Who Will Lead?

Good leadership is important in carrying out the work of the gospel - and as Christians, we are all called to serve Christ, and to a certain degree, we have the capacity to lead someone else and should seek to model good Christian behavior. 1st Timothy 5 reminds us:
17 Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.
18 For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain," and, "The laborer is worthy of his wages."
19 Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses.

There's an element of respect with which we should treat those who are called to serve in spiritual leadership.  And, because they are public figures, in a sense, and even considered the "face" of the church, it can become easy to evaluate their performance by almost inhuman standards - if we place expectations on our pastors and church leaders, it can be detrimental to showing the proper respect for them and can even contribute to disunity in the body - so we have to make sure we are praying and controlling our tongue; or perhaps better said, praying by controlling our tongue.

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The author of Hebrews, in chapter 13, directs the readers to make sure they are showing the proper respect for leaders in the Church. In verse 7, the writer notes:
7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.

And, later in the chapter, we can read:
17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
18 Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.

In our mission statement, Faith Radio states our support for the local church.  It is not our desire to replace or supersede the work of the local church, but to strengthen the local church by providing teaching and encouragement for the members of it.  As I like to say, stronger Christians make for stronger churches, and that is a serious responsibility that we have as we present Christian content.

And, local churches come in, as the old cliche says, all shapes and sizes.  Some are independent, others are part of a denomination.  Even the denominational structures can vary: some implement a "top-down" structure with a great degree of governance from a central body, others have a "bottom-up" structure, with local church autonomy being front and center.

The largest Protestant denomination is the Southern Baptist Convention.  According to Lifeway.com:

According to the latest Annual Church Profile (ACP) report, the Southern Baptist Convention saw key metrics decline in 2020, including baptisms, membership, average weekly worship attendance, giving and total number of Southern Baptist congregations.

Southern Baptist membership, as of the end of 2020, was at 14 million congregants in almost 48,000 churches. In the midst of COVID, there was over a 15% decline in weekly worship attendance, down to 4.4 million in-person worshippers.  I believe you can safely say that there was a significant number of virtual worshippers, in addition to that.  So, numerically, the denomination remains quite formidable.

Unfortunately, there has been plenty of negative publicity for the Convention over the past few years: inner struggles with respect to critical race theory, the role of women in the church, and instances of and concerns about sexual abuse have rocked the denomination.  Leadership in the denomination has come under fire, and recent series of events regarding the handling of sexual abuse cases has led to the resignation of two major leaders from the SBC Executive Committee and around a dozen committee members.  I do find it interesting that for an organization based on local church autonomy, the committee charged with operating the convention throughout the year has been the prime focus regarding its handling of sexual abuse allegations. I do want to point out that local churches can and should be taking the lead in identifying and dealing with abuse in their midst. Sexual abuse is abhorrent, and the accusations and virtue-signaling that you see so often on social media about who is most concerned about victims is counterproductive to a unified and Biblical effort to minister to the survivors.

I came across a recent article written by the incoming President of the SBC Pastors Conference, Matt Henslee, who serves as Associational Mission Strategist of Collin Baptist Association in Texas.  No matter which side of the denominational tug-of-war one might find himself or herself, Henslee offers some great perspective, in my estimation. He writes at Religion News Service:

So, “Can anyone lead the Southern Baptist Convention forward?”

Yes. And they already are.

He specifies those "outside of the limelight," saying, '''They' are not the presidents of our seminaries, but the pastors, Sunday school teachers and volunteer age-graded ministry directors who are leading the Southern Baptist Convention."

...the SBC is not run by elites but, rather, by ordinary people who show up and lead. They unlock the doors on Sundays, brew the coffee, adjust the thermostat (much to the chagrin of Ms. Helen), teach a Sunday school lesson, rock a baby or preach a sermon. They go to the nations with the gospel or plant churches in hard-to-reach areas.

The true leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention are the ones leading their churches to give through the Cooperative Program to send missionaries and church planters and to train their future pastors (and more). The true leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention are reaching their communities, schools and neighbors for Jesus. The true leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention may not have a glossy business card with a fancy title or even have a title at all, but they are leading — now.

He wraps up by saying: "While entity heads and trustees are important, the true leaders of the SBC are already leading — now, right before your eyes."

The work of the Kingdom is powered by individual Christians operating out of and tethered to the local church.  God has a structure and a mechanism - Jesus is the head, and we are the body.  And, the body has its own uniquely gifted individuals to carry out the work of ministry.  And, whether a denomination is top-down or bottom-up, or there is no denomination at all, we can recognize the potential effectiveness for Christ that the local body represents.

We can also acknowledge that leadership is important.  The quality of visionary, Bible-centered leadership cannot be underestimated.  And, during October, Pastor and Staff Appreciation Month, we can choose to honor those who are called to served in those capacities, being mindful to pray for and affirm the spiritual leaders in our congregations.  Plus, each person can seek the Lord regarding how He might be calling him or her to lead. 

It's easy to get caught up in examining and even magnifying the shortcomings of leaders in the Church.  After all, they are targets - not only of those who feel it is their calling to scrutinize the actions of fellow believers, but also of the enemy, who would seek to bring them down. And, there has certainly been success in that regard.  Moral failures, errors in judgment, and poor decision-making, and the allegations thereof, can enter into our conversations, and the Internet and social media play a key role. While we can and should hold leaders accountable, we should also make sure that we are affirming faithful servants who lead their congregations day by day, navigating the challenges and proclaiming the truth of God's Word.