Discipleship Letters 87-88

Discipleship Letter 87                                    May 16^th, 2010

More than 70 percent of leaders do not finish well because of the following reasons: (1) Leaders lose their learning posture. They stop listening and growing; (2) Their character wanes; (3) They stop living up to their convictions; (4) They fail to leave behind ultimate contributions; (5) They stop being aware of their influence; (6) They stop cultivating good relationships with Christ Jesus [Bill Thrall, et. al, The Ascent of a Leader: How Ordinary Relationships Develop Extraordinary Character and Influence (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999), p. 14.].

Leaders should make a difference. However, leaders fail. Leaders plateau. Leaders drop out. Leaders go through the process of mutation from goodness to badness. “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers (and sisters), because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1). It’s one thing to acquire a title; it’s another thing to attain individual potential according to the title. Leaders are not uneasy to find; good leaders are scarce.

“Salvation is always in danger of self-absorption. When I become intrigued with matters of my soul there is the ever-present danger that I begin to treat God as a mere accessory to my experience. And so salvation requires much vigilance” [Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005), p. 199.].

The worst sin that leaders should never commit is to begin to treat God and the congregation as a mere accessory to their experiences and as mere instruments, respectively.  

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Discipleship Letter 88                                    May 23^rd, 2010

“There are calls to faith and calls to ordination, but in between there are calls to particular communities and calls to particular tasks within them—calls into and out of relationships as well as calls to seek God wherever God may be found. Sometimes those calls ring clear as bells and sometimes they are barely audible, but in any case we are not meant to hear them all by ourselves. It was part of God’s genius to incorporate us as one body, so that our ears have other ears, other eyes, minds, hearts, and voices to help us interpret what we have heard” [Barbara B. Taylor, The Preaching Life (Cowley, 1993), p. 25.].

This is the relationship between the vocation of God and the discernment of a Christian community. God may call us with a low whisper or with a very loud trumpet blast, but in any case, “let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance…The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice” (Prov. 1:5; 12:15). The discernment of others is necessary to discern God’s guidance, for this is God’s program of guidance as incorporated in a community of faith.

To whom do we turn? We should turn to mature Christians who know the Scripture and in whom we have confidence of spiritual maturity and discernment. Why do we turn to immature infants who are just like us? Why do we turn to someone who is one step (or a few steps) behind us? From a Christian perspective, “the mature person knows Scripture. Turning to an immature believer, or even a nonbeliever, is the height of folly. How will God use that person to develop your character and give you spiritual direction?” [Bruce K. Waltke, Finding the Will of God: A Pagan Notion? (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans; Vancouver: Regent College, 1995), p. 110.].