It is hard not to think with the world's mindset when we have been raised, educated and operate in it every day. We do it without thinking about it and that's probably the greatest problem: we don't think. Too often we put our mind in neutral and go with the flow. As Christians we mistakenly think that our first impulse will be for God, that it is second nature to us. But it isn't. We have to make a concerted effort to think with the mind of Christ. We have to make a conscience decision to walk with the Spirit, taking actions that would please God instead of our flesh.
God's ways are far from what we want. His desire is hard for us to fathom over our own. We think because something is a good idea and it is doable that we should just go ahead and do it. We think that just because something looks like it would honour God we have the authority to do it. When will we learn?
Too often we put all the emphasis on ability. Just because I am able to do something does not mean I should. Just because I have better qualities to be a leader does not mean I am God's choice to lead. The reverse also applies; just because I don't have the best leadership qualifications doesn't mean I am not called to lead. Come on people, we have the Bible. When are we going to start seeing God's heart in it?
There were those who thought they could do a better job of leading Israel than Moses. Even Moses' own family came against him at one point, jealous over his authority. Who knows, maybe there were those with better ability than Moses but it didn't matter. God had chosen Moses and the only ability Moses needed was obedience and faithfulness to God who instructed him. Maybe that's the real problem. Maybe we don't realize that leadership in the Church is not about how well a person can lead but instead how obedient a person is to God instructions and directions. Jesus is the head of the Church, not man.
We seem to have lost respect for the anointed and maybe it's because we have left the anointing aside when it comes to us choosing our king, oops, I mean leaders, pastors. David was one who understood the anointing. He was chosen as king long before he became king. He understood that it was not given to him to remove Saul, but instead to replace him when God had removed him. It took time. It took time because David refused to usurp God's authority. God had put Saul in place and God would remove him. I'm not saying that it is a model for today but simply pointing out that David understood what was going on and how leadership worked from God's perspective.
I am concerned for the Church and have been for many years. Our emphasis is all wrong when it comes to leadership. Our expectations are wrong. The mindset of the leaders is wrong. The Church is being run and directed by a bunch of highly educated executives who act more like business people needing to report to their board of directors and must always please the stockholders. No wonder there is lack of God's power in the Church; we've left God out.
Why can't we set aside all the garbage, all our best practices, all our church growth, emerging church ideas and seek again the will of our God? Why can't we allow him to shake up the whole Church so that the anointing will fall back into place and we can be a real people who desire nothing more than God's will? Why can't we put the emphasis back on walking in the Spirit instead of our own intellect? Oh yeah, we are stuck in the world's mindset. Oh God, send your cleansing, correcting purifying fire today, that the Bride may rise up in the full glory of the Groom.
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