with true leadership

I'm glad when I was being looked at to lead St. Paul's about five and a half years ago

that I didn't get a job description like this one shoved under my nose.

It reads, First Presbyterian Church of Warrington, South Carolina,

is yet again seeking a senior minister.

Duties include all preaching and teaching responsibilities for Sunday morning

and Sunday nights with exegetical sermons and average length of 45 minutes.

Pastor will also be responsible for all teaching on Wednesday nights

and the adult Sunday school class.

In addition, we are currently without a youth pastor

and so the pastor will also be temporarily responsible

for all youth activities, Bible studies and fellowships.

The pastor is also responsible for all hospital, shut-in, sick visitations for members,

former members, close friends of either,

as well as any family of the stated by a relationship,

a fourth cousin, twice removed or better.

The pastor will be expected to plan and lead an annual mission trip

and coordinate all funding activities for the trip.

The pastor will be available to 24 hours, seven days a week

to talk with any member of the congregation

or the above stated persons either face-to-face or on the phone.

Furthermore, the pastor will be held personally,

directly responsible for the spiritual wellbeing of every member of the congregation.

The pastor will be expected to attend all sporting,

special sporting events of the youth of the church,

including all homecoming events, chaperoning the high school dance,

prom night, playoffs and any chair leading competitions or functions.

Furthermore, we highly encourage ministry to persons in the community at large

beyond ministry within the church,

so far as it does not interfere with the immediate responsibilities

to the above stated persons associated with our congregation.

The pastor will also be present at all session meetings,

deacadent meetings and all committee meetings.

The pastor will also be available for all funerals and weddings

of any of the above stated person,

regardless of when it occurs or what personal circumstances

might be going in his life or in his family's life.

Duties are expected to take approximately 40 hours a week.

Inquiries may be made to ruling elder Dave Wellington Sr.,

ruling elder Dave Wellington Jr. or ruling elder Dave Wellington III.

In fact, if a job description of that was put under my nose,

I wouldn't be here.

I'm pretty sure that that's a joke.

I mean, I hope it's a joke.

But given the response of some people who made online to that so-called ad,

I'm not sure.

There are a number of pastors out there who resonated quite painfully

with that job description.

That is, they were burnt out with expectations.

Now, if you were writing the requirements of the Christian leader,

what would you include?

What would you put down?

Not sure?

1 Corinthians 4 helps us.

It helps us to see what Christian leadership is all about

and some of the things we should look for in our leadership.

You see, the church at Corinth was like the Olympics,

something like ice skating competition at the Olympics,

where the church is sitting over there in the judges' panel,

and based on the performance of their leaders,

they held up their scorecards.

And it was based purely on personal preferences,

not on anything else,

but on personal preferences and expectations.

There was an unhealthy habit of different groups in the church

associating themselves with different

and various well-known Christian leaders,

while at the same time putting all the other groups

and the other leaders down.

These believers in Corinth were adopting too many leadership models

from the surrounding world.

They were infatuated with great orators,

show of knowledge and philosophical teachings,

and they were judging their leaders

according to what was valued in the marketplace at Corinth.

Many of them prized form above content,

prestige above humility,

knowledge above confessions of ignorance

and human limitations of knowledge,

rhetoric above truth,

money above people,

and reputation above integrity.

They had taken their eyes off the one that they followed,

the crucified Messiah, the Lord Jesus.

And so Paul now gives some advice

on the sort of leaders

that they should in fact be lining up to follow,

and this is the closing off of this whole section

of chapters 1 to 4 on factions in the church.

And this is meant to kill the factions in the church.

And the first thing they're to look for in a leader

is someone who leads to please Jesus first and foremost.

He says in verse 1,

so chapter 1 Corinthians 4, verse 1,

1 Corinthians 4:1

So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ

and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.

Two elements stand out,

and both of them are tied to things Paul's already explained

in chapters 2 and 3.

Firstly, Christian leaders are to see themselves

simply as servants of one particular master.

They serve Jesus Christ.

