Michael Hyatt has a couple of great posts regarding leadership. The first post is on the four temptations a leaders faces. The final one stood out to me:

The temptation of popularity. We live in a world that places a high value on fame and “personal branding.” We seem to have a list for everything, including the top 100 largest churches and the 100 fastest growing churches. It is difficult for me to imagine the early church—the church of the martyrs—compiling these kinds of lists.

In reality, Jesus was a publicists’ nightmare. He eschewed fame. He miraculously healed people and then ordered them to keep it to themselves, telling no one about their experience (see, for example, Luke 5:12–14). Strong leaders are quick to give others the credit and avoid the limelight. They would rather be effective, even if they labor in obscurity.

That last sentence is tough. Being effective and doing so in obscurity is tough call for leaders. It is a tough call for pastoring. But that does bring me to another thought. The guys over at Near Emmaus are putting out a call for telling about your pastor. What good experiences have you had with your pastor? What makes him or her a good pastor? So far, only three have entered that contest. Talk about being effective on obscurity! There are hundreds and probably thousands of good pastors out there! Please take the time to tell them your story!

But back to Hyatt, his second post is on how good leaders get derailed. Another good read. The story from the ancient monks is a good one. What a great lesson! It’s tough to “act dead” and not take the offense, but it our call. We need our lives hidden in Christ!