Tim Clark’s Blog

I hope you had a happy Labor Day!

What did you do, yesterday? I took the day off and enjoyed it with family.

There is plenty to do today, but yesterday, I stretched out the last unofficial day of summer, hung out with some of my favorite people, ate some of my favorite food…and spent the day just truly chilling!

But now I get back to work, and I love it. Work is not the curse; working hard with little to show for it is (Genesis 3:17-19) Humans were created for real work…good work…work that reflects God’s creative image. We were put on this earth to work in partnership with God—to create, and cultivate, and even be in control of certain aspects of our environment: All under God’s loving oversight.

Work was a blessing of our existence, something we were meant to enjoy in interconnected and intimate relationship with God. Sin brought all kinds of brokenness, including the painful toil of work that otherwise would have been enjoyable. But Jesus came to redeem us from the curse, and we can get back to the joy of work.

So, when you go back to work today, whether it is work you get paid for, work you volunteer for, or just work that you must do to get by, don’t see it as cursed and dreaded. Look for the creative God-reflecting assignment you can do that uncovers the human being that you are, and not just the human doing!

If you know Jesus, enjoy the work you have been given, no matter how insignificant it may seem, as something that you get to do in partnership with God because His presence lives in you!

I’m teaching a course at a local college and I’m really enjoying it so far (well, it’s only been one day). I’ve got a class of 9 bright, upper-division students and we’re going to have a lot of fun as we are learning together.

But as much as I’m thankful for the adjunct position (that will just about keep my Starbucks habit funded), I have a question for all those going to college this fall.

Why?

Why are you spending tens of thousands of dollars, and hundreds of hours, on school? Is it because you think that a degree is going to qualify you for your dream job? (Hint: it probably isn’t) Maybe it’s that you are convinced that the College experience is a non-negotiable part of your social and emotional development. (Then maybe you’ve been watching too many movies). Do you feel that College is the best way to learn what you need to know for your life? How do you know that?

I’m not trying to discourage you from College (I have a Masters degree and am on track to start pursuing my Doctorate), but I want you to really determine why you want to fork over $60k, $80k, or even well-over $100,000 at this point in your life for four years of study at the particular institution you want to attend. Some of my most successful friends are well-educated; others of my most successful friends didn’t even finish College (and, some of the latter ones are—gulp—making much more money than the former).

Before you head back to those hallowed halls, ask yourself why you are going, and then don’t let yourself off the hook but force yourself to come up with answers that make sense. Maybe attending that elite school is just the ticket for your future—but maybe throwing yourself into a life experience, a couple of jobs, an internship, a missions encounter or a year or two at community college will help you discover your life path before you make a house-sized investment.  And if you haven’t already, you need to pray about it (and if you have, you need to keep praying).

Ultimately, if you have the capacity for education, I really think you should get it. And I’m certainly not suggesting embracing slacker-hood and waiting around until you figure out the meaning of life. But your educational path may be different than “everybody else”. And from what I’ve seen, some of the more unique pathways (as long as they are also disciplined pathways) produce some of the best and brightest students who go on to really impact the world.

“Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.” (Ez 9:4)

When I think about Ezekiel’s time in Israel’s history, it reminds me of our Western culture today. In countless ways, we have become largely post-Christian, with the trappings of our historically dominant religious expression still around (church buildings, organizations, etc…) but with much of the life snuffed out. Here Israel (Judah more specifically) still had the Temple, the Priests and the Elders, but they were fully embracing all kinds of obscene images and wholly giving their lives to man-made things that took the place of God.

But there were a few people who still grieved. Those who were heartbroken at the state of their culture and the shattered lives that surrounded them.

Notice that the people who were marked for God did not self-righteously stand aloof from the sinners, but they were struck with godly sorrow for the devastation they knew this sin would bring. Godly sorrow, we find in 2 Corinthians 7:10 brings repentance that leads to salvation.

