In 10 Years I See Myself Staying, Not Straying

Daily writing promptWhere do you see yourself in 10 years?View all responses

We’re prone to stray
And drift away
From Jesus Christ.
Choose to stay
Conscious of Christ
Throughout each day,
Always aware
Of His presence
And His power
Along the way.

When Christians gather
To be Spirit-led
And obey what Christ
Says within their heart,
Everyone can see
Jesus is their Head
And know He’s not dead.

If you’re a Christian you are called to take the witness stand for Christ, to proclaim the Good News about Jesus, and to tell what He has done and is doing in your life. If you are a Christ-follower you are a preacher–a clergy person. Daily experience His love and preach it! Stay with your calling. Don’t stray from it.

Christians who focus on following a human leader tend to fall or be discouraged when the leader they depend on falls. Christians who focus on following and obeying the risen Jesus, press on no matter what a leader does. Leaders in the body of Christ are called to function not as a dominating individual but as a humble plurality that holds each other accountable.

The Holy Spirit is the only leader not subject to the deception of pride. The role of human leadership in the body of Christ is “episkopos” which unfortunately is translated as bishop in many English Bibles. It actually means “overseer.” That’s someone who oversees a gathering of the body of Christ like an official oversees a basketball game. He lets the game flow and only steps in if someone is out of order. As long as believers are being led by the Spirit, Christian leadership’s role is to equip and release all Christ-followers so they are empowered to do the work of the ministry themselves, not to make them ever dependent on hearing one person lecture.

When Christianity becomes more about the Holy Spirit steering than sermon-hearing, that’s revival! Let Jesus have the final say in what you say and do day by day. Stay close to and obedient to Him.

Christ-followers need to trust in and rely on the risen Jesus, not religious leaders. The leadership of the Holy Spirit is the key to spiritual awakening. Human leadership too often gets in the way. When we read the book of Acts, we see the leadership of the Holy Spirit being the key to growth in the body of Christ (ekklesia). When the Spirit-leads as at Pentecost, divine order that transcends human control prevails.

When the disciples try to set up a hierarchy with the 7 in Acts 6, it quickly gets blown up by Stephen’s preaching (instead of following his assignment of table serving) and scatters all the believers everywhere preaching the Gospel, except for the sent ones (apostles) who remained in Jerusalem. That leaves the scattered ones without their leadership until Phillip inspired such a spiritual awakening in Samaria that the sent ones finally send Peter and John on a temporary mission to offer some very short-term leadership. The spread of the Gospel was Spirit-led, not leadership driven. That’s still the key today.

People have skin
Of different hues
But didn’t choose
Whose hues are whose.
Please don’t refuse
To love all hues.
For healing views
Based on true news
Google the book,
“Off the Race Track–
From Color-Blind
To Color-Kind.”

I seldom quote other people. I believe that Christ is calling all His followers to directly listen to Him and to proclaim (tell, preach, write, and/or post) what He is telling them. However, I so identify with this quote that I feel the need to share it.

“I didn’t want to be a religious professional whose identity was institutionalized. I didn’t want to be a pastor whose sense of worth derived from whether people affirmed or ignored me. In short, I didn’t want to be a pastor in the ways that were most in evidence and most rewarded in the American consumerist and celebrity culture.” —Eugene Peterson

You don’t need to hear more preachers and Christian speakers. You need to hear “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

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