As a leader, do you ever look for advice from others? Who do you go to for help on decisions? Read this post by guest blogger Rachel Lovingood, Next Generation Pastor’s wife and a women’s leader at Long Hollow Baptist Church, Hendersonville, Tennessee. She points to Scripture to show us how to avoid bad advice.
Have you ever gotten bad advice? I mean really bad advice that caused terrible circumstances and repercussions? I was reading this morning in 1 Kings about the divided kingdom and it struck me fresh that it is a really big deal who we as leaders are listening to.
You probably know the story. King Solomon died and his son Rehoboam became king. In chapter 12 you can read about how he sought advice from some proven counselors of his father (also known as the wisest man who ever lived) and then he compared that advice to some of his buddies (who had no experience) and chose to listen to his friends. This terrible advice was highly instrumental in the division of the kingdom.
Now, it makes me wonder. Who do I listen to the most? Do I seek counsel from people who tell me truth from the Word or from people who will tell me what I want to hear? Am I discerning enough to recognize when advice is laced with self serving foundations and hidden agendas?
How do we guard against these dangers? By trusting the Holy Spirit. By remembering to compare every decision to the truths from God’s Word and make sure that there is nothing of the world’s influence sneaking into the work of the ministry.
There is a time for fresh perspective always, but test it against God’s Word and be sure that it can pass. 2 Chronicles 12:14 has a great proactive step that we can tae to avoid falling into the same misfortune that Rehoboam did. It says that he did evil in the sight of the Lord because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord.
If we want to lead well and avoid dangerous pitfalls then one of the greatest things we can do is to set our hearts fully on seeking our Lord and pay attention to who we are listening to.
Rachel Lovingood is the Next Generation Pastor’s wife and a women’s leader at Long Hollow Baptist Church,Hendersonville, Tennessee, as well as a Lifeway Ministry Multiplier. She co-authored the Bible study for ministers’ wives, In Our Shoes: Real Life Issues for Ministers’ Wives by Ministers’ Wives. She uses her passion for Christ, her energetic style and her sometimes crazy sense of humor to encourage and teach women to find the answers they need from the only true source of wisdom—the Bible. She is a wife (of a minister), a mom (of three fantastic kids), a friend, a writer, and a teacher. Her experiences working in youth ministry as well as women’s ministry in various churches across the country have developed in her a deep love for women and a mission to help enable them to live victoriously in spite of the struggles they face. Read more on Rachel’s blog here.