A Pastor Needs to be Broken Before God Every Day

Jack Miller in The Heart of a Servant Leader:

The trouble comes in when the leader tries to be and do too much, perhaps unconsciously trying to have the power of the Holy Spirit and the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Inevitably what the leader is trying to do is to prove himself or herself and to own the ministry. This kind of approach frightens people, and flesh responds to flesh and conflicts follow.

My own conviction is that the flesh is still so strong in the Christian leader that each of us needs a healthy fear of our own capacity for ruining the work of God with our own unconscious pride. Dear Chris, I am very, very afraid of myself, and I think that is a good place to be – provided I take my fears to Jesus and ask Him to cleanse me of my “will to power.” Indeed, a pastor really needs to be broken before God every day, or he will break up the church of God with his willfulness or let it slip into spiritual death through his sloth. (pp.86-87)