Agreed. Good article. A good leader will want to be tested on these 3 items.

But here's a question on the TOO personal side; when the less compassionate among us, with malice try to take your children down with you and make them targets, how does this not become personal and how do you suggest we don't take it TOO personal? Do you run for the hills, load for bear, what do you do? I've been here and I can tell I don't think I handled it right.

This happens much more than you might think or care to admit. When someone makes it personal like attacking your children in some very ugly ways that are only designed to destroy you to make sure you don't get up again, what?

What an awesome Word and so fitting for all leaders in the body of Christ!!!! I experienced this first hand and it seperated the entire congregration with an "AVAILABLE" sign left in the front of the building. We have to realize that spiritual warfare is REAL and if the enemy can get to the shepherd of the flock, he can get to the entire congregation!!
I believe praying without ceasing is key as it puts us in a state of submission to our God knowing that He is in charge, He is in control, He leads and we follow. When we are led by the Spirit and not by the flesh...His power evident!!! We then know that apart from Him we can do nothing..but with Him all things are possible. Jesus said if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me. Thank you again for this article and I have REPENTED!!!

"Am I willing to give up my leadership in this role or has it become too important to my own sense of identity? Am I willing to submit to my colaborers and ask if it is time for me to resign?"

This line demonstrates how the pastorate system is blind to Jesus instruction for teachers. Luke 6:40 The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.

The whole point of teaching and leading is to reproduce yourself so many others can do what you do. There is zero intention for this in the system, only perpetual dependency. Saints will always need a professional lecture every week of their lives till the day they die. And they love their position of spectator just as the ones who say they have this call from God to lecture the Word, love their dominating routines.

What good is a humble leader maintaining a corrupt, and mostly counter productive system?

And just because you ignore my rebuke here does not free you from accountability before God to repent and do the truth. It will cost you your paycheck because you have also been instructed to refuse it in the first place. An offering plate paycheck is unnecessary in the reproductive dynamic Jesus and Paul modeled and instructed.

Right between the eyes! Thanks, David.

"What do you think? Push back?"

I have purposefully held back from responding to this forum for the simple reason that I wanted to give this some thought.

So, with that...allow me to illuminate some tells in your post that I think you might want to reconsider...

"Neither should we take all criticism as being true about me. We would be in perpetual self-examine mode."

Though true, criticism always comes from a well, and often times it is indelicate, perhaps underhanded, often inarticulate, and as the presumable pastor it is up to you to explore the reason for the criticism to determine validity of the complaint; Or, it may lead to other revelations that were seen however misunderstood.

Hence, yes, you should be in perpetual self-examination mode...just as we all should be.

"We are ready to repent, confess, seek to be faithful, seek to submit, seek to obey, seek to affirm."

Which, given the aforementioned issue of self-examination begs the question of the imperative "We are ready..." since the individual, often loaded with biases, is not so easily ready to repent, confess, etc.
Hence the reason there are governing boards of elders to keep the Pastor in check...lets call it Checks and Balances. Which, interestingly enough, is a segue to the next one...

“They were not with me, therefore they are against me.” Wheneve [sic] I catch myself in this mentality I need to go to my knees and repent."

This, right here, lit up like a neon warning light with klaxon and sirens flashing...good for you to recognize this weakness of yours, but me thinks you should be taking this a whole lot more seriously than just throwing yourself down on the floor to repent. Part and parcel of Tim's complaint is right here, in what you have stated...the sole source of pastoral dominance unchecked.

And as much as you might catch yourself in this mentality, the fact of the matter is that you have such a mentality means that it comes out in your interactions with others. Yeah, you may think you're hiding it, but you are not.

I'm sorry, but that right there is the very reason why you should not be a Pastor in my opinion. This is the very thing I look for in people wanting to be Pastors, and had I been on your selection committee I would have recommended not taking you on as pastor. In your position as pastor, this is a bad mentality to be in possession of. period. My advice to you is to get rid of that underlying thought process that you are unassailable...seriously, get rid of it!
Losing that mentality will serve you well in the future.

And finally,

"To lead out of personal ego and/or control undermines this dynanic[sic]. And it turns our church into just another social organization based in human organizational processes."

We are all human, and unfortunately the many of he denominations in the American Church had become Social Organizations no different than the Elks, Moose, etc. And egos, and control issues will plague us as much as they plague the aforementioned Social Organizations.
We are to be different, but that difference does not come from our own efforts but through submission to one another. The best leader is one who will literally and figuratively scrub out the nastiest, overused, no-one-ever-flushed it toilet, and make it bright and shiny so it can be overused again.
If you're not willing to do that, you have no business calling yourself a Pastor, or a servant of G-d.

