Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
I'm sure most LC leaders would protest the accusation that "tangibles like money" guided their way, since few in the program enjoyed any substantial wealth. But that does not mean there were not serious problems with their value system. Any time we exalt our leaders, allowing them to rule us without peer review, permitting them to abuse other leaders, covering their failures with spiritual doublespeak, and preventing any and all recourse for legitimate grievances, we will get what we pay for.
|
The hardest part of being a Christian is practicing what we preach and that requires living by faith. When the leadership fails on that regard, it's time to start jumping ship because if the leaders can't walk by faith and trust God, then the flock have no Godly example to follow.
What I've come to appreciate about my church is how strongly the leadership feels about their value system and commitment to live by faith. The pastors don't even take salary and the head pastor has signed all her royalty from her CDs and books over to the church.
She's shared stories once about how after she decided to modernize worship to become relatable to the young generation, a lot of the older and wealthier congregation who had been bankrolling the church tried to influence her away, but she resolved in herself to overcome this temptation because she knew her new direction was given to her by the Holy Spirit, and she trusted that God would provide for her and in the end it all worked out. This was all possible due to the intimacy she built with Jesus. God had provided for her need every time in the past just as he did with the Israelites, so she had plenty of assurance to make risky decisions that relied on God's promises.
When the leadership can cultivate a culture with a Godly value system based on the word of God which treasures the fruits of the Spirit over the worldly things, that can set the foundation for the rest of the church to walk in Godly wisdom. However if even the leaders can't do this, this will likely stumble and kill the faith of the flock because they'll have no pattern to follow and become likely to live by their flesh and what the world and their eyes are telling them, and not by the Spirit.
James 3:1
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.