Loving the People We Are Called to Lead
Kevin Harney
I admit that I’ve said it on more than one occasion. I mean it as a joke, but it betrays a painful reality. I’m a little embarrassed to write it, but here it goes: “Ministry would be easy if it weren’t for the people!”
In my years of church ministry, I have had my fair share of painful encounters, nasty letters, unfair accusations, and head-buttings. I have often thought that there is nothing more satisfying than being a leader in a church and that there is also nothing more painful. When we open our hearts to those we lead, when we love people, when we sacrifice, and when we invest in ourselves, we risk getting burned. And I don’t know a single Christian leader who has made it far down the road unscathed.
Because I interact regularly with Christian leaders all over the United States and in other parts of the world, I’ve discovered that some deal with the pain of ministry by shutting off their hearts. They build a wall, an emotional buffer to protect them from being hurt again. They still do the work that is expected of them. They check off all the boxes on their daily to-do lists. They preach sermons, lead youth groups, meet with people, and lock eyes, and nod their heads during conversations, but they have safeguarded themselves. They have shut off their hearts.
I understand this because I have felt tempted to do the same thing. And at different times, I have protected my heart with the armor of cynicism and the moat of emotional distance. When I see myself responding this way, I’m moved to increase my efforts to love the people I am called to serve. I ask God to help me have the courage to love people even when it could mean personal pain. I invite the Holy Spirit to bring to mind the wonderful moments I’ve experienced in my years of church ministry. I fix my eyes on Jesus and remember how he served, loved, and sacrificed himself for the very people whose sins put him on the cross.
We need to remember that right on the heels of Jesus’ call to love God with all that is in us, he said, “This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matt. 22:38 – 40). Jesus understood that an authentic relationship with God leads to a deep love for people. These two commandments are inseparable. Yet if we are not careful, we can forget this call to a deep love for the people we lead. When we forget Jesus’ words and just seek to do the work of ministry, we can disregard the fact that people matter to God.
The movie Braveheart portrays two dramatically contrasting visions of leadership. On the one hand is William Wallace, the leader of the Scottish army. Although there are nobles in the land, they are more concerned with their position, lands, and wealth than with the people. But Wallace has inspired the people, and they follow him into battle again and again. The operative word is follow. Wallace is always the first onto the field. He loves the people and their nation. He fights at their side and bleeds with them.
After one epic battle during which the Scottish forces rout the invading English army, the nobles decide it would be expedient to knight Wallace and then co-opt him. They all have ties to Edward the Longshanks, the king of England. They don’t have a vision of a free Scotland but are more concerned with covering their political butts. After the knight Wallace, they begin to quibble over ancestral rights and try to pull Wallace into their ongoing internal battles. He refuses to play along. As the mood in the room deteriorates, he and his group of core leaders begin to walk out. The nobles ask him where he is going, and the following dialogue unfolds:
William Wallace: “We have beaten the English, but they’ll come back because you won’t stand together.”
Nobles: “What will you do?”
Wallace: “I’ll invade England and defeat the English on their ground.”
Nobles: “Invade, that’s impossible.”
"There is a new generation of church leaders who are treated like rock stars. They are elevated. They are exalted. They are the stars of the show."
Wallace: “Why? Why is that impossible? You’re so concerned with squabbling for the scraps from Longshanks’ table that you’ve missed your God-given right for something better. There’s a difference between us. You think the people of this country exist to provide you with a position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom, and I go to make sure they have it!”
Wallace’s words uncover a sinister motive in the nobles’ hearts. They see the people as stepping stones to their place of position. They do not love the people. Wallace reminds them that maybe, just maybe, they have been put in their place of leadership so that they can give to the people. Maybe their place of authority and influence should compel them to serve those they lead.
Yet another example of leadership occurs later in the movie. Longshanks, the king of England, is in command of his forces. He does not ride into battle, take up a sword, or risk getting even a scratch on his body. Instead, he stays out of the fray, at a safe distance, and gives orders.
The battle takes its twists and turns until the English have the upper hand. From his place of safety, Longshanks looks at the battlefield. The English soldiers clearly are defeating the Scottish and Irish forces. Then, Longshanks says one word: “Archers!” He calls for his commander to summon the archers to send volleys of arrows into the battlefield.
His captain says, “Beg pardon. Sire, won’t we hit our own troops?”
Longshanks responds, “Yes, but we’ll hit theirs as well,” and as an afterthought, he mutters, “We have reserves.” Longshanks says the word again, “Archers!” The flag is raised and the captain waves his arm. Volleys of arrows fly, hitting Irish, Scottish, and English troops.
As the scene ends, Longshanks turns to ride off and says, “Send us news of our victory. Shall we retire?”
Throughout the interchange, Longshanks is dispassionate. He clearly doesn’t care about the people he has “led” into battle. They are pawns on his military chessboard. They are dispensable. Longshanks does not love these people.
As leaders, we must be sure we never grow to see the people we lead as cogs in a machine or pawns on a chessboard. We can’t let our hearts grow cold or distant. If we’re going to lead like Jesus, we must allow the dangerous power of love to fill our hearts. We can’t become like the nobles in Braveheart, who see the people as a means to maintaining their own position or even elevating themselves.
In recent years, I have observed something I have never seen in the church before. I call it the Rock Star Syndrome. There is a new generation of church leaders who are treated like rock stars. They are elevated. They are exalted. They are the stars of the show. When people come to church and the Rock Star is not present, the “audience” feels cheated. One senses that if this leader were to leave that church, many of the attendees would leave too. The crowds are not there to engage in the life of the body of Christ. They aren’t there to discover their gifts and faithfully serve. They have come to taste the flavor of the month.
I worry as this phenomenon spreads because these leaders seem to like and even encourage their “untouchable” status. They build a moat between themselves and the people in the church. Often even their staff can’t get to them for a conversation or prayer. They are unapproachable.
Being a Christian leader is a dangerous business. It means opening our hearts, loving people, sacrificing, and risking great pain. But there is no other way to be a leader. This is the way of Jesus. He loved the people he led so much that he laid down his life. We too must lead with this kind of love.
Taken from Leadership from the Inside Out: Examining the Inner Life of a Healthy Church Leader by Kevin G. Harney. Copyright © 2007 by Kevin G. Harney. Published by Zondervan.
