Surrendering the Government of the Church

After confessing that he sometimes acts as if he is head of the church, Jack Miller writes:

I know that may sound silly. Who after all is so stupid to think that he can replace Christ as the Lord over the church and its mission? Still, the history of the church has very few pages that are not blotted by the megalomania of church leaders. It is simply that we are prone to fall in love with our own authority as church leaders and unconsciously distance ourselves from Christ as the real Head of the church…

So I want you to join me in confessing our human depravity as leaders. Do not be surprised to find your corruption expressing itself in perfectionist self-will in your own leadership style. Expect to encounter in yourself defensiveness, dominance, and poor listening practices. But I also urge you to have much greater confidence in Christ’s capacity to release you from such bondages. He is the crucified Head of the church, the only One who knows how to perfect it! Just to know that face, to rest upon it, and to build upon it, is to be released from the bondages which duty imposes upon our spirits. You find His liberating grace through honest confession of sin and fresh release by surrendering the government of the church to its Head. (The Heart of a Servant Leader, pp.138-139)