Kudos to Pastor Jerry McQuay, Senior Pastor at Christian Life Center, (who is my Pastor) one who willingly responds to questions from the congregation all the time. Following are three of the questions that are commonly asked. We appreciate Pastor Jerry, for responding to “The Call” for men to contribute to this week’s posts.
God Bless You – Pastor Jerry
Maria
Does God call Christian leaders?
I hate to vacillate, but I think the correct answer is yes and no. Yes, He does call some individual Christians to be leaders, but probably not as directly as you might think. Frankly, I’m a little leery of folks who proudly announce they are called to be leaders in the body of Christ.
So I don’t think God calls someone to leadership while they’re sitting idly by. More often I’ve found that leadership is thrust upon those who are already busy serving the Lord and His people, usually in the midst of some challenge. Much like Abraham’s servant Eliezer, who said, “as I was going, the Lord led me”, God does call us into leadership for His purposes.
Most importantly, when we understand that leadership is influence, the truth is, God has called each of us as believers into leadership, for we are all called to be salt and light in our needy world.
If you’re a leader bringing in a lot of money and gaining prestige, how can you remain grounded and humble?
I don’t know yet, but I hope to find out.
Seriously, I think the answer to this question is very simple, though probably not easy: just follow the instructions of Rom 12:3-6 (NKJV):
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them:
and the truth of 1 Cor 4:7 (NLT):
What makes you better than anyone else? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if all you have is from God, why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own?
It’s really not hard to stay humble when you remember who you are.
If you’ve been hurt by a leader, how can you trust another leader again?
That’s such an important question because it’s so where-we-are. The bad news is that this is such a common occurrence in the body of Christ today, at least in America. The good news is that the answer is again simple (I didn’t say ‘easy’.) The way to trust another leader again is (a) forgive and let go of the past hurt – not because the former leader deserves or has even asked for your forgiveness, but because you don’t deserve to live in pain; and (b) take the risk of believing again. Life is always a risk – but like the turtle, you’ll never make progress unless you stick your neck out. Allow God to show you a leader you can trust, and then take the plunge, because the longer you hold back, the longer you’ll live in pain.
Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!