False leaders
There’s a difference between a false leader and a less-than-effective one. While we really need to not spend our time nit-picking decisions and finding fault with the way a church or a ministry is run, we really do need to be able to smell a rotten leader when we encounter one (sorry for the gross analogy there).
I found myself thinking about some of the pastors and ministry leaders who have gone down the road of immorality and lost everything. Was it a moment of bad judgment, then bad publicity, that brought about their end? No, there were heart issues that started long before.
The two things Neil lists as red flags – willingness to indulge in sin, and removing the need to submit to anyone themselves – are easy to spot in hindsight, but I found myself wondering… What about the people who were close to them in ministry? Did they know? Did they ignore warning signs?
At my church, we’re so blessed to have a pastor who is a man of integrity. We also believe in doing church as a team, which means there are lots of leaders working it all out.
How critical, then, that we keep ourselves pure, that we keep each other accountable, and that we cultivate the skill of being good followers, not just good leaders. A humble, submitted heart won’t easily crash and burn.
I am thankful for our pastor and the safety checks we have in place for false teachers.
ReplyDeleteI pray for a humble heart that is always ready to submit to authority and the ability to see the warning signs of false teachers.