Every day, it seems, we read or hear another account of “Christian” people being caught doing things that are anything but Christian.  People of “faith” are found guilty of fraud, fondling children, and faking the truth in a variety of ways.  With tears, they admit to their scandals, sex-capades, and stealing, but give praise to God for the presence of Jesus in their lives.  In the meantime, Christ weeps, His work suffers, the world laughs, and fellows Christians wonder what in the world is going on.

Examples Galore

In the process of writing my book Defying Gravity (How to Survive the Storms of Pastoral Leadership) I interviewed dozens of Christian leaders (not all pastors) about some of the challenges they have faced.  I will never forget the input I received from Karen Covell, a television producer and author.  She serves as the Director of the Hollywood Prayer Network, seeking to mobilize prayer for “the most influential mission field in the world” as she connects with intercessors around the world.  Karen and her husband, Jim (also a producer and my best friend from junior high school) have led a weekly prayer meeting in their home for their Hollywood colleagues for almost 25 years.

Not long ago, Karen discovered that a trusted friend and co-laborer for over 20 years, who handled HPN’s finances, was “borrowing money” from HPN.  By the time Karen discovered this it was almost too late to salvage the ministry.  Suddenly she was in the situation of needing to decide how to handle her colleague, what to do to save the ministry, or whether she should just shut it all down and start over.  She found herself struggling with the thought of rebuilding – knowing the commitment, time, effort, and fundraising that it would take.  As I wrote about her brokenhearted journey of trying to salvage the ministry, I wondered, “How could someone do that to such a wonderful person and ministry?” (When the book comes out in January, you can read the amazing story of how Karen navigated this crisis and came through with honor and grace.)

Of course, this is one of hundreds (maybe thousands) of stories that emerge every week across America involving “the faithful” and their woeful wrongdoings.  I am not talking about a temper flare-up, speeding ticket, or failing to tithe.  I am talking about major, public scandals that damage the faith of others because of the level of blatant duplicity involved.   Whether it is a high-profile evangelist, a “Christian” politician, or a friend in our small group Bible study – it is all so very baffling.  Let us try to make sense of it.

Humble Disclaimer

First, let’s admit the need for humility and grace as we consider this issue.  Every one of us has entertained a thought or contemplated an action that could have resulted in great harm to our testimony and pain to those we love.  As Galatians 6:1 says, we need to consider ourselves “lest we also be tempted.”  God’s grace instructs us all that “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:12).  Truly we can all say that, apart from His grace, “There go I."

Why Do “Christian” People Do Such Crazy Things?

While hardly a theological treatise or counseling session, I want to share a few thoughts about how other believers can misfire so badly.

False Profession – Sometimes people behave in blatantly non-Christian ways because they are non-Christians.  Just as godly repentance does not register in their present behavior, neither did it register when they “made a decision” to become a Christian. Read Matthew 7.  Enough said.

Unsanctified Brokenness – Many people come to Christ but never really bring the brokenness of their past or present life under the power of the cross.  For example, the baggage of uncrucified bitterness can lead to damaging decisions.  The pain grows deep and eventually results in irrational, reactionary behavior that takes this unthinking believer from the frying pan of pain into the fire of widespread disgrace.

Another example might be the deep-seated dysfunction of an unsettled identity.  Some Christians were raised with strong messages that their value was in how they appeared to others, what they possessed, or what things they achieved.  Rather than living out an identity that is solid and settled at the cross, they are still trying to prove an identity that some powerful figure told them they must prove.  To find themselves, they risk losing their integrity and intimacy with Christ and others.

Skewed View of Holiness – Our present culture tempts us in many ways to redefine God’s holiness.  When we impose the acceptable behaviors of the day over the biblical picture of God’s absolute holiness, we set ourselves up to justify unholy behavior.  I have heard it said, “In the beginning God created man in His image.  Ever since, we’ve been trying to return the favor."

Compartmentalized Behavior – Integrity is about a life where all the pieces fit together in authentic harmony and honesty.  When compromise begins in some area of life, a person can begin to compartmentalize and believe that his behavior or thought patterns in one area are not necessarily related to other areas of life.  Financial compromise gets isolated from family.  Sexual misbehavior is tolerated as long as the individual serves at church.  It is an approach that spells eventual disaster.

Seared Conscience – Some arrive at such a point of coddling a lying lifestyle that they actually yield their thoughts to the power of evil and no longer respond to the God-given voice of conscience.  They develop a lifestyle of getting away with sin, with little remorse and minimal concern for the consequences.

