2 Corinthians 11:30 30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. NIV
Paul had received some ‘bad press’. There were those among the Corinthians who thought he was just a religious phony. And why not! He didn’t act the way they thought he should by lording over them as others had done - he was too humble and self-deprecating. Men are so weird – they don’t know what they want. They want leadership but unless a leader ‘acts like a leader (according to them) he is relegated to the class of leader-wannabe; cute maybe, but annoying. And how are leaders supposed to act according to this formula? They’re supposed to act like men have seen them act for centuries: mostly self-centered, demanding, and petty. No, certainly not every leader is this way, but the overwhelming majority of them are. Just look at the bunch leading us!
So when Paul came along and said he was the leader and didn’t act according to how men thought he ought, they wrote him off as a phony and a wannabe. Paul’s model in leading was that of Christ – sacrificially. You act sacrificially these days and folks will suspect your motives (or your mind).
I knew of a church that was looking for a pastor to fill the spot that had been vacated by the previous one. This is what it seemed they wanted: a handsome, youngish (mid to late thirties) guy married to a Proverbs 31 wife who looked like she just stepped off the cover of Glamour magazine with a Master’s degree in Christian education. They had to have to two flawlessly perfect, obedient, and well-behaved kids. (Pet ownership was optional but not required.) He had to have: 50 years of experience, having successfully led, and managed, several churches; an approved seminary degree; a doctorate in Theology, and another in counseling; with the management skills of a Fortune 500 CEO. He had to be a superbly gifted and entertaining public speaker with an uncanny ability to end the service at 12 noon, exactly. He had to know precisely when and where everyone in the congregation was at all times so that he could minister to their needs accordingly. He had to be perfect.
Paul wouldn’t have lasted through the first interview. So they settled for someone less that what they wanted and that allows them to criticize and complain. That’s what the Corinthians did to Paul and that’s usually what happens in ministry today. But a true leader knows that he can only boast in Christ and in his own weaknesses so that those he leads will follow Christ and in Him, admit their own weaknesses… In ministry papers and resumes aren’t the most important things – the heart is, and God looks at the heart.
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