By Edward Sanders
He walked a familiar dusty road. He had traveled this way numerous times throughout his life. But this trip was different, for it would end with turmoil and trouble. The prophet Jeremiah was trying to remain faithful as a prophet of God in the seventh century bc. He had the arduous task of proclaiming warning and judgment to God”s unfaithful people in Judah.
I wonder if Jeremiah walked to the temple more slowly than normal that day in 608 bc.1 Or did he take the longer route? Like a nervous young boy walking home from school carrying a reprimand from his teacher, Jeremiah was similarly anxious concerning the message he must proclaim.
I wonder if he paused in the courtyard, looked at the crowd of people he knew, and hoped they would respond humbly and sincerely. As he peered through the crowd, he saw a woman carrying some bread.2 At this sight, he rushed to the entrance and proclaimed a frightening message to his own people.
“Judah, O, Judah,” Jeremiah cried, “Repent of your evil ways. Do not trust in religious ritual. Observe social justice. Remove foreign gods from among you” (see Jeremiah 7:2-15).
Jeremiah proclaimed this message at the gate of the temple to a people who needed to hear the often-repeated prophetic theme, “Your sin and evil ways have broken the covenant with our God. Therefore, repent!”3 The southern kingdom of Judah, like Israel of 120 years earlier, was participating in the worship of gods other than Yahweh, in violation of its covenant with God (see Jeremiah 3:6-11).
God responded to this situation by calling upon spokespersons to inform his people of their sins and offering them a chance to repent, and possibly remain in his blessing. Jeremiah was one of these spokespersons in Israel, and God”s call on his life put him in a unique position as a prophet (see Matthew 16:13-16). He was to remain faithful to the prophetic task of being an accurate and responsible messenger of God, while telling a well-functioning society that their ways would bring God”s judgment through destruction. This was an unpleasant position for Jeremiah as a leader of God”s people.
A Society Ignoring God
Jeremiah”s situation intrigues me as a contemporary church leader. We live in a thriving society that ignores God. This situation poses a problem to contemporary church leaders””it is difficult to remain obedient to God”s commands with so many contrasting voices. Leaders in our churches would do well to place themselves in a similar tension by calling their people to consistent obedience. This study of Jeremiah 1 asks leaders to challenge their flocks to live obediently to God in a godless society.
In the 21st century, where a church”s success is predominantly measured by growth, numbers, and finances, Jeremiah”s life challenges my perspective as a church leader. Although his prophetic ministry differs from ministry Christians are called to today, there are several lessons from Jeremiah”s life and call that we would do well to follow. We are called to help believers remain faithful to God in a thriving society.
Be Faithful to God
The first lesson that all the prophets of Israel and Judah, especially Jeremiah, assume is that success comes through faithfulness to God.
If Jeremiah”s prophetic work were evaluated by the 21st-century assumptions of successful ministry, he would fail miserably. During the 40 years of his ministry he proclaimed basically the same message with little response.4 He received opposition from the religious leaders””as Christ did””and was threatened by the people of his hometown (Jeremiah 11:18-23). His life ended obscurely and without indication of where he was, when he died, or what he was doing (see Jeremiah 44).
Although Jeremiah appears unsuccessful, he remained true to his calling (see Jeremiah 1:11, 12). Despite being imprisoned (Jeremiah 20:1-6) for proclaiming God”s word, having his scroll containing a message of God burned (Jeremiah 36), and even being thrown into a cistern and left to die (Jeremiah 38:1-13), he remained faithful to God throughout his life. He was faithful to his prophetic call.
In the face of such futility that probably led to despair, Jeremiah”s faithfulness to God challenges Christian servants today.5 His faithfulness to God was expressed through his loyalty to the prophetic task. Such loyalty demonstrated his faithfulness to God and is the only way his life and ministry is understood positively in spite of consistent failure.
The question that Christian leaders must answer in view of Jeremiah”s loyalty is this: Will I remain faithful to God”s call on my life?
Before this question is addressed, it must be stated that the absence of success does not give leaders permission to offend, belittle, or ignore people while one claims to be remaining “faithful to God.” And it certainly will not serve as an excuse for repeated leadership, personality, or moral failures among church leaders. The call to remain faithful to God challenges church leaders to make their relationship with God their priority in life. Only then may a leader determine how he or she will remain faithful.
