This season is a celebration of the incarnation: God appeared as a person.  No longer would people have to follow a "pillar of fire" or "cloud in the sky", now they could walk in the footsteps of a leader who walked among them.  No longer would they listen only to "the still small voice" or read the words of a book, but they could converse with the leader who taught among them.  No longer would they have to merely conform their lives to a set of laws laid down, now they could imitate the lifestyle of a leader who lived among them.  The incarnation was new form of leadership for God, it was "leading from the middle" not the mountain. 

     If we, the Church, are to be an extension of the incarnation, and we as pastors are called out to be leaders in the Church, then this is our model of leadership.  How we live is the content of what we teach and is the means by which we lead.  Our ministry is among our people, and particularly among our leaders.  How much of our time are we investing among our leaders?  How much intentionality are we giving to modeling discipleship?  Even preaching, at its best, is an incarnational act.  By that I mean it is not merely theroretical, theological, or even Biblical, but more importantly is applicable for real life and illustrated by personal experience.  The larger our churches grow, the easier it is to get isolated and insulted from our people and we lose the power of incarnational leadership.  We must continue to find ways to live, teach, and lead "among" our people.

"We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life."  I John 1:1