Sometimes I wonder if people “speaking for Jesus” really think about what they say before they open their mouths. Take this quote I came across recently:
The number of followers a church leader has is directly related to the how passionately the leader follows Christ.
Here are just a few quick things that strike me about this statement…
- It’s about numbers, not about Father.
- It’s about “us” not about Him.
- It’s based on a formula for success as man sees success.
- It’s oriented to drive church goers by playing on guilt.
- It indicates there’s a competition between church leaders.
- It removes Father from the picture indicating it’s the man who draws and leads the people not Father Himself.
- It’s based on our own effort, not on Father’s provision.
Why would anyone follow, or want to follow, a church leader rather than following Christ/Father and doing it alongside others who follow alike? The themes of the Old and New Testaments continue to ring through… man wants worshiping the One True God to be about us (that’s religion). We want a “king”… in a form or fashion which fits the culture of the day, but we want an earthly king to lead us because we want to be like the godless who place themselves at the center of their universe and create a god they can control and explain perfectly.
It’s nice to hear your voice after a period of silence.
The only thing I’d change is point 4. It seems to me that not only does guilt drive church goers it also drives church leaders too. If the passion of a leader’s walk with Christ is measured by the number of followers the leader has then he’d better get a lot of followers or his relationship with God is questioned. So is his ability as a leader. Unless you’ve been in this place as a leader you have no idea how much guilt this produces.
By the way, I like the new blog look.