Chapter One

True Leaders Tell The Truth

By Dr. Lester Hutson

Joshua 7:1-13

Leaders are not leaders just because they're called leaders. A snail would be the same if you called him a racehorse. Preachers are notorious for gloating in their position when they're doing nothing to earn their wings. Like many husbands, they want respect and a great following, but they're doing almost none of the things that identify true leaders. They piously and ignorantly fancy themselves as great leaders simply because they wear a leadership title. Preachers do it, but so do deacons, and ministry directors, and class teachers who are responsible to build their classes and many others who are supposed to be a part of the leadership base of a true church. Empty leadership titles are the downfall of many a church. People are in the positions, but they're not doing the jobs. In churches, it begins with the pastor, who may not be practicing true leadership himself, and who is surely not requiring true leadership from those around him. Ultimately, the blame must lie at his feet. Hebrews 13:17 says so. They're to personally watch for the souls of the people, and must give account to God for how effectively they do so.

I know of no leaders who have not tasted the agony of defeat to some degree, perhaps some more than others. No doubt, most of the Lord's churches have suffered because of us, and would be far more successful had it not been for our lack of leadership. Well, what are we to do when we wake up to the reality that we're not doing the job and the fact that the Lord's church is suffering because we're not ? Resign? Quit? Cry? Feel sorry for ourselves? Give up? Whine around in indecision? Sulk? Those are the cheap, spineless, coward's ways out. I'll tell you what a leader ought to do when he sees how his lack of leadership is holding back the Lord's church. By the grace of God, he ought to rise up, correct the problems, take the bull by the horns and start doing the job God expects him to do.

Joshua's a classic example. The enterprise over which he was leader stalled and fell into contemptuous defeat. Like most of us, Joshua wanted to blame God and the people, but he couldn't make that cop-out stick with God. God made it very clear to him that there was a problem among the people, and that it was his personal responsibility to correct it. If he didn't, defeat would continue, and Joshua couldn't blame God or the people for it. He'd have nobody to blame but his own self. Leadership would make the difference in whether or not defeat continued or victory came.

That's exactly how it is with every ailing church. With right leadership, the people will rally, and God will bless. Without it, the people will scatter and refuse to do the work, and God can't bless. Leadership is the spark plug that starts the engine and keeps it firing. Without a spark plug, the engine won't run. Praise God for the great story of Joshua in Joshua 7: 1-13. He demonstrates the fact that defeated leaders can get up and lead God's people to thunderous successes. Defeated churches can be turned around. Leaders who are down can get up and begin to lead. God told Joshua, "Don't just lie there in defeat. Get up and do something about the shape you're in." I hope every preacher, father, boss, Sunday school teacher, deacon, and every other potential leader will listen to the story of Joshua.

"But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel. "And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them saying, 'Go up and view the country.' And the men went up and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, 'Let not all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai, and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.' "So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men; and they fled before the men of Ai. And the men a Ai smote of them about thirty and six men; for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down; wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water. "And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. And Joshua said 'Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content and dwelt on the other side Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth; and what wilt thou do unto they great name?' "And the Lord said unto Joshua, 'Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.'" (Joshua 7:1-13)

What's the difference between true leaders, who are getting the job done in churches, and those who fill the offices but who aren't getting the job done? After all, those who are and those who aren't look the same. Standing side by side, it's hard to tell the difference. and even following them around, it's hard to put your finger on that almost magical quality a leader has, which other good people don't have. Yes, lots of people who aren't leaders are truly wonderful people. They're kind and loving and friendly. They love God and are faithful to His work. They have excellent testimonies, but they're not leaders. What's the difference? Among those who fill the leadership offices in the Lord's churches, there is a great variance on these very points. Too many are not meeting these leadership requirements, and their churches, their classes, their ministries, their bus routes are grim testimonials to their failures. Yes, leadership is a true variable between churches, and as you look point by point at these marks of leadership, you'll see just how much real difference there is between those who lead the Lord's churches. I think you'll see why the Lord is blessing some churches and they are seeing great prosperity in the Lord, while many of their sister churches are struggling to survive. There's no difference in their God, and there's no difference in their people, but there's a bunch of difference in their leaders.

