02/10/2025
There is a rising concern within the Body of Christ today one that, though long embedded, is now becoming more evident. The standard for spiritual growth and transformation in many quarters has shifted subtly but significantly. For many believers, the ultimate goal has become to emulate their pastor, rather than to be conformed to the image of Christ.
While it is true that spiritual leadership plays a vital role in shaping and nurturing believers sons and daughters who genuinely carry the spiritual imprint of the one they follow what we often witness today is not true cultivation but mere imitation. A closer examination reveals that the pattern being pursued is no longer Christ, but man.
This is a sign that our gaze has shifted. Our alignment is no longer calibrated by the person of Christ but by the personalities of men. Foundational formation under spiritual fathers is not only valid but necessary; it is a sign of proper spiritual order, like a signature of one’s tribe or lineage. However, the manifestations of our walk with God are not meant to be identical.
Every man should indeed be traceable to a man, yet we must remember: the goal is not to become the man but to become like Christ. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians, "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you" (Galatians 4:19). He did not labor until Paul was formed in them, but until Christ was.
Let us, therefore, return to our true standard—Christ Jesus. Let the men who lead us point us upward, not inward. Let spiritual coverings produce Christlike disciples, not replicas of themselves.
Kenechukwu Divine