The World Needs Weak Leaders
How’s that for a controversial title? Let me show you why it’s true, though. If there’s one thing the pandemic and the last couple of years have taught me, it’s that I don’t need to hear about leading from a place of strength. I need to hear about leading from a place of weakness.
The familiar narrative in 21st-century leadership usually goes something like this, maybe with a few variations:
“Hi, I’m Awesome Bob and I’ve learned to master the art of self-discipline. I get up every morning at 4 AM, start my day with some light, 2-hr Bible reading, followed by another hour of prayer, a couple of chapters of Jonathan Edwards, and then a 5-mile run. After my post-run shower, I always prepare 2 egg white omeletes with a side of chard-covered kale and a turmeric and ground iguana smoothie. Currently, I’m taking Mandarin classes in the evenings (just to give myself a new challenge), and I’m completing an online Ph.D. in theology while working on my fifth New York Times Best Seller.”
Obviously, I’m using a bit of hyperbole to illustrate a point here but I think we all know what I’m talking about. Tell me, does the above narrative inspire you? Does it change your life? How does that story make you feel? Do you feel empowered by that story?
Is there anything wrong with the person that does all of those things? Is it wrong to be self-disciplined and do things that are good for you spiritually, physically, and mentally? Absolutely not. Don’t read this as a slam against any particular influential leader or specific person. I’m not advocating for all of us to be Jeff Lebowskis. The persona I mentioned is more of a principle component of mutliple narratives you see in modern leadership.
However, I don’t just need to hear about the polished side of a person. I need to hear about the other stuff too. Answers to questions like…
What keeps you up at night?
What sins do you find yourself wrestling with?
What about your insecurities and doubts?
What’s not currently going well in your life, marriage, job, relationships, etc.?
In other words, I don’t need to just hear about someone’s strengths. I need to hear about their weaknesses too! Where do we see this type of well-rounded leadership in scripture?
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have a desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to that law of sin that dwells within me. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Romans 7:18-24, ESV
That was the Apostle Paul, by the way. The guy who wrote most of the New Testament and was one of the biggest trailblazers in the early Church after Jesus’ ascension. What else did Paul say about himself?
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
1 Timothy 1:15-16, ESV
He also said things like this:
“If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness…For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am STRONG.”
2 Corinthians 11:30, 2 Corinthians 12:10, ESV
Paul was a strong leader. He met Jesus on the road to Damascus, established many churches while enduring intense suffering and hardship, rebuked other disciples like Peter, was “caught up to the third heaven, seeing things that man cannot utter,” wrote many books in the New Testament, and on and on. Yet, his strength didn’t come from how “awesome” he was. It came out of his weakness.
We don’t need people that “have it all figured out.” We need leaders who are willing to show us their weak areas. Most people across the world have gone through the crucible over the last couple of years. Not just because of the pandemic but even with events going on in their personal lives.
If they want to experience real, lasting change in their lives, they’re going to need a lot more than a few self-help books and an inspirational story about how awesome someone is. If you’re like me, maybe you’ve tried to adopt a 4:30 AM schedule for a time. Only to completely fall of the wagon 6 months later. Just because you suck at getting up early, it doesn’t mean that you suck at life or that you’re a lazy person. If God’s made you a morning person, great! Embrace it. If you’re more of a night owl, then great, embace it!
But, if you’re a Christian, whether you’re super high-speed, self-disciplined, and great at everything or someone who is weak, and struggles all the time, just remember that your righteousness doesn’t come from how amazing you are or aren’t, it comes from the one who’s actually strong. Namely, Jesus.