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Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

-Exodus 17:9-13 NIV

This story has so much to encourage us. Moses prayed, and because he prayed, it opened the door for God to be involved in their battle. And when God is involved, when we depend on Him, when we pray, we win. Our success as pastors really depends on our ability to stay in the presence of God, to pray, and simply believe God. When we don’t pray, we tend to worry, and to attempt to figure out everything in our own strength rather than in the strength that God will provide.

One of my favorite things about the ARC Conference is the war stories we get to hear from some veteran church planters. It always makes me think about our journey at The Life Church. We just celebrated sixteen years, and the last eight or nine years have been phenomenal in terms of growth and moving forward. We’ve been blessed to have added services, facilities, land, buildings, and campuses. But the last few years look totally different than the first few years. The first few years were a challenge. It took us five years to break the two-hundred barrier as a church. There were periods of time in the first two years, when there would be not even one salvation in our services for months and months. When God called us to go to Memphis, He told me three things. He said that our church was going to be full of young people, that our church was going to be diverse and multi-ethnic, and that we would reach thousands of people who were outside of the faith. But for the first few years, we had no young people, we were all white, and no one was getting saved. No one, I mean no one.

I remember our second Easter. I don’t know what happened, but I got this idea. I felt like God spoke to me, but it turns out it really wasn’t God who spoke to me. It was just an idea. I had this idea that we were going to have thirty people get saved at the altar at the end of the message. Thirty people. Now, think about it. We hadn’t had one. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I found and trained thirty people to work in the altars. This is a true story. And this is how not to do it. I told the altar workers, “When I start to pray, I want you to come down and line up and face the congregation. And as people begin to stream down to get saved, they’re going to come to you, and then you’re going to pray for them.”

That Easter morning, I think we honestly probably had 70 or 80 adults in the service. When the moment came at the close of the message, I started to pray, and the team was getting in place across the front. Then I gave the best salvation call I could possibly give, but no one was responding, so I started to work it harder. I did everything I could think of to just get one to respond. And after a while, it kind of started to get uncomfortable. The workers that were standing up front kind of started looking at each other, and then they started looking up at me. And I was sweating… It was a total fail - a total disaster. The rest of the story is that although in those early years it was a massive struggle, we didn’t quit. And this past Easter, thank God, we had more than 730 salvations. Thank God we didn’t let that one Easter define our calling.

I think the difference between the first several years and the last five years has been momentum. Momentum is really a hard thing to describe or define. But you know it when you have it. It’s when everything is starting to move, there’s some success, things that used to be hard become easy, and people are motivated because they see success. Momentum has made the difference for us. So, what were some of the things that created and sustained momentum for us? I wrote down a list, and honestly, there was only one thing on that list that really is a transferable factor. The rest of the list was unique to us and our situation.

But there is one thing that I believe is transferable. It is going to sound so simple, but I think it is one of the keys to creating and sustaining momentum. It is culture. We all need a strong and healthy culture in our churches. You could define it this way; Culture is simply the predominating attitudes that characterize the functioning of a group or organization. I think culture is more powerful than vision, because you can have a vision to do something great, but if you don’t have the culture to sustain the vision, it just ends up bringing frustration.

Every church has a unique culture, but I honestly believe that there are three cultural identities that every great church must possess. These three cultural identities are like the three-fold cord for church growth and health. As we go through them, take a look at your church and see where you are.

HOSPITALITY The first is a hospitality culture. This is the ability to welcome people and embrace people. The word hospitality in the Bible literally means “fond of guests.” The key with hospitality is being able to embrace people that are different than you. Jesus said, “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” That means everyone’s going to feel accepted and welcome.

My wife Leslie and I have been married twenty-three years, and when we first started dating, the difference between her family and my family couldn’t have been greater. Her family is from Louisiana, mine is from Wisconsin. Do I need to go any further? My mom’s like five feet tall, very shy, very quiet. At my house when we ate dinner, it was just the family. We ate dinner every night at six o’clock, and my mom cooked just enough for our family.  When the phone rang while we were eating dinner, we were not allowed to answer the phone. My dad was very strict about this, and it was before the days of voicemail, so if it was someone that was persistent, it would ring, and ring, and ring. And finally if they didn’t hang up, my dad would get up and pick up the phone, and slam it back down. We also weren’t allowed to answer the door while we were eating dinner. Where I sat at the table, I could see the back door, and it was one of those doors that had windows. So it was horrible when one of my friends would come over right around six o’clock thinking we could go run around. He’d be knocking at the door and I would be eating at the table. I would try to look at him like, “Go, get away.” No hospitality culture.

Leslie’s father is the youngest of twelve in a family that emigrated from Sicily. Everyone was always loud and hands were flying. When we first started dating, I asked Leslie, “What are they mad about?” I was concerned because the volume in my house was so very low, and the volume in her house was intensely high. And everybody was kissing each other. I’d show up to her house, and there were always people everywhere. It was so different, but I loved it because I felt the hospitality. That’s the difference between a church that is open and friendly, and a church that isn’t.

LEADERSHIP The second cultural identity I believe every great church possesses is a leadership culture. Great churches are raising up leaders, and they have strong leadership that’s moving the church forward. How do you know if you have a leadership culture in your church? The church is moving forward, and the church isn’t ashamed of calling people to commitment. In these churches, you’ll see a strong sense of commitment. And you’ll see clear vision and direction. Leaders know where they want to go, and they have this keen sense of direction. And you’ll see a pool of quality leaders that can function at high levels. Leadership culture attracts leaders. When you’re in a leadership culture environment, you’ll often learn that a lot of them have been raised up from within, providing a strong sense of honor and respect because they’re sons and daughters of the house who are functioning at high levels of leadership.

