If you're driven to become a 'big dea'l missional pastor (a celebrity pastor who will one day launch his own mini-movement to "save" the church from your pet peeve) or if you're driven to be a part of a church because it's seen as a big deal chances are you have an idolatry problem. And besides, nobody really cares about you being a "big deal" anyway. Your spouse, children, family and close friends don't really care about you or your church being a big deal. Do they? One of unintended consequences of church planting strategists adopting business branding techniques, evangelicalism's conference-driven culture, the blogosphere, social media, downloadable sermons, anti-denominationalism, Christian publishing, the veneration of mega-church pastors, and the like, are the temptations introduced in the minds of some missional leaders to aspire to one day be a big deal in the evangelical ghetto through those mediums. Or, even worse, there are temptations that lead some to initiate public personal quarrels with others to establish oneself as a big deal representative leader with followers (1 Cor 3).Read the rest.
This warning is nothing new (again, see 1 Cor. 3) but is a good warning and reminder. These sinful desires are not just present in the new "missional church planting camp", but in every camp that simultaneously calls itself Christian and sinner. It is a the dark side of my heart that gravitates towards the desire to make myself the center of the universe.
No comments:
Post a Comment