Right Use of Power in the Church—Part VIII—Imitate Christ’s Example

Why does it hurt so much, individually and community-wide, when a church leader fails by abuse of power or betrayal of trust or worse?

Scripture gives us a clue: In Psalm 55, David is desperately pleading with God for relief. He is “distraught.” And why? He says, “If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers” (Psalm 55:12-14).

David always seems—in the imprecatory and lament Psalms he pens—to have enemies, to be running from opposition, to need relief and protection from his foes. But, Psalm 55 is particularly poignant in that David has been betrayed not only by a “companion”, a “close friend”, but by a fellow believer who was part of the worshipping community. We, too, often experience that same visceral reaction to a fellow believer who turns against or actively and unkindly opposes us.

The Apostle John reminds us that our fellowship with Jesus and with one another relies on our truthfulness—on living in the light, not in darkness and cover-up: “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:6-7). When we have been duped, lied to, or made to swallow the impacts of a cover-up, we experience the grief that comes with that betrayal.

Paul pleads with the church in Corinth to stop favoring one leader over another and to cease their infighting: “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10). It’s difficult enough to have “perfect unity”—but when the pastor or church leader has misused his/her position in ways that are rooted in a self-interested drive, narcissism, vanity and the like, and the truth is not told, it becomes ever more complicated for a congregation to find true harmony, as people begin to take sides depending on what version they have been told or choose to believe.

Ultimately, Jesus is our example—in leadership and followership. As Paul exhorts the church in Philippi (and us), he emphasizes choosing humility, mirroring Christ’s servanthood, and setting aside our own selfish ambitions: “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

            In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

            Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant,

    being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself

    by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:1-11).

Reflect:

·         How are you contributing to and participating in healthy fellowship and worship with other believers?

·         How are you walking “in the light”?

·         Are you in danger of favoring a pastor or ministry leader over another? Is there something else you are doing (or not doing) that is contributing to divisions?

·         What might “perfect unity” look like in your church?

·         Take a moment to pray for that unity today.

·         How might you imitate Christ’s example as described by Paul in Philippians 2?

Shirley Giles Davis, author of the God. Gifts. You. Your Unique Calling and Design workbook, Your Unique Design Class Guide, Your Unique Design Facilitator Guide, and Gifts-Calling-Purpose blog, is a consultant, coach, facilitator who has worked with faith-based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and leaders in a diversity of fields for over 30 years. She has also been Catalyst for Equipping at her church since 1999. Contact her about growing your self- and other-awareness and life/ministry coaching.

Photo (c) Shirley Giles Davis, all rights reserved.