The Dark Side

I just finished “Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership” which honestly wasn’t incredibly enlightening nor as in depth as I would have liked but it has sparked a lot of thoughts into my personal life where there could be some problems in the future. It was interesting to realize that we all have a dark side that has been developing our entire lives that can help us succeed but can also bring us down. As you already know, this dark side has been the cause of many ministry leaders’ downfalls in the past. Of which we as Christians are reminded of frequently by the news and by people we meet who like to remind us once they find out that we are Christ-followers.

There were a few quotes from the book that I wanted to share with you however because they sparked some good thoughts.

“Far too many sermons are preached in an effort to gain the approval and admiration of followers, with little or no concern for God’s approval. The pastor or speaker who steps down from the platform and is immediately obsessed with whether his sermon was good is dealing with a prime symptom of narcissism. Jim Bakker seems to have been a classic victim of narcissistic personality disorder. His visions of grandeur were born out of deep feelings of inferiority and inadequacy. He was driven to achieve in an effort to prove to himself and other that he was worthy and approved.”

That strucks a chord with me. It is a tough differentiation to make because obviously we want to critique ourselves and get feedback on our communication skills but at the same time don't want to obsess over ourselves and watch the video after all five services to see what mannerisms could be better (no offense Ed Young Jr.). How do we balance being messengers of God's word and being refined communicators and teachers of God's truth?

“There are too many young men and women entering the ranks of spiritual leadership today carrying the heavy load of unrealistic expectations.”

AMEN to that! Unfortunately, Bible Colleges and Seminaries are instilling these expectations and idealisms that are the downfall of many, and once they get out into the world to “do” ministry it is a rough realization that it is nothing like what they said it was going to be! I wonder if there is a better way to prepare people than to excite them about how they are going to change the world with what they learned in the classroom??? Is there a way to maintain the excitement of serving but at the same time be realistic about the challenges and the dark nights of ministry?

Do you think the "superstar pastor" conferences feed into these unrealistic expectations?