The Witnesses

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us . . . “ (Hebrews 12:1).

Several admonitions to the Hebrew Christians, all Christians, and certainly all Christian leaders, begin in
Chapter 10 of Hebrews to—“hold fast the confession of our hope . . .” (Hebrews 10:23), to “not throw away your confidence” (10:35), and the “need of endurance” (10:36). They culminate in the greatest example of all here—Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-3).

The writer, quoting from Habakkuk, tells the Hebrew Christians, and all of us—this is how the righteous live—by faith, and that God takes no pleasure from those who shrink back (10:38). And then in v. 39, he sets the stage for one of the greatest chapters in the Bible—Faith’s Hall of Fame (Hebrews 11). In essence he says, “Shrinking back is not our family heritage. Our ancestry is of those who have a faith, a tenacity that perseveres to the very end.” Then, beginning with Genesis, he marches out the long parade of heroes that comprise the great cloud of witnesses here in Hebrews 12:1.

Many a preacher has painted the picture of this great cloud—and all the saints and leaders we have personally known—as spectators cheering us on as we run our own races in this life. Of course, it raises the question, do those who have gone before us observe us from heaven as we deal with our own struggles and heartaches? If so, it seems we may be causing a great deal of consternation in heaven, and disturbing the joy “of those whose rest is won” as the great hymn says.

Well, enough of what we do not know and cannot prove. Perhaps those in the great cloud—the Bible heroes, the spiritual giants, and the leaders of our own lives—are not so much witnesses of us, as they are witnesses to us. Certainly, they witness to us of great faith, of lasting endurance, of confessions held, and of confidence that persevered. Their lives stand and shine as beacons that show us the way on our own paths through life. They witness to us, that like theirs’ was, so too can our race of life—and leadership, be run—and won!

Charles "Chuck" Nutt

Leadership is--Try Anyway

He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored (Mark 3:5b, NASB1995).

It was the one thing he could not do. Perhaps he could lift his arm, but by definition, a withered, shriveled hand cannot be stretched. Spoken in another tone of voice the rabbi's request could well have seemed a mocking taunt. But deep within himself the man found a seed of faith that pushed him on to obedience of Christ's command. And like so many others in the Scriptures, as he obeyed the miracle happened.

Impossibilities and unfortunate circumstances appear to surround us at times. Life's—and leadership’s—journey can seem to have too many "Do Not Enter" and "One Way" signs.

Have you missed opportunities that have withered away? Relationships that have dried up? Dreams of service or ministry that appear to be out of reach? Do the possibilities seem so distant that the thought of even trying triggers feelings that are more like resignation than resolve? Maybe Christ has a command for you—and me.

Most likely, it will involve a stretch of some sort. Something we seemingly cannot do.

But who knows? Perhaps miracles await our obedience.

--Charles "Chuck" Nutt

Leadership--Atrophy?

Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there (Mark 3:1, NIV).

Tradition tells us that this man with the shriveled hand had been a brick mason.  He had not been born with a deformity, but had been injured, most likely, at work, and the injury certainly kept him from his work.

I remember learning about atrophy in a college physical education class. The idea was, of course, use or lose—if muscles go unused, they become useless. Evidently this man's injury was so severe that his hand was not only useless, but it had also atrophied in such a way that it actually shriveled—appeared to have dried up and shrunken into itself.

Scripture speaks of the hand of men. To Moses, God said, “What is that in your hand? –Meaning—I have given you tools and gifts you can use, Moses. Jesus spoke of a man "putting his hand to the plow" (Luke 9:62) as a description of discipleship. Paul spoke of "the right hand of fellowship" (Galatians 2:9) as an indication of relationship, solidarity, and teamwork.. To Timothy, Paul requests that all Christians "lift up holy hands" in prayer (1 Timothy 2:8).

Christian leader, I imagine an actual shriveled hand is not your problem today. But do you have gifts and strengths that have been laid aside due to that busy schedule? How about your hand on the plow of your personal discipleship? –Have you been looking at that long row of fallow ground for way too long? Has the right hand of fellowship been broken with someone?  Or the holy hands of prayer—are they lifted? Got any other conceptual "hands" that might be kind of shriveled up?

Always worth considering. Take a good look at your "hands" today.

--Charles "Chuck" Nutt

Leadership is--Disturbing

"There came a man sent from God whose name was John" (John 1:6, NASB1995)

Mystery and miracle surrounded him all his life. His approaching birth was announced by an angel to his father. Zacharias’ hesitancy to believe resulted in nine months of muteness. When the unborn child heard the voice Mary, the pregnant mother of Jesus approaching for a visit, he leapt in the womb of his mother, Elizabeth. When he was born of these barren elderly parents, the curse of silence was lifted as Zacharias wrote, “His name is John" (Luke 1:63-64, NASB1995)

He vanishes from the stage of history for 30 years, but then in Elijah-like fashion, he makes his entrance front and center in the Judean wilderness. It is a strange place to start a revival or a movement. And that’s not all. His wardrobe—camel’s hair. His diet—locusts and honey. Even in that ancient culture, he was a strange man, indeed.

Then there was his message—a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and the announcement of the One who was to come—baptizing with the Holy Spirit and fire. He was a Voice crying out, as a “clear, articulate sound.” He was an anomaly, counter to the culture, with a message that disturbed the comfortable establishment and heralded the coming of One who would send the Comforter to a disturbed world.

You and I should consider this strange messenger as we seek to live out the calling of leadership in kingdom business. Our births were probably ordinary, our wardrobes and diets commonplace, but this message of Jesus as The Way—the ONLY Way—is, like the Baptist’s, counter to our culture, and politically incorrect. In a world that craves the comfortable, this message that disturbs that tranquility will often make our audience--uncomfortable. And we, as messengers, considered very strange indeed.

