Martin Luther before Emperor Image © Providence Collection from GoodSalt.com
Sunday’s section of this week’s Sabbath School lesson states, “In some cultures, there is a tendency to distrust and challenge leadership; in others, to blindly submit to it. How has your own culture’s attitude toward authority impacted the church in your area?”
In an interview with David Frost, Richard Nixon, a former United States President … Continue Reading at SabbathIssues.
William, I thought I would let you know since you would not see it here that I shared your article on Facebook, and several pastors made positive comments and also shared the article on their Facebook pages. Keep up the good work, Brother.
Stephen, thank you for your kind words and for the inspiration you share in your writings and friendships.
Regarding leadership: we recently had lunch with our conference president and when I was trying to explain to our group the relationship between our church and the conference, I said the conference was over our church. Right away I was corrected and told that our church is part of the conference. Our current conference leaders have always treated us as co-workers.
Recently, we talked with someone over the issue of church leadership and we were told that the person wanted to do whatever he wanted to do and didn’t want to be told anything by “leaders”.
I have sat on church boards for about 20 years. I have not found it a problem for people to speak their minds. I find that people can be dogmatic and want their own agenda fulfilled. I remember discussing a certain child who needed care because his mother went in the hospital. People on the board wanted to have the child taken away from the mother and several of the women said they would take the child for only one night while the mother was in the hospital. I couldn’t believe the discussion I heard. I volunteered to take the child for the whole time and it turned out to be two weeks. We put the boy on the floor in our son’s bedroom and he wet the bedding every night. I treated him as if he were my own. We were blessed with this boy’s visit.
Anyway, our current board is very nice to each other and it is a blessing. Thanks William for the great post.
Jane, you wrote:
“I said the conference was over our church. Right away I was corrected and told that our church is part of the conference. Our current conference leaders have always treated us as co-workers.”
I thank God for the leadership in your conference–a leadership team that seems to understand the principle of servant leadership that Christ taught.
We are all co-workers together for Christ.
What do you do when it is the leadership, including the pastor, that are basically backstabbing you? This is true , no lie.
Dear Sandy,
By focusing on what others are doing to you, you may become bitter. But if you will focus on what Jesus has done and is doing for you, you will receive the power to react as Jesus would. And in the process, you will be drawn closer to Him. And some day, you will look back on this experience as being one of the high-lights of your walk with Jesus–when you found Him to be all you really needed.
I pray that this may be so for you.
Sandy, sadly I understand what you describe is a true story and no lie. Unfortunantly we are all human and humanity struggles with jealousy. Saul, the king of God’s chosen people was jealous and tried to kill David, a man of God. In the times of Christ it was again God’s chosen people who demanded He be crucified, while a pagan leader was content to let Him go free. Sandy I would encourage you to study carefully the story of David. You will find much comfort and strength there, as well as the story of Jesus. Jesus knows what you are going through, and He is able to comfort and strenghten you to endure what you are up against. In the meantime let the strength of God be your joy! Sandy, please don’t let these trials isolate you. Elijah felt like everyone in God’s chosen nation was against him, but God encouraged Elijah that He still had 7,000 faithful besides Elijah who had never bowed the knee to Baal. So God has His special people in His special church to help encourage you. We are all praying for you and hope you and please stay in touch with your comments so we can continue to bless and encourage one another. This is so important!
Very Good William! Just what I needed.