To be a true leader means more than simply to be good. Eli was a good man, yet fell short as a leader because he failed to rebuke sin when it came into his own family and into the church. Of King Asa, who was regarded as a reformer in Israel, and whose heart was said to be "perfect," we read that he did not remove the high places. He did not go far enough in his work of reformation. He did not lead Israel fully out of the sin of idolatry.
A leader in the church of God must have courage to deal with sin. To Timothy, the young preacher, Paul wrote: "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine." Through Isaiah the Lord commanded His servants: "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their i sins
These messages are for us as ministers and leaders in the church today just as much as they were for men back there. We are to lift up our voice against sin among God's people. With His help we are to lead them on to new and higher planes. We are to hold up the standards that God has set for His church.
May God help us as leaders ever to stand in right relationship with Him. May He grant us that vision, consecration, courage, and faith that will enable us to lead our membership into a deeper and more perfect Christian experience. I believe God has greater things for us than any yet experienced. He desires that in these dark, troublous times His church shall stand forth as a bright, shining light, pointing the way out of darkness and gloom.