Catherine Booth, wife of the founder of The Salvation Army William Booth, said, "If we are to better the future, we must disturb the present."

As leaders, we are trying to move toward--create--a more preferable future. According to the Baptist and Catherine Booth, that seems to demand, at least to some degree, disturbing our present.

And history is pretty clear. Comfortable is nice. But it's disturbing that changes the world.

--Charles "Chuck" Nutt

Weapons of Warfare for the Christian Leader

It was early September, 1977, Fall convocation for my first semester at Nazarene Theological Seminary. The Seminary Chapel at 1700 East Meyer Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, was at near capacity with over 400 persons in attendance. I don’t remember anything from the day, with one exception.

For the opening hymn, everyone stood. The atmosphere was thick with both the sense of calling that had brought us all to that place, and the anticipation of what God had for us in that semester and beyond. The organist, having already “pulled out all the stops,” commenced the introduction. And then, 400 plus (admittedly, mostly male) voices lifted in unison to sing the first verse of “Lead On, O King, Eternal.” We seemed to raise the roof. For this country boy from Ohio, it was an ethereal experience. I had never heard anything like it; I have never forgotten it, and I never will.

The pomp and circumstance of my remembrance is quite a contrast with where I have been in recent days. There certainly weren’t 400 comrades in arms. Resources were scarce, Christ's warriors were wounded and weary, and results, by the world's measure, were few. Yet, there was still much kingdom work being done—dedication to the mission was not in doubt and stories of victory were shared. But I also  heard of great harvest fields waiting and enlistments for the battle wanting.

The great hymn seems to make the Lamb’s War a glorious thing. Where I was, nothing seemed all that glorious. However, the great hymn, with all of its bravado, does briefly indicate how the Lamb’s War was waged in ancient days, how it is being fought in humble places, and how all the great leaders of the Lamb fight the good fight. It’s in the last few words of the second verse: “with deeds of love and mercy the heavenly kingdom comes.”

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds . . . (2 Corinthians 10:4).

LEAD ON, O KING ETERNAL

Lead on, O King eternal,

The day of march has come;

Henceforth in fields of conquest

Your tents will be our home.

Through days of preparation

Your grace has made us strong;

And now, O King eternal,

We lift our battle song.

Lead on, O King eternal,

Till sin's fierce war shall cease,

And holiness shall whisper

The sweet amen of peace.

For not with swords' loud clashing

Or roll of stirring drums

With deeds of love and mercy

The heavenly kingdom comes.

Lead on, O King eternal;

We follow, not with fears,

For gladness breaks like morning

Where'er your face appears.

Your cross is lifted o'er us,

We journey in its light;

The crown awaits the conquest;

Lead on, O God of might.

--Charles "Chuck" Nutt 

ACT

“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after the Israelites had marched around them for seven days” (Hebrews 11:30).

Often times, faith--and leadership--call for action, even if the action seems a little . . . crazy? Odd? Uncertain? My friend, Randy, preached from this verse. His thoughts were helpful to me, perhaps they will be for you, too.

Let’s face it, no matter what era of history we’re talking about, marching around a city wall for a week is a little crazy. Okay. A lot crazy! Now, let me be clear, I don’t believe God often calls us to be a lot crazy. But He may be calling us to step up and step out of our comfort zone--and yes, even our leadership comfort zone.

Very briefly, Randy’s thoughts:

ACT – even when your first response is a question. 

 ACT – even when you feel insignificant. As someone has said, “Don’t fail to do SOMETHING just because you can’t do EVERYTHING.”

ACT – even when you’re not 100 percent sure.

Who knows what walls might come down!

Looking for Leaders

God had seen and heard of the oppression of His people in Egypt, so He came down (Exodus 3:7-8) in a burning bush that was not consumed (Exodus 3:2), looking for a leader to bring them out of Egypt. An all-too-humble--read: false humility--shepherd turned aside to see the unusual sight (Exodus 3:3). God said, "Moses, you're the one" (Exodus 3:10).
Moses offered up four objections as to why he was NOT the one:

1. He questioned his own worthiness - Who am I? (Exodus 3:11)
2. He questioned God - Who are you? (Exodus 3:13)
3. He questioned the response of his potential followers - What if they don't believe me? (Exodus 4:1)
4. He questioned his own ability and adequacy for the task - I don't speak well. (Exodus 4:10)

God patiently responds and meets each of Moses' objections to his leadership calling with promises of His presence (Exodus 3:12), His power (Exodus 3:20, 4:2-9), and His provision (Exodus 4:12). To all this Moses replies, "Please, Lord, now send the message by whomever You will" (Exodus 4:13) - Perhaps he was the first God-called leader who said, "Lord, can't you just send somebody else?"

At this point, God's patience seems to have reached its limit. Perhaps God's response went something like this: "Moses! Listen! This plan is already in action. Your brother, Aaron, is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart (Exodus 4:14-15, NASB1995, another translation says 'overjoyed' NASB). Moses! HELP IS ALREADY ON THE WAY!"

The story is told that Catherine Booth, wife of Salvation Army founder William Booth, would repeat these words to her children as she tucked them into bed at night: "We are not sent here for ourselves. We have been sent for others. The world is waiting for us."

And so, my God-called leader friend, for today, for this new year, for the monumental task in front of you, I am believing:

• God is looking for leaders;
• The world is waiting;
• Help is already on the way;
• and Someone will be glad you came.

---Charles "Chuck" Nutt