When Leadership Fails

Company Profile

TO: Jesus, Son of Joseph

The Woodcrafter's Carpenter Shop

Nazareth 25922

FROM: Jordan Management Consultants

Jerusalem 26544

Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for managerial positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests, and we have not only run the results through our computers, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocation aptitude consultant.

It is the opinion of the staff that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capacity.

We have summarized the findings of our study below:

Simon Peter is emotional, unstable and given to fits of temper.

Andrew has absolutely no quality of leadership.

The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interests above Company loyalty.

Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale.

We believe it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been black-listed by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau.

James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus definitely have radical meanings.

Additionally, they both registered high scores on the manic depressive scale.

However, one of the candidates shows great potential. He's a man of ability and resourcefulness; he is a great networker; has a keen business mind; and has strong contacts in influential circles. He's highly motivated, very ambitious and adept with financial matters. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your Controller and Chief Operating Officer.

All the other profiles are self-explanatory. We wish you the utmost success in your new venture.

---

We may find it ironic and perhaps even a little amusing when we discuss the leadership qualities of the apostles.  Indeed if these men were evaluated by modern businesses none would be called back for an interview, except the prominent Judas.  When we look at leaders, we often make the same mistakes as this company would make however as we miss the big picture and add up details that don’t equal the right total.

Any time that a church is looking for a leader, it stands at a crossroads and must make a very important decision.  It needs to not be blinded by what others considers attractive but instead look for a man who stands for the truth and preaches the word of God.

It is easy to place the responsibility of selecting a leader on  the shoulders of a church board or a denominational stationing committee.  However, the responsibility of selecting a leader falls on the shoulders of every church member.  Each person must test and approve any person they would have as their leader.

To serve as a warning of what to avoid in selecting a leader we will examine the first king of Israel , King Saul.

Israel had been without a king since it entered the Promised Land.  When Israel found itself in trouble, God raised up a judge to lead the people.  Samuel was the last judge to lead the people of Israel .  However, his sons did not follow his ways.  The people recognized this and asked Samuel to appoint a king for them.

On first glance, this request seems like a good and reasonable request to make of Samuel.  The people knew that Samuel’s sons did not follow the Lord and appeared to want a godly leader to guide them.  However, they had in fact rejected God as their leader.

In the past, God had raised up leaders to guide the people of Israel whenever trouble arose.  The people had lost their faith that God would do this however, and asked for a king.  A king would give them stability and they would know that there would be a succession of leadership to fall back upon.

The Israelites reveal another reason why they want a king in 1 Samuel 8:20.  “Then we will be like the other nations…”  This is truly the problem at the heart of the matter.  The people of Israel had been set apart by God.  God had given them specific rules that they were to obey that made them different from all other nations.  But the people wanted a king so that they would be like other nations.

People like to feel that they are part of a majority instead of the minority.  This is human nature as we feel comfortable knowing that most other people think and do as we do.  The church is not exempt from this mode of thinking either.  Churches are just as vulnerable to fads as the rest of the world is and many churches look at what they see as “successful” churches and try to imitate them.

Churches are just like people because they are comprised by people.  Churches don’t like to be in the minority any more than people do.  This is why so many churches have compromised on issues such as abortion, homosexuality, and adultery.

Churches will also follow trends when it comes to pastors and sermons.  The current trend is to have a pastor who starts off with a couple of jokes and an illustration, then finish up with ten minutes of content.  This way Christians don’t lose focus and feel as if they have done their duty by attending church for the day.

Unfortunately, Christians need to be fed and the current trend does not allow time for this.  But churches will continue to follow the fad of whatever is new.

Truth does not change.  Let me repeat this because the post-modern world doesn’t understand this.  Truth does not change.  Israel sought to be like other kingdoms and asked for a king, thereby rejecting God.  Christians have torn out pages in their Bible because its stance on homosexuality or adultery is unpopular.  Likewise, Christians need to be fed rather than told an inspirational story that makes them feel good about themselves.

Christians are called to not be part of this world.  This by very definition should make us a minority.  We should see to it that we are not like other groups of people because if we are sanctified and holy that means we are set apart.  You cannot be sanctified and be just like everyone else!  It defies its own definition.

Nevertheless, God gave Israel their king, giving them a stern warning of what would happen when they were governed by one.  Israel did not get to choose their king, but as we look at their first king, we may see many examples of what to avoid when selecting leadership of any nation or even church.

1 Samuel 9:2 says of Saul, he was, “an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites – a head taller than any others.”  Saul was a man who looked like a natural leader.  We all have a tendency to judge a book by its cover – after all that’s what first impressions are all about.  The people who saw Saul must have immediately thought that he was a man who could lead them into battle against their enemies.  He was impressive in stature and stood an entire head taller than everyone else.

