LeBron James has recently declared that he is the best basketball player. Ever. Anywhere. In the history of the world.
Now don’t get me wrong. LeBron is a GREAT basketball player. And being within a couple hours of Cleveland, I’ve watched LeBron grow into the player he has become.
People will argue over who is the greatest. No one will argue that LeBron is right up there.
But it’s one thing for someone else to say that he’s great. It’s another thing to self-proclaim it.
I’m glad it’s not like that in the church world. You know… people out there declaring that they’re better than everyone else. Or even implying it. Or thinking it.
OK… so maybe no one says “I’m the best church leader in the history of the world”, but I think we’ve all met leaders that think that are all that and a bag of Doritos.
Leaders that are full of themselves are in the church too. We all know that. They pose as Senior Pastors, Worship Pastors, and Facility Managers. They sometimes are board members, elders, and personal assistants.
We’ve all worked with at least one.
And maybe we’ve all (at least in our heads) thought that we were pretty close to being on top of our game… of hitting it out of the park… or being slightly better than just about everybody else.
I know it’s cliche, but pride DOES come before the fall.
I LOVE how Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message (Proverbs 16:18)
First pride, then the crash—the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.
The bigger the ego. The harder the fall.
We’ve seen some big examples of this in the past year.
But you don’t have to have a big church to have a big ego.
You can think more highly of yourself in a church of 20.
Let’s do a gut-check. How’s YOUR ego?
If you think you’re the best thing since sliced bread, you will fall hard. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But it WILL happen.
Crashing stinks. Falling hurts. And it can be humiliating.
Do what you have to do today to keep yourself in check.
My most sobering thought (that I think quite often) is that God really doesn’t need me. He can accomplish His will with or without me.
I’d rather be a part of that journey, guarding my heart, motives, and actions along the way.
No one want to be disqualified from the race. I know I don’t.
So I’m not the best church leader in the world. I’m ok with that.
Are you?
PS - At times, part of our journey is taking a hard look at our future and where we’re headed.