Christian Leadership in A Secular World (Part 1)

                The most difficult task for Christian leaders is to balance the enormous pressures of their jobs while at the same time maintaining the character and witness required of those who profess the Christian faith.  Some authors and commentators would try and suggest that this is a new problem brought about by an increasingly material world in a society bent on self rather than service.  This of course is a failure in our technologically advanced and progressive society but in looking at the writings of the apostle’s probably was true for first century Christians as well.  The real culprit is that we are all fatally flawed and desperately need the grace of Jesus Christ to overcome the sinful nature of man.

                In Ephesians 4-6 there is a road map that Paul laid out on how the church should be governed and how we interact with one another as believers.  The pretext of chapter 4 is an attempt by Paul to get the members of the church of Ephesus to understand that God had provided an opportunity to take the life given to them by God and do something special with it.  Paul instructs them in Ephesians 3:14-21 that they truly understand the love that God has bestowed upon them in hopes that this knowledge would begin to shape the decisions and interactions that they choose.   Ephesians 4-6 is a practical guide for each of us to use in our attempt to rediscover how to live a worthy life.  In reviewing these passages I think I am again reminded at how relevant God’s word is in today’s mixed up world. 

                The first task Paul endeavors to undertake is to remind God’s people to walk in Unity even though there may be differences among them.  The qualities he mentions are humility, discipline, love and reconciliation.  Leaders could almost stop right there and be very effective in how they manage and relate to the people who fall under their prevue.  We can all think of leaders that we have had that do not understand that real leadership is rooted in service and sacrifice not power and prestige.  Servant leadership became popularized in the seventies but what makes this model lasting is the clear biblical foundation that is found in the writings of Paul and the other disciples and in the teachings of Jesus himself.   The Message translation goes on to say that we are called to travel the same road in the same direction and that we are to stay together both inwardly and outwardly.  This in my view is a major failure of the modern church today. We have allowed the edicts and dictates of MAN in the guise of varying denominations to almost become more important than the message of Christ himself.  In many cases man’s “religion” has been a primary force of division within the body of the Christian church.  As if he is reaching out through time to shake some sense into this fallen world Paul reminds us that there is “one master, one faith, one baptism, one God…..who rules over all, works through all and is present in all”.  Try viewing the church today through the filter of UNITY that Paul just laid out for us. Does this sound like the church that you attend? Does this sound like the group of people that you work with?  We live in a fractured world and there are so many people who are looking to belong to a group that not only pulls in the same direction but actually cares about the others holding onto the rope.  Peterson in The Long Obedience in the Same Direction equates liberty and service together and says that liberty without commitment to service leads to “covetous squalor”.  Real unity can be found in focusing not on the things that separate us but in the ties that bind us together most notably the enduring truth of Jesus Christ and our service to his cause!

                Paul goes on to make sure that we all understand that as leaders within the church and in society at large that we do not have to face the obstacles of this world unprepared.  We have been blessed by God with Spiritual gifts that allow us to fufill the role and promise that God has laid out for our life.  Paul goes on to further define the five primary leadership positions within the Christian Church.  Those positions are Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher.  We may fall into one of these positions based on how we have been gifted by God for duty in spreading his ministry throughout our community and the world.  The role of the leader is to prepare or equip the followers for the task at hand and in this case that is the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.  Too often there is a need on the parts of leaders to manage their responsibilities through intimidation and fear.  This strategy will produce short term results but in this part of Ephesians we see that again Paul is pointing us toward a leadership philosophy that is grounded in love and the desire to edify and recognize people for working hard.   As leaders we need to be as diligent trying to catch our employees doing something right as we do trying to catch them doing something wrong.  If we expect to truly shepherd our people we have to model real Christian leadership and teach them how to be the kind of person God wants them to be.