@Sheerahkahn,

It may be a tad bit presumptuous to claim that David Fitch, an author whose words have been very helpful to me, shouldn't be a pastor because of an internal struggle and temptation- particularly when he is struggling against it rather than assuming it as the norm.

Your advice to him is to do more than repent and change his mindset. Yet, as I read the New Testament, changing one's mindset is the very definition/translation of the word repent. It would seem as though he is taking your advice before it was even given.

Blog posts like this one are helpful to me because they bring to light that which has been in the darkness for so long- the reality of ego and influence. Whether you are a blogger with virtual influence or a simple/house church pastor or the lead pastor of a megachurch, the temptation to believe influence comes from oneself is haunting and crippling.

Thank you David Fitch, and thank you Out of Ur- you are consistently my favorite ministry-related blog (or at least in the top 3). And Sheerahkahn, you are consistently one of my favorite posters for your reflection, insight, pushback and Kingdom focus. I especially appreciate your closing about the leader and the toilet- vivid (as a guy whose first job was to clean overused toilets), and effective.

" It would seem as though he is taking your advice before it was even given."

I have had to deal with this...sort of thing before...in not just one or two pastors, but with several...and it is the most frustrating, infuriating, mind-bending discussions/arguments I have ever had...and in one case, I got an oblique invitation to leave the church...and it all stem's with the Pastor being...well, possessing a "I'm in charge because G-d called me, and thus I am answerable to G-d! So, either you are for me, and thus for G-d, or against me, and thus against G-d. Choose!" A little cut and dry there, but it was pretty close to that.

So, now, I see just a hint of that...and I will admit...all of those past dealings come home like a flock of rabid ravens...which oddly enough is called "an unkindness." And it's all those very painful memories of trying to reason with men, and one woman who.../sigh...just didn't want to hear any voice but the one in their head.

So, you are right...Mr. Fitch is dealing with it...my suggestion was and is to do more than just deal with it...dump it.
Take it and throw it as far away from himself as possible...never give it a moments breath...throttle it, choke it, watch it die with glee.

My apologies to you and Mr. Fitch.

Sheer
"...So, you are right...Mr. Fitch is dealing with it...my suggestion was and is to do more than just deal with it...dump it. "

Thank you for your testimony of the systemic nature of the institutionalized pastorate. Mine is the same as yours. I went on to see how the scriptures themselves call for an opposite dynamic. The system needs to be dumped. Every seminary in the country, every book written from within the system is in denial that they are nullifying the commands of God with their "pastorate". God designed them to "fully train" their students to "be like them", not hold them in perpetual dependency as permanent pew sitters. Currently, their only way out of their "position" or "office" is to resign or get fired, just as Mr. Fitch implied. Reproduce themselves? Absolutely not. It is so amazing that those who professionalize around the Bible are so ignorant or so rejecting of it's clear teaching.

Mr. Fitch says, "What do you think? Push back?"

Anytime a pastor asks this I know he is not serious about what I think or my Biblical push back. He only wants me to feel like "I've been heard." He wants to "defuse my anxiety." He has no intention of interacting in brotherly mutuality or in receiving "rebuke, correction, and instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect...".

@Sheer- I appreciate the dialogue, and I can understand the frustration at the experience of pastors/church leaders who misconstrue a call to serve as a call to call to tyranny. And if it were easy to simply dump ego, I would give up my left arm (I'm a lefty) to get that process.

@Tim- You seem a bit quick to judge Fitch's response before you hear it. You also seem like you haven't heard of David Fitch before. I met his writing through a book called "The Great Giveaway," which holds up the light of Scripture to contemporary church practices. He decries the professionalization of the Church as a capitulation to consumer capitalism and other "modern maladies." It was a very influential book for me as I went through college. My suggestion would be that if you are going to push back and expect "brotherly mutuality," it would be best to start with the attitude you would like to receive back.

On another note, it is easy to point the finger at others when looking at the three issues Fitch illuminates. However, all three of them are basic human struggles which all stem from a false sense of identity. Whenever human beings don't find identity in Christ, we typically find it in approval, affirmation, achievement, or any other idolatrous place. These three symptoms are just that: symptoms of a deeper problem. And I would agree that our systems, as currently designed, often encourage these systems. And I would also agree that the systems must change as a result. But first, I must change. I must address, dump, cancel out, and replace the lie that my value comes from anything other than my standing in Christ. Then I will be able to come to the system with a clear understanding and it will change.

