Theology of Credible Leadership - Lesson 8

Dr. John Johnson
Theology of Credible Leadership
Does God Need Leaders?
Lesson Transcription

So now we turn to theology to this question of necessity. So reasons for, we've looked at a number of them against why we really don't need leaders. So we'll turn now to look at theology, and it's, it's contribution to, to the question and its answers. So the, the logical question here, does God need leaders and theologically to be precise?   

The answer clearly is no. God doesn't need leaders because, well, why? God needs no one. God needs nothing. Leaders might think, oh, how God needs me in. No. And I hear this from some of my peers. I hear this from pastors who believe they are there because God needs them for this moment.   

We all must stop to realize, no, God doesn't need me, because that if God needs anything or anyone, he's not God. Well, God doesn't need us. Leaders really thinking theologically or secondary, God is sufficient in himself. He's from himself. He's independent, he's unconditioned and we find in God, there is no incompleteness that needs completing.   

No one to put it another way, no one is essential to God's purposes. He's not reliant on anyone to carry out his will. Since all things have their beginning and they're ending in him, he is not bound by any necessity except to be who he is.   

And we just need to stop to think about that and remind ourselves of this before we get caught up with our own sense of necessity or importance. Theologians refer to this as a, this theological term that simply means this, that God  does not need anything or anyone.   

It literally means from oneself. It's a way of saying God is radically independent of all creaturely power. He doesn't need us for anything. Now, therefore, what does that suggest? Well, this is what it means. God determines therefore, a leader's course. He determines the historical narrative.   

He bends it towards his will. God is not under any compulsion to do anything to need anyone or anything. He would not be at a loss without leaders or, or anyone. When a leader stands before God, any notion of self-importance begins to turn to vapor. I think in that passage in Daniel where there's Nebuchadnezzar, this world empire leader full of himself walking on the roof, just imagining all the things that he has accomplished, um, until God reminded him that he would be nothing without him.   

Leaders may assume they shape the course of history, but it's God who turns the will.   

It's God who pulls the levers. Those of us who lead, live out a script that's not of our own making. To those who say, by the strength of my hand, I have done this. And by my wisdom, Isaiah 10, verse 13, God response, does the Acts raise itself above the person who swings, or the Saul boast against the man who uses it.   

It is God, as Isaiah 40 puts it, who brings princes to not reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. God rules over all the rulers, he turns the heart of kings like channels of water. You know that verse Proverbs 21:1. As, the river is turned, God turns and, and God turns the river on its course.   

So God turns the heart of kings whichever way he wishes them to go. Kings simply put into action what God puts in their hearts. And we see this in so many verses in scripture. So, does God need leaders? Well, no. He doesn't need leaders. God does not need us.   

Just remind yourself every day that you step into leadership, just remind yourself, God does not need me. What God does is God uses leaders. And that is far different than, than need.   

Because what we do see clearly in theology, what we see in scripture is that leaders are relevant. It's not that they're irrelevant leaders, Ashley are part of God's design leaders. My point is this are not an option. Scripture underscores in,  both statements and stories that leaders are an integral part of God's design and purpose.   

He doesn't need our help, but he lets us help. That's how Donald bl theologian puts it. He doesn't need our help, but he lets us help. So leaders, what do leaders do? They play this important role in God's creative order. We are not co-creators by any means, but he's made us to be vice regents.   

And that's different. We represent the sovereign. We are called to subdue. We're called to oversee. We're called to take care of his creation because God is using us. It's not that he needs us. He chooses to, to bring us into what He's doing. He's chosen to share his leadership with us, not because he needs our help, but just because.   

And this is what is so amazing, right? He just, he just delights to partner with us. He could have kept leadership to himself. He could have made us to simply be mindless followers. Livestock, moving from pastor to pastor could have been what he chose to do. But instead, what we see all through scripture is God summoning leaders into action.   

Leaders like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Deborah, David Solomon, the prophets, the disciples, Paul, he uses leaders to do a multiple  set of things. He uses leaders to bring order out of chaos. Exodus 13, Moses comes down from the mountain to the chaos, and God's using his leader to bring back order.   

He uses leaders to become governing authorities to declare that those no, no authority, but God alone, he uses leaders to establish God's authority, to draw people to fear God. He uses leaders to challenge timid followers to take risks like Joshua and Joshua.   

17, leaders prepare God's people to do ministry. So Ephesians four says that God has given gifted leaders to what? To equip the saints to do the work of ministry until all come to the measure of the stature, of the fullness of Christ.   

