Indispensability

I'm speaking on leadership this Sunday evening, and have gone back to some thoughts I jotted down about 6 months ago, about the house group my wife and I lead at the Vineyard.

Our group has grown in the last year, and in fact now multiplied into two. A striking feature of that growth, is that it has happened at a time when I was less present than I would have liked to be, due to other commitments. There I was, worried about how the group would fare without my guiding hand (!) and it turned out they got along just fine. Better than fine.

Which got me thinking about the idea of being dispensable. We all want to be needed, don't we? And God loves to use us in ways which allow our giftings to flourish. But when we're involved in God's work, his plans go well beyond the limits our self-importance tries to place on them

There is a place for pioneering leadership. A big place.

But there is a problem when the leader makes him or herself indispensable to the cause for which he or she fights.

Without pioneering, creative, bold leaders, nothing new happens. Until David chucks the stone at Goliath, a whole army stood immobilised. Until Moses proclaimed freedom for Israel, a whole nation sat enslaved.

God does wonderful things through pioneering leadership.

The pioneer falters, however, when he or she becomes indispensable for the long term. When there is no vision beyond the charisma of the leader.

Elijah raised up Elisha. Moses Joshua. Even Jesus raised up 12 men to 'do the stuff' he'd done, to use a favourite vineyard phrase. And the thing with Jesus was he taught his disciples to do it, and to teach others to do it. He charged the disciples to make disciples. To make disciple-making disciples.

He didn't tell them to go and get others to follow you. He said go and teach them to be like me, doing what I do.

Paul, to a certain group of believers, said 'follow my example as I follow Christ's'. In other words follow me.

Jesus, said we'd do the same things, and greater things than him. Follow me, then go beyond me. (Lest I blaspheme, this applies to Jesus in his ministry as a human on earth, rather than in his divine supremacy).

Pioneering leadership begins with 'follow me'. But it's goal should always be 'go beyond me'.

When pioneering leadership does the 'follow me' but stops short of saying 'go beyond me', it stagnates into pride. The indispensability of leader damages the cause.

So let me bring it home. I can, like all of us (I hope), suffer from that bizarre combination of over- and under- confidence, arrogance and insecurity that is so unique to our species. God has made me a leader (mysterious ways, right?). But if I am leading as I should, I should see people being raised up not just to learn from my dubious example, but to go further than me. To far exceed my giftings, to leap well beyond my small wisdom and to exponentially better any fruitfulness I may have had. And when I see that, it is a cause for joy rather than sorrow.

Sometimes, to raise up disciples, to inspire new leaders and to ensure long term fruitfulness, we need to set aside our pride, and get of the way.