The Importance of Spiritual Leadership Part III: Ignorant and Corrupt Leaders

In the final section of the importance of spiritual leadership posts, I want to focus on what the quality of leaders is bred when there is no strong core of spiritual leaders. If one was to look at the "reign" of Eli as high priest, one can easily see what will happen if there is not a core of grounded leaders.

Most of this discussion will come from 1 Samuel chapters one through three. These passages show just what kind of leader Eli was and what this leadership produced. The first thing that I notice is how a lack of good leaders produced an ignorant leader like Eli. The first time we see this is in the very first chapter when Hannah was praying to God for a son. The text reads that while Hannah was praying silently, Eli saw her moving her lips but because he heard nothing he thought she was drunk. On first glance this might be something you would look over, except that we need to remember that Eli was a priest. However, he was not just any priest, but the High Priest. This was the "cream of the crop" when it came to priests. They were like the direct spokesperson for God. They were the only ones who could enter into the Holy of Holies to make the sacrifices. They were supposed to be the most astute when it came to praying. Yet, he mistook prayer for being drunk! This is not the only example. There are other examples in chapter two that I will come back to, and in chapter three.

In chapter three we see the calling of Samuel as a priest/prophet. In this passage we can see another ignorant move from Eli. The story goes that while Samuel was sleeping he heard the voice of God call his name. Getting up, he ran to see Eli (who was his master since he was in "training"). Eli dismissed the claim and told Samuel that he was hearing things and to go back to bed. Samuel is laying in bed and a second time he hears the voice of God call his name. Once again, Samuel runs to Eli and once again, Eli dismisses him. This same thing happens again, only this time Eli FINALLY realizes that it was God calling out to Eli. Why did it take three times for Eli or Samuel to finally realize what was going on? I can understand one time, since I would dare say almost all of us have heard something go "bump in the night." However two more times! A verse in the text makes it clear of why something like this could have happened. In verse seven the text reads, Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word of the Lord been revealed to him."  Also, a thing to remember is that the place where Samuel was sleeping was in the temple. This was the place where Eli was. They lived in the "church". How could Samuel have grown up so much and not known what the word of the Lord was? The only explanation I can attempt to offer is that Eli had failed his job. As the High Priest his duty was to teach the word to his students. Eli's laziness had made him ignorant of his duties and ignorant of what God's call was like. He had forgotten the very thing that was supposed to have been guiding him! Oh how ignorant and lazy must one be to forget the very job you were called to do!?

A final instance using Eli as an example of what poor leadership develops is found in the second chapter. In this chapter we get a small dose of Eli's family. We as a reader get to see his sons. His sons are also priests, yet we see how they valued their job. The text mentions how they were corrupt doing all sorts of perverse things and even stealing. Now I know that one can easily go into a rant of Eli has a bad parent. However, that is not the route I am wanting to go. When Eli goes to rebuke his sons we read that Eli was very old when he heard this. I take this to mean that these things must have been going on for awhile. How could this have been going on for so long? Why had Eli waited so long before doing something? Once again I believe this is because of his ignorance. He chose to not acknowledge it. And what did his ignorance produce? A breed of corrupt leaders.

Without discipline, without rebuke, leaders that spring up without a foundation will lead to some form of a corrupt leader. How can we expect anyone to be an honest and moral leader who is wise when he has never seen what one was to begin with? How can we expect him to be a strong leader when he has never had anyone to show him what to do? And how can he be disciplined if there is not a leader who first, knows the truth, knows right and wrong, and who is wise, and if second, there is not a leader around to care enough to rebuke and discipline? (Which I believe a good leader must not only rebuke, but also be wise enough to know how and when.)

These are just a few things that lay in store for a society when leaders forget what being a leader is. Or, like in the case of Eli, just become lazy and apathetic. But, I also believe that a society also has a role in shaping a leader. A society should know when their leaders are becoming corrupt, or lazy, or apathetic and not be afraid to call their leader out. This should be a sign of a healthy society.

What do you think societies around the world would look like if they began to practice this? If how would culture change if good, strong, spiritual leaders arose and began to lead? Would we look a little like Josiah in 2 Kings? Would this reform last?

The Importance of Spiritual Leadership Part II: The Death of Direction

With this post, I would like to continue discussing why I believe spiritual leadership is so important. With the last post I examined how without spiritual leadership in society the truth is only one generation away from dying out. To show how this seemingly impossibly idea is possible, I used the example found in Judges where it states how a generation grew up who did not know the truth. I believe that another risk that comes with the lack of leadership is what I am calling the death of direction. 

As someone reads the book of Judges there is a common phrase that keeps coming up, "in those days Israel had no king, and everyone did what they thought was right in their own eyes." Although I know that a king is not necessarily a spiritual leader, I believe that there is a practical insight with spiritual leaders.

If one was to look at the history of the Israelites a pattern can be seen. This pattern shows the importance of the necessity for a spiritual leader. All throughout Judges and even before and after, as long as there was a strong spiritual leader, Israel flourished and did what was right. They worshiped and obeyed God and God blessed them. However without a strong leader, Israel had not since of direction. They had no idea what they needed to do or how to do it. Because of this, they quickly fell. Nations came in and conquered them taking their land and belongings. 