But coming to this outcome people started with God giving leaders, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, these God uses, they co-lead, if you will, to this outcome. God's using leaders, leaders bring law and authority and order, excuse me, and justice Romans 13 verse four, leaders, who are they?   

They are the ones that stand in the gap. God looks out over this world as Ezekiel 22, verse 30 puts it. God looks at this world and looks for someone who stands in the gap, not because he needs, but because God is looking for someone to use to serve as a prophetic voice. God is looking for someone to sound the alarm, to lead the fight. This is what leaders do.   

This is what prophetic voices do that God uses. Leaders, leaders do what they, they step into a a room and they bring a needed presence and, and a confidence. Uh, they, they are used of God. They, they intercede. God uses leaders to intercede for the people as part of God's creative order, is what I'm saying, that leaders exist.   

Uh, one of God's severe judgements. It, it actually turns out is when leadership is removed from humanity. So again, point I wanna keep underscoring is that while God does not knee leaders, he uses leaders. And in fact, he uses leaders to such a degree that without their leadership, things begin to crumble and collapse.   

And when God looks at a people, you look, you see this through the prophets. When God looks at a people who turn against him, one of the severest judgements God makes on a people is to withdraw and take away their leaders. Isaiah three, we, we see this, um, because anarchy is in many ways the worst judgment historian Robert Kagan put it this way, and it might be an overstatement, but it's worth thinking about.   

He says, quote, a hundred years of tyranny causes less damage than one year of anarchy. A hundred years of tyranny cause less damage than one year of anarchy. Is that, is that an overstatement? Is it true? Well, Kagan, as a historian would say, as he's looked at cultures and he's looked at history, it's anarchy.   

That is the worst thing. And at least it does coincide with when God judges the people, he leaves them without leaders. Uh, think of the Book of Judges. Um, the Book of Judges is largely a book of anarchy, because people have turned away from God in a recent Atlantic, just April of this sheer there's an article entitled The New Anarchy, and it talks about the violence that is being played out in many of our cities.   

To, to suggest again that, that one of the worst moments in its history is when it's hard to find a leader. And, and the point is, theology would tell us that not because God needs them, it's because this is what God uses to fulfill his purposes.   

So wise is the leader and the follower who do not think more highly of themselves as they ought to think. But to think as Romans 12 puts it with sound judgment as God has allotted to each a measure of faith to step back and realize, I do make a difference. Um, but I I dare not allow people to put me into an idle in their minds and their hearts.   

Uh, I do make a difference. God does use me. We can get fed up with leadership failure but theology tells us nonetheless, God has made leaders to play a crucial role. Uh, and that's why we're called to honor and pray for those in authority over us. No matter how much we may despise their policies no matter how much we may be disappointed, there is something about honoring a leader, as we see in first sympathy chapter two, because why?   

Because leaders are part of God's process. They're what he uses. When leaders are faithful to God's will, people as a whole rejoice. Uh, because leaders can lead us out of our petty preoccupations. They can carry us above the conflicts that tear society apart.   

They can unite us in worthy goals. And yet wise, this the leader who realizes that while I play this important role, by the grace of God, I'm not essential to God. I'm not necessary to God. Um, God does not need me. And as God showed to Mordecai, who then showed to Esther, Esther, if you don't step up to this God's will still going to be done.   

You will just miss out again on the blessing of it all. Uh, that's how leaders should look at themselves. So let's step back to this question. Are leaders necessary? In one sense, they are necessary to the establishment of order to leading people to a vision and a cause.   

Are they necessary to God? No, because behind it all is a God who is above all leaders, above everything. And if we think theologically about this question we get centered our place of importance. God uses us, but we're not necessary to him. So you're saying that, um, even though leaders aren't necessary for God, that they're an essential part of the way that he set up the created order?   

Ye ye yes. Um, it, it's just the way in God's design with creation, right back to Genesis 1 28, that when he set us in the garden, so to speak, he set us in the garden to rule, which is to say he established from the beginning a role of leadership.   

So it's, it's it's part of God's design from the beginning. But did God need to do that? Uh, NN no, because God doesn't need to do anything but be himself. Yeah. Yeah. It, it, it forms a, a rather balancing statement to this question of, of, of necessity because, um, I just find so many people and I find this a lot in the church today.   

They just wake up with this you know, what's the latest about Trump or Biden or whoever is the name that is elevated up there. And, and sometimes I just find myself saying, you, you're getting too caught up with the leader's importance. Um, leaders are important, don't misunderstand, but they're not necessary to God.   

