Motives

“What I want is not your possessions, but you.” (II Corinthians 12:14)

Thoughts… Why do pastors pastor, preachers preach and spiritual leaders lead? What is their motive? That’s a critical question congregations need to resolve as they think about their spiritual leadership. The health and effectiveness of the church hinges on the motive of the leader.

Unfortunately, the motive of some is to increase personal wealth, or to gain a greater reputation or to exercise authority and power over people—or all three. For an authentic leader, it to protect their flock from spiritual predators, form them into the likeness of Christ, teach them the way of God and leverage their collective energies to expand the Kingdom of God.

The motive of the leader means everything to the vitality of the church. Far too many spiritual leaders, not just in Paul’s day, but all the way down through church history clear into our day, have led with conflicted, if not outright impure motives. That’s why you can see more ministries today than you can shake a stick at that are more about the persona of the pastor than the health, happiness and effectiveness of the church.

Paul was being accused of having impure motives in the church that he had founded and fathered-the Corinthian church. Some were saying, among other things, that he had obviously prospered financially at their expense. Now Paul could have simply blown off this criticism and moved on to any of the other churches that he had founded, but he was their “father in the Lord” and he wasn’t going to leave them to be ravaged by these “super apostles” who were using the church for their benefit.

So Paul defends his spiritual authority, pointing out that he never profited financially from them. He never wanted their money, nor asked for it. If they were to examine the evidence, all Paul really ever wanted was their heart. He wanted to shape the heart of the church into greater submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, deeper love their Master, and wider influence in claiming their territory for the Kingdom of God.

That’s not a bad “to do” list for spiritual leaders. Is that what your spiritual leader is up to? It should be! If it’s not, lovingly encourage that person, pray for them, and give them whatever support it takes for hem to get with it. If that’s what they are already doing, then encourage them, pray for them and support them—get on board and help them to pull it off. And thank God for them, because you’ve got a great leader.

Prayer… Lord, thank you my spiritual leaders. They are not into their leadership for money, power or fame. They truly want to do your bidding and extend your fame throughout the earth. Bless them today, and make me, by my loving support, a joy for them to lead.

One More Thing… “The role of church leaders is to prepare God’s people for life with a faith that works.” — Mike Foss