A number of years ago, in the devotional book “Our Daily Bread,” the author related the story of a once-powerful business man named Eli Black. Mr. Black had made some impressive accomplishments in the business world, but he apparently had quite a passion for power and control.
Another business executive once told the story of a business lunch that he had had with Eli Black. At the beginning of the lunch, the waitress brought a plate of cheese and crackers as an appetizer. Black reached out and took them, placed them on the table, blocked them with his arms, and continued talking. The executive hadn’t eaten for hours and hinted that he would like a cracker. But Black acted as though he hadn’t heard him and went on with the business meeting. After a while, Black placed a cracker and cheese on the tips of his fingers and continued to talk. Several moments later, Black placed the cracker on the executive’s plate and then blocked the rest as before. It was clear that Black was in charge, manipulating others as he pleased.1
We are not very surprised when we hear about power-hungry people in the world of business or even in the world of politics, but sadly, the same addiction to power and control can exist among church leaders as well. In fact, in some ways, churches have fewer checks against the ambition of someone who has become drunk with power.
When a leader begins to act this way within a church, the members of the church are often left scratching their heads and wondering exactly what to do. And more often than not, such a leader forces people to decide whether or not they are with him or against him.
Just how should we respond when we encounter such a leader within a church? John gives us some good instruction for this question as he deals with just such a leader in the latter half of 3 John. The clear standard that he sets for us is this:
A church leader who sets an evil example is not to be followed.
Follow along with me as I read 3 John 1:9–15 [READ vv. 9–15]. Let’s take a look at this passage in two parts—first, we’ll look at the example that Diotrephes is setting, then we’ll look at how John tells us to respond to such an example.
I. A love of power is a bad trait for a church leader (vv. 9–10)
Last week, we were introduced to Gaius, a man who was faithfully serving God. We don’t know what kind of role he had in his church, whether he was in an official leadership position or not. But in v. 9, we are introduced to a leader in Gaius’s church who had become rather full of himself.
This leader—Diotrephes—is described by John as a person “who likes to put himself first.” In Greek, this description is written almost like a title or a nickname for Diotrephes. How would you like to have a description like that as something of a nickname? “Look out, here comes Tim—he’s the Commander-in-Chief!”
As this description suggests, it simply means that Diotrephes loved to feel like the top dog, and we can see that he certainly enjoyed acting like it. Diotrephes obviously had some kind of problem with John and perhaps the other apostles (that could be who John is referring to when he says, “our authority”). It could be that Diotrephes felt like John had no business “interfering” in the affairs of a church that he wasn’t a part of. Whatever the problem was, John knew that it was just coming from Diotrephes own pride.
The New Testament consistently warns us that pride and a love of power and authority are deadly poisons for spiritual leaders. This lesson first came from Jesus Himself. He said to His disciples in Matthew 20:25–28, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus’ apostles took that lesson and kept it alive through their teaching and their writings. John, for example, recorded the story of Jesus washing His disciples feet, which has become such a moving picture of what it means to be a spiritual leader. And Peter wrote to elders in some local churches in 1 Peter 5:3 and he told them not to be domineering over those in their charge, but to be examples to the flock. There he used that familiar, beautiful metaphor of spiritual leaders acting as shepherds for a flock of sheep.
So this example of servant leadership is the example that a spiritual leader is supposed to set, but unfortunately, Diotrephes was setting a very different example. John writes in 3 John 1:10 that Diotrephes refused to welcome the brothers (who were the travelling missionaries that we talked about last week). He refused to show them hospitality and give them support. And what’s more, he prevented other members of the church from showing them hospitality, and if some of the church members went against his wishes, he kicked them out of the church!
This is a shocking example of church leadership gone bad, but that’s the kind of havoc that can arise when a leader’s pride causes him to fall in love with power. It may seem impossible for a church leader to act this way, but remember, church leaders are humans, too, who face all of the same temptations that anyone else faces.
And sometimes, a power play can like this can come from someone who is not an official leader within a church. Sometimes a certain member of a church may have a lot of influence because of their financial standing or their standing in the community, and even though such a person may not be an official leader in the church, he or she still wields a lot of power over other people. And if pride gets the best of that person, it can be just as devastating to the church as if the behavior were coming from an official leader.
So unfortunately, we do have to realize that a person with power and influence in a church just might set a bad example for others. And if that’s the case, the response that John calls us to is very clear…
II. We must not follow a church leader if he sets a bad example (vv. 11–12)
John obviously has Diotrephes’ example in mind in v. 11 when he gives this command: “Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good.” Then he tells us why we should shun evil and imitate good—“whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.” John paints good and evil in black-and-white terms so that there is no doubt that the two are mutually exclusive. If someone acts in a way that is truly good, then you can be sure that their actions were from God, but if they act in a way that is evil, you can have equal confidence that God is not the source of their behavior. John says that the person who does evil “has not seen God,” which means that they have not come to know what God is really like because they are choosing behaviors that are contrary to His character.
Then in v. 12, John apparently mentions one of the men that he had referred to back in v. 6 when he asked Gaius to provide support for his visitors on their journey. John now mentions Demetrius by name and emphasizes that he has earned a good testimony as he has served the Lord. So the decision for Gaius is clear—John is basically saying, “Gaius, don’t follow the example of Diotrephes by refusing hospitality and support to these missionaries. Instead, choose to do what you know is good, even if your church leaders won’t do it.”
My friends, it is sad but true that we might someday find ourselves facing a similar choice. Church leaders are not perfect people; we can be overcome by pride just the same as anyone else, and when that happens, we can set a bad example—one that you should not follow!
Now in general, the Bible does call us to obey the leaders of our church. Hebrews 13:7 says, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” Then in v. 17 of the same chapter it says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
So we should be ready and willing to follow the lead of our spiritual leaders in the church, but what the example of Diotrephes shows us is that we cannot blindly follow anyone simply because they have a leadership role. It can be easy to put a pastor or an elder or our favorite TV preacher on a pedestal and assume that they can do no wrong, but nothing could be further from the truth.
This is just one reason among many why it is so important for you to read and study the Bible for yourself. You can read for yourself how we are supposed to live, so if I would go off the deep end some day, you could point to Scripture and say, “You know, I just can’t follow Pastor Tim down that path; he doesn’t seem to be doing what’s right.” I hope I never put you in that position, but you can’t just assume that my example will always be what it should be.
We have a big advantage today that people in the past were not able to enjoy. In the centuries before the printing press was invented, people didn’t have their own copy of the Bible, so they had to rely on church leaders to teach them and lead them. I think in many cases church leaders were faithful to adhere to the truth, but I am convinced that that is why some of the problems came into Christianity that the Reformation set out to correct.
My friends, I cannot stress to you enough how important it is that you do not wrap your faith around any human being, but only around Jesus. At some point, human beings will let you down—maybe in a small way, maybe in a big way, but in some way their imperfections will shine through. In those moments, it is easy to become disillusioned if our faith is wrapped around a man, but if our faith is wrapped around Jesus, we can stay on the right path.
The highest allegiance for our faith is to be given to Jesus Christ, and no one else! Colossians 1:18 says, “He is the head of the body, which is the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent”—not me or our elders or your favorite TV preacher or anyone else!
Just remember this, my friends—Jesus Christ is the Chief Shepherd of this flock that we call Christianity, and He is leading the way. He has asked some under-shepherds to help the flock stay in line, but if the under-shepherd wanders off the path, just keep following the Chief Shepherd! If you keep in line with Jesus, you will never be lead astray!
Notes:
1. Our Daily Bread, February 6, 1994
From http://bible.org/illustration/follow-leader
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