Sitting in the second chair

In law practice, there is something called the ‘second chair.’  This person accompanies the lead attorney to a deposition or court room but sits silently. He is expected to know the case, to be familiar with the documents and issues at hand, and to offer support as necessary, without overshadowing. It appears to be a passive role, but in reality, the second chair is there to monitor the details, to gather information as a second set of eyes, to catch the things that might slip by the one who is actively in charge of the case.  Just about every person in that ‘second chair’ probably hopes one day to become the lead, to gain partnership, or perhaps to have her own practice.  No one, however, should under-estimate the value and importance of those who sit in the second chair.

In Colossians, Paul writes to a church that is being tested by ‘fake news preachers’ and those who would turn the Gospel of Christ into an empty philosophy of life. As far as we know, Paul was never in Colosse. This letter is different than the others in that it is addressed to a church he had not founded. He references a ‘second chair’ person – Epaphras. His name only appears three times in the New Testament, twice in this letter, and once in Philemon. We know nothing about him except that he was a fellow prisoner with Paul and the founder of the Colossian fellowship.  The Gospel is "as vigorous in you now as when you learned it from our friend and close associate Epaphras. He is one reliable worker for Christ! I could always depend on him." (Colossians 1:7, The Message)

Paul’s renowned ministry included many ‘second chairs;’ Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, and Epaphras among them. There is also the infamous Demas, another obscure individual who worked alongside of Paul, but at the critical moment, abandoned him earning this timeless memorial-"Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica." (2 Timothy 4:10, NLT)

How well do you work in the second chair?

Are you willing to do your best without recognition, without title, without a place on the letterhead?

A good leader knows that those who surround him are critical and, like Paul, shares real and affirming praise. But still, those who work from the second chair are eclipsed, usually silent, and mostly invisible. If a person craves glory, or wants to make a name for himself, that position can be terribly difficult. It is a doubly sad thing to work from that place for a person who fails to value the contribution and who takes credit for the work,, failing to share, even in private, a word of appreciation.

Too often in conversation people refer to Faith Discovery Church, which I am privileged to serve, as ‘your church.’  Because I have a visible role at the front each Sunday, it is easy to assume that FDC is mine. But, how wrong that is.   Like every Christian church, FDC is first a fellowship headed by Christ Jesus.  The work of our congregation is mostly done by others, those in so-called ‘second chairs’ who teach, sing, play, pray, give, care, and organize – in positions that are critical to the full work of the church.  I am deeply grateful for each one and hopefully, as appropriately as I am able, share thankfulness and affirmation for service well done.  The wonderful fact is that no one is forgotten by God!  He sees, knows, and will reward ALL for faithfulness.

Sitting in a second chair? Serve well, for Christ. The eternal rewards will be rich even if the temporal ones are not so great.

Here is a word from the Word, spoken to the disciples who were fighting over their individual importance. "So Jesus got them together to settle things down. He said, “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.”  (Matthew 20:25-28, The Message)

Be encouraged. Let’s serve well, faithfully, and for the One who served us at great cost to Himself.

Too quick to agree?

Ed Shaw, a Christian who experiences ‘same sex attraction,’ refuses to call himself ‘gay.’ His book describes his experience of growing up attracted to men. Because he is a Christian, he refuses to live in a same-sex relationship because he knows and understands the Word of God. He bows himself before God’s will and finds it reasonable to do so. He openly acknowledges his sexual orientation but also realizes that his identity is much more than his sexuality. And, he lets that identity be established what God says, not by labels that others attempt to use to define him. “Ephesians 1 tells me that I’ve been a child of God in His sight since before the creation of the world. ‘Child of God’ is a permanent label that He has personally chosen for me, and as a result is the most accurate way to define me.  … Our identity is to be firmly rooted in Christ.”  (Same-Sex Attraction and the Church, Ed Shaw, IVP, 2015)

Christian, who have YOU believed in shaping your identity? Do you carry around shame because you believe the words that someone hung on you years ago?  When you were told ‘you are worthless’ did you let that stick? Were you told you are too stupid to do much in life and believed it? A brilliant scientist, Jennifer Doudna, on the cutting edge of genetic research (CRISPR) that promises to help people overcome disease and deformity recalled the high school guidance counselor who casually dismissed her desire to become a medical researcher by saying, “Girls don’t go into science!” She ignored him and millions have enjoyed the benefit of discoveries that come from her keen mind.

God declares my identity and to the extent that I accept His Word and let the Spirit cause it to live in me, my life is changed. That is one reason I am enthralled by Paul’s inspired letter to the Ephesians. In those few chapters I find that I am a beloved child of God, chosen by Him, included ‘in Christ,’ a person of power to overcome, hopeful, with a holy purpose to display His love to the often darkened world in which I live. Yes, like everyone else, I have echoes of voices in my memory that try to define me as a failure, as flawed, as weak. The demons of destruction whisper lies in my mind about who I am, too.  Who will I believe? The critics, the devil, or the Word?

