I remember cruising the streets in the days of 8 tracks and sideburns turning up the volume when “Pinball Wizard” was playing. (Yes, I’m a child of the 60’s & 70’s.) Dragging Main, we sang along with The Who, “That deaf, dumb, and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball.”
Now some 40 years later, I’m wondering if there are pinball wizards in the church-world. You know the type, leaders who bounce from one idea to the next hoping that the bright shiny bells and lights of the game catch a lot of attention so that people will want to play along. Pinball leadership philosophy is pretty simple. Bounce into the right bumpers, keep moving fast and furious and you get a lot of points along the way. And, if you get too far from ‘God’s will,’ He will use the flippers to get you back in the game.
Godly leadership calls for something more than bouncing around and making a lot of noise. Robert Murray McCheynne wrote, “What my people need most is my personal holiness.” Before Christian leaders can guide others in the way of the Lord, we have to follow Him personally. How could any faithful leader hope to lead people in the way of the Lord if he is not walking closely with Christ on a daily basis?
Here are some serious questions that we as God called leaders must ask ourselves if we would be more than pinball leaders.
How much time did I spend in prayer so that God could bring personal growth into my life today? Or to state this question in another light, What reason did I give God for shutting Him out of an intimate, focused, one-on-one time today? Do I use my good intentions as a lame excuse for not being with the Heavenly Father? Truth is, all the ‘work’ I do in organizing, researching, thinking, surveying, meeting, etc. cannot compensate for personal time with Lord in prayer. “Drive by” prayers won’t cut it. Jesus considered His time with the Father so necessary and important that He carved out time to get alone with the Father. What makes me think that I am so much better than Jesus that I don’t need to do what He did?
How much time did I spend today in seeking God in His Word? I’ve heard people say that if they had to choose between time in prayer and time in the Bible, they would choose time in prayer. Sounds to me like saying, “If I had to choose between having lungs and having air to breathe, I’d choose lungs.”
How much time did I spend seeking God’s leadership in my ministry in waiting upon the Lord until I have clarity of direction today? Do I really think that I can be indifferent regarding my personal walk with the Lord while attempting to lead others to follow the Him?
Pinball leadership makes a lot of noise, is bright and flashy, and entertains the folks. In the end, it’s just a game going nowhere. Jesus Christ did not die on Calvary’s Cross saving us from our sins just so we could play games. First step in Godly leadership…..grow in your walk with the Lord.
