Perhaps it’s because of Memorial Day Weekend, but I’ve really been mulling over some ideas lately about honor and loyalty. Hopefully they will make sense.
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see a lot of loyalty in the church today. Maybe I was raised different because my father was in the military, maybe it has to do with the fact that I’m Korean and part of heritage truly embraces honor and loyalty, maybe it’s because I played sports my whole life and I truly buy into the team concept and coaching. Perhaps it’s because I’m a weirdo who watched Braveheart way too many times.
I just don’t see a lot of loyalty in the church today, particularly loyalty to leadership. It’s weird, but I thought the church was supposed to set the benchmark for society, but it doesn’t seem to be that way at all (mind you, this is a totally different conversation if definitive sin comes into the picture, I’m in no way excusing sinful leadership). I realize that people are imperfect, but every aspect of success in life I’ve ever come to know in the world of military, sports and leadership are all hinged on a system in which the superior/commander/coach/leader is to be respected, his orders to be followed to the best of one’s ability, and the utmost of teamwork being used to accomplish the goals set before us.
I just don’t see that today, mainly for two reasons: weak leadership at the top, and weak loyalty in the support. The first issue I honestly am not sure if I’m qualified to speak on, perhaps I’ll study more and more of it in God’s word and gain enough confidence to blog about the topic. But the second I feel more than capable of speaking of.
I’ve worked in some capacity at 6 churches, all of them with different leadership structures and styles. Some had weak leadership, most had terrible support, very few had both strong leadership and great support. The best was a church plant that started from scratch, perhaps there’s more to the idea I’ve heard kicked around from the very leaders of some prestigious seminaries in my denomination that church planting is the greatest form of evangelism and is a preferred method of ministry rather than revive an existing church because it’s easier to birth a baby than it is to raise the dead.
Nevertheless, I do think support staff need to (shocker) show support, I do think if you can’t follow the head leader’s vision you need to leave gracefully, and I do think that many churches would be more successful and many lead pastors wouldn’t suffer burnout if support staff and volunteer leaders showed loyalty and simply followed obediently or gracefully left.
Perry Noble put it best, describing the scene in Acts 14 when Paul (the leader) was stoned and Barnabas and the disciples (support leaders) surrounded him. He basically explained that if support staff and volunteer leaders will realize that the lead pastor gets rocks thrown at him every day and would choose to support him and pray over him when he’s down, he will get back up rejuvenated with loyalty at his back and be so pumped that people have his back that he’ll be ready to “storm the gates of hell with a water pistol.”
Can we the support be a blessing for our leaders? Not grumble, not throw them under the bus, but support them? Can we watch out for their spiritual/emotional/physical/mental health, guard their family time, and support them financially? Most of all can we realize that God has given them a vision, and that if we all work together and get on board we can see great things happen for the kingdom?
