Tim Bayly wrote an excellent post on, "The Myth of Influence." He includes this particular gem of wisdom that all of us who tend towards the label missional would do well to heed:
The motivational difference between using your influence and protecting it is quite simple. It is the difference between the fear of God and the fear of man. Who do you fear?Twelve years ago, I spoke with R. C. [Sproul] at a conference in Chicago. Lamenting the unwillingness of men to take a stand against neutered versions of Scripture, R.C. said something I've often thought of since...
He said for many years he'd been threatening to write a book called The Myth of Influence. "All the time, men tell me they won't take a stand on this or speak of that because they need to protect their influence. But you know what? I watch them and they never end up using their influence. They just protect it."