Let’s be clear about something. This is not about creating a fiction that is detached from reality. We all have seen those parents who in a misguided attempt to boost their child’s self-esteem constantly praise, excuse every antic, and create a little undisciplined monster that nobody likes. “Oh, honey,” Mommy gushes, “you’re so special,” even as he is running wild, being obnoxious, and is in desperate need of firm parental guidance. They teach Johnny to believe a lie. The truth sets us free! God, our Father, loves us so deeply that He offered Himself to save us, but He is clear that we sin and that if we persist in our sin, we will reap the consequence.

He asks us to agree with Him about what we do and about who He desires us to be.  "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. …  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. … For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. … now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ." (Ephesians 2:1-2, 4, 10, 13, NIV)  I believe the totality of that passage – I WAS a sinner, dead to God.  He ACTED out of love to save me.  He invites me to LIVE OUT His plan and become a masterpiece!

Let’s not be so quick to adopt the labels that others create for us. This Monday morning, take God at His Word, ask to be empowered to live as the person He’s designed and called you to be. There is death to Self in that and there is the discovery of life to the full, amazingly authentic, and filled with purpose.

Here's the word from the Word. "You are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you— from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives." (1 Peter 2:9-12, The Message)

Father, I am amazed by You.

When I hear Your word about who I am in Christ,

A part of me wants to insist, “Oh, no, I know better than that. I know myself.”

Spirit of God, speak to my heart of Your love, Your way, and the strength I can find in You

To live the destiny for which You created me.

I confess who I was in my sin and I who I am now through Your salvation.

Help me to live for Your glory as You deliver me from Darkness to Glorious Light.

In Jesus’ Name.   Amen

Let It Die, For God’s Sake

My will was frustrated by the choices made for me by others and it aggravated me.  The anger was like a splinter that gets under the skin. It hurt, it was sensitive, and it started to fester – into resentment. “But I am in the right,” I argued with myself. “Why should I give in? Why should I let it go?” I wrestled with the issue for days. I awakened thinking about it. It intruded into my prayer time. When I went to bed, there it was, again.  Finally, as I was willing to listen to the Spirit, I heard His challenge, “Just die to it, Jerry, for God’s sake.”  Letting go is a much easier to write about than to live it in the real world. What the Bible calls ”the flesh” or “the sinful nature” – that part of me that is Self, that is prideful, that is perishing – dies hard.

We eagerly read an encouraging word in Paul’s letter to the Galatians. "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:25, NIV)  But, do you know what immediately goes before that? "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires." (Galatians 5:24, NIV)   Before we can fall in step with the Holy Spirit and enjoy the sweet joys of intimacy with Him, we come – with every part of ourselves– to the Cross of Christ where we die to pride, anger, lust, greed, selfishness, self-will – “the flesh.” It is not a pretty image to think of being crucified with Christ. There is suffering, there is loneliness, there is anguish and uncertainty. Jesus felt all that, and more, when He was going to His Cross. So, will we. “Lord, if this part of me dies, what will be left?” we wonder. “If I give that away, can I survive? Who will I be?”  And, He invites us to come and die!

Resurrection Life is only possible on the other side of the Cross. We catch glimpses of it by faith.  That is why we must feed on the Word and enter regularly into worship. The truth of God is like the morning Sun that burns off the fog. When we hear the Word, it reveals the purpose of God that will be found beyond our moment of agony when we let the sinful nature die, for God’s sake.  The Spirit of the Lord, through the truth of the Scripture, destroys the ancient lie – felt universally among people – that only in self-expression (sin) is happiness found.  We discover God's joy! "You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever." (Psalm 16:11, NLT)

John Piper, pastor, writes “that faith is not merely believing that Christ died for our sins. Faith is also being confident that His way is better than sin. His will is more wise. His help is more sure. His promises more precious. And his reward more satisfying. Faith begins with a backward look at the cross, but it lives with a forward look at the promises. Abraham grew strong in his FAITH ... fully convinced that God was able to do what He had PROMISED. (Romans 4:20). "Faith is the assurance of things HOPED for." (Hebrews 11:1).

Struggling with some conflict before God? Are you trying to straddle the divide between Self-will and God’s will?  Let it die, for God’s sake.

Here is the word from the Word. "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20, NLT)  "As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. ... What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation." (Galatians 6:14-15, NLT)

_______________

Father, I kneel before You to surrender again.

Here’s my heart, my mind, my will, my Self. Own me!

Help me, Spirit of God, to let go and to be willing to die

So that the life of Jesus Christ can be seen in me.

Speak words of hope and joy to my heart,

Strengthening me with the hope of glory to come

So that I can stand faithful through the processes of becoming holy.

In the Name of the Crucified AND Risen Savior, Amen.