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As Bill Hull points out, “Sadly, many Christian leaders today do not take Jesus seriously when it comes to getting things done in our churches, ministries, and organizations. I propose that we need a different style of leadership — one patterned after Jesus. We need to learn to influence others out of our character, for that is what Jesus did.”
The Pharisees focused on doing the right thing. Jesus emphasized becoming the kind of person who wants to do the right thing. Others taught the importance of doing good; Jesus taught how to be good. He didn’t teach behavior modification alone; he taught how to change the sources of behavior.
The Rehabilitation of Christian Leaders
REHABILITATE YOUR THINKING ABOUT JESUS
Society views Jesus as a teacher, philosopher, and religious person who taught people about the inner life. That is largely where it leaves him — in the church, the monastery, and the Bible study group tucked away in an office behind a closed door during lunch.
Remember when Jesus asked Peter, “What about you? Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” Jesus simply does not give us middle ground; anyone who made the claims he made would be either a liar or exactly who he said he was. C. S. Lewis is famous for saying that Jesus was a legend, a lunatic, a liar, or God.
Christian leaders must be convinced that following the ways and means of Jesus is superior to, and in the long run more effective than, attractive secular models. Consider the contrast between the way Herod led and the way Jesus led. Herod lived for himself; Jesus lived for others. Herod derived his influence via power and terror. He had his wife and two sons killed to consolidate power. His behavior prompted Caesar Augustus to say, “I would rather be Herod’s pig than his son.” Jesus’ influence, however, was based on his character and on his living out the tenets he taught in the Sermon on the Mount. His influence was his personal power, which he presented as a result of his special connection to his Father.
What Makes a Leader Happy?
REHABILITATE YOUR MOTIVATION
Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Philippians 2:2
If we are going to learn to lead like Jesus, most of us need to go through a process like this:
- From Seeking Recognition to Learning to Act Caringly
- From Focusing on Me to Focusing on Others. Harvard University professor Dr. Clayton M. Christensen teaches a course on humility and has his students ask themselves three questions: (1) How can I be sure that I will be happy in my career? (2) How can I be sure that my relationships with my spouse and my family become an enduring source of happiness? (3) How can I be sure I’ll stay out of jail? Professor Christensen suggests that leaders take one hour per day reading, thinking, and praying about why God put them on this earth. Your true purpose dictates what you measure to determine whether you are successful.
- From Valuing Numbers to Valuing the End Result
- From Leading from the Outside to Leading from the Inside
To be relevant, a Christian leader must be able to communicate with others so that they can find God, appreciate his beauty, and experience the life he has planned for us. But Christian leaders shouldn’t make relevance their goal.
Nothing will test your faith more than to pray and then sit back and wait for God to act. Christian leaders will struggle to be happy until they release control of what they lead. In his book In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership, Henri Nouwen put it this way: “The long painful history of the church is the history of people ever and again tempted to choose power over love, control over the cross, being a leader over being led.”
When Christian leaders relinquish control to God, it leads to happiness, because God determines the outcomes of our work as well as the level of recognition.
Making a Dent in the World
REHABILITATE YOUR IDEA OF HOW YOU MAKE YOUR MARK
Leaders aren’t strong because we are trying to be strong; we are strong because of other inherent characteristics, such as kindness, patience, perseverance, self-control, great faith, and courage. Scripture wants us to be others-centered and warns against trying to impress others with our talents.
Those who try to orchestrate their influence always make a different choice than God intended for them to make. Leaders can fall in love with subtle new ideas that slowly move us away from our core beliefs. We start to compromise on the need to evangelize the world and to take a stand on moral issues; before we realize it, our core convictions have been hollowed out by modernity.
Dallas Willard once commented, “A number of years ago, I made a commitment to not try to make anything happen… My commitment is to not attempt to create interest in my work. My commitment is to do good work, and then people can choose. God either will bless it or he won’t, but what happens to my efforts is not my concern.” Dallas provided a modern-day example of what Jesus did and what Paul taught. Jesus continually warned his disciples and the people he healed not to spread the word about his miracles. It would have made him prematurely famous and would have disrupted God’s plan for the world.
Conceit, or thinking of oneself more than one should, is the currency of contemporary culture and power. It pervades every realm of life. In contrast, Paul points out in Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”
The Leader’s Worldview
REHABILITATE YOUR INTERPRETATION OF THE WORLD
It seems obvious, doesn’t it, that a significant lesson in Christian leadership is to turn your eyes heavenward and talk to your leader about what you should be doing. Jesus’ worldview was that success was accomplishing the mission God had given him to do. This worldview is the singular motivation of Christian leadership. Christian leadership is not primarily about technique; it is about why you are in leadership and your reasons for what you do. It is also about whom you are trying to please. Jesus had to be a leader to accomplish the mission that God had given him.
Discipleship has broken down because we haven’t been using Jesus as our model for leadership.
Sadly, too many Christian leaders are enamored with their own importance, intelligence, and skills. On the other hand, when Christian leaders hold a worldview that the kingdom of God governs us, it revolutionizes what we do.
The Humble Leader
REHABILITATE WHAT YOU THINK OF YOURSELF
Humility does not come naturally to us. Even Jesus’ disciples argued among themselves as to which one of them was the greatest. Quite often people mistake modesty for humility. Modesty involves not bragging or self-promoting. Evangelicals sometimes mistake passivity for humility.
