John 3:25-26 Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!”

Jesus and His disciples headed into the land of Judea and Jesus paused there for a while and His disciples baptized people there. John the Baptist was still at his mission of announcing that the Messiah had come. With Jesus and John here in close proximity it would seem that there was some jealousy to surface in John’s disciples. And so they go to John and say to him … and this is not their exact words, but what they meant, “You pointed the people to Jesus and now they are all leaving us and going to Him!” It’s as if they are suggesting that John should down play the whole “Jesus is the Messiah” thing to keep their attendance numbers high. This is a compromise that is played out in many churches today where sin, blood, the cross, condemnation, hell, judgment, sacrifice, service, and even Jesus are played down because it keeps the attendance numbers up. John’s disciples tell him that if he doesn’t change the message, he is going to lose all of his followers. But that didn’t bother John. He was resolute in doing what God told Him to do.

John 3:28-29 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.

In declaring the truth of Jesus without compromise he was going to lose his congregation, and he was overjoyed at that. John the Baptist’s response shows us three things about him that every pastor and church leader should take note of:

He loved his congregation: A pastor that points his flock to a man or to himself has no love for his congregation. John pointed his congregation to the Messiah, Jesus … That was his mission. He did that by declaring the scriptures, both the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament) and the Word of God Who was in their midst. You can’t teach only from a few books of the Bible and love the congregation. You’re holding back from them! A pastor who loves his congregation does not hold anything of the Bible back from them. The gospel can be effectively declared by teaching only the New Testament but it cannot be fully understood without the Old Testament! Those of you who come to Calvary Chapel Birmingham are the best taught congregation in the city because here it is (1) only the Bible and (2) The Bible in it’s entirety with no supplements added. Psychology has no business being taught from the pulpit. Self confidence, self adoration and believing in yourself are leaven in the church today.

He knew his mission: His mission had been declared by Gabriel to his parents and that was to make the way for the Messiah. John did that by teaching and admonishing and bringing people to repentance, then pointing them to Jesus who was among them.

He had Integrity: Don’t think it didn’t cross his mind that by doing what God told him to do, the crowds at his services were diminishing, yet he would not compromise. His disciples were not pointing out something that he was unaware of … But he held to his mission.

And so, John says something to his disciples that is perhaps the greatest challenge in the Bible for all of us who have received Jesus as our Savior …That is, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  There should be no pastor among the people of God who doesn’t have this as his motto. We need more John the Baptists pointing their congregations to Jesus and fewer celebrity pastors who want the spotlight for themselves.