The path to humility

there’s this pastor-blogger i had been following online over the past couple of years.  he was young-ish, brash, confident, mega gifted, and the leader of a rapidly growing, hip church plant.  they went from running 50-60 to over a thousand in less than two years.

lots of new staff members.  innovative programs.  media attention.  travel and speaking and writing.  very impressive.

to me, he wrote about the growth with arrogance and bravado and a false humility.  i followed him with curiosity…a captivation with the great things that appeared to be happening…and a sick feeling that something was wrong.

unfortunately, i was right.  this summer, his affair with a female staff member became public.  so incredibly sad.

he’s lost it all.  he was immediately asked to resign from his church.  his marriage ended quickly.  he lost custody of his little kids.

i’ve never met him.  through his writing, i found him to be engaging, influential, creative, funny, powerful and authoritative.  but the conceit and egotism was always present.  i hurt for him as i read his blogging…long before his crash and burn happened.

within a couple of months, he was writing about starting a new church in the same town as the one he was fired from.  no kidding!

it looks like some friends must have got a hold of him and put him in a spiritual headlock.  he stopped blogging.  i hadn’t read anything from him in the past few months.  he surfaced a couple of weeks ago.  he wrote about some of the lessons he’s learning.

it’s really kind of sad-funny.  his insight into what he’s learning is profound.  but his arrogance and belief that god is preparing him to pastor another church quickly is stunning.  part of me wishes he would just be quiet, go dark for a few years and let god heal him.  watching him is like watching a train wreck.

the other part of me is watching (reading) to hear the lessons.   some of them will be worth passing along.

the thing that stands out today is how grateful i am to have people around me who will call my life into accountability…quickly.   the path to the pedestal is always close.  whenever i hover near the entrance, it seems like there is always someone who will pull my life and leadership back into perspective.

sometimes those people know exactly what they are doing.  to them, i say “thanks” for the commitment.

sometimes there are people who have no clue they are being used by god for my well-being.  to them, i am grateful for their sensitivity to the movement of god in their lives.

i’m pretty much a grateful guy today.

#accountability #commitment #humilty