A Republican President and Democratic President took very different approaches to another country in conflict—and both are being heavily criticized. It seems likely that President Obama thought he was learning from the example of President Bush by moving slowly. The problem is that he didn’t look far enough back in history and study enough examples. The lesson is not that you should move slowly, the lesson is that leaders will be criticized no matter what they do.

If you decide to drop your traditional service, you will be criticized. If you decide not to drop your traditional service, you will be criticized. If you decide to allow video games with some level of violence in your youth center, you will be criticized. If you decide not to do so, you will be criticized.

If you’re a leader, you are going to face criticism regardless. Even if you decide not to do anything, you will have complaints—and then be abandoned by everyone with any energy to help your church achieve its mission. Therefore, attempting to avoid criticism is a waste of time. Prayerfully decide what’s right and then do it.

Confusion, consultation, and consensus
Many of the same people who complained about the length of time President Obama took to enter the engagement in Iraq are now complaining that his actions are an illegal overstepping of the power of the executive branch of the government. Congressmen and senators from both parties are saying that only Congress has the power to declare war, and that the president is using semantics to make it sound like something other than war so he can bypass their authority over the issue. They’re still saying that he hasn’t made clear what his intentions are. Translation: They got their feelings hurt that he acted without consulting them. He stepped on their sense of ownership and power.

The lesson is that leaders must communicate well and involve others. The president would not have been criticized for dithering if he had been using that time to discuss his plans with congressional leaders. When he did act, he would have announced that he had been in discussions with those leaders for a couple of weeks and people would have concluded that he had indeed been acting from the beginning, just behind the scenes.

There are influential people outside your inner circle that feel a sense of ownership and power in your church. If you surprise them with decisions that affect them, they will cause problems. Now don’t misunderstand; I’m not saying that you should seek consensus before making a decision. Leadership by committee is a guarantee of ineffectiveness. However, you should actively consult in advance with—and listen to—the influencers with a stake in your decision.

Even if your ultimate decision is not what they wanted, you’ll 1) have the opportunity to tailor your plans to make them more palatable to the dissenters; 2) have less backlash because the influencers know you included them in the process and perhaps see ways in which you tweaked your plans in ways that make them more acceptable; and 3) know the objections the congregation might have so you can address them in advance when you make your announcement. Clearly communicate to the church what you’re doing and why, and who was involved in discussion.

I’m not sure whether the U.S. President has a more difficult job than every church leader in the world. Sure, the president may declare war and send people to their deaths, but we’re involved in matters affecting people’s eternal souls. Let’s learn what we can from the challenges our presidents face as we try to lead those to whom God has called us.

Publicity photo from tedhaggard.com

It’s official—Ted Haggard is once again the head of a church. Three and a half years after the sex and drug scandal that caused his resignation from Colorado Springs’ New Life Church in November 2006, Haggard has incorporated a church named St. James in the barn on Old Ranch Road where he began hosting overflowing “prayer meetings” last November. At that time, Haggard told the Associated Press that the meetings were not the beginning of a new church.

Haggard and his wife Gayle have been conducting paid speaking events around the country for more than a year, buoyed by the sale of Gayle’s book and Ted’s DVD regarding the experience. Haggard said that he had incorporated the church “to keep the accounting in order” for those engagements. But there’s a significant difference in the kind of paperwork that one files for a church and that for a paid speaking organization, so Haggard’s true intentions must differ.

The real question in all of this is how we, as Christians, should handle the questions of forgiveness, making amends, and eligibility for spiritual leadership.

Christianity’s detractors often point to hypocrisy as their reason for shunning the church. They have a good point; most of us could do a far better job at living the life Christ taught. But the reality is that none of us is perfect, and to expect us to never do anything that is contrary to Christian teaching is unreasonable. I have failed to live a sin-free life, and so have you.

But in 1 Timothy 3, the Bible makes it clear that spiritual leaders are held to a higher standard. So the question is, if a spiritual leader fails what are the rules governing his ability to be a spiritual leader again?

Jud Wilhite and Mike Foster, creators of People of the Second Chance, say the process varies based on the individual and situation but there are clearly defined steps. WIlhite is a contributor to Preaching Unleashed and pastor of Central Christian Church in Las Vegas–where he has lots of opportunities to see people in need of second chances. He says, “We’ve all been on the receiving end of judgment rather than grace. The culture will judge us by how we treat each other.”

