The Plumbline

Don’t imagine us leaders to be something we aren’t. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God’s divine secrets, not security guards posted to protect them. The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. (I Corinthians 4:1-2 MSG) We have placed our leaders on 'pedestals' of sorts, not realizing that when we elevate them to such a position of power or authority over our lives, making them the 'absolute' we turn to, we are not always keeping God as our 'absolute'. There is but ONE absolute - God. Whenever we elevate a man or woman into that position that God should hold, we are in danger of focusing more on their charisma than on the Spirit of God that dwells within them. God wants us to make wise decisions as to who we allow to be in positions of authority in our churches, being sure they are consistently being the type of leaders we can 'look up to', but not regarding them with more authority than God h...

  Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.   Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.   He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. (Ephesians 4:14-16) The five-fold ministry of the church (apostle, prophet, teacher, evangelist, and pastor) might not be recognized for their extreme value at times. We know they exist - that they have a role to play. Yet, we don't actually realize it is for OUR benefit they fulfill their roles! The whole purpose of their ministry is OUR growth. They are placed there to protect us from every unsound teaching that comes along - from being duped ...