The saying goes, Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Unfortunately, many never grasp this simple concept, for it seems to be the nature of man to want to be on top, in charge, at the helm…what I call, “the big dog syndrome.”
What folks with that mindset don’t understand is that having authority and being power driven is not the same thing. With God-given, God-ordained authority comes tremendous responsibility, and those who understand this never, ever think about the power position might bring. It is often the shallowness of spirit or inexperience of life and ministry that allow for such a temporal thing as a desire for power.
That there are people in the Church with a power hungry attitude is not a new thing…Jesus met the same challenges with His disciples. Remember that these were men whom the Lord had personally selected. Jesus was God in flesh, and knew the intent of their hearts from jump…yet He chose them.
So, the Lord was not surprised when the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with a question (Matthew 20:20-28). He knew full well that she was speaking on behalf of her sons, James and John, and that they desired a place of importance, more so than momma.
Jesus turned from momma and looked directly at the boys, answering their question with a question…“Are you able to drink of the cup that I drink of?”
He didn’t ask, “Can you,” or “Will you,” but “Are you able? Is your heart and temperament prepared for the cup of suffering that I will endure, and that you will endure? Are you up to the task? Have you conditioned yourselves for that which comes with position? What experiences and sacrifices make you a candidate for a right-hand place of authority in Kingdom work? Is your sole purpose for a position so that you can lord over my people?”
For those who would walk in ministry/Kingdom work, God is asking the same questions today, but they are not questions easily dealt with.
Sacrifice is just that…sacrifice. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. Sacrifice is an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else more important or worthy. It is devotion to others. It is time spent when time is at a premium. It is sacrifice for the sake of the call.
To the uncommitted or self-serving, sacrifice and suffering is a bitter tasting cup. If this attitude of “it’s all about meeee” is not dealt with, major problems arise. Full-time ministry becomes just another job or duty in the church, and the love of souls, if it was ever present, fades. And then one day, the absolute power they crave turns on them, corrupting their heart at the core…sadly, they will not recognize that it has even happened.
William Barclay writes, “There is no one cup for the Christian to drink. His cup may be drunk in one great moment; His cup may be drunk throughout a lifetime of Christian living. To drink the cup simply means to follow Christ wherever He may lead, and to be like Him in any situation life may bring.”
Following the gentle hand of the Master is not a quick road to power, and it is a tragic tale that some want the quick and easy way. They aren’t willing to be a novice and allow for mentoring by the aged and wise among us. No, they want it all, and they want it now!
At the heart of the matter is the failure to realize this key factor: being equipped and being ready are two different things. We are equipped when we are called, but readiness is a process, and folks don’t like the process. Everyone has to start somewhere…even if daddy hands us the position, we are still a novice.
A novice is a beginner, learner, an apprentice, trainee, greenhorn, fledgling, freshman, rookie. Not exactly a description we might like to make a claim to, yet it is the natural process of life that all things have a beginning…even in ministry.
Saul of Tarsus was not born Paul, writer of most of the New Testament. Though he was trained by a great Hebrew mind of the day, there was still a time of preparation and teaching necessary. He found it while sitting at the feet of Ananias and the disciples.
Moses spent 40 years getting in a position where he could walk into the presence of Pharaoh as God’s man for the hour, rather than an heir to the throne. He found it in the backside of the desert.
What the Lord was saying to James and John, and what He is saying today, is simply go out there and get your feet wet in the waters of experience. It doesn’t have to be a 40 year preparation, but do something. Teach a Home Bible Study. Hold a revival in a storefront assembly; someplace where they may not have enough money for gas fare. Knock on doors and pass out tracts. Spend a Saturday afternoon witnessing for the Lord on a street corner.
Be faithful in the small things. Teach a toddlers Sunday School class…this is not a job for women alone. Encourage the youth in your realm of influence to clean the neighborhood park, and while there, minister the love of Jesus. Faithfulness in that which seems small prepares us for the more that God has to offer.
Be submissive. We cannot expect to go from point A to point L or M without being submissive. Please do not be disillusioned into thinking we are all peers…wrong! The playing field is leveled at the Cross; however, God ordained that there be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in the Church (Ephesians 4:11).
It was never the intention of the Lord that the Church be set up where we all sit reading the scriptures, breaking the Bread of Life together, with no one person in charge…everyone having the same responsibility and authority. Wrong, wrong, wrong!
The offices mentioned above were set in place for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the Body (v. 12). The Word cannot be any clearer than that.
Do not suppose that your understanding of Greek and Hebrew grants you the right to forsake the plain and simple teachings of the Bible. I understand biblical hermeneutics, but not everything is cultural, y’all!
