I don't really want to lead: Part 2

Moses - was kind of 'shoved' or goaded into being a leader of God's people to get them out of Eygpt. Wasn't really his thing until God promised him a lot of help through Aaron, etc...

Saul - hid in the luggage whenever he was being called to be the king over God's people.

David - was out tending sheep with no apparent awareness that he was even in the running to be considered as a leader of anything when he was called and annointed as king.

Jonah - ran the other way when God called him to go to Ninevah. God took him on a three day underwater tour to help him think about it.

Timothy - was in need of a strong reminder/encouragment from Paul to keep on leading and to not let himself get 'run over' in what was an apparently difficult (at times) group of people to work with in Ephesus.

John Mark - apparently wasn't a big fan of some of the trips/dangers faced by Paul and Barnabus and went AWOL at inappropriate times.

The apostles - for all their bravado when with Jesus, the all fled when he was arrested. Only Peter followed at a distance but denied knowing Jesus.

And the list really could go on...

The thing about all of these folks is that they had times when the last thing they wanted to do was to be 'in' leadership. It took each of them a time of learning or an event or a time of seeing God's power at work before they stepped up and were seen and discussed as having grown up into leadership. Doesn't mean they were perfect in that role for the rest of their lives, but that it was a process for them to get there.

Today it's the case that sometimes leaders don't materialize because they don't want to throw the balance off in their life as they desire it to be (I.e. I have way too much work, a lot of family, a little 'me time', and just enough of church/Jesus). In other words, good old fashioned idolatry and control issues. Others are rejected because their leadership is perceived to be a threat to the aforementioned balance in others' lives.

Yet at the same time, perhaps it is the case that some people don't make it in leadership yet because God wants to shape them and grow them through things they don't see yet.

It's interesting. As with previous comments on last week's post, the question really is - what is leadership today? It seems that some people equate leadership with being up front in a church service leading a song, a prayer, preaching, etc. Others seem to perceive it as being a catalyst who moves people and resources along toward a goal or in a direction.

Each of the examples from the Bible mentioned above played very different public roles and at different times for different durations. Lots of 'leadership' type roles are simply mentioned in passing in the Biblical text - leading songs, praying in public, and other things we often consider to be 'the choice roles' to have. Most of Biblical leadership seems to have to do with pointing people in the direction of the Kingdom, either for short term activities or for long range changes that might never be apparent in the life of the individual who is called into them.

Maybe it's out culture with its up to the minute news coverage and our demand for things to change now to fit what we want that has warped what God has said and called us into. Maybe it's time to spend even more time in prayer, reflecting on where and when we live, what God has already blessed us with, where he seems to be moving already and/or where he appears to be calling us to go.

I'll admit, it's tempting to demand a leadership postion that's ready made with clear objectives, a regular public 'facetime' in which I can feel acknowledged and honors, and a guaranteed successful outcome so I don't have to risk failure. That type of leadership or place in the body of Christ completely foreign to the Bible and to life in the Kingdom.

Think through the New Testament and the way 'leadership' and different gifts play out in the NT church. How similar or different are we?