In order to discern whether something is counterfeit one has to know the genuine.  One of the aspects of Covering Theology that bugs me is how the concept of grace is redefined to something very different.  Authority and leadership are significant issues in scripture but they aren’t the core ones, some of those might be grace, faith, hope, love, and righteousness.

One of these core concepts that I think that is underrated in most of  the Christian church is love.

Eph 3:16  I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.
Eph 3:17  Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
Eph 3:18  And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is.

Eph 3:19  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Eph 3:16  I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Eph
3:17  Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. Eph
3:18  And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is.
Eph 3:19  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

This is one of a few prayers we have of Paul.  I’d say it might be more useful than the whole Jabez thing we went through in years gone past.  As a church leader I am profoundly intrigued by the ramifications of this passage.  What would it mean to be rooted and grounded? To be rooted in His love just like a tree.   To be grounded is to have a foundation much like a house.  Imagine how wonderful it would be to be so firmly established in God’s love that it sustains you even in the longest droughts and toughest winds.  According to Paul knowing God’s love is the way by which we are made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Often we talk about getting rooted and grounded in the word.  (Australians please forgive my North American usage of “rooted”).  We spend a lot of our time acquiring knowledge as if we just knew more then we could figure things out and order our lives correctly.  Perhaps we should invest more in getting to know God’s love.  What would it look like if church leaders were more invested in leading people to know God’s love than building an organization or leading a program?