This week I had the rare honor of speaking in chapel (on seminary day, no less) at Union University. Union is one of the greatest if not the greatest Baptist university anywhere, so I thoroughly enjoyed preaching to the students and meeting several of the faculty, including a little time with old friends.

I had lunch with George Guthrie, a professor there and a fine biblical thinker. We had become friends in seminary but had not had a conversation beyond “Hey, how are you?” since then. I reminded him how he and I and Erwin McManus once volunteered together for a brief time to work with the youth at a local church back in the day. I stayed at SWBTS to earn my PhD while he went off to Trinity for his.

We talked about family, about life and godliness, and about the healthy change we were seeing in our own Baptist world.  We had so much to cover we went from Chilis to Starbucks to continue our conversation.  When he dropped me off when we finished, I walked away with this thought:

“That is a man of God.”

How many people do you know that, when you leave their presence, cause you to think, “That is a man of God.”  How many young men studying for ministry do you know that give you the impression that nothing matters to them more, not being a great preacher, or leader, or soul winner, or anything else, than a desire to become a man of God?

In 2 Kings 4 we read about the time the prophet Elisha visited Shunem. Note what a woman there said to her husband: “This man who often comes our way is a holy man of God.” How many people do you think of in that way?

We give so much attention today to being theologically sound, and that matters. We focus on being effective in ministry; also important. We long to be aware of our culture and know how to take the changeless gospel to the world in a way that God would honor. But how much time is given to becoming a man of God?

In Paul’s first letter to Timothy he gives careful instruction on marks of a man of God. I hope by God’s grace to preach on this passage in chapel at SEBTS on October 28. But the more I study this the more I am gripped with conviction. “You, oh man of God,” Paul says.  We give so much weight to titles. But the most important titles are the most brief: mom. dad. pastor. son. daughter. What title do you seek in ministry?

Man of God.  Not a bad one for a guy to pursue.

What would you like written on your tombstone one day? How would you like your life to be summarized? I typically think something like, “Alvin loved his Lord, his family, and people.”  But more and more I think I would like it if people remembered me by saying, “He was a man of God.”

By the way, young ladies, I would encourage you also to seek to be known more as a godly woman than a great social flower, a fashion expert, or even a good Bible teacher. Young ladies today need to see Titus 2 women, who pursue godliness with a passion.

I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of work to do. I am going to spend more time in I Timothy in the days to come. Perhaps you would join me in that.

“I don’t smoke, drink, cuss or chew, or run around with those who do.”

This statement, one of the more popular phrases summarizing the Christian life in my earlier years, demonstrates a disposition toward Christianity that focuses on the outward effects of salvation over the changes in the heart. Both matter, but too often the church, especially in regards to younger people, speaks of outward behavior more than inward transformation. My third point regarding reaching the coming generation: Focus less on behavior modification and more on life transformation.

Make no mistake, being changed by the gospel will change your behavior. Spurgeon said when he came to Christ he lost 90% of his vocabulary. The Scripture speaks unambiguously about the effects of the gospel on one’s behavior. Jesus spoke much of how we should act (see, for instance, the Good Samaritan). Paul’s letters give abundant advice about our speech, from not letting corrupt words come out of our mouths in Ephesians to his advice to Timothy as a young leader to be an example in his speech.

My point here is not to replace legalism with license. But, in a culture particularly in the religious South of my childhood where certain features of outward behavior were magnified (alcohol abuse, improper dress on Sundays at the church services– women wearing pants at church services or men with long hair for instance, rock and roll music especially played backwards) while others were ignored (blatant racism, gossip, gluttony, sports idolatry, care for the poor). This demonstrates what happens when in practice you indicate that Christianity is more about conforming to a behavior pattern agreed upon within the religious subculture than a life devoted to Christ seen in the Scripture.

The problem with a behavior-driven Christianity is manifold. Taken to an extreme, young people begin to play a game where they behave a certain way when in the religious subculture and another way when apart. This has only fostered a growing compartmentalization so prevalent in the church today. Thus we have too many young people who are active in church all their lives who suddenly find themselves pregnant out of wedlock or suddenly walking away from the church. Compartmentalization leads to a kind of Christianity that does not sustain the very morality it preaches. Further, it creates an attitude in many young people raised in church that goes something like this: I see people who are not Christians who behave as well as many I know who profess Christ, so why bother?  It also creates an attitude of discipleship that is as deadly as drinking a form of spiritual poison: the notion that information alone leads to transformation. “Just help young people know how to behave and they will love Jesus. Teach them the things to which they should just say no: sex before marriage, drug abuse, etc. And, teach what they must do: have that quiet time, get to church, listen to the right music, dress in the right clothes, and like the right people.”

