leadership

Peter’s Response to Criticism: A Lesson in Faith

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” (Acts 11:1–3, LSB)

People were saved, and yet there is criticism.

Note that even in the greatest blessings within the church, there is always at least one person (or two) willing to see the negative side. And notice that the problem they have with this is an unbiblical tradition that was broken. 

How does Peter respond? Here we have a wonderful example! Peter is calm and patient. He explains the situation, brings biblical clarity, and then humbly awaits the church to share its wisdom. In this instance, they concurred with Peter.

Had the majority agreed with the circumcision party, I do not think Peter would have bowed out and remained silent. However, his first response was to trust the Spirit to lead the leaders, and if they were not led by the Spirit, then I think Peter would have continued to passionately reason with them from the Word.

Here is the balance of Spirit and truth; shepherding and yet being shepherded. Let us learn both.

Pride and Cowardice in God’s Messengers

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“For the eyes of Yahweh move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is wholly devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars. Then Asa was vexed with the seer and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.”  (2 Chronicles 16:9–10, LSB)

Overall, King Asa wasn’t an evil king, at least not in the beginning. When he faced a million-man army from Ethiopia, he cried out to the Lord for help: “Yahweh, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between those of abundant power and those who have no power; so help us, O Yahweh our God, for we lean on You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O Yahweh, You are our God; let not mortal man prevail against You” (2Chron 14:11, LSB). He grasped how powerless he was without God.

Asa removed idolatry from the land during his reign and experienced success and peace in his time. However, another threat soon arose that would test his faith in God. Baasha, the king of Israel, brought war once again to Asa’s doorstep. When Asa faced the larger Ethiopian army, he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord defeated that massive army for him. But something had changed in Asa.

Perhaps he had become overly confident. Maybe he had learned the politics of ruling by watching other kings. Whatever the reason, Asa didn’t go to God with his problem. Instead, he gathered up all the wealth he could and struck a deal with the King of Aram. Asa would give this wealth to entice the Aramean king to break his covenant with Baasha and go to war. It all seemed to work as he planned. And although Asa didn’t say it, his whole plan acted as if Yahweh didn’t even exist.

Asa didn’t consult a prophet. He didn’t pray as he did when facing the Ethiopian army. He didn’t offer up sacrifices to the Lord. Because King Asa had failed to entrust himself to the Lord, the Lord sent his prophet to speak to him words of condemnation and judgment.

We get a glimpse into Asa’s heart. Once the prophet is finished speaking the word of the Lord to the king, he responds with wrath and puts the prophet into prison. This is a classic case of striking out against the messenger because you don’t like the message. King Asa could have put the prophet to death, but the act wasn’t merciful; it was cowardly. Asa had grown so prideful that he not only didn’t need God to fight his battles for him, he also didn’t need any of his advice or counsel. And since Asa didn’t dare strike out against God (and how could he?), he struck out against God’s man.

My thoughts for this morning could be about Asa’s pride and how he responded, but I’d like to turn my final thoughts to the unnamed man of God who brought the unwanted message. As a preacher, I am often allowed to stand before people and proclaim to them God’s message. Sometimes, especially in mixed groups of believers and unbelievers, it is unwelcome.

How should we, as God’s messengers, behave when we sense people might not like our message? Should we be cowardly and soften the message? Should we add some sugar to the medicine to help it go down, like Mary Poppins would prescribe? Or perhaps, we should avoid giving the message altogether, like Joel Osteen? “Nuance” is another method that many use. Apologizing for the message is yet another method. All of these are ways of soft-selling the biblical message.

It’s easy to identify pride, cowardice, anger, and selfish motives in others, like Asa. But God’s messengers need to be wary of these sins in their own lives as well, because they will impact the way they deliver the message God has given to them.

Am I independent of God’s strength, or at least act like I am? Then my messages will be prayerless. I can study, write a sermon, and preach, all without God’s help. And I will be without God’s power and blessing as well.

Am I prideful, thinking that I’m the next superstar messenger? Have I forgotten that all I have has come from God? Who made your mouth and lips? Who makes your vocal cords work, and gives your eyes sight? Who causes your heart to beat? Who called you, and saved you? Who gave you His Spirit and His Word?

And like Moses, we can become angry when the people will not listen. We can strike the rock instead of speaking as a messenger. They aren’t your sheep, and they’re not mine. Those sheep are Jesus’ and we shouldn’t beat the Lord’s sheep—either figuratively or literally. Anger is often a manifestation of pride.

