Know Your Leaders!!

Introduction

I have called this booklet “know your leader!” because like me you may be inclined to feel that books on leadership are for those who are called to be leaders. But there are two very important issues we need to address. Firstly that it is just as important for “followers” to know what to expect from leadership and secondly, we will see how we are all engaged in leaders in some form.

What is leadership?

OK, before we start let’s have a look at the irreducible minimum of what leadership is. Firstly a leader isn’t a leader unless people are following! Imagine going into a classroom and seeing a teacher giving a lesson and there are no students in the class. It may be a practice session, but with not students it isn’t teaching! In the same way if a leader has no followers he/she is merely going for a walk!

We need to ask the same question of ourselves as followers as well. Is the guy who sees himself as our leader really our leader. Does he cast a vision and we complain or do we get behind it. Probably the best film I have seen on the subject of leadership is a film called "Heartbreak Ridge" starring Clint Eastwood. Clint plays a sergeant training a group of marine recruits. He is a hard as nails sergeant but at the same time he really looks after and cares for his men. Whereas the captain of the group is an ex stores manager. He treats the men like items on shelves and has no time for them. It is all about numbers and rank as far as he's concerned. There is a battle and this raw regiment are the only people available to go. The captain gives an order and the men refuse, however, they are prepared to do whatever Clint tells them. Even though the captain is their leader, they aren't following him, they follow the sergeant. So often I hear people big up the pastor of the church but when you examine their lives a little more closely they don't even attend church that often, let alone get behind the pastors vision. The pastor suffers from a "nice man" syndrome. Where people think of him as a nice man but that's about all!

That is the first aspect of leadership, that there is a person leading and people following. The next aspect is what we call that relationship. What is the effect that the leader is having on the followers so that they can be considered followers? The word is “influence.” A leader is someone who has influence over others. The fact that the leader influences them shows that they are following.

Two types of leader

Let’s start with a black and white picture. It is usually helpful to see things like this and then work out the shades in between. We have already seen one black and white picture, that a leader either has followers or isn’t a leader.

Let’s have a look at two “opposite” types of leaders. It is said that the definition of a bore is someone who wants to talk about themselves while all you want to do is talk about yourself! Well, the opposite of that is a good definition of “a charismatic person.” That is, someone who wants you to feel good about yourself.

In leadership we see these two types of leaders, those who want you to feel good about them and see it as being about them, and those who want you to feel good about you and see it as all about you.

Winston Churchill was seen as one of Britain’s greatest leaders. However, he was only a great leader during a time when his leadership styles suited the situation. During World War 2 I believe he said of himself that his greatest gift was to be able to voice the feeling of the nation. Although he was speaking on his own behalf, thankfully for him at that time the feeling of the nation was in agreement with his own feelings. However, no sooner did the war end than the feeling of the nation changed and Churchill was voted out.

One of the most common quotes of his that I hear is of the time when he was accused of being drunk by a woman. He turned on the woman and said, “You are ugly, but I will be sober in the morning!”

This has so often been quoted to me as a good put down that I have for a long time been blinded to its significance. How did he make that woman feel? After all she was speaking a truth to him. He used the most offensive and personal thing he could find to say to her to put her down. He may well have “won the argument” but in the process lost her. He lost her as a follower.

In this one leader we see both sides of this leadership spectrum, on the one hand he made people feel proud to be British while on the other forgot to make people feel personally good about themselves. He had the attitude of a bulldog.

In what way are we all leaders?

We started by saying that “leadership is influence.” Well, we all influence people all the time. Even how we talk to a shop assistant has some influence on them. Therefore, to understand the qualities of leadership is very important for all of us. We can all become “bad leaders.”

Getting the best influence

In the bible we are told to imitate Paul as he imitates Jesus. In other words we should be influenced by Paul to become like him as he himself is setting his sights on becoming like Jesus.