Do not run from those with experience. Be willing to allow the elders to deposit their wealth of information into your spirit. Ask questions and wait for the answers. Listen. Learn.
If you dismiss everything in this post, please remember this point: enlightenment never takes away from truth already given. Enlightenment that comes from the Throne Room will add to and enhance what has been deposited in us by the Spirit of Christ.
The Scripture reads…
And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it [shall be] for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err [therein] (Isaiah 35:8).
The highway is the Word of God, and is called the Way of Holiness because it is holy, right, and true. It is not a complicated document, but is life to all who will trust and obey, and is so simple to understand that a man, though a vagabond and a fool, shall not err in its teaching.
For the record, this Scripture is not an indictment against education and higher learning. It is merely showing us that the Word is not difficult to comprehend.
Degrees are nice. Hanging a certificate on the wall is impressive and may open doors in this arena, but God is not impressed with how much we know, or think we know. God is moved by a teachable spirit and a submissive heart.
All the rest is window dressing. It looks good on a resume when we apply for a job, but is not a sign of favor or a promise of advancement in the heavenly realm of Kingdom work.
The Lord concluded His remarks on this by saying…
… but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: (v. 26-27).
We will never attain greatness outside of servitude. It is impossible.
My god sister and her husband have pastored for many years, in many different places. I love the uniqueness of this, in that God often places people in a specific arena for a season and a reason. The lives they have touched and those whom the Spirit of the Lord has changed only eternity will determine. But one thing that I have heard again and again is that my friends are servants. What a wonderful description of a lifetime of ministry.
There are those who would have us think that being a servant for the Lord is a worn out dinosaur that is no longer relevant to this church age. But there are men and women everywhere walking in true service, concerned not with the power of the call, but careful in the care and nurturing of God’s people…
They are seeing after the widows; making hospital visits; answering calls in the wee hours; cleaning the homes of the infirm; cooking and baking for church events; teaching a Sunday School class; cleaning the church restrooms; spending endless hours on their knees; studying and more study; paying the church bills out of their personal account; devoting themselves to counsel in season and out; leaving hearth and home to take the Gospel where others fear to trod.
It is often behind the scenes and not noticed by the undiscerning, but while the masses are sleeping or busy with other things, these are they who are not afraid to get their hands dirty. My own pastor stands in this field of service, and was trained and mentored his entire life for this moment. He and those like him are pastors of the highest caliber.
A great definition of a pastor is simply someone who knows where the green grass is. A shepherd doesn’t find the green grass in a textbook or by only conferring with those they deem worthy to be called a “sheep herder.” They learn by experience and time spent in the field.
Really, there can be no other way…
So if the vitality of youth has caused you to seek position for position sake…if the weariness of your senior years has left you with a desire for affirmation, and that one thought nags at you night and day…if your values are skewed by listening to too many inexperienced voices…if your vision is blurred by opinion and uncertainty, this post is for YOU!
Let me encourage you today to take another look at the Cross, for if we see power and position as a means for advancement, we have looked away from Calvary.
The Cross is a place of suffering and sacrifice, and so must everyone who kneels there. We just cannot bypass sacrifice, expecting to jump into a place of authority overnight…it will not happen. We cannot neglect submission and humility, thinking our Bible college credentials is all that is necessary. We may one day have a following, but the sheep produced from such a meager pasture will be malnourished, and the end will be spiritual death for everyone.
Not what you’re used to gleaning from my posting, eh? True enough, but the day is long past that we sugarcoat while men and women run headlong into destruction. If they go astray…if you go…if I go, it should not be because no one rightly divided the Word and shared the simplicity of it with us.
Today I pray that anyone desiring a life of ministry weighs their desire in the balance with the call. Wait on the Lord. Seek His face. Don’t be so quick to run to so called ‘self-help’ books for life’s answers. I am not suggesting we not read other books, but really, ‘self-help’ books? That is the biggest misnomer, because if I could help myself, I wouldn’t need their book.
The point is, listen to the soft voice of the Master. Seek out seasoned men and women of God with time and experience under their belt. They have walked where you fear to go and have a vast amount of wisdom and truth to share. Let them pour into your inner beings the basic truths of the Bible, and not some feel-good, no-sacrifice-required theology. Religion and theology that is not based on Bible truth is destruction…run for your life from it!
How tragic it will be to have had 3 or 4 years of Bible school, applying ourselves to ministry according to our own vision, attaining the popular, and frankly, overdone titles of the day, forever and always striving for accolades and pats on the back…only to find that our selfish motives made it all for naught.
On that great day when our works are tried in the fire of merit, may it be that they stand through eternity as testimonies of a life spent in sacrifice and faithful service. Not seeking attention. Not looking for a position of greatness. Only seeking to please the Lord.
“Today while you hear my voice…”
