Leadership among
Did you catch this from Dave Black’s blog (from Thursday, Feb 5, 6:54 am):
The New Testament, of course, presents a much different model of the church. Leadership was provided through elders among the people whose function was to encourage the ministry of the entire church by the Holy Spirit. These leaders were always plural, and they never constituted a separate class from the laity. It’s my constant hope and prayer that God’s people will one day again be elevated to their true dignity as fulltime ministers of Jesus Christ. We are incurably proud of our own man-made systems. Often it is only when we find our defenses cracking and our resources dwindling that we turn to the Lord and call upon His name. When pastors face burnout because they have accepted an unhealthy and unbiblical model of leadership, perhaps God is doing them a great service.
Visible, and active, elder leadership in the servant leader model is crucial for teaching and providing role models of what the church looks for in leaders and what we should strive for as servants in our church body.
Alan,
I think the problem you mentioned is by far the one that does the most damage.
Mark,
Yeah, I think so too. And, I think it works both ways. Many believers want leaders who take control. They don’t want to follow leaders into serving others.
-Alan
Alan,
I agree with yhou about leaders desiring control instead of service.
It seems that in the relationship that Jesus had with His disciples, He brought corrective action to sinful behaviour and encouraged their freedom in following what He taught them.
He had no other agenda. And, there were no hoops that had to be jumped through.
Where as today, if you don’t jump through all of the mandated hoops, you get totally ignored by leadership.
Blessings,
Gary
Gary,
Yes, I’ve seen that happen before as well.
-Alan