Leader's Survival — George Verwer

The Apostle Paul's Pressure and Ministry

All right, let's just look a little bit at the Apostle Paul just to get an idea of the pressure He was under and I don't think It necessarily is going to be any less for the contemporary Christian leader or pastor or youth worker.

Because the enemy uses the same tactics. He's been practicing for several thousand years and he's got some very subtle Tactics. Let's look at verse 19. He had just reminded the Ephesian elders of his manner of life.

That was the key in the Apostle Paul his life and Then verse 19 serving the Lord with all humility of mind humility of mind with many tears and Trials which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews.

Remember there's a little group that said they wouldn't eat till Paul was dead. Do you have any of those down the road from you that sent you a letter lately? Little group don't like you and they've said we're not going to eat until you're dead.

I'm sure you'd find that quite an interesting interesting reading. That's what Paul had that's what Paul had. And how I kept back nothing that was profitable under you but I've shown you and I've taught you publicly and from house to house Paul went all out.

They'll wrote on Dear co-worker who's been a great encouragement in my life said this is 2020 vision. Acts 20 20 the public ministry the house-to-house ministry. Testifying both Jews and also the Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

What does he get in reward for this faithful service this 2020 vision doing God's will. What did he get in reward? He gets a promise, you know so many times when we do something, right? We want a reward.

I guess this goes back to our childhood when we did something, right? We got some sweets and as Christians we can be very immature. We mainly work with the thought that somebody's gonna say wow. That was a good sermon or oh, the Lord's really using you or some other little Encouragement.

Well the Paul. Paul had a promise as a result of this faithfulness. What was promised. There it is and now behold I go Bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem not knowing the things that shall befall me. Except that the Holy Spirit witness it in every city.

Saying that bonds and afflictions await me. There's the bonds and affliction promise. Get a lot of God's people have these little promise boxes. They go poking through them getting promises and we now have groups that tell us all who are spiritual are going to Just prosper and they're going to have everything they need.

But Paul had a sort of different system. He went and had direct witness from the Holy Spirit that bonds and afflictions awaited him. What was real? What was his reaction to that? Interesting promise. But none of these things moved me.

He didn't care. And in some ways the Christian leader has to be a careless man. Careless in the sense of not being too worried about the difficulties that are going to come. As he plows up the fallow ground in the name of the Lord.

None of these things move me neither can I my life dear unto myself. So that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry which I received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

And He goes on speaks about giving the whole counsel of God verse 27. He says in verse 28 take heed therefore he's speaking to these Ephesian elders. Take heed therefore unto yourselves of all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you Overseers to feed the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood.

And I know this that after my departing shall greenest wolves enter in among you not sparing the flock now so oftentimes Christians speak with astonishment about the cults and astonishment about some of the extremist groups.

None of these things should astonish us if we read our Bibles just normal cults extremist groups. Young Christians going astray. False doctrines false prophets. It's been going on for 2 ,000 years. That's why a Christian leader has to be grounded in the word.

That's why he needs of course to have discernment. A .W. Tozer said the greatest gift needed in the church today was discernment wisdom. And then he said therefore watch and remember that for the space of three years I cease not to warn everyone night and day with tears.

Quite an active ministry the night and day ministry for three years. Went on to speak how he coveted no man's silver and gold apparel. He had to even work with his own hands verse 34. What a challenge.

Paul's Suffering as a Model for Christian Leaders

Well, let's just look at two other passages. We could spend easily all morning just looking at Paul, but I only want this in the way of introduction. Let's look over at Corinthians. Let's try 1st Corinthians Chapter 4.

This is a unique passage and I think I'll just read it from this Living Bible just to have a little bit of a change. I've been reading from the authorized. But let's just see how this sounds. 1st Corinthians chapter 4.

Let's start at verse 9. Times I think God has put us apostles at the very end of the line. Like prisoners soon to be killed put on display at the end of a victor's parade. To be stared at by men and angels alike.

Religion has made us foolish and you say but of course you are all such wise and sensible Christians. We are weak, but not you. You are well thought of while we are laughed at to this very hour. We have gone hungry and thirsty.

Without even enough clothes to keep warm. We have been kicked around without homes of our own. We have worked wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We have blessed those who cursed us. We have been patient with those who injured us.

