Agape Leadership

Agape Leadership: Lessons in Spiritual Leadership from the Life of R.C. Chapman

An older man from my church gave me and some other men this book, an abbreviated topical biography of R.C. Chapman, an English pastor from the 1800s. Spurgeon referred to Chapman as “the saintliest man I ever knew” so I figured I would devote an hour to reading the book. It had been a while since I’d read a biography. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

On the Scriptures…

“What was the secret of Chapman’s success at the church [the church he pastored had just blown through 3 pastors in 18 months]? He was a man of prayer and God’s Word! … He knew that without the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit there could be no victory. He knew that only the Word protects the church from its archenemy, the false teacher; only the Word leads the church to higher and better ground.”

“It is one thing to read the Bible, choosing something that suits me (as is shamefully said), and another thing to search it that I may become acquainted with God in Christ.”

“The book of God is a store of manna for God’s pilgrim children…. The great cause of neglecting the Scriptures is not want [lack] of time, but want of heart, some idol taking the place of Christ. Satan has been marvelously wise to entice away God’s people from the Scripture. A child of God who neglects the Scriptures cannot make it his business to please the Lord of Glory; cannot make Him Lord of the conscience; ruler of the heart; the joy, portion, and treasure of the soul…. If the Bible be used aright by anyone, it will be to him the most pleasant book in the world.”

Quoting Spurgeon, “It is blessed to eat into the very soul of the Bible, until, at last…your blood is Bibline and the very essence of the Bible flows from you.”

On Pastoral Ministry…

“The figure of the [log] in the eye [Matthew 7] shows what skill and tenderness he has need of who would be a reprover to his brother. Who would trust so precious a member as the eye to a rough, unskilled hand?”

“My business is to love others, not to seek that others shall love me.”

“Like a skilled shepherd leading a flock up a dangerous mountainside to higher ground and greener pastures, Chapman led Ebenezer Chapel to high spiritual ground.

On Love…

“If I have been injured by another, let me think [to] myself — How much better to be the sufferer than the wrongdoer!”

“Would we be filled with love towards Christ — let us consider Christ’s love for us in the death of the Cross.”

Quotes from Work (pt. 8)

During our summer program with middle school kids, some of the students decided to play a weird biting game where they would bite on each other’s arms for fun. The supervising teacher (not myself) thought it would be good if they wrote apology letters to each other, to each other’s parents, and also write about some alternative activities to do instead of biting each other. The notes were pure gold (metaphorically speaking) so I had some photocopies made and I typed out the notes for your reading pleasure. This is what they wrote:

Bitting is not okay because you can get red mark is not ok. We should play around. We play tag, talk or run. I should not bite people ever. I should keep mouth cloes that I can I people [your guess is as good as mine]. I ever bit people.

Girl #1

–

What can play with not bitting. I just run, talk, battes ball, kick ball, tag, soccer and sit. I should not bite. We can do the nice way playing. If someone get mad I just talk to them. I will bite them.

Girl #1

–

Dear Guy #1

I am sorry that I won’t bit you and I pomoies never I bit you anyone. I know we are firend I bitd never never bite you ever. I Think we sould not be bit each. And I ever bite you in your arm. I very sorry bite you in your arm.

Form Girl #1

–

Dear Guy #1’s Parents,

I am so sorry For Guy #1 bite him on his arm. I promoies I will not bite him never bit him. I will keep my mouth away Form his arm. We are Firend but we was playing bit game. I ever bite guy #1 arm.

Form Girl #1

–

Dear Guy # 1’s parent’s,

I am sorry for Guy # 1’s bite marks on his arm and I promise I will never bite him again and I do keep my promise. I also promise you will never see a bite mark on his arm ever again. I am really sorry that I bit your son’s arm and I do promise that I will never bite your son’s arm again. I know bitting is not okay and I do promise I will never bite your sons arm ever again or anyone ever. I do know bitting is never okay but I will never bite him again.

From: Girl #2

To: Guy #1’s Parents

–

Dear Guy #1,

I am sorry that I bit you and I promise I won’t bite you anymore. You know that we are friends but I will never bite you again. I promise that I will never do that mistake again. I promise even though people are by us I will still never bit you and other people I am sorry for bitting you on the arm and even though we are in trouble for bitting people or each other I am really sorry for doing something I am not supose to do. I am really sorry for what I did to your arm.

to: Guy #1

from: Girl #2

–

Why biting isint ok:

Biting isint ok because we can git a disease. Or we can leave a mark. And Are parents would not like that. Plus we can really get in trouble for that. And plus that is unixeptible coming from big kids like us. You can expect it from little kids, but big kids, NO.

