by needleeye

Created on: January 25, 2007   Last Updated: May 11, 2007

Isn't it wonderful to know that God, in His great care to provide all that is necessary for His people to know Him and live fruitfully (2 Peter 1:3-4), has provided leadership through pastors and Lay Leaders (Ephesians 4:11-13)? It is not an easy charge, that of being the spiritual pacesetter for a family of Believers, responsible for holding forth a spiritual standard towards which our people strive, but it is a wonderful one.

This standard for spiritual life and fruitfulness doesn't really have so much to do with a high level of activity for the sake of activity. Nor is it related to the size of one's congregation. And it certainly has nothing to do with impressive facilities or with the number of prestigious persons that come to "my" church.

Actually, when one has been called as a leader in one's church (whether clergy or laity), one has been granted a great privilege in being a vehicle through whom God's grace and power might reach the earth. Like a bolt of lightning streaking down from the sky to the up-stretched prong of a lightning rod, God's presence and love look for hearts eager to yield to His will, and He is ready to empower their walk with Him with evidence of His love and strength.

Yet, there are serious temptations for church leaders. In our zeal to see the realm of God's grace and glory spill out from our lives into the hearts and minds of others with whom we interact, we can begin to enjoy too much the personal benefits that we associate with our positions of influence.

I specifically mean those temptations that can beset a pastor, teacher, worship leader or any other person of influence (formally or informally) when we start to forget to Whom the church actually belongs. For instance, if one has been in a church family for a long time, he or she may think that the church belongs to him personally. Or, just as bad, perhaps a pastor feels that he is the CEO of a company and not the steward of a body of God's children.

No, the church is God's flock and it belongs solely to the Great Shepherd (Matthew 16:18). We are simply instruments in His hand to affect His loving leadership in His church. It is therefore a great tragedy when a church leader forgets that God was on the scene before his or her arrival and was already at work shaping that family of Believers. Perhaps it is an ego trip for leaders when they discount God's ability to work in and speak through others in the church. Maybe they like the power. Perhaps they enjoy just a bit too much the

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