In the Church, leaders are more than people with microphones on the stage. They are spiritual parents.
For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me.
Paul is writing to people who were pretty full of themselves.
The Corinthian church was packed with people Paul describes as puffed up and arrogant (1 Cor 4:18). And the fruit of their lives and ministry showcased this.
They were sharply divided, steeped in sexual sin, and greedy—just to name a few issues.
Paul wrote to correct sin in their lives because he, like a good father, wanted them to be in right relationship with God and one another.
Today, we desperately need more spiritual fathers and leaders in the church. And I don’t mean simply that we need more older Christians discipling younger ones. That is certainly good—but this has nothing to do with age.
Instead, it’s about maturity in three primary areas.
