1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel — not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Many today look for leadership. And too often they are led astray by personality or perception. But these are not leadership. They are the clay pigeons that get flung into the air during shotgun practice. They might sharpen hunting skills, but they aren’t the birds themselves.
We do want leaders who are articulate, able to put together coherent sentences. We want them to have a clear vision of the direction forward and of the goal itself. We also want leaders who actually live what they are proclaiming. We don’t want hypocrites!
The real problems is that to many of us have not seen a real leader. We have been deceived by the claim of leadership without the evidence of a changed life. If we are a proclaimer of Green, then we should live green, get a smaller house, travel less, purchase and invest judiciously, but most of all, actually live a greener life.
Our text is the opening summary sentence in a five chapter lesson on leadership. Paul is writing to the church in Corinth, a large Greek city in what is modern day Turkey. There was a large Christian community there, one Paul had been influential in guiding during their early development.
And now, a few years later, Paul is writing to them because they seem to have gotten off track in several areas. One of those areas has to do with leadership. They have gone for wisdom and eloquence, and missed the proof of the Gospel, its power.
You see, the Gospel is not a new philosophical system to be adopted. It is not an instruction manual for right living. The Gospel is about the power of God changing lives. That is its core and fruit. Changed lives, lives that were rotting from the inside out, lives that were destined for destruction, into lives growing in true wisdom and power. This is the Gospel in action.
But the Corinthians had settled for wisdom and eloquence that was lacking the power of the cross. They were arguing about who was the best leader, just like we might argue who was the best quarterback in the NFL. They had lost focus on what was important, the cross.
The joy of the Gospel is the Gospel itself. It is this simple story that tells of God’s good world, humanity’s rejection of that good world, and the repeated attempts by God to bring about His good world through humanity. It includes humanity’s repeated failure to live the life of trust that God wants. We what to do it our way!
Paul writes early in the next chapter that he wanted to know nothing “except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” This heart of the Gospel must never be bypassed or superseded. No matter how sophisticated we might become, the Gospel still is centered on what appears to be a foolish, empty act of God on behalf of humanity. How could God dying save us?
And yet when we understand it, this truth changes our lives. It puts us right in the heart of the story of the Scriptures. We can see ourselves on every page, and experience the rescue that God has enacted on our behalf. It is this story of the Scriptures, beginning to end, that we experience.
Our earthly leaders will change. They must change, and they will come and go. And we must be mature, keeping our hearts and minds focused on Jesus, and not allow them to get sidetracked by personality or the ability to be eloquent. Eloquence of foolishness is empty. A stumbling delivery of the Gospel is eternal.
The Arnold Journey 