I know poo poo-ing on the "Gospel of John Maxwell" won't be popular with most church leaders of the day out there, but that's why I have that nifty disclaimer over there. I always reserve the right to say something stupid.
I'm just a little (ok, alot) tired of all the leadership talk that makes it seem that unless you are a great 'leader' according to "Pastor X's" standards then you may not even be fit to lead a church.
- You must have a extroverted charismatic personality.
- You must have a compelling vision and hammer it into people.
- You must be able to build teams that carry out your vision.
- You must have great creative ideas.
- You must have a popular blog and aspire to speak at Catalyst one day.
I just want to be a good Pastor and servant of the Gospel. That's it.
What happened to:
- (You must) go into the world and make disciples.
I feel like I have spent way too much time on feeding the idol of leadership by trying to be like leaders I look up to rather than feeding on the gospel in such a way that I BECOME a leader by making disciples. Are people imitating your leadership style or are they imitating how you love Jesus?
I think we all know it is a both/and deal, but does our fruit reflect that?
Thoughts?
2 comments:
I agree- there is an incredible pressure put on leaders that is unfair and makes them feel limited to be popular and likable- those with the most followers must be the best leaders, right? I would rather a leader that would be willing to teach (correct) then one that only speaks puppy dogs and rainbows. I can't imagine the pressure leaders must face today to be likable and inspiring and draw crowds and be at every event- it must be distracting when trying to live a life of quiet humility trying to love like Jesus loved- remember, he often fled the crowd to invest in the lives of those nearest to him. And he wasn't concerned with being popular as much as spreading the gospel. Loved your thoughts!
The leadership Jesus modeled always pointed to God. I agree that leadership has become an idol. Those who have gotten a true vision of what God wants to do in people's lives know like John that they must decrease and Christ must increase. I think the leaders God uses sometimes have a lot of people that want to follow a visible earthly under-shepherd, but the ultimate purpose, just as a parent with children is to grow people (like you said) who are strong and healthy enough in their relationship with God to go themselves and make disciples.
I think there's a balance; recognizing, acknowledging and submitting to the spiritual authority God put in place (until we learn this, we can be a loose cannon), and knowing and hearing from God personally.
There is a lot of noise out there on how a leader should be, and though I'm sure a lot of it can be helpful, if we try to fit that mold, it can be exhausting! Like you always say, "I'd rather offend a person, than offend God!"
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