In preparation for some talks I’d been asked to give at a leadership conference, I got to thinking about when Christian leadership goes wrong.

That’s pretty much all the time, given human limitations and sinfulness, I guess. But surely it could all be so much better. In this list I haven’t included the nakedly corrupt, abusive or immoral; they don’t really need describing. However, those forms of leadership will flourish where Christians forget that Christian leaders are to be held accountable and are as frail and temptable as anyone else.

Before you begin reading though, I need to make a significant disclaimer: I don’t consider myself immune from any of these failings. By listing these negative types, I am not simply hoping to have a few cynical laughs, but in fact to produce real repentance in myself and others. Will you join me in that spirit? Here we go:

1. The Narcissist The easiest way to spot a narcissist is when they are confronted by criticism. The narcissist usually goes a long way to shield him- or herself from any criticism, and will usually only employ or work with those who don’t dare to contradict them. But when criticism is made, the narcissist deflects it by saying that the person who gives it is either bad or mad. The criticism itself may be described as persecution, and held up as evidence that the true gospel is being preached.

Theological solution The narcissist has an insufficient doctrine of sin in the life of the believer, and in practical terms, at least, is too positive about the progress of their own holiness. A biblically mature leader develops a healthy attitude to criticism, which enables one to discern which criticism is valid and which is unwarranted.

2. The Control Freak The control freak will always want to live in a world in which they are able to be omniscient and omnipotent. Hence, control freaks find it hard to grow churches beyond a certain size. They can’t trust anyone. They tend to be inflexible about rules, and closed to ideas which they didn’t think up. They find it hard to discriminate between issues that really matter and issues that don’t. They always want to know what their congregation is doing.

Theological solution The control freak needs to really know and practice in real life the great truth of the sovereignty of God. God is in control, not you! It’s a basic biblical principle. Strangely, leaders who are controlling will very often preach this doctrine as a means to bolstering their own sovereignty—which shows they haven’t understood it at all. It’s a stressful existence, too. A control freak can never relax.

3. The Wimp The weak and indecisive leader is often imprisoned by the awareness of their own weakness and so assumes the opposite role: an authoritarian. An authoritarian leader is very often a weak leader trying to overcompensate. He or she is so befuddled by advice that he or she just has to ignore it, or chose one advisor and make them infallible. Sometimes they theologize their weakness as Christ-likeness or make it seem somehow pious.

Theological solution The weak leader can take great heart from the number of biblical weak and fearful leaders there are and that God has used! Moses and Gideon are two examples. But the weak leader needs a doctrine of the Holy Spirit—to know and realise they are empowered and authorised by the power and authority of God himself. And they need to develop a courage based on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead in the power of the Spirit, a Spirit which gives us grounds for confidence.

4. The “I don’t do windows” leader This leader has isolated their leadership role to one particular gift and doesn’t stray much from it. Usually this means the preparation and delivery of sermons. On the one hand this can come from a belief in the giftedness of the body of Christ in all its diversity. But this belief is taken out of all proportion: the church and the world have other needs that need serving. They have bought the contemporary notion of giftedness as a kind of internal and ontological property, belonging to each believer, not the equipping of God’s people by the Holy Spirit to do what needs doing for the sake of his people.

Theological solution See above: a proper understanding of the nature of these gifts for the edification of the church is required.

5. The Macho This leader has a version of complementarianism that anchors it in a particular reading of maleness and femaleness, and is unaware how culturally bound it is. Leadership is male; therefore, maleness must be emphasised. You hear them using lots of military metaphors and talking about extreme sports as an analogy for the Christian life. Jesus is spoken of as the epitome of this kind of masculinity.

Theological solution A proper Christology—which means a proper reading of the Gospels—will see that the depiction of Jesus’ masculinity is far less like a kind of 1st century Rambo than the Macho thinks… he got beat up and killed, after all!

6. The Member of the Guild The aim of this Christian leader is to match it with his or her peers from Bible College (or wherever). There are two poles: smug satisfaction or utter frustration. The latter occurs if the church is not meeting expectations. That will cause them to look like a failure at their next reunion. They minister and pastor but as a means to an end. Their ministry is all technique and no heart. They ensure that they are seen to be a “player” in denominational politics.

Theological solution Whose church is it after all?

7. The Self-legislator The self-legislator is a child of the revolution. Rules and institutions get in the way of the gospel, as far as they see it. They are happy to take the denominational badge, but show contempt for both denominational distinctives and officials. “It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission” is their mantra.

Theological solution Again, the doctrine of sin in the Christian life reminds us that making oneself accountable to others is imperative. There is an overconfidence in one’s own ability to determine scriptural truth without reference to others. This evolves from a misunderstanding of the clarity of Scripture developed in the Reformation. There is also a failure to see the Holy Spirit’s activity in the life of the church over the course of history.

8. The Change averter The change averter is deeply conservative and will put the brakes on any change whatsoever as a point of principle. They can’t quite explain why change is bad or why the status quo is better, but they are able to kybosh almost any new thought by throwing dust in the air. For them, seniority alone is the best qualification for leadership in the church.

Theological solution Once again, a proper view of sin ought to help us be critical in our acceptance of traditions. Some are good and worthy; others are the result of human imperfections and limitations. Discernment is needed in these matters, not simply a deference to tradition.

9. The Pragmatist “Whatever works” is the bottom line here. The pragmatist hasn’t bought a theological book since leaving college. Instead, his or her shelves are filled with secular leadership books. Or, if they are a lay person you will most likely hear them complaining about the lack of application in the sermons.

Theological solution Pragmatism is not bad, but the church is not a company and the minister is not the CEO. The gospel is not a programme or an advertising slogan. This particular leader needs to grasp the reality that the only bottom line God is interested in is the day of judgment. Apparent inefficiency now might turn out to be a “gospel efficiency” in the final analysis.

Feature image: flickr_by Photographic Poetry