Sermon Tone Analysis

A spiritual leader is the kind of person God-hungry people want to be like — Dr. Lynn Anderson

It is important to have experience and a variety of ministerial skills — but those skills, in themselves, do not draw the interest of “God-hungry” nor shape Christ-like lives

You cannot accurately compare spiritual leadership with any other type of leadership

Example: A doctor can have the most education and skills — and be a great doctor to others, while at the same time living a very unhealthy lifestyle with regard to diet, exercise, etc. — They can lead a sick person to better health while they themselves continue to become more and more unhealthy.

People searching for leaders today are not looking for people just to tell them all of the answers

They are urging leaders to “Share you life with me.

Let me see it.

Are you a person of integrity, and real character?

Is your faith ‘working’ for you?

Is the church you lead an authentic community?”

God-hungry people want to know the hearts of their shepherds — Anderson

How do we become the kind of shepherd that God-hungry people want to be like?

Eph 3:1

ASK GOD FOR A HEART THAT IS COMPELLED BY THE GLORY OF GOD

Henri Nouwen once observed that much ministry is marked by anger and greed…

Greed?

Not necessarily for money — but maybe for attention or respect or for feelings of well-being and self-worth and fulfillment.

Sometimes it’s greed to be doing something worthwhile in order to receive spiritual blessings.

And yes, even greed to go to heaven!

You’ve heard people say something like, “The most important things in the world is to go to heaven when I die.”

— Anderson

It boils down, not to what you desire necessarily, but why you desire it?

It’s not healthy to go into ministry simply for self-fulfillment or to be appreciated or a lot of others reasons.

Just like anything else we endeavor in this life, seek to be motivated by the desire to honor and glorify the Lord.

What about anger?

When people...respond poorly or they perform badly or won’t cooperate with us or appreciate us,we might be tempted to feel angry toward them.

Why?

Because they are not helping us feel good about ourselves.

— Anderson

Many times the blame shifts inward toward our own feelings of inadequacy and we become very angry at ourselves.

We think we don’t pray enough, read the bible enough, have enough discernment and wisdom.

When we don’t measure up to our own expectations, we can become angry at ourselves — it can become toxic.

The natural next phase is to fall into the quicksand of guilt and self-loathing

Ask the Lord to search your heart — are you motivated by a humble desire to honor and glorify Him?

If that is the case, He will help you deal with your sins and inadequacy along the way

The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever — Westminster Shorter Catechism