I want to sorrow and repent for my own sins first and remember that my sin is as vile and detestable as any sin can be; it’s all a rejection of a loving God and offense to a Holy God. And as I sufficiently understand the depth of my own God-rejection, I also want to have true sorrow and pain over the sin and brokenness around me.

The more I understand what my own sin does to me, the less I want to participate in the sin so evident in my culture—and the more pain I feel for those who are sucked-in and bound by that sin.

I think to be marked by God as someone who can influence culture for Him, I need to more fully understand and deeply feel how the sin in my culture drives people away from Him. And that will drive me to prayer for people in my culture as well as cause me to care enough that I will do all I can to allow God to use me to bring about rescue and release from bondage.

This Sunday I told everyone at my church that I stopped following Jesus.

Scandalous? Not really. You see there is this Twitter user who goes by the name “Jesus” and posts messages as if He were the Son of God. It was funny to follow him for a while, but I quickly realized that this Jesus had little to do with the One I’ve been worshiping for almost 40 years.

He was clearly a fake, so I un-followed him.

But how many people think they are really following Jesus when all they are actually doing is  ‘Twitter-following’ Him? They are content to check out (and sometimes re-tweet) pithy, epic, profound or fun statements from or about Jesus. They’re happy to be His followers, as long as they can choose turn Him on or off when they want.

A true follower, however, is someone who listens to everything—all of the time. Jesus even went a step further: He said that whoever wanted to follow Him had to give up everything else in their life. Following Jesus is an all or nothing proposition.

To follow Jesus, you die to yourself and live only for Him. I think if that was the requirement for following someone on Twitter I’d have a lot less followers…and I’d be following a lot less people.

We should stop “following” Jesus and start FOLLOWING Him, instead!

If you came to our church for very long, you would know we often say goodbye to people. One of the reasons we exist is to equip leaders for the Kingdom and then help them find places of service that are quite often not in our little family. And that means sending folks out.

Sending someone across country to pastor a church (like we did 3 weeks ago) can be a clear cause for a real celebration, but what about when someone is feeling led to transition across town to serve another congregation? I think if it is a healthy move, it should be celebrated just as passionately and often just as publicly.

One time we were doing this—publicly praying for and giving a gift to a faithful family that had felt called to transition to another church—and a guy who was new to our church pulled one of our elders aside. “I can’t believe what I just saw”, he said, “we just blessed that family that is going to a church down the street—I’ve never seen that before”.

Sometimes I’ve even wondered if we should throw a combined party every month for the new folks at the church as well as for the ones who are leaving. We could say hello and goodbye (that kind of reminds me of the Hebrew greeting Shalom…and the Hawaiian Aloha!)

I want to always remember that our local church does not exist to build OUR kingdom, but we live to operate in GOD’S Kingdom. It is the Holy Spirit’s job—not mine—to assign people to different parts of the Family. People may seek, and I will give, pastoral wisdom and advice as they consider why, and whether, to go, but in the end, I can’t hold on tightly but should celebrate what the Lord may be doing in them as they look towards a new season of service.

I think it helps our church culture that we rarely talk about people leaving our church; we say we are sending them to serve another congregation. When we talk about godly transition publicly we model what it can look like to go somewhere else for a good purpose, instead of sneaking out the back door for a bad reason. That helps us all keep proper perspective. And it models for others why and how healthy moves can take place.

“You will do well to send them on their way I a manner worthy of God…we ought to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.” (3 John 6 & 8)

The other day I was reading Jeremiah 33…

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate and without men or animals—in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks…flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them, says the Lord.”

…and I started thinking about churches. God’s people have long been called sheep and human leaders of God’s people called shepherds. Jesus called his followers sheep (John 10) and when He assigned Peter to a pastoral role, He told him to “feed my sheep” (John 21). Later, Peter repeated the challenge to local elders: “be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers…being examples to the flock” and he reminds them that the Chief Shepherd (Jesus) will come again soon.

