Stand in the gap

The power of precedence, is a key biblical principle. It was the watershed of major historic events.

The act of one man, Adam, less so much his wife, determined the future of the entire human race. The act of Saul, when he disobeyed Samuel, blighted his descendents and cut them off from the throne of Israel. A single act of obedience by one old man on a lonely Canaanite outpost, blessed all of Abraham’s descendants from that day onwards. When Esau sold his birthright for some stew, he could never get it back though he sought it with tears, but what he lost to Jacob would remain Jacob’s inheritance forever.

Ultimately these principles point to the cross where the second Adam, paid the price to right the precedence of sin and death that came through the first Adam, so that now through that one man righteousness and life must accrue to all who believe in Him.

These principles allude to the weightiness of leadership and the substance of our stewardship. It is why I, like many other men, drew a line in the sand and declared that whatever errors defined our forefathers, the rot would stop with us.

It is evident from 1 Samuel 10, that God anointed Saul and placed His spirit on him, but that did not prevent his failure because Saul had never been through the forging furnaces of life that are so necessary for preparing us for greater responsibility. But David first proved his heart, then was anointed as a future king and then faced years of struggle and only then was He commissioned to rule as King. That made him a far more resilient and wise leader, but it also ensured his own teach-ability, humility and sensibility.

The problem with leaders that have power without substance, is that they are all too often impulsive, reckless and egocentric, just as Saul was. They also suppress all opposition, just as Saul did. They can break organizations and do untold harm to the teams they inherit, but their insecurity makes them the centre of attention so that everything revolves around the dominant individual, just as it was for Saul. And like Saul, some of them never outgrow their flaws but eventually just fall on their own swords.

A seasoned campaigner has fewer chips on their shoulder and is more likely to be magnanimous, tough when needed, but otherwise unthreatened by other aspirant leaders.

So as moments of decision or key individuals made telling differences to succeeding generations throughout history, so one leader can and often does make a telling difference to the future of modern organizations, including churches. That demands a very accountable, servant-like heart that is in touch with the weight of their role and willing to humbly execute their mandate in obedience to God.

Look what Abraham did after he secured God’s blessing. He paid great attention to detail in ensuring that Isaac was mentored, had the right wife to support him and was otherwise adequately prepared to carry his legacy into the future. I could paraphrase the man’s sense of his blessing and the implications thereof: “Heck, I will not let anyone take this blessing and corrupt it. Listen to me Eliezer, this is not a matter of life and death: it is much more than that. Place your hand on my groin and swear by an oath that you will not fail to ensure a proper wife for my son and a mother to my grandchildren.”

I may have used nice airy-fairy biblical language thus far, but the previous paragraph brings the concept of stewardship into a richer perspective. The kind of heart it takes to carefully watch over and shepherd all that God entrusts to a leader, is the kind of heart that has paid too great a price to ever drop the ball.

Leadership is not a game, nor is it a title, rank, career or symbol for our fragile egotism. It is a fearful and significant thing for God to delegate the weight of His kingdom to us and to call us watch over His beloved people.

When we wound the sheep and drive them away to preserve our own rights, we stand guilty of the presumptuous sin that David so despised. But when we fearfully determine that none shall be lost of those so entrusted to us, then and only then will we have grasped the heart of leadership.

Leadership is not eloquence or learning, but may involve both. But when leaders are anointed because they look, sound or seem the part, they are nothing but empty vessels, sounding gongs and clanging symbols (1 Corinthians 13: 1). But when we shepherd faithfully, in a covenant of love and a full understanding that we can make a difference for the kingdom in preserving His legacy, then you will understand why, “love is patient and kind, without boasting or pride. It is never rude (offensive to the sheep) or self-seeking. Nor is it easily angered and it keeps no record of wrongs. It always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres and it will never fail” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8).

© Peter Eleazar at http://www.bethelstone.com/