I was recently in a meeting with former staff of a mission agency. They had worked all over the world, sacrificing a great deal in their desire to serve God and the vision of their organization. They were all taught and encouraged to model servant leadership. However, as I listened, the stories I heard were of well-intentioned leaders who ended up becoming manipulative and controlling.

Famed missiologist James Engel once said, “If we do not break the yoke of power-motivated, controlling leadership and unleash the resources of the Body of Christ, there is little hope that the world can be evangelized”. Engel believed this was the central challenge of the worldwide church.

Power is morally neutral. However, the manner in which it is used is what makes it good or bad. Below are some of the ways in which leaders are susceptible to the destructive effects of power.

• Pride is the exaggerated sense of our importance or significance. We easily become proud when we are exposed to the intoxicating effects of wielding power.
• Arrogance rears its ugly head when we are unwilling to be checked, opposed or questioned. It is the “wrongness of those who think they are always right”. Arrogance damages relationships and leads to deception (Obadiah 1:3). The more successful we are, the more we need people to save us from our arrogance.
• Selfishness tempts us to use power and the things that it gives us access to for our personal gain. Ezekiel 34:2 warns us that we should care for those we lead and not use power for personal benefit.
• The drive to succeed can create a lack of awareness of how our decisions impact our followers. How often do we make unreasonable demands on the time of those we lead, and/or require them to serve us and our vision with little consideration for them? Do we consistently show genuine gratitude and thankfulness towards those we lead?
• The temptation to use power destructively is in all of us. Do we maintain our position at all cost? Do we manipulate to get our way? Do we demand unquestioned obedience? Are we emotionally or physically coercive – using a threat or bribe?

The temptation to use power destructively is in all of us. However, power and leadership can be redeemed. We’ll discuss exactly how next week.

by Karl Mueller

Karl Mueller is the Senior Consultant for Church and Leadership Services for Development Associates International.

Original article: www.frontiersusa.org/blog/article/identifying-destructive-power