While we may not make such an obvious error in selecting a leader – physical appearance means little when running a church – we are awestruck by other features that mean little in leadership.

Often we look at credentials such as what school a person went to in determining how worthy of leadership a person is.  Many people prefer an eloquent speaker as opposed to someone who stumbles over their words or stutters.  In our minds, a stuttering pastor is a poor representation of our church and would keep people from returning.

Of course none of this matters to the Lord as Moses himself suffered from speaking problems.  What matters is having a leader who stands for truth and is willing to declare the word of the Lord without compromise.

After Saul is anointed king, things start out well for him.  He rallies the Israelites together and they deliver a smashing military defeat of their enemies.  It is only seven days later though that he commits his first mistake, and a grievous one at that.

After attacking the Philistines, the Israelites waited for Samuel to come so that they may present a sacrifice to the Lord.  This was in accordance to what Samuel had told him when he anointed Saul to be king.

Saul, even after seeing everything else occur that Samuel had predicted grew impatient.  Although Samuel told him that he would arrive after seven days to make the sacrifice Saul was afraid of losing support of his fighting men and made the sacrifice himself.  Samuel immediately arrived and rebuked Saul.  God desired obedience more than sacrifice.  Saul didn’t understand this however and chose not to obey God by offering the sacrifice on his own.  From that point on, the kingship was torn from Saul and would be given to a man after God’s own heart.  The man God had in mind was, of course, David.

When looking for a leader, we ought to search for a man of faith.  Despite seeing everything else occur just as Samuel had said, Saul did not possess the faith or patience to wait for the fulfillment of his word.  Likewise, God has promised the believer many things.  A leader will lead many people astray if he does not fully believe in God’s promises and is able to wait upon the timing of the Lord.

Later, we see Saul fighting the Philistines once again.  His son Jonathan has left to fight by himself and his armor bearer.  He is finding tremendous success because he is trusting the Lord.  Saul, however, makes two foolish declarations.  First, he declares that anyone who eats anything that day until he avenged himself upon his enemies would be cursed. 

It only takes a little common sense to see what the problem is with this statement.  When people do not eat, they become far less effective in anything they do, much less when they are fighting a battle.  Saul appears to be far more concerned about avenging himself and getting what he wants done accomplished than he cares about any of the men fighting for him.

A leader must be concerned about those who are under their care.  This, in fact, should be the most important duty of a leader.  A leader is supposed to lead the people to a certain goal.  In most cases, the goal is the well being and prosperity of those under the leader.  Saul placed his own ego above the well being of his own people in this declaration.

Saul’s second problem with this statement is the curse that he declares.  His son Jonathan was away and did not know of the curse.  However, he ate some honey and fell under the curse that Saul had proclaimed.  When Saul seeks the Lord’s favor and the Lord does not respond, he casts lots to determine why the Lord would not respond.  Before determining who the blame lay with, Saul declares that whoever among the people was guilty of sin – even if it was his own son Jonathan – would be put to death.  The lots reveal that it was his own son Jonathan who was under Saul’s curse.  Saul does not put Jonathan to death.

A leader must be true to their word.  When a leader says he will do something, he should be expected to do it.  Likewise, a leader should not make extravagant or foolish promises such as Saul did, if he in fact has no intention of keeping his promise.  This is lying in its simplest form.  We should not serve under a lying leader.

When it comes to telling the truth a leader’s word should be as good as gold.  The New Testament tells us that we should not need to swear by anything, not the moon or the stars.  Our yes should mean yes and our no should mean no.  A Christian, and especially a leader, should tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, without ever being asked or bound under oath.

A final lesson to be learned from Saul is that we should not be afraid of God.  This should sound strange to our ears because we have been taught that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”  However, Saul has the wrong kind of fear in him.  By 1 Samuel 18, David has been anointed to succeed Saul as king.  David has killed Goliath and has been recognized by the Israelites as a mighty warrior.  Saul has become jealous of David.  He knows that God has anointed David to be king, but he apparently does not understand that he cannot stop God from doing as he pleases.

It is hard to tell what Saul understands at this point.  He knows enough of David that he tries to kill him on numerous occasions.  Yet he also sees and knows that God is with David.  By challenging David, Saul is in fact challenging God himself.

1 Samuel 18:28-29 states, “When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, Saul became afraid of him and remained his enemy the rest of his life.”

If there was any hope for Saul before this point, he is totally lost now.  He has sunk to the bottom of the valley and will not climb out.  I truly hope that I do not encounter a Christian leader who sinks to this depth.

