February 12, 2020

The Chinese government has declared war on the coronavirus. But, how do you fight against something that you are not allowed to talk about? That is the dilemma for this nation, where the government attempts to strangle any opinion that dares differ with the Communist party. If people are not free to discuss the problem, then how can they be expected to help with the solution?

Some of you grew up in a family like that. You and your siblings knew that something wasn't quite right, but no one was allowed to ask too many questions or express an opinion that differed with the one that dad gave. But, if people are not free to discuss the problem, then how
can they be expected to help with the solution?

Churches can be like that too. Leaders can be so prideful and blind to their weaknesses that they demand support and loyalty without question. All of this has a chilling effect on the gospel. The gospel demands that we be able to face the truth about ourselves. While we might all be quick to admit that we need Jesus for salvation, the truth is we never stop needing Jesus because none of us are above question. When the culture of a church is marked by humility and grace, then we take Jesus a lot more seriously than we do ourselves.

Through the years, I have observed what qualifications certain churches set forth for their leaders. Stuff like: visionary, entrepreneurial, forward-thinking, etc. all sound like something copied and pasted from a Forbes 500 company. I also observe what many of them don't have, like humility. But, according to John 13, the leaders that Jesus selected were expected to be
humble. That means that we have to not only be willing to wash the feet of others, but be willing for others to wash our feet. After all, we all have dirty feet, and we have to have the freedom to talk about it so we can help each other with it.

Grace and Peace,
Bob