Qualified

Learning to Carry Authority

Let me start with a quick reminder that some of my articles are behind a paywall and some aren’t. Those that are behind the paywall are all part of a series that I am working on, aimed at leaders in our Christian institutions. I think the evangelical world has struggled to cultivate the skills of institutional leadership, particularly leadership that can resist the ever-present forces that sabotage and undermine a faithful mission. So if you know anyone in a position of leadership, working on resisting these forces, please consider nudging them in this direction. And so, to this month’s post.

Qualified

In Matthew 7, we are told that the crowds were astonished at Jesus’ teaching, because “He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Mat. 7:29). There is a kind of voice that is compelling because it is delivered with authority. It summons confidence in the hearts of the audience. And that confidence compels the audience to heed the voice. Such a voice can point at a machine-gun nest, yell, “Charge!” and a whole platoon of young men charge forth. That is the voice of a leader. Conversely, there is another kind of voice, described here by Matthew, as the voice of a scribe. This sort of voice comes across as an uncompelling yammer, like the haranguing of a hall monitor. The difference is notable: a true leader is one who has cultivated a voice of authority.

Leaders often think that they naturally exude this kind of authority simply because their people comply and give them a superficial respect. But people generally salute the uniform out of custom. And what is more, many will flatter a leader because they see him as a stepping stone for getting what they want. They guise flattery as respect, but they are just interested in the raise, the promotion, the next big opportunity that will be awarded, or the person they hope to become connected with. Thus, it is easy for a man in a position of leadership to delusionally think that he commands the respect of many, when, in actuality, he commands very little. A man in a position of leadership, who has not cultivated the kind of authority that I am describing, is much like that house built on the sand from Christ’s parable. When trouble comes, he will find that his people desert him, or even turn on him, in the blink of an eye. But the man who has cultivated real authority will be like the house built on the rock. The floods come, but his people stand by him through it all because his people want to follow him, despite the cost.

So, what does it take to cultivate this kind of authority? What does it take to have a voice that has qualified itself in such a way that the people want to follow? Here are a few thoughts.

Do Not Hide Yourself

“You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fall down along the road, and hide yourself from them; you shall surely help him lift them up again,” (Deut. 22:4). Do not hide yourself. What a convicting commandment. We all know this temptation. You see a problem and suddenly see how you could actually be the one to fix it, but you don’t feel like making the sacrifice. You don’t feel like picking up that weight. And so, you hide yourself. You avoid eye contact. You stroll along as if you had never noticed the problem. You play the priest or the Levite in Christ’s parable of the Good Samaritan, cross to the other side of the street, and carry on.