Saul sees that the Lord is with David.  David has triumphed over Goliath.  David has prospered in every military post Saul has appointed him to.  David has returned safely from killing 200 Philistines.  This was a trap that Saul set for David, with the prize being his daughter Michal’s hand in marriage.  Not only does he avoid the trap, he kills twice as many men as Saul had asked of him.

Saul has seen all of this and knows that God is with David.  The obvious decision to make at this point is to make every effort to be friends with the man that God has chosen to bless.  Saul, instead, becomes afraid of David and makes him an enemy.  Saul is afraid of God.  He knows that he has lost God’s favor and has committed numerous sins before the Lord.  Instead of trying to regain God’s favor and repent of his sins, Saul sets himself against the man God has favored and ultimately finds himself up against the Lord.

This is a battle that Saul is obviously going to lose.  Furthering the tragedy, Saul brings judgment upon his own family as his son Jonathan is killed on the same day that Saul is struck down.

In Saul’s day and throughout the era of Israelite kings, finding the next leader was easy.  God appointed David to ascend to the throne.  David’s descendants would follow him on the throne for hundreds of years.  What must the church do, aside from be careful to avoid a man like Saul?

In Acts chapter one, the disciples have a void in their leadership to fill.  Judas had betrayed Christ and had committed suicide.  In Acts 1:4-5 Jesus instructed the disciples, “Do not leave Jerusalem , but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.  For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

The disciples remained in Jerusalem , but they did not wait.  Instead, they searched for someone to fill the empty spot that Judas had left.  Peter lead the group and quoting two passages from Psalms decided that it was their duty to find another person to take Judas’ place.

After making up some criteria for candidates, there are two men who can fill the position.  The disciples cast lots, as had been used for centuries to determine the will of God, and the lot fell upon Matthias.  He would be the replacement for Judas Iscariot.

Unfortunately, nothing is ever recorded about Matthias.  The New Testament seems to be so preoccupied with this guy named Paul that it doesn’t even bother to mention Matthias again.

So what is the lesson from this?  The disciples should have waited for the Holy Spirit to come before they made any decisions like this.  If they had, they would have been aware that the requirements they had set for a replacement were not the Lord’s requirements.  God had someone else in mind, different from anyone they would expect.  In fact, even when they heard of Paul’s conversion, they couldn’t believe it.  If they had known at that moment that Paul would be the one to replace Judas, it would have been unfathomable.

When looking for a leader, we need to seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance.  We cannot rely on a sovereign stationing committee, church board, or personnel commission to bring in the right leader for the church.

Every member of the church has a responsibility to pray that God would raise up the right leader at the right time.  This applies not only to the position of pastor, but youth minister, Sunday school teacher, and Bible school director.  It requires faith and patience on the part of the believer to wait upon the Lord for Him to bring the right leader to us.

On the part of Paul, it was fourteen years after his conversion that he even began his work for the Lord.  The disciples were looking for a replacement for Judas just days after Christ had returned to heaven.  In fact, it was fourteen years until the Lord’s intended replacement began his ministry.

While we pray and ask God for guidance, we must examine those who would possibly be leaders.  From Saul, we learn what to avoid in a leader. 

First, we should not be seeking a leader just so we may be like others and be in the majority.  It is the minority who will make it into heaven, for broad is the road and wide is the gate that leads to destruction.  Being like others and asking for a leader who will teach us to be like everyone else is not something to be desired.

Second, we should not be fooled by things that don’t matter to the Lord.  Saul was tall and impressive and this is obviously what the Israelites thought a leader should look like.  Eloquent speech or a charismatic personality mean nothing in the church if it is not helping Christians grow and bringing people closer to God.

Third, we should avoid a leader who does not have faith that God will do all that he says.  We all have varying degrees of faith and sometimes our faith falters.  A leader should be a champion of faith, however, and should strengthen us when we grow weary in our own belief.

Fourth, a leader should have the interests of those who follow him in mind.  In a church, we should desire a leader who causes us to grow in Christ.  Anyone who places any interest ahead of that does not have our best interest in mind.

Fifth, a leader should speak the truth.  When a leader declares something, we should have no doubt in our minds that it will be done.  There should be no reason to question whether the leader is speaking the truth to us because his track record shows that he is a man of his word.

Sixth and finally, when a leader knows something to be the work of God, he does not run from it or become scared of it.  God has our best interests in mind and a leader should constantly be seeking the favor of God and not avoiding those who have found the Lord’s favor.

If we wait and ask God for such a leader, the Lord will provide one according to His time and will.