4 warning signs of leadership failures

Jonathan Hayashi March 31, 2018

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Are you really leading, or are you just taking a walk? As the Chinese proverb said it well, “If you think you’re leading and no one is following you, then you’re only taking a walk.” Losing touch with your people is a huge leadership landmine.

We believe everything rises and falls on culture, and culture rises and falls on the leader.  As Christians leaders in our culture, the fundamental question we must ask is, Am I really leading?

Here are four warning signs to evaluate whether you and your team are leading as you ought.

1. Uncertain leaders forsake ministry priorities

What do you do when you desire your leaders to do more vision-casting, raise new leaders and press onward, but there seems to be nothing happening. If it seems that a leader has stopped leading, we must ask the question, Why? There could be many reasons why a leader stops leading, but one may be that the leader has no vision/conviction. Proverbs says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” (28:18).

Church leaders give individuals responsibility (position) without appropriate authority. This ultimately handicaps the leader and causes grave confusion. This leads people to either immense frustration or apathy toward the followers.
If you don't feel the weight of carrying the vision, it may be time for you to step down from the leadership role.
“Vision without action is day dreaming. Action without vision is a nightmare” – Japanese proverb

2. Insecure leaders who none can question

You may have asked how long this job will last or have wondered if you can even make it until the weekend. Leadership is hard. However, sometimes, it’s not nearly as hard as we make it out to be. At times, the cause is not just the organization or the position, but it is the insecurity of the leader himself/herself.

To be such a leader is to be a dangerous leader. How do you know if you’re an insecure leader? If you are never confronted, you’re really in isolation and there’s a divorce between you and the people.

“If your leadership can’t be questioned, you are a questionable leader.” – Robby Gallaty

3. Stagnant leaders who fear followers

Dietrich Bonhoeffer—the philosopher, pastor, spy and martyr, famously said, “Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.” The author of the book, The Cost of Discipleship, believed that unless one followed Christ in a serious fashion, it was to cheapen the grace of God. Church without discipleship is no church at all. 

Why does the church insist on reaching the world without making disciples? Because it is easy and comfortable. Jesus called people to a commitment that we’re afraid to call them to—we’re more content with keeping a crowd.

The three great idols in the church today: comfort, consumerism and nostalgia. The gospel calls for sacrifice, service and an adventurous heart.

4. Coasting leaders who do not multiply

Churches too often are preacher-centered, program-centered or building-centered. We are good perhaps at, “growth” but not so much on multiplication.

Additional Model – Winning 365,000 People per year for 25 years
 

Multiplication Model – One gifted pastor equipping 30 people to each one win one per year doubling each year for 25 years

"If you don’t give yourself to your team, you are really just coasting through. Leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less." (John. C. Maxwell)

Therefore, if you’re ineffective in the present and unable to lead toward the future, it might be time to step down and allow new leadership an opportunity to take the church to a new level for the sake of the Great Commission.

“Well Jonathan, it sounds overwhelming, I don’t know how to do this.”

When we look at the life of Jesus in multiplication, I honestly think anybody can do it. His investment in a few was incredibly intentional and reproductive. Find a few, pour into them and see how those who have been invested in begin to reproduce the change in their lives. We need to simply step up and begin to make disciples.

Jesus saw the tremendous value and made the investment in a few, and called his disciples to do the same. 

Why is it so hard for us to get leadership through the concept of discipleship? 

The churches in North America model tend to have the prayer prayed and done. They’ve prayed the prayer and the task of evangelism and discipleship is now given to the super Christian leadership (The Additional Model).

The multiplication model Christ put forth was a brilliant idea. There is a reason it is hard because it takes more intentionality, time, thought and effort. Too often, pastors want to settle with preaching as their primary avenue for making disciples. However, as we look at the life of Christ, He invested in a few. Throughout the gospel, we see Jesus spending time with the masses 17 times and 49 times with the few.

Bible study alone doesn’t make you a disciple. You have to spend time one-on-one and to know what is happening in people’s lives.

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Dr. Jonathan Hayashi earned his B.A. from Moody Bible Institute with a double concentration in Pastoral Ministry and Biblical Studies; a M.A., in Congregational Leadership from Moody Theological Seminary, and Doctorate of Educational Ministry in Biblical Counseling from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He presently serves on the Executive Committee at Southwest Baptist University (Bolivar, MO) and serves on the Board of Trustees at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He served as Senior Pastor at Northern Hills Baptist Church Holt, Missouri from 2020-2022. Learn More »

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