LEADERSHIP

CHAPTER EIGHT

Mark of a Leader - He Must Be Closer to God Than Those He Leads

Some might think it redundant to expound on such a trite truism; but personal experience and observations over many years convince me that this is indeed a most needful chapter.
Failure to heed this absurdly simple truth has often led to mechanical sermons, lifeless service and a loss of zeal in the pastor’s personal life. If not corrected immediately, it will soon communicate to those following him, that ritual and outward appearance are enough. Jesus repeatedly rebuked the Pharisees for making their religion one of outward appearances only. We can easily fall into this same trap.

It is not enough to set as our complete goal the strict observance of outward things. It is commendable, but not adequate, to see that services begin on time and that the hymns are sung with the proper gusto and are fitting to the service. Nor is it sufficient to be sure that all the right persons are mentioned in prayer and that visitation takes place at the appointed time. Even standing firm on the ordinances and seeing that they are observed meticulously, leaves something lacking. The Church at Ephesus had all these things and was still in danger of having her candlestick removed. The reason? She had left her first love.
Rev. 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

It is impossible to over-emphasize this need for being close to the Lord. Imagine a marriage in which each partner fulfills his or her responsibilities perfectly but mechanically. (I make the following example without apology to the Womens’ ‘Libbers’!) She plans the meals, cares for the children and the home, cooks, shops, makes sure the clothes are washed and ironed, while he provides well in material things, does the chores, helps discipline the children and they all sit together in their accustomed pew each Lord’s Day. It may sound perfect and yet if there is no love, there is an emptiness and lifelessness to their home and marriage. On the other hand, if there is love between them, the home will be a place of joy, even if either or both of them is less than perfect.

If love is essential to the well-being of a home, then how much more is the love of God needed in the Church! The primary responsibility for this is that of the pastor, as he sets the example for the flock!!
Every act of the Lord’s people is to spring from the love of God within us. Anything less is described by Paul as the sounding of brass and the tinkling of a cymbal. 1 Cor 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

In large gatherings: Youth Meetings, Associations, Fellowship Meetings, etc., it is quite common to see the altar filled with pastors at the beginning of an invitational service. For preachers to be the first ones on their knees is commendable, UNLESS they are there to confess their coldness and indifference to spiritual things, to God. If one needs to do this, then he has not been qualified to lead before. This is not to say that the flesh doesn’t sometimes drag us down into discouragement or worse, but when it happens, the leader should know and understand what has happened to him, and correct it long before he has to be convicted of it in a public service. It should be his goal to be ready always to fall on his knees in the altar to pray for sinners, without first having to make things right in his own behalf.

I have never known of a seminary offering a class on the ‘need and how-to’ of Prayer, Bible Reading, and Personal Meditation, but such a class is desperately needed. Too often the young minister enters his first pastorate with a full education in Bible Exegesis and Church Administration and Counseling, ready to take care of everyone’s problems but his own! He finds his every waking moment filled with his ministry, and wonders after a while, why he is so weary and doesn’t enjoy it anymore. It has become a wearisome job. It is vitally important that we remember that without the ever- present help and strength of our Lord as a personal, daily companion, no man can do the job required of him as a Leader of God’s people.

Even those sins of the flesh we find so easy to condemn , have a way of sneaking up on the unwary man of God.
When a pastor sees his own family going without many of those material things others take for granted, it is easy for self-pity to begin gnawing away at his innermost being. He doesn’t want to be consumed by self pity. He doesn’t want such sophomoric sentiments to be a part of his thinking. He insists to himself that he is a bigger man than that.
Covetousness? Absolutely not! It’s just that ‘they’ seem to have so much and I have to get by on so little! If this thing isn’t checked, he will soon be immersed in bitterness, and his theme song will be something like, ‘I’m a lonely little petunia in an onion patch’!
He must first of all admit to himself that he is NOT a big enough man to ward off self -pity. The psalmist Asaph records some of his thoughts on the subject in the 73rd Psalm. Ps 73:2
2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.’
He had almost backslid, when he compared the lives and riches of others to his own, UNTIL HE WENT INTO THE SANCTUARY OF GOD.
Ps 73:17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.
The answer to self -pity is NOT to be big enough to conquer it, but rather to be humble enough to seek the Lord’s strength to overcome.

There is another problem which is so insidious that it often appears at first to be a virtue, and one is made to wonder why the zeal is gone. This is the bugaboo of ‘routine’. There is the message to prepare for the Sunday morning service; It must be fitting and a certain length; The Sunday evening service must have every detail worked out; The Wednesday evening preparations are to be made; There are the Ladies, Youth and Men’s Fellowships to consider, along with the visitation of the sick and shut-ins; The counseling has to be done on schedule; and the building committee and Church publicity must be considered. Then there are the miscellaneous things that simply must be done. Even personal devotions have to be somehow worked into the schedule, if they are not abandoned.
There is a lot to be said for proper time management, and it is best to make the most of so precious a commodity, but it is too easy to allow the routine of service to steal away the joy and zeal which should be there. Sure, Daniel prayed three times a day, on schedule, but I doubt that it was just a routine, since he laid his life on the line every time he did it!

Go ahead. Do every thing on schedule, but be sure you put your ALL into it. Don’t simply preach because it is eleven o’clock on Sunday morning and that is what is scheduled, but rather deliver God’s message to the people at that time, because that’s when they are assembled! DO NOT TEACH LESSONS, TEACH PEOPLE!

If you find the thought entering your consciousness at ten o’clock Sunday morning, ‘A couple of more hours, and this chore will be finished for the week’, then perhaps it is a good time to tell the Church you must break the routine and call for a season of prayer before Sunday School!

There is an old truism, ‘You can't lead where you don't go.’(And you can't teach what you don't know). Do you want to lead your flock to greater heights? Do you want them to be ever closer to the Lord and rejoicing in His grace? Do you want to guide them into more complete obedience to His will? Only as the leader, himself, goes into these things, can he ever hope to lead the people.