Influence IS Authority
Glenn on Leadership
Had a great chat with a friend tonight. I wanted to encourage him and stir him to recognize the reality that much of the church dodges it's responsibility due to it's fear/distrust/selfishness of -being- in authority.
I further made the point that many have not faced the reality that authority is -all- about responsibility, not power or manipulation of others! Lastly, we talked about the fact that though a person may not have biblical spiritual gifts such as leadership or pastoring or the like, that authority is GIVEN us and put upon us in the view of others as we influence them.
You may never set out to influence anyone... doesn't matter a bit! If they decide to follow your lead, do as you do, pick up and embrace your example in anything... you're now exerting real authority in their lives by their own choice. You might never even know it happened/is happening. Doesn't matter, it still is!
ALL of us are in authority on some level. This is why I find it interesting and even funny that many new and even older Christians have such a rotten view of anyone "in authority"- as if they can somehow escape being an influence in other's lives. Ain't so!
Consider that even a very sinful, ornery sometimes-follower of Jesus, perhaps a habitual liar... wields influence over those who believe their story. They in fact are in that sense "in authority" though they may neither have the calling/gifting/position/political clout and so forth. Don't matter at all- because it's about influence. If others choose for good or poor reasons, to believe, trust, perhaps even on some level follow that person, they are in fact wielding a very real authority in other's lives. Interesting isn't it?
The kicker is that some of the most hard-core rebels against any "authority figure" are themselves authority figures to somebody else.
I further thought about a note someone placed in one of our kitchens at JPUSA. It reads something like "Take a big step into grown-up land: refuse to listen to the voice in you that says 'It's not MY mess'... and clean it up anyway"!
I'm certain that will rub some readers wrong but the fact is that we have a lot of pretty messed-up people who've rarely (on any level including food and dishes) learned to clean up THEIR OWN messes, and many of 'em haven't learned to clear and clean a table where they've made a mess... much less cleaning up one they themselves did not make.
Something I learned years ago when tagged to a leadership position in our fellowship was that I would be called upon to regularly clean up after other's messes, spiritual, literal and otherwise. It's part of leadership. I often don't at all like the job but God didn't ask me if I liked such labor before He called and gifted me to do it. At times I confess I'm not the most cheerful giver and so under the conviction of the Holy Spirit I clean up not only my own messes but those of others- and I don't like it. But I know it's right, important, necessary and even beneficial not only to the person(s) in question but for my own spiritual growth.
I am convinced many in the churches absolutely do NOT want to hear God calling them to serve one another just due to the work and even pain involved in trying to help clean up other's messes. The sad fact is that such an attitude in itself creates yet another mess at some point or points down the road. To say "I'm NOT responsible" is neither true, biblical or even close to a mature viewpoint. What's more, those who repeatedly take such a position are typically the loudest critics in the particular church- and don't at all think I refer to JPUSA when I say this!
What I write here comes from years of travel all over the world, observation and conversation, listening to "leadership" and "non-leadership" alike in multiple and widely differing streams of the church, para-church and you-name-it ministries.
The cure? Most of you know them well. Surrender to Jesus Christ. Getting off your own "throne" and focusing on The One Who Alone deserves that place. Caring not only for yourselves but for the needs of others. Seems like I read that somewhere, ha! Seems like God wants me to BE that somewhere... probably right where I am and for those near me.
What about you? How do you process all this? Those around you already know.
Posted 12/19/07