I would argue information alone never leads to transformation, but the gospel alone through the work of the Spirit works to transform us. Information certainly helps in the process; we need to know the Scriptures and increasingly apply them to our lives. But this requires more than simply getting the info.

In the book of Acts we see a church made up of people transformed by the gospel. Their behavior was likewise transformed. Gospel transformation leads to behavior modification, not vice versa. But also gospel transformation leads to more, as it changes our minds (Rom 12:1-2), our wills, our emotions, all of us.  In Acts we see the gospel serve not only as the transforming power in the lives of believers, but also as the primary source of their behavior modification. They did not change their behavior to fulfill a religious tradition, there was plenty of that already happening. No, they changed their behavior to make them more fit to proclaim the gospel. Just look at Acts 2:41-47, where we see the first description of the life of the early church. The first thing you see is devotion to doctrine. Truth mattered to these people, and it was truth that transformed them. Their behavior to one another changed: they prayed, ate, and did life together. Their impact in the culture spread through miraculous deeds, their willingness to give up their possessions for others (a notably absent behavior in consumer-driven Western Christians, by the way), they unashamedly praised God, and they had favor among people in the culture. They also did everything daily, as two times in this one passage and over ten times in the Acts the expression “daily” demonstrates the behavior of the early Christians did not change on the Lord’s day.

A Christianity driven by behavior modification focuses on the minimal standard. Just clean up on Sunday, get out that Bible, and do your religious duty. That is the attitude of multitudes who show up at churches every Sunday. Read the book of Acts and you will not see that attitude. People died for their faith in the Acts–you simply will not practice that kind of behavior in a minimalist Christianity.

The willingness of the other believers to be threatened (Acts 4), beaten (Acts 5), killed (Acts 7), spread the gospel in the face of persecution (Acts 8, 11), be bold, share possessions, indeed to give their lives to travel all over the Roman Empire–that kind of behavior cannot be created by an external standard of practice. It comes from an inner compulsion that the gospel’s power has truly transformed, and that the spread of the gospel causes changes in behavior for the purpose of glorifying Jesus, not to impress other believers.

Let’s be honest, in many churches Easter Sunday has more to do for many with a fashion statement than the risen Lord. No doubt some buy a new dress to honor the day, but for many it has simply become a part of the expected behavior of active church goers, much more so than sharing the good news of a risen Savior by those same people shopping fervently for that new dress or suit.

This is in fact changing. And if is changing because a new generation, exposed to far more religious systems and options for life will not give their lives to a faith they perceive, rightly or not, as a faith focused on outward behavior above all else. Let us demonstrate the power of the gospel not in the music we listen to or the cherry-picked sins we avoid, but in lives transformed by that gospel and willing to sacrifice whatever we can to bring glory and honor to our Savior. That will in fact change our behavior, and more will actually notice that kind of change.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!”

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”  Ryunosuke Satoro

We often marvel at individuals God used and for good reason. Moses, David, and Paul make for good models of biblical leadership. The same can be said historically about John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, and others. But what often goes overlooked in such leaders is the role of others in their lives.  Moses had Aaron and then Joshua; David had Jonathan then Nathan; Paul had Barnabas, then others including Luke, Silas, and Timothy. John Wesley had his brother Charles and others, while Edwards’ remarkable ministry was encouraged by many, not the least of whom was George Whitefield.  As Graham had Bev Shea and Moody had Sankey, most men of God in fact accomplished so much of what they did because they had the wisdom to team with others.

I am not as smart as any of the above but I have figured out a few things in life. One is this: I have opportunities of influence I do not deserve, but which come by the grace of God and as a stewardship from God. So, the older I get, the less I want to do by myself and the more I want to do with others.

At Southeastern I have colleagues with greater wisdom and insight, ability, and in a few cases are better looking. Okay, none of us can be considered too compelling in the latter category. I want to help others share their wisdom with more people in the body of Christ.  If you are a leader, if you have more influence than those around you, I would challenge you to spend more time helping others to be an influence than growing your own status.