And cowardice can come, just like it did with Asa. Not like Asa, as the one receiving God’s message, but as a messenger who is afraid of how people will react to what we say. We skip topics or issues because they are “controversial” or people will take offense. We soften words to be more palatable to the “sensitive.” There’s a difference between being intentionally harsh and offensive and letting the message speak for itself, including those things that strike at the heart. If God’s Word offends, so be it. What right do I have to refashion God’s message to my liking?

Second Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of Yahweh move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is wholly devoted to Him.” May this not just be the desire of those who hear the Word of God, but also of those who deliver the message of God as well.

Biblical Truths vs. Ecumenical Unity

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

 “And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him to his face and said to King Jehoshaphat, ‘Should you help the wicked and love those who hate Yahweh and so bring wrath on yourself from Yahweh?’”  (2 Chronicles 19:2, LSB)

Working well with others is something we were hopefully taught as small children. Learning to get along with people, even people we don’t often agree with, is a mark of maturity and a necessity in any healthy society.

But when discussing religion, particularly Christianity, do the same ideas of cooperation and friendly interfaith dialogues need to be pursued? If you are ecumenical, you’d probably answer in the affirmative, pointing out that Jesus was a peacemaker and taught His disciples to love all people.

Those, such as myself, who don’t agree with the central ideas of ecumenism would agree that Jesus came to bring peace and that we are to love all people. We should treat all people with care and respect, not just those who believe what we believe or look like we do.

However, Christianity makes truth claims, and those propositional truths often come into direct conflict with the ideas and philosophies of the world and those of all other religions and traditions. Ecumenism seeks to flatten out beliefs in favor of the lowest common denominator so that we can work together in harmony. For instance, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity come from an Abrahamic root. All three religions are also monotheistic. But if you poke just below these surface truths, you will find a lot of disagreement. Enough that wars continue to rage because of these critical underlying differences.

I find it no small matter that God Himself doesn’t embrace this ecumenical spirit that some claim in His name. In the Old Testament, false idols and their altars are repeatedly torn down, and their prophets are put to death. In the New Testament, warnings against idolatry continue (1 John 5:21; Colossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 1:9),  with the result that external idols of wood and stone were still rejected, along with the internal idols of the heart.

In the above passage of 2 Chronicles 19, God rebukes the relatively godly king of Judah for working with the famously wicked king of Israel, Ahab. Ahab and Jehoshaphat partnered to fight a common enemy, which resulted in Ahab’s death in battle (2 Chronicles 18). And even though King Jehoshaphat forced King Ahab to seek out the Lord’s will before going to battle, as we see in the verse above, God was not pleased.

Hanani, the Lord’s prophet (called a “seer” in those days), went out for a face-to-face meeting with the king. God was angry, even though Jehoshaphat had maintained his godly reign, unlike so many other kings. Why? Because in partnering with Ahab to help him defeat an enemy, he showed love to one who hated Yahweh.

Some people justify their cooperation in ecumenical programs and fellowships because they say they will be able to maintain their biblical fidelity. Some even believe that they will be able to influence the ungodly and apostate by showing them what steadfast biblical faithfulness looks like. But let’s be honest, healthiness doesn’t spread like disease. It works the other way around. God knows that. That’s why He forbade the intermingling of the diseased with the healthy in His laws. That’s why it was such a big deal for Jesus to touch the sick and the dead. A rotten apple spoils the whole barrel. It never works the other way.

My biggest concern is not simply whether it works or doesn’t. Our biggest concern as Christians should be what God thinks about it. As we see throughout the Bible, and clearly in His response to Jehoshaphat, we risk bringing the wrath of God for the wicked upon ourselves when we love those who hate Him.

Embracing Vulnerability as a Christian Leader

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with perfume, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. So the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” (John 11:1–3, LSB) 

There is an abundance of goodness in this account of Lazarus being raised from the dead by Jesus that I wish I had the time to discuss this morning. However, the opening verses convey many truths that the rest of the account confirms. Jesus loves His sheep. I’m not suggesting that Jesus only loves His sheep or that His love for them is of the same kind or quality as His love for everyone else. Nevertheless, we cannot examine the life of Christ and deny that Jesus was a loving shepherd to His sheep.

This post continues my thoughts from yesterday about Jesus being the Good Shepherd. You can read that post here. Now, in the next chapter, John 11, Jesus will once again demonstrate how deep His love is for His friends.

In this section, we are reintroduced to the siblings, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Mary has shown her love for Christ by anointing His feet with perfume and wiping His feet with her hair. Martha has been hosting Jesus and the disciples, feeding and caring for them. Lazarus is referenced in verse 3 as “he whom you love.” Jesus the Good Shepherd loves His sheep, and His sheep love Him.

