Obedience

Not long after I left my old church I broke down in the bathroom.  Lol, G came rushing in to see what was wrong, he thought I'd fallen over.  But I'd suddenly realised how I had managed to allow a man to put himself in the place of Christ in my life.  I had set him up on a pedestal, a pedestal that belongs only to Christ.  I was distraught.  G on the other hand was just relieved I'd not injured myself. :)

Oh my did I repent though, I was devastated.  I had allowed another to mediate my relationship with God, thus I had almost turned my back on the real mediator - Jesus.  The One Who had died for my freedom, the One Who loves me gently and with eternal care, the King of Kings Who made Himself a servant - chose to make Himself like the lowest of the low and washes my feet.  So very unlike the leadership style I had seen in the church.

~Why did I not see it?~

I had always been told that I must obey a leader (as per Hebrews 13:17) and if he is incorrect God will tell the leader and instead of disagreeing we must go along with what they say trusting that God will correct them.  I was told that if I submit then God will protect me because a leader is my 'covering'.

~But, the only One who covers us is Christ. ~

I soon learned though that even if scripture seemed to disagree with what was being taught, and I had that 'check' in my spirit that made me uneasy with a teaching, I was still expected to follow the teaching.  So in reality I was following a man rather than God.

But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. ~Acts 4:19

Many will claim to speak for God, Jesus told us that many would claim to come in His name. But, no man should take the place of God in my life, no man should claim that he hears God for me if I don't too have the same conviction.

“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel

after that time,” declares the Lord.

“I will put my law in their minds

and write it on their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they will be my people

No longer will a man teach his neighbour,

or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’

because they will all know me,

from the least of them to the greatest,”

declares the Lord. ~ Jeremiah 31:33-34

Leaders do have an important role in ensuring that chaos doesn't reign in the church, to lead the flock by example as one who serves rather than lords it over them, and to always encourage the brethren to grow into maturity by encouraging them to pray, read the scriptures [encouraging gently though, gently, gently, it's not a competition or a measure of spirituality], and the most important of all - to love and know God deeper .

~A true leader?~

A true Christian leader leads by pointing to Christ not to themselves...