Shallow leaders inspire shallow faith.

During the past several decades of serving in pastoral ministry, I have observed a variety of trends in church ministry come and go.  Admittedly, it can be easy for a local church to become stubbornly set in its ways, never adapting its approach to ministry and never stepping out of its comfort zone.  That is certainly an issue I have observed in multiple church contexts, but at present, there's a concern that I think is possibly even more prevalent.

 At present, I'm observing a pattern among some pastors and churches of "chasing trends."  Instead of remaining focused on key areas like worship, prayer, the study of God's word, discipleship, and evangelism, I see a greater focus on gimmicks, entertainment, production, and cultural relevance at the expense of truth.  The end result, in some contexts, appears to be people who call themselves Christians but can't articulate the gospel, can't speak intelligently about Scripture, and aren't demonstrating the fruit of Spirit-empowered godliness in their lifestyle choices.

 This isn't a new phenomenon.  It's an issue that those who call themselves God's people have wrestled with throughout history.  It's an issue that I believe spiritual leaders should be particularly attuned to because spiritually shallow leaders contribute to and often influence the shallowness of faith among those they lead.

 The fourth chapter of the book of Hosea addresses these issues as they cropped up in the lives of the people of Israel living during Hosea's day.

I.  Your life will confirm the depth of your faith. 

"There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed."  (Hosea 4:1b-2)

 The first three chapters of Hosea's book provide a powerful example of the heart-wrenching nature of Israel's spiritual unfaithfulness.  Instead of pursuing the Lord, they were chasing after false gods and the false promises that are intertwined with those false beliefs.

 Hosea was living and ministering in the midst of a day when true spiritual devotion was missing.  The people of Israel wanted the best of the world, but didn't concern themselves with eternal matters.  In their worship of Baal, they bought into false beliefs that appealed to the lusts of the flesh, and as they kept feeding these lusts, they drifted further and further from the truth God had revealed in His word.  That in turn resulted in the people of the land treating each other in terrible ways.

 I'm sure if you were to interview some of the people of Hosea's day, they would have told you they were spiritually devoted followers of the Lord.  But even a quick glimpse at their lives would show that their so-called faith was barely skin-deep.

 It wasn't popular for him to do so, but Hosea called out their spiritual shallowness when he declared that the people were not faithful, lacked steadfast love, and didn't know the true and living God in a personal way.  They thought of themselves as mature, but their lives confirmed their lack of genuine belief.

 One of the most obvious and easy to understand aspects of God's will is His moral will which He has revealed in His word, most obviously in the Ten Commandments.  The Ten Commandments aren't mysterious and hard to understand.  They're clear and direct.  But look at the way Hosea described the lives of the people of Israel during his day.

 The people of Israel had foul mouths; they lied continually, and they practiced murder, theft, and rampant adultery.  Their assessment of their spiritual lives was inaccurate.  Though they seemed to believe they were spiritually strong, their lives revealed and confirmed the immaturity of their faith.

 There is a lesson for us in this passage as well.  The fruit that comes from my life will show you what I really believe.  Likewise, the same is true of you.  If we are followers of Jesus Christ, we will trust Him in all circumstances, obey His teaching, avoid searing our consciences, and treat other humans as fellow image-bearers.

II.  Spiritual leaders are accountable for the nature of their influence. 

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. They feed on the sin of my people; they are greedy for their iniquity."  (Hosea 4:6, 8)

 Few things in life are as frustrating as hypocrisy.  I'm sure we've all been hypocritical at some point in our lives, but is spiritual hypocrisy an anomaly or a pattern in your day-to-day life?

 Not long ago, I was given an update about the life of a spiritual leader I used to know well.  It has been a long time since I have heard anything about him, but I was saddened by the news that was shared with me.  In recent days, he has abandoned his wife and children and set a bad example for those who once looked up to his spiritual leadership.  From the Lord's perspective, this is not inconsequential.

 It appears that depravity among spiritual leaders was a common issue in Hosea's day as well.  For starters, they had drifted from the clear teaching of the word of God.  As a result, the Lord revealed through Hosea that His people were "destroyed for lack of knowledge."  

