“Now these are the
gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists,
and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to
do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-12
There is much to
think about these days as I explore the various facets of leadership and the church
I belong to. I took time to write out all the questions posed by the training
videos I was required to watch as part of the requirements for leadership at
the Meeting House. They were fantastic!
In one of the
videos, Bruxy shared an anecdote about when he was interviewed by the Meeting
House for his position as teaching pastor. He was asked about his vision for
the church and his thoughts on growing the numbers. His response was that he
had no plan to expand the population but what he wanted to foster was a healthy
church.
He then went on to
describe his vision of a healthy church.
He’s good. He made
me want to be part of it!
Smile. I guess I am!
Healthy is not a synonym for perfection! It is,
however, a representation of the journey towards perfection, that example of
perfection always being Jesus.
I want to add that being
part of this mission towards a healthy church does not come with any sort of
condemnation towards my brothers and sisters who attend other churches, whose
faith practices are different than my own. That’s part of being healthy…not
judging. In fact, it’s being open to learning from them, too!
(Smile.) I have to
confess that this happens most of the time but sometimes it doesn’t. It takes
practice.
After finishing my
post the other day, I wrote out a question of my own…”What is it about Jesus
that makes him the ideal expression of love?”
On the heels of
typing this out this morning, another question arose, “Why do I want to become
like him?”
My first answer
right off the top of my head is because there are things I want purged from my
life. Things like hate, suspicion, and fear…oh…and yes, judgement! More
importantly, I want to be like Him because I have experienced his peace, joy,
grace, forgiveness, patience, compassion, and love on this journey along the
Black River. I want to be in a position to give this to others.
That’s a cool thing
as well. I may not have arrived at my destination, but, through Jesus, I have
been able to share these wonderful expressions of love with others along the
way. And this is not just because of what I do, where I work, or my role in the
church, it is because it is who God made me to be.
And that, I feel, is
the greatest attribute of leadership…being completely unaware that I am leading
at all! I only need to be true to myself yet open to correction and guidance then let God do the rest. AMEN!
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