The first step in their process is owning the failure. Wilhite says, “We live in an age where it’s very convenient to blame others, to make excuses. But to grow, we have to own our own contribution to failures. You cannot give a second chance to someone who doesn’t own his failures. People weren’t nearly as upset with Tiger Woods about the affair as they were his refusal to own up to it.” And to really do that, they say that we need to go past the parts that have become public and we’re forced to confront, and also address the ticking time bomb underneath. That aspect of our failure that nobody knows about yet has to be admitted to and dealt with as well.

The second step in their process is amending the situation. Obviously this will take different forms based on the situation, but it is a critical step in the process—and it often takes longer than you think. But what kinds of things must it include, and are people ever eligible for spiritual leadership again? Wilhite thinks so. “We only hire broken people, because we live in a broken world. If I’ve got a broken person that has owned it and amended it, he or she will be more humble and more loving. Because every week people walk through your doors that got high or drunk before coming in, just to get up the courage to come. Every week people walk in with marks on their arms where they’ve cut themselves. They don’t need a church staff that acts like they have it all together.”

“Historically, we have handled the situation simply: ‘You’re fired.’ ” Wilhite says. “I’m tired of seeing ex-pastors selling cars. The church has their boilerplate of telling people they have to go to counseling, be out of service for six months, read Gordon MacDonald books, attend church every week… but I advocate personal faith-based restoration. In some cases, we’re removing people from the only thing that provides them stability and sanity! I think we need to get them back into service more quickly. Maybe in a different position, lesser role, something like that, but let’s work with them for restoration. Even if they can never serve at your church again, work with them to get them through restoration to the point that you can give them a sincere recommendation to another church.”

Why are Christians so quick to kick our own when they’re down? “I think we feel like it’s our responsibility to pour salt into someone’s wounds,” Wilhite says. “Trust me, they get it. They already know they blew it. So our responsibility is to stand beside them, to rebuild them. Making amends is not about six months or eighteen months. Our job is to walk beside them for the rest of their journey.”

There will be many on both sides of this issue; those who say Haggard should not be leading a church again so soon—or perhaps ever, and those who loved his teaching and think it’s about time. Spiritual leaders are rightly held to a higher standard, but they are still human and will disappoint us. What do you think is the appropriate stance toward restoration of those who have failed?

It just sounds wrong.

Besides, what if your leader is a jerk? What if you think he or she is getting too high and mighty?

Today I was reading Numbers 16 and got an idea of God’s thoughts on the subject. Remember that the Levites were specifically set apart for God’s work. They were the only ones allowed to transport the tabernacle. They represented the firstborn of all other tribes, and were the “sacrifice” to God from every family–the ones presented as holy to God. So in verse 3 a few of them united against Moses and Aaron and said, “You have gone too far! The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the Lord , and he is with all of us. What right do you have to act as though you are greater than the rest of the Lord ‘s people?”

In our churches, this is much like an associate pastor or someone else in leadership rebelling against the senior pastor. The rest of the chapter goes on to describe how God demonstrated who was the leader and what he thought of their rebellion; the world’s first earthquake opened up the ground in such a miraculous way as to swallow up all of the rebels and their families without harming anyone else.

This should get your attention.

So how did the rest of the Israelites react after seeing God at work? Verse 41 says the very next morning the whole community of Israel began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the Lord ‘s people!”

This is like the members of a church getting angry with the senior leadership for relieving someone else of their responsibilities because of disagreement. God responded by bringing a plague on the people that killed 14,700 of them in the time it took Aaron to load a censer and purify the people from their sin.

Am I saying that the senior leadership of a church is always right? No, certainly not. But before you rebel against them you had better make sure it’s a legitimate sin issue, and not just your own desire for more power, authority, or glory. Examine yourself and your motives thoroughly and prayerfully.

No one is beyond submission. The most senior of leaders had better be thoroughly submissive to God. Failure to do so is the only real justification for a rebellion.

