Here is part two of my observations, my objective here is simply to provoke thought and consideration, I welcome any comments and hope this post might give you a slightly different perspective.
2:Every decision is important
Decisions are important in every organization, they can destroy or build up, make or lose money, have you promoted or fired. Whatever job you happen to have, think of the worst decision you can make; what are the consequences? worst case scenario, you have no job, and thus you look for another one. In a Church this is vastly different, decisions are not simply temporal, they have eternal meaning, especially when they infringe on an area of principle.
To the Christian, preferences are good, but in importance, rank somewhere between preferring watermelon over oranges and what toothpaste to use, but when you start redefining or treading on principles and you can draw not-so-friendly fire before you have finished the sentence. Why? because to a christian a principle, is of eternal significance. It is the difference between eternal life and eternal death, no value can be placed on that reward. It is beyond measure. To Illustrate: is one day of blissful life (as opposed to death, non-existence) worth $1? how about one cent? well with eternity as the measure of a christian’s reward, that is one cent times infinity. See my point? what we are dealing with is of inestimable value, no wonder people get so upset!
There is another facet of these ‘high stakes’ to be looked at as well… If a leader in a secular organization teaches someone something which is wrong, the consequences are painful, but as I illustrated in the last paragraph, the eternal significance makes it very different. You are not teaching someone how to accomplish a task, or how to make some extra money, you are fitting them for eternity, you are in a literal sense, teaching survival skills.
If you are already thinking all this is too much for mere mortals to be entrusted with… you are exactly right. leaders, teachers and indeed all Christians must choose to submit to the will of God, We believe that Jesus is the head of the church, and as God, he is amply qualified to take that role, but we believe he works through humans to accomplish his vision and mission. So the challenge for spiritual leaders is to know God intimately, so they can clearly discern his plans, and then go about executing them in his strength.
Divine wisdom for decision-making is available, but only if you are humble, and know where to look.
I personally consider this particular article , âThree differences between church and secular
leadership Part 2 « Musings of Lukeâ, particularly engaging not to mention
the post was in fact a remarkable read. Thanks a lot,Devin