We have replied quietly when evil things have been said about us. Yet right up to this present moment. We are like dirt underfoot like garbage. Well, those are strong words. You may feel the living Bible's too blunt.

But if you read it in the authorised, it's just as blunt. He goes on to say by the way in verse 16. Wherefore I beseech you the followers of me. If it wasn't for the 16th verse we might be able to worm away from that Strong passage, which I've heard very few people preach on.

We just say well Paul, you know, he was he was he was our Beginning apostle. I mean, we don't expect people to live like this today. But he turns around to these weak struggling Corinthian Christians who had even had immorality in the church and.

And an enormous amount of divisiveness and schism in the church and he says be followers of me. And that's a challenge for us this morning. As we think of the life of this man. One other passage, I think we'll go back to the authorised 2nd Corinthians Chapter 6.

This is one of the best passages we could ever study at a Christian leaders seminar. Because it's written specifically. Seemingly for those in the ministry we that as workers together with him. Beseech you also that you receive not the grace of God in vain.

For he said I have heard thee in a time accepted and in the day of salvation I have helped it behold now is he accepted time behold now is the day of salvation. Giving no offense in anything that the ministry be not blamed.

You don't want our ministry to be blamed. How can we do that? Here's a list. But in all things commending ourselves as the ministers of God. In much patience in afflictions in necessities in distresses.

Interesting list isn't it. In stripes and imprisonments in toolmits in labors in watching in Fasting by pureness by knowledge by long-suffering by kindness by the Holy Spirit by love unfamed or genuine or unhypocritical.

By the word of truth by the power of God. By the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left by honor and dishonor by evil reporting good report as deceivers yet true as Unknown yet well known as dying and behold we live as chastened and not killed as sorrowful yet Always rejoicing as poor yet making many rich as having nothing and yet possessing all things.

There is real Christianity. There is the kind of reality the kind of leadership the kind of example. That we should be giving to God's people in our day Jesus Christ. We always sing it the same yesterday that yesterday today and forevermore.

There's a lot of other things we could read about. That it would indicate very clearly that a Christian leader is a man who is and woman under tremendous pressure. In a very unusual way I was thrown into leadership in the body of Christ strange as it may sound at the age of 17.

George Verwer's Early Leadership and Training

Because young people need leadership and sometimes God raises up young people to help lead other young people. The Holy Spirit saved me and thrust me in to my own secondary school. Where I had been elected.

Sort of around the same time. I was converted as the president of the student government. And so in this position of leadership I also had the opportunity to witness for the Lord to have a campaign distributing Gospels around the school to organize campaigns and films and then to organize an organization.

To go door-to-door with literature and all kinds of things. I was thrust into in leadership before I was even 18 By 19. I was on my way to Mexico and I was forced to learn how to survive in a position of responsibility how to Lead people encourage people.

My first team was only three. We didn't even have a leader on that team. Second team that went to Mexico was five and I had asked a group of men all twice my age to join and become a board of Reference board of directors for this newly born movement that later was called operation mobilization.

So I had to learn how to relate to these men. Many people in their leadership the greatest problem they have is relating to those who are over them for you. It may be your elders. It may be the church council or the trustees and There's very little training and given in seminary on how to relate to these people.

We get our heads filled with theology and we get very little understanding about understanding people relating to people. Living with people loving people and so of course the great problems in the church are all relationship problems.

They're not firstly theological problems. There are plenty of those as well their relationship problems. Even men who feel called together to work in the same work two years later. They're not getting on with each other and no wonder the work begins to suffer because I tell you when the leaders are Having shaky relationships.

You can be sure the people down in the in the church can feel it and they know about it. So I was forced to learn a lot of things and I I did a lot of reading a lot of extra reading and Whenever I was near a Christian leader, I would be asking him more questions than he would want to answer.

I Left university where I was during the summers the University of Mexico and after two years of secular brainwashing decided to go to a Bible College, which is a disastrous thing in my Family among my relatives even my parents that I would leave university studies to go to a Bible school doesn't even give a degree.

Give a diploma, which actually I lost Week after I got it. But I thank God for that decision because they're at Moody Bible Institute. I was exposed to men like Alan Redpath preaching down at Moody Church.

