It may seem counter-intuitive, but I have found stepping into visible leadership roles to be a deeply humbling experience. In a culture that often expects our leaders to know everything and often blames them for anything that goes wrong, being put in the position to actually practice public leadership can be terrifying! As a leader, the contrast between who I am and who I would like to be is brought into sharp relief. I come face to face with my own inadequacy, all the ways that I am weak, ignorant and unfit to lead. It may be that I seem confident to others, but on the inside I wrestle with the fact that I do not have all the gifts that my community needs.
The role of authentic, affirming leadership is to encourage, strengthen and empower the gifts of each individual, so that together we can become one living organism, growing to full maturity in the Holy Spirit. Rather than looking to an individual or group of leaders to provide everything we need, we must instead look within and discover what gifts God has given each one of us. How we are called to use these gifts to build up the body of Christ, the communities where we find Jesus alive and at work?
Another obstacle is our false sense of humility: We may downplay our own gifts and expect other, more extraordinary, people to carry the weight of the community. While this kind of false modesty can seem very “spiritual” at first glance, it is actually part and parcel of the same mutilating dynamic that elevates some gifts over others. None of us benefit if part of our community is withholding its gifts. As long as we defer to the limited perspective of only certain individuals and gifts, we cannot become fully whole.
Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
In most denominations any sign of spiritual gifts leads to identifying the one with the gift as a leader. This works as a Christian “Peter Principle” where that person is given a position in the church which eventually leads to him or her becoming an administrator or figurehead with the burying or exaltation of his gift depending on circumstances. If the gift is freely spread among the community without undue homage to the individual exercising the gift I believe it works for the community’s benefit and is more likely to result as Paul says in the maturing of the individual followers. In other words when we come across a special plant we should let it mature where it’s planted and not dig it up and put it in a pot to be admired by a select few. In nature that plant will spread by having it’s seeds dispersed by birds, insects and the wind, so to in our communities gifts can be spread from one to another as we travel from meeting to meeting. Biblically this was done by the laying on of hands. Maybe when we see someone using a gift we admire we should ask them to lay hands on us and pray that that gift be imparted to us?