HEALTHY CHURCH: Substance Over Style
In Uncommon Life Daily Challenge, Tony Dungy tells the story of wanting a pair of Chuck Taylor Converse All-Star high top basketball shoes. At the time, in the eighth grade, everybody who was somebody had a pair. His dad took him to Kmart and there they were for $7.99. The problem was that Kmart had the same pair for half the price. His dad showed him that the Kmart brand was made of the same material and with the same quality. His dad did not see the need of paying twice the money for basically the same shoe. Tony did not agree because he wanted the “cool” shoes and the opinions of his friends mattered greatly.
Well, I have been there and done that a couple of times, how about you? Tony said this was his first lesson on valuing style over substance, which can, as he says, “force us into a lot of unwise decisions.” Style over substance not only impacts the purchases you may make but also the goals you pursue and even the people with whom you associate. Tony reminds us that, “God chooses substance over style, and He wants us to do the same… He wants us to have substance ourselves, to be able to see the substance in others and to value it above outward appearances. After all, styles change. Substance can last forever.”
Tony’s story reinforces, once again, that who you are is more important than what you do! Just ask Samuel about David when God told him, “…For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (I Sam. 16:7 ESV). Man seems to be drawn to flash and flare, while God is looking for those who are upright. Just ask the Pharisees when Jesus said, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts…” (Luke 16:15 HCSB). The answer is humility that is focused on serving the mission of God and serving those who are serving the mission of God. Position, placement and persuasion is not the goal.
In Jesus on Leadership by C. Gene Wilkes, he stated, “As long as leaders worry about who sits at the head table, they have little time for people they are called to serve. We don’t see opportunities for service while our eyes are fixed on the competition.” Just take a look at what Jesus said in Luke 14:7-14. The biblical mandate of greatness is not a measure of self-will, self-advancement or self-promotion but rather self-abandonment. Our challenge is to be like Jesus in Phil. 2:8-9 (HCSB) where it says He humbled Himself and then, “For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name.”
Wilkes continued, “Exaltin the dictionary of faith means God lifts up those who have humbled themselves before Him and His purposes.” Style focuses on my performance and ability to persuade others to my viewpoint, methods or procedures. Substance is produced by walking with the Lord in righteousness. Style is led by a desire to overpower with our strong personalities or ability to dispute and confront those with whom we may disagree. Self-analysis is needed, but remember that it is, by definition, subjective. You and I need the light of biblical truth to inject some objectivity into understanding our internal motivations.
Substance is more about being right with God than being right in a process or decision. Substance is not only being right but dealing with a situation in the right way and in a godly fashion. Wilkes said this about biblical humility, “Humility produced by the presence of God brings a Christ-centered confidence in the leader.” Substance is dealing with a difficult situation in the right way, while treating others with respect, kindness and valuing their viewpoint. Wilkes said this, “The difference between pride and authentic confidence is the source. God grants confidence to those who trust Him.”
Confidence in God is the strong faith in three things: the certainty that God created you, the certainty that Jesus bought you through His death on the cross and that He called you to join Him in serving His mission. God made you, which brings us to one of the toughest doctrines in the Word of God, sovereignty, and not for the reason you may think. That means He is God and you and I are not. We did not make any of the decisions concerning where we were born, when we were born, whom we were born to, the color of our eyes, our gender, our DNA or our natural giftings. Our natural inclination is to object to God being God.
We desire to call the shots and remain in control, but that is not how it works if we remain focused on self-surrender to His will and calling on our lives. That means rejoicing for others, even when they are more gifted, blessed or “successful” than you are. In Envy: A Big Problem You Didn’t Know You Had, Mike Fabarez stated, “The more I can process this reality, the less likely I will foolishly pine away that I’m not Jim, Tom or Ryan. Not only do I not have the gifts, skills or talents of those guys, but I also can’t fly, I can’t be born in the fifth century, I can’t live in the center of the earth and I can’t be a turnip.”
Biblical substance is the realization that God created you, bought you with His own blood and has called you to serve Him and serve others in that mission as well. In I Cor. 7:7, Paul put it this way, “I wish all people were just like me. But each has his own gift from God, one person in this way and another in that way.” You and I were created by God in His image to glorify Him, and Paul warned the Galatians to not think more highly of themselves than they ought to think. Substance over style means we remain committed to practicing the “one anothers” in our relationships and dealings with one another in God’s family.
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Larry Barker
Director of Church Planting and Church Health Larry Barker submits a weekly column titled, Healthy Church Solutions, designed to strengthen and encourage the local church.
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