The Danger of Leadership

I didn't know becoming a leader in a local expression of God's New Covenant community meant I would spend the rest of my days with someone always angry at me. Yet this is the consistent pattern of the life of a pastor. I guess I should be encouraged since Jesus himself warned us to beware when all men speak well of us.

If Jesus couldn't go through life without making people angry, who are we to think we can do otherwise? You say, "Sure, Chad. I get it, leadership can be hard. Waa, waa!"

Yes, it can be, but that's not the point to which I am getting. Leadership is not just difficult, but because it is difficult it can also be dangerous. I believe we see this illustrated in the life of Moses. God instructed Moses to ask the rock for water to refresh the children of Israel, but notice what Moses does.

Numbers 20:10-12 says:
And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them."

Its strange that this same Moses was previously referred to as more humble than all the men of the face of the earth. So what happened? What caused Moses to not only disobey God by striking the rock rather than asking it for water, but he also set himself up as the people's judge as he called them rebels. And to top it all off, he promotes himself to the office of deliverer with the statement, "Must WE bring water for you?"

Everything Moses did drew attention to himself rather than pointing the people toward God. So how did Moses evolve from a humble, reluctant leader, into a self-righteous bringer of judgment?

I believe the answer lies in the fact that leadership brings a contant flow of criticism, complaining, and doubting from those who are being led. In the preceding chapters Moses endured the cutting words of opposers, the lack of eye-contact from his secret critics, and the proud boasting of those who could have "done it better."

The constant beating of these harsh attitudes turned Moses into a leader who forgot that his "struggle is not against flesh and blood." He became a leader who began taking the constant attacks personally, therefore he launched a personal attack of his own.

Tim Keller is right when he says, "Moses is a man who has forgotten grace." I like Keller's quote of John Newton, “Whatever it be that makes us trust in ourselves that we are comparatively wise or good, so as to treat those with contempt who do not subscribe to our doctrines, or follow our party, is a proof and fruit of a self-righteous spirit.”

Whether you are church leader, school teacher, or police officer, I encourage you to recognize that opposition from those whom you lead can push you towards becoming a self-righteous, judgmental pharisee; and that is the danger of leadership.