Jason Stonehouse

Today begins a short series on how I/ we think about preaching at Grace Church. In this series I’d like to take on the subjects: what is “deep teaching” really? (there’s lots of misunderstanding on this subject in evangelicalism); why do I preach in the style I do?; how we plan sermons/ themes (calendar wise)? and finally how do we plan the services (creative elements, dramas, videos etc). The hope is to pretty much cover most of the Sunday morning experience and give you a true “behind the scenes” look at it all.

I hesitate to write this blog for fear of misunderstanding or stirring up an issue/ debate. Yet having received feedback from several on last week’s message on the topic of leadership in the church and also my own conviction that this issue has for far too long segregated and disrupted unity in the church, I feel we need to give a little insight.

Yesterday we talked about the second element of a church: leaders. This got me to thinking about leadership and our reluctance to follow. It’s in me and I assume it’s in you. But I wonder why it’s there. I mean why is often the first response to someone else leading or making a decision to question it or ignore it altogether? I wonder if it’s because of leaders who were not trustworthy. Our times sure have produced plenty of leaders that give reason to question. Leaders who lack integrity; leaders who look out for themselves (not the good of those who lead); leaders who make poor decisions – all flood the landscape of our world. But is that the reason we resist following?