I was exposed to some Christian leaders and I was able to talk to these people and With this plus going back to Mexico every Christmas and every summer. The reality burst upon me. That this this is a battle for survival.

I remember Chuck Templeton who together with Billy Graham was a great preacher of his day. I remember just hearing about him being completely wiped out and becoming an agnostic even began writing Anti-christian material and it just more and more was impressed on me that leadership is a battle for survival.

It's not a matter of us all becoming Apostle Paul's. It's not a matter of us trying to be Hudson Taylor or or whoever you aspire to. For many of us, especially the likes of me It's survival just to get through just two years later to still be breathing spiritually to still have my sanity.

And my wife and my children. So rather than teach you how to climb mountains this morning. I thought I would give you some basic pointers on how to survive because probably if you do survive you will be able to climb some mountains and You will be able to do many of the things that you've already read about you've already aspired to and I've Written these this strategy for survival here in the back of my Bible and I refer to it all the time.

I found in my Bible a lot of blank pages and I figured there must be something that belong there. So here is my strategy for survival some of this is very very basic and I hope You already have it in your life.

So it will just be in the way of remembrance to keep on keeping on Some of these things you already have them in your life. Then I think you're going in the right direction. Just praise the Lord and press on there may be some new light on some old areas.

There may be some new areas that you haven't thought so much about. I Am a natural disaster case. I had people prophesied this ever since I was converted that I wouldn't go past three years the end of three years.

They extended it. Because my temperament the choleric loudmouth aggressive semi-hostile highly sex temperament is dangerous. It's dangerous. We you know, we had one evangelist like this in America left nine girls pregnant in one campaign one campaign and believe me the sex emotion and the religious emotion they can run so close and.

Things happen even within the churches in this area that no one ever talks about. I've had perhaps the opportunity to read some books that don't get into the normal libraries on how the enemy uses Sexual promiscuity even within the church, but I think because I developed a strategy for survival which includes by the way having people around you who will watch you and exhort you and encourage you a Nathan every man needs a Nathan a fearless guy who doesn't care who you are.

And if he sees you fiddling around with a little Suzy Bell down the road, he's going to come in with all guns firing. And you know, you'd rather just not bother. If you're gonna have this guy coming in the front room exhorting you as Nathan took on David and so I found that the Lord has kept me not only from Catastrophe in that area that has taken so many Christian leaders down.

But in the many many other areas. Here's my simple strategy for survival number one to really bathe in God's forgiveness. My wife criticizes me for not taking enough showers. It is one of my weak points.

I'm so skinny when I turn on the water most of it misses me. But we need to learn how to bathe in God's forgiveness. The the reference that I often think on is Ephesians 1 6 you are accepted in the beloved.

Even after 10 or 20 years of Christian leadership, it's possible to be very insecure. Not really drawing enough upon the acceptance you have in the Lord and if you're not drawing enough upon the acceptance you have in the Lord, then you keep looking for acceptance from other people and.

You get blown to and fro depending on whether people are accepting you and appreciating you and and and all this kind of thing. There's no Christian leader. That's not going to make mistakes. Not say the wrong thing at certain times and bring some rejection with it.

So knowing we are accepted knowing we are forgiven is absolutely basic. And I think we need to dwell on it. Quite often. Number two. Casting every care upon him first Peter 5 7. Philippians 4 6 all verses we know.

I hope you are memorizing the Word of God. And that was one of the things that helped me the most as a young Christian leader. Memorize the Word of God. Cleansing the subconscious giving strength in the battle.

Casting every care upon him for he careth for you is a verse everybody should have in their heart first Peter 5 7. I have to continually do this continually do this so many things. That as leaders were exposed to so many people and if we're sensitive and we get involved with people.

Recognizing Limits and Avoiding Burnout

One of my problems as a young Christian leader was over involvement with people. You say is that possible? Yes. We don't recognize our limits. As a new book out written by a theological teacher from Fuller I think his name is Smedes called love within limits.

He points out how if we don't know that in our loving in our giving ourselves to other people we have limits. We will eventually just burn out will eventually just be drained out. Just three or four really needy people drug addicts as I was working a little bit with but more with Alcoholics just two or three people of that type are enough to drain you complete you need any other ministry.