We’ve all heard this old saying. But did you know that this proverb was applied to the church as far back as 1526 by Martin Luther himself?¹

I was reminded of that during my Bible time as I read the story of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 31:18 we see God giving Moses tablets of stone containing His instructions. Meanwhile, the people had gotten tired of waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain and had pestered Aaron so much to build an idol for them that he caved in to public demand and did as they asked. When Moses came down from the mountain, he was furious.  So furious, in fact, that he ground up the golden calf and put it in the water supply so people would drink it.

It makes sense to get upset about things that are wrong, doesn’t it? The issue is how we handle that anger. As Moses came down from the mountain, Exodus 32:15 says, “He held in his hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.16 These tablets were God’s work; the words on them were written by God himself.”

Moses is carrying something the likes of which had never been seen on earth! He had been in the very presence of God and seen God inscribe these tablets. Spend a minute letting it sink in just how incredible were the tablets in his hands. The kind of thing that would be revered as long as humans had breath!

19 When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing, and he burned with anger. He threw the stone tablets to the ground, smashing them at the foot of the mountain.

Sure it’s understandable that Moses was angry. But in his anger, and in his haste to fix the situation, Moses destroyed something unspeakably sacred. When we do that, God is under no obligation to restore what we destroyed. In this case He did, but notice the difference we see in Exodus 34:

1 Then the Lord told Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones. I will write on them the same words that were on the tablets you smashed.

The first time, God created the tablets. The second time, necessary only because Moses threw out the good with the bad, Moses had to chisel out the tablets himself. His job became harder because he allowed his anger to overwhelm the sacred things he was carrying.

I see two applications for this lesson that are highly relevant today. First, there are many calls for reformation in the church these days.  Emerging church, missional church, externally focused church, organic church… all attempts to correct things that have gone wrong. Fair enough. But in our zeal to address what is wrong, let us be very, very careful not to destroy something that is sacred in the process. Let us be careful to treat the Church as the Bride of Christ, radiant in her glory.

Second, Acts 2 speaks of a time when Christ’s followers were admired by the people and many were being saved as a result. The key characteristics of the Christians were generosity, joy, sharing with those in need, and praising God. Today the admiration of Christ’s followers in the U.S. is arguably at the lowest point in the country’s history. Many would say that the key characteristics of Christians are anger, judgmentalism, and hypocrisy. No doubt some of this is due to the media’s desire to pounce on anything that feeds that image—but they don’t have any trouble finding examples to highlight.

In our anger over the things that are wrong, let us not destroy something that is utterly sacred. We would do well to imagine ourselves carrying two stone tablets at all times; each containing one of Jesus’ words to His followers:

John 15:12 “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.”

John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

As we feel anger for the things that are wrong in our world, let us not destroy the tablets of love.

———
¹Quoted from D. Martin Luthers Werke, ed. by Paul Pietsch. Weimar: Hermann Böhlau, 1898, vol. 20, p. 160. See also James Cornette, Proverbs and Proverbial Expressions in the German Works of Martin Luther. Diss. University of North Carolina, 1942, p. 157.

Yesterday morning (Pacific time), Steve Jobs addressed an audience in San Francisco where he announced Apple’s new iPad. The audience consisted largely of media representatives, some of whom were very much pro-Apple, and many others from the PC world. Yesterday evening, President Obama addressed an audience in Washington DC, where he announced his new initiatives for 2010. The audience consisted largely of members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, most of whom were from his party, many others from the other party.

Both men began with a brief review of their accomplishments, and then announced their next plans. Both were unable to announce much that was immediate—there was a delay before the meat of what they were saying would become tangible.

Sounds pretty similar, doesn’t it? And yet the audience reactions were wildly different. During Jobs’ presentation there were frequent spontaneous cheers and genuine applause. During Obama’s presentation there were obligatory-feeling interruptions for applause that felt phony.

Why?

It’s not my purpose to get political here, so please don’t misunderstand my point—I promise it’s relevant to your own influence.

Build Credibility
The differences started when the two were reviewing their accomplishments. Jobs did it subtly, setting the stage for a new category of electronic device by alluding to how great the iPhone is in the smartphone market and the Macbook is in the laptop market–indirectly, and largely through screen imagery. The audience already felt better about whatever Jobs was going to say because he established (without hyperbole or fanfare) that he has successfully accomplished significant things in the past.

