Line Drives

I know what you're thinking...this is the first picture I have ever posted on this site, why did I choose a baseball player lying in a vulnerable position?
This is a picture of Matt Clement. He is a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox who was hit in the head with a line drive off the bat of a player that he was pitching against. Can you imagine...you're about 50 feet away from a guy when he smacks a 95 mph pitch back at your head going well over 100 mph. For about a half-second you think about reacting but there's no time. This is one of the reasons that I have no desire to be a major league pitcher. They are right on the front lines!

For some strange reason the image of him getting beaned has stuck in my mind. I started thinking about how in ministry we talk about how we are on the "front lines" in a spiritual battle. If so, what are the "line drives" that we have to react to? I have been reading Spiritual Leadership by Henry Blackaby and he talks about some pitfalls that we face as leaders so I thought I would start a series of posts where I will talk about some of them. I am going to call them line drives since I am a crazy sports fan.

So #1 - Pride - An excessively high opinion of oneself; conceit

• It tempts us to take credit from others and God
• It closes our mind and makes us unteachable
• It makes us think that we can do it on our own
• It causes us to lose compassion for others
• It will eventually lead to the loss of our relationships, credibility and ultimately our position as a leader

How can we dodge the line drive of pride as leaders?