I have seen multiple cases where a church leader has been toxic in certain areas of his shepherding and has plagerized his teaching.
There seems to be a certain sinful desire in man to gain the glory. Rather than give credit where it is due, they use impressive information or ideas from the thoughts of others and present it as their own.
There are certainly mistakes made. It is not that uncommon to have read or heard something in days—or years—past that pop into mind while studying Scripture that seems like it did just that: pop into your mind. Recently, I have used a particular phrase multiple times that someone reading it asked if it came from someone else’s book. It hit me that indeed it was and it is unique enough that I need to be referencing the author’s work.
Seeking Glory for Others
Leaders of Christian organizations, churches, and businesses need to take a principle from this idea: The Lord desires us to humbly seek the glory of others.
Jesus helps us understand how important it is to do this in John 7. There the Apostle John explains:
About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.
John 7:14-18 (ESV)
There is a principal here that challenges our puffed-up selves. We want glory. We desire glory.
To be the first to have thought of an idea or developed a program or reached many people. It is insidious. It is like black tendrils reaching into our hearts and turning it ganegrene.
There is an incredible story of man’s arrogance and the judgment that God brought in response. King Herod, who ruled when Jesus was crucified, was speaking before the people and this is what happened:
And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
Acts 12:22-23 (ESV)
Jesus shows us a better way. Despite being God, he humbled himself and gave credit to his Father—certainly one of the many incomprehensible aspects of Trinitarian theology. It gives us a perfect example of what leaders should be doing every day. A Christian leader’s responsibility is to first give God the glory and secondly to give his team the glory.
Teaming
I have written often about “teams” in the organizational and church setting using the research of others with much greater knowledge than me. Amy Edmondson, in her book called Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy provides wonderful analysis and application of this idea.1
Edmondson notes that organizations (businesses) need to learn in order to develop and grow. They must respond to the ever-changing environments in which we live and work. Unfortunately, she writes, “Many organizations still rely on the top-down, command-and-control approaches that fueled growth and profitability in the industrial era.” (loc. 267-268)
Many churches and Christian organizations have a high regard for submission to and the rule of those in positions of authority. We give respect to elders and bosses and those older than us. This is all well and good, but I want in this writing to challenge those who live in those positions of power and authority whether primarily relational or formal.
If these leaders want to minister to their flocks whether in a business, church, or non-profit organization, they will need to take on the words of Jesus and learn from those who have studied this extensively like Edmondson.
In defining the helpfulness of teams, Edmondson explains,
Teaming blends relating to people, listening to other points of view, coordinating actions, and making shared decisions.
loc. 278-279
These are the first steps.
How many leaders do you know truly listen to other points of view . . . and receive them graciously without criticism but truly open-mindedness? Without defensiveness of their own ideas? Do you?
And then, make “shared decisions?”
We are getting closer to Jesus’ words, “The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true.”
There needs to be an intentionality in leadership to build these teams where glory is given to others not self. Edmondson points out,
Teaming, it seems, requires a new type of leadership that supports speaking up, asking questions, and sharing ideas. In short, teaming requires a leadership mindset that cultivates an environment conducive to learning. I use the term “organizing to learn” to describe this leadership mindset and its accompanying practices.
loc. 622-624
Just think: Jesus was the perfect leader. He never made a bad decision. He was omniscient—he had all knowledge.
And yet, you continually see him working with others to help them come to decisions and work things through. He does not crush them with his own ideas—though he could very easily, because his ideas are always right—much like he handles his disciples when he sends them out to learn by experience in Luke 10. He gave them the basic ground rules of engagement and then received them back with encouragement for all they learned and saw.
You can hear their excitement in becoming an integral part of Jesus’ work. He allowed them to experience glory as they went about teaching and healing.
Tapping the Gifts of Subordinates
Edmondson speaks of image-bearing in subordinates without necessarily understanding how God created his people in his image:
The difference starts with a basic mindset about human beings. Whereas industrialization essentially infantilized workers, the knowledge-based economy only works well when it restores workers on all levels to self-respecting, self-determining adulthood.
loc. 845-847
Giving glory to another means you respect their views and wish their abilities to be tapped and encouraged. But this isn’t just using them. Get what you can out of them and discard them.
That is the makings of the toxic leader.
A leader must truly respect and desire to build up the talents in his subordinates. This can open the way for those under authority to truly use their gifts. But that isn’t natural in the hierarchy of the church, organization, or business as Edmondson notes:
Research shows that hierarchy, by its very nature, dramatically reduces speaking up by those lower in the pecking order. . . As a result, in most organizations, even if leaders at the top of the hierarchy say they welcome employee feedback, and even if people have the knowledge and training to say something of importance , they still may remain silent out of fear of negative consequences.
loc. 1226-1227, 1229-1231
It takes real work and care to develop the voices of those under your leadership. Much of that care comes in how the leader responds to ideas of subordinates. Does the pastor take ideas and use them even when they conflict with his own?
Does the manager run with a subordinate’s idea though he knows it may fail . . . and then give encouragement and help in responding to the problems created by the failure? Rather than scolding and anger?
Give Away the Glory
Toxic leadership most often involves the failure to fulfill the biblical example that Paul teaches in Ephesians when he says church leaders need “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”
So too, organizational and business leaders are called to do everything possible to build up the ministry—and glory—of their subordinates.
- Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy. Edmondson, Amy C. , 1 edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2012. ↩︎