Another thing can be seen upon examining the history of the Hebrew people. Once they did establish their "kingdom," even though they had a "leader" to guide them, Israel would still abandon their direction if that leader was not grounded in God. I mention this point because it doesn't matter what type of charismatic person may be, if that person is not a grounded leader, he cannot give a good direction. In other words, he will lead his followers astray. This is very evident when reading kings. 

This, I believe, is another things churches and Christians need to realize. They must realize that without a strong leadership there can be no direction. Without a grounded leadership there will never be a good direction, if there is any at all. 

To close, a must for leaders if they want to be good is that they must have and seek good counsel. There are many times in the books of Kings when a king would seek advice from his counsel and several times that advice was horrible. In the times this happened and the advice was followed, it almost always lead to bad things.

So, who do you feel qualified to be a leader? If so are you grounded in God? Who is your counsel? 

The Importance of Spiritual Leadership Part I: The Death of Truth

I will be writing my next couple posts on what I believe are three main reasons for the necessity of spiritual leadership. I began to think about this idea while going through the book of Judges. This first post came after reading a verse in chapter two of Judges. "After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors [the generation of Joshua], another generation grew up who neither the Lord nor what He had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. . ." (Judges 2:10-11a). I find this very interesting that an ENTIRE generation grew up who did not know of the Lord or his works. I began to ask myself why.

I once heard that the truth is always one generation from dying. This was the first thing that I thought of once I read this statement. The main way, if not the only way, this can happen is if leaders from the previous generation ceased to be a leader. In other words they ceased to be involved in their kids lives, raising them up in the way of the Lord. (Which, might I add is a direct violation of a previous command when God instructed the Israelites to teach the words to future generations according to Deuteronomy 11:19).

When strong leaders (i.e. Christian leaders) neglect the fundamental role of mentoring and discipleship, their is a lack of torch passing. Leaders do not "raise up" future leaders to pass the torch on to so that the truth will carry on. In the New Testament, Christ mentions how we are to go  "and make disciples of all nations. . .and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded" (Matthew 28:19-20). Leaders are important for the sake of the continuity of Truth. Just like the Israelites had no leaders and the truth died, so too can that happen again IF leaders either cease to be, or neglect their "understudy".

I believe that discipleship/mentoring is the key to prevent this from happening. Leaders/adults must find someone they can help raise up in the faith teaching them and living out the command in Deuteronomy. Sadly, I do not see this happening very much in churches today. I was fortunate to have a "mentor" because I see a HUGE lack of leaders stepping up to take on an understudy. Pastors of all kinds, elders, deacons, christian business men and women should all be pouring out their own knowledge that they have received into the life of someone else. Major corporations and entertainment artists have been doing this practice all along, teaching and crafting young people and influencing them. IF the spiritual leaders of today do not begin to see the necessity for discipleship, then I believe we are only one generation from seeing the death of Truth.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today as we celebrate a day of thanks, may we celebrate it with full joy and true thanks.

I am reminded of some of the Jewish festivals during this Thanksgiving. As I have been studying the Old Testament for class, I have studied some of the festivals and history, and one thing I have realized is that the Jewish people were always in a state of thanksgiving and remembrance in almost all of their festivals. Just like most Jewish culture, the festivals are tied back into their history. That is why they are steeped in remembrance and thanksgiving. From the Passover to the Festival of Weeks, each festival explores the history of what their people as been through and from this narrative, they in turn give God the thanks.

With that said, my challenge for everyone this Thanksgiving is that may we embody the spirit of the Jewish festivals. That as we sit around with family and friends eating, fellowship, and watching football, may we remember to give thanks to God for everything He has done for us. May we remember our own exodus story of how God has delivered us from our own oppression, and how He has been our own Divine Warrior fighting our battles for us. And as we are remembering may we as a community, a family, come together and give thanks for what He has done for us.

So what are you thankful for? What has God delivered you from? How has God been your Divine Warrior? What will you do to show him how thankful you are?

Are You Ready?

So the other day in class we had a guest speaker. He was the head of the Center for Jewish Studies, Dr. Mark Ellis. While discussing the importance of "rediscovering" Judaism, he mentioned that he was ready for judgment day so he could be judged. This got me thinking about if I could say the same thing. Am I ready to be judged? Dr. Ellis said that although part of him wasn't looking forward to the idea (for fear of "missed opportunities"), he was more ready to stand before God and give his account on how he has helped the "poor and needy."

I began to examine myself to see if I could say the same. Could I stand before the Almighty God and give an account of how well I was to the poor, the needy, the less fortunate, etc. Leviticus makes it very clear that we are to "love our neighbors as ourselves" (Leviticus 19). In the same chapter it tells about how we are too help the poor and needy by giving them food and inviting them in if they are a stranger. We are to show those "different" then us the same hospitality as we would show one of our "kind". This statement was not just left for the Old Testament, but Christ quotes this numerous times and to prove his point even gives us the parable of the Good Samaritan. James even mentions this when discussing faith and works.

