Something that
Ive been thinking about a lot lately. How does a Christian leader (for example:
a pastor) model the type of incarnational leadership that Paul encourages
Timothy in while practicing the virtues of private piety that Jesus espouses in
his ministry?
Consider the
following passages from Paul:
Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an
example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in
purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of
Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was
given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.
Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you
do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
1 Timothy 4:11-16
Follow my example,
as I follow the example of Christ
1 Corinthians 11:1
You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed
the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy
Spirit. And so you became a model to
all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
1 Thessalonians 1:5b-7
It would seem
that a good ethic for a Christian leader or teacher (as well as the Christian
in general) is to wear your faith and practice on your sleeve. Living your
faith publicly so that the whole world can see how you're different because of
Jesus. More than that it would seem for a leader that I am called to not just
live a "life out-loud" as some put it, but am to also intentionally
model spiritual disciplines that will be helpful for those following me to
examine and replicate in their own lives so that they can develop Christian
maturity too. On the surface this seems very straightforward. But then there
are these sayings of Jesus:
“Be careful not to
practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If
you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as
the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by
others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not
let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may
be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will
reward you.
Matthew 6:1-4
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to
pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.
Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to
your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret,
will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like
pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not
be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Matthew 6:5-8
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they
disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they
have received their reward in full. But
when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be
obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen;
and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 6:16-18
Do you see the
problem I'm having?
Last March/April
I came back from Guatemala and did a very public purging of my Transformers
collection. It was a spiritual discipline for me to learn how to be less
materialistic, more generous and more public in my personal walk with the Lord.
It was a type of fast and it was a type of giving and I'm starting to wonder in
reflection if in my desire to be a public example for my congregation (and
whoever else happens to stubble across this blog) that I was in violation of
some of the commands of Jesus. Now it seems obvious to me that God blessed that
endeavour and it opened up opportunities for me to teach that I wouldn't have
had otherwise so don't be concerned that I'm living with crippling guilt or
anything - but I do wonder is that sort of things supposed to be normative in
my life as a leader or is it the exception that proves the rule that I
shouldn't be doing that sort of thing?
I'm actually
really torn on this right now. The Lord has been teaching me other things that
excite me since I finished my Lenten Transformers purge, but Ive been reluctant
to come out and share some of those experiences for fear that it's the wrong
thing to do. Where is the line between personal bragging and bragging in the
Lord? What do I do if something I could share BOTH exalts Jesus and makes me
look good in the process? Should I keep back from publicly acknowledging God
because I don't want to appear to be bragging - or should I risk blowing my own
horn so that in my accomplishments God's hand can be seen and Jesus could
receive praise?
This has real
implications for preaching as well. No preacher I know has a problem telling a
good old fashioned embarrassing story about themselves to break the ice, it
really helps to make the congregation realize that you're no different than any
of them. In the same way for illustration I don't know of many pastors who
would hesitate too much to use a "safe"
example of their own shortcomings to illustrate the dangers of not getting
something right (that does bring up another discussion of how vulnerable and
transparent is too transparent in preaching but I'll leave that one for another
day) - but what about when the best illustration or example you can think of
from every day life is an example of you doing it well yourself? I don't know
about other preachers out there but I really struggle with whether or not I
should be using those illustrations because I don't want my messages to be
about how great I am - but rather how great Jesus is.
I don't have any
answers to this question right now but I would welcome a discussion with any
who are interested. Perhaps you have thought this issue through already and
have come down on one side or the other - I would welcome your reasoning. Or
perhaps you're like me and just trying to figure out how to be the best leader
you can be in whatever capacity God has called you to lead in - I'd welcome you
to join me on this journey of reflection. I'm looking forward to your thoughts.
Until later,
Chris
Well, Chris, as a writer, and a columnist for 19 years, most people write about their experiences. My columns often reflect my experience, in a self-deprecating sort of way. I find it breaks a lot of ice, as you said, and also shows a grounding for what you are talking about.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a bad thing, per se.
FANTASTIC questions. I can relate to the concern about preaching vulnerably. I tend to err on the side of authentic rather than smooth and polished and "example" oriented because I just think that the pastor has to put him/herself under the Word like everyone else and there is no sense projecting an image that, even if it helps people, is only going to lead them to the pastor.
ReplyDeleteThat said, it would be good (and biblical) if pastors were to some degree imitating Christ enough to be worth imitating. That said, I think imitating Christ has to mean first and foremost imitating His Spirit of daily submission to the Father and self-giving to others.
Problem is, if you preach vulnerable (and go with something other than the "safe" illustration) you really run the risk of being taken all sorts of ways you don't intend. To me it comes down to what kind of community you have (and how much of a communion it is). Trust, open communication and understanding, on the journey together, that sort of thing.
As for the main question, I guess one of the ways we tend to parse this out is that we go for the "be and example" passages and we let the others ones be reminders to some kind of aw-shucks humility or to not mention your examples at all. I don't know, I tend to come back to my points above for the right posture in all this. The pastor as example is not something I want to ignore completely, but I think it might be overrated/overdone. Seems like the leader needs to step under the Word along with everyone else. That means we may hear some of their confessions and victories (as appropriate), but we'll hear others' too.
I don't know. Just trying to discuss.