And secondly, at the heart of their commission

that they've received from their master Jesus

lies one particular assignment,

and that is they're entrusted with the secret things of God.

And these two elements actually merge into one.

What it means to be a servant of Christ

is an obligation to promote the gospel of the crucified Christ

by both word and by example.

And that is absolutely fundamental.

I would go as far as to say

that there is no valid Christian leadership

that does not throb with that priority.

The Christian leaders here must prove faithful

to this fundamental task,

and they must prove faithful to the one

who has assigned them to that task.

Notice, they're not to prove faithful to the church,

but faithful to the one who has assigned them to the task,

to Jesus Christ.

And so leaders must make sure

that they're not trying to win popularity contests

within the church.

And that's what Paul means when he says in verse 3,

I care very little if I'm judged by you

or by any human court.

That is, there is only one person

who's well done on the last day

actually means anything to Paul.

And he plays accordingly.

Once upon a time, many years ago,

before age and injury,

I used to play soccer, football,

that sort of stuff.

Any opportunity I did, I got.

And what I noticed in both sports,

in fact, in most sports,

when you've got people on the sidelines

watching you play,

that whenever they cheered,

it meant well done.

And what you tried to do was do it again.

And so you score a goal,

something like that,

you know, run over with a try

and clap and you go,

and you go,

I must do that again.

I must try hard to do that again.

In my later life of sport,

I found it more difficult to score tries

and I found that I got bigger cheers

from my side

when I took out the opposition instead.

And so I'd clobber some poor young 18-year-old

running down the...

I couldn't catch him.

But if I did,

I was clobbering him.

And so the cheer,

way from my side.

But if my side ever went,

oh,

you know,

you'd make a mistake,

you'd drop the ball

or something like that.

Mental note,

don't do that again.

You were playing the game

based on the applause

on the sidelines.

And I think what Paul's saying here is

to Christian leaders,

and I want to say to you as Christians as well,

who's in your grandstand?

Who's on the sidelines cheering you?

What Paul's saying here is

there's only one person

who it actually matters

who's in the grandstand

or on the sidelines.

And that's Jesus.

And Paul's saying that

I lead as a Christian leader

to get his applause

and no one else's.

Not my parents,

whether they be dead or alive.

Not friends,

not society,

not even the church.

Not even you, Corinthians,

are on the sideline.

I don't play to you guys.

He says in verse 4,

it is the Lord who judges me.

The Christian leader's ultimate allegiance

must be to the church.

Must not be to the church, sorry,

or to any individual leader

or to any tradition.

It must be to the Lord alone.

Now, don't hear me wrongly here.

I'm not trying to milk this passage

for more than it's actually saying.

Paul does not mean

that there is no place in his life

for self-examination or self-discipline.

His own writings in 1 Corinthians 9,

which we'll get to a little bit later,

and 2 Corinthians 13

make it absolutely clear.

He's not abolishing functions of judgment

and accountability in the church.

Paul is not absolving Christians

from the responsibility

to discern behavior and teaching

from the scriptures.

He is condemning the kind of judging

that's happening here in Corinth, though,

that sits on the sideline

and gives a low score to a Christian leader

purely based on personal preferences.

That this Christian leader,

they're writing off Christian leaders

because they don't fit neatly into my camp

or they don't,

they seem to compete

with my personal preferences

and they're not in my pocket.

Paul's condemning that kind of judgment.

And you know,

the best part of this paragraph

is the way it ends.

With the final day of judgment in view,

Paul might have expected to say,

at that time,

that is,

the Christian leader

will receive his rebuke from God.

You know,

because that's what he's receiving

from all these Corinthians,

criticism, rebuke.

They're always telling him,

you've got it wrong,

you know,

and he's expecting that maybe God

might do that too,

but instead he says,

at that time,

each will receive

his praise

from God.

How delightful.

At least in this case,

God raises his scorecard

from the grandstand

on his servants

entrusted with the gospel

and his judgment

is less severe

than the self-appointed judges

of the church in Corinth.

