Here are a few humbling things that Jesus had to say to the synagogue leaders of the day. Not to women at wells, people possessed by demons, men born blind or whose bodies were with crippled with leprosy or even women caught in the very act of adultery, but to the religious leaders. As church leaders today in an ever increasing busy ministry world you and I would do well to slow down for a moment and drink in these comments deeply, ponder them and allow the Spirit of God to teach and correct us.
Am I addicted to particular styles, best practices, and models or to following the leading of God through His Word?
“And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites!” Matthew 15:3,6
Am I leading the Church to move towards what God has already dreamed up for it become or what I have dreamed up for it to become?
“’It is written,’ he said to them, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’” Matthew 21:13
Have I become so engrossed with progress and building the church that I no longer recognize the power and movement of God?
“I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did.” Matthew 21:31-32
Am I more concerned with the image or brand management of my own life and the church I lead or the condition of my heart and the hearts of those I’m shepherding?
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will also be clean.” Matthew 23:25-26
How well do I recognize and listen to the people the Lord brings into my life?
“Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town to town.” Matthew 23:34
Posted in Leadership, Spiritual Formation
Paul:
In reference to your comment “slow down for a moment and drink in these comments deeply, ponder them and allow the Spirit of God to teach and correct us” in your blog post, I think you’ve called out one of the most significant issues that today’s culture and technology challenges us with – the fragmentation of thought.
My example goes something like this: My great-grandparents’ generation (maybe another generation before that) essentially had communication devices like television, computers, smartphones, or even radio. They were a culture built on the reading/listening. They were challenged to use their cognitive resources to “drink in comments and ponder them.”
With the advent of radio, the next generation was pulled away from the written tradition and became listeners. Radio programs still challenged them to use their minds to envision what was being said. But now they were doing that in 30 minute or 1 hour blocks of time.
Next television came and that generation became visually and aurally challenged. A further step away from reading and also a reduction in the time you needed to pay attention. Shows were pared to 30 minutes and commercials even less time (2 minute segments). As TV “progressed” as a medium, commercials drilled down to as little as 10 seconds.
Hopefully you can sense the drift I’m talking about – less time spent drinking and far less time spent pondering, with each generation. A final point on that is the “on-demand” generation. No longer do you have to wait to hear your favorite song on the radio or see your favorite TV show – you can get it now. No waiting – chug down the content as quickly as you can and as often as you like.
All this to say that we are allowing and encouraging this fragmentation of thought to keep us from your encouragement to drink and ponder the simple, yet infinitely profound Scripture.
And while your words are not Scripture, they ring with the truth of Scripture. Thanks for the reminder and the challenge.
Side note: I really like how you subtly use the technique of “It is written?” Modeling your posts after Jesus’ style is not a bad way to go.
Grace and Peace,
Jim