365 Days with God - Day 86: The Appearance of Leadership

I'm giving myself a challenge. Read the Bible each day for a whole year, following the ESV Study Guide 1-year plan. Each day, I will post whatever God has revealed to me in His Word, and how it is changing me. A friend of mine once said that nothing has changed her life as much as reading the bible each day - and I'm excited for how this will change me. Join me on an adventure into the heart of God - and day by day, we can learn more about who He is and what that means to us!

- Andy Catts

Day 86, March 16, 2014

Readings: Psalm 86, Exodus 32, Nehemiah 12:27-47, 1 Corinthians 4

What do you think of when you think of a leader? What about a leader in the church? Are they well dressed? Well spoken? Well liked? Do they have high social standing and wealth?

Who did Jesus pick to be the leaders of the early church? What did they look like?

For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure, when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.

I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. (1st Corinthians 4:9-14)

Does this fit your picture of a leader in the Church? Many today who call themselves leaders are flashy showmen, who look great to the world around them but do not reflect the nature of Christ. Note that this is not a leadership guide - it does not say "All leaders of Christians must be xyz." But it is something to note. Something to examine when choosing whose advice to follow. Do they model Christ? Do they seek His kingdom first? Or do they seek their own?

And what does this say about the rest of us? What if we aspire to lead? Who would we become? What would we say and do? How would we present ourselves to the world? How would we respond to many challenges that might come our way - challenges like homelessness, persecution, being the "scum of the world?"

Make no mistake, being a leader in the Church is not a call to wealth, to prestige, to earthly goods. It's a call to abandon all in the pursuit of Christ. To be willing and ready to take on whatever things may come your way, no matter how difficult. How can you be a better leader? How can you better support the leaders you have?