Leaders preach to the choir. They are members of our tribe.
We need it as preachers. The choir needs it. When we preach to the choir, we are reminding them what they already know, what they already believe. It is an extremely important aspect of tribal life. It is foundational to the Christian community (2 Pet 1:12; Titus 2:1).
However, there is another aspect to the Christian community beyond preaching to the choir–stretching the choir. It is not enough to agree. Leaders must lead (1 Cor 4:17).
Paul was not hesitant to preach to the choir, but he did not leave them there. It has been said about half of his epistles are comprised of doctrine, foundational matter. The other half is exhortation to action. Foundation then action. Agreement then movement.
However, if I’m only sharing with the choir what they already know, believe, and feel, then we are moving nowhere. We are caught in an eddy. This round-and-around experience may cause us to feel good and contribute to our encouragement, but it does not move us forward.
Jesus is the only Savior and explicit faith must be put in His name.
We must share the gospel with others.
Fifty Shades of Grey is bad.
Homosexual marriage is bad.
Pornography is bad.
Read your Bible.
Love others.
Pray
Thank you for stating this. I agree with you 100%. You’re preaching to the choir. I’ve agreed 100% with these and a multitude of other matters since I encountered the Word of God years ago. No advance degrees were necessary; the Word was sufficient to convince.
Leaders, tell us something we don’t know. Stretch us.
Oh, I’m not calling for some shock therapy or deviation from God’s standard. I’m just asking you to lead us to the what next. Seeing that we agree with these matters, tell us what to do next. Challenge us to think and act as wise Kingdom stewards who are already right there with you.
Too many good-hearted pundits only preach to the choir. We mistake this for good leadership. It’s not. It’s the eddy.
Preach to us and stretch us. We don’t have time for life in the whirlpool. The 4 billion remain.
