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( First off this ain't about the movie. I haven't seen it at the time of writing this.) (4/00)

 So who are our younger people looking up to as leaders?  Well, in my neighborhood, the teenagers mainly  try to emulate  rappers.  Whether it's the Tupac thug  look (bandana, bald head, pants saggin) or just "rocking the ice", rappers are leading our young people in the 21 Century .  The problem with that  is that many of them are immature.  It's like the NBA.  These young guys have the skills and the talent but they still lack the experience and wisdom.
 
    Sticking with the NBA analogy, Michael Jordan is gone.  And with the church, Martin Luther King is gone.  Now what?  We can't just keep reminiscing over how great they were.  How they lead.  It's over.  Who are our leaders now?  Well, with the NBA it's the Vince Carters, Grant Hill, Kobe, Al I.  With the church, it's the young folks.  And if you're young it's you.
 
    Now what will it take for the NBA to get back on top again?  What will it take for the church to get back on top in leadership as they were in the 60's?  Like I heard this guy say on the "Last Word" (sports show on Cable) somebody got to realize they are the man.  Grant Hill is too quiet.  Same with Tim Duncan.  Vince Carter has the skills but personality wise???  It's still up in the air.  Allen Iverson has the personality but has a problem with authority.
 
    With the church, we got to realize we are the man (woman).  Many of you don't know why Jesus came to earth.  Many of you don't know that Jesus trained his disciples to take leadership positions.  Many of you believe pastors/bishops to be the only leaders God has called. The pastor job is to equip you (Eph 4).  If you don't realize you are the man because you know Jesus than the "league" will remain the same.  Pastors can't pastor whole cities.  It's up to you take the leadership position.
 
    Some of you already know this, so why aren't you leading?  Leadership requires telling folks what to do, correcting people, hurting feelings and getting your feelings hurt.  That's why we don't want to lead.  We want to be liked.  We don't want people talking about us behind our back.  But that's the price we have to pay, if we want change.
 
    Leaders must be willing to correct people.  Michael Jordan had a standard of excellence.  And he expected his teammates to live by that same standard.  The church must live by a standard, the highest standard, the Word of God.  Many of our churches accept laziness, just apathetic towards our community.  Pastors and preachers must be willing to correct and rebuke people when they're wrong.  Pastors and other leaders must stop being scared.  Stop being afraid of getting throwed out of "office."  Cause even if they do, it's over a righteousness cause.  We must be willing to rebuke and correct people.  Even sinners.  Look why John the Baptist got throwed in jail.  He told the king he was an adulterer.   He corrected folks.  If we are willing to be leaders we must be willing to correct.
 
    That's why our communities are they the way they are:  We are afraid to set the standard.  Let me share with you how I begin to set the standard.  We have a basketball hoop in our backyard.  Many of the neighborhood kids come back there and hoop.  But we had alot of problems with them and their colorful language.  Alright, I'll be honest, they cuss up a storm.  And it bothered me.  At first I did like yall usually do "Mmm, mmm, mmm. These kids have no shame"  I didn't say nothing, I just complained.  But my Pastor preached a sermon on boldness and setting the standard, so I decided to say something.  I told them to watch their language.  That worked for a while but then they start cussing again.  I threatened to throw them out.  That worked for a bit but still no long term effects.  So my mother got mad and every time she heard them cuss she would throw them out.  Well, that was over a year ago, and when the kids come over, they act totally different.  They don't cuss. They don't yell at each other.  They play a normal game of basketball. So it wasn't me but my moms who set the standard.
 
    As leaders you must be willing to hurt people feelings.  I read a commentary on the Book of Acts comparing the preaching of Peter and the preaching of Stephen.  Both men preached the truth boldly and pricked the hearts of the people.  One had  3,000 folks getting saved.  The other got killed.  Telling the truth sometimes requires hurting people feelings.  It might lead  people to like you.  It might lead people to hate, and despise you.  Hurting people means TELLING PEOPLE THEY'RE WRONG!!!!  Peter pricked their hearts and they wanted changed.  Stephen pricked their hearts and they stoned him.  One lead to godly repentance.  The other to unrighteous anger.  That's part of the job.  You can't worry about the results cause we don't know how people will react.  But the point is to tell the truth.  Jesus did the same thing.  Some accepted what said.  Others wanted him dead.  Why do you expect less?  Why don't you live up to his standard?
 
    As leaders our feelings are going to be hurt.  People are going to turn on you.  We are going to suffer for Christ.  All you got to do is look at the life of Jesus.  Nuff said.  So you want change in your community.  You must be willing to be a leader.  If you're saved, you're called to be a leader.  You called to speak the truth.