Reader

"You seem a bit quick to judge Fitch's response before you hear it. You also seem like you haven't heard of David Fitch before."

I've read his blog and responded there. I have never received a reply. I'm sure he's a busy man. He has a job that requires a certain amount of loyalty to the clergy system.

"He decries the professionalization of the Church as a capitulation to consumer capitalism and other "modern maladies.""

This is not a modern malady or one of consumerism and captialism. It is a malady of the human flesh that sprang up immediately even as Jesus was teaching his disciples. Paul was right on target with with his teaching and example - but that is all thrown under the bus. It seems to me David sees some problems but thinks they can be cured with a small tweek here or there, but keep the pulpits and pews, and the rest of the routines. All these routines are a contradiction of Jesus teaching and example for His kindom. Man is the king in this routine, with some twisted proof texts, and mistranslations to support them.

"My suggestion would be that if you are going to push back and expect "brotherly mutuality," it would be best to start with the attitude you would like to receive back."

I speak from my experience with friends, family, and fellow laborers who are clergy. I have exagerated nothing. If it sounds grievous and synical, it is only because it is a tragic reality. Trying to earn a reply because I put makeup on the problem to make it appear less grievous does not seem honest to me.

"But first, I must change. I must address, dump, cancel out, and replace the lie that my value comes from anything other than my standing in Christ. Then I will be able to come to the system with a clear understanding and it will change."

Nicely said. That sounds like: "...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." That is why finally, after 15 years of trying to stay in the system and fix it, I finally obeyed God and began to follow an amazing journey so far beyond anything I could have imagined. There are not many who will throw off much of anything. They hold on to "That Same Old Song and Dance". I heard Frank Sinatra sing that today and it so aptly describes the situation, the lure of the flesh to cling to false realities.

@Tim,

I can respect your response. I have not had your experiences, so I cannot presume to know the level of frustration you must have encountered when the preacher/congregation system trumps faithful obedience and discipleship.

As to the comment on modern malady; right, the problems Fitch lays out are not new. On the other hand, they are certainly exacerbated by a greater system which encourages a small number of producers to meet the needs of a large number of consumers. If you haven't read "The Great Giveaway," I would recommend it. You might enjoy it. Cheers!

Reader

"I have not had your experiences, so I cannot presume to know..."

If you challenge the system at it's deepest false dependencies (idols), you are very likely to experience grievous disobedience gross anti-reproduction of believers.

Here is one to try: the system demands that on average 86% of giving is devoted to buy goodies for the people who do the giving. LJ's own article on Normal Church Budgeting and their surveys of thousands of churches point this out specifically. Giving, even by a pagan's standard, must go beyond the giver to qualify as giving. This is systematized pooling of collections for ourselves. Everything God has designed for building up HIs household of faith can be done for free. (Only serving the poor, orphans, widows, and reaching all nations is expensive.) Paul's economics for church life on refusing the right to be paid, make this possible. Actss 20, 2 Thes. 3, 1 Cor. 9 - the whole chapter, plus others.

Can you just imagine what believers could do in kingdom building if this one systemic switch was made?

After reading these three signs of not being a kingdom leader I felt as though I had a "duh" moment. It made so much sense as to why I was not always being an obedient kingdom leader. Being a leader is having a one hundred percent understanding that it is not about you. Wow, if I could grasp that truth then my leadership would be entirely different. One of the best pieces of advice that I ever learned was from my grandfather, a wise, Godly, experienced, Christian man who served as a pastor for over twenty years. I always told me that being a leader is being a servant. He taught me how to be a servant and how to call upon the Spirit to help guide me to be a better servant. I will be forever grateful.

@ sheerahkahn

Late to the party but I have a thought. We all know the silver rule 'love your neighbor as yourself'. The golden rule is love God with all your heart. The Silver Rule can also be stated in the negative 'if you live by the sword you will die by the sword'. sheerakahn felt free to judge David and say that he should not be a pastor because of how he admits to repenting of feeling a 'if they are not with me they are against me' mentality. sheerakahn If you are willing to judge harshly based on your interpretation of David's words are you prepared to be judged harshly? It is pretty harsh to say someone should not be a pastor based on some feelings that they admit. The reason that I'm saying this is that when I see someone spell God as G_d I think to myself 'this is someone who has a Pharisaical mindset, who wants to be holier-than-thou and doesn't really understand what Jesus is all about.' I'm not saying that you are modern day Pharisee or are a self-righteous so-and-so because Jesus clearly instructed me not to judge. But just a gentle reminder, he clearly instructed you not to judge also.