Why should we remember the leaders who spoke the word of God to us? The next verse says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (8)
Often we separate these two verses. But they are connected to each other. To "remember" doesn't simply mean to recall something. It means to take something from the past that is true and important, especially when God has revealed it, and then use it as a basis for faith and action in the present. In other words, true Christian leadership should exemplify Christ, and Christian leaders should serve as models or examples for other Christians to live the devoted Christian life.
Although our ultimate allegiance is to Christ, He wants Christian leaders to model His character so that others may have something visible to follow or imitate. This is the reason why the spirituality of leaders is a priority. It comes first before their organizational leadership roles and responsibilities in church or in ministry. Although the latter is important, the former is even more important, for it determines their overall effectiveness as leaders.
Unfortunately, not all Christian leaders understand this. Instead, their focus is on the external aspects. They want to succeed in the ABCs of ministry (i.e., attendance, buildings, and cash). They find their identity affirmed by these accomplishments, or they find their identity weakened when they fail in these areas. As a result, they miss out on their most important responsibility which is personal soul care. Failure in this area is the root cause of many other failures in organizational leadership.
The enemy knows how to deceive Christian leaders into thinking that all is well because they are externally successful when in fact their fall is just around the corner. How many children walk away from Christ because their father (who is a Christian leader) fails to model true Christlike behavior? Of course, this is not true all the time. Some children walk away from Christ for other reasons. But then again how many Christians stumble and fall because their pastors compromise their integrity or abuse their authority? Again, this is not always true. There may be other reasons.
But, the point is this, faithful Christian leadership means walking the way of Jesus by grace through faith each and every day so that others can follow their example. Unfortunately, many Christian leaders are too busy doing ministry at the expense of their own Christ-centered spiritual formation.