There’s nothing worse than a leader with an agenda who must charge forward with his preprogrammed master plan.
There’s nothing better than the leader who feels feelings like a normal human being, who can take the pulse of the room, who doesn’t take himself so seriously.
4. Go first and go strong.
Jump in the water and be completely real. We’re done with fooling people in church. This generation wants authenticity, not more plastic wrap. Honesty is not the best policy; it’s the only policy.
It’s not because you want to humor the leader or be the crusader of your group, but dive into the deep end because you care about the people. You love them. You want meaningful conversation that dismantles their spiritual hang ups and moves forward from the brokenness.
Get the gears rolling. I don’t mean pithy half-confessions like, “I forgot to do my quiet-time yesterday,” but dig deep into what’s really bothering you. “I feel far from God today. I went off on a guy in traffic earlier. I wanted to beat up my boss at work. I can’t beat this sin.”
I would be thrilled if someone stood up in Bible study, grabbed a mic, and simply said, “Life sucks and I hate all of you and I don’t know if I believe in God anymore.” Now that’s something Jesus can work with. That is church, and that’s where we can roll up our sleeves and fight the good fight together.
Honesty plus grace will always equal freedom.
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
