Just finished the seventh session from John Ortberg. He pastors Menlo Pres where many Stanford students used to worship when I was there (both at there and at PBC).
The title? "A Leader’s Greatest Fear." He did a wonderful job of illustrating it with the story of Esther.
Main thought? "Leaders certainly fear failure, mutiny, criticism, & disappointing people. But the leader’s greatest fear is NOT what happens TO us, but what happens IN us: a ‘shadow mission.’ A ‘shadow mission‘ is when our TRUE mission in life is hijacked and twisted and poisoned by our own ego or our own sinfulness."
Examples of personal ‘shadow missions’?
- King Xerxes ‘shadow mission’ — Maintain his personal continual fulfillment, ego, flattery, & pleasure
- Esther’s ‘shadow mission’ — Be quiet & fulfill what Xerxes’ shadow mission is…be his "eye-candy"
- Haman’s ‘shadow mission’ — To him, "more" is never enough
- Jesus’ ‘shadow mission’ — Fulfill the redemption of mankind without any personal suffering
- John Ortberg’s ‘shadow mission’ — Receive the accolades of being a great public speaker
- A former pastor-friend of John Ortberg — Staying up late to watch TV & engage in private sexual activity while the world goes to hell
Examples of church ‘shadow missions’?
- Church A — Being a ‘successful’ church for ‘successful’ people…
- Church B — We may not be growing, but we’ll criticize those who are…
- Church C — Successfully avoiding conflict for 124 years…
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