Choose the Life

I am finally getting around to blogging again. Basketball games and church activities have left little time free to write lately. So, I thought I would start out with a quote from a book that I have recently begun reading. I haven't finished it yet, but it promises to be great. The title is Choose the life, and is written by one of my favorite authors, Bil Hull. Here is a great quote, one that really hits close to home for me.

"The contemporary spiritual leader hears many voices. One of the loudest is the one that appeals to the natural desire to be successful. It says you can lead a growing, cutting-edge ministry with all the accoutrements. You can achieve your dreams; you can reach thousands. It tells you to ask God to give you more influence because that is what he desires for you. It is the cultural voice of the upward mobility with all its allure. The single greatest need of spiritual leaders today is to ignore this voice of the flesh and learn to hear the voice of God. God is calling us to renounce all other voices and to devote ourselves to hearing his voice. It is an acquired skill - one that I have only begun to learn. "

This is a much needed correction to the church growth mentality that is taking over American Christianity. Success is a hard master. We pastors need to remember that Christ has not called us to success, but to faithfulness.