I believe squared is better than solo. Two are better than one. So, this year I was asked to do a webinar on gospel-centered ministry. I agreed on the condition I involve my colleague Steve McKinion, a professor of theology with rock-star popularity on the campus, and one who gets well how the gospel must be central to all we do (you can see the webinar under Media at my website). We also plan to release an ebook on the subject this fall. I learn a lot myself when I involve others with expertise I do not possess.

My colleague (and former student) George Robinson discovered the ministry of viewthestory.com just at the time we were discussing the creation of an evangelistic approach that involves the great narrative of the gospel. So we have teamed together to help the ministry that created The Story to help them prepare it to be available as a training resource in churches. Check out the video with George, me, David Platt, J.D. Greear, Scott Thomas, Elliott Grudem, Ed Stetzer, and Jerome Gay here.

Two are better than one in writing. Last year I co-authored a book with colleague Mark Liederbach called The Convergent Church: Missional Worshipers in an Emerging Culture (Kregel).  Writing with colleagues is a blessing. I am currently working on proposals with my colleague, former student, and current boss (dean of the College at Southeastern) Bruce Ashford on a missional approach to student ministry. Talks are in the works also to co-write a book with former DMin student Winfield Bevins, an Acts29 planter in the Outer Banks, on missional families.  And, the genius Nathan Finn (another former student) and I plan to do a book on spiritual awakenings in the coming days.

Two are also better than one in teaching. I love to teach and am pretty stingy — okay, I am selfish — with class time. I love teaching more than a pig loves slop. But I also love teaching with colleagues. Every spring I teach with Steven Wade (you guessed it, another former student) Supervised Field Ministry, which is a delight. I am teaching the course Prayer and Spiritual Awakenings this fall with Nathan Finn and will teach Christian Growth and Discipleship with Mark Liederbach in the spring. Next fall I will teach a course on missional Christianity with colleague and church planting prof Mike Dodson, who has co-written the fine book Comeback Churches with Ed Stetzer. In January J.D. Greear, lead pastor of Summit Church, and yes one of those former students, will join me to teach a PhD seminar. That is the coup de grace for me, to teach a seminar at the highest level with a former student who has become one of the great leaders of our time.

By no means am I the only one to do such co-laboring. Many of our professors publish with others including colleagues from other schools. I have in the past co-written or co-edited books with men who teach or taught at Southwestern and at Southern. One could write an entire book on all those who co-write and co-teach.

In every generation there is a tendency toward hero worship. Most (I wish I could say all) who draw such praise try to run from it. One of the best ways to avoid being the center of attention is to continually involve others, i.e., to share influence.  Sharing ministry does not weaken you as a leader; it in fact shows your strength. People are not stupid, they know you and I are not all that. So our ability to involve others actually demonstrates your strength in the ability you have to share influence, credit, etc, with others.

Who are you sharing ministry with? If you are a leader, whom are you intentionally seeking to help grow in their influence, even if it costs some of yours? Greatness comes not from being a hero to many, but by providing opportunities through your influence to a few, who themselves can also continue that pattern. This is how movements grow, how influence spreads, and how the body of Christ is blessed.  Go and bless. Discover the power of two.

I have a twitter, facebook, and facebook page. I also have this blog. I have linkedin and foursquare but I never do anything with them because I have only so much time. But I do believe in the social media revolution and see the possibilities while recognizing the dangers. Here are videos that help to show the impact of the new world of social media.

Social Media Revolution 2

Did You Know? Human Capital

“You measure the importance of a person by the things to which he says no.” Unknown

I did something on Thursday of last week I rarely do. I walked into a class of amazing students and said, “No more appointments for the next week.”

I love students. I love to meet with students. I love ministers and enjoy fellowship with them. I also enjoy young professionals who seek to connect the gospel to their careers. I consider my ministry as a professor, my call to teaching, to be comprised only about 50% by my time in actual academic classrooms. Every week I meet with many students.

But I hit the wall last week. The wall of emotional fatigue. It was not a major crash, just enough of a bump to say, “Pay attention, mister.”

Like many of you in ministry I constantly have more people who want to see me than I can fit into a week. To be clear, students do not come to me because I am wiser or smarter than others or have some rare Oracle of Delphi quality. And, they certainly do not come only to me, as many colleagues spend much time with students outside class. But I could honestly fill up 40 hour weeks with student meetings at 30 minutes a pop.

