MythBusters and Leadership, Part I

Have you seen Discovery Channel's MythBusters? The show seems to be doing well. Basically, these two dudes, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, take popular ideas/notions/theories in the culture and test them to see if they are accurate or not. It is kind of cool because sometimes I learn that what I had originally thought or perceived as truth was and is actually way off! And even though I do not watch the show regularly, the few times I have stopped by I find it interesting and educational.

I am starting a series of posts called "MythBusters and Leadership." If you lead a church or ministry department or anything for that matter, you might find this helpful. Nothing will hinder a leader more than starting to buy into the myths swirling around about leadership. Here is the first one - I hope you enjoy.


Myth # 1 – You Must Be Liked By Everyone.

Nothing causes burnout among pastors more than this notion. I have seen so many pastors wear themselves out and many, unfortunately, leave the ministry as a result of this myth. Listen, you can not nor will not be liked by everyone if you truly are leading for Christ and change in the world!

As you know, we are about to start a message series at newhope on the Fruit of the Spirit. As such, I went into the woods yesterday and read the book of Galatians. What a great book! Right off the bat, Galatians 1:10 reminded me that I have a choice in life - will I strive to win the approval of man or the approval of God? The verse says this:

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

I have a confession to make - I like it when people like me! I think every leader does. I have never actually met a person that loved to be hated. But hear this - if we are going to strive to be the leader that God wants us to be then we must embrace that there will be times when we will be disliked in order to honor the One! God's leaders have to decide if they are living to hear the applause of men/women or the applause of two nail scarred hands? I choose the nail-scarred hands.

In Acts 7, we find Stephen's speech. It began pretty normal. At first, he was following the “rules” of an excellent communicator. He established common ground with his audience, he spoke with authority and had the crowd locked in for a while. All of a sudden Acts 7:51-53 happens. If you read the entire speech it is perfectly normal until this point.

At this point, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, Stephen spoke with power and conviction. If you have the time, read the entire chapter here! Clearly Stephen knew that he had to be true to the ONE who had called him…and that he would one day stand in front of Almighty God and give an account.

The result…the crowd killed him (see Acts 7:54-58). But check this out - Jesus honored him and stood up to receive him into the Kingdom! Can you imagine getting a solo standing ovation from Jesus when you die? (Now that is stink'in cool :-)) Stephen was willing to be disliked, even to the point of being killed, rather than dishonor Jesus!

Courageous leadership means we must be willing to make tough calls. Our calling is not to be liked by people but rather to be loyal to Jesus. You might want to read that one again.

When it is all said and done, leaders, I repeat, we MUST live to hear the applause of two nail-scarred hands. Compared to that, all the other fan-fare, accolades, and/or popularity means absolutely nothing.