But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave…
Matthew 20:25-27
Commenting on Matthew 20:25-27, D.A. Carson writes:
…Christian leadership is profoundly self-denying for the sake of others, like Christ’s ultimate example of self-denial for the sake of others. So the church must not elevate people to places of leadership who have many of the gifts necessary to high office, but who lack this one. To lead or teach, for example, you must have the gift of leadership or teaching (Rom. 12:6-8). But you must also be profoundly committed to principled self-denial for the sake of brothers and sisters in Christ, or you are disqualified.
Now this would take courage—and great faith—for a search committee or elder board to pronounce a gifted leader or teacher “disqualified” for high office if the candidate lacked obvious “principled self-denial for the sake of brothers and sisters in Christ.” But for the sake of the church, this is the verdict that must be pronounced when this virtue is absent.
How do you measure “principled self-denial” in a leader or teacher who you are considering for high office in the church? What are you doing to cultivate this virtue in your own life?
Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?
In an age of faith deconstruction and skepticism about the Bible’s authority, it’s common to hear claims that the Gospels are unreliable propaganda. And if the Gospels are shown to be historically unreliable, the whole foundation of Christianity begins to crumble.
