Postmodern Renaissance Culture Revolutionary

I preached on the moral failure of Christian leaders. In that sermon, I put forward 5 templates of moral failure that appear in the Bible. These templates are still relevant in the life of churches. Below is my offer. This isn't perfect or a complete idea. 5 Templates of moral failure for Christian leaders Pharisee Template Sadducee Template False Teacher Template Ezekiel Shepherd Template Aaron Template Pharisee Template Moral failure: Using tradition and rules to manipulate people Modern example: Legalism without compassion Biblical examples: Matthew 23:4,13,16,18; 12:1-13; 15:3,14; Mark 7:1-13; Luke 17:1; 14:1-6 In this template, a leader uses traditional boundaries or legalistic boundaries to dictate how a group of followers should exhibit their faith life. It could apply to pastors or lay leaders within a local congregation. The problem is that tradition serves to flavor the way a people live out a faith life. Rules de...

In the past Sunday's sermon, I made the suggestion that the American church culture has been de-centralized as a moral leader. I also suggested that American church culture could become a leader in culture with regard to morality. The first step, says me, is that Christians should stop following Christian leaders who are not leading from a moral place. The comment brought some conversation up at lunch. The next sermon will deal more directly with this issue. The conversation and the subject bring up a side subject: does ambition have a role in pastoral ministry? I want to offer you a little insight into my psyche. I am going to share with you a conversation those little voices in my head have somewhat regularly. It goes something like this: You know, I think I deserve a bigger church, a better appointment. I have been at this job for almost 20 years. I think I have learned enough to handle a church with a staff and bigger budget. I see colleagues who have fewer years of expe...