Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Following up the article I wrote last week on the connection between character and competency, I revisited an article I read by Perry Noble on “The Five Core Values of a Church in Decline.” Noble advises us to avoid these declining church values and embrace positive growth instead:
- Laziness: Leaders and their churches who refuse to do whatever it takes to do “what God wants”;
- Fear of Man: Leaders who are more concerned about pleasing donors than God;
- Pride: When leaders and churches won’t/can’t admit mistakes and what isn’t working anymore
- Staff Abuse: When leaders care more about staff work product than who they are becoming in Christ
How many of us are already uncomfortable with this list? How many of us are perilously close to these first four “core values of a Church in Decline” in our own ministry settings? But it was the Core Value #5 that especially grabbed me
5. Loss of Focus: Noble writes “When a pastor/leader (or group of leaders) become more obsessed with their ‘ministry platform’ and begin to dive into other ‘ministry opportunities’ and do so with such frequency that they cease to love the people that Jesus called them to minister to, disaster is right around the corner because the church will become nothing more than a resource for the pastor/leader to promote himself rather than a group of people whom God has brought together and given him responsibility over to love and lead.”
I hope you watched the testimony of a true Christian servant-leader who never lost his focus, even as he faced imminent death from the Ebola virus. You can see and hear his testimony here. Among all the things Dr. Kent Brantley said upon his release from Emory Hospital was his focus on giving glory to God in all things:
“As I lay in my bed in Liberia getting sicker and weaker each day, I prayed that God would help me be faithful even in my illness, and I prayed that in my life or in my death that he would be glorified… what I can tell you is that I serve a faithful God who answers prayers…”
Dr. Brantley gave glory to God for his healing—even as he gave credit to the compassionate medical care at Emory, the experimental drug he received, and the prayers of thousands, perhaps millions, of people all over the world. In the end, he prays that his ordeal will cause many to pray to God for the people of West Africa and an end to the Ebola epidemic. In other words, it’s all about God and the people in West Africa God gave Dr. Brantley to serve.
He reminds me of another leader in the Bible who always gave glory to God even as he was facing imminent death. Under King Darius, Daniel was promoted to a place of exceptional leadership within the kingdom of the Medes and Persians “because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.” (Daniel 6:3-4). Even though he served a pagan king and culture, Daniel used every gift God gave him to serve those in authority over him, and the people delegated to his care, while constantly giving glory to God.
By contrast, the other leaders used their positions as a “platform” to advance themselves. Envious of Daniel and his influence, they tried to find ways to remove him. They were all about themselves—their power, their competition, their envy and hatred for Daniel. Ultimately they turned Daniel’s singular focus on serving others while giving glory to God against him. They knew Daniel had a habit of opening his window to Jerusalem and praying to God three times a day (Dan. 6:5, 10) So they manipulated King Darius to use his position– his “platform” — to focus on himself, to decree that all people should worship only Darius himself for the next thirty days (Dan. 6:7-9)
There is a lesson here for leaders like Darius who are otherwise good. How easy it is to move from serving others to serving ourselves, our ambitions, and our “image.” If like Darius we come to our senses, we will regret being trapped by our own preoccupation with ourselves at the cost of those whom we love and serve (Daniel 6:14).
I find it remarkable than Daniel was aware of all this plotting, scheming and self-serving (Daniel 6:10). I find it remarkable that he did not surrender to “success” or “circumstances” and compromise his determination to give God the glory in all things. For Daniel as a leader, the first priority was and always remained doing what honored God and promoted HIS Kingdom. So he prayed as always, knowing he would be arrested and face death.
We know the rest of the story. God rescued Daniel from the lions’ den. “My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions,” said Daniel to King Darius the next morning. “They have not hurt me because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king.” (Daniel 6:22) You see, Daniel served an audience of one. The only person he cared about pleasing was God. Not the King, nor the crowds, nor his own ambition. It was always about honoring God.
Although the circumstances were different, the result was the same. Following Dr. Brantley’s testimony, Dr. Bruce Ribner, Head of Infectious Diseases at Emory University Hospital, said of Brantley and Nancy Writebol (the other missionary and victim of Ebola who was released):
“…all of us who worked with them have been impressed by their courage and determination. Their hope and faith have been an inspiration to all of us….”
Daniel’s faith, trust in God and singular focus on God’s glory also inspired King Darius to make this decree:
“…that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves: he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” (Dan. 6:26-27)
Because Daniel gave God the glory, instead of himself, he also prospered during the reigns of Darius and Cyrus (Dan. 6:28). Because he did not make his “ministry” a platform for himself, God gave him a better “platform” of influence than he could ever imagine.
From Babylon to Atlanta God’s truth never changes. For pastors, church leaders and other Christian ministry leaders, it must always be about giving the glory to God. It must always be about building up His Kingdom—not our own. May we walk in the same faithfulness, humility and surrender that we see in Daniel and Kent Brantley—giving God our very best, and trusting God for the results. In that place we too will find the intersection of leadership, character and competency.
Yours in Christ,
The Rev. Canon Phil Ashey,
CEO, American Anglican Council
