|
go here to buy my stock photography
Alan Creech
 Custom Search
my handwriting sites & things i like
abbey of gethsemani faith communities christ the king blogs i read
aaron klinefelter
|
October 17, 2006
> 12:22 PM
i was wrong > leadership in the church Well, just exactly what the title says. I was wrong. For a while I laboured under some wrong ideas about what it means to be a Christian leader, a pastor, and elder in the church. I've actually had wrong ideas on a couple of ends of the spectrum at one point or another. Too far one way and then too far the other. Hopefully no one is terribly disappointed that this won't be an exhaustive, long post about the subject at hand. It won't be. It will be what it is. Of course for a long time I didn't think about leadership and what it meant at all. I just was, and wasn't worried about it. Then, when things started becoming apparent in light of me developing into one of these leaders, my mind started working. I suppose it's going to work that way. If one, through whatever means one does, discerns a vocation to something, in this case pastoral "ministry," one's mind will begin cranking in that direction. Vocation - you see that connection to something like "vocal" in there - it's a calling from God and gifting to play a certain role in His Kingdom economy, in the Church, among the rest of His people. So I started thinking about what it meant. At one point my ideas were very hard, very dictatorial - that's one way to put it. There was very much a "boss" mentality. Short answer - that's not healthy for the leader or for those lead. It can be very dangerous. Now, more recently I went into a mode of reaction against those former ideas into more of an un-leader way of thinking about it. We don't want to harm anyone so don't boss them around. Everybody's valuable in the Body, in the church, so let them think for themselves and come up with answers on their own - you're no better than them - let them loose. God forbid I teach any doctrine as Truth to be accepted. Horrors. May the Holy Spirit forbid me, please, to dispense any Wisdom I might have as something someone might need to listen to ad implement in their lives. If I did that, I might squash them. I might put myself on a pedestal. I don't want anyone showing me any respect for goodness sake. Down to it - I was wrong. On both counts. Both these ways of looking at leadership are a bit askew. My more recent reactionary stance has also not been healthy. It leaves a community up in the proverbial air. It lays no ground. There's no tether. I'm talking about spiritual fathering, not secular corporate boss-ship. As churches we are families within the larger Family of God. Families need parents. Parents progenate families and raise the children up. They teach them. They discipline them. They love them. They praise and correct them. Parents aren't always your best buddy. That's fine. It doesn't mean they're not your friend. Relationships get interesting in this space. Anyway, faith communities need parents. If I'm going to be a leader in the community I have progenated, I need to be a father to it. I don't need to hold back on that. I have been. I've tried too hard to be the best buddy Dad who never makes the kids mad. I have forgotten to be a "father." I repent of that. I pray for Grace to go the other direction as I am called to do so. Help me to be where and what you want me to be Lord. technorati tags > christian leadership, church, pastoral theology, emerging church Labels: church, emerging church, leadership 0 Comments:| permalink | e-mail me | 
|
daily prayer
ordinary time lectionary readings > today
my blog post labels
blogging archives
|
038
