Living in the Light

This is the second part of a three part blog post I started a couple of days ago. Read original post here

Isolation is one of the biggest dangers for a leader. It doesn't matter what or who you are leading, as it has often been said -"it is lonely at the top". For a pastor it is no different. As a pastor I am in danger of greater and greater isolation. I am in danger of neglecting life giving relationships and living in "quiet desperation". Why would I choose life over despair?

One reason in giving into the temptation of living in isolation comes out of the fear and risk of exposure. The danger of the minister living a hidden life is communicated in one of Nathaniel Hawthorne's short stories The Minister’s Black Veil. In this story, a minister began to wear a black veil over his face, and refused to take it off until he died. He was hiding from the people he was called to shepherd, weary with guilt and afraid they would discover the secret sins of his heart.

Satan loves the darkness and he would like to isolate us from each other. Steve Brown, one of my profs at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando always used to teach us that “Demons die in the light.” The Apostle John calls us to walk in the light, because God is light. When I walk in the light, I remember the Gospel. The Gospel tells me that there is no risk of exposure and vulnerability, because I am secure in Christ. I am accepted because of who I am "in Christ". Therefore I can repent and confess to others because my righteousness isn't based on what others may think of me or what I reveal. When I confess my sins it is very humbling and it points me to my need for the cross. Confessing means not just coming with my sins to God, but to others as well.

As a pastor it is easy to appear unapproachable and above the fray, but that is a lie. It is important for me as a pastor to have a couple of brothers in Christ that are meddling in my life. Right now, God has allowed me such a relationship with a guy that cares about me, and loves me enough to speak hard things when necessary. The book of Proverbs says that "faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy." 27:6.

I need a group of people with whom it is safe to share the pain, my failures, my weaknesses and to receive love, grace, mercy and support.

There is an interesting and poignant website called http://www.mysecret.tv/ in which people share things anonymously. The stuff shared is real. Some of the stuff is a bit scandalous, and most of it will break your heart . Pastors/leaders and all followers of Jesus need to become a light in the darkness to each other by living and displaying community in such a way that we become a haven to those who feel so alone.

We all need those life giving relationships, and it is no different for pastors. Pray that I would live before you and others with the "black veil" ripped from my face.