To some Christians, the choice of whether to stay under a toxic leader in the home, workplace, or organization is not a question. They may consider leaving, but the go-to is a belief that God has called them to suffer for Christ’s sake. I assure them, their consciences are not bound by Scripture.
Clearly, according to a survey/study done in Sweden bad leadership is not under every rock. Only 42% of those surveyed don’t trust their company’s management team. Is the glass half full?
Like in domestic abuse research, there is debate as to the malleability of abusive people in leadership. I would guess that in most people's experience, there is little hope for such change.
This is Good Friday. It is called "good" for a good reason. Because of the resurrection of Jesus for the rescue of mankind. But have you ever considered what brought on the darkness of this day that leads to that day? Toxic leadership!
Pharisaism cannot be mollified. Paul, nor Jesus, ever makes excuses for it. Pharisaic teaching and practice are destructive.
One of the most damaging things to an organization is a leader who is a hypocrite. The Oxford Dictionary defines hypocrisy as the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.
In this second look at the book of James, we will consider the center of toxic leadership. As was noted in part one of this series, much teaching in leadership circles looks at the outward behavior of the leader as the standard. But that isn't the standard for Christians.
The book of James has profound insights on oppressive leadership, hypocrisy, and the power of words in Christian contexts. This is the first in a series on James and oppression.
When seeking change in an abusive leader, it must be kept in mind that he or she is deeply deceived. And this is why abuse advocates have so little confidence in the abusive leader to change.
Ted's story is hard to even start the telling. His story is a call to the church to be the church.