This truth prompted me to reflect on several conversations I’ve had with older pastors. They warned me during my early ministry days that my wife and I should be cautious about becoming too close to those in our congregation. They indicated there was a risk in forming friendships with the people, suggesting that loving them should be maintained from a distance.

I understand. If you keep your distance, when you get burned by others (not if, but when), it will hurt less. Don’t invite them into your life, don’t share, don’t care, and you won’t hurt. All of that is true, but is it faithful? When I look at the life of the Good Shepherd, I see that He wept with those who wept. He was raw, and He even cried. When He saw that Lazarus was dead, Jesus wept (Jn 11:35) even though He knew that He would raise him to life again. 

Jesus wasn’t a cold robot. He didn’t keep people at arm’s length. He had 12 disciples with Him for three years, almost non-stop. They saw Him laugh, cry, and display every human emotion possible, yet without sin. Jesus lived among the sheep, not wrapped in a bubble or in a high tower above them. He touched both the sick and the sinner alike. Are we better than Jesus?

I have experienced many sleepless nights because my troubled heart wakes me from my sleep. I have wept with those who lost loved ones and sat with friends as they faced death. I have laughed deeply until I can hardly breathe. My brothers and sisters in Christ are some of my dearest friends on earth. I feel deeply with them and for them. That’s what love does. And that’s what the Good Shepherd did, and continues to do for His own.If you’re in ministry and someone has told you to stay distant and aloof, don’t buy it. Be wise. Be the mature, Christian leader God has called you to be. But don’t isolate yourself from the sheep to protect your own heart. That’s not only cowardly; it’s ineffective and unfaithful. Remember that a servant is not above his Master (Matt 10:24), and you’re not better than Jesus. Be like Him. Love the sheep.

Balancing Toughness and Tenderness in Pastoral Care

/ Richard Bargas / 2 Comments

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he brings all his own out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they will never follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” (John 10:1–5, LSB)

This passage about Jesus being both the Good Shepherd and the door of the sheep pen conveys a sense of toughness and tenderness. The sheep are cared for, protected, and guided by this good shepherd. Meanwhile, the thief and robber attempt to gain access to the sheep to steal, kill, and destroy them. However, they cannot do so as long as the Good Shepherd watches over His own.

Christians cling to such imagery because it reminds us of the loving care and protection the Savior gives to us, His sheep. As a pastor, I also appreciate the picture because it reminds me of the dual nature of being a pastor as I try to model my care after Christ’s. Being tough and tender are essential elements in every biblical elder’s life and ministry.

Like many things in life, it is all too easy to fall into extremes. I see fellow pastors struggle to be tough. They are soft on sin, fail to confront, delay, or ignore the need for discipline, and tolerate false doctrine under the guise that they want to be humble. All of these are troubling and can lead a church into very dangerous situations if ignored for too long.

What I observe more frequently nowadays is the opposite extreme. I notice many younger pastors who are trying exceptionally hard to appear tough. They speak harshly and project an image of being strict about sin, particularly concerning the sins of those who don’t completely agree with them on every doctrinal issue. I witness toughness in their congregations, where any disagreement is perceived as dissent and division, met with a severity that is alien to the way Jesus dealt with his own. This portrayal is especially unappealing when found on social platforms like X, where the negativity of chest-thumping and public shaming has escalated to an alarming level. How did we get here?

Jesus used both tender and firm hands with those He encountered, even unbelievers. He understood when it was necessary to be firm and when to be gentle. He rebuked “that fox,” Herod, yet was gracious to the woman at the well and the woman caught in adultery. He wasn’t being lenient on sin. He wasn’t condoning their life choices. Jesus never turned away when sin needed to be addressed. It’s not “tenderness” when we compromise by allowing sin to continue without confrontation or resolution. 

But Jesus didn’t always “bring down the hammer” when He saw sin in others. After all, everyone He met was guilty in some way or another! “If You should keep iniquities, O Yah, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, That You may be feared” (Psalm 130:3–4, LSB). Instead, Jesus aimed for the hearts of those He walked among. He was more direct with the hard-hearted, and He was gentler with the bruised and broken (“A crushed reed He will not break And a faintly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will bring forth justice in truth” (Isaiah 42:3, LSB).

The Good Shepherd was both tender and tough. Regardless of our natural tendencies, we must strive to embody the heart of our Good Shepherd, who was neither lenient toward sin nor harsh with the broken and weak. By doing so, we will more closely reflect the heart of our Master.