Theme: Developing Discipleship: Lead
When you are looking for a leader what are you looking for? What is it important to have as a leader? Got some absolutely fabulous responses on the day.
Remember as disciples we have a leader. Our leader is not the minister, as she herself is a disciple. In the Church of Scotland we believe that Jesus Christ is the head of the Church, and we are the body of Christ. So we put Jesus first. When the Kirk Session, or Presbytery, or the General Assembly constitute as a court of the Church, we do so in the full knowledge that Jesus is head of the church, and all we do and are is for him, with him and through him. Without him we have nothing, with him we have everything. Yet within the church we set apart people to be our spiritual leaders - ministers of word and sacrament like myself, readers, ordained local ministers, deacons, and elders. Plus other designations of ministry such as chaplain etc. When we set people apart for a particular role, or ordain them into eldership or ministry, we are put them into leadership roles. Yet many find the concept of leadership quite daunting. Arguably that is wise, but what can we learn from Jesus about what it means to lead?
Today’s readings barely scratch the surface, however they highlight the forgotten elements of preparing to lead. And the coming weeks will actually flesh out what it means to lead more fully.
When Jesus goes into the wilderness it is a season of preparation for leadership. In the previous 30 years Jesus had been living a full life of family and friends and career. He knew what it was to live in the real world. So firstly, do not dismiss the years of your life where you might not have classed yourself as a leader. Whether you were a stay at home parent or the CEO of multinational company, your life and its lessons matter.
Secondly, a good leader takes time to prepare for the next challenge. If you decide that by the time you are 45 you will have run a marathon, but you can’t run the length of yourself, you wouldn’t sign up one day and run it the next day. You need to train, you need to get the right clothes and shoes, understand about nutrition and pacing yourself. And you need to prepare yourself mentally as well as physically.
Jesus was about to set out to complete his marathon, a marathon of epic proportions. He has just been baptised by John, given his reassurance by his Father God, and is led by the Spirit into the wilderness. This is a season where Jesus is being prepared for what will lie ahead. Hardship, struggle, temptations to succeed, to show off or to give up. And we know it. We have read the Gospels and we know what he is up against. But for Jesus he has to leave behind the homely comforts of mum’s cooking and washing, of satisfied customers and brotherly gatherings round the dinner table. The wilderness of nothing - no food or drink or company - brutal and with the real possibility of crushing the human spirit.
Yet with the wilderness comes clarity...for the earthly concerns are left behind, and the focus is on God alone.
We might not get called into the wilderness so bleak and brutal as Jesus, but the Holy Spirit still calls to join her there. There are times when as individuals and as the people of God here and as the people of God in the Church of Scotland as a whole that we are called into the wilderness. The wilderness challenges us to let go of our creature comforts, to get out from under our duvets of tradition and common practice, and embrace uncertainty and discomfort. And that is hard for human beings - we are creatures of habit, we build rituals that we pass from generation to generation, and we all know that to do something once in the church is innovation, twice, its tradition. For Jesus it was a time to preparation for what was to come. And in the time to come, Jesus would need to rely wholly on God. The wilderness gave that to Jesus. Our wilderness might just be the space and opportunity to step back from what we know in order to embrace what is next. It is said that a congregation which embraces its time of vacancy benefits from the space it gives them to look at who they are in Christ and in the community. A wilderness time.
In the wilderness Jesus is able to distinguish the difference between the voice of the devil and the voice of the Spirit. We have analysed the actual temptations before so today, I just want to highlight the pitfalls of being called to lead. The pitfalls of leadership are plenty but these ones are the classic ones.
When called to lead others we are often tempted to go in our own strength, with our own knowledge. It is a given that we will do this. Man shall not live by bread alone but by the word of God. If I truly want to know what God wants, I need to read his word and listen for his word.
When called to lead others we get scared. We are afraid of getting it wrong. It is a huge responsibility, and sometimes what we are asked by God feels wrong. It goes against culture norms and maybe even the church itself. Remember what Peter had to do when he went to the home of Cornelius. He struggled with what God wanted. But he went with it because he trusts God. Often, we lack that level of confidence and we want to test God. Gideon’s fleece perhaps. The devil quotes scripture and tries to plant seeds of discontent. But Jesus knows how to play that game, just as Peter did. Can we trust God’s leading even when it takes us into strange lands?
In the Church there are many tired leaders, feeling like they have wandered in the wilderness, without sustenance and are exhausted. Jesus was exhausted. He was human after all. The devil invites Jesus to bow down and worship him. How often we want to pass on the baton? Give the responsibility to someone else. If Jesus had worshipped the devil it would have been game over. Obviously that was never going to happen, and we would never want to do that either. But unlike Jesus our resolve is often not as strong. We step back, we step down and we step out. We stop leading because we are exhausted, burnt out by going it alone. Or we have forgotten who is the actual leader and we end up worshipping the wrong one! We don’t come to church to worship the minister, but to worship God. We love Blantyre Old but we know that it is the people that count not the building itself, even though it has its place.
We believe in the priesthood of all believers. I am a teaching elder, sat at Session amongst ruling elders. We are set apart and with that comes great responsibility. However, when we arrive at the pearly gates, my crown will be no shiner than yours, my mansion room no larger, my wings (I really want wings!) no fluffier. Okay maybe not wings.
Jesus when talking with his disciples recognises both the good and the corrupt that exists within us. He recognises the devil disguising himself. At the end of the temptations the devil goes away but will return and he does on several occasions. And it seems brutal here that Peter goes from star of the week to the dunce’s corner. A regular occurrence for our Peter, but Peter is still the rock upon which the Church is built. So remember, no matter how many times you or I get it wrong, God forgives and restores us.
Pray for your leaders - for your minister and your elders, for those who lead in Sunday Club, Leisure Group and Guild. They are not on pedestals, and they don’t want to be put on them. Give them space to prepare, to take time in the wilderness away from distractions, and pray for wisdom of the Spirit to reign. Pray for those in 121 who are trying to lead in difficult times where they will have wonderful achievements and epic fails. And if you sense God calling you into some kind of leadership whether in the church or the wider world, pray, set time aside and invite the Spirit to guide you. Whether you lead the walking group or run the doctors surgery or a business, Christian leadership is the same there as it is in the Church.
Next week we look at the theme of liberate.
Thank you for reading and for following this blog.
Every blessing in your faith journey and you are welcome to journey with us.
God loves you!
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