So, we have flocks of sheep—we call them churches. And the argument rages on regarding what size and kind of church is best. Should we have mega-churches, micro-churches or something in between? Maybe we should just have small organic gatherings with loosely based leadership. Video venues. Simple Church. Networked Congregations. There is no shortage of passion or opinion about what is best and what is Biblical.

I’ve either been leading or on staff at churches that literally range from about 10 people to about 10,000. I’ve had a front row seat to the good, the bad, and the ugly. You’d think I’d be cynical after 20 years of this. I’m anything but cynical. In fact, I’m very hopeful.

Big flocks are great. While some people deride the problems of mega-farms (and there is much to be fixed) the reality is that a lot of sheep are raised and fed through ranching systems that keep track and take care of each of many, many sheep. Little flocks are great, too. Small, single-shepherd flocks where every sheep is named and personally cared for by a single shepherd seems like an idyllic reality.

But to say big ranches shouldn’t exist or that little flocks are inherently irrelevant is ludicrous. I’ve heard both sides of the debate: That huge churches are corporate evil or that small house churches are inconsequential. Well, I’d like to suggest that we stop judging flocks in terms of size and start looking at flocks in light of health.

A small, healthy, reproducing flock is an excellent thing that can provide certain benefits that a huge ranch could never touch. On the other hand, a huge, healthy, reproducing flock can also be an excellent thing and as long as the system is never more important than the sheep (or the Chief Shepherd), then it can be a joy to participate in multiple layers of pastoral care and discipleship and worship and fellowship and, yes, outreach.

In other words, I’d like to stop judging our value by size or growth. Our impact is always a direct result of obedience to the Chief Shepherd who primarily cares if His under-shepherds are taking care of and equipping His sheep like He would.

Yesterday represented my 100th post on this blog.

What started out two years ago as a way to kill time during a Thanksgiving break has become a great tool to discipline my thoughts and work on my writing; it’s an outlet for this extroverted introvert to share what I’m learning and thinking with whoever might be interested.

I used to post once every couple of weeks, then it became about once a week, and now my wife and my best friend have challenged me to write a few times a week. So, now, every ‘work’ day, I sit down and search my soul to discover what it might have to say. Sometimes I’m happy with what I write; other times I think what I write is dangerously close to drivel or I question if I’m being too bold or too timid—there are times when I figure nobody but me cares.

Regardless, it has been a healthy practice for me to continue.

However, I do wonder who might also feel that me writing is a good thing. Besides my wife and best friend, and the occasional person who comments on the blog or tells me they read it (oh, and my mom), I have no idea who looks at this blog. I know, I know, there are tech tools out there to track how many clicks you are getting and where they are coming from. But I have a confession: I am technically illiterate. The fact that I figured out how to “design” (and I use that word loosely) and publish this blog is a miracle. I’ve often wondered what I would do if the system crashed or I had to re-do everything. Honestly, I’d have no idea.

So, in a moment of scary personal transparency, I’m going to ask a favor. If you read this blog (yes, that would be you reading this blog right now), could you chime in? All I’m asking for is a quick comment on this post that let’s me know you are looking at this.

Even if there are only a few people I’ll be encouraged to hear from you. Even if there is nobody, I’ll keep writing because it’s good for me…I just want to know if it’s good for you, too.

Oh, and hi, Mom.

Over the last couple of days I’ve been reading a really fun book about the business history of Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com. For me it’s been a worthwhile read with lots of great nuggets.

However, I have to take exception to his understanding of how corporate culture should simultaneously be defined as both a team and a family: Hsieh clearly states that his company is “both a team and a family.”

As I see it, family and team are two different things. A good team is working hard to get the win, and as part of the very definition of a successful team, anyone who can’t contribute to that win needs to be cut.

On the other hand, you are stuck with family; in a healthy family even the non-contributing members must be unconditionally accepted as a part of the tribe.

A great team will certainly have characteristics of a family, but ultimately the rules that govern the team cannot be the same reality that sustains a family.

