Today’s Readings: Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37; Joshua 3:7-17; Matthew 23:1-12; 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
In the first six years of my ministry, I’ve been slower to learn one lesson than any other. The lesson I’ve been slow to pick up on is this: whenever I open my mouth, I need to realize that people hear me on two levels. First, they hear the words I speak as words spoken by "the pastor"; and second, they hear the words I speak as words spoken by "Craig". “So what difference does that make?” you might wonder. Well, there have been times when "Craig" has been processing something aloud and has said something that gets taken back to others as something "the pastor" said. This has led to problems at times. Part of my difficulty in remembering to keep both pieces in mind ("the pastor" piece and the "Craig piece") stems from Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel passage in Matthew. In that passage Jesus said, “Don’t let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don’t set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let [God] tell you what to do” (Matthew 23:8-9 from The Message). As a pastor, I’ve drawn my way of leading from the pieces of the Reformed tradition that envision the pastor simply as first among equals. It centers me in the fact that God has called me to a place of spiritual leadership - not because I’m radically different than others; no, my call is primarily grounded in my ability to connect with folks due to our similarities. My job as a responsible spiritual leader/guide then is to constantly point people back to the one – and only one - Expert: God. My question for you today is this: where do you locate your source of ultimate authority? If that source of ultimate authority is in a person, I would advise you to return to Jesus’ words and remind yourself who your “life leader” should be. Til next time…
In the first six years of my ministry, I’ve been slower to learn one lesson than any other. The lesson I’ve been slow to pick up on is this: whenever I open my mouth, I need to realize that people hear me on two levels. First, they hear the words I speak as words spoken by "the pastor"; and second, they hear the words I speak as words spoken by "Craig". “So what difference does that make?” you might wonder. Well, there have been times when "Craig" has been processing something aloud and has said something that gets taken back to others as something "the pastor" said. This has led to problems at times. Part of my difficulty in remembering to keep both pieces in mind ("the pastor" piece and the "Craig piece") stems from Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel passage in Matthew. In that passage Jesus said, “Don’t let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don’t set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let [God] tell you what to do” (Matthew 23:8-9 from The Message). As a pastor, I’ve drawn my way of leading from the pieces of the Reformed tradition that envision the pastor simply as first among equals. It centers me in the fact that God has called me to a place of spiritual leadership - not because I’m radically different than others; no, my call is primarily grounded in my ability to connect with folks due to our similarities. My job as a responsible spiritual leader/guide then is to constantly point people back to the one – and only one - Expert: God. My question for you today is this: where do you locate your source of ultimate authority? If that source of ultimate authority is in a person, I would advise you to return to Jesus’ words and remind yourself who your “life leader” should be. Til next time…
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