Impact and Response?

So what is the practical impact of this crazy behavior?  How should we respond to it all? In next week’s e-devo, we will tackle those questions.

In the meantime, we must make the decision every day to find our strength for holy living and authentic witness in Christ alone.  As He taught us, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (John 15:4).

Ephesians 5:8-10 reminds us, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.” May we each resolve to walk the talk and manifest His light.  Let us pray that the fruit of goodness, righteousness, and truth will be evident in our lives as we actively discover all that is acceptable to the Lord and avoid the pitfalls of this all-too-common crazy behavior.

Sometimes I talk to myself.  The subject matter is seldom deep or complex.  I remind myself of a task.  I ask myself why I did some stupid deed.  I rehearse the plans for the day.  Occasionally, I answer myself – and hope no one is watching or listening.

It seems I first read about this thing called “self-talk” in some self-improvement management book.  The author put a lot of stock in it and encouraged the readers to engage in this exercise regularly for focus and motivation.  Because of the source, I was a bit suspicious of the whole approach and did not take it very seriously.  It seemed the focus was self-centered and the results were humanistic, so I dismissed it.  Nevertheless, I have kept talking to myself.

Biblical Self-Talk

Not long ago, I discovered that my first introduction to self-talk did not come from a management book, but from the Bible.  It has been there the whole time; I just didn’t recognize it.  In a recent early morning prayer meeting I discovered the Psalmist saying, “O my soul” and realized that right in the pages of inspired Scripture, the biblical author was talking to himself.  Looking further, I discovered numerous occasions where the writers were penning words to their own soul.

Perhaps the big difference between the “self-talk” promoted by management gurus and the biblical examples is the issue of motivation.  Clearly, the motives for self-talk in the Scriptures are the glory of God and the spiritual health of the soul.  This is worth examining and implementing.

David Talks to Himself

In Psalms 42 and 43 (usually seen as a unit), David talks to himself three times with the same basic words.  These words were likely written when he was in exile after being banished by the betrayal of his son Absalom.  He is far from home and close to despair.  He says to himself:

“Why are you cast down, O my soul?  And why are you disquieted within me?  Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.” (Psalm 42:5, 11; 43:5)

David is asking himself the reason for the discouragement and trouble he feels within his soul.  He tells himself to put his hope in God with the result that his soul will give praise to God because He can always be counted on to help.  The rest of Psalms 42 and 43 include David’s longings for deliverance, his cries for help, and his reassurance in the promise and character of God.

In Psalm 103 David again speaks to his own soul with these words:

“Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!  Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”  (Psalm 103:1-2)

Here, David commands his soul to focus on God’s holy name with every fiber of his being.  He tells himself to remember the benefits of God.  In keeping with this self-talk he then rehearses some of the reasons for this needful focus when he writes about God’s deeds:

“Who forgives all your iniquities,  Who heals all your diseases,  Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. “ (Psalm 103:3-5)

The rest of the Psalm is a rehearsal of the greatness and personal care of the Lord, in contrast with the frailty of men.  David ends that Psalm with another reminder to himself: “Bless the LORD, O my soul!”  (Psalm 103:22)

In a similar fashion, David begins and concludes Psalm 104 with these same words to himself: “Bless the LORD, O my soul!”  (Psalm 104:1 & 35)  The heart of this Psalm is a detailed description of the Lord’s care over all of His works.  David resolves to worship the Lord and be glad in Him as a result.

Other Self-Talkers

In Psalm 116, the unidentified author reflects on God’s deliverance of Israel from captivity and the personal blessing of God in rescuing his soul; In the midst of the Psalm, he says to himself, “Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you” (Psalm 116:7).  Because of the Lord’s great and loving deeds, the writer tells himself to stay in a place of confident rest in God because of all He has done.

Another anonymous Psalmist speaks to his own soul in Psalm 146:1 with these words: “Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! While I live I will praise the LORD; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” Again, this self-conversation represents a firm resolve to trust in God, not man, with a focus on God’s mighty and loving deeds.

On a less positive, but very real note, Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, speaks to himself in sorting out his deep sorrow over God’s judgment of Judah because of their sin.  He writes, “O my soul, my soul!  I am pained in my very heart! My heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war” (Jeremiah 4:19).  This is part of Jeremiah’s way of sorting through the deep emotions of sorrow over a very tragic situation.  Yet through it all, Jeremiah turns to the Lord for comfort in his deep affliction.