Uh, God will accomplish his will, um, re re regardless. So I, I think this particular theme on leadership and theology is where we, if I could put it this way, are pretty screwed up. We have elevated especially in the political world, a, a leader far beyond who we or she really is.   

And I think sometimes we, we, we make the same mistake in the church. We elevate a pastoral role way beyond what God intended the role to be. And you see, therefore, we, we, it's a setup, as I said earlier because nobody can live up to the elevation. We tend to, to do with, with people.   

So, um, one of the great tragedies, a little bit more personal is this pastor I mentioned where I was shepherding the church until they put him in this position. As it turned out, he he was involved in deep moral failure almost from the beginning. And, um, I don't understand how that happens but maybe he just, sometimes I think leaders can get so filled with self-importance that they feel a certain, um, it's the word I'm looking for, um that almost it's their right, it's their privilege.   

And that's how some pastors unfortunately explain their, their moral, moral failure their, what's the word? Entitlement, I suppose is what I'm thinking of.   

And they'd lose all proportion with who they are. And, and and they begin to think of themselves as indispensable for forgetting that what's that famous quote? The, the graves are filled with indispensable men. Well, and isn't that a contrast with the picture of the body of Christ, where you were saying that we elevate people and then criticize them instead of realizing what people's gifts are and encouraging 'em the things that they're strong in and coming alongside them in the areas that they need help in?   

Yeah, I, I think so. I mean, I, I think too many search processes today Jesus wouldn't even make the cut.   

Um, we, we, um, we, we almost brag sometimes about the search process going for two years. Um, and we brag about how many candidates are, are part of the search that we, we just lose proportion of, of people's importance and people's abilities.   

That's why I really like that quote I mentioned at the beginning in Gary Will's book, which is in this book uh, entitled The Kennedy Imprisonment, because he, he puts that quote right at the beginning to, to, in as a reference point to Kennedy, that Kennedy is a great example of how we elevated someone to such a idealistic notion. And, and we, we not, it wasn't so much Kennedy, we created Camelot.   

See, we, we, we created this mythic idea of a realm in which a leader lives a certain idealism. So that when I was a kid a number of my Catholic friends in particular had Kennedy's picture, you know, in the dining room. You even go to people like Obama who proclaimed that, you know, that he was this audacious hope, you know, and, and, and so we, we all sort of, yeah, we go there, but then it, it, it reminds me a little bit, I'm probably rambling a bit, but it's reminds me a little bit as, as a kid watching the Wizard of Oz, and, you know, there is, there's the wizard, and he's making all this pro proclamations, and everybody's got him up on this pedestal, and he controls all until total the, you know, the dog pulls the curtain aside, and it's just this little man pulling the levers and pushing the button that creates smoke.   

And, and, and sometimes I can't help but feel that, that, that it just continues on that behind this aura and this elitism are just little men pulling levers.   

Um, but they have to keep the curtain, right.   

They have to keep the curtain closed so people don't see the, the realities. And and where that really comes out is, is especially, is like in shame honor cultures. So, for example, in India, where I've taught from time to time in a very shame honor culture versus a guilt innocence culture like ours, um, it would be that a leader's ultimate shame for people to see as flaws.   

So in a shame honor, culture, the honor, you, you, you have to work hard to keep this impeccable image. And, and that the tragedy is, first of all, it's impossible. But secondly, he does that because it's the people's expectation. So people don't want to see the flaws.   

They don't wanna see the cracks. They don't wanna know that, that your feet are feet of clay, right? And, and sometimes we do that in churches where we elevate a pastor to the point where a pastor feels like he has to be inauthentic, that he could never really share. Well, you know, I struggle with, IM patience too. People don't wanna hear that. They, they want this model who has got it all figured out.   

And, and, and, and, and so ultimately uh, there's just this often this great collapse Mm-Hmm. 'cause at the end, the, the weight of expectation can't be carried, right. And anymore, yeah. So now the, the other extreme inside of it is not, we don't want a leader to say, Hey, yeah, you know, I lost over women too, and I, you know, let me share a story about my neighbor.   

I mean, no, no, we expect you to live at another level. And, and, and someone who chooses to be a pastor signs on to live at a level of godliness and sacredness, um, to be a model. We're called to be models to our people, but we're not called to perfection.   