At work, we really shouldn’t confuse the two. I may have an authentic family bond with my teammates, but that close relational connection can have nothing to do with my continuing place on the team. Family is about unconditional embrace; team is about the win. When we get those mixed up we end up with either weak teams that lack success or dysfunctional families that require contribution as a condition for ongoing relationship—I don’t want to be a part of either of those.

However, the church exists in an interesting vortex of organizational culture and family dynamics. You may argue that it’s all about family, but if your church consists of more than a couple of dozen people and/or has any staff or leadership, make no mistake: there is organization happening.

Now, as members of the Body of Christ, we all are family. We love each other, and even the person with little organizational purpose or limited potential carries intrinsic value as an integral member of the body (see 1 Corinthians 12).

Still, church leaders must contribute to forward motion. According to what we read in 1 Timothy 3, Overseers are given a task, and they must function in it well. If they can’t handle the requirements of the job, they can’t keep being allowed to do it. That doesn’t mean a leader stops becoming a vital part of the family, but it does mean that they need to step out of their particular role on the team.

We just moved into our new house, and it’s too expensive.

Rent in this part of Southern California is quite a bit higher than it is just 30 minutes East. We could have moved into a much nicer home and had more money left over for some “fun” things (or for savings) had we been OK with driving a half-hour into work/church. That would still be a relatively short commute compared to what many in LA have to endure.

But we wanted to live where our church was. We wanted to continue to develop relationship with folks who are not believers but whose kids go to school with our kids, and let them know that we serve a church just down the street. We wanted to be personally accessible to most of our congregation.

I understand that some pastors, for financial or other logistic reasons, have to live a little distance away from their church. There is nothing wrong with that. What I want to always be aware of, though, is the call to incarnation and hospitality.

Hospitality (a mandatory action for pastor/elders—1 Timothy 3:2) is about hosting and welcoming others. We are certainly required to have a hospitable attitude, but I think there is something important about inviting people into our homes, too. It doesn’t mean that our house has to be Grand Central Station, and yes, boundaries are important, but there needs to be some level of welcome into our lives, and I think that includes an open home sometimes (or often).

Incarnation literally means embodied in the flesh. God was incarnated when Jesus put on the human body. He didn’t commute from heaven, but He lived among us (John 1:14), dealing with all the difficult stuff that first century Jews would have had to deal with. As pastors, I really think we must do all we can to, like Jesus, live incarnational lives—dwelling among the people we serve. Though that doesn’t always mean living in the same neighborhood, we should not live far above (or far below) the average standard of living in our congregation, either.

Finally, this isn’t just a thought for pastors. I think all of us are called to incarnational living and a hospitable spirit. Maybe you are not a pastor and you do drive 20 minutes to get to your church. Some would say you should find a church closer to your neighborhood. While that is an option, an equally valid option is to extend your church into your neighborhood. Imagine a local church that has ministry “outposts” all over a region, manifesting through people’s homes. What if your home was one such outpost? You can be hospitable and incarnational right where you’re at! You would touch people who might never think to walk into any church!

Well, those are just my thoughts. If you have a different perspective, I’d love to hear it. But I have to run now…we’re having a church gathering at our house in a few minutes.

“The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.” (John 1:14 The Message)

Psalms 39: 4-7 “show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life…”

Many of us have become really good at counting hours. In our quest for better time management we’ve read the books; attended the seminars; bought the products. Every season there seems to be a hot new trend in getting more done during the day, or getting less done, but with greater quality. A fulfilling day or week seems to be one where we’ve checked off our whole list without too much distraction.

But how are we deciding on the list? King David wisely asked the Lord for understanding concerning the whole scope of his life. Yes, there are many things that “need” to get done today, but when I truly realize how short my natural life is (and how much shorter it could be), my priorities adjust.

My parents recently got back from a road trip where they visited relatives in the midwest. A few years ago my aunt and uncle purchased cemetery plots to prepare for their eventual death. That’s pretty normal. But one day they discovered that the cemetery had made a huge mistake and had buried other people in their plots. Of course, the error was corrected and another allotment was reserved for them, but my uncle and aunt were going to make sure that blunder never happened again: They bought huge headstones, complete with their names and dates of birth, and set them in place. That’s not so normal.

