Yesterday and today I have been preparing to share a message with a congregation here in town called Celebration Community Church. After I preach, a fellow elder from Metro and I, along with the prayers of our wives and their whole congregation will be recognizing and appointing a new eldership team to guide and govern their community of faith. They recently experienced a total change in their church leadership that was very painful and challenging, but apparently a change that the Holy Spirit saw fit to initiate and undertake.
There is a paradox that we face today as we lay our hands on these servants of Christ and His church. On one hand, they have, truly, a high and holy calling, a sober responsibility, the power of God resting upon them and a very significant work in which to engage. On the other hand, they are imperfect human beings who are still in the process of becoming more like Christ and who are regular folk like the rest of us and their fellow church members whom they will lead. Yet, they will stumble in many ways, both personally and in their leadership. And still...Jesus, the Great Shepherd, will go before them, stand with them, surround them and be their "rear guard"--i.e. necessarily cover their back ends!
I resonate deeply with what the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians in chapter 3:5-7 about the healthy way to view human leaders in the church:
5What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
We know from Paul's second letter to them, that the Corinthians were subjected to the influence of some "super apostles"--charismatic and extremely persuasive, but deceitful and manipulative, professional quasi-Christian orators and false-wonder workers who were pulling on them to reject Paul's influence on them and follow after their self-initiated "personality cults". I love the way that Jesus modeled for us and also taught our spiritual fathers like Paul and Peter to dismantle this kind of "mystique" that so many leaders in history have exploited for their own advantage.
Today's church world could be so well served if more of its leaders would also model and promote this kind of Christ-like leadership. This kind of leadership can still be full of confidence and boldness and power, but it doesn't leave such human tragedy in its wake. And that is how we can know the difference--by the lasting fruit over the longer haul.
I am weary of "super-preachers" who are striving to create "super-Christians" and "super-churches". I have too often witnessed the personal breakdowns that have come with this agenda through the over 30 years of being in vocational ministry. I believe that simply being a graciously born anew follower of Jesus the Christ is awesome enough for any human soul. At least it is for me. Is it for you?
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