The king of the universe

is a wise father

who knows how to encourage

even the weakest efforts

of his children

who have laboured,

laboured,

laboured

for one thing,

his approval at the end.

Well done,

good and faithful servant.

On the last day,

God himself

will praise him.

And so the Christian leader

has one spectator.

One spectator

and his assessment

is the only assessment

that counts.

That's the first thing

to look for in your leaders

is someone

who leads

to please Jesus

first and foremost.

The second thing

to look for

in Christian leaders

is a life

that exemplifies

the humility

of the cross itself.

This is the heart

of the problem at Corinth.

Have a look there.

Notice verse 6 and 7.

He uses words

like pride and boast.

Pride

is their problem.

They are boasting

about various skills

and insights

of their various leaders

and the irony is

that they're actually

boasting

about things

that are purely

gifts from God.

Paul argues here

that if you've received

some special help

or insight

or strength

from one particular leader,

isn't that simply

one of God's

fine gifts to you?

That's how it should be seen.

And if it's a gift,

then it shouldn't cause

a sense of pride

within you.

Is this not true

of anything

that we value?

You know,

when we get applauded,

how often do we

humbly transfer

the applause

to its true source?

How often

do we do that?

Well,

given on what we just sang,

apparently we do it

all the time.

Did we not just sing

every blessing

you pour out

will turn back

to praise?

We sang it with gusto,

I'm assuming we must.

And yet,

the reality is,

intellectually,

we know God

is the source

of every blessings,

but our hearts

just love

the applause.

Every time

we get applauded,

it puffs us up.

Quack.

Quack.

Quack.

Quack.

Which is what

the word pride

and boasting

actually means

in 1 Corinthians.

It puffs us up.

It blows us up

to make us look

big and great.

It feeds our pride.

And verse 7

is meant to cut away

all sense of pride.

Verse 7

is like a pin

to the balloon.

And

he puts his finger

here in verse 7

on the central problem.

Their assessments

as this church

at Corinth

is judging

its leaders,

their assessment

and their judgment

is based

on their pride

deep in their hearts.

You see,

they thought

the assessments

of their leaders

was because

they had superior knowledge

and superior intellect.

And Paul says,

no, it's not.

It's actually

the pride

that's in your heart.

When they vote

on their leaders,

they were actually

standing in judgment

of their leaders

and standing

in judgment

over their leaders.

And so

when they said

we follow Paul

because we love

this about Paul,

they were actually

putting themselves

over the top

of Paul,

not following Paul.

And so

Paul's language

here is now

steeped in

biting irony.

The Corinthians

have become

smug and self-satisfied

and self-assured

and comfortable

and proud.

Verse 8,

already you have

all that you want.

Of course,

with the result

that they do not hunger

for the maturity

that they do not yet have.

Already you have

become rich

and so they

do not seek

spiritual wealth

because they think

they already have it.

And you have become

kings

or better,

you have begun

your reign

and so they reign

over the top

of each other

and over the top

of even the leaders

that they say

that they follow.

Their confession

of being followers

of the Lord Jesus

doesn't actually

match

with their lives.

Compare them

with the apostles,

the actual

acknowledged leaders

of the church.

Verse 9,

for it seems to me

that God has put us

apostles on display

at the end of the procession

like men condemned

to die in the arena.

The imagery

that he draws on here

is that

of the triumphal processions

of returning Roman legions

from victory in battle.

What used to happen

was they would

this big line up

sort of like

a ticker tape parade,

doors of the city,

gates of the city

would open,

the big generals

would ride in

and their chariots

and people would

throw flowers

or whatever they do,

I don't know,

and all praise,

the big applause

for those right

at the beginning

and then right

at the end

of the procession

is the lowest

of the low,

the slaves of the slaves

and they're the ones

who are eating

everyone else's dust

and walking through

everyone else's filth

and Paul says,

you think that

we're at the beginning,

you praise the guys

that are at the beginning,

we're actually right

at the end here,

this is who I am

and what's my destiny?

