Whether it is in sports, business, education or ministry. It seems to me that the higher you go in any field or area, the more there is a tendency to take on an elitist perspective. To assume those at your level are somehow better than everyone else. They often become arrogant.
In the New Testament, I think this happened to the Pharisees. They begin to see themselves as better than the other people. It is a danger anyone who achieves some level of success faces.
Of course I think we should all seek to develop ourselves and reach for becoming our full Kingdom potential. This includes being a lifelong learner. But we must be careful we don’t start focusing on our achievements (positions, titles, degrees, status, successes), for this can lead to arrogance, elitism and self centeredness.
Instead be must value others, seek interdependency, and possess real humility. We must see the strengths and abilities in others without devaluing how God has wired us.
Jesus called twelve common normal men to be His disciples and they changed their world. I think great leadership is helping common ordinary people accomplish extraordinary results. That is one reason Jesus is the greatest leader of all time.
Tags: Humility · Leadership2 Comments
How kind of God to choose those of us who are ordinary, broken, and worthless to do his wonderful work. I stand in awe of the cross that makes Christian leadership possible among us.
An observations: sometimes – if we are jealous of what God is doing through others – we can project “elitest” on those who don’t have that attitude at all. No one of us fills another’s shoes – and that is why interdependency and valuing the gifts and abilities of others is so vital. Kudos to all of you who have super-gifts of leadership and who head the charge when the Spirit is on the move!
Amen . . . an outcropping of years of abuse and ‘clergy – laity’ distinctives, this false perspective still permeates the Church. The Body of Christ is made up of many parts, none greater than the other yet functioning with different responsibilities. I also wonder if we have taken the gifts given the church by Christ and put titles and positions to them in order to meet our own eccentricities and over-laid the examples seen in the business community. Are we still demanding ‘a king’ as did the children of Israel? We love titles, status, privilege, and entitlement. Have we created the church celebrities? And, has this led to church dysfunction? Is it time for the Church to rethink how we do church?
As I write, I am reminded of the comparison the late Catherine Marshall made between the ‘egocentric personality’ and the ‘God-centered personality’ in her book Beyond Our Selves. I wonder if the Church is guilty of losing the God perspective.