For I think God has set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. ~ 1 Corinthians 4:9

In 2020 when the churches were declared unessential by the “powers-that-be” here in New York, a small group of us formed CLOTH (Christian Leaders Of The Hudson). Here is what that experience has taught me…

“The greatest missing ingredient in Christian leaders today is credibility. Paul tests his level of credibility with his Corinthian followers by reminding them of how he had modeled what was right.” ~ John C. Maxwell, Modeling; Leadership Is Caught More Than Taught

While I would agree that credibility is a missing ingredient in Christian leaders, I would argue that the #1 missing ingredient in Christian leaders today is courage. How could any leader who lacks courage possibly encourage others? In fact, if you look at the qualities of leadership in the above “customized” print which was presented to me by the chairwoman of our CLOTH Revival Committee this past January, I believe you will agree that most, if not all of these qualities, require courage. And the #2 missing ingredient, before credibility, arguably tied with courage in the # 1 spot is faith. These two ingredients were inexorably intertwined in 1 Samuel 17 David which I believe made him the greatest leader who ever lived…behind Jesus of course.

Speaking of King David, it occurred to me last year that leadership defaults to those willing to stick their heads up while most everyone else has gone into hiding. That was certainly the setting of the 1 Sam. 17:11 stage that David, the least of his brothers, walked onto…which now brings a third ingredient to light ahead of credibility. Heart. Of course! God looks at the heart. Which leads us to the following…

“(1 Cor. 13:1) This chapter is known as the ‘love chapter.’  It is set as a great stumbling block in the Scriptures to destroy any Christian who will not tolerate the negative truths of the Bible (nearly three-quarters of its content). A ‘god’ who is all love is a perverted god. God loves good and hates evil. Love without hate is not real love.” ~ Ruckman Reference Bible

As Ruckman observes, this is the great virus that has infected the modern church and churchmen today, rendering both it and them impotent in the face of an enemy that is taking full advantage. Hating what God hates requires the #1 quality in the Leadership acronym above, Loyalty. And loyalty would require God’s men to come from behind the church walls, Bible studies and civics classrooms to defend God’s honor where it matters…in the political arena! That is the exact place where the ten qualities of leadership are not only tested, but they are also proven. Amen? To Maxwell’s point on lost credibility as the direct result of the lack of courage, faith, and heart in church leadership today, it is no wonder that 97% of millennials do not have a Biblical worldview. This makes them and the rest of us easy prey for the enemy we have lost the power to discern…

“America does not have a free press, or free speech. And none of this would be the way it is if this man (JFK) had lived…The murder of President Kennedy brought to an end the massive pressure by the US Administration on the government of Israel.” ~ Who Are They?

Hating what God hates means we as men are called to “fight”…fight for what God loves, which first and foremost has to be our children. A Texas man recently killed the man who raped his little girl…and was acquitted. I asked an elder in my church who works as a security guard at a local hospital if he was armed and he reacted as if I asked a crazy question. We have got to snap out of this conditioning brothers and get back in the game where God made us to be. It’s time to lead, follow, or get out of the way!

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”–G K Chesterton