The Allure of the Martyr Leader
I was part of a community for a number of years and like many had benefited from what that community had embodied - a fresh expression of love, hope, healing, and grace. As with many communities, it became apparent that it was time for change.
A new leader was found and they took a year observing the community. The change meant that some individuals and programs that had been there from the beginning were going to be let go or tweaked.
At first it was exciting. But then as the changes rolled out, things got painful. When individuals were able to distance themselves from the situation, most could acknowledge that everything that was done was needed - but the raw emotion eventually caused for a growing outcry. Nearly a year passed and after 3 short years in total, this leader ended up moving onto another organization.
A sense of relief could be felt in the congregation afterward. Although nothing had changed, the structures he had implemented stood strong and allowed this church to take a healthy step into what God had called them to be.
I have a deeply profound respect for this leader. I've jokingly told friends close to the situation that his stepping down was him becoming a sacrificial lamb of sorts, that allowed the church to finally commit to the change that all knew were necessary.
The choice to lead something, to orient your life toward some vision or ideal and to lead in that direction, opens you up to a world of pain that you might not otherwise have to face.(p. 140)
There are many burdens of leadership - of having the courage to join with a community to identify and implement areas for growth and vision. This weight strikes in differing ways depending on the individual and the context. As followers of Christ it is very easy for us to believe that a good leader stays in the midst of this struggle. That in doing so we join a long line of leaders we read in Scripture who apparently did not give up.
When did giving up come to be viewed as failure?
Somewhere along the line we began to confuse sacrifice as martyrdom - and that somehow this was an appropriate outcome for ministry leaders. In a class earlier this semester, a professor said:
You said you were willing to be crucified at your baptism. But what you didn’t know was that it was the church that would do so.
So we encourage our leaders to be crucified, we encourage our leaders to endure even in the midst of heartbreak, exhaustion, and turmoil as if this is somehow right, true, or acceptable.
I am here to tell you it is not. That some times, having the courage to resign/to give up, is actually the most healthy and beneficial posture an individual can do for themselves but also for the life of the community they are leading. This is the cost of casting a vision and being given the courage to ask others to step into it.
All leaders hope step together and to live into the new reality with the community they are apart of, but as Martin Luther King, Jr. reminds us:
Like anybody, I would like to live - a long life; longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
This is the true weight of leadership - of being willing to hold the vision in manner that our desire to experience it does not come at the cost of the greater community embodying it.
For we are not asked to be martyrs - but to be obedient. This is the type of people God is in search of.
*Unless otherwise noted, the book that is referenced in these posts is from Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Barton.