Living and Leading with Integrity

My friend, Pastor Freedom Blackwell, preached at North Way this weekend on the subject of integrity. The issue of integrity is huge for followers of Jesus Christ. Many people claiming to be Christians in America behave very hypocritically, and we lose our credibility with people when our actions fail to line up with our words. Integrity is an important issue for pastors. I cannot lead people to go where I am unwilling to go. As a leader, my actions need to line up with my words. I need to be the same person in the streets as I am in the pulpit on Sunday mornings. If God calls me to lead people in an intimate, transformational relationship with Jesus, then I had better be living in an intimate, transformational relationship with Jesus myself. When I ask people to build relationships with people across cultures, racially and socioeconomically, then I had better be pursuing those types of relationships as an example to others. If God asks me to minister with people in powerful places and in marginalized places, then I had better be found spending a lot of time with people in both. Pastors and leaders set ourselves up for failure when our lifestyles do not align with the radical, countercultural message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, before I challenge the congregation with anything, I need to be challenging myself to be a better follower of Jesus. My family is watching, my friends are watching, my neighbors are watching, and my enemies are watching. Will I be a man of integrity before the Lord? That is indeed my challenge each and every day that God chooses to give me life. I cannot do it on my own strength... only through Christ.