Jude: Sounding the Alarm

Jude is one of those short books at the end of the Bible that we hardly ever read.  It was written by Jude, a brother of Jesus.  He begins with “I wanted to write about this encouraging thing but feel I have to write about this other thing instead.”  The “other thing” that demands his attention?  Spiritual leaders who were doing more harm than good.  Let’s think about that.

Spiritual leaders are like anyone else – some good, some mediocre, some bad.  In fact, some are morally bankrupt.  These leaders are (to paraphrase) warts on the church who “feed only themselves.”  We recognize these guys, don’t we?  Every year or two one of them makes the latest news cycle, caught with his pants down or his hand in the offering basket.

Not every spiritual leader is a good guy, which is why you need to know the lives of the leaders who are your primary source of spiritual direction and sustenance.   You need to know your leader well enough, see him or her up close enough, to have some sense of his life, her character, his lifestyle – the car he drives, the house he lives in, the places he frequents for dinner – the way he treats volunteers and coworkers – the way he treats his wife.  Is he the real deal or is he in it for what he can get?  You need to know this because it directly impacts the kind of influence he will have on your life.  Will he be a healthy influence or a damaging one?

Don’t misunderstand.  There are wonderful leaders and teachers available to us through books, television, the internet who we can’t possibly know in any real way.  I’m not suggesting we not learn from them.  I’m reading a great book right now by Tim Keller and listen often to podcasts by Andy Stanley.  Technology is great, but you need to know the heart, the life of the person who is making the deepest spiritual impact on your life.  You can’t afford not to.

So what was Jude going to write about that “encouraging thing” – about “the salvation we share”?  We may never know, but don’t miss the jewel at the end of this book.  The last two verses are poetry, literally – a song of worship sung by the early church.  Read it.  Then read it again.  Then . . .

– Paul Abbott