I’ve always been involved in Christian ministries one way or another since birth. My parents met while serving in a Christian youth ministry. I practically grew up in that organisation, with my dad serving there for 20 over years. Then, my dad moved on to a Christian publishing ministry and my family moved our service over there. Serving in the Christian ministry where my dad serves has always been a family affair and through my many years serving in and observing Christian ministries, I’ve seen the joys and also pitfalls of successful, long-serving ministries. And these pitfalls may eventually cause either the demise of the organisation, the journey away from the Lord and the gospel or the diminished effectiveness of a ministry. (Of course, a ministry can decline purely because it’s time of usefulness is over. This is where we have to learn the hard lesson of letting go.)

The main pitfall that I’ve observed: Human Pride.

The Lord flourishes the ministry, growing it by leaps and bounds. At first, the leaders remain faithful, giving glory to the Lord. But as the status grows, when leaders are not careful and alert, pride slowly creeps in. Slowly, credit is no more the Lord’s. This leads to leaders doing anything to create more glory for themself. And the leaders lead the organisation into it’s demise.

Another symptom, leaders who stay well pass their time. They hang on to it, refusing to let someone younger and fresher take over. Slowly, the ministry grows old with the leader, becoming irrelevant. That being said, new leaders who do not have the right purpose and servant-heart will surely also ruin a ministry.

This is a constant struggle for any ministry, especially successful ones. Suddenly, they have “status”, “influence” and people listen to them. This is where leaders and staff have to be extra vigilant. This is a real struggle, one that I’ve seen my dad battle everyday. He’s open about his struggles against pride, honest about how difficult it can be and how many times he’s been driven back to the Word to remind his forgetful heart of whom the glory truly belongs to.

I say all this as a reminder, and also a call to us supporters of “popular” and successful ministries. A call to be alert and aware, to always lovingly correct these ministries should we see them stray. A call to act as Azariah, the chief priest and the 80 other courageous priests did , when they saw Uzziah’s pride and subsequent sin against the Lord and spoke out against it.

After all, if we see a ministry or a leader or a brother/sister-in-Christ walking dangerously on the edge of a cliff and we don’t say anything, how is that love?

2 Chronicles 26: 3-5, 16 -20 (Underlines added)

“3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem. 4 He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done. 5 He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success.”

“16 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the LORD followed him in. 18 They confronted him and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the LORD God.”"

“19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the LORD’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. 20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the LORD had afflicted him.“