Sobering Stuff

I have been on a quest to undestand why there is such a huge vaccum in Christian Leadership. Even among some Pastors. It comes down to this, You can't impart what you don't possess and you can't lead people somewhere you have never been.

For many spiritual leaders there is a sense that they understand technically, they understand the theory, they even may be skilled. But theory and practice do not go hand in hand.

If I read every tour book on Istanbul there is, if I could watch every DVD, if I even knew people from Istanbul, I would not be as effective in leading someone around the streets and avoiding the potholes of Istanbul as one who lives there, or even spends a lot of time there.

Yet, in the Istanbul of the Kingdom of God we have a lot of leaders and even some pastors who just don't know the territory. Yet they try to lead. They lead people into a ditch.

Here is what Rich Rogers just said about this (It's pretty good):

In his book Waking the Dead Christian author John Eldredge wrote: "We are at war. The world in which we live is a combat zone, a violent clash of kingdoms, a bitter struggle unto the death. You were born into a world at war, and you will live out all your days in the midst of the great battle, involving all the forces of heaven and hell and played out here on earth."

Indeed, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan are at war in our society today, and sometimes it's hard to know which side even some Christians are on. Many of them think and act just like people in the world. Why? Because they don't truly know God, and their minds have not been renewed.

It is possible for a person to love God with all his heart, serve Him every week and feel His presence in worship, yet not know Him. Some armchair theologians out there may disagree, but thousands of pastors and lay leaders in the U.S. and around the world would confirm that this is true.

Let me state it another way. A person can love God and serve Him regularly but not have His mind on many of the critical issues of our day. To not have His mind on the issues of the day, secular and spiritual, places the rank-and-file Christian in a dangerously precarious position both inside and outside the walls of the church, in a world that is increasingly hostile to anything and everything "evangelical."

Henry Blackaby, co-author of the best-selling book and workbook Experiencing God, was once asked, "What do you see as the future for the United States?" Blackaby replied: "If you put the U.S. up against the Scriptures, we're in trouble. I think we're very close to the judgment of God. The problem of America is not the unbelieving world. The problem of America is the people of God.

Read the whole thing.