Here is a very needed quote on leadership from my good friend and faithful Gospel Preacher Nathan Franson, who also wrote a book about leaving the Mormon faith…
I am a firm believer a strong body begins with strong leaders. It is sad to hear so many able men say they do not want to serve as elders or teach for whatever reason. Our young people see this and are either discouraged or apathetic towards working to someday be spiritual leaders themselves.
Many have asked me why the Mormon Church is so successful in their numbers. It’s a simple formula. From a young age we saw how passionate and enthusiastic leaders and missionaries were. Instead of hearing about how mistreated they felt, we were saturated with how great it was to serve. There were songs directly addressing their evangelism and leadership which we would sing weekly. They constantly came to our classes and spoke publicly about how wonderful it was to hold these positions. Bottom line, we saw the positive. And this was for a false religion!
Imagine how successful we could be in the Lord’s kingdom if the men who could serve as elders saw in themselves what others see or even better, considered how important and needed they are. Imagine how faithful and studious our youth could be with women to encourage them in classrooms from a young age. Elders and teachers are positions sanctified by Christ. Why would we not want to build them up? And why would anyone choose to undermine an elder’s decision or oversight if he’s Scripturally sound? Why would we want future elder and preacher prospects to develop a negative image of God’s organization of His church before they even have families?
What good is it to quote Ephesians 6:4 in one breath and, in another, vocalize how frustrating it is to serve in the church? There are congregations everywhere with young people who we can encourage to grow and who will be dynamic workers and leaders. They notice. They observe. They are ‘the future of the church.’
I just randomly came across the above quote this morning and it reminded me of the regular struggles that leaders in the church have to contend with, and how a lot of times those struggles are not due to their own failures. It’s not always the shepherd’s fault when the sheep gets eaten by a wolf; sometimes it’s the sheep’s fault for not following the shepherd’s staff.
I think the kingdom today is in the midst of a crisis of leadership and the crisis is the lack thereof. Many who are qualified to serve are leery to do so because they don’t want the heartache that often comes with the role. We need to do a better job talking about the positives of being a bishop. We need to do a better job supporting those in the pastoral role, not looking to tear them down.
We need more godly elders in the church, not fewer.
~ Matthew