Church tech team leaders have to wear many hats. At times we have to put on the social worker hat, or the counselor hat, or the psychologist hat, or even theconflict-mediator hat. This is because of our human nature. We the people, are imperfect. Deeply imperfect. We all are full of emotions and passions, driven by our perception of what we sense is happening around us. Our minds try to interpret these perceptions based on our past experiences and other pieces of information that we consider or label as “facts.”
Then, when we decide to take an action--to react, to say something or to do something based on what our brain is telling us we should do--suddenly there’s conflict. In all sizes, colors and flavors. Then we ask, “Why?” That is the time to remember we all are imperfect. The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (KJV). The word “heart” is used figuratively and very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect. Put in plain language, most of the time we are not only misleading others, we are misleading ourselves.
Bursting the Bubble of “self”
After I came into this truth I asked myself: How in the world arewe going to lead a group of imperfect humans? The same book that opened up this pandora box, the Holy Bible, also provides us the answer and solution (that’s His standard operating procedure throughout the Bible). The only way to accomplish this is found in Ephesians 4:1-2 …
“I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love” (KJV).
Forbearance means to have patient self-control, restraint and tolerance. These are heavy words, but putting them into practice is even heavier. Some may see them as an unbearable load to carry. This may be particularly difficult for those of us who are in leadership positions. Dealing with people is one of the most difficult tasks (if not the most difficult) we encounter in our jobs at church. It is not that difficult to forbear people we encounter in our daily life, a driver causing congestion, the policeman writing us a ticket, or the newspaper boy who left the paper out in the open where it got all wet before we could read it.
Enter Humility
To forbear people we know or work with on regular basis is a bit more difficult. But to forbear in love is really something out of this world. It might be considered the highest degree of difficulty. However, there is help, also from beyond this world. All we need is to allow God’s love to operate in us by developing a sincere will to understand one another, to be patient with one another, to love one another. Forbearing in love should not be quite as difficult when we understand how deceitful and misleading our own hearts are.If we wonder how these two seemingly unrelated Bible verses come together, another Bible passage comes to my mind: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” John 13:35, (KJV). This is an example of how we can give glory to God and worship the Lord with our actions.