And one of the single-most valuable ways to do this is to learn from proven models. At Church of the Highlands, any staff that is in leadership is required to know at least three people somewhere in the country who do what they do, but better, and it is that staff member’s responsibility to learn from them.

I have decided that I want Church of the Highlands to get better. And we’re going to get better if we decide we haven’t already arrived and that we need to keep learning from others.

Leaders are learners. If you’re not learning, you’re not leading well.

What are you doing to develop yourself? I want to encourage you to get connected with Pastor Matt Keller and Next Level Coaching, and Pastor Randy Bezet and Relate Coaching, and our GROW conference, and John Siebeling and Matt Fry and others who create opportunities to learn and develop yourself.

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6. BE A VESSEL LIVING A CLEAN LIFE.

In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some of ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

II Timothy 2:20-21

It’s pretty straightforward: Live a clean, and pure, and holy life before God.

There are two kinds of dishes. The kind in the cabinet - the clean ones. And there’s the ones in the sink that are dirty.  Think about it: You’re going to have a meal. You go into that kitchen. There’s food set out.  Are you going to go get the one that’s already dirty with crusty pieces of food stuck on it, or are you going to get fresh plate?

It’s the same for God when He’s looking for someone to use. He wants to use clean vessels. What Paul is saying here is not a question of whether you’ll go to heaven or not. But it is about your usefulness to the mission. The devil will do anything he can to pollute you. What steps are you going to take to ensure that you stay pure?

What decisions do you need to make right now? Do you need to put a filter on the internet? Do you need to have some more accountability? 

7. BE A SERVANT LIVING A HUMBLE LIFE.

Don’t have anything to do with foulest and stupid arguments because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel, instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct in the hope that God will grant them the repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

II Timothy 2:23-26

A man on his face can’t fall from that position. So stay low. Stay low and there’s no other place to go but up.

~Pastor Roy Stockstill

What could you do to reflect Jesus better?  Chances are, it’ll have something to do with how you interact with other people. What do you need to do to be more like Jesus to others? Do you need to spend less time in the green room and more time with the people after church? Do you need to guard your temper in traffic? Do you need to be more patient with your waiter or waitress at dinner?

Be a servant living a humble life.

All of these metaphors are given to break the spirit of rejection off your life. Paul gave them to Timothy to fill him with courage and confidence in his calling. To those who have felt they’d never be able to fully accomplish what God has for them to do, I pray you'll let these seven pictures break that mindset off your life.

For every leader, every son, every daughter hearing this message, I pray encouragement and affirmation on their lives. In the mighty name of Jesus, put Your nature, Your ability, and Your likeness in their lives. We aren’t there yet, but we’re being developed.  We stand against the powers of darkness that wage war against them. And in Jesus’ name we break the powers of darkness off them. Turn them to you and make them all You’ve given them to be.

1. BE A MENTOR LIVING A REPRODUCING LIFE.

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. II Timothy 2:2

It may seem counter-intuitive, but Paul’s first instruction to Timothy here isn’t to go study more, to read another book, or to listen to another teaching. Instead, he tells Timothy to share with someone else what he has already learned.

I was blessed to have spiritual fathers like Pastor Larry Stockstill and his dad, Brother Roy Stockstill. But sadly, I hear many pastors lamenting the fact that they didn’t have a strong father in the ministry. I often tell them that one of the best things they can do is to go out and be a father or mentor to another pastor. You reap what you sow. Be the kind of father in ministry that you wish you had for yourself, and watch what God does.

You grow more by sharing what you’ve learned than you do just by hearing it.

So ask yourself this question: Who are you influencing? Or maybe a better question would be: Who should you be influencing?

2. BE A SOLDIER LIVING A DISCIPLINED LIFE.

Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. II Timothy 2:3-4

The second metaphor Paul uses is that of a soldier. A soldier is trained to be very disciplined, particularly in taking care of their equipment. Discipline is key to being entrusted with responsibility and opportunity.

Jesus taught that if we are faithful with little, we will be entrusted with much. One of the best things you can do as a minister is to simply be faithful with what God has blessed you with: the car you drive, the home you live in, the church facility you meet in, and the people He has sent you already. Discipline yourself to be faithful with what you have, and you’ll find your self being given more.

What area or areas of your life could use more discipline?

3. BE AN ATHLETE LIVING A FOCUSED LIFE.

If anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. II Timothy 2:5

The third metaphor here is an athlete. Just like great athletes know how to maintain great focus, it takes focus to be a great leader. The enemy is inevitably going to present plenty of distractions. Great Olympic athletes are willing to set aside food, time, and just about everything else for the one goal of winning their event. Likewise, we as pastors and leaders need to be willing to fight off distractions and press toward the goal God has given us.

What distractions are standing in the way of your life’s mission? And do you have the guts and the determination to eliminate those distractions? 

4. BE A FARMER LIVING A FRUITFUL LIFE.

The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. II Timothy 2:6-7

As a pastor, you should be living a fruitful life. You should be plowing, sowing, weeding, and watering - these are all part of the ministry of a pastor. But as you do these, you should continually be holding to the expectation of the harvest that is coming. The harvest should consume every part of your ministry hopes.

Souls, souls, souls. That is ultimately what this is all about. Never lose sight of that truth.

Are you driven by eternity?