So again, could I stand boldly before God and confidence knowing I have done my best to fight for the helpless? Have I gone out of my way to be the voice for the voiceless? I am scared to give an accurate answer because I know I have had so many of those missed opportunities.

I know turn the question outward. Are you ready to stand before God and loudly proclaim with confidence that you have done your best to help the poor? Have you given your all to help someone in need? Or will you cower away in fear of the wrath of God in judgement for not living up to His command?

All Elect?

Not too long ago in class we were discussing the idea of election. In this particular case it involved the idea of Israel being elect and therefore how do we handle the idea of election/reprobate. If someone is elect then by definition wouldn't there then have to be someone not elect, a reprobate? However, what if by the mere definition of being elect, we are all elect?

The definition of election is to be chosen for a purpose. In modern times this idea has translated into a means of salvation, to be chosen for a purpose of salvation. This is not what I am going to talk about because of the possible ramifications that will ensue. What I am talking about is the basics of being chosen for a purpose.

In class we have discussed numerous times how Israel and the Hebrew people were chosen by God and how that everyone else is "not chosen" like the Egyptians and the numerous "-ites" of the Promise Land. But what if those people were even chosen by God? I will admit this is a weird position but if we approach it from this angle, I believe most (not all) of our "election" problems will then solve themselves.

As mentioned early the idea of election is to be chosen for a purpose. I believe this to be true. But I believe that not only were the Hebrew people God's chosen people but so were the other nations. The way to describe this though is through subject object terms: the Hebrew people are the subject and the groups they interact with are therefore the objects. I will use the Egyptians to prove this point. God chose the Israelites to show who He is to the nations by various means. They were His people. He blessed them and was with them. However, what if the Egyptians were also chosen by God for a purpose. That purpose, I believe was to show the Egyptians and later the world who God is, by using the Israelites as the subject. The Bible says that God rose Pharaoh up so that His glory would be shown. If that is the case then it is clear by definition of election that God chose the Egyptian people as a means to show his glory to the world by using them in the Israelite narrative. Israel is the subject, Egypt is the object. The purpose, to show God's glory.

This is just one example among what I believe to be many. The Hebrew people taking over the promise land: subject=Israel, object="-ites" of Canaan, purpose=to show God's glory and to pour out His wrath among the wicked nations Canaan by using the Israelites. The same argument can even be applied using Babylon and Persia toward Israel: Subject=Israel, object=invading nations, purpose, to test Israel and later to punish them for their own wickedness.

So, everyone is elect. We all have a purpose. I were so bold I would even attempt to apply this to salvation, however I will leave that up for you.

God of Love???

So here recently it seems that in today's time a lot of people in a post modern world are focusing on the idea of basically if God is a God of love how can he send someone to hell? Or why would God tell the Israelites in the Old Testament to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev 19:18) and then a few books later tell those same Israelites to commit genocide? I believe that although on the surface this does seem a little contradictory, but what if God was just using the Israelites to carry out His sense of justice.

I firmly believe that God is a God of love, but we also must look at his other characteristics, and in this case not only is He a God of love, but also of justice. So often we focus on specific aspects of God and we forget that God is more than just one thing but many things. yes God is love, but also just and holy, and merciful. For instance it was a few books later after Leviticus in Deuteronomy God tells the Hebrews that it is not because they have done anything special to receive the land, but because of the wickedness of the inhabitants of the land (Deut 9:4,5). This is the exact same thing that God later did with the Israelites when they became united. All throughout the book of Judges God used the nations around Canaan to test the Hebrews, which started because they did not fully listen to God and drive out all of the other nations (Judges 2:19-22). Furthermore, when they kingdom rebelled God sent the Assyrians and the Persians and the Babylonians after them which eventually sent the Jews into Exile. Then they returned and stayed on the course for a little only to rebel again and then God sent the Romans. This seems to be a recurring theme in Scripture of God using people and nations to show His glory and to bring about various forms of justice.

Although if I may be so bold as to propose that I believe that love in some way drives justice. My example of this is to think of a parent. A parent loves their child very much and wants them to do right and to know right from wrong. A parent goes to extreme measure sometimes to discipline a kid, to punish a kid. What type of parent would one be if they let their kid do whatever they wanted and did not try to teach them right and wrong; in my estimation they would be an unloving parent and an unjust one. But when parents discipline their kids for the most part they aren't called rash or hateful, but still full of love.

Also on a further note to show that sometimes rash things are sometimes just, doesn't our own criminal system in order to uphold justice do extreme things. If a minor commits major crimes, are they not tried as an adult and receiving harsh punishments? And do we not also punish women and in some cases put them on death row? What type of judge would be just if for the sake of "love" and "forgiveness" and "mercy" did not punish a criminal in someway. (I am full aware that this may negate my above statement, that is why I am proposing and just "thinking out loud").

In closing, let me add this. If we think about God in more ways then just love, but add in the fact of God being just and merciful, how much more is the beauty of the cross? That God being a just God could not let our sin go unpunished, but out of his love and mercy allowed a way for us out. That way being through Christ. That Christ, out of love, would be become sin for us and so much that he would die an agonizing death on the cross. Love compelling Justice. God of love, God of justice.