Our Self-Talk

So, as we talk to ourselves in the course of daily life, what does this all mean?  I see three brief ideas in summary of these biblical examples:

Honest assessment – Biblical self-talk involves honest, godly assessment of our present situation and our deep feelings in the midst of it.  Rather than subjective, self-centered conclusions like, “I am a loser”, “There is no hope” or “Why should I try?” – the Bible seems to encourage an objective understanding of our real feelings, with a resolve to change our outlook, for God’s glory and our good.  Biblical self-talk involves assessment, leading to an attitude adjustment, not deeper anguish.

Hopeful focus – It seems clear that the focus of the downcast or doubting heart turns to the works and character of God.  The biblical approach involves a self-controlled conversation within the soul that reflects a determination to praise the Lord in spite of the emotions or circumstances of the moment.

Heartfelt resolve – These examples of biblical self-talk reflect a resolve to stay on task with choices of gratitude, worship, trust, and prayer.  David wrote, “Let all that is within me bless His holy name” (Psalm 103:1).  The commentator Matthew Henry writes, “David is here communing with his own heart, and he is no fool that thus talks to himself and excites his own soul to that which is good. Observe how he stirs up himself to the duty of praise.”  Likewise, we need to talk to ourselves, regardless of how we feel or what we perceive, and stir our soul to the regular and ongoing duty of praise.

Keep Talking

With this in mind, I realize I need to keep talking to myself after all.  So do you.  Let us make our self-talk biblical, clear, Christ-honoring, and resolute.  It will be good for our souls, beneficial to our spiritual growth, profitable for our service to others, and honoring to our Christ.  Today, I hope our resolve will be like that of Deborah in Judges 5:21 where she said to herself, “O my soul, march on in strength!"

Last week we observed that many pastors in the church today are reluctant to give consistent, bold, and enduring public leadership to prayer in their churches.   We concluded that just as a pastor cannot lead the church in the ministry of the word simply from a desk, neither can you lead a church in prayer simply from a “closet.”  The kind of leadership that creates a culture of prayer in a church requires pastoral modeling and participation in a community context.

Of course, private prayer is essential.  The Scripture calls spiritual leaders to seek the Lord individually and regularly intercede for others.  Yet, too many good pastors seem content with leaving their prayer impact at the closet door.  Why is this?

Why Church Leaders Remain in Their Prayer Closets

In my book Fresh Encounters, I wrote extensively about these issues based on my own struggle in prayer and conversations with many pastoral colleagues.  As I see it, our reluctance to lead our churches in prayer is rooted in the eight following factors:

Rugged individualism – Perhaps the defining characteristic of Western Civilization is rugged individualism.  Professor and Pastor Gene Getz notes that our “lens” of individualism causes us to re-interpret the prayer commands in the New Testament, making them individual in application when they were really given in a community context in the early churches, and applied accordingly.  Today, we can easily conclude that it is sufficient simply to pray in an individual setting.

Closet Confusion – We have misunderstood the meaning of the place of prayer in Matthew 6 where Jesus is giving group instructions to His disciples about their prayer lives.  Even though the model prayer is composed entirely of plural pronouns (“Our Father…give us…“), we have turned their upper room into a solitary cubicle based on our own cultural overlay and unfortunate misunderstanding of the word “closet” (used only in the 1611 KJV).  Again, I have two chapters about this in Fresh Encounters.

Limited vision – Most pastors have never really experienced a positive example of a dynamic, praying church.  What many of us did experience was counterproductive in the form of request-based gatherings that include endless lists of physical needs, some discussion, and even a little gossip – but little real prayer.  I often note the Brazilian proverb that says, “The heart cannot taste what the eyes have not seen.”  Without the living vision and experience of transforming prayer, it is hard to understand the clear path to bold, enduring leadership.

Inadequate training – Bible colleges and seminaries marginalize prayer when training pastors.  Seldom is there even one entire class devoted to the subject of prayer.  Many seminary leaders omit prayer because it is not “academic” enough.  They subvert the biblical requirements for pastoral leadership in the name of scholarship.  Virtually every pastor I know admits that college and seminary offered very little training in how to develop a prayer culture or lead a church in prayer as a pastor.  We just assume they will “get it.”  Most often, they do not.

