I am regularly surprised at how “aggressive” so many Christian leaders can be. Of course, we have been conditioned to think about this aggressiveness as a divine anointing coming from God the Spirit wanting to do something unique or special through us.
Most would not admit to it, but we have carved out an expectation that our thoughts, or roles or teachings are a step above the many others who serve the body of Christ globally.
The bottom line: the bigger and more public our ministry, the more “faithful” we are!
Right or wrong in my assessment, I have had to correct these thoughts in my own life. I have come to a growing conclusion that church leadership is better served by what I call “effective anonymity.”
I see six things that not only make us more effective, but also protect us from ourselves. And, with the growing number of people in church leadership who are publicly failing, we need protection.
We were not created by God to bear the weight of such public and broad influence. We are inherently weak and the power and influence that comes with this higher visibility tests the depth of our death to self. Or, to put it more simply, the depths of our private walk with God, His Son, His Spirit and His word. We need to embrace the words of Jesus to the disciples when he targets his words to the disciples about power and position in Matthew 20. “It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 20:26-28
We don’t have all of the gifts. Yes, I know that most will readily agree with this statement. But when you look “under the hood” of how we structure ourselves in relationship to others in the leadership with us, the simple statement I inherited so many decades ago still prevails: the buck stops here with me.
Good decisions are best served by interdependence. How often I am astonished at another decision by local churches. We assume that what we think, God thinks. But, having more true interdependence in leadership, allows for alternative views to be expressed.
The people are best served by interdependence. People have become too use to having one person who they call “pastor” and on whom they fixate. For whatever reason, evangelical pastors are much too close to a priestly role among confessing Christians. Interdependence in leadership accentuates the role of teaching while multiplying it through a multiple of people.
We are better protected by interdependence. I often wonder how many of the hidden sins in leadership would have been dealt with early on if we could enjoy true interdependence.
The message about the triune God and His Gospel is best served by a similar but distinct interdependence. For more on points 1-6, see my book: “Alone at the top” https://www.dwightpaulsmith.com/books
Our entrance into Heaven will reinforce both our importance to the Gospel ministry, and just how ordinary we were. Any importance will be recognized by, “welcome into my kingdom thou faithful servant.” All ordinariness will be acknowledged for its submissive joy to the role that God had designed for each of us.
The actual importance of our preaching, or books, or positions will be forgotten. They will pale into insignificance in the presence of our King, Jesus.
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