An Early Challenge to the Church, its Leadership and Direction.

Carol Teasdale Sunday 6th, 10.30am Colossians 1&2

This morning's sermon began with a brief overview of the context of the letter to the Colossians and Paul's position as an imprisoned, but powerful, church leader. How a letter from Paul himself would have impacted on the church, bringing them together to hear it read out. I liken it to a letter from the Pope being read out in a Catholic church today.

Paul's concern is that the Colossians don't get caught up in anything other than a living faith in Christ Jesus.

Whilst Paul is writing to the churches from prison, that he's fighting for the very foundations of the church. In his absence the churches are possibly coming up against people who are practised leaders, perhaps people who can bring a sense of false order and leadership into a waning and waxing church. This is what makes the letters even more remarkable.

We read through Colossians 1 & 2, which you will find >>>>> HERE

Brain and I had a long discussion yesterday on the virtues of Holy leadership over those of just good leadership. How, people can step in and lead simply 'because they can' as they have the skills, yet they are not people who will allow Jesus to wash their feet.

Christocentric leadership will motivate people and take them to great heights, if that's what they want. However, Paul knew, there were plenty of good leaders who didn't have the Spirit of Christ in them, itching to lead a waning church, itching to show their leadership skills, itching to organise and get people pulling together under their direction. They are people who know some Scripture, a little about God ( dangerous stuff) and who are filled with a spirit of control and pride.

As mature Christians we may have seen it in church again and again, a minister leaves, takes respite, perhaps goes on mission, is ill for some reason and then the church gets spiritually sick. In the sickness, it becomes vulnerable to the Spirit of control in the same way a sick person can become vulnerable to quackery.

Then someone persuasive comes along.....”I have the answer, I have the knowledge, the real truth and all you need.” They might be vocal, cast seeds of doubt, or they might genuinely believe that is their call. Suddenly they are faced with an opening that they feel should be filled, but despite leadership skills, they only have the capacity to fill the hole with water, not God's Holy Spirit, which is that life giving force of a church growing in Christ's grace.

For a time people feel better and relieved at the prospect of taking a back seat, then the reality begins to hit hard.....this isn't going God's way. This new kingdom is too much like the old one, buried in rules and regulations. It's not long before people begin to drift away and the church dies a death.

'But if I stand against this, a solitary individual, I am going to get crucified in my stance.....aren’t I?' This is how we can think, even if we are panic stricken for our church. So, maybe, someone who felt that they didn't have the strength or knowledge that they needed took their concerns to Paul. The fact is, regardless of why he came to be writing the letters, that here we have Paul, in prison, in all his weakness, showing just how strong being in Christ can be. "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10 )

You see, regardless of what people think of us, and I can assure you that the authorities thought Paul was a pain in the neck, they didn't like him or what he had to say. He also irritated him. What comes across is that in Christ Jesus, we are here to serve the church with the purpose of glorifying God. It's not about us, whether we are good leaders or not. Although, the Bible makes it clear that great leadership is born in the suffering for holy servant hood and that it is Christ who choses His staff in all their roles. We are to be people who come underneath others, lift them up to realise their potential in the kingdom of God (notice I said in His kingdom, not ours.) 'Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.' (1 Thessalonian's 5:11)

It's our job to help our Christian brothers and sisters to identify and use their skills in a proactive loving way 'for the benefit of the whole church. Theodore Roosevelt said ' The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to prevent meddling with them whilst they do it' We can all be 'executives' who are searching for ways to release the potential in others.

But we are also to be that person who takes their concerns to God in prayer and to the leadership if it's applicable. To take wise counsel with a reverent fear of God with other holy men and women of God, because all things we do and say for the kingdom must be to glorify Him in unity. We are a church, one body in Christ and we have to keep our eye on the ball. There is nothing the Devil likes better than a broken body and a man with potential leadership skills who is willing to fill that hole with his own enthusiasm, not God's Holy Spirit.

It's all about love my brothers and sisters, all things must be born out of our love for Christ because of His sacrifice for us and for the love of our brothers and sisters, because there is no greater love than to lay down our lives. And this is what a great leader rooted in the the Spirit of Christ will do. They will live a life of sacrifice, endure the taunts, the piercings, the challenges and even the slaughter for you.

Image http://wmich.edu/facdev/Leadership%20Pic.JPG

"The strength of any organization can be measured by the capacity of its members to be leaders at many levels. " (Office of Faculty Development, Western Michigan University 2014)