Often in my life, believe it or not, my understanding of leadership has been shaped a lot by leaders who I never want to be like.
I think part of it is pride; but I think part of it is an inner brokenness about the type of leaders that we choose to be.
Recently, an article floated around Facebook about how a prominent American Christian leader did something beneath reproach. Here’s the article (the points of immaturity are well justified). Basically Mark Driscoll and James Macdonald crashes a conference Strange Fire, a conference with views he disagrees with, and begins passing out Driscoll’s books and signing them for conference attendees.
Now, I’m really not a Driscoll hater or a Macdonald hater. I genuinely appreciate them and even personally have loads of Macdonald sermons on my computer which have really built me up in the faith.
But just something about this act is so…saddening to me.
Reading what was done just makes me shake my head–I could never imagine myself participating in such an immature and un-Christ-like stunt.
This post is not about Driscoll and Macdonald. I will still continue to respect and receive from the Lord through them. This is, however, a commentary on a trend I see in being a famous Christian in the West.
It really makes me wonder at what point of being “famous” as an American Christian, when we lose the fear of the Lord in the simple things of life.
It’s so sobering because we realize that Christianity in many parts of the world, there’s no such thing as being a famous Christian. To be a Christian means that we bear the name of Jesus and therefore the suffering of Jesus.
Unlike America, it doesn’t mean we are entitled to more privilege, empowering ourselves to foolish acts, it merely means that we now have more opportunity to serve, to remain unseen, to, with our influence, lift others up.
I’m not saying that I will ever be in the place of prominence in the Christian world, nor I do seek it, but God, I’m so scared of being famous as a Christian. Because from what I’ve seen, with fame, comes the temptation of being everything that I don’t want to be as one who bears the name of our humble Lord Jesus.
God, even in my small circles of influence, deliver me from such folly. Help me to live simply like you.
