Good morning! Happy almost New Year!
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been telling you about how Jesus modeled humble intelligence for His followers and for our pastors today. I’ve given you a taste of the first few of the seven attributes of humble intelligence: compassion, sacrificial service, and openness. This week, let’s look at number four, brokenness. Here is just a little excerpt from the book on this topic.
Brokenness
The next sign of the humility factor to look for in a potential pastor is brokenness. Of the seven signs of the humility factor, this may be the most difficult to define; however, it may be one of the easiest to recognize. When someone has been broken, it is evident, though unexplainable. One just knows, especially if they have been broken themselves. As I was writing this book and developing the concept of the humility factor, I had several people ask me specifically what I meant when I included brokenness in the attributes. The first thing I said was that humility comes from having failed. However, the more I wrestled with the meaning, I realized that there are many people who have failed, but remain arrogant, sometimes defiantly. Also, there are some people who are humble, but haven’t necessarily had a significant failure in their lives. Brokenness can also be the result of losing the things of life which are meaningful to the person, such as relationships, loved ones, jobs, status, possessions, and reputation. Jesus had not failed, and He willingly gave up all He had, yet He allowed the breaking of His will in order to do the will of His Father. So, though I still believe experiencing failure and losing everything can contribute to brokenness, there is obviously still more to it.
I believe the best way to define brokenness in the humility factor is that the person has come to a submission point in their life and leadership position. They have an underlying broken will that no longer seeks its own way, but submits to a higher power. Because of it, God uses them, honors them, and blesses them. For pastors, this means that even with the authority they hold, they choose to submit to both the higher authority of God and the authority of the governing board of the church whose responsibility it is to hold the pastor accountable. If a pastor is unwilling to submit to either of these authorities, you will have trouble, which will keep the church from being healthy.
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDAR
The Humility Factor will be available for purchase on Monday, January 15, 2018. I would sure appreciate your making your purchase on that day so that we make a splash on amazon.com for others to see and catch the wave of The Humility Factor.
IT’S NOT TO LATE TO JOIN THE LAUNCH TEAM!
I want to invite you to join the launch team for The Humility Factor, which, upon your agreement to help me spread the word, will give you an advance digital copy, a special discount on a signed copy after the release, and some unique perks of being one of the first to receive your copy. I promise it will be worth it. If you are interested in receiving information about joining the launch team, please send me an email at [email protected] and say, “Yes, I want to know more!” and I will send you the information about what it means to be on the team. Once you agree, I will send you your digital copy of the book. Please make sure to identify yourself and send your response on the email address from which you want to receive the information.
Thanks for taking the time to read this message. Please take a moment to view this week’s video as well. You can find it at http://youtu.be/PxQAycv8zZg
DJP (That’s Dr. John Plastow)
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