Sermon for Sunday September 5th, 2004
Nine Ways the Holy
Spirit Helps Correct Leadership Mistakes by Paul Fritz
1 Peter 5:1-5:11
Nine Ways the Holy Spirit Helps Correct Leadership Mistakes (1 Peter 5:2-5:3)
Illustration: Shepherd the flock of God . . . [by] being examples. --1 Peter
5:2-3
A mother cheetah brought a live gazelle fawn to her 5-month-old cubs and
released it. After the cubs made several unsuccessful attacks, the mama cheetah
intervened and showed them how to make the kill.
I observed a similar technique used by a life insurance salesman. After he told
me about the benefits of a particular policy, he shared how much coverage he had
for his own family. His words took on new meaning because he demonstrated by his
own example how to insure a family adequately.
If we want to teach others the art of knowing God and serving Him, we can’t
overemphasize the importance and the power of example. That’s how Christ and His
apostles communicated the same message. Their obedience to God was seen in
flesh-and-blood terms that were easily understood.
Leadership by example is contagious. When Paul mentioned the people in
Thessalonica who had become "followers of us and of the Lord," he said that they
also "became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia" (1 Th. 1:6-7).
Leadership is more than something that automatically goes with an official title
like Dad, Mom, Sunday School Teacher, or Pastor. Those who want to lead and help
others must first of all be examples. --MRDII (Our Daily Bread)
All in vain is splendid preaching,
And the noble things we say;
All our talk is wasted teaching
If we do not lead the way. --Anon.
You cannot teach what you do not know nor lead where you do not go.
1. The Holy Spirit teaches us to avoid compromising the truth of scripture with
counterfeit models of church leadership. Paul wrote, "It was he who gave some to
be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors
and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service." (Eph. 4:11,12) Ask
the Lord to help you avoid compromising the truth of scripture by over
emphasizing certain cultural, political, business or personality-based
leadership styles.
2. The Holy Spirit teaches us to avoid falling into traps of conforming to the
world’s ideals of leadership. Paul wrote, "Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test
and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Rom.
12:2) Ask the Lord for the wisdom to resist the temptations to adopt a
chieftaincy leadership style in your church even though it may seem natural to
everyone around you.
3. The Holy Spirit convicts us when we try to lead the church with anything but
the model of a plurality of Godly leaders who meet the qualifications found in I
Timothy 3:1-6. Paul emphasized the fact that a plurality of Godly leaders should
be men of Christlike character. Ask the Lord to help you select leaders who are
above reproach, faithful to their wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable,
hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not
quarrelsome, not a lover of money, able to manage his own family well and see
that his children obey him with proper respect. He must not be a recent convert.
He must have a good reputation with outsiders so as to not fall into disgrace
and into the devil’s trap. Trust the Lord to help you select, develop and work
cooperatively with a plurality of such Godly leaders for the qualitative and
quantitative growth of your church.
4. The Holy Spirit exposes how some leadership models only succeed temporarily
as they meet some contextual need. Some leaders apply certain traditional
leadership models because they are merely looking at the immediate cultural,
financial and social needs of the people without using God’s eternal
perspectives. While there may exist enough truth in some leadership models to
gain credibility for a while, only God’s servant leadership model found in Jesus
Christ transcends all situations, needs and cultures. Ask the Lord to help you
expose the weaknesses of all leadership models except the ones that follow after
Christ’s ideals found in the New Testament.
5. The Holy Spirit teaches us that all leadership models that do not concentrate
on "Spiritual" leadership will ultimately fail. Paul wrote, "For we are not
fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without
bodies - the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and
great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against the huge number
of wicked spirits in the spirit world." (Eph. 6:12) Ask the Lord to help you
avoid the misuse or a shortage of spiritual power and Biblical truth in leading
your church, group or organization.
6. The Holy Spirit teaches us how to apply Christ centered values above social,
political, educational, emotional, or financial influences. Many leaders are
tempted to use other kinds of influences in trying to impose their agenda on
their organization. Paul wrote a warning to the Corinthians teaching them how to
avoid this subtle trap. He wrote, "What is Apollos? What is Paul Only servants,
through whom you came to believe - as the Lord has assigned to each his task."
(I Cor. 3:5) Ask the Lord to help you to emphasize Biblical values instead of
trying to merely bring to bear your social, cultural, political, educational,
emotional or financial powers of influence on your organization, church or
group.
7. The Holy Spirit appoints and uses Christ centered leaders who have a God
given capacity and a God given responsibility to influence a group toward God’s
purposes. Paul wrote, "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an
expert builder, and someone else is building on it." (I Cor. 3:10) Ask the Lord
to help your organization to be led of God to appoint and use Christ centered
leaders. Trust the Lord for leaders who clearly have God given abilities and
gifts to accomplish a God given responsibility that will help influence your
church to maximize the accomplishing of God’s purposes for His kingdom and
glory.
8. The Holy Spirit empowers leaders who seeks to serve their church as a
shepherd not as a lord. Peter wrote, "Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under
your care, serving as overseers - not because you must, but because you are
willing, as God wants you to be, not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not
lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock." (I
Pet. 5:2,3) Ask God to lead by example.
9. The Holy Spirit blesses leaders who serve as obedient stewards of God’s
church, gifts, resources, truth, gospel and kingdom’s purposes. Peter wrote,
"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others as faithful
stewards - administering God’s grace in various forms. Ask God for help as a
faithful, obedient and trusting steward