The Real Hero

'For most of my ministry, I've believed in what I'll call "the mythic pastor-as-ultimate-hero story.".My fallen heart has often craved this version of the leadership story. It's a story that puts me at the centre. I must be ever-competent, invincible, irrepressible, and even righteous (or semi-righteous, or at least more righteous than most people) spiritual leader who can serve God heroically, without making mistakes- at least noticeable ones.

Once I buy into the pastor-as-ultimate-hero story I'm trapped. I remain stuck in my unhealthy patterns and sinful desires: I remain a slave to fears of failure and disapproval. I work harder and ignore the work of the Spirit. I don't depend on God because I want to be the hero of the story. But if God can humble me, helping me to admit my mistakes, confess my failures, and embrace my limits, then he alone receives the worship and praise for the story of my life.

When God is the hero of the story, when he is the director, producer, narrator, and star, then my failures don't imply automatic defeat because they point people to his greatness, not mine. My failures don't end the story, because ultimately the story isn't about me'

Nathan Conrad in The Road We Must Travel , Page 50