The Joy of a Genuine Christian Leader

Text: Philippians 2:12-18

Thoughts:

How would you know if you are following a genuine Christian leader? How would you know if he or she is just using you for his or her own ends? Simple. Just find out what gives him or her the greatest joy. The joy of a genuine Christian leader is to see his or her followers grow and mature in Christ. What matters most is not his or her own success in the ministry. What causes his or her heart great joy is to see each one mature in Christ. What gives him or her the greatest pain is immaturity and sin. If a leader doesn’t correct you when you’re sinning, he or she is just pretending to be a Christian leader. He or she is just interested in his or her own success. He or she is afraid that you might walk away or choose not to follow him or her anymore. That will be tantamount to failure in the ministry. But for a genuine Christian leader, it will not be considered a failure. Failure is when a church is growing in number but everyone remains immature and unloving. When the church continues in sin and no one is saying anything, then that church is led by pseudo leaders. They are not genuine Christian leaders who are really called to shepherd the flock of God. If you want to find out if the leader you’re following is genuine or not, just find out the true source of his or her joy.