Perhaps one of the greatest weaknesses in our churches today is our willingness to stop short of God’s design for His Church. We get one-gift focused or we simply quit before becoming God’s design.
We can get too focused on the Apostle giftedness of starting new churches and ministries. The result is that we may not stay long enough or work through the problems that will shut down that church or ministry in a short time.
We can get so focused on the Prophet gift of truth-saying that we declare the truth but forget to do it in love. The result is that Christ-followers look like ranting egotists while the rest of the world looks reasoned and measured in comparison. People dismiss us and stop listening to God.
We can become Evangelistically focused, which feels really good as we start seeing person after person being baptized. Those who come home to the Father through the Son, however, never learn how to walk by the newly-received Spirit because no one is helping them figure out this new life.
Pastor-focused churches have arisen because pastors stick around and care. This is great, except that we can start to think we control the pastor and expect him to serve our every whim. The church becomes inward focused, wanting everything to be about “me” and it never grows – spiritually or numerically.
When we do turn to the teachers, we allow it to become so academic that we lose sight of foundational truths like, “Theology is about God.” We can lose sight of the forest as we examine the drip of sap on one particular piece of bark on only one of the trees.
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. (Ephesians 4:15 NIV)
Leadership is not about power, position, or politics in God’s Church. It’s about walking with God and helping others do the same. When we do, there is growth. We grow closer to God. We grow as we walk with God. Others grow as God works in and through us. Through us, God empowers one more to walk together with God.
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:16 NIV)
How about you? Do you walk with God and help others do the same?
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