Tell the truth

I'd say most pastors know they should, and believe they are, preaching the truth. Pastors have a direct charge from God to do it. II Timothy 4:12 says, "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine."

A true pastor will not be spending a lot of time propagating his own personal opinions. His opinions are not what counts. His opinions aren't worth any more than any other member's opinions. And of his and the other members opinions, God says, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." (Proverbs 14:12)

Jeremiah said, "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps," in Jeremiah 10:23. So, a true pastor will not spend a great deal of his time saying, "I believe this" and "Let me tell you this story." No. His time will mostly be spent delivering to his people "thus saith the Lord."

Yet it is amazing how few scriptures, and how little real Bible content, you find in the average pastor's sermons. Too often, it's a whole lot of froth and loud shouting, and very little substance. Can you imagine a cow having to eat four or five bales of hay a day just to get enough food value to survive? Sadly, many church members have to glean through four or five sermons to get one decent meal. Preachers need to put corn, wheat and oats in the trough, not just poor grass hay. Too many sermons are the proverbial "skyscraper variety", just story after story after story. Lots of them are the "Longhorn variety", one point way out here, and another point way over there, and a whole lot of bull in between.

Let pastors preach the Word. There's where the power and substance is. "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart," Hebrews 4:12 tells us. Let us say with Jeremiah, "his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forebearing, and I could not stay." (Jeremiah 20:9) Let us say in truth with Numbers 22:18, "If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more." Let our motto be, "the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak." (Numbers 22:38) The prophet Micaiah said, "as the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak."

Let every man of God examine just how much truth he's really preaching. Many a time, when we begin to examine our sermons, lessons, or discussions with our sons, we'll find them a lot more narrow and shallow than we think. We tend to ride pet themes to death, neglect whole segments of the Bible, shy around difficult books or themes, and still gloat that we're great Bible preachers. Pastors who truly lead, preach the Bible. They don't just preach about the Bible, they preach the Bible. And they don't just ride the ridges, they get into the whole book.

Dealing with the issues

Telling the truth not only involves preaching the Bible instead of personal opinions, it also involves dealing with real issues. True leaders deal with real issues! They don't ignore, dodge, or overlook things that are hurting.

Lots of pastors go kind of soft on sin, especially if it's in the lives of kids of some of the stronger members. They're not willing to tackle a deacon, a wealthy giver, or someone who's quite popular in the church. They're afraid they might lose those people or get run off, so they're afraid to say what really needs to be said. They're afraid to take the action, like Joshua, which really needs to be taken. "My, if we point out this Achan, all his folks might leave the church. We don't want to cause a split. Let's just pray for Achan."

I'll tell you what happens. They allow wrong things to continue, wrong things that are hurting and holding back the Lord's churches. They don't root out and break up the power bases which have a strangle-hold on the church, the dictatorial committees, the long-tongued gossip rings, the cliquish bank of old members, and legalists who would dictate to everybody. They don't deal with the Sunday school teachers who consistently refuse to get with the program and organize, work and build their classes. They're afraid to deal with mediocrity in the services, the singers who won't rehearse and do their best, the participants who won't get their acts together and be ready when the time comes, the people who walk in and out and allow their kids to disrupt the services. The problems in the nursery, ushers who pay little attention to their posts of duty, or the numerous other bad practices which suck the life out of many a church are all ignored or glossed over. They ignore bad church policies. They do nothing about the policy of long, detailed business meetings which tear up the church. They do nothing to shape up their missions policies. Bad attitudes are let alone. Lots of these cantankerous old people need to be de-throned, but many a pastor's afraid to do it. So, like Diotrephes in III John, these sacred cows keep hooking the life out of many a church. He knows of hatreds, legalism, pride, ego, materialism, loose dress and non-separation by the members, yet he is basically silent on these issues. If he touches them at all, it's only very gingerly and indirectly, in such a way that almost no one would guess who or what he's talking about.

