Truth or Opinion

What is truth?  At the surface it sounds like it should be an easy answer to offer.  But as we see in our world today, truth is becoming increasingly difficult to define. 

Jesus said that the truth will set us free.  Truth is a freeing word.  But yet for a concept that should seem solid there is so much disagreement about truth and who gets to define truth and how truth should even be defined.

When I taught college writing classes I often did an assignment where students would have to identify truth and opinion in writing.  Truth had facts that could not be challenged.  Truth was accepted ideas.  “The earth is the third planet from the sun and has one moon,” is a truth.  We can verify this information.  It is accepted.  On the other hand a statement like “A raging fire is a terrifying thing,” is an opinion.  It may be fact to one person, but to others it may not be.  We can debate this concept, this idea.  We can each have our own interpretation of the fire.

There is a confidence in knowing what is true.  This confidence can translate into confidence for leaders and teachers.  Leaders and teachers want to be people of integrity who live lives of truth.  But in our postmodern world what is truth and what is opinion have become virtually interchanged.  Many people will present opinion as truth.  Leaders and teachers need to know truth.  But with flexibility of truth, leaders and teachers are sometimes left wondering just what is true.

As leaders who follow Christ we are confronted with countless variations on the concept of truth.  In the past people held truth to a specific standard, truth was verifiable, testable, and knowable.  But in the postmodern world truth is being defined by personal view and experiences and understanding of those experience.  A blending of culture, experiences, and personal ideas combine to create a version of truth defined by a specific person.

This flexible variation of truth, based in one’s experiences, is presenting new challenges to leaders who want to follow Christ.  Leading from the truth that is found in God’s Word is not popular with the postmodern person who does not hold to a universal truth found in Scripture.  For these postmodern people, biblical truth is often seen as intolerant.  For the postmodern person personal conviction is the base of postmodern morality.

When teaching the postmodern person, leaders must rely on the Holy Spirit to make Gospel truths understandable and appealing.  For the leader in a postmodern world leaders need to begin with human needs.  But this does not mean watering down the Gospel message.  In teaching, leaders should remain fully committed to the Bible and Scriptural authority.  The message stays the same, but the manner in which it gets communicated differs.

What is exciting today is that postmodern people will go on the journey.  They just won’t accept something because we say it is so.  But the process of going on the journey builds commitment.  As people discover for themselves the truth of God’s Word they internalize it at a level where commitment is built.  We see this commitment reveal itself with strongly held conviction.

If we lead and teach from the truthfulness of Scripture, then there is room and space for the Holy Spirit to convince people that God’s Word is true; that the Word is the truth that will set them free.  The Holy Spirit helps us trust God’s Word as He makes it alive and real to us. 

We can no longer assume that the people we work with, lead, or teach are all working and living from the same worldview.  Today, there has been so much blending and mixing that biblical truth has become intertwined in ways that makes it easy to challenge.  Ultimately it is the Holy Spirit that reveals the authority of Scripture.  When we lead and teach from this place, this foundation, then the timeless truths of Scripture have the power to transform lives.  What is important is to live and work from the truth of Scripture.

Equip and Let Go

Equip and Let Go

Mark Brouwer said, “A man is only a leader when a follower stands beside him.”  The conventional mindset is that followers serve their leaders.  But this is really not the case.  John Maxwell has an entire book devoted to developing other leaders. 

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 (NIV).

Our desire is to become what God has called us to be.  By doing so, our life comes into alignment with his will.  As a leader we can be used by God to help others discern their life’s calling.

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 (NIV).

Mentoring relationships are a partnership.  When working with young leaders (who may not even know yet that they are called to leadership) we need to walk side-by-side and challenge and support them.  As a leader, if you delegate tasks you will develop followers.  If you delegate authority you will develop leaders.  This is a challenge to conventional wisdom.   

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:5 (NIV).

Just as Jesus modeled for all of us, the greatest responsibility for leaders is the development of the next generation of leaders.

Jesus understood this concept well so well.  Many would say that He called together quite an unlikely bunch of guys to become his apostles.  They included fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, and someone who would betray him.  He spent time developing them; equipping them for the task at hand.  Matthew chapters 5 through 7 and Luke 6:20 – 49 explore the lessons He taught to prepare them to do the work His Father prepared before them.

In preparing to send the Twelve apostles out Jesus delegated and gave each authority to do the task.

He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15and to have authority to drive out demons.  Mark 3:14 (NIV).

In Matthew 10:1 (NIV), “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.”

Luke 9: 1-2 (NIV) 1When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

Acts 2 shows an ultimate act of delegation and equipping when the Holy Spirit provided each apostle with the Gifts of the Sprit to do the work they had been called to do in building the new Church.

As leaders we need to find those opportunities where we can build other leaders up and prepare them for the work that they are called to do.  A sink or swim approach is not the way to train new leaders.  When you work with young leaders look for those opportunities to challenge them to go beyond what is comfortable and push to the edge of their experience yet provide the support necessary for them to practice their new leadership skills.

When you send out new leaders do you give authority?

Speak Life - Toby Mac