And I had to learn how to really leave these people with the Lord do what I could encourage. Phone, right? Leave them with God. I cannot play God. I am NOT the total answer to the Alcoholics in my community or to all the divorce cases or to all the mentally ill that alone I got involved in early years with a mentally ill and emotionally ill that alone can be a full-time ministry.

Just just five six people who are mentally disturbed can drain you of your time your resources and It'll be the end to your ministry. We go into ministry often very naive. We just feel we can do so much.

We've got our scriptures. Soon we're running out of steam. The number of Christian leaders men and women who have nervous breakdowns is quite amazing. I haven't had one myself if it comes I don't believe it's the end of the road.

I Don't ever even get near that. Therefore I Probably can do and push myself more than someone else. Everybody has to know their limits. I always try to warn people not to try to literally copy some other Christian leader in terms of what you do in terms of Your scheduling scheduling and whatever else we're all so different.

She's been relatively tired for 23 years since the way. We had to discover the hard way. And as we got older we became almost more different. Though we had a wonderful 23 years of marriage. And I've already been on the phone with her three times since coming here.

We keep close contact but It's amazing. It's amazing how different we can all be and we pick up these little Christian books like you know praying hard. You know his heart moved he prayed so much and so you get little little junior.

A Christian leader trying praying and praying and praying on into the night trying to get his heart to move over to the other side or Oftentimes in these old biographies. We only hear the good about these Christian leaders.

We don't hear stories like the man who helped to start Keswick. The founder of the great Keswick Convention actually never went because in an unwise moment. He put his arm around a girl in Bristol. And of course in those days that would be sort of equivalent to you know.

But he put his arm around and he realized this was wrong and it got all confusing. He felt guilty. He never recovered from that experience in a mental breakdown. He's the husband of Hannah Whitehall Smith who wrote the great book the secret of the Christian life.

I myself must confess over the last 20 years. I become a little more skeptical about the total sanctification books. Because the more biographies I've read the more research I've done the more I discover that people are human and they all Fail.

Every Christian leader has had failure in his life. Most of them in fairly serious areas. Now some failure is easier to cover friends. A lot of Christian leaders had trouble with temper. That's a little easier to cover.

You know AB Simpson almost threw a guy down the stairs and DL Moody had a little trouble in this area as well much less Martin Luther or CT stud or General William Booth that threw his own wife out of his own daughter out of Salvation Army.

But others, you know other sins are not so easy to cover especially immorality. But we managed to do that as well. I noticed one man has been living in immorality a lot. It's on his second or third wife just republished another big book and everybody's out buying it.

Making God the Goal of Ministry

You know, we seem to be able to cover these things quite well. Number three making God your goal. I think that's so important. We get in church work and our church becomes the goal. We become almost neurotic the number of people in the church.

What's happening in the church the new building program the new budget the extension the outreach the number of missionaries our whole life becomes dominated by projects and goals and plans and accomplishments and we easily Get caught up into a syndrome where we're actually being motivated by the fear of failure.

The fear of failure. What if my church fails? What if my group fails? What if we launch this evangelistic campaign? It doesn't work. It's a very legitimate fear because we are human. But if God is our goal First these other things have their place, of course.

Then whatever else may happen, we don't get shaken. So if plan one gets destroyed. Because our goal is God himself and we're enjoying his fellowship and we're commuting with him. Even when our little plan collapses, then we can easily shift to plan B.

Life isn't one plan. Life is many plans. And you say well what if plan B collapses? Well, you move to plan C. What if plan C collapses? Well, there's lots of letters in the alphabet. Terrific scope. Making God your goal.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God. His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. It may seem unusual. But as a very young Christian before I ever left for overseas except my trips to Mexico, I just saw That OM could not be my goal.

This work I was involved in wasn't called OM at that time. It was called send the light. That it couldn't be my goal. My goal had to be God himself, knowing God deeper understanding of Christ. And that's been an enormous help to me.

Even when my faith has been under attack. Have you ever had your very faith under attack? You begin to even doubt? I have found that when my faith is under attack one of the ways I can battle back is to pull back into a more simple faith and start in the beginning.

