Do you know any toxic church leaders who are all about themselves? Part 1 Symptoms of Toxic Church Leaders by Thom S. Rainer Most church leaders are godly and healthy. A toxic church leader, one that is figuratively poisonous to the organization, is rare. But it is that church leader who brings great harm to churches and other Christian organizations. And it is that leader that hurts the entire cause of Christ when word travels about such toxicity. In a post from last week, I noted the traits of long-term, healthy pastors. I now travel to the opposite extreme and provide symptoms of the worst kind of ministerial professionals, toxic church leaders. 1. They rarely demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit. Paul notes those specific attributes in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. You wont see them much in toxic leaders. 2. They seek a minimalist structure of accountability. Indeed, if they could get away with it, they would operate in a totally autocratic fashion, with heavy, top-down leadership. 3. They expect behavior of others they dont expect of themselves. Do as I say, not as I do. 4. They see almost everyone else as inferior to themselves. You will hear them criticizing other leaders while building themselves up. 5. They show favoritism. It is clear that they have a favored few, while they marginalize the rest. 6. They have frequent anger outbursts. This behavior takes place when they dont get their way. 7. They say one thing to some people but different things to others. This is a soft way of saying they lie.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 20:56:03 +0000
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