Now every once in a while they can literally go and visit their own graves…and they do—evidenced by a picture my parents brought back with each of them standing next to their tombstone and pointing to their names.

Some people might think that is strange; but I think it’s awesome! I want to live life constantly reminded that my hours and tasks may not be as important as I think—or at least I want to understand that those hours and tasks must someday culminate in a life that won’t be judged by what I accomplished in a day but by the stewardship of my whole life.

And when I say stewardship, I’m not really talking about accomplishments or accolades. A life really well lived is one that is in lived in unbroken contact with the One who gives us life in the first place. The life He wants us to live is not simply filled with tasks and calendars and checkboxes, but it is filled with joy and awe and wonder.

This week I heard a friend talk about wonder. He said, “life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”

As Moses is recorded Psalms 90:12 “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

What I am about to write is relevant for everyone who follows Christ, but I want to specifically talk to Christian leaders:

Your job is unique and only you know the full-press of life as you experience it in your ministry setting. Your day is usually packed. There is a tremendous amount of work to get done, a multitude of people to tend to, and countless distractions that must be addressed. I’d like to pretend that overwhelming administration and red tape is totally unnecessary, but if you lead a vibrant ministry in America today, you have to deal with these sometimes unfortunate and often cumbersome realities.

And then there is family, friends, and, well, life. You want and need a healthy, balanced life. Recreation and relaxation are part of the restorative process God created for our souls. Ignore those at your own peril.

Prayer is the foundation for it all. As leaders, our personal worship and prayer time is essential if we are going to have continued authentic personal relationship with our Father and God. Our openness to the Holy Spirit must be constant, and there is no substitute for our time before Him.

All of what I just said is important.

And, there is one more thing…

Don’t neglect the Word.

Let me put it to you bluntly: If you are a Christian leader (or have your heart set on being a leader) and you are not interacting with the Bible every day, you are falling down on the job. Just as an athlete who has the privilege to play for a living embraces the need to work out daily to be on top of his or her game, Kingdom leaders who shepherd others are responsible to do so out of the reserves of riches that come from working hard in the Word.

Musicians have to practice their instrument every day. Sometimes it’s fun. Always It’s hard work. A great concert pianist once said: “If I miss one day of practice, I notice it. If I miss two days, the critics notice it. If I miss three days, the audience notices it.”

You might be a great communicator and intuitively understand culture well and be a top-quality leader, but without a vast understanding of the big picture of the Story and a tenacious grasp of the intimate details of the Word, you will not be the pastor you are called to be. Period. And if you are not working hard in the Word every day, the people you serve will quickly notice it (whether you think they do or not).

So, I can’t minimize the reality of your busy life, but I would like to encourage you to make engaging the Word of God a top priority regardless of what else you have on your plate. Consider your time in the Word more important than brushing your teeth or having your morning coffee or checking your email!

As Paul wrote to the young pastor Timothy: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Tim 2:15

My last post was about the perils of pride in social networking. One sure-fire way to combat self-aggrandizement is by lifting up others, and lifting up Christ.

As a Christian, I don’t live my life to get others to look at me, so I shouldn’t be tweeting or updating my status to get everyone to look at me, either. A great rule of thumb is probably whether I am posting more about Jesus and others than I am about myself.

When I post anything, I want to start to ask myself:

Do I seek to point out other people by calling attention to their accomplishments or by linking to something they said or posted?

Do I use lots of Scripture, doing my best to get people to notice the wonders in the Word, the glories of the gospel, and the generous gift of God’s grace?

Do I encourage others towards a life of prayer and worship and godliness?

Do I point out sound ways of thinking and challenge people to spiritually discern issues of cultural exigency?

When I was little I was told that God gave me “two ears and one mouth, so I should listen twice as much as I speak”. I think that when communicating through social networks, it would be a great goal to post about God and others twice as much as we post about ourselves.

