When Rachel Black was struggling to make sense of her abusive pastor, there was no Christianity Today Mars Hill podcasts and seemingly no books on how an employee in a church is to respond to such disregard. All she knew was the "hairs on her arms stood up" as she sought to understand her boss.
It was a very good two years working for a mission college. Now they grieve the loss of what they had in Africa.
“The exercise of authority is designed to serve the well-being of those under its care,” says Timothy Witmer. That seems basic to the Christian, and yet how many bosses view their leadership this way?
I could tell in our discussion that Aaron was the dream employee. After two years of serving in the church, Aaron came home to his wife and shared with her, “I think Pastor Gene has a man-crush on me.”
One of the surest ways to kill an organization is to be driven by image. One of the surest ways to identify a toxic leader is to find one driven by image.
Is a church leader, by nature of the office he holds, the "Lord's anointed" as David calls King Saul in 2 Samuel 1:14?
"Consider it joy! It will make you stronger." Yes, the Bible tells me so. But it so often seems so callous for someone to remind me of it. Rather, Weep.
Bad leaders are held to account by the Lord and His people are called to hold them accountable for their failures where they have that ability.
Having spent nearly a decade working for a mission college in Africa, I have a keen interest in African leadership. When I spoke with Praise (not his real name), he shared his own experience with leadership abuse in the African nation in which he grew up.
Emily joined the African mission work because it "sounded good. It was the way we should be helping." But all that glitters is not gold...