Instead of biting we can hang out. Like play Basket ball or have a ??? together. Somthing that is not herting someone emotinaly or phisicly. Like insted of bitting we can help someone who was bit By a stranger.

–

To: Guy #1’s Parents

Im sorry for trying to bit your son. I didnt bit him but I was only messing around with him. I know that bitting is bad and I will not mess around with Guy #1. I know that when you bit people they will bit you back. I thought it was ok. But now I know that its not a good thing to do.

Sorry

Girl #3

–

To: Guy #1

Sorry for trying to bite you even though I didn’t. I know that biting is bad and I will not try to bit anyone agein. I know that we were messing around and that its not the way to mess around. Even thought I didnt bit you I will not try to again! OKAY

Sorry

Girl #3

–

When your messing around with your friends you could just talk. Instead of bitting you could also try to ignore them. You could play a different games or just walk around. If you wanted to you could go and hang out with other people. that what you could do instead of bitting.

–

Dear Girl #2’s Mom,

I’m sorry for biting Girl #2 and I won’t do it again. That was goolish of me and I wont do it again. I did not know what else to do so I bit her. I’m very sorry. I don’t know why I bit her. I freaked out because it hurt so much. Sorry and I wont do it again.

From Guy #1

–

To Girl #2

Sorry for biting you Girl #2 and I won’t Bit you anymore. I know were best friends and we should not be doing that and I don’t want to ruin are friend ship. Its going so well. Im sorry. Im very sorry. Plus Im really really sorry. Im sorry I don’t want aids or any other disease. And thats not a way to solve problems. And I will never do it again.

From Guy #1

Quotes from Work (pt. 7)

Setting: a group of middle students walking down the street accompanied by myself and another leader

Student: “We should get coffee.”
Leader: “We can’t spend any money.”
Student: “It’s free though!”
Leader: (with a tone of disbelief): “Where can you get free coffee?”
Student: “At the hospital.”
Leader: “You can’t go to the hospital just to get free coffee!”
Student: “Sure you can. I do it with my friends all the time.”
Me: “This is totally going on the blog.”

Other Quotes from Work can be found here.

C.S. Lewis is a Genius

I got this from Justin Taylor’s blog today.

C.S. Lewis:

The woman who makes a dog the centre of her life loses, in the end, not only her human usefulness and dignity but even the proper pleasure of dog-keeping.

The man who makes alcohol his chief good loses not only his job but his palate and all power of enjoying the earlier (and only pleasurable) levels of intoxication.

It is a glorious thing to feel for a moment or two that the whole meaning of the universe is summed up in one woman—glorious so long as other duties and pleasures keep tearing you away from her. But clear the decks and so arrange your life (it is sometimes feasible) that you will have nothing to do but contemplate her, and what happens?

Of course this law has been discovered before, but it will stand re-discovery. It may be stated as follows: every preference of a small good to a great, or partial good to a total good, involves the loss of the small or partial good for which the sacrifice is made.

. . . You can’t get second things by putting them first. You get second things only by putting first things first.

—C.S. Lewis, “First and Second Things,” in God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics (Eerdmans, 1994), p. 280.

Forgiveness Is…

“Forgiveness is agreeing to live with the consequences of another person’s sin…You’re going to live with those consequences whether you want to or not; your only choice is whether you will do so in the bitterness of unforgiveness or the freedom of forgiveness.” – The Bondage Breaker

Watch Your Strength

“Watch your natural gifts and tendencies and idiosyncrasies. Watch them. What I mean is that they will tend to run away with you. It can all be summed up in a phrase – watch your strength. Not so much your weaknesses: it is your strength you have to watch, the things at which you excel, your natural gifts and aptitudes. They are the ones that are most likely to trip you because they are the ones that will tempt you to make a display and to pander to self. So watch these; and also your idiosyncrasies. We all have those, and we must watch them.” – The Doctor

Old Quotes I Found

“Nothing that we despise in the other man is entirely absent from ourselves.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“It is easy to learn what words are offensive and simply avoid them; it is much harder to find meaningful ways to speak the truth in love.”

“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

“The man who’s learned to play classical masterpieces on his grand piano isn’t easily distracted by every colorful harmonica or kazoo he passes by in the Vanity Fair carnival.”

“It is said that the glowworm never shines after it has become a parent. Some women lose the luster of all delicacy and refinement under the influence of men whom they call their husbands. The aim of the true husband should be to make the character of the wife a glorious character, “without spot or wrinkle.” – MC

On hypocrisy:
“Attack me, I do this myself, but attack me rather than the path I follow and which I point out to anyone who asks me where I think it lies. If I know the way home and am walking along it drunkenly, is it any less the right way because I am staggering from side to side?” – Tolstoy