One reason that has hurt God’s work is when leaders feel threatened seeing any of their followers beginning to grow in life and ministry. Insubordination and lack of submission of followers have never hurt God’s work as this matter.
Power of Life
If a leader is growing and living the life, and therefore gives requisite spiritual gap to those under him, and he finds any of them rebellious, he actually has no problem at all. It is not him that the person is disobeying. It is Christ. If he continues to pursue living the life, without even rebuking him or dragging issues with him; in the long run, the rebel’s eyes will be opened to see his folly, and submit. This is the power that leaders have, but it is only those that seek to be like Christ that can wield this power.
Threat rooted in SELF
Unfortunately, this is not the case of many Christian leaders. Rather you see them frustrating those who are emerging in the things of God. God begins to raise a man through several dealings, and suddenly the man’s presence in the work begins to orchestrate revival and growth, his leaders begin to find him as a threat. Just seeing a spark of God’s grace, growing influence and gifting upon his life, they want to quench it. They will even seek to pull him down. Others, like Saul, start to pursue him to snuff life out of him, to cause him to be offended so that out of anger, he leaves where God has put him to go and serve other gods.
If God wants them to give the young man responsibilty they will object, knowing that doing such is the will of Christ which will advance His kingdom. When such leaders act this way they express the will of Satan through SELF that is in them.
Actually when a leader feels threatened, it is his SELF that is threatened. When SELF is threatened it is Satan’s kingdom that is threatened. To stop that man that will execute the purpose of Christ, Satan through their SELFs will impress on those leaders never to allow that man. Satan will tell them, if you allow him, he will become more influential and popular than you. This is the reason why God’s work has been stalled in many churches. God wants to move, but man through SELF restrains Him, first in his own life, and in the lives of undiscerning followers.
●●Ndukwe, a Lagos-based minister can be reached at festus.felicia@gmail.com