Stuck Somewhere Between Jesus and John Maxwell

Well, my Pastoral Leadership class is off to a great start! Like the title suggests we are discussing what it means to be a Pastor/Leader/Presider of a congregation. Pastoral Leadership should be leading from the bottom up. It should be that our Pastors are not micromanagers but instead leaders that lead people through empowerment and encouragement to do the things that God has called them to do. The power should not rest at the top of the pyramid. Pastors are not the only ones called to share the gospel, we ALL are! Pastors are called to equip the congregation to fulfill that call. And that means that Pastors most of the time have to take the back seat and allow Jesus to drive the car by prompting the congregation to serve in the ways that He has gifted them.

One of the pastors in my cohort by the name of Rich Hadley wrote this yesterday.

"Too often we hear the voice of Christ calling us to be the presiding disciple in a group of disciples in a working conversation faciliated by the Holy Spirit. Only to go home and see how badly our kids need their teeth straightened and to open the P&B/Fidelity envelope to read the news that when you retire you will still need a full-time job to pay for medicine and lot rent for the trailer you will be living in. So, we race back to the sweet siren call of Stan Toler and the North American business management seminars for Christianity-- hoping to grow a church that will pay a livable wage with pension supplement...only to realize that to invest in the hungry souls who want more of Jesus, you can't adminstrate behind a desk...Jesus beckons us to the hillside where we listen for hours and digest for days and make His words the protein that builds the muscle of servitude and holy attitude.

Back and forth we strain, torn between Jesus and John Maxwell...desirous to believe we are "successful" in our chosen career field; desperate to make a means of living by it... And all the while knowing deep in our souls that to do so, we must abandon everything powerful and beautiful that Christ taught us about the spirit-filled life as a citizen in the Kingdom of heaven.

It is so refreshing to be in a classroom discussion on leadership where the emphasis is on developing disciples rather than building buildings! "

Have you ever just wondered what it would be like to be part of the body of Christ that doesn't whine and complain about everything, that doesn't argue and bicker about every decision to be made, that doesn't hinder it's leaders but supports and encourages them...to part of the body of Christ that sees a need and just fills it without question and delay, that is just out their being Christ....

I long for this and pray for this daily...I just wish that those of us who did would stand up and say enough's enough...these things are happening all over the body of Christ not just one church. The only way that the Church today is going to change the world is through Jesus not our leaders. Our pastors/presiders/leaders have to take a break from their ego and let the people step up and do what they feel lead to do. We all have different callings. Pastors have to find that calling in each person of our congregations and nurture it. The hardest part is letting go of ourselves and allowing the power of the Holy Spirit to flow from upward through the Church, instead of downward through us!

What is so great about this is what I am learning so far is a conformation of what God has laid on my heart since I began obeying His call. I can't do it all. I am not Wonder Woman or Super Girl. I am simply a sinner (and a pretty bad one) saved by grace who is called to help others realize who they are through and in Christ. My job as a pastor/leader is to encourage, equip and train up disciples for their call, which is probably greater than mine!