*****Note*****- I am fully aware that using a quote from a book that is deemed controversial in a lot of Churches will not sit well with some people. However, this quote is very truthful and has been proved throughout history.
During a conversation with a fellow blogger, this quote resonated with me and I think is very applicable to some things that are going on in the Church today.
What am I talking about? I am talking about people in the Church who actively seek power, whether it be a position as Senior Pastor or the head Janitor, regardless of whether or not they are called by The Lord to that position. These people, when they attain that position that they have so coveted will do anything and everything to stay in power, and will remove any person who they view as a threat to their position.
This is not a new problem.... People are always seeking power and the money that comes along with it, but I think the modern day Church is unique in that many of them see their Churches as a business rather than a calling from God, and they seek to bring in as much money as they can while ruling their Church with an iron hand.
The Pharisees were like this. They enjoyed the power, authority and income that their position gave them. Jesus was a threat to this and they sought to kill him for it (not knowing of course that they were fulfilling prophecy by doing so). 1300 or so years after the Pharisees (at least as we know them) were gone, the institutional Church of the day kept up the persecution by executing those brave souls who dared to take the Bible out of the hands of those in power and translate it into the language of the common man. This blog is not about Bible history, although I encourage everyone to read about the actual cost of that Bible you now have. A great link can be found here: English Bible History, but I do point out that these men were reluctant leaders. They did not have an ambition to start a revolution, they did not seek power, rather they saw a need or a wrong and they did everything they could, most times paying with their very lives, to fill that need and answer that call.
Back to our topic........
Those with the ambition to lead often find that that ambition turns into their main focus. They pursue that goal of leadership regardless of what The Lord wants. The drive to attain that position of power becomes their idol, and they worship that idol with everything that is in them. This my friends is why the ambition to lead is dangerous. Ignoring the lead of The Holy Spirit, these people press on to their goals. They will knock down, attempt to discredit, lie, cheat or slander anyone who get in their way. Their god becomes one of gold not one of Spirit. They go off on their crusade chasing not only a 6 figure salary, but more importantly, the power that comes with the position that they hope to attain. Is it any wonder that so many big name Pastors have fallen away? That so many scandals have rocked the Church?
AW Tozer said it better than I can:
"A true and safe leader is likely to be one who has no desire to lead, but is forced into a position by the inward pressure of the Holy Spirit and the press of [circumstances]…There was hardly a great leader from Paul to the present day but was drafted by the Holy Spirit for the task, and commissioned by the Lord to fill a position he had little heart for…The man who is ambitious to lead is disqualified as a leader."
Contrary to the model of leadership that has bled over from the corporate world into the Church world, the model that flashes credentials and long resumes, the model of leadership that we were taught by Jesus tells us to come to Him and ask Who Am I? So that He can answer us and say you are not, but I AM.........
God Bless you all
Pastor Brian
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