Cultural pushback – Our quick fix, results-oriented culture expects a pastor to be a program-producing CEO who speaks, manages, and runs to the next meeting with Wall-Street pizzazz.  These expectations can leave a pastor with little margin and waning motivation for real impact in prayer.

Personal defeat – Some pastors are defeated in their own prayer life and do not feel adequate to lead in prayer.  Yet, if they start leading, everyone prays more – including the pastor.  Prayer grows and deepens.  The ministry wins.

Spiritual distraction – The devil does not have to destroy a pastor; he simply needs to distract a pastor.  The devil is not too troubled by talent, education, charisma, and administrative ability.  A praying pastor who has taken up the powerful weapons of spiritual warfare to fight the good fight – by praying always, personally and in community, threatens the enemy.

Fear of intimacy – Because so many of us have grown up with such relational dysfunction, we carry a low-grade fear of real, wholesome intimacy.  This is evident in marriages, in friendships, and in the church.  We see it among pastors as well.  Because prayer is an exercise of spiritual intimacy, praying in community is often avoided.

The Blessing of Coming Out of the Closet

One of the great joys of my life is the experience of watching churches grow into a life-giving congregation that exhibits a real culture of prayer.  Not only have I known the grace and joy of seeing this happen in the congregations I have served – but also every year I am with pastors around the nation who are providing essential public prayer leadership for their people.  The blessings abound when this occurs:

1. Christ-honoring Ministry – The Lord is delighted when a church truly becomes a “house of prayer” (Mark 11:17) and when they implement Paul’s command that the church pray “first of all” (1 Timothy 2:1).  Christ is exalted when the kingdom advancements in a ministry are directly attributed to the Spirit of God in connection with the prayer activity of the church.  This correlation points to the power of God rather than the wisdom of men (1 Corinthians 2:5).

2. Spiritual Health – Congregational health emerges when a Spirit-energized movement of prayer grows in a congregation.  Believers who experience the power of worship-based prayer enjoy a genuine unity of heart and mind.  Trust is strengthened as hearts connect in worship and believing prayer.

3. Missional Impact – Just as the early church could not help but speak of what they had seen and heard (Acts 4:20), praying churches are empowered and equipped to share the gospel, reach out to the needy, plant churches, and expand their global outreach.  The Holy Spirit is a witness-bearing Spirit and real prayer brings Christians more fully under practical surrender to the Spirit’s control.

4. Manifest Presence – Praying churches experience the reality of 2 Corinthians 3:18 as they collectively behold the glory of the Lord and are transformed from “glory to glory” into Christ’s image by the power of the Spirit.  It is common for church guests to be gripped by a sense of the presence of God.  Every pastor longs for his church to be identified by the reality of the manifest presence of Christ.  Praying churches tend to enjoy an authentic experience of this reality.

Following the Spirit’s Direction into New Experiences of His Blessings

In truth, many other benefits and blessings accompany a growing, pastor-led prayer culture.  Let us make it our collective prayer that these positive realities will become the norm in our nation.

Today, if you are a pastor reading this devotional, I pray that you will ultimately sense the Spirit’s clear direction for your life and ministry as He guides you into a growing realm of influence in prayer in your church.  He is always faithful to direct and to provide the time and energy for the things that are close to the heart of Christ.

If you are a church member, continue to pray for a greater movement of God’s Spirit in awakening the church and her leaders to their need to seek God’s face.  Keep a godly and supportive heart as you find opportunities to engage in prayer with others in your church.  If the Lord wants this kind of movement to occur (and we believe that He does), He will continue to prompt hearts and orchestrate opportunities.  Trust Him – but move ahead with passion and perseverance.

Recently I conducted a Renewal Weekend at a large mid-western church.  The pastor is an educated, articulate leader known for his preaching acumen.  He even writes books to help preachers create effective sermons.

After the final service of the weekend (a Sunday evening worship-based prayer experience) he stood before his church with tears and offered two observations.  First, he stated that he had not experienced the presence of God in such a powerful way since his early days in ministry where revival broke out in the church where he served on staff.  Indeed, it was a powerful evening of worship and heart-felt prayer.

His second observation was incredibly insightful.  He said to his congregation, “Over the years I’ve told you that the corporate prayer level of our church will never rise above our personal prayer lives.”  He continued, “Tonight I want to correct that statement.  I have concluded that our personal prayer lives will never rise above our corporate prayer experience because this is how we all learn to pray – in community.  And I am resolved to lead you in that experience that we might truly become a house of prayer."