Destiny is for the arena,

these slaves

in the triumphal

procession

of the Roman generals

would die

at the hands

of gladiators

or be thrown

to the wild beasts

just for the amusement

of everyone

who's bought a ticket

and he says,

what's at stake here,

I think,

in this paragraph

is a fundamental stance

of weighing

and looking at things

for the Christian.

what Paul's saying here,

it is impossible,

it is the opposite

of the pride

and arrogance

and boasting

of Corinth.

He says,

we follow

a crucified Messiah

and all

the future promises

of perfect eternity,

all the blessings

of sin forgiven

and the blessings

of the Spirit of God

do not negate

the fact

that the good news

that we present

focuses

on the foolishness

of the cross of Christ

and therefore

we are foolish

to the world.

It's a message

that simply

cannot be communicated

from a position

of pride

and arrogance

and triumphalism.

They are in conflict

with each other.

To do so

actually negates

the gospel.

Until Jesus returns

the Christian

is to take up

their cross.

That is,

we are to die

to self-interest

daily.

We are servants

of Christ.

We follow Jesus.

What does that look like?

Verse 11,

to this very hour

we go hungry

and thirsty,

we're in rags,

we are brutally treated,

we are homeless.

Taking up your cross

means sacrifice.

It means personal ambition

and comfort and security

are pushed to one side.

And taking up your cross

also means

that we walk

the same sacrificial,

other person-centered,

loving relational path

that the Lord Jesus walked.

Verse 12,

when we are cursed,

we bless.

That's foolish

in the eyes of the world.

When we are persecuted,

we endure it.

That's foolish

in the eyes of the world.

When we are slandered,

we answer kindly.

That's foolish

in the eyes of the world.

But we follow Christ.

And it's not the applause

of the world

that we seek.

It is the applause

at the end of the time

that says,

well done.

The less

any society

knows of this way,

the more foolish

we will seem

and the more suffering

we will endure.

And so be it.

There is no other way

to follow Jesus.

And leaders

in the church

will suffer the most

because they lead

this way

by their life

as much as their words.

But in the end,

all Christians

are called

to this vision

of life.

And I think

that Paul,

I think for us,

the reason why

Paul's stance here

seems so alien

to us

is that we have

unwittingly become

more like the

Corinthian Christians

than we have of Paul.

many of us

are so

well-to-do,

comfortable,

with little incentive

to live

in vibrant

anticipation

of Christ's return.

Our desire

for the approval

of the world,

the approval

of colleagues

and family

and friends

often outstrips

our desire

for Jesus

to say,

well done.

And so my friends,

look for Christian leaders

whose lives

exemplify

the humility

of the cross-shaped life.

The third thing

is look for Christian leaders

who will encourage

and when necessary

enforce

the cross-shaped life

in those

that they lead.

Paul begins

with the gentler alternative

despite the biting irony

that he's just deployed

in the previous paragraph.

Paul now says

in verse 14,

I'm not writing this

to shame you

but to warn you

as my dear children.

Now at one level

he is shaming them

but that's not the reason

why he writes.

He writes to warn them.

That is to admonish them,

to correct them,

to encourage them

to follow

the way of the cross.

Paul reminds them

that he led them

to the Lord

and in the first place

he tells them

that even if they've got

10,000 guardians

they've only got

one father in Christ.

Paul was the one

who first brought

the gospel

to the Corinthians

and in that sense

he says

I am your father

and because I'm your father

verse 16

I urge you

to imitate me.

Now remember

he's speaking

in first century here

and in the first century

basically

sons followed

their fathers

so if your dad

was a baker

basically guarantee

you're going to be a baker.

Not much

you know

they didn't have options there.

Sheep farmer

you're going to be

a sheep farmer.

The son was expected

to carry on

the family business

the family values

the family heritage

the family name

and Paul argues

that if I'm your father

to the Corinthians

therefore you need

to imitate me

as your father

follow me

as your father

and in the context

of these chapters

what Paul wants

them to imitate

is his passion

to live a life

shaped

by the cross.