Yet, most pastors think they're telling the truth. They're just kidding themselves. Oh, what they say is true. They just don't say the truth that's really needed, and that, my friends, is a way of not telling the truth. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" To which most pastors must answer, "the truth and nothing but the truth, sir, but not the whole truth. I'm afraid to." Pastors who truly lead tell the whole truth. They don't evade the real issues, regardless of the cost. A pastor who will not tell the truth is not a true leader, and a pastor who is not dealing with the real issues in his church is not telling the truth.

Oh, I know lots of people in churches don't like to hear the truth, and I know it will be very costly to a pastor to "tell it like it is" on real issues. Sometimes people get mad, and stir up a real stink. It's pretty common for some of them to leave the church. Some will fight you like a tiger.

Micaiah was a true preacher of truth. King Ahab said of him, "I hate him; for he doeth not prophecy good concerning me, but evil." (I Kings 22:8) King Ahab was typical of lots of other Israeli kings and common men, plus multitudes today, including many church people. They don't like to be told of their sin and the impending judgment of God. They don't like to hear that their own thinking is wrong. They don't like hearing that they're worldly and weak. They don't like being told that they're selfish and proud. They don't like for you to deal with soul-winning, separated living, or legalism. Most men are like those of Isaiah 30:9-11,

"That this is a rebellious people lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us."

Jesus sat on a mountain overlooking Jerusalem and lamented, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate," in Matthew 23:37-38.

He can do the same for the average church. Beloved, it's the truth that liberates. Jesus said so in John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." The truth gets to the core of sores that are hurting churches. The truth sometimes amputates dead members. The truth separates the chaff from the wheat, those who are with you from those who are not. The truth calls black, black and white, white. The truth is a medicine. The truth builds strong churches.

Lots of pastors can't take the heat that comes from preaching the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so they avoid unpopular subjects. They're mealy mouthed and beat around the bush, and to do so is a downright failure in leadership. This very point is why some churches are dying while some are growing stronger. You can't be a leader if you can't tell the truth and take the heat.

2 major ingredients in telling the truth

Telling the truth involves two major ingredients, true diagnosis and true medicine. A leader must be able to accurately tell where his people are and what their needs are. God says to leaders, "Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds," in Proverbs 27:23. Truthful, objective analysis and diagnosis are vital to leadership. Leaders can't afford the luxury of rose-colored glasses which show it too good or too bad. True leaders look at their churches in the light of truth. Not only must the leader diagnose properly and truly, he must be honest with the medicine needed. I'll talk more on this point later, but folks, telling the truth does not lie about what needs to be done to cure a church, whatever the problem or whoever the personalities.

In public and private

This telling the truth, which is such a mark of true leadership in a church leader, must be a part of him publicly and privately and in word and deed. In no case are God's church leaders to be rude and crude and tactless. Ephesians 4:32 and lots of kindred verses teach God's people to be kind and charitable to each other. Yet, kindness doesn't imply evading true issues. Some pastors are pretty bold in the pulpit, but they won't lay it on the line with their parents who are not rearing their children right. They won't deal with fathers and husbands face to face. They're afraid to deal with deacons or committees or treasurers face to face about things they know need fixing. They hide behind the pulpit to do it. They'll preach one standard on marriage in the pulpit, then practice a different standard in the weddings they perform. Here and there you'll find a true leader, and invariably he tells the truth, publicly and privately. He does it in true love and with tender care, but he faces the facts and ever seeks to root out the things that are hurting and holding back the Lord's church, regardless of the personal heat his stand generates for him. This vast difference in leadership is just one of several reasons why some churches are prospering while some aren't.

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"