Egos And Logos

Egos And Logos

Pastor John and I get together for coffee every couple of weeks. We meet in one of the many coffee places that have sprung up in Bozeman. We visit about our families, our churches and the general state of the world. Both of us have been pastors for a long time. For us there is not much new under the sun.

Several weeks ago, we were conversing over coffee, when I noticed a man by himself over in the corner. I could tell by the Bible next to him that he was a pastor working on his Sunday sermon. When John and I were leaving, I walked over and introduced myself. Sure enough he was a pastor of a church in town. After chatting for a few minutes, he mentioned that there was a pastor’s prayer meeting early on Tuesday mornings and encouraged us to come. It was what he said next that caught my attention. “We leave our egos and our logos at the door and focus on praying for our city.”

Egos speak of our personal identity. Unfortunately the church is not exempt from its leaders flexing their egos to attract attention. Over my years of ministry I have seen my fair share of inflated religious egos bite the dust and bring disgrace upon the church. Logos speak of corporate identity. It is the temptation of churches to inflate their importance and visibility by taking on the marketing strategies of the business world.

I believe what the invitation to the prayer meeting implied was leave your agenda at the door. I have participated in a lot of prayer meetings. Some of those gatherings were no more than an opportunity for pastors to flaunt their personal agendas. Under the guise of prayer most of the time was taken up in talk with only a few remaining minutes to beseech the Lord. No wonder the Church has lost much of its impact on our culture.

Back in the days of the Charismatic Renewal, we sang a worship song that had this refrain: “So forget about yourself and concentrate on Him, and worship Him, Christ the Lord.” I haven't attended that prayer meeting yet but I will soon. I plan to leave my Ego and my Logo at the door!