In Part II of this series of articles we are going to discuss three phrases often associated with leadership development, in the church and in the secular world. From the outset, its needs to be understood that theses phrases have arisen from secular leadership development programs.

That does not mean they ought ought to be dismissed out of hand, but that we must understand their foundation. Secular modalities and programs are not always bad, if they are virtuous and can be executed within the confines of scriptural authority, but they must not ever replace God’s word, and His ways and will. Below is the list of phrases. These phrases and modalities can be stated many ways.

1. If you are leading and no one is following, you are not leading.
2. Pastoral and leadership difficulties arise from an incompatible leadership style.
3. Leaders must learn to lead with  “spiritual capital”.

IF YOU ARE LEADEING AND NO ONE IS FOLLOWING YOU’RE NOT LEADING.

Years ago I heard this statement from a mentor of mine, and it really shook me. I willingly admit, that this statement can be true in some cases. There are poor leaders and good leaders, who need to learn lessons of leadership. Yet, to use this statement as a maxim is damaging, because good biblical leadership does not always produce results, which please the world’s definition of succuss, or our own definition of success.

Consider Moses, chosen by God, equipped by God for the task of shepherding Israel. By faith God accomplished wonderous miracles through this man. Yet it was only a small amount of the people who were truly following God, through Moses. So little followed his leadership, that the entire generation of adults, who came out of Egypt died in the wilderness. 

Consider the prophets, who led exemplary lives following God in the Old Testament especially Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The bulk of the warnings and calls to repentance were unheeded, as these calls to repentance and warnings turned into judgments. Were these poor leaders? No, they are models, for us, of leaders called to difficult situations, where few follow their good leadership. Consider Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 2:2-8 ² Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. ³ And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. ⁴ For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ ⁵ As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among them. ⁶ “And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house. ⁷ You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. ⁸ But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

Ezekiel 3:4-9 ⁴ Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. ⁵ For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel, ⁶ not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. ⁷ But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted. ⁸ Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. ⁹ Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.”

When considering this, leaders who lead and few follow, we must consider the Greatest Leader, our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember that our Lord led the disciples for three years, performed miracles never seen, spoke the truth, loved His enemies, and proclaimed God’s kingdom. Yet on the day of His death, His most intimate followers all abandoned Him, in fear and unbelief,  and exercised zero faith in His resurrection, having to be reminded by the woman, who were first to the tomb, they were supposed to be in Galilee (Matthew 28:5-7).

Let us consider that 500 brethren saw the Lord Jesus alive together and at one time, prior to His ascension (I Corinthians 15:6), yet only 120 were present on the day of Pentecost. If we were grading Jesus Christ, that would be an “F” at 24%. I only did this percentage because if we looked at the follower rate of His disciples, after His death, Jesus would have gotten an “F” with 0%.

To reiterate, there are leaders whom few follow and they may be poor leaders, but a large group following someone does not automatically equal good leadership as a maxim, it may or may be not the case.

The circumstances a leader may be in, could be very similar to another successful leader circumstance, yet different on a few points, which make the similarities less important. 

PASTORAL/LEADERSHIP DIFFICULTIES ARISE FROM IMCOMPATIBLE LEASHERSHIP STYLE.

Once again, the above statement may be true, but it is not the issue or an a key contributing issue in many cases.

The way pastoral leaders arrives with a church for ministry, can have a ton of variables. Some fellowships and pastors will be at odds. In some cases it may be a pastoral leadership style, that is stuck a rut. In some cases it may be a church leadership structure (elders, deacons, teachers, board members), which is stuck in a rut. In many cases it has nothing to do with leadership style, which is not biblical phrase, but with the enemy attempting to bog a church down in division (Romans, I and II Corinthians, II Timothy, James, Hebrews).

That being said, speaking from a pastoral perspective, there is way too much emphasis, placed on the leadership style of pastors, even before they arrive. I have been asked in almost every interview with a church board, what my leadership style is. My answers frustrate many, but it is my answer “I prayerfully considering how to be all things to all men, like Paul” (I Corinthians 9:22).

I have been asked “Are you authoritarian?”

My answer is ” If I need to be, as led by the Holy Spirit“.

I’ve been asked “Are you democratic or participatory leaders?”

My answers is “Sure, if the situation dictates and the Holy Sprit is leading in that manner; I am participatory.“

I’ve been asked “Are you a delegating leader, who allows for those with gifts and talents to use their gifts?”

My answers is “So long as those folks are teachable and understand ministry is not an entitlement, but gift and accountability, exercised under duly ordained and godly authority.” 

I’ve been asked “Are you a visionary and transformational leader?”

