The Role of Leadership (2 Peter 1:12-15)
I met with an older leader of an Austrian denomination of churches once. We were sharing our stories and comparing notes about church planting. As we began to discuss working together on things, and I was asking for him to commit to some activities we were planning, he said something that I will never forget. “If life expectancies are to be believed, I can only reasonably count on 40 to 50 more months of life, so I want to make sure everything I do is the best use of the time I have left.”
How many of us plan our lives and activities with that level of awareness and vision? Here, Peter is in a similar situation. He knows his life is nearing its end. He knows he has little left to accomplish before he will enter eternity. He is hyper focused on making his activity count. What is he doing?
Peter is an apostle. The Apostle if you will. And he presents a very different picture of church leadership to that which people expect today.
Today people tend to think that good pastors and teachers are constantly discovering and teaching new truth. Reality is that the role of great leaders in the church is to constantly REMIND the people of the old truths that they already know.
Today people think it is the job of pastors and missionaries to do the work of the church, but great leaders spur the whole church to do the work of the church. It is all about knowing and being established in the basic truth of the Gospel, about knowing and doing the things that Jesus taught His followers to do all those years ago, and that He expects his followers to do today.
How many of us plan our lives and activities with that level of awareness and vision? Here, Peter is in a similar situation. He knows his life is nearing its end. He knows he has little left to accomplish before he will enter eternity. He is hyper focused on making his activity count. What is he doing?
“I shall not fail to remind you of things… although you know them and are already established in the truth.” (J. B. Phillips)
Peter is an apostle. The Apostle if you will. And he presents a very different picture of church leadership to that which people expect today.
Today people tend to think that good pastors and teachers are constantly discovering and teaching new truth. Reality is that the role of great leaders in the church is to constantly REMIND the people of the old truths that they already know.
Today people think it is the job of pastors and missionaries to do the work of the church, but great leaders spur the whole church to do the work of the church. It is all about knowing and being established in the basic truth of the Gospel, about knowing and doing the things that Jesus taught His followers to do all those years ago, and that He expects his followers to do today.
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