Matthew:23:1-12
“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ”The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
“Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’
“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
1. Preach something but not do it.
James:3:2 states that “We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.” That means to say that all believers (including spiritual leaders) will mess up once in a while, especially in the area of speech. The caveat here is the issue of consistency and conscience, where the Pharisees’ lifestyles consistently did not match up with the things they taught, and their consciences had become hardened to the point where they saw no need to adhere to what they preached. Spiritual elitism had bred where they probably felt they were ‘above the rules’.
2. Put heavy burdens on followers, but be unwilling to help.
The burden of leadership isn’t just about getting things done. It is about helping followers grow and become all that God has called them to be. The Pharisees saw their followers as a means to an end, and as resources that were to be utilised to serve their ministry agendas only.
True spiritual leadership will involve bringing people together to serve a determined goal/objective, but comes with the ability and desire to bring out the best in people and release them into the maturity, gifts, and sphere of influence that the Creator intends them to possess.
3. Be more interested in how you appear before men rather than who you are before God.
Nobody with some understanding of Scripture would consciously want to do this. (See the life of Saul.) However, unresolved rejection, hurts, unsanctified ambitions, hidden judgements, unrenewed mindsets and unbiblical worldviews can blind a person to this. I’ve had to struggle with this a lot, because this can be SO subtle, and is so deeply ingrained into our culture that we can easily fail to identify it in our lives.
4. Desire earthly titles and positions, and not servanthood.
It’s interesting that Jesus told his disciples to not call anyone ‘teacher’ or ‘father’. To have leaders with these qualities are actually desirable. We need leaders who have the understanding and insight to teach, and the Apostle Paul further highlighted that there were (comparatively) many teachers, but few fathers. When Abram was promoted in his spiritual calling, his name was changed to Abraham, which meant ‘father of many nations’. (Genesis:17:5)
The issue was one of spiritual identity. The true and primary identity of a spiritual leader is a servant. Though one may function as a teacher, preacher, leader, pastor, and even be a spiritual father, the primary identity of a leader is servanthood.
Servanthood has absolutely no privileges, unlike fathering and teaching. As much as we need true spiritual fathers and teachers (and i would suggest that all leaders should grow in these areas), leaders might remain as servants in their hearts, and function primarily out of this identity in leadership. This was the crux of apostolic leadership in the early Church and clearly exemplified in the life of Paul.
PS. I’m still doing some of this, honestly. Let’s persist in getting these out of our lives!
Bex
February 8, 2010
Interesting post haha, I agree with this part especially:
“True spiritual leadership will involve bringing people together to serve a determined goal/objective, but comes with the ability and desire to bring out the best in people and release them into the maturity, gifts, and sphere of influence that the Creator intends them to possess.”
When you’re a leader or in some kind of position of authority it seems so much easier to push people towards fulfilling your own vision rather than God’s vision for them and the body of Christ as a whole, and part of what makes Christianity so difficult and radical is the paradoxical quality of the leadership that Jesus calls us to practice, but yet at the same time, when you do practice it, it is also absolutely freeing and fulfilling and right.
Bex
February 9, 2010
Anyway Eric Chan I think you’re quite a good spiritual leader hahaha. You truly invest in the lives of people and always make yourself available for them and always give 100000% when they need you. You always give in the secret but the fruits of your labour are obvious for all to see because people really grow when you disciple them.
Vida Mcelwaine
April 27, 2010
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