Obama, on the other hand, had to admit that what he said he was going to accomplish hasn’t happened. There is no new healthcare bill, there is no cap-and-trade regulation on carbon, and millions are still without jobs. He blamed previous administrations for creating the problems, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’d said in the past he would be able to accomplish these things.

Explain Clearly and Enthusiastically
You could feel the deep personal level of excitement in Jobs’ voice as he talked about what the iPad would do. He was presenting something unique and exciting, and he knew it. He explained simply how it would be of benefit to his audience, and everyone came away with clear mental images of what value this would or wouldn’t have to them personally. My reading of various media coverage leads to the feeling that those who are Apple lovers came away extremely excited, while those who are not came away impressed with the new product but uncertain of the its final impact and market share. They are in agreement on the facts of Jobs’ announcement, even though they disagree on its impact.  {Full disclosure: I occasionally write for Mac|Life online, and did a story for them on the iPad announcement.}

Obama made numerous grandiose-sounding statements, but I felt more like he was trying to convince me than that he was already convinced himself. It wasn’t clear what was really behind many of the things he said, as evidenced by the fact that the media disagrees not just on its impact but even on the factual content. My reading of various media coverage leads to the feeling that Obama supporters came away somewhat hopeful, and his detractors came away feeling he demonstrated reasons for disappointment.

Credibility + Clarity = Optimism
People believe that Jobs can accomplish what he claimed the iPad will do when it is delivered. They understand what it will or won’t mean for their lives. Many are now excited about its availability in two to three months. Those who aren’t interested still have a new vision of what the future will look like, with a sense of progress.

People are not overly confident that Obama will be able to accomplish what he proposed, nor are they sure what it would mean for their lives if he did. There isn’t a sense of excitement and optimism about what the future will look like because of his words.

So?
First, let me repeat that I’m not trying to be political here. I understand that the situations are different in many ways. This isn’t about our President, it’s about you and me and our influence in the world. I think yesterday’s examples lead to some thought-provoking things for us.

Does my message have credibility? How do you respond to a pastor who preaches the importance of evangelism, but has never brought a newcomer to church? Or a youth leader who proposes taking the group on a trip three states away when there was a serious problem at their church lock-in? Or a children’s worker that screams at kids about the importance of getting along politely? Credibility is built slowly, block by block—but can be destroyed in an instant.

Does my message have clarity? Speak at an appropriate level for your audience. If you’re a professor addressing seminary students, it makes sense to sound that way. If you’re not, it doesn’t. Are your words designed to impress people with you or with your message? Do they know what “sanctification” is? Or even simpler, do they know what “sin” is? More importantly, do they know how your message applies to them and their lives?

Does my message leave people hopeful? The Christian message is the greatest hope for all humanity. Not just the hope of eternal salvation, but the hope of a meaningful, fulfilled life on earth. The hope of forgiveness. The hope of redemption. The hope that the God of all creation loves us even when we feel—and others treat us as—unlovely. Why would we ever leave people feeling any other way?

Whoever our audience is, whether it’s in a formal presentation or a casual conversation, we can learn a lot from Steve Jobs and President Obama.

To be honest, I haven’t been a Trekkie long. So don’t ask me about the time Kirk had dinner with the Klingons and they served Romulan pie!

But I was won over after the 2009 version. It was an awesome movie! It remained true to the spirit of Star Trek while bringing in a flock of new Trekkies—including yours truly. In addition to being a great movie it gave some great lessons in leadership. Any ministry of any kind could REALLY benefit from these lessons.

What are they? I’m glad you asked:

There has to be both Kirk and a Spock

You need two people to make any organization run effectively:

1. A great leader
2. A great manager

The leader sees the unknown, the manager makes the unknown reality; the leader breaks through barriers, the manager makes sure they get through safely; the leader charts the course, the manager gets the group there safely. Any good organization needs both—because leaders don’t manage well and managers don’t lead well. They need each other to be at their best—Kirk was a great leader and Spock a great manager.

In fact, a leader is only as strong as the supporting leadership; and one of the marks of a great leader is the ability to raise up strong leaders. Not “yes men”, but strong men. Not soldiers, but generals. Not just followers, but leaders in their own right. Both Kirk and Spock were strong leaders and the USS Enterprise benefited immensely.