There is a principle that people become like their leaders. Some have said this only takes three years. They go as far as to say that after three years every problem that a leader encounters within the followers is a problem that hasn’t been dealt with in the leaders own life.

It is important, therefore, to examine anyone that you would have as a leader and make sure that you really want to become like them. One thing I have noticed, having children, is that it is so often the bad qualities that are picked up first. If the leader cuts corners, that lets everyone off and tells them that they don’t need to be too bothered. The problem is they wont all cut the same corners! What is important enough for the leader to not cut a corner may be the very thing where his followers feel they can!

So many people are loyal to a denomination or party that they will go along with the leader regardless. We only get one short life so it is important to make sure that you really are getting the best influence you can get. Examine the qualities within the leaders life and ask yourself whether you want to become like them.

For example, at the time of Saul the people were just as afraid of Goliath as Saul was. Whereas, later David’s army were as loyal and brave as he was. In the wilderness part of the problem wasn’t Moses, It was that the people didn’t see Moses as their leader. They continually followed other ways.

Charismatic leadership

Charismatic leadership is simply the ability to listen to people and engage with them in a way that makes people feel good about themselves. What then happens is that they enjoy the influence you are having on them in making them feel good. If you are in a leadership roll then they will be happier to go along with your ideas.

Leaders who put people’s backs up by not listening or being dictatorial can find that they have a congregation but no followers. The congregation, like those in the wilderness are not actually following the leader, but instead are continually grumbling. It can also be that they are attracting others with a same mean spirit and therefore, like Churchill, are simply voicing the feelings of the crowd.

Let’s say there are two cafés in town. One is clean with friendly staff, makes you feel welcome and provides an excellent service. The other is dirty, unfriendly, doesn’t make you feel welcome and the service is lousy. Now you would think that the dirty café would soon go out of business. But what you find is that like attracts like. People who are dirty, and unfriendly feel more at home in that café. Some people would rather have negative influence in their lives as a means of validating who they are and where they choose to be.

In the same way a church may be full but that doesn’t mean it will be growing and moving into good ground. It may well be full of people who do not actually want to improve. Again this is reflective of the leadership. If the leader isn’t bothered about personal growth then the people wont be either. What happens is that others who do not want to be challenged will gather around that leader.

All change

Very often we see the situation when a leader leaves and a new one is brought in that some people leave and others come back who left when the previous leader arrived. This is simply that people are attracted to what they want out of life.

All too often a church becomes big when it attracts Christians from other churches because the leader is doing the very thing so many church leaders are accused of not doing. These are not necessarily “charismatic Leaders” but can often just be “Churchill style leaders.” That is they are voicing the feeling of the people. After all Churchill himself voiced the feelings of the nation. But that isn’t necessarily a good thing. If the feelings of the people are amiss then voicing them isn’t good. If the people want to be about life changing messages and hands up worship but not about getting their hands dirty in mission then it doesn’t matter how big the church is it will stagnate. On the other hand many Christians want to hear the gospel preached but do not want to hear challenging life changing messages. Then that congregation will not grow to maturity.

The issue isn’t about popularity or about hearing what you want to hear. The issue is about becoming like Christ. That involves all aspects of the faith. That involves people engaging with their own life transformation. It involves heart felt worship. It involves getting our hands dirty in ministry and mission. It involves commitment and sacrifice.

What is biblical leadership?

Here we have to leave the debate! Leadership in the bible is not about following one man or one woman. Yes we are to be influenced to become like Jesus. And in that sense we need leaders. We need spiritual influences: those who are further forward with the Lord than we are. But government within the church is by consensus, not by leader.

This is the big problem in the church at the moment. Throughout history we have followed the tradition that was set up be the Catholic Church, who in tern were influenced by the Church Fathers (so called!) The biblical picture of leadership is through the united agreement of the body and not through the vision of one “pastor!”

There are a few scriptures that show that decisions were made through mutual agreement, where as teaching was obviously given by those who knew what needed to be taught.