He does not expect

them to suffer

in exactly the same

way that he does

he does not demand

that they all

become apostles

and they all

go to plant

churches off

in far distant

lands

what he does

expect of them

is that they

will imitate

his values

his priorities

his cross

shaped lifestyle

and his

valuation

of the

exclusive

centrality

of the gospel

of the crucified

Messiah

and so in

verse 17

we see

he's going

to send

along

some help

to help

them get

this one

straight

verse 17

for this

reason

I am sending

to you

Timothy

my son

whom I

love

who is

faithful in

the Lord

notice that

Timothy

the son

is faithful

in the Lord

following his

father

and he

will remind

you of my

way of life

in Christ

Jesus

which agrees

with what I

teach everywhere

in every church

this is not just

for the Corinthians

this lifestyle is

for everywhere

in every church

Paul is not

sending Timothy

simply to lay

out some more

teaching

but to remind

the Corinthians

of Paul's

way of life

in Christ

Jesus

his way of life

and he gives

us the impression

here that the

biggest problem

for the Corinthian

church

is that they

were not

living up

to what they

knew to be

true

you see

maturity

is not

about how

much you

know

but whether

or not

you're living

out what

you know

judging by

these first

four chapters

many of the

Corinthians

were not

making the

connection

between what

they believed

and how they

should live

you see

these

Corinthians

would be the

first

to insist

that Jesus

died for

their sins

that he

rose

again

but they

could not

grasp

how

this

historical

reality

not only

achieved

their salvation

but in fact

may

must

shape

the way

that they

live

day by

day

and as

we see

in the

coming

chapters

the gospel

wasn't

shaping

their

attitude

to things

like

sex

dating

conflicts

marriage

singleness

food

communion

corporate

worship

use of

gifts

authority

love

status

a whole

bunch

of

things

the gospel

wasn't

shaping

for them

a surprising

number of

Christians

cannot

easily

make the

connection

between the

truth of

the gospel

and how

to live

it is

possible

to define

theologically

rich words

like

propitiation

but not

know

what it's

like to

feel

forgiven

it's

possible

to defend

the

priority

of

grace

in

salvation

but still

feel that

I'm not

good enough

for God

there's a

disconnect

between what

we know

and how

we live

what we

experience

of God

and part

of the

role of

faithful

Christian

leadership

is to

make the

connections

between

creed

and

conduct

between

the cross

and the

cross

shaped

life

and that

is why

we've got

as a church

here

core values

at St Paul's

those core

values

are explicit

in

behavioural

expectations

if you

say this

you hold

to this

truth

it will

look like

this

in practice

that's what

core values

do

and the

fact is

we've all

got values

we've all

got core

values

ourselves

as individual

they are

held down

deep

within us

and every

one of

those core

values

shape

the way

we behave

so for

instance

if you

grew up

in a

truly

patriotic

Australian

family

that valued

Holden

cars

as patriotic

above every

other thing

in the world

as every

other vehicle

every other

car

and all

these

imports

and Japanese

imports

and stuff

are just

all rubbish

Holden

cars

they're the

way to

go

what that

means is

when you

buy a

car

you will

buy a

Holden

car

that is

what you

believe

what you

value

will

transfer

into a

particular

action

and if

in the

same

family

you didn't

just value

Holden

cars

as patriotic

but you

also

valued

success

then you'll

buy the

best

Holden

car

these

values

will shape

your

particular

actions

that's

what they

do

and so

if we

say that

Jesus

the gospel

is our

greatest

treasure

then it

will

shape

how

we

live

it

will

shape

our

priorities

and so

the Christian

leader

must love

in love

admonish

correct

encourage

to see

that confession

and actions

are aligned

and they

must exemplify

this connection

in their

own lives

now let me

just say

if

if your

life

if in

your life

you haven't

made the

connection

between the

good news

and how

to live

then the

proper place

to begin

to make

that change

change in

fact of

the deep

betrayal of

the cross

shaped life

is in

fact the

cross

itself

in humble

confession

if your

life does

not match

the gospel

that you

confess

the only

place to

go is

the cross

in humble

confession

and in

