In this passage, Jesus blesses Simon Peter by declaring him the first leader of the church. Yet the Protestant Church often tries to say that Jesus was only speaking in general, not specifically to Simon. Yet only Simon of the original twelve got a name change. It was Peter who stepped up at Pentecost. Only Peter had his reinstatement story recorded, even though they all abandoned him. Peter is "Set Apart" in so many ways. Despite all that, we try to give Paul this distinction, because he wrote so much of the New Testament. Perhaps that actually made Paul more of a teacher than a leader. The epistles he wrote have definitely inspired every generation of the church. That is kind of how it is for teachers, they don’t always get to see much of the fruits of their labor within their mortal lives. Leaders are just the opposite, the majority of their fruits exist within those mortal moments. Even when their churches survive for generations to come, they can do a 180 in a heartbeat if a church doesn’t have good follow-up leaders.
But maybe there is another reason the church wants to dismiss Peter. This concerns another very interesting detail about Peter’s story that we don’t like. Of all the disciples, he is the only one who has all his faults and mistakes on display. Only Peter has been made so exposed. It’s not like the others wouldn’t have made any errors after all, they just aren’t written down with such fervor. What are we to take from this? More importantly, are we avoiding this detail for a reason?
Any good leader must lead by example, yet what we learn from Peter’s example here is vulnerability. Which ultimately makes him more relatable as a leader, instead of unapproachable. But do we appreciate that? In general, studies show vulnerability is widely seen as a positive trait in others, but not so much in self. Therein lies the possible origins of our negative perceptions of Peter, our very own leadership projected this fear of being vulnerable at some point. Then that misconception got passed on from generation to generation without question. Transforming discipleship into defining righteousness instead of actual mentorship.
I was once at a church conference, and the superintendent of that particular district was talking about the subject of vulnerability. He pointed out how this was especially hard for men, for their fear of appearing. . . all of a sudden about a dozen guys in the audience finished the sentence for him by saying “Weak” in unison. You would think someone had held up a cue card. But no, it was just a fact they all lived.
So realizing this, should we expect our leaders to be beyond reproach, or more vulnerable? Well as Matthew 7:1-6 indicates. We become truly righteous by owning our mistakes, not covering them up like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law did. (Matthew 23) Yet there is also the implication that it is through dealing with our issues, that we learn how to correct others properly, instead of with critical judgment. Something all good leaders should know if we want to transform instead of discourage.
To drive this further. The senior minister at my church said this from the pulpit. “The only one who hasn’t forgiven Peter is the church.” We as the church often beat up on Peter for his imperfections, but would we, if our leaders hadn’t taught us to? The consequence of this is, we beat up our current leaders for not living up to our expectations as well. Talk about a boomerang effect. Often inspiring our leaders to fear vulnerability and be more Pharisee-like, than Peter-like; all the way down to whitewashed righteousness. What can a fake teach you, but how to fake it ourselves?
True discipleship requires vulnerability because without it we can’t own our mistakes. If we don’t own our faults, we can’t overcome them. If we don’t overcome ourselves, we can’t teach others to do the same in a practical way. If our teaching is only theoretical, it is not as effective as it could be. Leading to a church of hypocrites and frauds that cannot delight and inspire the lost.
Do you see now how having more Simon Peters in the church helps lead people to the ever-increasing glory of a more complete and genuine holiness? Where by tearing down our Peters we are reverting back to a Pharisee-like Church of fakes. Yet we wonder why fewer people are going into ministry all the time. The truth is we have bound the people we really need, instead of loosing them.
Consider this one last point. Is not the fear of appearing weak a weakness in itself? Does it not take much more courage to allow ourselves to be vulnerable? Let’s face it, when we do that, there will always be those who will try to exploit it. Just like we have exploited Peter’s vulnerability, hence our fear. That is why we need more wisdom and strength than just our own to be good leaders. Our human frailty will show itself eventually. Might as well allow it on your terms, instead of by accident. Which always looks especially bad when we are pretending to be beyond reproach.
To drive this further. The senior minister at my church said this from the pulpit. “The only one who hasn’t forgiven Peter is the church.” We as the church often beat up on Peter for his imperfections, but would we, if our leaders hadn’t taught us to? The consequence of this is, we beat up our current leaders for not living up to our expectations as well. Talk about a boomerang effect. Often inspiring our leaders to fear vulnerability and be more Pharisee-like, than Peter-like; all the way down to whitewashed righteousness. What can a fake teach you, but how to fake it ourselves?
True discipleship requires vulnerability because without it we can’t own our mistakes. If we don’t own our faults, we can’t overcome them. If we don’t overcome ourselves, we can’t teach others to do the same in a practical way. If our teaching is only theoretical, it is not as effective as it could be. Leading to a church of hypocrites and frauds that cannot delight and inspire the lost.
Do you see now how having more Simon Peters in the church helps lead people to the ever-increasing glory of a more complete and genuine holiness? Where by tearing down our Peters we are reverting back to a Pharisee-like Church of fakes. Yet we wonder why fewer people are going into ministry all the time. The truth is we have bound the people we really need, instead of loosing them.
Consider this one last point. Is not the fear of appearing weak a weakness in itself? Does it not take much more courage to allow ourselves to be vulnerable? Let’s face it, when we do that, there will always be those who will try to exploit it. Just like we have exploited Peter’s vulnerability, hence our fear. That is why we need more wisdom and strength than just our own to be good leaders. Our human frailty will show itself eventually. Might as well allow it on your terms, instead of by accident. Which always looks especially bad when we are pretending to be beyond reproach.
