Monday, May 08, 2006
The Source Of Authority and Leadership
When we organize ourselves into institutions, whether they be clubs, homeowners associations, governments, or churches, at the beginning the leaders are the Leaders. That is to say that the people that assume the insitutional positions of leadership are the best leaders anyway; the people that have organized and lead to get to the point of institutionalization. They have earned the right to have the institutional positions they take on. Such people earn their authority, or in churches have it granted to them by God.
However as things go on, poeple begin to desire those leaderhsip positions for their own sake, and they begin to learn ways to attain those offices by manipulating the institution without regard to ability to lead or the orignial aims of the instituion. In other cases they come to such offices simply because someone has to do it, and they are the best qualified, if not fully qualified. The institution begins to grant leadership and authority based purely on position or office, and not based on ability and commitment to the goals of the institution itself.
This is one of the beauties of democracy - elections are a form of earning authority and office. In this media saturated age, sometimes how it is earned is misleading and/or misguided, but at least it is earned in some sense.
This is not always the case in non-governmental institutions. We are all familiar with the Peter Principle. I think it is especially true in churches. Poeple seek leadership and authority for all sorts of wrong reasons. And even in churches that elect their leaders, there is such disengagement on the part of the congregation and usually far more slots than willing bodies that much unearned authority and ledership results.
Scripture makes clear that leadership and authority are not ours to have, but ours to earn, nay to be awarded:
You see, it is not a matter of education, it's a matter of character. Look at the I Timothy passage. You don't see requirements for seminary educations or workshop training. Not that those things are not incredibly useful - only that they are not the measure by which we can evaluate leadership and authority.
I must confess, I am very tired of people telling me what authority they have over me by virtue of position. I want to be lead, but I want a leader worthy of the title.
There is a reason Barna thinks people are "worn out on church," and it lies at the heart of why his book Revolution appealed to me despite my disagreement with many of his conclusions. Bad leaders lead to revolutions.
Fortunately, bad leaders do not mean the institution itself or its goals are irretrievably corrupt - just the leaders. Any effort to fix the church has to start with leadership, the right leadership, the God-granted leadership.
Cross-Posted at How To Be A Christian And Still Go To Church
Related Tags: leadership, authority, overseer, leader, earned, institutional
However as things go on, poeple begin to desire those leaderhsip positions for their own sake, and they begin to learn ways to attain those offices by manipulating the institution without regard to ability to lead or the orignial aims of the instituion. In other cases they come to such offices simply because someone has to do it, and they are the best qualified, if not fully qualified. The institution begins to grant leadership and authority based purely on position or office, and not based on ability and commitment to the goals of the institution itself.
This is one of the beauties of democracy - elections are a form of earning authority and office. In this media saturated age, sometimes how it is earned is misleading and/or misguided, but at least it is earned in some sense.
This is not always the case in non-governmental institutions. We are all familiar with the Peter Principle. I think it is especially true in churches. Poeple seek leadership and authority for all sorts of wrong reasons. And even in churches that elect their leaders, there is such disengagement on the part of the congregation and usually far more slots than willing bodies that much unearned authority and ledership results.
Scripture makes clear that leadership and authority are not ours to have, but ours to earn, nay to be awarded:
Matt 23:10-12 - And do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.When the church does begin to institutionalize and leadership offices emerge, clear qualifications are established.
1 Tim 3:1-7 - It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, uncontentious, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?); and not a new convert, lest he become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he may not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.If the church is to survive, and survive well in compliance with God's wishes, we need to spend less time worrying about institutional authority and more time worrying about earned and God-granted authority. We need to prioritize and make sure that those that hold the institutional offices have truly been granted and earned the authority we seek to bestow upon them.
You see, it is not a matter of education, it's a matter of character. Look at the I Timothy passage. You don't see requirements for seminary educations or workshop training. Not that those things are not incredibly useful - only that they are not the measure by which we can evaluate leadership and authority.
I must confess, I am very tired of people telling me what authority they have over me by virtue of position. I want to be lead, but I want a leader worthy of the title.
There is a reason Barna thinks people are "worn out on church," and it lies at the heart of why his book Revolution appealed to me despite my disagreement with many of his conclusions. Bad leaders lead to revolutions.
Fortunately, bad leaders do not mean the institution itself or its goals are irretrievably corrupt - just the leaders. Any effort to fix the church has to start with leadership, the right leadership, the God-granted leadership.
Cross-Posted at How To Be A Christian And Still Go To Church
Related Tags: leadership, authority, overseer, leader, earned, institutional