There have to be fights

During the course of the movie Spock and Kirk get into a tussle (Spock, being the stronger Vulcan, wins). After the fight an amazing thing happened: they became closer. They crossed each others battle lines and became the best of friends…or better friends.

Great organizations are comfortable with “fights.”

The Bible says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” ¹ And with that sharpening comes a lot of sparks!! You, as a leader, have to be comfortable with sparks: people challenging your ideas…to your face, challenging each other, and coming to a conclusion that truly benefits the group.

Get away from these “politically correct” meetings! Challenge, confront, debate, make it loud, and make it boisterous.

You don’t agree? Tell ‘em! Hold nothing back!!

There has to be synergy

In the movie, the greatest ideas never came from Kirk or Spock—they came from the group. When everyone came together with their different experiences, education, resources, and thoughts the group truly benefited.

The Bible says, “Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many counselors bring success.” ² You don’t know everything; and when undertaking a great task you have to get as much counsel as you can. The discussion and “fights” created a solution no one person would have discovered on their own.

So there you have it: what Star Trek taught me about leadership. And if you follow these suggestions to become a better leader, you too can go where no one has gone before!

What are your thoughts?

¹ Proverbs 27: 17 (New International Version)
² Proverbs 15:22 (New Living Translation)

Mike Holmes is the author of I Shall Raise Thee Up: Ancient Principles for Lasting Greatness. He’s also a blogger that writes on business and leadership development from a Biblical perspective. It’s leadership by the Book! When he’s not writing blogs or speaking he can be found writing bios in the third person. Check out his website/blog here.

The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from one generation to the next, says that when you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.

However, in modern business, because of the heavy investment factors to be taken into consideration, often other strategies have to be tried with dead horses, including the following:

1. Buying a stronger whip.

2. Changing riders.

3. Threatening the horse with termination.

4. Appointing a committee to study the horse.

5. Arranging to visit other sites to see how they ride dead horses.

6. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included.

7. Appointing an intervention team to reanimate the dead horse.

8. Creating a training session to increase the riders load share.

9. Reclassifying the dead horse as living-impaired.

10. Change the form so that it reads: “This horse is not dead.”

11. Hire outside contractors to ride the dead horse.

12. Harness several dead horses together for increased speed.

13. Donate the dead horse to a recognized charity, thereby deducting its full original cost.

14. Providing additional funding to increase the horse’s performance.

15. Do a time management study to see if the lighter riders would improve productivity.

16. Purchase an after-market product to make dead horses run faster.

17. Declare that a dead horse has lower overhead and therefore performs better.

18. Form a quality focus group to find profitable uses for dead horses.

19. Rewrite the expected performance requirements for horses.

20. Promote the dead horse to a supervisory position.

Ezra was leading a national revival.  He had personally led the return of many Jewish exiles to the destroyed city of Jerusalem.  He was trying to restore the people of God.  But he learned of a significant sin; an insidious one that had drawn the people of Israel away from God in the past.  It broke his heart.

Lesson #1 – If you truly care about the people around you (whether you lead them or not), your heart will broken by the things that separate them from God.  We talk a lot about love, but when were you last truly “devastated” by the sins of others?

Lesson #2 – If you truly care about people you will pray for their sins.  Did you notice that Ezra didn’t stand up on a soapbox and complain about what they were doing wrong?  He didn’t stage a protest.  He didn’t write letters to the Jerusalem Post.  He took it to God.

Lesson #3 – When you’re in the doldrums, you might need a kick in the butt. The people in Jerusalem came around Ezra and grieved with him.  They could have stayed in their little group and whined to each other forever–without accomplishing anything.  Shecaniah told Ezra essentially, “You’re right.  We’ve messed up.  Let’s totally repent, and let’s commit to God to correct the problem.  But you’re the leader, so stop whining about it–get up and lead us out of it!”

Do you have a Shecaniah in your life? Is there someone who can tell you honestly, “You’re right that this is a problem, but it’s time for you to stop complaining and lead us out of it”?  Feeling the pain and praying about it were good things.  But then the time came to get past that and do something about it!

Maybe you do have a Shecaniah in your life.  Great!  Now…is there someone who needs you to be their Shecaniah?