My response is “I hope to be and pray for vision to lead His church, but He is the one who transforms, not me.“

Pastoral leadership is difficult at best and impossible, without God’s help in its worst times. All leaders must deal with their own weakness and strengths, which need to be tempered by the Holy Spirit. Pastoral leadership is fraught with the expectations of other leaders, congregation members, as well as there own. These expectations may be biblical or unbiblical.

Besides that, leaders are expected to adjust to at least tens of tens of people in most cases, with little thought to how the others adjust to their personality, experience and understanding. This is not a complaint, but a hard reality.

I personally have benefitted from some leadership training in learning about myself, and how to prayerfully walk out being a leaders in Christ’s Church. That being said, the most important aspect of Christian leadership is how the leader follows the Holy Spirit, personally and in other Christians, who model the Christ life (Romans 8:14-16, I Corinthians 11:1).  

If we are to be all things to all men, there aren’t enough training materials in the world to fill that gap, but by the Holy Spirit, we can be what we need to be. 

LEADERS MUST LEARN TO LEAD WITH “SPIRITUAL CAPTIAL” OR “POCKET CHANGE”

The modality of leading with “spiritual capital” or “pocket change”, originally came from leadership gurus of the church, who were trying to figure out why the church had stalled. They followed a closely crafted idea, that has been stated “They do not want to know what you know, unless they know you love them”. This statement is at the head of what we used to call the “seeker sensitive church” and later repackaged as the “emergent church”.

To be clear, the seeker sensitive church or emergent church movement, was a response to the church losing its foundational call to make disciples by sharing the gospel. It happened slowly, but the church in America became an attempt, in general, to do what was necessary to get people into our buildings; rather than us being those who followed Christ’s command to “Go, and make disciples” where the people were at.

Churches were overrun with people who knew very little of the gospel, and the call for a person to repent and be a follower of Christ. Pastor’s and denominations had to pivot, and into this we come to leading through spiritual capitol or pocket change; meaning build up good will, before you say or do something that may trouble the person we are ministering too.

Keeping building good will, before you correct a person, change a ministry, or teach something they may not be ready for.

Being mindful of a persons disposition is not unbiblical.

Romans 15:1-2 ​¹ We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ² Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.

This is a call to leaders and laity, to be mindful that some peoples scruples or “hang ups” about particular things, which are perhaps not in line with the scripture or Christian maturity. Those more mature in the faith, ought to allow for these things, so long as they are not overtly sinful, or placing Christians doctrine or practice at risk. We aren’t to encourage them, but are to patiently give them an opportunity to grow into the deeper things. 

In these cases being right is not the point, but allowing for the person to come to understand the biblical pathway as they are able. This does not mean forever, but allow time for them to consider the biblical pathway.

II Timothy 2:23-26 also alludes to this in the case of the need for repentance and correction in behavior or practice. Verse 25-25 of that passage declares  “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, ²⁵ in humility correcting those who are in opposition“.

The word for “gentle” carries with it the idea of considering how a person needs to hear something. In another place in God’s word this is phrased “speaking the truth in love“. 

When considering the Lord Jesus Christ anyone can see, He is THE most “speaking the truth in love” Person ever. Yet, some of what he said and did was said an done without any mind as to how much spiritual capital He possessed or burned.

1. In John 11 after finding out Lazarus was sick, and knowing his friend would die, He waited four days. This behavior, blew a lot of the good will He had built up with Mary, Martha and some of the bystanders, yet God had a plan and He followed.
2. In John 4 Jesus ministers to a Samarian woman He had never met, and share a lot of difficult things for a person to hear. He did not consider how well she knew him, or if what He said was offending her, but spoke the truth in love, in some very abrupt ways.
3. Matthew 15:12 reveals the disciples were worried that Jesus was not building spiritual capital with the Pharisee’s and thereby putting the disciples at risk.
4. John 8:1-11 is the testimony of the woman caught in adultery. Our Lord had very little relationship capital with the pharisees and religious, yet challenged them with “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone“. He was the only one who could, and He could have for her violation of the law. Rather He lead with mercy and then told her to “go and sin no more“. None could conjecture Jesus did not have an ongoing relationship to her.

The gospel and new testament are littered with accounts like this, If you would like a list, let me know an I can provide one for you. Our Lord did not do things in mind with spiritual capital, because as He stated, He did wat the Father told Him to do, as a model for us to follow.

That being said leaders ought to have a built i heart which values relationship; understanding that all truths and godly actions are not meant to be spoken or executed, as soon as they are known. Yes, there are times for good leaders to pass on their knowledge to those who need to hear it and there are times when the Spirit leads in those things at a later hour. 

That said, the best leadership training is to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14). That is a lifetime lesson, one the church in America needs sorely to focus on.