This is a book by leaders, for leaders, designed to prevent their readers from adding their names to the list of those who succeed greatly at spiritual leadership, only to have their "dark side" ultimately get the best of them and ruin their lives and ministries.Nobody has to look very far to see spiritual leadership failures. Yet many wrongly think that these failings are merely the work of Satan:
Many Christian leaders have been taught to blame the "enemy" for their leadership failures. When a leader commits adultery, embezzles money from the church, or gets caught exposing himself, the most frequent explanation among the ranks of the faithful is "Boy, the devil sure is working overtime," with little attention given to the realities of human dysfunction. (p. 155)The fact is, all of us have a "dark side" that consists of the unmet needs and "existential debts" that orient our lives and drive us from deep down inside. These often provide motivation to do good things-- such as spiritual leadership. But when these "dark side" characteristics continue to lurk in the darkness and are combined with spiritual leadership, we have a recipe for disaster. Pride, selfishness, self-deceit and wrong motives are identified as the tell-tale signs that the "dark side" is out of control.
Five different types of unhealthy leadership patterns are discussed:
* The Compulsive Leader
* The Narcissistic Leader
* The Paranoid Leader
* The Codependent Leader
* The Passive-Aggressive Leader
We will post about each type in the following weeks.