It is certainly trying times for those in leadership positions,
especially where the country is undergoing considerable change. The ‘Arab
Spring’ has brought rejoicing all over the world as we have seen former
dictatorships gradually displaced by democratic governments. In some situations
like Tunisia and Egypt, the transition has been relatively peaceful. But sadly
in Syria, and just recent in Libya, many lives have been lost as dictatorial
leaders desperately try to cling to power.
So, when does a leader become a
dictator? Although seen as eccentric, Moammar Gadhafi was courted
by world leaders like Tony Blair in the hope that he would shake off his
eccentricity and conform to the standards of other national leaders. Sadly Tony
Blair’s faith in the redemption of human nature was misplaced in this case and
the awful bloodshed of recent weeks has been splashed endlessly over our TV
screens. The sorry story culminated in the death of the man himself.
But, what is it in our human nature which can tip a
leader over the edge into dictatorship? Looking back to the time of Jesus, we
remember that King Herod was paranoid about the report from the wise men that a
new king had been born. This resulted in the slaughter of innocent children in
the vain hope that this new king would be eradicated before taking power away
from him. And yet, centuries earlier, I think of Moses who wearily led the
Israelites through the wilderness for forty years, enduring their groaning, criticism
and lack of faith and then, when standing on the threshold of the ‘Promised
Land’ was told by God that his time was up. Can you imagine what he must have
felt like after all that hard work, to look enviously on the lush meadows to be
told he wasn’t to enter? Can you imagine how hard it must have been for him to
pass on the baton to Joshua whom God had raised up to succeed him?
Elijah no doubt felt the same. We read in 1 Kings 19
how his faith abandoned him after the contest against the prophets of Baal,
when hotly pursued by Queen Jezebel. He cowered in the cave, sulking in his
self-righteousness and sense of abandonment and watched as the elements raged
outside but God was nowhere to be seen. Then, in a moment of awesome divine
power, a gentle whisper conveyed the voice of God to this depressed leader. I
wonder how much of his depression was triggered by the fact that Elisha was
waiting in the wings to succeed him.
One of the facts of life for me as
an Evangelism Enabler is that I am employed to do myself out of a job. Wherever
I go, I seek to enable others to pick up the baton and take over the tasks I
have trained them for. It doesn’t bother me in that wherever I go, there is
always more that can be done – the supply of work will never dry up. But there
is still the nervousness about the ability of others to take over. The
perfectionist in me wonders whether they will come up to the mark. We all know
the saying, ‘if you want something doing well, do it yourself’. But then I
think back to when I started out.
I sometimes look back at the
sermons I have preached over the years. I can still remember the first sermon I
ever preached and can honestly say how bad it was. What must the congregation
have thought? On the other hand it was also the most important because it
allowed me to put my foot on the first rung of the ladder. John Wesley,
apparently, would burn his sermons every seven years. Looking back on some of mine,
I can see why he did that!
Another facet of good leadership is
the willingness to be outshone. I am currently leading, along with a team of
four, a new course called Compass. We rotate the leadership week by week. In
preparation for last week’s session I looked at the material and thought how
hard it was to lead. Fortunately another team member was scheduled to lead that
night and she did it brilliantly – far better than I could have imagined myself
leading it. Sadly, some leaders feel threatened if they are not the best at
everything they do. Good teamwork relies on each team member valuing the unique
contribution made by the other team members.
But leaders come and leaders go. It
seems to me that we differentiate leaders from dictators by their ability, or
lack of it, to let go of the reins and allow new leaders to take their place.
As a sarcastic friend of mine once said, ‘the graveyards are full of
indispensible people’. May I not grow so possessive of my role that I find it
hard to let go when the time comes. If only Moammar Gadhafi had adopted
the same approach, just think how many lives would have been spared.
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