In the beginning, God. That's one thing that I'm very very sure. I have a lot of other doubts about different things. That one thing I'm pretty unshakable on that. In the beginning, God. So I just think about God and his creation and his love.

Then I move on. And of course pretty soon I'm back, you know, believing the whole Bible where I belong God. God-centered faith. This is why I like the writings of A .W. Tozer, Dr. Lloyd-Jones. Then number four.

Learning to Endure Hurt Without Bitterness

Learning how to be hurt. That's unusual, isn't it? That's why I like this book Healing for Damaged Emotions. We know the Lord Jesus was hurt. We know the Apostle Paul was Misunderstood, criticized. He had just moved out of Thessalonica, in moved the gossipers, in moved the backbiters.

Oh, he was just after your money. Oh, the Apostle Paul, this and that. That's why I wrote the first and second epistle Thessalonians. And I just believe we as Christian leaders, we've got to learn to be hurt.

There's just no way that we can get through life without being hurt. And sometimes a Christian leader, when he gets hurt, he becomes preoccupied with his hurts. And pretty soon into a lot of his messages, he's always talking about the pain he's going through and the hurts he's going through.

And this is no big deal. This is a normal Christian life. Don't make too much of it. Learn how to be hurt. Don't think you're the only one being hurt in the battle. You may have hurt some people yourself.

I hurt my own children. I hurt my own wife. Often the ones we love the most are the ones we've hurt the most. Because it's one thing to maintain a relationship with a pen pal 6 ,000 miles away, writing every other month.

And sending tracts to each other. It's another thing to live under the same roof with three wildcat teenagers and a tired wife and the dogs. Whoever else has moved into the place, maybe a budgie. Somebody's just dreamed up a new film in which people are massacred by an invasion of budgies.

I don't want to see it. But the littlest things can really go out of control. And a lot of that which we talk about in church never becomes a reality in our homes. We actually become schizophrenic. And we're talking about high-sounding sanctification theories in church.

But actually in the home we can hardly get through making a pot of tea without some type of a crisis. Learn how to be hurt. Don't hold things against people. The word of God in Hebrews warns us against any root of bitterness.

Joyce Landau, a brilliant writer, has written a new book called Irregular Person. In her book she points out that most people have at least one irregular person in their life. Often a relative. Sometimes in the same family.

An irregular person is someone that after many, many efforts to get on with and to understand and to love. It just doesn't work. It's somehow neutrons and protons are not going in the right direction.

The harder you try to love the irregular person, the more they misunderstand or the more problems come. And it's just so difficult. I've counseled many young people and it's obvious their mother or father is their irregular person.

There's many a mother who has a daughter who seems to be an irregular person. The more they try to relate and understand and winner, the worse the whole thing gets. Quite an amazing book. I actually haven't finished it.

So I can't tell you the total solution to your irregular person. But at least I think I can convince you that these situations do exist. And there is a way out, but it's not an easy way. It does take a lot of understanding, a lot of patience.

One thing that's come to my mind is that we have to learn how to relax in our relationships. We have different relationships with different people. And as Christian leaders we never want to be jealous about another person's relationship.

If somebody you've poured your life into somehow leaves your church and goes to join a church down the road. Even maybe after you've talked to them and fellowship with them, leave it with God. Leave it with God.

Don't become bitter. Now of course if it's a false cult, there's a great difference between a false cult and a Christian group that you may not agree with. There are Christian groups all over Britain that I don't agree with, but I still love them.

And we have a number of exoemers that have joined fellowships where I personally wouldn't be happy. But I just praise the Lord. If they're going on for Christ and they're walking with Jesus, that's the first thing.

Nobody has perfect doctrine, anybody, anyway. And most people have at least a few kinks or a few extremes. And I just feel it's not worth getting bitter about. It's not worth getting upset about. It's not worth losing sleep about.

And yet so often as leaders we become small minded. We could be out winning many more and accomplishing so much. But instead we get pushed into a corner on some little issue or some little relationship.

And it just drains us, it just drains us. So that we're not able to meet the need. I know a number of churches that have had fairly serious divisions. And instead of becoming bitter they say let's just get on with it.

