The End of Klopp

This week, Jurgen Klopp announced that he would be stepping down as the Manager of Liverpool FC when the football season ends in May. The news was greeted with shock, and a lot of sadness from the fans of the club.

When Klopp took over, Liverpool were good but not great; questionable transfer dealings and ownership wrangles had left the once dominant force an also ran, behind the might of Manchesters United & City, and Chelsea. Now, they are one of the best teams in Europe, and favourites to win the Premier League again.

But Klopp no longer has the energy. He’s emptied the tank. And the future success of the club is now in question.

When pastors leave the church they serve, there’s a mixture of emotions. For some, they are devastated – that pastor was brilliant. For others, they are glad to see the back of him – he had his good points, but we can now make a fresh start. And others may feel fearful, doubting, wondering what the future holds.

Unlike football clubs, we don’t have to fear. Pastors and church leaders are a gift to the church. But they are only servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. Their “specialness” is only in the gifts they have been given by the Holy Spirit. Leaders don’t have special blessings and insights that mark them out as on another spiritual level. They work for Jesus. They make Him great.

And when they move on, the church doesn’t die. It doesn’t follow the pastor out of the door. It carries on, just like a football club. It continues, beyond the lives of its pastors, because it is the church of Jesus Christ. The gates of hell will not prevail against it. It doesn’t, or shouldn’t, look back to the good old days and rely on past memories. The church looks forward, to see what God will do in the future. The church ensures that new leaders hold to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The church trusts in the faithfulness of God, as it itself is faithful to Him.

The End of Klopp is not the end of Liverpool. And the end of a pastorate should not be the end of a church. It should be the beginning of a new and exciting phase of God’s blessing. And all the people should say “Amen!”

Truth be Told

Was there a party in Ten Downing Street during lockdown? Or 2? Or 10? Did the Prime Minister mislead the House of Commons? While the vast majority of people stayed at home, and experienced severe loneliness, and grieved alone, and died alone, were the elites living it up and breaking the rules they put in place and expected us to keep? What will be the verdict?

Everyone has a view on this. I do. But the issue which really catches my attention is this: there needs to be an inquiry / report to discover if people in government broke the rules. Now, unless they are illiterate or insane, they already know. They wrote the rules. They knew what they could / could not do. But, the attitude is “let’s see if someone uncovers the truth”.

Why does it need an inquiry? Why can’t they be honest? Ah, but that’s the problem, isn’t it? For, as soon as we demand they own up to what they did, we have to be honest too. We have to own up to our own errors, sins, rule-breaking. And none of us want to do that. None of us want our secrets publishing. None of us want our secret desires to be known by those closest to us. None of us want our pasts to be put on display.

Those in government are responsible for their actions. They are to be dealt with in accordance with the law. They are accountable to God for their actions. And so are we: we are responsible to God for the things we do. Even those in secret. Even those in the past. But, praise the Lord, we don’t have to hide behind an inquiry or try to deflect eyes on to something else. We can come to our Saviour Jesus, who knows all of our secrets, all of our rule breaking, and has paid the price for them. We can be honest with Him. And knowing His forgiveness means we can begin to be honest with one another.

It has been said that the truth hurts. But the truth also sets us free. And the only way we can be free is to kneel at the foot of Jesus and plead for His mercy. And it’s a glorious joy that He freely gives us forgiveness. And He declares us righteous, because He has suffered for us. And He gives us new life, because He has risen from the dead.

Yes, the rules were broken in Downing Street. But, the most important rules have broken by every single one of us. We are sinners. But by trusting in Jesus, we are set free. And that’s the verdict we need most of all!