Sometimes young emerging ministry leaders look at high profile “celebrity status” preachers and have such a desire to be like them, not knowing the “body count” of the spent lives of believers that were trashed along the road of unbridled ambition of some of these preachers.

There are many honorable men and women of God of great integrity that have high profile ministry whose lives and leadership should serve as a model because they are following Christ.

But then again, there are a number of gangsters in the pulpit that are full of greed, idolatry, carnality and selfishness, that have no other kingdom interests but their “own” kingdom, and seem to have no conviction or conscience about how they use the lives of precious saints of God that have been bought for by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That is not how God has designed His Kingdom to operate and advance. And young leaders need to make sure they emulate leaders who follow Christ.

“For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.…”
1 Corinthians 3:11-13

Jesus Christ is the foundation. A leader will be judged for how he/she builds on that foundation. Apostles and prophets will be judged for how they build on that foundation – for the “quality” of their ministry. I for sure don’t want to be around those who have built on the foundation of Christ with lies, deception, carnality and greed when they stand before the Lord. They are going to experience a huge fire they will pass through as their works are judged and burned up.

Why is it we hardly ever hear preaching from those Scriptures anymore? Isn’t it the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit that should cause our hearts to be seized with conviction? With conviction then causing repentance and change? Don’t we need the full counsel of God to stay on track and not veer off course?

I believe there is a new surge of holiness and conviction coming to the church along with a fresh wave of reformation to help bring a number of leaders and churches back to a place of genuine authentic Christianity.

Isn’t that really why we need revival? And isn’t that the fruit of a genuine heaven-sent revival? And won’t that then produce a new wave of evangelism and harvest as the world truly see more of Christ in His church?

Leaders – make sure you are building on the foundation of Christ accurately according to the word of God. There’s a fire one day that for sure will test it.