Day: April 8, 2020

At a bible study, the discussion turned to the many leaders who have fallen to sin and scandal.

There are many reasons for this, but I want to look at a reason commonly overlooked. This is not to diminish a leader’s personal responsibility to obey God himself but to explore corporate responsibility, what we contributed to the crash.

When we expect pastors and other leaders to do our work, we set them up to fall.

Consider a prevalent mentality of our Christian age: I will donate to his ministry, and he can be my bible scholar, he can do my evangelism, he can counsel couples preparing for marriage and facing divorce, he can do the preaching, and he can chart the course for the church. I will support him with some of my money, and he can do the difficult and specialized work of being the spiritual leader.

Sound harmless?…

God is a God of crooked sticks.

Except for that singular Straight Stick, crooked sticks are all he uses.

God strikes straight licks with crooked sticks.

When God strikes a straight lick with a crooked stick, the temptation is to miss the straightness of the lick for the crookedness of the stick.

Your heart can resent what your mind knows.

The vexing rascals! What a royal pain they are to me!

Oh sorry God, I meant to be thanking you for bringing them to me as a means of grace to make me like Jesus who learned the same way.

In this way, by repenting daily, or 50 times daily, you walk the path of continual repentance and ongoing sanctification that is the Christian life.

Luke, do you speak from experience?

Ahem. With wry looks, sheepish grins, and much squirming, I will only say I have heard of this happening…

They drew a circle that shut me out —
Heretic, rebel, thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took them in!

“Outwitted” by Edwin Markham

This power to win through love belongs to the Christian, and especially to the Christian.

This power belongs to the Christian. It is a gift from Christ. Christ won through His love. He is the stone that the builders rejected. He is the outcast overcomer.

And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? (Mark 12:10)

We rejected Him; then,

God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Having such a champion, how should we then live, lead, and love?

Christian, do not run from your imperfect church.

God has put you among those who will sin against you, hurting you, so you can practice forgiving like Jesus has forgiven you. If they can but see it, He is doing the same for them.

Inspired bible writers concur.

Solomon: don’t pay any mind when you hear yourself cursed. You know in your heart that you have likewise cursed others. (Ecclesiastes 7:21)

Paul: why not allow yourselves to be wronged? (1 Corinthians 6:7)

James: rejoice in diverse trials. (James 1:2)

John: if you run, there is but one conclusion; you never belonged. (1 John 2:19)

Peter: rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings (1 Peter 4:13)

I hear an objection, “Luke, if I could not leave one church for another, it would be like cats in a cage, the conflict would escalate into Armageddon”.

I can think of…