Leadership and the Gospel
At Christ Community Daytona Beach, we hold “Equip” classes to help prepare people for life and ministry in the church and culture. This week and for the rest of March I’m teaching a class on the inner life of leaders. It’s sort of about getting underneath the tip of the iceberg.
I came across two interesting quotes that underscore the importance of this issue.
We believe many legalistic, controlling and ultimately abusive leaders may simply have lost sight of, or never experienced, the life of grace in Christ. Many, through no fault of their own have been taught legalism or formula Christianity. Others, perhaps through ministry burnout, have simply forgotten the simple, wonder-filled, joyous relationship each one of us can experience with God because of Jesus Christ. The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, By David Johnson and Jeff VanVonderen, P.107
Year after year we watch as highly gifted Christian leaders shipwreck their lives, families ministries, and businesses. What they lack is an examined and healthy inner life. This is the missing piece in leadership today. Leadership From The Inside Out, Kevin Harney p. 17
It seems to me that too often we go straight to teaching leadership skills and techniques while neglecting the underlying issue of heart-deep gospel transformation for leaders. It’s like only addressing the tip of the iceberg. The result is that a lot of underlying issues untouched by the healing power of the gospel show up in our influence on others as well as in our responses to the stresses of leadership. I know that at Reformed Theological Seminary, Steve Childers teaches a class titled, Spiritual Dynamics for Leaders. It seems that classes like this should form an essential part of our leadership development strategy at the level of the local church.
Larry is the senior pastor at 
I love this image of the iceberg! It is a striking picture of the reality of human beings. We sometimes think we are only what we can see on the top! But the truth is there are huge masses moving us around from the bottom. I think this image will stay with me, at least I hope it does.
How do you practically consider others more important than yourselves (Phil. 2) when the person you’re considering is in leadership/authority and to yield to them would be like binding your conscience? Do you submit and trust God to work out details at later time? Just consider yourself “in prison for Christ”, and ask him to help you to have a spirit of humility?
I think that is a great question. Scripture helps us in giving us the example of Paul when he confronted Peter (Galatians) because he was not in line with the gospel. Peter was one of the most senior and famous of the disciples but Paul at that point had to stand up to him. Leadership and authority in the church should never under any circumstances be a refuge from accountability. A strong doctrine of total depravity should convince us that that is unwise. In Acts Peter himself had to defy the authorities in order to obey God. Human authority is never absolute.
The London Baptist Confession of 1689 reflects the earlier Westminster Standards on the issue of Conscience.
I think a helpful Scripture is Galatians 5. Verse 1 needs to be held with verses 13-15 all at the same time. Stand firm in your freedom and love one another. In some cases, as Paul shows us earlier in Galatians, the most loving thing to do is to stand firm. It’s not only good for you but for the person “in authority” if, and only if, it is done in love. This is a quick response but I’ll think on this some more. Of course the key to the response I’ve given here is the idea that this is a situation in which what is being asked is a “binding of the conscience” and something that should not be done. The normal response to legitimate direction from those in authority is to obey them. I would certainly seek counsel and make sure I wasn’t just being rebellious before I would go counter to that. However there are occassions I’ve witnessed in which authority was abused and the most loving and Scriptural response for all concerned was to stand firm in freedom while acting in love.
So, in essence, it takes real faith and a complete trust in God to affirm straightening up to Him and living in the Truth even though that would clearly call into question the church and family systems that you’ve been apart of and have been familiar to you for your entire life. In essence, you’re claiming that the authority of God is more loving, more powerful, more essential, and more truth-filled than simply submitting to the authority of systems that you know to be contradictory (ar least on some points) to God’s standards of living for His children. And that takes an immense amount of faith and trust in God to do so, especially in the relationships that are closest to you that would certainly be affected. You’ve said before that you don’t live be explanations but by promises- God’s promises in His Word to His children, to those that are obedient in faith to Him. And, if faith is a gift from God, and you find yourself lacking in that area manifested in a great fear and anxiety to go against the grain of what has been the core of your identity for so long, then what can one do to receive that gift of faith? And does real faith erradicate fear (of man- consequences of doing right, harm to relationships, criticisms, even spiritual abuse/misunderstanding, etc.)? Or does faith simply enable obedience despie fear?
