Continued Series from “The Church…The Clash of Man’s Expectation & God’s Plan Series”
How do you view the role of leadership at your church?
The role and the authority of a leadership team can look different in various churches. Sometimes it is greatly defined by the culture of a denomination/church rather than being strictly established according to scripture.
Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. Hebrews 13: 17
As a church member, God gives us instruction in submitting to our leaders and helping their job to be a joyful task. The leaders have a great responsibility before God, and they are ultimately accountable to Him. Relating to our leaders in a healthy and a Biblical way can be a great blessing, and it produces a good environment for growth. However, if we don’t relate right to our leaders, it can cause pain, frustration, and ungodly ties.
Sometimes the church members take one of two extreme positions in relating to their leaders.
There are some who tend to put the leadership on a pedestal of perfection. This group views the voice of the leadership as the voice of God and over time becomes passive in hearing the voice of the Lord for themselves. They tend to gravitate towards one person and follow them closely. The side effect of this approach is division and making the church political as Paul described it in (1Corinthians 1 :10-17). These individuals have a greater likelihood of conformity than being transformed because they are more enamored by a person rather than with Jesus! All is well until something happens and a leader disappoints them. Then they are completely distraught and disillusioned by the leadership.
Another group likes to see the shepherds as peers who happen to be the leaders in the church. The shepherd’s instruction and advice is not taken seriously but only as a suggestion. They feel the freedom to share their opinion on various matters and have no problem criticizing the leadership and backbiting those who lead the church. Since they are focused on leaders’ humanity and imperfections, they tend not to grow much in their faith. Their intent is to change the leadership and help them become enlightened.
I have not seen anywhere in the Bible where God was led by the opinion of man to put a particular person in place of authority or to take him down. If/when people chose to criticize their leaders, they were the ones who got into trouble with God! God does hold his leaders accountable, and He ultimately confronts any rebellion and sin in a leaders’ life. However He is not moved by man’s preference and neither does He choose to take care of a situation in man’s timetable.
As believers, we are called to keep our eyes on Jesus and not on man. We will never completely understand what God is doing and how He is using a leader in people’s lives. Sometimes things will not make sense at all, but we are all called to look to Jesus and get our marching orders from Him.
For some of us, it is time to stop being enamored by the icons in the church. This will take the pressure off the leadership to be perfect or act a certain way. It will also allow the fellow church members to relate to a leader in a healthy way. It will stop people elbowing each other to be seen by a leader. Properly relating to our leaders will change the atmosphere in the church by bringing fresh air of freedom, love, and authenticity. We can all go about our merry way living our lives as light and salt without making church complicated and ministry unattainable as it appears at times!
Obviously the shepherds have a role in understanding their great responsibility towards the flock. Knowing how to lead their congregation according to God’s will is of utmost importance. If you are in leadership, please study Ezekiel 34 and John 10. I used to spend an entire session covering these scriptures when I taught a Lay Pastoring class at the Rock School of Ministry. These scriptures share God’s heart for the leadership clearly and powerfully. We all should count the cost of leading before accepting the responsibility of overseeing the people of God!
What are some of your church cultural values that cause unnecessary stress or expectation in your life? This doesn’t mean it’s time for you to leave your church. It may just mean to adjust your thinking, expectation, and even your relationships. This will help you not to get tripped up by some of the church issues that may not be as important to Jesus as they are to your church culture/members.
I will continue with this series in the next devotional.