I have been reflecting on leadership lately; more specifically, I have been reflecting on the idea of pastoral leadership. You don’t have to look very far in Church sub-culture and you realize the incessant desire to be the best leader you can be (just take a tour of your local Christian bookstore). I am not against that but what I do struggle with is the measure by which pastors often view “successful pastoral leadership.” Bill Hybels, Rick Warren, John Maxwell are but a few of the plethora of leadership gurus out there, all of which are considered very “successful.” They have pastored large churches, written books, regularly speak on leadership, and many pastors look to them as their example and what they are striving to be.

I am not against good leadership, leadership workshops or leadership books. I am a leader who is passionate about being the best leader I can be, but I struggle with what I call the “mythical leader.” By “mythical leader,” I refer to the fact that, like superstars in our culture, people have warped views of what they are like in person. Like young girls measuring their exterior beauty with models that are Photoshopped and airbrushed, many pastors can feel a deep blow to their self-esteem because they believe the myth that these “leaders” are superhuman, never making mistakes or wrong decisions. I am not saying that they aren’t very gifted, but they are also human. So we can compare ourselves with mythical figures and think we are not worthy of our calling, but in the end we are comparing ourselves with a mythical character that, although gifted, is not as perfect as we perceive them to be. Contrarily, I believe, and think the Bible clearly teaches, that each pastor has been created and gifted uniquely for the calling that God has given them.

I think this conversation also needs to address the perceptions of the Church. Many people in church (speaking generically) compare their pastor (his/her leadership capability, administrative prowess, preaching gift, and counseling skills) with these mythical figures and of course no one can measure up to a fictionally ideal standard. In fact, that is one of the drawbacks of our twenty-first century culture. Sixty plus years ago, there wasn’t this same mythical picture. I think this began a bit with the iterant speaker, expanded with the use of radio and exploded with TV. Although I am very comfortable with the pastor that I am, my gifts and my limitations, there is always this opaque expectation I place, and at times others place, before me that I will never reach.

I wish there were more books and ministries that focused on being the person, follower of Jesus, and pastor that we are called, gifted and created by God to be. Maybe if we, as pastors, spent less time focusing on something we can never be and tried more to be better at who we are and how God created us, we would see a revolution of pastoral leadership that would lead to greater self-esteem, greater ministries and therefore greater effectiveness.

I don’t think this dismisses the need for personal and professional growth or the desire to be a better leader or even the need for good leadership in the church. All of these I wholeheartedly embrace, but maybe we need to focus more on being ourselves and thus be a better leader within the framework God has created and called.