You don’t know either… do you?

Sometimes I am perplexed and even a little unsure concerning the tons of stuff being written about how to be a strong and effective leader; apparently being led by the Spirit isn't good enough. – As I was doing my daily devotions this morning in Acts chapter 10, I was continuing my observations on Peter's experience with the sheet like thing, bound at the four corners, floating down to earth with all kinds of four-footed animals, wild beasts, creeping things and birds of the air that were in it (I wonder when it says "wild beasts" did that include a big hairy gorilla?).

I found it really interesting that verse 19-20 says, "While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them." – I was really happy to learn that just like me, Peter didn't have a clue what was going on. As he stood on the roof of the house trying to figure out what this weird vision meant, unknowing to him God was causing the vision to unfold underneath him as the three men sent by Cornelius were literally knocking on the front door. Peter didn't have a clue what was going on! – Ha! Ha! Ha! … That is hilarious to me! Here we have one of the greatest leaders in the history of our New Testament, and he hadn't figured it all out yet. How come no one writes a book about this kind of leadership?

Apparently from at least God's point of view, for Peter to be an effective leader:

a) It was not a prerequisite or requirement for Peter to have figured it all out. God was somehow in control of the situation regardless how little Peter understood at the moment.

b) God's sovereign plan called for Peter to figure this out one step at time. That's probably because like many of us, it would have been a disaster for Peter to have received a complete blueprint of where the Lord was heading with this vision. Knowing Peter's personality had he a set of blueprints he was way good to go. See ya!

c) It was going to be necessary for Peter to be well outside his cultural and social box to understand this vision. Verse 14 exposes the religious-social box Peter was already in when he replied concerning the vision, "Not so, Lord! For I have never and will never eat anything common or unclean!" – God was doing something new, but Peter needed to be ready to abandon the traditions and norms he had forever embraced.

d) He was going to learn how to be ok with being "surprised" by what the Lord may at any time require.

e) He only needed to "go with the flow" of the Holy Spirit, especially when in verse 20 he was told, "So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them." - He was not being asked in the moment whether or not he understood; he was given a set of instructions to engage with faith and obedience.

Now here's my application to us; many believe that just like this moment in history when God was preparing to do something profound in Peter's world, we are once again at a significant moment where God is about to blow our minds with a supernatural change of direction for the church. Something is about to happen, many people will agree on that point. But I am wondering about today's "leaders" and heads of denominations; are we willing to move forward not knowing what's going to happen next? We've got so many organizations with high-tech models and finely tuned strategies for "church" growth, why do we need to bother the Lord? After all we have the benefit of church history to our advantage. Thanks to modern technology we've been able to analyze all of the data and figure it all out. Unlike Peter in verse 20, we have no doubts about where we're going.

Uhhhh, personally I don't know if I'm good with that. As a "leader" I don't always feel so smart, and certainly there is more that I don't know than what I do know. There's no doubt that the Lord has spoken to me in dreams and visions; that's not the issue. Whether or not I'm supposed to figure it all out first in order to be qualified as a leader is more the issue. In other words, can I as a "leader" continue to move forward not knowing everything that people think I should know? – History shows that Peter was an effective leader, not because he had figured everything out, but because he was able to be led by the Holy Spirit who, believe it or not already had a complete plan in place. The issue was whether or not Peter was going to flow with it. – How are you flowing as a "leader"? Come on, be honest with me… you don't really have a clue either, do you? – Ha! Ha! Ha!