motion like the guy leading an orchestra or the band leader at a football game. I tried to sing low enough so that no matter how bad it sounded, at least I sounded like a man. I was pleasantly surprised nobody laughed out loud or got up and walked out. With such modest expectations among the congregation, it made me wonder how bad the guy before me was.
After leading the youth and the music department for a little more than six months, the pastor came to me and told me that he didn’t want to be there anymore. He told me he’d felt this way for a while—he wanted to go back to school and get a master’s degree in history. He said he’d already talked to the deacons and they’d agreed to make me the “temporary interim pastor.”
I ignored the fact that this was the most tentative job title in the history of ministry—and maybe the most redundant. “Temporary” is fairly clear. It means “not for long.” But just in case there was any doubt in the uncertainty of my position, they threw the interim in there too. As in, “we’re stuck with you until we get the person we want.”
It didn’t stop me. I was ready to roll. After all, I was a seasoned, mature, 21-year-old engaged guy who had all the answers. I didn’t have much, but I did have a passion for God’s Word and that’s enough to shake things up.
I started to preach every Sunday morning, and when you preach God’s Word, people’s lives begin to change. It was an exciting time as some good things were really beginning to happen.
We started small groups, people were excited, and our services were over-flowing…we felt unstoppable. The church was growing—both in numbers and in diversity. This wasn’t the same old church crowd…there were people from both sides of the proverbial tracks, from different neighborhoods, different backgrounds, different ethnicities, all coming together united in worship of the God who made each of them unique.
I thought it was awesome. So when the leadership of the church called me in for a meeting on a Sunday afternoon, I thought I was getting a raise or at least a more permanent title. Maybe they’d just tell me how much they loved and appreciated us and the hard work we were doing.
Not so much—they were leaning in a slightly different direction.
“We want you to resign.”
You could say I was a little surprised and a little upset. Back then, I wasn’t the most diplomatic guy…more fire-starter than peacemaker. After I got over the initial shock, I threw down the gauntlet. I’d like to say I was filled with righteous fervor, but the truth is my competitive side kicked in.
I looked them in the eye and said, “You didn’t call me here, God did. I’m not leaving until He tells me to!”
They weren’t intimidated—after all, I’d committed the unpardonable offense of bringing in the “wrong crowd.” It wasn’t like I was busing in people from the next town over or another city. These were their neighbors. Some of the “wrong crowd” were even their own children.
One guy smoked in the fellowship hall after a recovery meeting and one of the old-timers blew a gasket. You would’ve thought the offending party was worshipping Satan, not smoking a Marlboro.
Somebody else wanted to run me out because I actually let people into the church’s library and encouraged them to read any of the books they found there. You know…the kind of shocking moral failures that get pastors kicked out of churches all the time.
It turns out we had very different ideas about who the “wrong crowd” was. I thought the wrong crowd meant people who were resistant to God, who didn’t want to see lives transformed, or were unwilling to change or be inconvenienced so others could come to know and love Jesus.
But I was willing to fight over the idea of who the wrong crowd was not. People who were far from God, people who were lost, people who thought the church didn’t understand them or didn’t care what they were going through…these weren’t the wrong crowd. In my Bible, these were the people Jesus went looking for. So I tried to go looking for them too.
That was the final straw. I was no longer fit to be either temporary or interim. The title they wanted for me was “former.”
So when they said, “We’ll vote you out!” I fired back, “Then start voting!”
I gotta admit—it felt really good. But it was only the beginning of a cold war that would last several months.
A Messy Break-Up
Even the smallest things became a battle. One Sunday morning I began to take up the offering; in the course of a worship service this is about as routine as it gets. Everybody called the deacon who handled this job “Snappy.” I’m not sure where his nickname came from—but on this morning he resembled one of those old, nasty turtles.
He stood up and defiantly declared, “I’ll never take up the offering as long as you’re the pastor.”
My church wasn’t afraid to kick people out. A few decades earlier they ex-communicated a struggling young musician and his sister. Something about him bothered them so they sent him packing. He crossed the street and started playing at the Methodist church, less than a football field away.
I can’t say for sure but I always wondered if this experience inspired him to write a song you’ll probably recognize: “On the Road Again.”
Yep. My church booted Willie Nelson—now they had their sights set on me.
They’d shake their keys at me from the pews if they thought I’d been preaching too long. I saw every version of their best “stink eye” and heard them muttering under their breath and whispering to each other. Brandy would come home and cry, and I’d just try to laugh it off. I called my regional support from the denomination, and they told me to just be patient—when something new opened up, I’d be first in line to get the spot.
Promises like that can encourage you for a moment, but they don’t help so much when people start showing up at the parsonage, looking to pick a fight. I literally almost got in a fist fight in my front yard. I’m not a small guy, so somebody’s got to be seriously angry to be fired up enough to come take a run at me. But they came anyway.
And not just the men.
One woman in the church was really upset with me, and I’d been studying in Proverbs to respond to people who are angry with you by loving them. So we mowed her lawn and told her how much we cared about her. The more we did for her, the angrier she got. One day she grabbed Brandy and shook her as she said, “You…don’t…love…me!”
Now when mean old church ladies freak out, grab your wife and toss her around like a salad, most people would bail. But I’ve been known to be both a little stubborn and a little competitive. I wasn’t going to let them force me out—I wasn’t going to let them abuse my wife either, but if I ran, they’d win. And I wasn’t going to let that happen.
