You find a parking spot and walk towards the big building; that's where the service is, right? You walk in through what you assume is the front entrance and find yourself greeted by a man or woman dressed in some sort of uniform or formal attire smiling at you. They welcome you and point you to where the service is being held, whether it's in a gymnasium, chapel, sanctuary, etc.
Slowly, with nervous tensions building in your gut, you walk towards the direction that the greeter pointed, and you find yourself in front of a door. With great courage, you open that door firmly yet softly to avoid making any noise because you don't want an entire congregation to target you with their vulture eyes, but, if you know anything about sitting in a church pew, you always look at the door when it opens.
Quickly, with sweat beads rolling down your face, you search intensely for an open seat in the very back to avoid any attention. Gratefully, God has heard your plea and granted you with just enough open seats in the back for you and your company and you can finally relax by focusing on the message or jamming to the praise band.
Then you look at the leaders who are standing up there on the grand stage. You immediately associate them with their position; the woman up front singing is the lead singer, the man in the back playing the keyboard is obviously the keyboardist, and the dressed up gentleman with a Holy Bible in his hand must be the pastor. Almost subconsciously, you register in your mind that these leaders must be special, to the point where they are perfect. Perfect people, perfect Christians, perfect leaders.
They must be, right? I mean, they're up there showing off their God-given talents. Someone like me, someone who has problems and issues, could never be up there preaching, singing, or even playing the cajon.
No, I'm not perfect. I can't even keep up with a devotional the morning after I receive one, much less stand behind a podium and preach about some story I hardly remember from Sabbath school (or Sunday school, for my Baptist and Methodist brothers and sisters).
Yet, you struggle with the fact that these leaders that you're seeing cannot, by the Bible's standards, be perfect! We are all born with the inclination to sin! So how can these leaders, playing the drums, jamming on the electric guitar, and singing beautifully, be perfect?
The answer? They're not.
With a sinful nature, and with sin in their hearts, these leaders preach and lead and sing to congregations because they have accepted Jesus Christ; nothing more, nothing less.
***
At the moment, I am unable to be a leader because of a sin I have committed. To answer any potential questions, no, I did not kill, hurt, steal, or anything along those lines. In fact, I can go as far as to say, no one has been affected directly. But the pastor and others have come up with the conclusion that because others (mainly parents) will not approve of my "leadership capabilities" and I have been forced to step down for the time being.
This causes a stir in my heart. It eats away at the part of my brain that preserves my religion and Christianity. I understand that many people will not approve of me and my judgement due to the decision(s) I have made. But to go as far as to say I am not capable of working as a leader because of a sin I have committed is outrageous!
Consider Saul, or Paul, as God had renamed him.
In his cruelty, wickedness, and murderous character and nature, Saul was chosen by God to speak to His new people, the Gentiles; of all people, He chose Saul! Striking him with blindness for three days before healing him, God had chosen Saul to spread the Good News throughout the land.
Today, it seems as though the level of sinfulness you hold determines how involved you can be at church.
The leaders you see up there, praising God and reaching out to Him in humility and reverence, are not perfect. They are as far from perfection as you are, if not, farther. If you look deep in their past, they have committed sins that would make any parent hesitant to allow these leaders to watch over their kids. I know of pastors and leaders in the churches I have attended that have gotten drunk, high, violent, abusive, perverted, and wicked. Many pastor celebrities, if not all, were alcoholics, potheads, crack addicts, and the list goes on.
But the point of Jesus Christ and His ministry is that we are no longer measured by the amount or depth of sin that is in our hearts, but that we are saved by God's greatest sacrifice, and if we accept that free gift, we are cleansed.
Romans 3:23-26 says:
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 He did it to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the One who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."Essentially, the message is clear: we are all sinners, and we are all saved by God's grace and gift. We shouldn't be punished by men for sins we have committed by not being able to lead out in the church.
I am not, by any means, saying that murder, steal, and the like are acceptable and that a child molester should be allowed to work in Children's Ministry, but if the hearts of those sinners are repenting and accepting of Jesus Christ, then let them be the hands and feet of Him! Just because people, especially parents, will grumble and complain doesn't mean a leader should be forced to step down!
Understand that we are all sinners, and we all have skeletons in the closet. Guitarists are no closer to being perfect than the mother who sits in the last row is. Pastor and preachers are not closer to redemption than single fathers or rambunctious children because they can speak about a story or parable.
Remember Romans 6:14-15 and apply it to leadership:
"For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid."Whether it's pulled out of context or not, my argument stands the same. We are all sinners not under condemnation, but under grace. If God has called us to be leaders, then stand tall, chin up, and lead. People will grumble. People will complain. People will fight. But those who understand God's majesty and His grace will understand your leadership and why you are leading, regardless of the sins you have committed.
They will no longer look at your past but at your character. They will no longer look at your sins but at your actions. They will no longer look at your nature but at your heart. Let God be your leader, and then people will accept you as theirs, whether you have committed ten sins or ten thousand.
Stay faithful, friend.
- Joseph
