Staying the Course: Humility and Christian Leadership (3)
Staying the Course: Humility and Christian Leadership (1)
Staying the Course: Humility and Christian Leadership (2)
The Necessity of Humility in Christian Leadership
Thus, in light of Scripture’s teaching on the deadening effects of pride and Collins’ example of the wreckage caused by executive arrogance, it should be clear that Christian leaders must make the cultivation of humility of first importance in their lives; there can be no true leadership without it. J. Oswald Sanders reminds us, “Humility is the hallmark of the spiritual leader” (Spiritual Leadership, 61), while John Stott summarizes the comprehensive need for humility when he writes, “At every stage of our Christian development and in every sphere of our Christian discipleship, pride is the greatest enemy and humility our greatest friend” (Humility: True Greatness, Mahaney, 29). Dennis Bakke, CEO of a large charter school organization states the case plainly: “Humility is at the core of a leader’s heart” (Joy at Work, 135). Regarding leadership in the Christian community, Jesus himself tells us, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first must be slave of all” (Mark 10:43b-44).
Defining Our Terms: What Humility Is, and What It Is Not
If the nurture of genuine humility is indispensable in Christian leadership, it is important to understand what one means by the word “humility.” It is equally important to understand what is not meant by this word. This latter component of our definition—the negative component—is especially needed in a day when many in the church are trumpeting a call to humility, but whose definition of the term is woefully inadequate or altogether false. Some suggest pride is equivalent to certainty in doctrinal distinctions, whereas humility is the counterpart to doubt and uncertainty (see A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren,, 36-37). In the swell of postmodernity, claims to absolute, objective truth are considered either illegitimate or the tools of domination (see The Gagging of God by D.A. Carson, 20)—those who make such claims are deemed the most arrogant. G.K. Chesterton observed this trend in his own day. As early as 1908, he wrote,
What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction, where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert—himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt—the Divine Reason (Brothers, We are Not Professionals, 162).
As Chesterton intimates, true humility is not uncertainty in the head; rather, real humility is to be found in the heart—in one’s motivations for and attitudes toward leadership. Nor is humility to be confused with passivity. Some unfairly depict humble servant-leaders as wimpy pushovers who yield at any hint of opposition and defer tough decisions to others—pseudo-leaders who follow the whims of their people to avoid conflict rather than deliberately setting the course the good of the organization. Certainly, there are those in positions leadership who fit this description (indeed, only their title grants them any identification as a leader), but the biblical expectation for godly leaders is that they be courageous, decisive, disciplined, wise, and possessed by a vision to see God work great things for the good of his people and the glory of his name (Sanders, 51-65). In fact, as Collins found in his research, the leaders who established lasting success for their organization, while being recognized as “quiet, humble [and] modest,” were also characterized by fierce determination; an unwavering resolve toward life and “an incurable need to produce results” (Collins 2001, 30). They were anything but passive.
So what is true humility? If it is not doctrinal uncertainty or cowardly passivity, then what is it? Simply, real humility is a turning away from self. Dr. Stuart Scott defines this aspect of humility well when he writes,
[Humility is] the mindset of Christ (a servant’s mindset): a focus on God and others, a pursuit of the recognition of and exaltation of God, and a desire to glorify and please God in all things by all things he has given (From Pride to Humility, 18).
Christian leaders are to be characterized by a consistent looking away from self, and a sincere and constant focus on God and others. This understanding of genuine humility enables a leader to pursue certainty and conviction and lead with vigor and courage; at the same time, he is kept from succumbing to the temptation to build the church or Christian organization for his own personal benefit and exaltation. Thus, as Dennis Bakke observes, “Humility underlies the impulse to make others better” (Joy at Work, 135, emphasis added).
Next: Strategies to Help Christian Leaders Stay the Course
