While playing with his Tamagotchi, my 4 yr old said something that shot like electricity through my brain. He stated very confidently that his Tamagotchi would die if he stopped growing. Well, duuhh, right? He went on to inform me how it was his responsibility to nurture this toy so it would be happy and healthy and would not die. It had clearly become his little baby. Then I thought, 'who dies if who stops growing, you or the toy? who are you referring to? who will die? surely he meant the toy.' Then God asked me what I thought was the real question for me to consider. Would I die if I stopped growing? Would others die if I stopped growing? Of course my natural response was to tell God it wasn't my fault if folks chose not to grow. And it would never be up to me cause He's the one that ultimately gives increase. All I'm responsible for is the planting and watering. Right? His response was yet another question...How can I nurture growth if I am without growth? Answer: I can't. This is soo typical in tired leadership...trust me, I'm speaking from self analysis. We need someone to blame for our weak efforts and old cliches that no longer bring the point across so we shift things around in our heads to cushion the pain of disappoint in ourselves. Trust me again, it still doesn't work. If you have been entrusted by God to lead others spiritually, then you are without doubt held to a standard most would run away from. Some say sheep are stupid animals. I don't know so I can't say. But I do know that we, like sheep, have gone astray and we are in desperate need of a shepherd. Jesus tells us to feed his sheep so its obviously important. Sheep need guidance or they wander off into trouble and harm. They need a shepherd that will lead them into green pastures and not just give them the directions from GPS. The kingdom of God needs leaders that will go there, before the sheep, and actually lead the way instead of pointing the finger towards the right direction. Our pains and mistakes are usually brought into the light with such gusto from those that desire our failure, that we begin to lose sight of the real reasons of leadership. And we hesitate to step into the unknown. But we can still help the helpless. And we can lead others with clarity if we begin to understand our imperfections and accept the fact that we are in need as well. A leader needs to be a follower of the great Shepherd in order to do his job. We've been distracted by our own 'lack of' for too long. We have been equipped to do this and do it well. Who says we can't use our imperfections and pains instead of trying to hide them? They help to keep us sensitive to others needs. Our great Shepherd has already gone before us so we have nothing to lose but pride, and we all could stand to shed some weight in that area.
So back to the questions that have not been answered. Yes, I would most definitely die if I stopped growing. Maybe not a physical death but certainly a spiritual one. Would others die if I stopped growing? Uhmm, I think they could. At least spiritually that is. There have been many people in our history to prove that it is a possibility. We've seen folks that have left the Christian faith due to hurts in the church with leadership. Should it have affected them to that degree? Probably not. Didn't they have a choice to still believe? Yes, they do have a choice. But something we have to realize is that people are affected by our decisions and some are very weak. No we are not perfect and should never pretend to be but I think if we were honest with others from the beginning about our own spiritual condition, maybe we would have a better chance at binding the broken hearted, setting the captives free, and causing seeds to be planted and watered at a rate that's unstoppable.