MEMBERS VS LEADERS
Members vs. Leaders: Defining Our Roles as Christians
Oftentimes we worry ourselves over the idea of what it takes to become a member of the church. We look into doctrinal matters and ask those who are leaders in the church to help us learn more about God. However, this distinction between members and leaders is one that needs to be defined very carefully, as it may cause a drastic loss in the evangelism that is carried out from the church. Whether they like to admit it or not, most Christians have a tendency to “hand things off” to someone who is in a “higher position” in the church than they are. Sure, some people have a better knowledge of scripture, and some may be better spoken than others, and those are the people who are often left tasks and responsibilities simply because they succeed in those fields. However, there needs to be a clarification as to what makes someone a “church leader.” We need to understand as Christians, that we are all called to be leaders, and there is biblical doctrine and history that should compel us to be a leader not only in the church, but out in the world, as well.
What does it mean to be a leader? Simply put, a leader must have someone to lead, and they must be willing to direct them in the way that they see fit. As Christians, we are all given the command to be leaders. In 2 Timothy 4:2, it says, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and teaching.” Examining the scripture shows that we clearly have someone to lead (that is, the audience to whom we preach) and we have a way to direct them (which is, to God and to follow His will). If we are to claim that we are Christians who follow the Word, we must claim to be leaders and we must spread the Word and be living example to others to show how we should live.
Although we are given a command, oftentimes it seems like it would be so much easier or even more effective to hand off the task of spreading the word of God to someone seemingly more qualified or more soundly spoken. However, that is not God’s will at all. Even in Moses’ time, he was called by God to free God’s people from Egypt. However, Moses had a slew of excuses. In Exodus 4, Moses said things like in verse 1, “… ‘But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, “The Lord has not appeared to you.”’” Verse 10 also says, Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” And after God gives Moses everything he needs for him to be comforted for this journey, Moses still pleads to God in verse 13, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.” Of course, after this, we could only expect for God to be upset with him (which He was) because Moses was so reluctant to follow God after He showed Himself and accommodated to what Moses said he needed for going to Egypt. As Christians, we often find ourselves making the same kind of excuses. “I didn’t go to preaching school,” “It’s not my job,” and “Maybe some other time,” are just a few of the many excuses that we tell God on our every day walk even though God chose Moses, who wasn’t soundly spoken, to go free God’s people from Egypt.
The question we should ask ourselves is this: “What excuses am I giving to God today? How much better could I serve God if I stopped giving Him excuses and started giving Him glory?” This attitude of surrender is not something unbecoming of a leader, but rather it shapes a leader to be strong. By choosing to follow God and lead others to Him, we should all strive to be leaders so that the church can grow in numbers and bring more souls to Christ.
Caden Conley