Category / Spiritual Life

Are you a Star Trek fan? If not, perhaps you’re not familiar with the term Kobayashi Maru.

The Kobayashi Maru is a training exercise in the fictional Start Trek universe designed to test the character of Starfleet Academy cadets in a no-win scenario.

What does that have to do with Sunday sermons?

I admire and respect senior pastors and teaching pastors who carry the weight of communicating to such a diverse crowd on Sunday mornings.

It doesn’t really matter if it’s 80 people, 800 people or 8,000.

It’s nearly impossible to teach in such a way to reach the entire congregation right where they live.

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Discipleship is core to what we do as a church.

However, discipleship represents something much more than a program. Discipleship is something bigger than an institution that “organizes” a process for spiritual growth. 

We are the church, and we are disciples!

That represents a significant challenge; how to organize something in the natural realm that inherently belongs in the supernatural realm.

This is a huge subject. And, I’d like to focus on a specific slice of the discipleship arena, centering on these three questions:

• How do you as the pastor live above the warning signs?
• How do you as the pastor personally fit into a process of discipleship?
• How do you as the pastor or church staff member, develop your spiritual vitality?

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People intuitively seek traits of the heart over skills of the trade when choosing a pastor to connect with and follow spiritually.

Yes, things like good preaching, wise administration, and strong ministry programming matter, but they are not at the top of the list.

There’s a lot of grace for a “good not great” sermon when the pastor is fully trusted, loved and is a good leader.

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It was 29 years ago when I met Dr. Billy Graham. I had prayed a youthful prayer for ten years asking God that I might have one minute with my spiritual hero. That moment came on Oct 12, 1989.

John and Margaret Maxwell invited Patti and I to the 40^th anniversary celebration of Billy Graham’s Evangelistic Crusades, sponsored by the Salvation Army.

The time with John and Margaret was wonderful, and the dinner celebration honoring Dr. Graham was amazing. But a private moment with Billy Graham was, to a young pastor, a once in a lifetime gift.

The photo in this post is a special one to me. My spiritual hero and my leadership mentor. (No comments on the glasses or mustache.. hey, it was the 80’s!)

The evening was fast-paced and there were probably 50-75 reporters pressing in on the famous evangelist before the celebration started. Somehow in all the hustle; John, Dr. Graham and I ended up in a private room for several minutes together.

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