The Heart of a Servant Leader by C. John Miller
Author:C. John Miller [Miller, C. John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781596387713
Publisher: P&R Publishing
Published: 2004-06-14T00:00:00+00:00
Much love,
Jack Miller
Persevering through Conflict
What I long for is a love big enough to be disturbed by what people are doing, and strong enough and patient enough to carry them to the place where Christ wants them to be!
This next set of letters deals with conflicts between Christians. They involve many different leadersâpastors, missionaries, counselors, and eldersâwho were struggling with many different issues. Some issues were personal, others were ministry-related, and a few were doctrinal and theological. Often all three elements were mixed together. All of them were messy and heartbreaking. For anyone who has been in ministry it will come as no surprise that this is the largest section of letters in this book.
Because Jack was the pastor of a large church (NLPC) and later the director of World Harvest Mission, he often had to mediate in conflict situations. Many times he would come into an ongoing conflict and work to move both parties toward forgiveness and reconciliation. Jack was not someone who liked conflict. He confessed in one letter that, âItâs often easy enough for me to be disturbed by where people are in their rebellion, but then in unbelief to drop the matter there by simply avoiding them.â He knew that this was wrong and went on in the same letter to speak of his own need for repentance so that he could âlove others the way Jesus loved me.â
Repenting for his own sins was where Jack started as he entered into a conflict, and this was also the place where he asked others to begin. In letter after letter he challenged all participants in a conflict to examine their own hearts, look for the log in their own eyes, and then repent of their sins before they attempted to correct someone elseâs life. In a letter to a pastor who was counseling a missionary couple Jack says, âThe time [I spent with all of you] was hard for me too, but it gave me an opportunity to do some good humbling of my heart and repent of many sins. . . . I was impressed by how many blind spots they had. That was frightening. But it was even more scary to think how many I may still have in my own life!â
Along with repentance, Jack encouraged those who were in a conflict to meditate on Godâs love for them. He knew that without knowing Godâs love, it is impossible to love others. The gospel, Jack taught, is all about reconciliation. Understanding this gospel will bring âthe power to forgive and bless and serve others because we have been captured by Godâs own pardon and acceptance of us by free grace.â
When Jack was involved personally in a dispute he often referred to the need for Godâs love to be expressed in the way the conflict was handled. Often he was more concerned with the way that things were said than with what was actually said. He reminded one counselor that Jesus was always humble and gentle in His dealing with others.
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