You ever wonder what makes a good leader? It seems these days, everyone is focused on leadership, especially in the church.
I recently posted on my Facebook status: How can we become leaders when we don’t even know how to be followers?
There are seminars on leadership, people are promoted into positions, climbing up the Christian ladder to Christian success.
Sometimes it seems to me that we even create organizations and positions so that we can feel important in the Christian community. If you aren’t successful (in the world’s definition) in ministry or aren’t in some type of leadership in the church, then something must be wrong with you.
I challenge that today: because today we push people toward leadership without first teaching them to be followers. We accept positions of leadership, to shepherd others, when we haven’t been shepherded ourselves. We teach Scripture, and we don’t know Scripture.
I have encountered this in many aspects of ministry: when I was saved and joined a church several years ago, I was asked immediately if I wanted to be the youth leader. I accepted. I had done it before. It was easy. But as I immersed myself in Bible study, I realized I was not equipped spiritually to lead these teens. I needed to grow, I needed to be discipled…I needed to learn!
Later on, I asked to be considered for and accepted two positions in a popular women’s group in the denomination I was a part of at the time. I thought I was ready; not because I knew Scripture, but because I knew tradition. I knew the history of the group; I knew the goals of the group; or I thought I knew everything about this group.
But as I became more knowledgeable of the traditions of this group and the current teachings and philosophies regarding leadership, I grew very uncomfortable with being a part of this group. I resigned all positions.
Now I am not saying that this group does not do good things; they do. I am not saying that everyone who participates in this group is not a Christian or Spiritually immature; I know many of these ladies who have a passion for Jesus that I would challenge anyone to have. But I do know, because I was one of them, there are people leading in smaller areas that still need to be learning instead of leading. And from a Scriptural standpoint, looking at the basis of the organization, I personally do not agree with their viewpoints on leadership.
How many times do we do this? We assume because someone has accepted Jesus or has been in the church or an organization in the church for years, that they automatically have everything they need spiritually to lead others. There are some old sayings about that: two of my favorites are:
“Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than going to McDonald’s makes you a cheeseburger”; and
“A cat can have kittens in the oven, but that don’t make ‘em biscuits”
Those make us laugh, but they are true. Being a member of a church or an organization inside the church doesn’t mean you are spiritually mature, even if your granddaddy turned over the first shovelful of dirt for the hole to build the foundation. It doesn’t even mean you are saved.
Because that cement foundation and that building is not the church.
The church is us; and the foundation of that is Jesus Christ.
And being put in a leadership position does not make one a leader.
Many people become hard and judgmental because they have the wrong idea of what church really is. What leaders really are. We can place ourselves in positions that we are not qualified for Scripturally; and in man made positions created out of our need to be “spiritually superior” to others.
We can go as far as to put ourselves in the judgment seat of Christ.
Spiritual immaturity or lack of knowledge can cause a lot of conflict in the church, and I am here to say I have seen it, been a part of it, and caused some of it. Why do I say this?
- We put people on the fast track to leadership (expect leadership before discipleship) often based on organizational or denominational concepts instead of Scriptural precepts;
- We often know more about organizational or denominational concepts than we do about Spiritual precepts;
- We confuse tradition with Scripture;
- It is important to know what an organization or denomination believes; but unless you first have an understanding of Scripture, this won’t be clear to you whether or not it lines up with God’s Word;
- Scripture must ALWAYS override any other idea or concept (tradition).
Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees in the following passage:
Matthew 15:1-20: Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. And he called the multitude, said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
Matthew Henry says of this passage:
“The disciples thought it strange that their Master should say that which he knew would give so much offence; he did not use to do so: surely, they think, if he had considered how provoking it would be, he would not have said it. But he knew what he said, and to whom he said it, and what would be the effect of it; and would teach us, that though in indifferent things we must be tender of giving offence, yet we must not, for fear of that, evade any truth or duty. Truth must be owned, and duty done; and if any be offended, it is his own fault; it is scandal, not given, but taken.”
Jesus confronted the Pharisees with their traditions. He emphasized the difference between Truth and tradition.
And He went on to rebuke the disciples for their “weakness and ignorance”:
Matthew Henry: The reproof Christ gave them for their weakness and ignorance; Are ye also yet without understanding? As many as Christ loves and teaches, he thus rebukes. Note, They are very ignorant indeed, who understand not that moral pollutions are abundantly worse and more dangerous than ceremonial ones. Two things aggravate their dullness and darkness.
(1.) That they were the disciples of Christ; “Are ye also without understanding? Ye whom I have admitted into so great a degree of familiarity with me, are ye so unskillful in the word of righteousness?” Note, The ignorance and mistakes of those that profess religion, and enjoy the privileges of church-membership, are justly a grief to the Lord Jesus. “No wonder that the Pharisees understand not this doctrine, who know nothing of the Messiah's kingdom: but ye that have heard of it, and embraced it yourselves, and preached it to others, are ye also such strangers to the spirit and genius of it?”
(2.) That they had been a great while Christ's scholars; “Are ye yet so, after ye have been so long under my teaching?” Had they been but of yesterday in Christ's school, it had been another matter, but to have been for so many months Christ's constant hearers, and yet to be without understanding, was a great reproach to them. Note, Christ expects from us some proportion of knowledge, and grace, and wisdom, according to the time and means we have had.
We water down the Gospel with our traditions; we don’t know the Truth. And we end up leading others in the same path.
And we both fall in a ditch.
Oftentimes, positions in churches are filled so that there is a name beside the position on the nominating committee report at the business meeting; the nominating committee has beaten the bushes to find someone who finally says, “Okay, if you can’t find anyone else, I’ll do it”. Or if it is blank, someone at the business meeting says, “Okay, I’ll do it since no one else will”. How many of our leadership and teaching positions are filled this way? I dare to say a lot.
Other times, someone new will come into the church from another church or denomination and are immediately put into teaching or leadership without anyone knowing what their previous background and beliefs are.
We need to be careful with tradition vs. Truth. We need to be taught before we teach. We need to be led before we lead. We need to be discipled before we disciple.
Oswald Chambers said the following:
“Jesus Christ did not say - Go and save souls (the salvation of souls is the supernatural work of God), but “Go and teach”, I.e., disciple “all nations” and you cannot make disciples unless you are a disciple yourself. When the disciples came back from their first mission, they were filled with joy because the devils were subject to them, and Jesus said - Don’t rejoice in successful service; the great secret of joy is that you are rightly related to Me. The great essential of the missionary is that he remain true to the call of God, and realizes that his one purpose is to disciple men and women to Jesus. There is a passion for souls that does not spring from God, but from the desire to make converts to our own point of view”.
Let’s remember, as churches and individuals, to never allow tradition to win over Truth. To not allow opinion to replace the Word of God.
And let’s all be disciples…learn the Word; know what you believe, confront the lies and stand on the Truth. Measure everything you are taught against the Word of God.
Don’t be blind.