Faithfulness must remain even if he or she never achieves success according to modern standards. Success in Christianity, and especially Christian leadership, must be defined according to Scripture as opposed to business and economic models.
Elders are asked to remain faithful even when some in their flock fall into temptation. Deacons are called to focus on faithfulness no matter how menial an area of service may seem. Ministry team leaders must commit to faithfulness in their relationship with God before committing to any program. Preachers must remain faithful to God despite any heartbreak a church may bring them. A leader”s faithfulness to God must be his first priority.
Turn Back to God
The second major lesson that Jeremiah”s life and ministry communicates to Christian leaders in the 21st century is a reminder that he or she stands in an awkward position between God and those being led. Jeremiah constantly reminded the people they were in a covenant relationship with God. He also defined for them what that relationship meant theologically and practically. For Judah, this meant they had violated their intimate relationship with God in worshipping other gods. The practical application of this theological concept was simple: turn away from such practices and turn to God, who will forgive you. Although the church is not in the same covenant relationship with God that Judah was, the awkward position of Jeremiah is a helpful reminder to Christian leaders today.
A leader must live in a tension similar to that which Jeremiah experienced. On the one hand, he or she must remain committed to the people at all cost. However, committing too much in the direction of the people may transform the leader”s ministry or church into a social organization. On the other hand, standing firmly on God”s side and refusing to sympathize or relate removes the love, care, and concern that a leader must have. This results in focusing too strongly on the sins of outsiders or developing legalism within the insiders. A leader must stand among the people with a transcendent perspective, that is, God”s righteous, holy, and uncompromising outlook that Christ”s resurrection expects.
The question that emerges from the above dynamic is this: Will I remain balanced in the tension of these two realities? A leader must remain aware of God”s righteous presence while having an authentic New Testament concern for believers and unbelievers.
I”m not sure either the book of Jeremiah or this article can properly address this issue, but every leader must remember this tension exists. Asking this question will serve to remind the leader of the reality in which he or she lives and serves.
I believe a relevant application of this tension must be based on Christ”s response to the Pharisees concerning the greatest commandment in the law. Jesus said loving the Lord your God was the first and greatest commandment, followed by the command to love one”s neighbor as yourself (see Matthew 22:34-40). Leaders may not ignore the divine or communal tension that exists. The church leaders” priority appears to be the divine, though the close association of the two commands suggests they are inseparable.
The tension in which Christian leaders live and minister is relational. He or she must strive to have a relationship with God that is missional and righteous. Leaders must also strive to love others in a way that reminds them that God is deeply involved in this world through his people. God”s involvement transforms leaders from servants to Christian servants. The minister is not just a friend, but also a Christian friend. The minister is not just an employee, but also a Christian employee.
Christian leaders are called to a great task in shepherding God”s people. It is a task with a long history rooted in God”s journey with Israel. Maybe Christians behind us can look at our lives of service and learn not only how to serve, but on what foundation. A foundation that expresses faithfulness to God despite what the culture suggests, and a decision to live in a Christian tension, hopefully will be observed.
Next Week: Prophetic Commitments for the 21st-Century Christian Leader
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1The temple sermon in Jeremiah 7 is dated to 609 or 608 bc. Evidence comes from religious characteristics of Jehoiakim”s reign. See J.A. Thompson, The Book of Jeremiah, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 274.
2The bread referred to here is in honor of the Queen of Heaven, a sixth-century bc pagan goddess that Jeremiah opposed. For further discussion of the Queen of Heaven issues related to that cult, see Susan Ackerman, “And the Women Knead Dough: The Worship of the Queen of Heaven in Sixth-Century Judah,” in Gender and Difference in Ancient Israel, ed. Peggy L. Day (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1989), 109-124.
3J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays, Grasping God”s Word (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 362. The other two prophetic themes are “No repentance? Then Judgment!” and “Yet, there is hope beyond the judgment for a glorious, future restoration.”
4With the exception of chapters 30-32, where God, through Jeremiah, offers hope to exiles.
5This statement is based on the “Confessions” of Jeremiah found in 11:18-23; 12:1-6; 15:10-21; 17:14-18; 18:18-23; and 20:7-18.
Edward Sanders is discipleship minister at Madison Park Christian Church in Quincy, Illinois.
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