One does not have to look very far to find modern day examples of pastors and other church leaders who have made shipwreck of their ministries and lives. It seems like every month or two that some church leader is exposed for their embezzlement, adulterous affairs, or for their gross error in new doctrinal positions. It is bad enough for those who are close to the situation, but these type of situations wreak havoc throughout all of Christendom.
Samuel’s Boys
Like Eli before him, Samuel had a problem with wayward children. Not just any children, but his “Timothy’s”. These men were to judge Israel when he was gone. In fact, they were already serving in this capacity. These boys are said to have not walked in his (Samuel’s) ways, to have turned aside after lucre, and took bribes which perverted their judgment! This was a leadership recipe headed for disaster!
(1 Samuel 8:1-3) “And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.” (KJV)
We are shown, many times in the Scripture, how leadership affects people good and bad. Listed below are four common aftershocks of Pastoral Leadership Gone Wild!
- When Pastoral Leadership Fails, It Gives The Opportunity To Make Things Worse – Usually starts with the infamous, “Well, if he/she did that and they are “*#&^” then I don’t see why I cannot do the same!”
- When Pastoral Leadership Fails, It Gives Occasion For People To Overreact And Move To The Extreme – A strong willed pastors leaves, quits, etc. then usually the people opt for someone to the opposite extreme! Seen this happen time and time again!
- When Pastoral Leadership Fails, It Gives Satan An Avenue To Turn People To Wrong Leadership – More times than not, immature Christians will embrace weak/bad leadership when this happens. They are really vulnerable and open to answers about what happened. They usually get the wrongs answers… Satan sees to that!
- When Pastoral Leadership Fails, It Usually Keeps The People From Achieving The Same Spiritual Plain Of Leadership They Had Previous – The idea is that, “This time we will do it differently!”… and different it remains!
Conclusion
Samuel’s boys caused more problems than they realized. Not only did they dishonor God and their family name, but gave great occasion for Satan to swerve the masses away from Israel’s Theocracy! Israel went to Samuel and said they wanted a king to rule because he was too old and his boys were not right with God. Never mind they did not want to be right themselves. They just found opportunity to move their agenda forward. They wanted to be like all the other nations!
King David may have been a man after God’s own heart, but he was nothing like the King of all ages Who brought them from Egypt! Oh, how we who lead God’s people must be careful to stay right with God and follow in His footsteps! Otherwise it is Pastoral Leadership Gone Wild!
By J. Oswald Sanders / Moody Publishers
Charles Colson called it “the best book on Christian leadership I’ve read.” Discover why this timeless classic continues to equip tomorrow’s ministers—and challenges today’s shepherds—toward greater effectiveness! Revised and updated, Sanders’s hard-hitting study explores the essential qualities of a godly leader—and offers sterling examples from Scripture and Christian history. Includes study guide.
In these pages, J. Oswald Sanders presents the key principles of leadership in both the temporal and spiritual realms, illustrating his points with examples from Scriptures and the biographies of emenent men of God.