Let's learn from this situation and let's get on with it. I think there's scope in Britain today for many different kinds of groups to grow. There are many different streams in which God is working. He's very gracious, he's never limited himself to any one Christian stream.

And it's exciting to see various kinds of Christian growth. And to see that some of the divisions, some of them were unfortunate. We never excuse sin or carnality, no. And people will stand before God for some of the things that have taken place.

But there's no purpose in being bitter. Let's get on with the job, there's a nation to be won for Christ. There are millions out there who don't know anything about these theological arguments. They haven't yet heard what Jesus says.

And I think it's so important to not allow ourselves to become bitter. Or to become hurt and end up somehow on the shelf as a result of that. And then number five, learning the reality of praise and thanksgiving.

Praise, Rest, and Trust in God's Care

Learning the reality of praise and thanksgiving. This is so important in the life of a Christian. And of course the Christian leader and it's been taught so much lately I won't spend too much time on it.

But I have found that when things are going wrong. It's great to just stop and praise the Lord. There are always other things that are going right. There are always many, many blessings. And I love that little song, count your many blessings.

Name them one by one. Too many of God's people are counting their problems. Even our prayer meetings become long negative syndromes of things going wrong. People who are ill, maybe we ought to have special praise for those who are healthy.

In the next prayer meeting. Rather than on and on and on about those who are ill. You become ill listening to the reports about the ill. It needs to be brought into balance. And I think it's so important to emphasize praise and thanksgiving.

Number six, learning to live in the rest of faith. It's a controversial passage, Hebrews chapter four. But I think it's worth studying. And I believe that this is a lifestyle. Some enter into this by crisis.

I had some crises in my life in which I was all caught up in worry. And then somehow just through crying out to the Lord. He just brought me into a place of rest. And in a movement like OM with many, many problems.

Every single day, every single day. You have to know how to really rest in the Lord. Otherwise you just lose a lot of energy. It's a beautiful principle, study Hebrews four. And then number seven, realizing God is easy to live with.

I took that from Tozer. He marks even a cup of cold water given in his name. Some people, as Tozer puts it, become religiously jumpy. Because they know God sees their every action. I'm definitely a potential for that type of thing.

Very sensitive about what God is thinking of me. God is watching me all the time. And God knows my thoughts. God knows my thoughts. You can really become neurotic just thinking. About God stalking behind you with a big club waiting for you.

To look at one piece of pornography in the local newsstand. The moment you do, wow! You've already got a headache the rest of the day. Until you go through some kind of evangelical purgatory. God is looking at even the simplest thing done in his name.

And when we battle through some of these temptations. It's very meaningful to God. And our love is important. And he loves us. And he is, in the full sense, easy to live with. We are his child. Number eight, accepting God's growth pattern.

Accepting God's Growth Pattern and Seeking Help

I read an amazing book by Lane Adams. A pastor who had no short amount of problems. Ended up going to a psychiatrist. But at least he was honest enough to face his problems. I'm counseling a man now. In a marriage situation up in Scotland.

It's just unbelievable. It's just, he's a minister. It's just unbelievable. One of the greatest problems is that He and his wife had never been willing to go For any kind of marriage counseling. You know, pride is one of the greatest pitfalls In the Christian ministry.

My wife and I went for some help. When we were going through a difficult period. She went into a year of depression. We didn't know whether it was physical. We went to the doctor, it was spiritual. She had hepatitis in India.

Then she had two major surgeries. You know, a whole mid-life thing. And we thank God for the help other people gave us. Don't be too proud to seek help. And realize as you seek help They may be wrong.

You can get wrong advice. That's the risk. But at least you can evaluate that advice. Search the scriptures. Read some of these great books. And then move accordingly. I think that's very, very important.

Accepting God's growth pattern. We're all growing at different speeds. Layne Adams brings out in his book That people who have severe emotional damage In their lives will grow much slower In their Christian faith.

All of you have those kind of people In your youth group or in your church. They got serious damaged emotions. It hurts. And it's just going to take time. And we need patience. It's so important To know the message of grace Found in Galatians.

Different people are progressing At different speeds. Philippians 1, 6 is a verse. You can claim in that connection. Then number 9 The freedom of a disciplined and ordered life. We need to be able to show our young people That the way of discipline is a way of freedom.