Take Me To Your Leader

1 Corinthians 1:10-17, CEB - Now I encourage you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Agree with each other and don’t be divided into rival groups. Instead, be restored with the same mind and the same purpose.  My brothers and sisters, Chloe’s people gave me some information about you, that you’re fighting with each other.  What I mean is this: that each one of you says, “I belong to Paul,” “I belong to Apollos,” “I belong to Cephas,” “I belong to Christ.”  Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in Paul’s name?  Thank God that I didn’t baptize any of you, except Crispus and Gaius, so that nobody can say that you were baptized in my name!  Oh, I baptized the house of Stephanas too. Otherwise, I don’t know if I baptized anyone else. Christ didn’t send me to baptize but to preach the good news. And Christ didn’t send me to preach the good news with clever words so that Christ’s cross won’t be emptied of its meaning.

In today’s passage, we see one of the primary reasons Paul wrote this first letter to the church in Corinth.  He hears a report that people have divided themselves up into factions, each faction following a different leader.  Of course, Paul calls this out as nonsense and calls them to unity.  We read it and we wholeheartedly agree with Paul.  Division is counter-productive.  All the leaders that people are following have one leader – Christ Himself.  We agree this is true.

Problem is, eons later, we still do the same thing.  There are tens of thousands of Christian denominations now.  My current denomination is, as I write this, dividing up into at least two more.  Three of the five churches I have been appointed to in my time as pastor have a congregational split in their history.   Our human tendency is tribalism, gathering ourselves in little communities that set themselves apart, and many times against, other communities.  The word “human” in that last sentence is the key here.  The more human our leadership is, the more prone we are to this toxic tribalism. 

Paul spends the first four chapters of this letter explaining how it is supposed to work.  If you have time today, I encourage you to read them, but I’m going to summarize them here.  The best and wisest leaders that humanity has to offer are only able to scratch the surface of the amazing depth and genius of God’s wisdom.  Human leaders called by God are called to play specific roles for a specific time.  No one leader can convey, teach, and or empower a community to live out the full gospel revealed to us in Christ.  As soon as we begin to place all our trust in one such leader, we have put Christ into an infinitesimally small box.   

                Listen to Paul in chapter 4:1-5 (CEB):

So a person should think about us this way—as servants of Christ and managers of God’s secrets.  In this kind of situation, what is expected of a manager is that they prove to be faithful.  I couldn’t care less if I’m judged by you or by any human court; I don’t even judge myself.  I’m not aware of anything against me, but that doesn’t make me innocent, because the Lord is the one who judges me.  So don’t judge anything before the right time—wait until the Lord comes. He will bring things that are hidden in the dark to light, and he will make people’s motivations public. Then there will be recognition for each person from God.

Leaders are, at best, simply stewards of the wisdom of God.  The Lord Jesus is the One who reveals the wisdom, not the leader.  So we all, including all who lead, are followers of Jesus.  The constant is Jesus; the human leaders will always change.

                I’m reminding myself of that as I begin to prepare to move to another church.  My prayer is that Holy Spirit has used me reveal a little bit of the wisdom of God.   I pray that I’ve watered some seeds that my predecessors had planted and planted a few seeds that others will water after I’ve moved on.  I trust that I leaders have done the same in the new place where I’m going.  But in the end, I love the way Paul says it in 3:6-7:

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow.  Because of this, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but the only one who is anything is God who makes it grow.”

Don’t participate in division of any kind among God’s people.  It is foolishness.  There’s nothing wrong with having leaders of which you’re particularly fond (I have those too).  However, if you so identify with those leaders that you are no longer able to submit to others, you have departed from God’s wisdom.  Don’t do it. 

 

Question:  Spend some time reflecting on gems of wisdom that you’ve received from leaders throughout your life and looking forward to that continuing to happen for the rest of your life.

 

Prayer:  God, thank You for faithful leaders.  Help us to be faithful to those we would lead and help us to always be followers of You first.  Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for unity in the church today.

 

Song: Take Me to Your Leader – Newsboys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RClBXAUPwOE  

Unchecked Anger

 James 1:19-27

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,  because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.  Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror  and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

 

                It seems like there are plenty reasons to angry these days.  Rampant inflation makes our incomes run out quicker. White hot political divisions persist on almost every issue of any substance.  It doesn’t help that it is likely that a former president will be criminally charged soon.  Children we know now fear going to school while all wonder what solutions might be effective.   The list of reasons to be angry could go on for pages.  In the midst of all this, we need to hear the words of our scripture for today again:

 

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”

 

I have to confess that I am often tempted to begin to writing about my anger with the intention of “venting” my anger on social media.   Each time, I would hear the words of James above.  In times of feverish anger, it is more important to “be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” because my “human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” 

 

“The righteousness that God desires.”  From the lips of God, “righteousness” is a relational word.  Literally, the translation of the word righteousness connotes “right relationship.”  Human anger does not produce right relationships.  What does produce right relationships, James reminds us, is listening, slow measured speech, and refraining from destructive anger.  So instead of publishing my anger, I have tried to listen to people to which I really don’t want to listen.  This is really hard.  What I have learned is that careful listening and slow measured speech is in terribly short supply right now in others and in me. What is needed more than anything right now is more listening and less unfiltered anger.  That is true not only of our political leaders on both sides of the aisle, but it is true of our families, our churches, and all of our relationships.  When we are tempted to lash out, we need to listen.  When we are feeling like we want to hit something, we need to listen.  It is this listening that can provide the path to righteous action, action that can produce stronger relationships.  We have choices about how we treat those we relate to in our own relational circles.  If more people could engage in patient careful love-infused conversations, we can eventually have an effect on what happens in more public arenas.  It was spirit-filled, listening, and loving Christians that had an effect on transforming the Roman Empire and eventually converting the Roman Emperor. 

 

This is always one of the tasks and responsibilities of Christ-followers.  Listening is how we get to the heart of any matter.  This is true everywhere and anywhere. 

 

Question:  Where could you in this moment, benefit at least one of your relationships by committing to listening more than you are now?

 

Prayer:  God, help us commit ourselves to deeply seeking to understand and only after doing so speak with the intention of being understood.  Help us to use not just the ears on our heads but the ears of our heart.  Help us hear more clearly than anything your voice.  Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for law enforcement officials and leaders as they seek to keep the peace and keep people safe in the coming days.

 

Song: Underneath, by Alanis Morrissette (I share the lyrics today, because I believe they are very insightful)

 

Look at us break our bonds in this kitchen

Look at us rallying all our defenses

Look at us waging war in our bedroom

Look at us jumping ship in our dialogues

 

There is no difference

In what we're doing in here

That doesn't show up as bigger symptoms out there

So why spend all our time in dressing our bandages?

When we've the ultimate key to the cause right here

Our underneath

 

Look at us form our cliques in our sandbox

Look at us micro-kids with both our hearts blocked

Look at us turn away from all the rough spots

Look at dictatorship on my own block

 

There is no difference

In what we're doing in here

That doesn't show up as bigger symptoms out there

So why spend all our time in dressing our bandages?

When we've the ultimate key to the cause right here

Our underneath

 

How I've spun my wheels

With carts before my horse

When shine on the outside springs from the root

Spotlight on these seeds of simpler reasons

This score born into form, starts in my living room

 

There is no difference

In what we're doing in here

That doesn't show up as bigger symptoms out there

So why spend all our time in dressing our bandages?

When we've the ultimate key to the cause right here

Our underneath

 

Link to song:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVfz74FayzM