Quote:
Originally Posted by Hope
As far as "leading", I have some influence due to age, experience and perhaps gift and hopefully some spiritual maturity. Our church life, especially leadership, is in many ways quite different from the LSM style.
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Since we have accomodated Igzy's hypothetical 'two groups in one city' scenario to illuminate the not-so-practical LSM model, please allow me to spin a hypothetical for you all. This hypothetical is for me quite real, and I use it occasionally as I see fit.
In my scenario, I imagine myself caught by Christ from out of a storm-tossed sea. I am pulled "into Him", out from the dark and turbulent world. Suddenly I know peace, and rapturous joy, and God's amazing love. Lo and behold, as I look around, marveling my good fortune, I realize there are others in the boat with me, likewise marvellously saved. We congratulate each other on our happy fate, and endeavor to sail together in our marvelous "lifeboat", back home to our heavenly Father. We realize we are saved individually, but into a corporate experience. I am part of the "lifeboat experience" for others, as they are to me.
Now, who sails this thing? When do we steer left (port) or right (starboard)? When do we let sails down, or up? Who takes the midnight watch? Who watches and doles out our precious rations? And so on, ad infinitum. You can see it almost immediately in Acts chapter 6: who's going to wait on tables, who's going to labor in and minister the Word?
Although I am opinionated and full of ideas on "how things ought to be", I am not so dull and insipid that I don't realize it would behoove me to listen to those who were in the boat before me. They have seen a few clamber in and fall back out; maybe they stumbled a time or two themselves. I have two choices: either I can learn the hard lessons of experience, or I can learn from those who have gone before. I think the second way, learning from others, is much more profitable. More benefit, less cost.
So I pay attention to the "old salts", and imitate what they do. And two very amazing things happen. First, as I "Monkey-see, Monkey-do" the old-timers, aping their speaking, praying, singing, declaring, amenning, and so forth, the Holy Spirit comes alongside. I suddenly feel the Paraclete's 'parousia', a presence so precious and holy and strong and irresistable that I will spend the rest of my life like John and Peter, remembering when "His glory broke upon me" that day on the holy mountain. And second, as I continue to pattern my behavior in some approximation of the 'leading ones', and I continue on the boat for a league or two, lo and behold some others clamber on board and start to look at me with interest, what I am doing. they look at 'little aron' and consider if this is, in fact, the way home to the Father. It is a humbling thing to model Christ for others. Little aron starts to get a wee bit of the 'gravitas' that he has seen in the elders who came before.
Lastly, and not entirely unrelated, is the idea that the word "kurios" in Greek can be translated as "Master", the word we usually translate to "Lord" in English. Jesus was not "bossy" of others; He was meek and humble. He emptied Himself; he became as nothing. But He was indeed the "Master". He was the Expert, the Pro; He mastered "self", He mastered "pride", He mastered fear and anxiety and jealousy and resentments and all the vain human emotions that rule the rest of us. He mastered the vessel which God the Father had poured Him into. And we who call Him "Lord" would be wise to imitate Him, and endeavor not to master others, but to master our own vessels, and likewise follow Him into the reward of eternal glory.