From Joseph Mattera
Unfortunately, in every level and realm of life we have
all witnessed serious leadership failure! It is no longer a surprise when we
read about a high-level pastor, celebrity, sports figure or politician who is
disgraced because of ethical or moral failure.
As one who has worked with many struggling church and
marketplace leaders on a very personal level for the past 30+ years I have made
the following observations regarding warning signs before a fall, which I teach
younger leaders so they will avoid the mistakes of the present generation of
many leaders.
All of us have fallen into the following in one way,
shape or form. Hopefully we will have learned the hard leadership lessons of
life so we can pass on wisdom to the next generation! Here are seven warning
signs before leadership failure:
First, often before falling a leader will cram so much
into his or her schedule for a prolonged amount of time that they don’t get
enough time for personal renewal and rest. Much activity is not always kingdom
productivity; when a person is constantly running around from meeting to
meeting, from state to state, from event to event without seeking God and
personal times for reflection, they do violence to their soul and will
eventually be operating on will power and fumes instead of the Spirit of God.
This can lead to them being tempted to escaping from the pressure of life with
adulterous relationships, pornography, excess entertainment and foolish
endeavors.
Activity without clarity will also lead to making poor
decisions. When we are always in a rush we will not have the proper time to
process things, which leads to a lack of discernment and disastrous leadership
decisions. This will compound the pressure even more and create more work to
get out of the mess they are in! Sometimes less is more!
I am not saying leaders shouldn’t be very busy or have a
lot of responsibility. But what I am saying is there always has to be enough
time in between events and days of meetings for daily reflection, prayer and
seeking God so that our level of discernment is high and we are walking in the
grace and power of God to do His work instead of our own will power and
strength!
Secondly, I have noticed that before falling a leader
avoids intimate contact with their peers or overseers who can speak into their
life. They live a life of isolation which is very dangerous!
As busy as I am, there are a number of mentors and
spiritual sons that I open up to who give input and prayer; I am always open to
hearing God’s voice through their prayers or exhortations to me. The more
responsibility I have the more community I need to keep myself on track!
We also need intimate relationships to keep the human
side of us active. It is very easy to go from one productive business meeting
or anointed service to another and always be in front of strangers or crowds of
people or with leaders who don’t know us well. There is no real community in
those settings; even in the midst of a crowd we can still isolate ourselves
because in a crowd a leader doesn’t have to be intimate or accountable since
they are the ones calling the shots, doing the leading and speaking instead of
the other way around.
Third, a leader is heading for a fall when he or she is
not spending adequate time with their spouse and/or family. God told us that it
is not good for man to be alone. I have seen many leaders, especially those who
travel a lot, who are not in regular touch with their spouses and who rarely
ever spend time at home. Being with family helps keep a leader grounded.
Without that, they will be surrounded by superficial relationships related only
to their productivity as a minister or business person, where they are always
receiving accolades (from sycophants), as opposed to being a father, mother,
husband or wife who has to constantly strive to work hard at intimacy in their
family relationships—which God intended for us to keep us humble and grounded.
A leader may get praise from everyone around him but the spouse really knows
them and will tell them like it is and keep them in touch with reality!
Fourth, leaders are heading for trouble when they don’t
exercise self-discipline in eating and indulging their pleasures. If a leader
cannot control their eating patterns then most likely that is a reflection of a
larger issue; that is, they are medicating themselves with food and most likely
are vulnerable to other lusts of the flesh that will enable them to escape from
the pressures of reality. Obesity is a social sin that has become acceptable in
the Body of Christ even though Jesus warns against it (Luke 21:34).
Furthermore, when we as leaders have bad diets it begins
to affect our minds, emotions and spirits in negative ways because it creates
sluggishness, fatigue, and clouds our spirits with our carnality. Many leaders
have died or have serious health issues once they hit their forties and fifties
because of a poor diet. God will judge us if we prematurely meet Him and miss
half our lives because of our lack of discipline and obedience.
Fifth, leaders are heading for trouble when they don’t
seek God for God and only pray and read the Bible when they have to preach a
sermon or minister. Worse than our lack of intimacy with the Lord is the fact
that we are only using Him to make a living or using His word to achieve
certain outcomes. However good they may be, our highest call in life is to know
and love God. Matthew 7:22-23 teaches us that we can minister for God
effectively and still fail if He doesn’t know us! Leaders who only seek God for
a sermon have a professional relationship with the Lord and will eventually not
have the grace and spiritual power to deal with all the pressures of marriage,
life and ministry, which can lead to moral failure.
Sixth, leaders who love titles, positions, recognition,
constantly join boards, and get involved in large events for public prominence
are heading for a fall unless they repent. When we exalt ourselves God says He
will humble us (Luke 14:11) and he who seeks his own glory is not glory
(Proverbs 25:27).
We are not far from a fall when we try to lift ourselves
up, promote ourselves, or get involved in events without hearing from the Lord;
we are like the Pharisees who loved titles, prominent positions, greetings in
the marketplace and to be called leader or reverend or bishop or doctor
(Matthew 23:6-7). Leaders who are broken have learned not to try to create
names for themselves by marketing their accomplishments and hype; they have
learned that only when God exalts a person does it really last (Psalm 75:6).
Lastly, when leaders use people as objects for their
businesses or ministries instead of having a motivation of empowering people to
walk in their purpose—when leaders put programs over people and tasks ahead of
relationships—eventually they will have no one around them who is loyal or who
they can trust. They will have burned many bridges behind them because,
eventually, their followers will become weary of them and leave them!
Leadership is a lonely road to walk; leaders more than anyone else need to
minister to people with a servant’s heart. When leaders come into the ministry
with the attitude of being served instead of serving others they develop an
entitlement mentality that can lead them to pride, arrogance and eventually to
destruction.
May God help all of us who serve the kingdom as leaders
to glory only in knowing Him (Philippians 3:7-11; Jeremiah 9:23-24)!
