“We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves...” (John 4:42). As a pastor these words are music to my ears. They were originally spoken by the fellow townspeople of a woman who met Jesus at a well and who had been mind-boggled by her discourse with Him. She ran into town and shouted the news to anyone who would listen. The people came out to see Jesus and after hearing Him for themselves, they were moved from mere curiosity to a personal discovery and hunger for Jesus. The people essentially said, “We heard your testimony. That opened the door, but now we don’t need you to convince us. The same fire burns within us now.”
As John the Baptist said of Jesus, “He must increase, and I must decrease.” That’s not a demotion; that is the proper goal of a Christian leader. In essence, that is the job of every Christian. That is the point of fellowship.
It does not mean leaders become obsolete. As Peter put it, “I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you” (2 Peter 1:12). There is always a need to be reminded because all of us experience disappointments, distractions and entanglements of various sorts. All of us experience spiritual assaults from the evil one, and we need one another. The church needs leaders who will continue to direct the sheep back to the Chief Shepherd whom they have heard for themselves. Pray that I would be such a leader.
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