Carson on God's Ideas of Leadership

As I mentioned in my last post, I have time at the moment to really invest in some reading. Again and again I am struck by the wealth of wisdom and inspiration that is available to us as the people of God if we are just willing to put the effort in to read the thoughts and 'heart lyrics' of the many men and women more attuned to the words of the Spirit then ourselves.

D.A. Carson is such a man, with simply marvelous insight into the meaniong and exposition of scripture. The quote I want to share today is from a stunning little book that should really be on any Christian Leaders shelf entitled The Cross and Christian Ministry which is an exposition of the book of First Corinthians in relation to ministry and leadership with the Cross of Christ as the pivotal moment/idea/theological/devotional reality through which such ministry/leadership must be pursued.

His thoughts (particularly relating to Factionalism within the church and the 'worship' of leaders as divulged in I Cor. 3):

"[In the first 2 chapters of this epistle] one discovers that the Almighty utterly reverses so many of the values cherished by the world. What the world judges wise, God dismisses as folly; what the world rejects as foolishness is nothing less than God's wisdom. The world loves power and prestige; God displays himself most tellingly on the cross, in sublime and wretched weakness-- yet that "weakness" effects God's utterly breathtaking redemptive plan, and thus proves stronger than all the world's "strength."
The world pants after strong leaders, but leaders in the church must first of all be servants of the Lord Christ...
The world tries to impress with its rhetoric and sophistication, cherishing form more than content. The apostles of Jesus Christ prize truth above style and quietly refuse to endorse any form that may prove so attractive, even diversionary, that the centrality of the gospel truth is jeapordized."

Leadership and ministering for Christ is a simply immense responsibility and privilege, we must never, and can never, seek glory for ourselves or bring about any faction due to our preference for the leader and not for the Centrality of Gospel truth and Cross-centric leadership!

Simon