Are You a Reluctant Leader?

Bill Brown ... Xiamen University

"I will make boys their officials; mere children will govern them...A man will seize one of his brothers at his father's home, and say, 'You have a cloak, you be our leader; take charge of this heap of ruins!'" Isaiah 3:4-6

Extroverted Hermit? My nickname until I left home was Hermit because I rarely spoke, even to my family, until High School. I'm not shy; I just prefer quiet. So it was a great surprise to me that by 12th grade I ended up in several leadership positions, both in school and in the community--not necessarily because I was well qualified but because others better qualified were unwilling.

Ironically, even today I feel awkward around crowds--and so of course I have ended up living for over 20 years in China, the most populated country on the planet. And every week I do what I feel most uncomfortable doing--speaking before large groups of people. Which leads me to think that if I can lead, anyone can lead--including you.

Like Moses, we can make excuses. "I can't make public speeches, Lord!" But also like Moses, who grew up in Pharaoh's court and so knew the lay of the land, you and I have a unique background to serve in ways that no one else can--even if we are reluctant, fearful, or just plain lazy. And the longer we serve, the more we have to offer--provided we keep learning, and don't just rest on our laurels.

Back in 1894, F.B.Meyter wrote in "Our Daily Homily" (see below), "Have you bread and clothing? account yourself God's steward".

Humbly Reluctant? Don't force others to accept second-rate leadership, to be "ruled by babes," as Isaiah put it, just because your own excuses, such as "I'm not qualified." "I don't have experience." "Others are much better than me." "They will not accept me...."

Humility, of course, is a virtue. It helps us keep ourselves in perspective. But it may also keep us on the sidelines when there is no one to go to bat. Humbly speaking, if see a need for leadership, and know one else will lead, you are probably qualified if you :


1) Have the background. Moses did not choose to be placed in a basket, rescued by an Egyptian princess, or grow up in Pharaoh's court--though Moses did choose to become arrogant, and murder an Egyptian--and even his subsequent flight into the desert helped prepare the hothead fugitive for the great role he was to reluctantly play). In the same way, you and I did not choose what country or family we were born in to. So who we are is not something to boast of but to give thanks for. (And perhaps you think your life is a mess, and nothing to be thankful for? Moses probably felt the same as a youth exiled to the desert; but our Father works all things together for the good (He never said they were all good; just that He works them together for the good). He shaped us, not we ourselves, to lead.

2) Are willing. Increasingly, people are couch potatoes, spending 4 or more hours a night watching TV. We are passive, not active, and passive people don't want to even serve, much less lead. If you are willing to lead, you're alraady far ahead of the game.

3) Have served. You may think, I'm a follower, not a leader, but that may well be the best qualification you have. The best leaders often rise from below, and once on top they remember where they came from. The best leaders are servant leaders, like the One who washed his followers' feet. If you have served, you can lead--even as an uneducated, hotheaded bumbling fishermen, Peter, learned to lead. [If, on the other hand, you have never served, you might want to ask yourself why).

If the need for leadership is there, and no one else will do it, and it should be done (not all good things are the best things), then congratulations! You are called to lead!

But in closing--balance! If you are neither serving nor leading, you've got a problem. But also, in this frenetic age some people take on too much and lose sight of God-given priorities. I remember the famous leader who said "If I serve God, God will take care of my family for me". God had taken care of his family. He'd given that family a father, and that father abandoned them. He gained the world's acclaim but his family suffered greatly.

When accepting a leadership role, make sure you are led, not driven.

F.B. Meyer, in "Our Daily Homily" (London, 1894) writes:
"I will not be an leader...make me not a ruler of the people. Isaiah 3:7
Generally men aspire to be rulers; the emolument and honour of the position are infintely attractive. But the prophet suposes a case in which the people gather round one who has saved a little more than the others from the general wreck, and entreat him to assume the responsibility by directing public affairs. But he refuses, not wishing to be involved in the disasters that have swept the fatherland. Isaiah cites this as the most complete evidence of the desperate situation brought about by wrongdoing.

It is the mark of great deterioration in a religious community when none are forthcoming to take responsibility, none who have power to lead. It is a grave sentence, "I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them." Never shrink from assuming any responsibility to which God and the church evidently call you. Is is an easier life to remain among the stunted undergrowth; but if God calls you to be a forest tree, with fast spreading branches, humbly accept the opportunity, and fill up its full measure. His grace is sufficient. Better to fail in a great endeavour than to live safely having evaded the divine call. Have you bread and clothing? account yourself God's steward....
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