So this fall I have been meeting with students every spare minute. Not at night, because I protect my family time (other than Wednesday nights).

But last week I hit the wall.

Splat.

I do not want to hit a wall in the future that causes permanent damage.

You know when I have hit the wall when suddenly I am not energized by meeting with students.

A lot of men in ministry are hitting walls lately. John Piper recently took a lengthy leave of absence from his church. My friend Johnny Hunt took a shorter but no less important break. There are others, lesser known but no less in need of a time off the ferris wheel. Schools of higher learning and increasing numbers of churches realize the importance of sabbatical leaves for leaders.

Ask yourself, are you about to hit that wall?

So forgive me for making this a very self-serving blog article about me and about my schedule. But I want people to know why I am going to say no to appointments in some cases in the days ahead. My problem is not burnout, as I am more energized than ever to teach! But, P90X notwithstanding, sometimes we all get fatigued.

We who love people have got to learn how to say no. I am much better at saying no to speaking opportunities than I once was, although sometimes I am still not wise. I am cutting back a ton from traveling, but I honestly want to cut back even more. I want to pour my life into less people and mentor better while speaking to crowds less.

I have learned I am not as good as I need to be at saying no to individual appointments. I am guessing some people reading this have the same problem.

Let me say a word to those of you who love to meet with professors, ministers, leaders, and who genuinely respect and value our advice: do not stop asking. Keep coming. But understand that the first place for you to go for such wisdom is your local church. You need to plant deeply into a church that allows you to grow and learn from those who are older and wiser.

Thus I have spent a little time thinking about how I will meet with students and others in the coming days. I will still meet with a lot of people. It is my passion. But I once tried to meet with every single student in my classes in a given semester. Many students do not even need that. So I canned that. Here is what I will be doing. It may help you in making similar decisions, even if you decide my approach is not yours; perhaps it will nevertheless get you to think. My priority in scheduling:

1. Young professionals at my local church. I work with Young Professionals at my church, which includes professionals in the culture, but also a good number of seminary students. So, the students I am most available to are in my local church, thus I am modeling the value of the church. These students will get first priority. The local church comes first.

2. Doctoral students. My primary calling is not to teach evangelism, missional Christianity, or student ministry. My calling is to train leaders. So, one of the big reasons I am slowing down my speaking schedule is to mentor more doctoral students. And there are a lot of them.

3. For lack of a better term, chemistry. There are simply some students I naturally connect with. You recognize that in your own relationships. Other professors and ministers (all leaders in fact) do the same. This includes a select group of students I am currently mentoring (from our church and at SEBTS) and students with whom I develop a much closer relationship than professor-student. Some folks just have chemistry, and some students I just really connect with, and walk with them often for decades, not just semesters.

4. Current students. I will be available for students in my current classes, but not just to hang out and shoot the breeze. I want to sit down with students to talk about life and godliness, the gospel, relationships, growth, and impact as well. I also prioritize current classes, as I want to be available to students in upper level classes first (this fall that means Spiritual Awakenings and Student Ministry), followed by core classes. In our setup I only teach one course required of pretty much everyone, so if you take me for three courses for instance (which rarely happens), you really want to be in my class, so I should give you the best of my time.

5. Everyone else. You might imagine at this point that there is not much time left after all the above. You would be correct, and that is why God gave us email, smile. After that I will meet with other students and former students. But, in the coming days that will be less likely. Then I will meet with pastors and other leaders away from the seminary. And if I do not have time, I am really sorry, but in the case of all of us, if we do not control our time, someone else will.

So, there it is. Nothing profound, and a little bit self-serving, so forgive me. But I want students to know that I really love them and I love spending time with them. But in the days to come it has to be about things that matter, or the meetings will be remarkably brief or will not happen at all.

I value relationships. I have been a tiny part in a lot of couples meeting, for instance, and have helped a lot find ministry positions. I love this. But you and I must heed the advice of the philosopher Clint Eastwood who said, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”  I often say every need is not a call, and one cannot determine the will of God only because there is a great need. In the same way, just because some need to visit does not mean I (or you) have to be the one to make that appointment.

As hard as it is, in the days to come I am going to have to simply say to some that the best course of action for them and for me is to talk to someone else (as in the local church). I hit the wall this time. I do not want to crash and burn the next time.  After all, the One we most need is not a professor or a leader, but Jesus Himself (Acts 4:13).