Recently our church’s leadership development team conducted a survey as the foundation of a semester of engagement with leaders. One of the questions posed was: To our great delight, the overwhelming response (of 71% of respondents) was ‘leading in step with God.’
This blog is quick look at the one Biblical character who struggled with that challenge as much as any of us do today. The narrative of Jonah over 2,700 years ago reveals the adventure that results from a mortal man called to a leadership mission by the immortal, invisible, eternal God. We should note that the primary point of Jonah is not just staying in a harmonious ministry relationship with our creator. Jonah’s primary issue was the fundamental one of obedience. The short account (about 1,300 words in English) is likely from the pen of Jonah himself and we can outline the four chapters of this ‘ministry journal’ found in the Old Testament prophets with the following summary:
• Chapter one: Jonah running away from God
• Chapter two: Jonah running toward God
• Chapter three: Jonah running with God
• Chapter four: Jonah running ahead of God
Let’s look at each of these in turn.
Running away from God
As startling as it is to read it in black and white, the key take-away when we meet Jonah is that he ‘rose up to flee … from the presence of the LORD.’ You have to like that about the guy — no procrastination, no prevarication, or even any evasiveness. He just gives you a plain old ‘I’m outa here!’ when he hears God clearly. There is at least something to be said for not playing games with who you are.
We have all tried Jonah’s tactic (with the same ultimate result) at one time or another. Especially as leaders, we get some pretty disturbing assignments when we stop to really listen to God. Jonah does not even waste the time that some us take to argue or rationalize ‘the ask.’ He checks his Expedia, picks a destination on the opposite side of the Mediterranean (and 180 degrees away from Nineveh), and he runs. Most of us are not as transparent about our running — we may use the cloak of priorities, of refusing to move (change) or of family situations. But even if we do not use sailing ships in Joppa, our direction and our disobedience is just as obvious to God.
Running toward God
God’s will unfolds and reveals itself in some astonishingly creative ways doesn’t it? The second chapter of Jonah has been one of the narratives that has borne the brunt of critics throughout the centuries. While there is still plenty of mystery related to the specifics of biological and anatomical matters, the bottom line is that if God needs to change our mind because we are resistant to his will or direction, we are better off not tempting him to get creative! We might also remember the account early in the life of the children of Israel when God strategically deployed hornets to change the willingness of Israel’s enemies to resist.
At any rate, Jonah pens a poem of beautiful repentance and restoration while God’s intervention plays out in the context of ‘a great fish’ that had been appointed by God to help re-engage a reluctant leader and allow him to get back in the game.
Running with God
This chapter begins with a ‘second chance do-over’ and Jonah’s beautiful response: ‘So Jonah arose and went…’ What may not be apparent to a 21st century reader, is that Nineveh was one of the great cities of the ancient world (see verses 1:2 and 3:2-3; also biblehub.com/topical/n/nineveh.htm for historical context) and would have been thought of in its time as we think today of New York City or London or Beijing or Tokyo. There follows an account of what may be the largest and most immediate mass response to God’s invitation in history right up through the ministry of Billy Graham! Even though the king himself would ultimately be a part of the story, Jonah’s message was embraced first by the population of 120,000 who we are told believed, fasted, and renounced their wicked practices. The third chapter of Jonah is one of the greatest stories in all of scripture — a World Series grand slam win of ministry.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the book of Jonah ended here? But it does not.
Running ahead of God
One of the saddest verses in the Bible is follows. “But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry.” The prophet’s journal continues not just with displeasure and anger but with petty petulance and a juvenile self-centered tantrum that contradicts the very nature of our God (“I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness”). In many ways this passage of scripture parallels the emotional roller coaster that the prophet Elijah demonstrated following his moment of ministry success (see 1 Kings 18 and 19).
As such these incidents offer a precautionary lesson to us to be particularly careful and dependent on the Spirit following success and spiritual victory. First, we must not personalize God’s work through us and allow it to shape our identity in unhealthy ways. Secondly, the demands of leadership (mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual) should be part of our accountability to one another as members of leadership teams and the body of Christ.
Where do you find yourself on the spectrum of ministry outlined by Jonah?
