I am 40 years old and a Pastor’s kid who was called by God to leadership when I was 18. Having seen the price my dad paid, I ran from that as fast as possible!
The writer did not expand on what sort of price his Dad paid and why he paid it. Perhaps churches treated him badly; perhaps he over-committed to activities and people, But Paul tells Timothy that all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will get persecuted – not just those in leadership – and the desire to live a godly life is the norm for all followers of Jesus. We all have prices to pay.
The hard times will come because we are following Jesus, not because we are in Christian leadership. Certainly, the hard times Christian leaders get are going to be different from the price paid by others – followers of Jesus who are students or who work in an office are going to get different hassles as they seek to live and speak for Jesus – but should the price be more?
The danger in this is that we set up a two-tier discipleship: those who are in leadership and paying a price for it and those who not leading and therefore not perceived to be in the firing line.
While leaders might pay more obvious prices there are other dangers for the ‘ordinary’ Christian: not least because leaders often imply that it is the leaders who are paying the price and therefore there is no-cost discipleship for others.
Being a follower of Jesus often carries little cost in ordinary every day work, family and neighbourhood life. But it should do. And if the only call to radical discipleship is linked with serving God “full-time” in paid ministry then the rest of us are left wondering what it means to follow Jesus day-by-day – and the world sees little difference.
June 17, 2011 at 12:28 pm |
I think that we can look at others “price” and not imagine ourselves being able to bear the same. Pastor’s kids often feel that their lives are deprived, that their fathers and sometimes mothers give so much time to others and so little time to the home. Whereas the pastor and his wife feel God’s calling and equiping for the task, the children, sometimes not christians themselves, don’t feel the spiritual drive or the spiritual blessings. I always remember a particular part of a book about a pastor in Cuba who was imprisoned for some time, but finally released and went to live in the USA. At some point, one of his fellow prisoners was also released, and he went to meet him at the airport. He said that as they embraced on the tarmac, he felt sorry for the christian leaders in Cuba who had comprimised to avoiding trouble. He said that the fellowship in Christs’ sufferings between those two there on the tarmac was such a precious thing. It is a bit like parents with children with disabilities who say that their child has given them so much joy. I’m sure in each case, their burdens are terrific. So much more hardship because of their situation, and they wouldn’t deny that, and they need help and support, but there is
something going on, a blessing, a reward of the heart.
If we try to weigh up who is paying a higher price than who, we would need a very special set of scales indeed. But as a member of a church, we can be inspired by the account of Moses. We could be the spiritual ones who can take some of the burdens, and we can help support the “arms” of our leader/s.
Remember, the widow who gave the mite. God sees what we do, and He will reward accordingly. Leaders are going to face a greater jugement for every word they speak, so we need to be gracious enough to pray for them and not make their jobs any harder.