What do you worship today? Ever ask yourself as a church leader, do I worship something or someone other than God? Is there idolatry in the church?
Is There Idolatry in the Church Today?
It’s a great question to ask and a great heart check. I’ll stick my neck out and suggest that you do have idolatry in the church instead of God. At least I do. Once you identify them and root them out, you’ll become a better leader.
You’re an Idol Factory
I get challenged about my personal and leadership idols every year when I read through the middle part of the book of Isaiah. Chapter 44, for example, is all about the futility of worshipping idols, which in those days were mostly wood or stone carvings. So do you see what’s an idol that you worship today? You don’t need wood or stone for there to be idolatry in the church. An idol is anything that takes our focus and reliance off of God.
RELATED: 5 Temptations of a Pastor
John Calvin was dead on when he said, “Man’s nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols.” Discard one that you worship today, and you’ll simply create another.
8 Idols Church Leaders Still Worship Today
The list could be much longer than eight, because Calvin was right. But here are eight I struggle with or have seen other leaders struggle with. These are in no particular order, because, well, any idol is bad enough to be #1:
1. Strategy
I’m a strategy wonk.
I think many churches fail for lack of a clear, coherent strategy. I wrote in detail about how mission, vision and strategy interrelate here.
But strategy is no substitute for trust. As valuable as strategy is (and it is), no strategy is a substitute for trusting God. Strategy makes an excellent servant and a terrible master.
2. Skill
By all means, get better at what you do. Learn, listen, polish and perfect your skills. Skill alone can get you far, but the church is a supernatural thing.
God changes hearts. You can’t. I can’t. You know what’s better than a skill set? A surrendered skill set. Having a B-level set of skills that’s surrendered is better than an A-level set of skills you’re trying to use without God.
3. Size
There is no merit in size. Some leaders think only bigger is better. But idolizing big can be a thin mask for ego. (Your self-worth rises and falls with big.)
Some idolize the romanticism of small. Yet idolizing small can be a thin mask for insecurity. (You love small only because you will never be big.)
