Interesting read as always. IMO some of this is driven by churches, especially of the mega variety, mirroring themselves after American corporations with the CEO (minister) and board (elders) often losing sight of biblical practices and replacing them with business type approaches to the church. Even having a "search committee" feels awfully corporate. The problem of the narcissistic/sociopathic leader is not unique to the church and are personality traits that are often "encouraged" for business leaders and people bring that way of thinking from the work week and into the church. At the same time how do you balance issue that out without creating a pharisaical set of moral codes that don't allow for imperfect people to be church leaders. I am looking foreword to your future articles on this topic!
RF, these are great observations and questions. You're right about churches modeling themselves after the corporate world. Jesus said four words to his disciples that we need to take to heart: "Not so with you." (Matt. 20:26) He was making a distinction between worldly leaders and kingdom leaders. Worldly leadership is all about power, wealth, getting your way, etc. Not so with you.
I do think it's possible to go overboard here and become hypersensitive and overzealous about who's "allowed" to be a leader. There are several passages that talk about restricting certain people from having influence over the church and limiting who is given opportunities to lead. One example would be list of qualifications that potential elders and deacons need to have. There's also James 3:1 which says not many Christians should aspire to be teachers in the church.
But we also have lots of examples of highly flawed / complicated people being called to serve God in leadership roles, all across the Bible. Moses, Gideon, David, Peter, Paul, etc. We can't expect perfection from our leaders, but if you have a humble leader who is willing to confront their issues head-on, and a team of elders who can hold them accountable, you're going to be in good hands. It's not so much a leader's past or the presence of sin in their life, it's their attitude about it and their willingness to deal with it directly that's going to determine how healthy their leadership is. Just my opinion.
Basically I want to enforce the limits and heed the warnings God has given us without creating any false barriers to people serving in ministry. Character seems to be a non-negotiable.
I am inspired by Paul’s leadership and his heart-felt desire to imitate Christ and to call others to do the same. One of Paul’s teachings that I am currently trying to work on is from his letter to the Philippians, encouraging the church to truly have the mind of Christ by focusing on the things we think about because our thoughts will inform our actions. And since it is our role as Christians to lead others to Christ, I know I need to heed Paul’s advice and imitate his example by putting these things into practice.
Philippians 4:
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Interesting read as always. IMO some of this is driven by churches, especially of the mega variety, mirroring themselves after American corporations with the CEO (minister) and board (elders) often losing sight of biblical practices and replacing them with business type approaches to the church. Even having a "search committee" feels awfully corporate. The problem of the narcissistic/sociopathic leader is not unique to the church and are personality traits that are often "encouraged" for business leaders and people bring that way of thinking from the work week and into the church. At the same time how do you balance issue that out without creating a pharisaical set of moral codes that don't allow for imperfect people to be church leaders. I am looking foreword to your future articles on this topic!
RF, these are great observations and questions. You're right about churches modeling themselves after the corporate world. Jesus said four words to his disciples that we need to take to heart: "Not so with you." (Matt. 20:26) He was making a distinction between worldly leaders and kingdom leaders. Worldly leadership is all about power, wealth, getting your way, etc. Not so with you.
I do think it's possible to go overboard here and become hypersensitive and overzealous about who's "allowed" to be a leader. There are several passages that talk about restricting certain people from having influence over the church and limiting who is given opportunities to lead. One example would be list of qualifications that potential elders and deacons need to have. There's also James 3:1 which says not many Christians should aspire to be teachers in the church.
But we also have lots of examples of highly flawed / complicated people being called to serve God in leadership roles, all across the Bible. Moses, Gideon, David, Peter, Paul, etc. We can't expect perfection from our leaders, but if you have a humble leader who is willing to confront their issues head-on, and a team of elders who can hold them accountable, you're going to be in good hands. It's not so much a leader's past or the presence of sin in their life, it's their attitude about it and their willingness to deal with it directly that's going to determine how healthy their leadership is. Just my opinion.
Basically I want to enforce the limits and heed the warnings God has given us without creating any false barriers to people serving in ministry. Character seems to be a non-negotiable.
Thanks for the thoughtful response! I have enjoyed reading this series.
Such an important issue!
I am inspired by Paul’s leadership and his heart-felt desire to imitate Christ and to call others to do the same. One of Paul’s teachings that I am currently trying to work on is from his letter to the Philippians, encouraging the church to truly have the mind of Christ by focusing on the things we think about because our thoughts will inform our actions. And since it is our role as Christians to lead others to Christ, I know I need to heed Paul’s advice and imitate his example by putting these things into practice.
Philippians 4:
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.