that place

and with

that attitude

you will

find a

God who

will say

to you

well done

well done

and so

bringing the

people of

God to

consistent

Christian

living in

the light

of the

gospel

of the

crucified

Messiah

is so

important to

Paul that

he will

not be

turned from

that goal

he sees

this as an

essential

function of

Christian

leadership

if he

moves the

church by

encouragement

and admonition

that is

great

if however

the arrogant

in verses

18 and

19 don't

move

then severer

discipline is

called for

and Paul offers

the Corinthians

a choice

in verse 21

what do you

prefer

shall I come

with you with

a whip or

in love

and with a

gentle spirit

now he does

not mean of

course that if

he comes with

a whip

he's not

coming in

love

he doesn't

say well

I'll be

gentle and

encouraging to

start with

that's loving

but if you

if you spurn

my love

then I'm

going to

whip out

the six

guns

and then

I'm not

going to

love you

anymore

and I'm

going to

basically

get you

all to

come into

line

he's not

saying that

the contrast

refers to

the manner

or the

form of

his coming

not the

motive

of his

coming

a smack

still hurts

even if it

comes from a

father who

insists that he's

smacking his son

because he loves

him

it is much

better for a

son to change

his behaviour

so that the

manner of the

father's coming

will not be with

discipline but

with a gentle

spirit

now let me

just say that

this is the

toughest one I

think

this is what we

don't like

when you put

this kind of

accountability

into a culture

that is anti

authoritarian

and in an

age of

consumerism and

individualism and

narcissism it

makes godly

Christian leadership

very hard

in this age

our self

worth is

affronted by

any negative

feedback

any rebuke

any correction

is like a

personal attack

on me and

my character

individualism

means that we

fly by our

own rules

when our

sense of

self esteem

is challenged

what we tend

to do is we

run from it

we turn our

back on any

form of

correction

and as a

result we

run we

change jobs

we change

schools we

change courses

we change

partners we

change churches

based on

what will

suit me and

puff me

up and

we never

grow up

just like

little children

if I

line my

three girls

up here

and say

girls tell

us all

what are

the ways

that I

as your

father

love you

they would

say when

you buy us

ice cream

and particularly

chocolate chip

mint ice cream

they would

say when

you buy us

toys

they would

say when

you wrestle

with us

they would

say when

you lie

down and

pat us

when we

go to

bed at

night

they would

come up

with all

these nice

lovey-dovey

stuff that

we do

and I do

love them

but I do

give them

those things

none of

them would

say oh

actually you

really love

us when

you put us

over there

in the

time out

corner for

a bit

because they

don't like

that

you really

love us

when you

refuse to

buy me

that car

that the

orange car

that I

walk past

the Toyota

I want

that car

it's orange

no

they never

say that

because and

that is the

world in

which they

live in

which we

live

you love

me when

you puff

me up

when you

do what

you want

me to

do

and Paul

says he

no actually

it's both

I want you

to not be

puffed up

I want you

to grow

up in

maturity in

Christ and

discipline and

rebuke and

correction is

part of that

process as

much as it

is for my

kids it is

for the

children of

God

and so it

is only the

wise and the

mature who

thank you for

correcting them

the Corinthian

mistake can

very quickly

become our

mistake I

follow Paul

I follow

Paulus I

follow the

church down

the road

because they

suit me

and we

hold up our

scorecards based

on personal

preferences and

not on biblical

standards and

so I wonder

what you would

have written in

the job

description

St Paul's

Chatswood

seeking a

mature Christian

leader who

number one

sees themselves

as answerable

to the Lord

Jesus and

not our

personal

preferences

St Paul's

Chatswood is

seeking a

mature Christian

leader who

number two

demonstrates the

cross shaped

life in their

priorities in

their actions

and in their

words

St Paul's

Chatswood

seeking a

mature Christian

leader who

number three

has the

courage to

encourage and

to enforce the

cross shaped

life amongst

God's people

even when we

don't want

them to so

that we might

grow up together

in maturity in

Christ may we

score highly on

that kind of

leadership at

St Paul's

Amen

females

N