Becoming Irrelevant

Saturday, September 5th, 2009
The most painful thing I have ever witnessed in a man or woman of greatness is when they become irrelevant.  In the life of Uzziah we see such a man ( 2 Chron. 26). He was a man of passion, administrative ability, intelligence, and he had God's presence on his life. One day, in his success, his pride led his to a very poor decision - a decision to attempt to control the work of God. To move out of his calling and God given authority. This was manifested by his desire to burn incense on the altar of incense, and his total disrespect for the spiritual leaders who stood in his way. How different his attitudes toward spiritual leaders from his youth when Zechariah taught him the fear of God and he sought God. Spiritual leaders had not changed, he had! The penalty for his "unfaithfulness" (God's definition of his sin) was to contract leprosy and to live in isolation until his death. He was still king, but he was irrelevant. His son Jotham governed as administrator in his place.  He was sidelined, he was put on the bench, whatever metaphor you wish to use. The greatness was still inside him, but could no longer be expressed.

I do not believe we become irrelevant due to age, appearance, or even cultural changes. As long as we seek God, God will give us success. We only become irrelevant when, due to pride, we step out of our calling and authority. That is called being unfaithful.
 

Abusive Leadership????

Monday, May 4th, 2009
 I read another article today about "abusive leadership."  It just amazes me today the frequency of these articles and books when 99% of the Christian leaders I meet are anything but abusive. In fact, I find far more of them being abused by the people they lead (hahaha). What amazed me was again the lack of any Scripture that people were encouraged to use in judging leaders.  He opened the article with, "My personal experience and theoretical inferences have revealed five indicators of those who abuse power,"  and not one scripture included. It would seem to me that opinions are not the basis of evaluating a leader or any other person. In fact, if I were to overlay his 5 indicators with Moses (the most humble man who ever lived), Jesus and Paul, they would have all failed in his opinion. The Word of God is the standard. Opinion is completely in the realm of "offense."  No pastor, no deacon, no leader in a church can live based on the opinions of people. They will either become a people pleasing politician or a chameleon that can never present Christ -- who is the same yesterday , today and forever.  As leaders, we all have different styles and personalities. Chose to live the Bible. You can not please everyone, but by living the Word you will please the Head of the Church.

Leadership

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
Think and ask questions 5 levels deep but live on the surface of life.   It is always good to keep asking questions and thinking deeper in every situation. It is however not a good thing to live a life of layers built to deal with the perceptions of people.  Live life on the surface. It will be hard for some to understand ( like a BIR official believing you only have one set of books) but it is always best to be an “uncomplicated “person . Popularity and integrity are not the same.