Recently I was encouraged by a dear friend of mine who not only reads this babble I post, but also gives me much hope for the direction of Church and the future leadership. Currently he is discerning if he should obtain his PhD in order to teach preaching for the next generation of church preachers. To him, I say, we need you. (Read his blog here).
In a conversation we had a metaphor was shared and it spoke to my heart in regards to leadership and the 'way the church runs'. One of driving.
When you were learning how to drive, no matter how safe a driver you were, you could not drive the way you wanted to drive. We all had to drive the way our parents wanted us to drive (both their good and bad driving habits) because they owned the car. They put their hard earned money and sweat equity into that car and they wanted to make sure the car remained as they desired it to be.
My friend's metaphor lead me to think, "Yes, I can see this happening in the church in many ways. The people who have put their lives into the creation and upkeep of the church want to make sure the church is safe, looks good, and operates. Which means we (new leadership) have to learn to drive the church the way those older than us want us to drive the church, not the way we feel called to drive."
But the thing is, this mentality may work for a car, but the Church is not a car. In fact we do not own the church. The Church belongs to God.
It is my prayer that I never forget that I do not own the Church. It is my prayer that I remember always, especially when I am one of the older church leaders, there are many ways to drive a car, and I cannot monopolize driving techniques on a car that, for all of us, is a rental.