A Suffering Servant

Posted by Mark

I became aware of Matt Chandler’s (a pastor in Texas) suffering shortly after he learned of a mass in his brain discovered due to a seizure he experienced on Thanksgiving Day. Since that time I have followed him on Twitter learning of updates on his condition as he shares them. What it boils down to is this: he has a Category 3 (4 is the most aggressive) tumor caused by brain cancer. He had surgery around the beginning of December and is undergoing an intensive radiation and chemotherapy regimen in an attempt to kill any remaining traces of the cancer.

Under what appears to be dire circumstances, I have been impressed with his demeanor towards the entire situation. I cannot recall any tweets (from Twitter) that proclaimed a “woe is me” attitude which would be easy to have during such a trying time. I cannot help but think of myself when reading his story. Matt is a young man (35) with a wife and 3 children. I will be 35 shortly and also have a wife and children. If a similar scenario occurred in my own life, how would I respond? Would I remain steadfast in my faith and trust that God is in control? I pray that my heart has been prepared to weather such a storm as gracefully as Mr. Chandler.

Today I read an excellent AP article that will be disseminated across the globe that gives additional insight into the suffering that the Chandlers are experiencing. One paragraph in particular jumped off the page for me as it evidenced Matt’s Christ-likeness.

“He would never ask for such a trial, but in some ways he welcomes this cancer. He says he feels grateful that God has counted him worthy to endure it. He has always preached that God will bring both joy and suffering but is only recently learning to experience the latter.”

What a testimony! Christ learned obedience through suffering yet many times, we, as American Christians, somehow think that we should be immune to it. We celebrate the joys that God brings our way but reject the suffering as un-Godly. It is for the glory of God that we participate in the sufferings for Christ! I am reminded by Matt Chandler’s testimony that I, as a follower of Christ, have the privilege of experiencing a small taste of what Christ suffered.

This morning Matt tweeted about the AP article and asked that people pray for those all over the world who would be reading his story. I pray that lives would be impacted for the Kingdom and glory of God by the story of His servant, Matt Chandler. Also, from one young man to another, I thank you, Mr. Chandler, for encouraging me with your Christ-like attitude while living as a suffering servant.

The Need for Character in Leadership

I read an article online today about a request that C-SPAN has made that Congress “open all important negotiations…to electronic media coverage.” The CEO of the station is hoping that the public will be allowed to see, with transparency, what is being discussed for the transformation of the health care system. C-SPAN even offered to commit all the necessary resources to covering all such sessions live and in their entirety. Many have predicted that the leaders of Congress WILL NOT open up these discussions for public scrutiny.

There are two things that are curious to me about this. First, why would Congressional leaders not want to give access to the public? And second, why would President Obama not apply pressure by publicly calling for them to do so after saying the following in a January 31, 2008 debate with Hillary Clinton:

“…part of the reason, I think, that they (Congress) have failed is we have not been able to bring Democrats, Republicans together to get it (universal health care) done. That's what I did in Illinois, to provide insurance for people who did not have it. That's what I will do in bringing all parties together, not negotiating behind closed doors, but bringing all parties together, and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are.” LINK TO TRANSCRIPT

My concern is that the leaders of Congress and the President want to keep the public in the dark about health care reform because they have something to hide. Keeping negotiations in secret appears to be their standard operating procedure. President Obama’s commitment, if you will, at the debate was to NOT negotiate behind closed doors and to broadcast the negotiations on C-SPAN (the very network that has made the request!!!) “so that the American people can see what the choices are.” It remains to be seen whether President Obama will stand by this commitment.

The answers to these two questions evidence the issue at hand – the need for character in our leadership. First, all the members of Congress are supposed to be servants of the people. It takes the utmost of character to make decisions on behalf of others, when in a position such as theirs, that may not be in their own best interest. Second, when a leader makes a statement, as President Obama did committing to an action, that leader should be faithful to fulfill that commitment. I believe my parents would have called that being a “man of your word”. It is exceedingly important to measure our words carefully and do what we say we will do.

It is my intense desire to be a man of character, and I realize that each and every day I make decisions that will impact who I am. The little decisions reveal my heart’s condition, and my words establish the commitments to which I must be true. I strive to be a courageous man who will stand for what is right and true regardless of its impact upon me. This is not always easy, but I want to be a leader with character!

Will you stand with me?

An Example

I am an avid basketball player/fan, and I regularly get up at 5 in the morning to go play basketball at a local church. If you are thinking that is way too early to do anything, much less play basketball, I have to let you know that we regularly have more than 10 guys there to play. The normal routine is for us to shoot around a bit and then we gather in a circle to pray and get the teams organized. Recently, my friend, who usually gets the guys organized and prays, was unable to play for several weeks. Because I am one of the older guys and have been playing there regularly for about 1 year (and because I wanted to start playing!!!), I stepped into the void and decided I would handle those duties in my friend’s absence.

Yesterday while I was playing, a young man disagreed with a foul I called on him. I probably don’t have to tell you that pick-up basketball can sometimes get quite competitive, and we do occasionally have arguments over foul calls. To be fair, I don’t call many fouls and, looking back, I probably shouldn’t have called that one. Nevertheless, I did and he honored the call although he didn’t think it was right. A little while later he grabbed a rebound over my head and I think I may have pushed him as he was coming down. Honestly, it was imperceptible to me, but just as he was stepping away from me after returning to the floor I realized that I had pushed him. He looked at me and commented that we needed to talk after the game. It wasn’t a threat, and he wasn’t being hostile but more just a statement of fact. Once the games that morning had ended he came up to me, and we had a brief conversation.

This young man expressed to me that he had just become a Christian and asked me about where I went to church. He went on to explain that he looked up to me as an example because I had been the one to pray that morning. I apologized to him for pushing him on the rebound that I mentioned above. We had a good conversation and we parted on good terms.

Not until I was on my way home from the gym did I fully realize the impact that his statement about me being an example had on me. I suddenly realized the gravity of the situation. By praying I had put myself in a position PUBLICLY to represent Jesus Christ. I recognize that I represent Christ every day in all that I do, but somehow this seemed different. The guys at the gym only see me for that short amount of time on the basketball court. To be frank, this is probably the place where I come in contact with more people who don’t acknowledge Christ than at any other time of my day. To be sure, this experience has made me re-think how I act on the basketball court. I certainly will be more conscious of my actions towards others.

Because I am a follower of Christ I am an example for others of who He is. If I lived with this thought always in mind would I act differently than normally do? This is the question on which I intend to meditate. I hope that my answer is no. Do you have an answer to that question?