Faith is a gift but it is also a response to God that grows and into which we mature. Maybe it is a little like a gift of musical ability or athletic or artistic talent. God gives the capacity but that doesn’t make its development easy. We might speak of a gifted athlete or musician but I’ve never heard of such a person accomplishing their goals without difficulty and discipline. Someone with a gift of artistic talent might have to work hard, be disciplined, and develop their gift over time and yet still look up to God at any point and say, “Thank you, I know this is a gift you have given.”
So what do we do to develop faith? I don’t want to give a formula as if it were just checking off a list but I do believe there are a number of things all of which can help: 1.) Read Scripture (Romans 10 – faith comes by hearing). Faith needs fuel to burn so we have to lay in lots of good combustible materials (truth about God and his goodness, greatness and promises). 2.) Spend time with people of faith both real people and authors. 3.) Pray for faith to grow. (Paul prayed for the faith of the Ephesians so we can pray for our faith to deepen also.) 4.) Exercise faith, faith is a capacity that grows as we use it. So through faithful service, worship and giving we use our faith and it deepens. When I have had to trust God the most my faith has grown the most. 5.) Choose faith at every opportunity. The Scripture often says things like: “Trust in the Lord”, or “Have faith in God”, or “Take up the shield of faith.” Sometimes we are faced with a situation where faith is needed and we have to choose in that moment to trust in God. We look at Christ and the cross and the resurrection and the promises and straighten up into God by faith. 6.) I also think that faith is undercut by our resistance to renouncing our idols. They are so dear to us. We hedge our bets and hope to hold on to our idols until we feel such great faith that the idols just fall away. But more often what happens is we have to lay our Issac on the altar, in faith, before faith’s reward is made more manifest.
Faith grows. Jesus spoke of great faith, little faith, and weak faith. Other Scriptures speak of people who were full of faith. So, faith is not an absolute all-or-nothing proposition. And while faith sometimes eradicates fear it often does not. It often simply enables obedience and receives grace despite fear.
I absolutely agree with you when you said, “faith is undercut by our resistance to renouncing our idols”. But the conscious and deliberate act of repenting of our idolatry itself takes faith. So, it’s God’s grace and the love of Christ seen in the cross that enables and leads us to the act of repentence, and offers real strength in the battles of idolatry that we will face even after deliberately renouncing our idols. And in this process, the weakest of faiths can be strengthened in prayer and spiritual discipline by the grace of God?
Another question I have: when in the throws of doubt and discouragement/disillusionment, obedience is still required of those who find their life in Christ, right? Yet, God looks at the heart, and our hearts is what he praises and approves of or doesn’t, because it’s not in our actions that we worship him but in our hearts and motives. So, when the heart is not honoring God or trusting in him, it seems the most vain of actions to do what is “right” to those around us in our Christian circles when your heart is confused, disillusioned and restlessly moaning conrtadictory statements inside. I believe that such a situation requires a deep and honest look at your own heart and bringing your heart “issues” before God for healing and prayer, but, of obedience, it seems legalistic and vain to “go through the motions” with a heart that is not in true submission to God and abiding/resting in the love of Christ. However, such a heart condition certainly would lead to foolish acts if listened to rather than living in the Truth. Yet, it truly is important to live from the inside out. Any thoughts on that?
Yes! I agree wholeheartedly that “It’s God’s grace and the love of Christ seen in the cross that enables and leads us to the act of repentence…” That’s a great insight and an important reminder.
You mentioned the heart “moaning contradictory statements” maybe that helps. Choosing obedience in such a situation is weighing in on the good side of the contradictions! In Psalm 72 Asaph mentions a time of struggle and bitterness in which he had thoughts full of unbelief. He said, if he had spoken that bitterness and unbeliefhe he would have sinned. Now, I don’t think he was taking about confiding in a friend or counselor but most likely in his role as worship leader. He was deeply confused and bitter but that didn’t justify him leading others down the same path. By the way at the end of the Psalm the circumstances haven’t changed but Asaph has reconnected with the joy of God’s nearness and goodness.
Anyway, we have to obey every way we can. Inward and outward obedience is surely best, and we should never settle for less, but inward struggles and outward obedience is better than inward struggles and outward disobedience which, as you said, would lead to “foolish acts” and I would add, only delay the inward healing.