“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” -Benjamin Franklin
[This article is the eighth part of a new series on the topic of toxic leadership in the church, which is the topic I am teaching about at Pepperdine’s Harbor Conference this year.]
Circuit Breakers for our Congregations
Have you ever had a light go out in your home or an outlet stop working because too many things were running at the same time? As annoying as it is to have to go out to the breaker box and flip the switch back on, that system is actually an important safety feature that protects you (and your home) from major electrical damage.
When the system senses a potential threat, it cuts off the flow of energy to protect you and your family.
When it comes to the crisis of toxic leadership in the church, God has given us a few circuit breakers that are designed to stop abuse and protect our congregations.
(1) The first is the list of non-negotiable qualifications for serving as elders / pastors (Titus 1:7-9, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, and 1 Peter 5:1-3). These qualifications are designed to prevent toxic leaders from gaining a leadership position in the church.
“Let me state the problem simply. Some of the leaders we are producing—and, if we are honest, some of the leaders we are wanting—have characteristics that are either absent from or completely opposed to the list of leadership characteristics laid out in Scripture. We have tolerated and even celebrated precisely the kinds of leaders Jesus warned us against…” -Michael Kruger, Bully Pulpit, p. xiv.
(2) The second is the Biblical expectation that every believer (and especially ministry leaders) would constantly examine themselves and work to become more like Jesus.
“We must help education and alert young leaders to the dangers of their dark side. As important as the technical aspects of ministry are to success (e.g. exegesis, languages, theology, counseling), their ability to overcome the dark side of their personality is even more vital to effective ministry.” -Gary McIntosh and Samuel Rima, Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership, p. 222.
(3) The third is the Biblical exhortation for elders to protect the flock by holding leaders accountable for their conduct. They are called upon to “keep watch” over each other and the flock as a whole, precisely because God knows wolves are going to rise up from within the congregation with the goal of harming the flock (Acts 20:28-31).
“Once a pastor is hired, there has to be a process by which they are given the proper oversight and shepherding. Case after case of spiritual abuse has shown that it was the lack of any real accountability that allowed the pastor to gain a disproportionate amount of power and then to abuse that power with little or no consequences.” -Michael Kruger, Bully Pulpit, p. 117.
How the Circuit Breakers Ought to Function
Each of these circuit breakers is meant to prevent toxic leaders from having an opportunity to hurt anyone.
Circuit Breaker #1 — When a search committee receives a resume from a highly qualified ministry candidate, only to discover that they have have some significant character issues that contradict the requirements that God has given us, the committee should sense the danger and flip the switch on the candidate. They should pass on the candidate because of their conviction that Christlike character trumps giftedness.
Circuit Breaker #2 — When an existing leader realizes (or is told) that their words and actions have dishonored God, hurt their neighbors, or harmed the cause of Christ, they should sense the danger and flip the switch on themselves. They should immediately seek out the wise counsel of trusted mentors and elders to repent of their sins, address the issues, and work towards reconciliation.
Circuit Breaker #3 — When an existing leader or volunteer doubles down on their misconduct by blaming others, spinning a false narrative, or attacking the character of their critic (instead of taking full responsibility for their sins), the elders should sense the danger and flip the switch on that leader. They should take decisive action to confront this toxic leader and likely remove them from their leadership position until that leader has proven over a lengthy period of time that they have truly repented of their sins.
These types of measures are the build-in safety system that churches can use to protect themselves from toxic, abusive leaders. When they’re functioning well, they stop abuse before it happens.
Faulty Switches (Or Intentional Neglect)
The problem is, we sometimes override these protections and fail to adequately put them into practice. We don’t flip the switch, even though it should be obvious that we’re in danger.
So where does that lead us? It leads us into a crisis of toxic leadership in the church. One of Michael Kruger’s main contentions in Bully Pulpit is that we (as a church) are partially at fault for the church leadership crisis because we aren’t flipping the switch when it should be obvious there’s a problem.
Churches hire gifted speakers to be our pastors, overlooking their significant character flaws.
Leaders don’t explore their dark sides or take their sins seriously.
Elders don’t confront toxic behavior from the people involved in ministry.
Abuse happens because we give abusers a platform to work with. We value the wrong things in potential leaders, our existing leaders get complacent about their character and personal holiness, and the elders (or oversight boards) lack the resolve, expertise, or power to hold toxic leaders accountable.
A Better Path Forward
"If spiritual abuse is a real problem in the church today (and it is), if this abuse is contrary to Scripture and disqualifying for ministry (and it is), if abusive leaders and churches often retaliate against the victims with cruel and aggressive tactics (and they do), and if these tactics are devastating to the lives of the victims (and they are), then there is only one conclusion: churches must do something to protect their sheep. It’s not enough to be aware. It’s not enough to care. Churches must act.” -Michael Kruger, Bully Pulpit, p. 130-131
As disheartening as it is to talk through all the ways this has gone wrong, we can actually find some hope in the fact that these failures also show us the path forward. If we want to turn the ride against the crisis of toxic leadership in the church, we need to to resolve to flip the switch when we sense the danger.
We can’t choose charisma over conduct.
We can’t leave our dark side unaddressed.
We can’t turn a blind eye to misconduct.
Like Michael Kruger says, we need to do something. And I pray that we (in all of our various congregations) will take this to heart and recommit ourselves to protecting our churches, taking our sins more seriously, and offering real accountability when things go wrong.
Other Posts in this Series:
The Crisis of Toxic Leadership in the Church (April 25, 2024)
Why Don’t Churches Ditch Their Toxic Leaders? (April 27, 2024)
Confronting the Toxic Leader in the Mirror (April 29, 2024)
Unattended Baggage (May 1, 2024)
A Test of Character (May 3, 2024)
Honoring God in the Aftermath of Sin (May 5, 2024)
Developing a Christlike Heart (May 7, 2024)
Stopping Toxic Leaders Before It’s Too Late (May 9, 2024)