Where Are Our Leaders?
Plenty of leaders know of the Iceberg Principle, and you do not have to understand this theory to get the point. The majority of our emotions, values, meaning, or disagreement lies under the surface. It’s up to us to mine the depths of who we are to find how they impact us in our daily interactions. However, I am becoming increasingly aware that what is rewarded in our culture is very rarely the depths of our being, but rather, the tip of the iceberg.
It’s not hard to see the many Christian leaders falling apart around us. Times of crisis tend to show our true colors; and, I want to be careful to say here that I have not handled this crisis well in many ways. We have Jerry Falwell Jr.’s scandal and behavior catching up to him, Eric Metaxes punching a protestor, John MacArthur's belief that COVID-19 is a hoax, Sean Feucht fighting the mirage of tyrannical persecution, and many more promoting division and hate on all sides of the aisle. It’s disheartening to see at a time when we are all grasping for some semblance of direction or hope.
I do not want to only focus on the negative here because there have been some truly inspiring leaders in this time: Rich Villodas, Tim Keller, Beth Moore, Drew G. I. Hart, Jackie Hill Perry, Paul Anleitner, and many more. There are always good and bad examples in times of great shaking; we must only look around.
We like to think that leadership is about rowing your own direction, charting a new course against the grain in order to show that you’re different. In some instances, this is the case. I am grateful for those who have done so in productive, hopeful, and awe-inspiring ways. However, I am finding that authentic leadership is a lot less bombastic than this and is rarely rewarded in our consumer culture focused on brashness and results. Church leaders continue to tell rising generations that there is a unique fire or passion in this group of young people, but I do not think that is the case. I believe all generations have access to the same God. We focus on the tip of the iceberg, the mountaintop experience, over the valley, and the character formed beneath the surface. It’s impossible to see the value of God when you perceive that you’re looking at Him eye to eye, level on the top of the mountain, especially a God so willing to be lowly, amongst us in the dirt.
Leadership as an act of repentance
If one thing has become clear amid the chaos of these last few months, it is how much sin there is in my life. I have wrestled with perfectionism my whole life. It is funny how the revelation and bombardment of spending this much time with ourselves brings a sense of clarity to how laughably impossible perfectionism is as a pursuit. I focused on a specific sin and let it overtake the majority of my focus, insecurity, and shame. Foolishly, I believed that overcoming these moments of passion would allow me to enter into the “good life” without guilt, sin, and regret. This is not the case, and nothing humbles quite like our faults tied so tightly to our ever-wandering hearts.
I want to be clear that I do not intend to attack the men listed above but instead bring to light the flaws in the character traits that we choose to lift in the Church. I feel I must acknowledge my struggles with anger, cynicism, and other lusts in this world in the same vein. This time of uncertainty leaves all of us in its wake. Also, I feel that David is a model for repentant leadership in our modern era.
The story of David and Bathsheba is well-trodden ground. However, its message is evergreen. David sleeps with Bathsheba. David has Bathsheba’s husband killed. David takes Bathsheba as his wife. David thinks he is alright. Bathsheba bears David a child. Nathan rebukes David. David repents. David and Bathsheba wrestle with the consequences. Psalm 51 captures this repentance. The vulnerability David shows in these words is beyond any that I have ever witnessed.
What can our leaders learn from David?
I cannot recommend the adultery or murder that David commits in these chapters, but I recognize that these acts are not far from what we see in our current hyper-political climate (Exodus 20:1-17; Matthew 5). However, I can recommend David’s actions after Nathan confronts him.
When was the last time a leader, a person you revere, admitted their wrongs, let alone their repentance?
It would be nice if the leaders of this country, our churches, our schools, or our families were willing to acknowledge their failure in a productive and healing manner. I have made similar calls to repentance in some of my other writing, and I recognize that it is happening in some areas in this country. I thank God for the change that He is bringing to individual lives and communities. I also want to recognize that this nation and its leaders are not an indictment on the global Church. However, the influence of the American Church has tainted the experience of Christ throughout our history. Humility is a guiding light in times of crisis.
Change Leadership
Truthfully, repentance is a way to illustrate change biblically. However, change occurs in many different ways, and not all of them involve repentance as the result of sin or wrongdoings. The change I am referring to in this section is much more related to an unwillingness to adapt to our environment’s consistent movement forward creatively. For instance, during the pandemic, it amazes me the stubbornness of churches to not meet outside to satisfy the guidelines and participate in the Church's work. I must take a moment to commend Sean Feucht for meeting outside during his crusades. This aspect of his creativity is an area that has not gone unnoticed to me, and I more take issue with the claims of persecution coming from his camp.
However, this type of creativity is critical to the church’s survival. As we head towards a possible time of reformation in the American Church, may we not lose sight of our tenants of remembrance, sacrament, and liturgy while also finding ways to better facilitate the people's work for the glory of God.
Creativity As Worship
I find the "culture wars" that have plagued the church through the division of secular and sacred significantly impact the American Church's ability to grasp all truth being God's truth. This especially comes to the forefront in aspects of art and science. By segmenting these areas as apart from the Christian life, we hinder ourselves from partaking in the fullness of what is true, good, and beautiful in the work of God on earth.
Our willingness to effectively change must be fueled by a propensity to share the Gospel creatively. I want to be clear that the Gospel itself does not need any help to take root in our hearts. The power of Jesus’s life, death, burial, and resurrection needs no fluff, flair, or added fire. This is good news. This is our hope. The avenues with which we facilitate the Gospel in our lives, on the other hand, may shift.
The idea of a culture war between the American Church and modern culture baffles me. The final words of Jon Guerra’s song Citizens ring in my mind when I think of this “give and take mentality” in the American Church: Love has a million disguises but winning is simply not one. There are plenty of things in my life that I struggle with, and longing to be right is high on that list. However, if I am beginning to come to grips with what Christlike love looks like in this world, it is not holding on to being correct at the cost of loving our neighbor. Jesus’s charge of discipleship hinges upon our ability to love—a level of kindness, charity, and benevolence—that seems to be far from the church, especially evangelicalism, at this moment.
In truth, creative expressions of love are the way forward for the American Church amid rising chaotic tensions. We must have leaders guide the way. The beauty of leadership is found within us all. We are all uniquely designed to lead, whether we believe it or not. Leadership is the outward action of our inward being guided by the things we pursue. So, may we pursue creativity. May we seek love. May we follow Christ above all.
his kingdom
I want to be clear that my frustration with the men listed above is not judgments on their character's wholeness, nor are my allegations meant to show their axing in any way other than criticism and accountability. I am merely questioning the men’s voices we have chosen to steer evangelicalism, particularly in the last 50-60 years. My intention is also not to transition you or myself from one side of the “culture war” we have so long engaged with to the other.
I hope to see us find leaders who care. Though we must keep our eyes on Jesus above all, I long for men and women to engage with on a human level, to bring about His Kingdom in our present reality. May we not seek to find God on the mountains of our own making, straining to stand up straight on our tiptoes, but instead, recognize it is He who stoops to meet us eye to eye in the valley of our souls. His size, both large and small, in the face of it all is our greatest comfort.