The dangers of leading

Chuck Lawless imagines what he would do if he were Satan attempting to ensnare pastors and church leaders and induce failure. The whole article is here, but his seven basic points in summary are

1. I would attack those who are most gifted . . . by reminding them they are gifted.

2. I would encourage leaders to talk about accountability . . . but not be personally accountable to anyone.

3. I would challenge leaders to emphasize spiritual disciplines . . . but only for others.

4. I would focus the leader’s attention on tomorrow . . . rather than today.

5. I would encourage ministry by e-mail . . . especially with those of the opposite gender.

6. I would not hinder ministry success . . . as long as “success” results in few changed lives.

7. I would stress failure . . . and then lead the church to do the same.

It is a good checklist for ourselves.

What the church needs is you?

Discipleship is not something you can do on your own, you need someone to follow. Discipleship is always following Jesus - that is the call he makes to his disciples in Luke 5 and they are given in turn in Matthew 28. But we need to catch a glimpse of what it means fleshed out to live like that, we need godly, Christlike examples of discipleship to model ourselves on and we also need accountability relationships.

In many ways we are our own worst enemies. Jesus was often brutally honest, in Luke 6 Jesus is teaching his disciples about not judging others and he says this "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in someone else's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" Jesus is exhorting his disciples not to judge others, an attitude common among the hypocritical religious leaders of Jesus day.

But how do I know I have a plank in my own eye? So often we need someone else to point out the plank because we just can't see it. As Jesus teaches his disciples he points out planks and shows them how to live differently. As Paul writes his letters he points out planks (e.g. returning to Judaism, a man having his father's wife and so on).

We are called not to judge others, but we are also called to build one another up in our faith. We do this as we lovingly point out planks and teach the truth, as we hold each other accountable for living lives worthy of the gospel.