Pastors

When I was nine years old, a missionary visiting our gray Foursquare church put his hand on my head and loudly prophesied that I would become a church leader. I would, he said in a voice that filled the foyer, rise to face the church's "leadership crisis," and grow up to cross oceans, leading many sheep into the fold of God.

I don't remember much more than that (I was young, probably squirming awkwardly in one of my favorite grubby turtlenecks), but those words stuck with me.

Leadership crisis. I didn't understand what he meant, but it sounded like a problem. And I, according to this man from across the sea, was going to be part of the solution.

Break down

Today, I don't know what the heck to think of his words. But I came across them again a little while back.

A new survey from Barna (referenced in "A Missing Link in Christian Leadership") finds that 58 percent of Christians in America identify themselves as leaders, but 82 percent of the ...

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