During World War II, General Douglas MacArthur was a great man, but pride and arrogance kept him from being even more useful. Dwight D. Eisenhower was intelligent, disciplined, and hardworking. He grew up on a farm in Kansas where he lived a simple life. He knew his place and served with humility. Eisenhower knew how to “keep his eye on the ball,” a favorite phrase of his. Eisenhower made decisions, including the decision for the Allies to invade France on D-Day, in a collaborative environment. He was not required to consult with anyone, but he had learned the value of teamwork, of listening to others, and of treating his commanders with respect. He showed humility in his relationships and didn’t seek glory.
The Greek and Latin words for humility mean “to be made low or to lower oneself.” For the Christian leader, humility is sacrificing or lowering oneself for the benefit of others. It is contentment and joy when you are not the focus, when you are overlooked, when no rewards are being passed out.
Humility is something you choose; it is not something you try. As Peter Wagner wrote, “Humility is a matter of personal choice. If you are [humble], it is because you have decided that you will be humble. If you are not, it is because you have not decided to be humble.”
Humility is an acknowledgement that we are dependent on God. When we decide to live for God and to live for others, then we are no longer a slave to the crowd and its whims. Another way to cultivate humility is to be teachable. The essence of discipleship is to be a learner. Jesus said, “Everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.”
All serious Christian leaders live in the middle between pride and humility. God chose Peter, the least humble and most reckless of his disciples, to lead his church. Peter gave his life as a flawed man who lived in the knowledge that he was utterly dependent upon God. That is the essence of humility.
Becoming Something Else
REHABILITATE HOW FAR YOU ARE WILLING TO GO
When Harry Truman succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt as President of the United States, he responded, “I don’t know if you . . . ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me yesterday what happened, I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me. Don’t expect too much of me.”
What is to be learned about leadership from Truman? More specifically, what can the Christian leader learn from his example? Truman was transformed by the call to lead, and he led far above his natural ability. His capacity was greater than even he imagined. Isn’t this true for the Christian leader as well?
Leadership in Hard Times
REHABILITATE HOW MUCH YOU CAN TAKE
Rabbi Abraham Heschel said, “The man who has not suffered, what could he possibly know, anyway?” Some leaders are asked to die, others are required to live, but for most it is a little of both. All leaders are called to suffer. Christian leaders in particular must wrestle with the fact of suffering and the love of a God who lets bad things happen.
Christian leaders have the burden of explaining the general cause of suffering, why things are the way they are in the world. Scripture, of course, tells us that the foundational cause of all suffering is the curse. Before the fall, man and woman were without sin and suffering.
Somewhere Western Christians got the idea that God’s favor means a life free of conflict and sorrow. Great Christian leaders help people see the world the way God sees it: broken. The order of the world has been damaged, which includes everything in the physical realm.
Conversion is key to a person’s ability to come to terms with the conflict and evil in the world.
As to what Christians are to do with the problem of evil, Stanley Hauerwas noted, “Christians do not have a ‘solution’ to the problem of evil. Rather they have a community of care that has made it possible for them to absorb the destructive terror of evil that constantly threatens to destroy all human relations.”
The Rewards of Leadership
REHABILITATE WHAT YOU WANT OUT OF IT
The risk of success not only involves the unholy trinity of money, sex, and power; it also includes the danger of living a religious life with no power.
Jesus taught that being open and honest were keys to knowing God. Religion, however, tends to make people closed and dishonest. The Pharisees were religious but had no power. Jesus wasn’t religious, but he had all the power. Jesus had no political power; the Pharisees had nothing but political power. Jesus scolded them for hypocrisy.
Billy Graham, who has lived humbly and has been admired for his compassion, conviction, and authenticity. Rick Warren is another who has done well with fame. When it became public that he had paid back the salary he’d received from his church over the years and given away 90 percent of his book royalties, he silenced all sane critics.
The greatest reward a leader can experience in this life is the joy of seeing progress in others.
Discipleship is the hope of the world because it produces a quality of life that preserves the moral character of a society and illuminates the darkest corners of the human personality. Dallas Willard wrote, “It will come as a shock to many to think that Jesus did not tell his followers to make Christians or start churches, as we automatically think of Christians and churches today.”
Eugene Peterson wrote, “The ways Jesus goes about loving and saving the world are personal: nothing disembodied, nothing abstract, nothing impersonal. Incarnate, flesh and blood, relational, particular, local.” Peterson went on to share his concern that ministry in North America is “conspicuously impersonal: programs, organizations,” and that a “vocabulary of numbers is preferred over names.” He sharpened his point by saying, “This is wrong thinking, and wrong living. Jesus is an alternative to the dominant ways of the world, not a supplement to them. We cannot use impersonal means to do or say a personal thing — and the gospel is personal or it is nothing.”
Leaders Are a Work in Progress
REHABILITATE YOUR HEART TO STAY IN THE STRUGGLE
For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:13
It takes a lifetime to learn just a little about pleasing God. That is why we don’t retire from the school of discipleship. Christian leadership calls for authentic living. It requires humility, service, vulnerability, sacrificial living, and the willingness to put up with a constant stream of abuse.
The Christian leader is called to receive criticism in humility, to learn from it, to admit one’s faults, and to not seek revenge. Jesus himself said, “He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much.” Can someone who was faithful in much learn to be faithful in little?
May we not be “addicted to secular leadership” in our quest to shoot for the stars!