My intended month of less internet, and no blogging, facebook and twitter turned into almost 7 weeks. It’s a long story, but when we returned from vacation, we had to move out of our house (the landlords had to move in quicker than we had hoped) and live without internet for a bit longer while looking for a new house to rent.

We’re finally in our home, and our internet just got hooked up yesterday. While there were some moments in which being connected would have saved some minor frustration, in the end, I survived.

When I jumped back on, I saw something with fresh eyes: That a good amount of what is communicated in the social networking world is a subtle (or not so subtle) manifestation of pride.

Think about it—we want people to see how well we are doing, what cool things we are accomplishing, the fantastic places we are going, and the great things we are learning. Or, alternatively, we share the “emo” part of our lives by publicly declaring our lives a disaster zone or clicking that we like “this day stinks and my life is falling apart so I better go write a country song about it” in hopes that others will feel sorry for us. Ultimately, while I’m certain that many are simply engaging friendships and sharing observations online, I do think an awful lot of people want or need attention.

Sharing life or seeking attention: Deep in your heart, only you know what you are doing.

Here are a couple of questions we can ask ourselves when we post something online: Do we secretly hope that others envy us or applaud our good works? Are we silently screaming “CHECK ME OUT; I’M DA MAN (or WOMAN)? Or, do we want folks to pity us and feel guilty for not paying more attention to us?

Remember, pride is about drawing attention to ourselves—The conceit that we are more important than others and that our accomplishment or agony demands the focus of another. Pride can look like someone who is full of themselves and their achievements, or can indicate someone who delights in false humility. Either one reflects a ‘puffed-up’ attitude; both are equally damaging to our own souls.

James 1:9 tells us that “everyone should be quick to listen [and] slow to speak”; I think that if James was writing in 2010, he would add, “and slow to tweet”.

Recently I was asked what kind of a leader I was—did I lean more towards micromanaging or releasing? I didn’t really answer the question: “I’m a collaborative leader,” I said, “somewhere in the middle.”

So, what is a collaborative leader? A picture might come to mind of a person who brings everyone together and takes a vote, “majority rules” style, or worse, “we’re going to lock ourselves in this room until we all come out in full agreement.”

That’s not collaborative, and it’s not leadership for that matter. Collaboration is not the same thing as consensus. Collaboration reflects a team of people working hard together to create something of value. But a collaborative team still needs to be led.

Within collaborative leadership, there continues to be a point person who has the authority—and often the necessity—to call the plays, but that leader does not hold up somewhere while repeatedly making and delivering unilateral decisions from a vacuum. Sure there are times for Moses to come down from the mountain to deliver the commandments, but until we’ve spent a month in the direct presence of God and He has given us tablets of stone, let’s be careful about comparing ourselves to Moses.

A secure, collaborative leader wants to be surrounded with a team of the strongest, smartest, most competent people available, and then listen to what that team has to say, even when there is disagreement. The whole team works together to bring their wealth of experience, insight, and discernment to the table. In strategic decisions, every angle—positive and negative—will be explored so that its impact is well understood. While in some situations a vote is called for, more often, one leader must make a courageous decision based on all the facts at hand.

Collaborative leadership ensures that a decision is made with the best information available. Collaborative leadership encourages putting passion for the vision above the desires of an individual. Collaborative leaders aren’t interested in credit; they are interested in impact.

But how does that speak to the original question, “Where do you stand between micromanaging and laissez-faire leadership?” Well, when you first start out in leading an organization, you need to work closely with those you are directly leading to help them understand your heart and to make sure they grasp your values. The more time you spend collaborating with a ministry team that you know gets your heart, the easier it is to trust those team members to make the right decisions without your constant input.

But even then, direction is the leader’s ultimate responsibility. So when “releasing” goes south, that usually either means that the leader didn’t communicate the vision and values well enough or that the leader did communicate adequately, but isn’t willing to keep the team member accountable to uphold that visions and those values. Either way, while a collaborative leader always shares the credit, he or she will personally embrace the responsibility for failure, too.