In his book Turning Points, Mark Noll quotes from St. Benedict’s instructions on selecting an abbot. As I read it, I thought that it is very applicable to church leaders in any generation so I thought I would share it here.
We build the altar but God sends the fire
It is right to want more people sitting under the preaching of the gospel. There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to learn from others. But the danger is that we can lose focus on what real spiritual growth looks like and we lose sight of who causes that growth.
No room for rancor in the church
Rather than getting all worked up about your Christian brother who has a different idea about what the government should or should not be doing, why not offer to pray with him.
What is the misery of man’s fallen condition?
But those of us who are in Christ and have accepted his provision for us have had that guilt removed. We are no longer under condemnation (see Romans 8:1). We can begin to rise above the misery of this life and experience joy in our relationship with God.