 The spiritual leaders weren't teaching God's word.  They also weren't modeling it.  Instead of feeding the people life-giving spiritual nourishment, they were feeding on the sin of the people and effectively encouraging more of it.  The Lord describes these spiritual leaders as greedy and enamored with iniquity.  It's a horrible image to picture.

 God will hold spiritual leaders accountable for the lives they live and the nature of their influence on the lives of others.  I'm grateful that's the case, but as someone who serves in spiritual leadership, I must confess to you that this is something I think about all the time.  I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that this is something I think about every single day of my life.  I fully expect to give an account to the Lord for everything I teach and the ways in which my life influences others.  That's a sobering fact to contemplate, but it's healthy to remain aware of.

 If God calls you to some form of spiritual leadership, please steward that position well.  It will require you to practice patience and restraint.  You will be regularly asked to make sacrifices of your time and treasure as well.  But the goal of a spiritual leader’s life is never to be for worldly gain.  Our goal is to glorify God by making the gospel of Jesus known and helping others understand what it really means to trust and follow Jesus in the midst of a fallen world.

III.  We haven't been called to worship nonsense.

"My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have left their God to play the whore."  (Hosea 4:12)

 When you step back and look at the nature of spiritual idolatry, it begins to look rather silly.  In their worship of Baal, the people of Israel were practicing divination and the worship of wooden idols.  They abandoned truth and embraced foolishness.  They rejected worshipping the Creator and instead began worshipping created things.  Their worship practices were nonsense.

 As followers of Christ, we are not called to worship nonsense.  Rather, we've been given helpful instruction in Scripture that clearly explains the way worship is to operate in the church.

"Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name."  (Hebrews 13:15)

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."  (Colossians 3:16)

"What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.  But all things should be done decently and in order."  (1 Cor. 14:26, 40)

"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers."  (Acts 2:42)

 I became a pastor during an era when a major emphasis at ministry conferences was the concept of church growth.  I believe the Lord desires His church to grow, but I also understand that it can be easy for us to idolize the concept of church growth at the expense of truth and sincere discipleship.  In that idolization, I have witnessed many churches embrace all kinds of nonsense and distraction throughout the years.

 During that same time, the Lord has taught me something rather interesting about church health and church growth.  The longer I have served as a pastor, the more convinced I have become that the real secret to church growth is to consistently and faithfully preach, proclaim, and live out the word of God.  The deeper we dig into the very words the Lord has revealed about His heart, the more we understand the nature of our redemption through Jesus and the better equipped we become as ambassadors of our Savior.

IV.  Stubbornness leads to shamefulness. 

"Like a stubborn heifer, Israel is stubborn; can the Lord now feed them like a lamb in a broad pasture? Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone. When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring; their rulers dearly love shame. A wind has wrapped them in its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices."  (Hosea 4:16-19)

 At the time Hosea ministered, Israel was a tough group to serve.  The Lord even compared the nation to a stubborn cow that refused to budge.  Even though He wanted to feed them, they refused His nourishment.  They were convinced that their false gods would satisfy the longing of their souls, but their stubbornness didn't lead to blessing.  It led to distance, disgrace, and shame.

 In fact, when you look at Hosea 4:17, it appears that there can come a day when a person or a nation can so thoroughly reject God's offer of blessing and fellowship that He will eventually give them over to whatever it is they truly desire.  That verse says, "Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone."

 I don't want my relationship with God to ever resemble that statement.  I don't want God to leave me alone.  I spent enough time running from Him when I was younger and I certainly don't want to run from Him now.  I have been reconciled to the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit, through faith in the Son.  I am no longer joined to idols because I have been united to Christ, and it is my prayer that the Lord would graciously allow my trust in Him to deepen as I walk with Him by faith through the various seasons of my life.

 If it is likewise your desire to experience the blessings of an ever-deepening faith, dig into the word of God.  Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart as you read it and internalize the counsel you find in its pages.  Welcome the transforming power of the Holy Spirit as He transforms your thinking, reminds you of the teaching of Jesus, and empowers your growth in holiness as you walk with Jesus.

© John Stange, 2025