You could conclude that this courageous pastor decided to come out of his prayer closet and start leading his people in the actual experience of prayer. That decision has been a big victory for him, for his congregation, and for Christ-honoring ministry in that community.

Toward a Consistent View of Leadership

Of course, it is an essential and wonderful thing that many pastors prioritize personal time in prayer.  However, far too few come to the conviction of this pastor in the firm understanding that they must lead their people in prayer by example while modeling prayer in community experience.  In reality, they are adopting a view of leadership that leaves their people far short of Christ’s ideal for the church.

Let me illustrate.  Imagine a pastor named Charlie.  He claims to have a deep conviction about the importance of the Bible in his life and ministry.  He speaks highly of the Scriptures in personal conversations and writes compellingly about it in his philosophy of ministry.  He claims to have a strong personal regimen of Bible reading and study.

Yet, the pattern of this leadership demonstrates an actual contradiction.  In his public ministry Charlie is apathetic about the existence of Bible studies in his church.  He never teaches people how to study the Bible.  He seldom leads any Bible studies with others.  When he does on those rare occasions, he seems uncomfortable and half-hearted.

In spite of Charlie’s verbal assent about the benefit of the Bible, he makes minimal references to the Scriptures when the church gathers.  He rarely invests any substantive amount of time teaching the Bible to his congregation in corporate worship on Sundays.  Instead, he tells stories and packs the services with an abundance of music, drama, and interesting anecdotes about current events.

Any church worth their salt would be grieved about the contradiction of Pastor Charlie’s words.  They would wonder about his real commitment to the centrality of the Scriptures.  While Charlie might talk a good talk, he obviously is failing to lead his church in the love for and understanding of the Bible.

In fact, the real commodity by which we judge any pastor’s commitment to the Scriptures is TIME.  This includes time spent personally in the Word but ALSO time given to teaching and experiencing the power of applied truth in the corporate gatherings.  If he does not give time to the Bible, we rightfully conclude he does not really value it.

Leading from the Closet Does Not Work

When it comes to prayer, many pastors live in the same contradictory gray twilight as Charlie.  Somehow flowery words about prayer and claims of “doing business with God” in “the closet” suffice, while the church starves for leadership, never really learning how to pray.  Jesus grieves because His house does not become a house of prayer.  The Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 2 indicating that the church should FIRST be a place of prayer are essentially ignored – because no one is leading the church in that direction.  The commands to pray, given in the New Testament, are largely ignored in the community experience of the church.

In my travels, I see this so often.  Many respected and godly leaders purport to have a strong prayer life – in private.  However, they appear to have little conviction about modeling prayer and leading their people into life-changing experiences of prayer (we will talk about the reasons later).  Of course, these pastors never lead powerful, praying churches because it is impossible to POINT the way in prayer.  One must LEAD the way in prayer.

Just as you cannot lead the church in the ministry of the word simply from a desk, neither can you lead a church in prayer simply from a closet.  In Acts 6:4 the early leaders were committed to engaging collectively and leading the church in BOTH prayer and the ministry of the word.  Today, like those leaders, pastors must come out of their private closets and provide bold, biblical, and consistent leadership.

Why Church Leaders Hide in their Prayer Closets

Let me say clearly that the value of private prayer is beyond measure.  Responsible pastors seek the Lord individually and regularly intercede for others.  Yet, too many good pastors seem content with leaving their prayer impact at the closet door.  Why is this?

In my book Fresh Encounters, I wrote extensively about this challenge – based on my own struggle in prayer and conversations with many pastoral colleagues.  In summary, our reluctance to lead our churches in prayer is rooted in the following factors:

1.      Rugged individualism

2.      Closet confusion

3.      Limited vision

4.      Inadequate training

5.      Cultural pushback 

6.      Personal defeat

7.      Spiritual distraction

8.      Fear of intimacy

In next week’s e-devotion we will elaborate on each of these eight factors and encourage your heart with some truths about the blessings that occur when pastors come out of their prayer closets to lead their people in biblical, balanced prayer.

In the meantime, pray for your pastor today.  Pray that the Lord will draw him close to His heart and teach him more about the joys of seeking God’s face.  Pray that, in His time, the Lord will help him see the calling to lead the church in regular and life-giving experiences of prayer.  In the meantime, keep a loving and supportive attitude and look for opportunities to make a difference on your knees in your own church.  The Lord will bless you as you support your leadership and pray for their growth in Christ.