CHRISTIANNEWS.COM.- Most pastors work hard, love their churches and would sacrifice their lives for the people they lead. If you are reading this article to find ways to get back at your pastor, then chances are you are the problem, not your pastor.
But there are some bad shepherds out there. Why do people stay with them? There is a leadership romance. Most leadership studies focus on leading roles. Many leader-centered approaches assume that followers are mere recipients of leader-driven change.
To romanticize leadership is to exaggerate its importance in relation to followers. Leadership is extremely important, but it exists only because followers collectively portray someone (or a group) in that role. Romantic leadership leaves out half of the relationship.
Followers are equally important. Obsessing over leaders at the expense of followers leaves a huge gap in understanding how leadership really works.
If followers have power and influence, why might they fall victim to bad leaders? How can you break the leader-follower relationship? What makes followers susceptible to toxic leadership? Sometimes this problem results in a declining congregation due to an apathetic pastor.
Other times the result is more tragic, in which bullying, even abuse, occurs. There are three main ways in which this collapse occurs. What follows is descriptive, not prescriptive. Also, the scope of this short article is broader and more general than abuse cases.
Some leaders are bad because they are lazy and selfish. But most importantly, bullying and abuse should not be put up with anyone, and any case should be reported immediately.
Security
Most people are not locked into a leader. You can leave a church. You can stop working. You can transfer schools. People can vote to remove politicians and strike against companies. Most followers of our culture are free to walk away.
But with every increase in freedom comes a corresponding decrease in security. If you leave your job, then the paycheck is no longer guaranteed. If you reject a politician, you risk voting for a worse one.
In short, followers stay with bad leaders because they are not willing to risk security to be freer. Leaving a church can be complex, especially when you have children who find a sense of security in the congregation.
belonging
Leaving a bad leader can mean leaving an important community. For example, many fans remain loyal to a professional sports team despite having an unscrupulous owner or ineffective coach. Loyalty is a powerful force within a community.
Belonging to a human community will often replace leaving a group leader. That is why some parishioners tolerate an unsuccessful pastor. That’s why cult followers don’t denounce the cult after the leader falters catastrophically.
Unfollowing a toxic leader is often more painful (and less important) than the sense of belonging that comes from the community the leader presides over.
Comfort
Challenging bad leaders is uncomfortable (at best) and deadly (at worst), but many followers forget that they have the power to challenge leaders. In fact, dual responsibility is one of the keys to a successful leader-follower relationship.
However, to challenge the leaders, the followers must cast off a comfortable silence. If you are the only one speaking and no one joins in, then you are left alone in a vulnerable position. Many followers are not willing to risk comfort to challenge bad leaders.
A healthy leader-follower relationship has less to do with an overblown romance between the leader and more to do with double responsibility. Accountability is what prevents pastors from becoming dictators and tyrants. Parishioners need pastors to guide them to better places.
Pastors need church members to fulfill God’s purpose for the church. The right glue to bind followers to leaders (or parishioners and pastors) is dual responsibility, not safety, belonging, and comfort.
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Written by sam rainer President of Church Answers, podcast co-host, and full-time pastor at West Bradenton Baptist Church.
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