a principle

I am going through Level Two EE at our church and we are reading "The Master Plan of Evangelism" by Robert E. Coleman. It's an amazing book on evangelism.

I was just reading it and wanted to share this quote with you. Its about not only preaching and teaching but living a life of teaching other people by the way we live each and every moment of our lives:

There can be no shirking or evading of our personal responsibility to show the way to those we are training, and this revelation must include the practical outworking in the life of the deeper realities of the Spirit. This is the Master's method, and nothing else will ever suffice to train others to do His work.
It makes us vulnerable, of course. We are not perfect like our Lord, and those persons to whom we open our lives will come to see our many shortcomings. But let them also see a readiness to confess our sins when we understand the error of our way. Let them hear us apologize to those we have wronged. Our weaknesses need not impair the discipleship when shining through them is a transparent sincerity to follow Christ.

I often feel insufficient for the ministry when I mess up and make mistakes. But the people I lead also make mistakes. And if they do not see me make mistakes, they will think there is something wrong with them because they are not "as good" as I am (rather, as I appear to be). Instead they need to see my sins and also see how I handle them--by confessing my sins and expressing a sincere desire to truly follow Christ.