One of the things I have discovered in the church today is that pastors are being held accountable to be the visionary leader for the church. This is a necessary ingredient for any church or organization, but it puts a not so subtle pressure on the pastor to be a CEO rather than a shepherd.
Our first priority should always be the shepherd. I believe we are called pastor not president or chairman.
Lest any of us fall into the trap of minimizing our need to shepherd the flock let me remind you that we were created for community. God was not pleased with his creation accept in one area. "It wasn't good for man to be alone".
When pastors turn into CEO's they can slowly remove themselves from the community. Let me share a paragraph from John Ortberg's book on community.
"To live in and contribute to God's dream of community is the reason you were born. It is what you were created for. Neglect this, and it doesn't matter what else you do--how many pyramids you build, how impressive your resume--you are at cross-purposes with the Gulf Stream. Neglect this, and you will die a failure. Devote yourself to this one task, to loving "as-is people" and no matter what else you may not achieve, you will lead a a magnificent life.
While being a visionary leader is important let us remember that first we are shepherds, guarding and protecting the integrity of the flock so that no sheep is left behind including ourselves.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Temptation's Pitfalls
What is difficult for me as a pastor to pastor is to see various leaders lose their ministries because they have fallen to temptation. In my recent study of Joseph I was impressed by this young man's integrity in the incident with Potipher's wife. As I was reading Swindol's take on this incident I was impressed by his 4 requirements that we must meet in order to resist temptation. So here they are:
1. You must not be weakened by your situation. Often when we are the most trusted, respected, and secure in our situation we can be blindsided by temptation. It is not always when we are tired, vulnerable and burned out.
2. You must not be deceived by the persuasion. There are many rationalizations that become very persuasive in our minds to deceive us. The most common rationalization: "Just this once,", or "Who will ever find out?" "Isn't that what grace is all about?"
3. You must not be gentle with your emotions. In times of temptation our emotions try to dictate our behavior. It is in those times we need to keep them in check the most.
4. You must not be confused with immediate results. Just like Joseph, when we take the high road there may be some immediate consequences. The immediate results on the other hand can be very satisfying for the moment but in the long run bring grave consequences.
1. You must not be weakened by your situation. Often when we are the most trusted, respected, and secure in our situation we can be blindsided by temptation. It is not always when we are tired, vulnerable and burned out.
2. You must not be deceived by the persuasion. There are many rationalizations that become very persuasive in our minds to deceive us. The most common rationalization: "Just this once,", or "Who will ever find out?" "Isn't that what grace is all about?"
3. You must not be gentle with your emotions. In times of temptation our emotions try to dictate our behavior. It is in those times we need to keep them in check the most.
4. You must not be confused with immediate results. Just like Joseph, when we take the high road there may be some immediate consequences. The immediate results on the other hand can be very satisfying for the moment but in the long run bring grave consequences.
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