FOUR FATAL FLAWS - Charisma Magazine
Posted by: prophetic <prophetic@...>
by J. Lee Grady
Our movement began unraveling a few years ago because of flawed
leadership. We will not recover until we clean up our act.
I spend a lot of time investing in young leaders-and I constantly
urge them to learn from the mistakes we made in the previous
move of God. I appreciate the positive things the Holy Spirit did
during the charismatic movement, but we made a mess because
we didn´t lead with integrity.
The apostle Paul gave us a crash course in leadership in his
second letter to the Corinthians. While studying that epistle
recently, I identified four of the biggest mistakes we made during
the charismatic revival. I pray we've learned our lesson so we can
avoid these flaws in the next season.
1. Charlatanism. We charismatics lost our credibility during the
past 30 years because certain greedy preachers manipulated their
audiences to pad their own pockets. Just as a little leaven spreads
to the whole lump of dough, the charlatans ruined it for all of us.
The apostle Paul told the Corinthians, "For we are not like many,
peddling the Word of God" (2 Cor. 2:17, NASB). The Greek word
for peddling, kapeleuo, means "to make money by selling; to
corrupt; to get gain by teaching divine truth." How many well-known
charismatic preachers started out well but ended up as pitiful
peddlers, begging for dollars to pay for luxury cars and mansions
they felt they needed to prove their importance? (And now some
of these guys have their own reality show, The Preachers of L.A.,
which airs in October and features Noel Jones and Clarence
McClendon.)
2. Entitlement. Paul continually reminded the Corinthians that he
was a servant: "For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus
as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus´ sake"
(2 Cor. 4:5). Servanthood is the most fundamental requirement for
any leader. Yet in our movement, we celebrated the opposite
attitude by allowing leaders with out-of-control egos to demand
special treatment.
I know of one conference speaker who routinely sends a 23-page
list of requirements to churches that want her to speak! In the past,
some charismatic preachers have demanded shopping money (in
addition to their honorariums) and luxury accommodations; others
insist they can´t travel without their "armor bearer"-basically a
minion who carries a preacher´s briefcase, handkerchief and water
bottle to make him look important.
News flash! Paul did not have an armor bearer, and he would have
rebuked any minister who insists on acting like a fat cat.
3. Arrogance. The apostle Paul modeled teamwork. When he went
to Corinth, Thessalonica or Crete, it was not The Paul Show. He
traveled with Luke, Silas, Timothy and many others. He told the
Corinthians, "As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among
you" (2 Cor. 8:23)-and Paul exhorted the church to view Titus with
the same respect they showed him.
Yet in our movement, we put men on pedestals and under spot-
lights. We created a culture of preacher worship. Leaders began
using titles. Then came the limousines and private jets. Some high-
profile speakers went so far as to promote the use of bodyguards.
And I know of at least one preacher who demanded that a church
fly special beef to his hotel so he could have the steak he required.
Pride turns men of God into monsters.
4. Professionalism. Somebody got the bright idea a few years ago
that churches should be managed like businesses. So pastors
became CEOs, and ministry was put on an assembly line.
Congregations became franchises competing with each other to
see who could offer the coolest music, the hippest sermons and
the best lobby coffee bar. But a funny thing happened on the way
to the megachurch: We lost the relational touch.
I´m not against big churches, cool music or coffee bars. But my
fear is that leaders today might assume they can buy success by
copying the style of this month´s most popular rock-star preacher.
I don´t care if you have strobe lights, fog machines, killer musicians
and a home-run sermon every week. If people don´t see true
brokenness in the pulpit and experience real pastoral care, they
will never grow into disciples. Shallow, professional leaders
produce shallow Christianity.
Leaders must be real. Our ministry must flow out of passionate
love for God and genuine love for people. The apostle Paul never
wore a mask. He was touchable and affectionate. He never went
through the motions. He was broken. He knew he was nothing
apart from Jesus. He told the Corinthians, "Most gladly, therefore,
I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of
Christ may dwell in me" (2 Cor. 12:9).
Paul told the Corinthians he was careful not to offend in any area
"so that the ministry will not be discredited" (2 Cor. 6:3). I wish we
had been that careful to guard what God gave us in the charismatic
revival. Our flaws have grieved the Holy Spirit. Let´s trade in
charlatanism for financial integrity; entitlement for servanthood;
the celebrity syndrome for teamwork; and professionalism for
touchable authenticity. Let´s become leaders who act like Jesus.
-Source-