In the Great Commission, Jesus says to his disciples, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matt 28: 18-20).
Our first calling, as Christian leaders, is learning to follow the One Who has called us and, as we learn, lead others to do likewise. We are called to live with the constant awareness that we too follow, that we are have no righteousness of our own. It has been a humbling (which is a nice way to say humiliating) realization for me that I, all too often, live and lead out of some sense of self-righteousness. Shocker, right?!?! Not really, but still, the questions remains, how do we lead, in truth and love, but not out of sense of our "own rightness," but from a position of humility rooted in "Christ's rightness?" How do we lead by example, give voice to the truth (even in correction, when necessary...), and yet walk in humility? I believe we must keep ourselves keenly aware of the unmerited grace by which we have been saved, always looking to the person and work of Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, and live out the words of the Apostle Paul, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (I Cor. 11:1)....
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