So it, it, it forms a, a rather balancing statement to this question of, of, of necessity because, um, I just find so many people and I find this a lot in the church today. They just wake up with this you know, what's the latest about Trump or Biden or whoever is the name that is elevated up there.   

And, and sometimes I just find myself saying, you, you're getting too caught up with the leader's importance. Um, leaders are important, don't misunderstand, but they're not necessary to God. Uh, God will accomplish his will, um, re re regardless.   

So I, I think this particular theme on leadership and theology is where we, if I could put it this way, are pretty screwed up. We have elevated especially in the political world, a, a leader far beyond who we or she really is. And I think sometimes we, we, we make the same mistake in the church.   

We elevate a pastoral role way beyond what God intended the role to be. And you see, therefore, we, we, it's a setup, as I said earlier because nobody can live up to the elevation. We tend to, to do with, with people. So, um, one of the great tragedies, a little bit more personal is this pastor I mentioned where I was shepherding the church until they put him in this position.   

As it turned out, he he was involved in deep moral failure almost from the beginning. And, um, I don't understand how that happens but maybe he just, sometimes I think leaders can get so filled with self-importance that they feel a certain, um, what's the word I'm looking for?   

That almost it's their right, it's their privilege. And that's how some pastors unfortunately explain their, their moral, moral failure their, what's the word? Entitlement, I suppose is what I'm thinking of. And they lose all proportion with who they are. And they begin to think of themselves as indispensable for forgetting that what's that famous quote?   

The, the graves are filled with indispensable men. Well, and isn't that a contrast with the picture of the body of Christ, where you were saying that we elevate people and then criticize them instead of realizing what people's gifts are and encouraging 'em and the things that they're strong in and coming alongside them in the areas that they need help in?   

I, I think so. I mean, I, I think too many search processes today Jesus wouldn't even make the cut. We, we almost brag sometimes about the search process going for two years. Um, and we brag about how many candidates are, are part of the search that we, we just lose proportion of, of people's importance and people's abilities.   

That's why I really liked that quote. I mentioned at the beginning in Gary Will's book, which is in this book entitled The Kennedy Imprisonment, because he, he puts a quote right at the beginning to, to, in as a reference point to Kennedy, that Kennedy is a great example of how we elevated someone to such a idealistic notion.   

And, and we, we not, it wasn't so much Kennedy, we created Camelot. See, we, we, we created this mythic idea of a realm in which a leader lives a certain idealism. Uh, so that when I was a, a a, a kid a number of my Catholic friends in particular had Kennedy's picture, you know, in the dining room.   

You even go to people like Obama who proclaimed that, you know, that he was this audacious hope, you know, and, and, and so we, we all sort of, yeah, we go there, but then it, it, it reminds me a little bit, I'm probably rambling a bit, but it's reminds me a little bit as, as a kid watching the Wizard of Oz, and, you know, there is, there's the wizard and he's making all his pro proclamations, and everybody's got him up on this pedestal, and he controls all until total, the, you know, the dog pulls the curtain aside, and there's just this little man pulling the levers and pushing the button that creates smoke.   

And, and, and sometimes I can't help but feel that, that, that it just continues on that behind this aura and this elitism are just little men pooling levers.   

Um, but they have to keep the curtain, right. They have to keep the curtain closed so people don't see that the realities. And, and where that really comes out is, is especially is like in shame honor cultures.   

So, for example, in India, where I've taught from time to time in a very shame honor culture versus a guilt innocence culture like ours, um, it would be the, a leader's ultimate shame for people to see is flaws. So, and a shame honor culture, the honor, you, you, you have to work hard to keep this impeccable image.   

And, and that the tragedy is, first of all, it's impossible. But secondly, he does that because it's the people's expectation. So people don't want to see the flaws. They don't wanna see the cracks. They don't wanna know that, that your feet are feet of clay, right? And, and sometimes we do that in churches where we elevate a pastor to the point where a pastor feels like he has to be inauthentic, that he could never really share.   

Well, you know, I struggle with impatience, too. People don't want to hear that. They, they want this model who has got it all figured out. And, and, and, and so ultimately, there's just this often this great collapse. 'cause at the end, the, the weight of expectation can't be carried, right.   

And anymore, so now the, the other extreme inside of it is not, we don't want a leader to say, Hey, yeah, you know, I lost over women too, and I, you know, let me share a story about my neighbor. I mean, no, no, you, we expect you to live at another level. And, and, and someone who chooses to be a pastor signs on to live at a level of godliness and sacredness, um, to be a model.   

We're called to be models to our people, but we're not called to perfection.