This weekend I am going to be speaking on the role of both leading in the church and the role of following. These are two hugely important topics that need to be addressed. I hope those of you who read this blog and attend WCC will make it a priority to be at church this Sunday. I don't say this as a ploy to get you in a seat. I say it because every single Christ follower alive needs to hear and be taught on what they should expect from their leaders. They also need to know what their leaders should expect from them as followers.
While I am on the topic of leaders, I want to ask you to do me a personal favor. I want to ask you to pray for the leadership of our church. I don't think it is any coincidence that over the last 2 days I have sat with two men who were in very important leadership roles at their churches that today are no longer there. These men, both filled with integrity, acted in ways that demonstrated a loyalty that was greater to God than to individuals and it resulted in their whole lives being disrupted. When I sat and listened to their stories, my heart hurt because I know the pain of leading. I know the pain of being misunderstood. I know the difficulty of doing the right thing even when it is hard and then suffering the repercussions. It shouldn't have to be a part of leadership, but I haven't met a leader yet that couldn't identify with what I just wrote.
I also want to use today's blog as an opportunity to praise the Elders of our church. This past Sunday night our staff and elders got together to celebrate all the good things God is doing in our midst and to get to know one another better. We ended the night with a time of prayer. When I prayed, I said, "Lord, thank you for the Elders that you have placed alongside me at WCC. These men are filled with integrity. These are men who have stood up for what is right. These men are the ones who stood in the trenches when the going got tough. These are the men who have lead WCC to where it is today. These are men I love and respect. Thank you God for Rob Smith and Victor Wright." If you don't know who these men are, I hope you'll get to know them. They personify servant leadership and are great spiritual role models in our church.
Finally let me add this: God may be leading some of you to prayerfully consider becoming an Elder. Initially we had set a date of January 31st as the deadline to receive Elder nominations. I have decided to extend that for two more weeks. I think God is moving in the hearts of some of the men and women in our church about pursuing this role. If God has been speaking to you, my encouragement is to be obedient and jump in. Leading is hard, but our mission of leading God's church and seeing people enter into a relationship with God is worth it!
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