We don't talk about it all that often, but there's a real danger in holding a position of leadership or authority, and it's a danger that can often be heightened when working in a ministry setting. It comes when we begin to believe that our position of leadership comes from our expertise. When we believe the facts in our head, the techniques learned from experience, the dexterity of our fingers, or the clarity of our vision are what matters most.
There are a lot of ways we can fall into this trap of believing our expertise is what matters most, but in my experience it's usually based on one of three misconceptions. The first misconception is that being an expert is why people listen to us, why they follow us. The second is that our opportunities to advance in life come from that expertise. The final misconception is that our security, our livelihood and our prestige are dependent on staying the expert.
So how do we realign our hearts and minds to more closely resemble the person God has designed us to be? Maybe it's time to try a little vulnerability.
Before the fall …
At its core, the real danger of expertise is that it's often just a fancy name for pride. “Knowledge puffs up, while love builds up,” asserts I Corinthians 8:1, and if we're completely honest, many of us have fallen victim to the temptations of this type of pride at one time or another. It feels good to be admired, respected, and needed, but the side effects of indulging our pride can be devastating. It alienates us from friends and colleagues. It distances us from the volunteers we're supposed to be mentoring. Ultimately, it can render our hearts deaf to God's voice.
So how do we realign our hearts and minds to more closely resemble the person God has designed us to be? Maybe it's time to try a little vulnerability. After decades of worship and technical ministry, I continue to be astounded at the power of these three little words: “I don't know.”
Enter humility
Maybe it's time to admit that there are limits to our knowledge. It's time to allow that there's a danger in trusting our experience too much, that there's so much we still have to learn. As counterintuitive as it sounds, admitting our limitations doesn't make us look weaker. On the contrary, it makes us appear more intelligent and self-aware. It also makes us much easier to spend time around.
Vulnerability builds better relationships and connections because it's far easier to trust someone who knows their strengths and weaknesses. It invites stronger partnership and collaboration, since people are far more likely to engage with someone who listens and asks questions rather than someone who continually gives their opinions. And as strange as it sounds, vulnerability is vital to building stronger leadersit actually forces developing leaders to learn the value of asking good questions and finding multiple sources for answers.
Remember, at the heart of ministry is a calling to serve and to equip. It's a calling to lead out with the heart, rather than the head. Vulnerability may require some habit-breaking and some creating of new neural pathways in our brains, but the payoff to our ministry will always be exponential.
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”
- I Corinthians 13
