The resurgence of Ted Haggard (and his epic failings) into
the public spotlight has got me thinking a lot about leadership. Namely, I have
been thinking about why highly successful and influential men like Haggard
continue to fall morally only to lose everything – their job, their influence,
their families and any hope of vocational ministry in the future. I wonder, why
does this keep happening and how can it be avoided?
Can I admit something on the front end? My heart breaks for
Ted. I know he messed up and that he messed up big time. I know that he caused
a horrendous amount of emotional, psychological and spiritual damage to
thousands of people, including friends of mine. And I know he is reaping what
he has sown. But as someone who tends to err on the side of grace, my heart
breaks for Ted. Consider this:
How alone do you think someone has to be when
they can carry a secret like this - one that draws into question everything they stand for - and no one – not friends, not colleagues, not
even family – has even the slightest idea?
I think most of us recognize the inherent danger in
putting one man on such a large pedestal, but I don’t think the pedestal is the
problem. History has taught us that people always push for influential men and
women to be put into positions of power. This is one of the reasons Jesus had
to work so hard to stay underground for as long as he could. When the word got
out about him, what did the people want to do? Crown him king. When the
powers-that-be found out, they recognized a legitimate threat and had him
crucified. It’s a wonder that his public ministry lasted a full three years.
You see, we will always look to those who capture our hearts and
imaginations for inspiration, direction and leadership. This kind of influence
is a gift. And like any ability, it can be used for good or it can be used for
evil. I think Ted set out with the genuine desire to use his influence for
good. But somewhere along the way he got lost. Terribly lost. Over time, he stopped quieting
himself long enough to hear the gentle whisper of the Spirit and started
listening to the voices blaring in his ears. In the end, his influence was used
to inflict horrendous damage on those who trusted him.
I don’t think the problem was that Ted had great influence. I
don’t think the problem was that people had put him on a pedestal. I think the
problem was that Ted stood on that pedestal completely alone.
I wonder if Jesus ever meant for his followers to venture
into positions of influence (or to venture anywhere, for that matter) alone. I
wonder how many times he had to warn his ragtag group of followers about the alluring
nature of power over a pint at the local watering hole. I’d venture to guess it
was a popular topic of conversation. After all, the very reason Jesus had come
was to fix what the human desire to play God had broken. This is why we hear
Jesus continually teaching about things like humility, generosity, serving and
forgiveness. This is why we find Jesus apparently unsurprised by an argument
over which of his disciples was the greatest; to which he responded by teaching
them to become everyone else’s servant. And I think this is also why Jesus
chose not to send his disciples out to do ministry alone.
We find a great
example of this in Luke 10:1. It reads:
“After this Jesus appointed seventy-two others and sent them
two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.”
I wonder what would happen if today’s leaders approached
ministry in the same way. I wonder how many churches would benefit from having
two pastors of the same authority, of equal power, and of mutual accountability
leading the way. I wonder how much more effective our church planting would be
if we stopped sending our planters out alone. I wonder how much more healthy
our churches would be if we resisted the tendency to build around a single
personality by diluting the spotlight. I wonder how many of our pastors would
benefit from giving lead pastorship back to Jesus and sharing the rest of the responsibilities
and burdens with a plurality of equal leaders.
I wonder if Jesus wasn’t on to something.
