Power to the (wrong) people
I want to talk a little bit about power.
Those with some measure of authority are generally wielding power. When you’re in authority, you have the honor and privilege of making difficult choices for the good of all that you lead. You carry the burden of leadership and caring for those who are under your authority. And you also wield power. You have the power, depending on how you lead, to make the lives of those under your authority either miserable or wonderful. You can make the carrying out of their daily tasks a joy and a pleasure or an obligation and a frustration. How you lead matters.
You can also have power by virtue of information that you hold or skills that you have. You have the power to bless others with your skills and information or use it only to your own advantage. You have the power and privilege to share information with those who need it and withhold it from those who don’t. You have the power and privilege to use your skills at some times and not use them at others. This is mainly a question of ethics, but it is also one of power.
Whatever kind of power you wield, no matter why you have it, you must use it carefully. If you don’t, people can get hurt. Have you ever heard the phrase, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”? This phrase can be traced back to a British Baron in the 1800s (Lord Acton), in a letter. His original phrasing is not this, but that’s the gist of it. I’m sure that you’ve seen this quote or idea before. If you haven’t, you’ve probably experienced it in your life. Even in a simple way. For example, when a kid realizes that they have the power to squirt water out of their mouth, what is the first thing that they do? Squirt water out of their mouth onto someone or something that they shouldn’t. What about a bad police officer using their power to enforce speed limits to let their friends off easy, but come down hard on someone that they don’t like? You could come up with examples of this all day long. The point is that, some of us, maybe most of us, tend to use our power inappropriately almost as soon as we get it.
One of the things I’ve been mulling over as I process the past eleven years is how power has been wielded in spiritual communities that I’ve been a part of. Sometimes, people are given power because they merit it either through experience, training, inherent skill, or a combination of these things. Other times, people are given power for their sheer charisma. These are the ones that you have to watch out for. They’re the ones who harmed me.
If you haven’t watched the documentary on Prime Video called “Shiny Happy People”, you may not know what I’m about to discuss, but I’ll try to keep it simple. The documentary is about the Dugger family, of early 2000s TLC fame, and the organization that fueled their beliefs. It’s called the IBLP (Institute for Basic Life Principles). This is not a church. It’s just an organization. I’d call it a weird cult-adjacent group. While I could rant for days and days about all the problems with this organization, I’ll spare you. Go watch the documentary and do some research, if you want to learn more. All that I really want to point out is that this organization influenced thousands of Christians all over the US (and maybe even the world) and it was led and founded by a man who DIDN’T EVEN HAVE A SEMINARY DEGREE, much less any sort of pastoral ordination. How in the world did this happen? Charisma.
The first Area Director that I worked with in Young Life had a lot of charisma. It’s about the only thing of substance that he did have. He could spin just about anything to make himself look good. And that’s what he did. All the time. To the detriment of everyone around him. Now, I’m not talking about positivity or optimism, I’m talking about insidious and terrifyingly-difficult-to-untangle webs of lies. I’ve never met someone who gaslighted everyone around them (and even himself?) so hard. I actually think that he believed the lies that he was telling. But I digress. While this habitual and destructive truth-bending is a serious problem, it wasn’t even the worst part. Want to know what that is? The worst part is that this ding bat was given power on the sheer merit of his personality. It’s something that I think I’ll be more critical of in the future, but Young Life has a bad habit of hiring people based on their personalities. To the ruin and detriment of those of us who “aren’t a good fit”. I said what I said.
My most recent experience with power misused in Young Life involved someone being able to unilaterally eliminate my position without any real check on that decision. The only evidence that he needed was that he thought it was what was best for me and he was well-intentioned in doing it. He completely bungled the situation and caused me a serious amount of unnecessary pain and suffering. And all I got was a half-hearted (because he only understood half of what he had done because he’s a naive optimist) apology.
People shouldn’t have unilateral authority to completely upend the lives of those that they lead. Full stop. There should be a check. There should be some screening. Things like this happen all the time and ministries, businesses, and organizations can’t seem to stop putting idiots in positions of power.
We’re giving power to the wrong people.
If we give someone power because of how they present or because of the impression that they make or because they’re clean cut and easy to talk to, we’ve made a grave error. Power can only be ethically wielded by people who have substantive character and integrity. You can’t tell if someone is a person of substance through a surface-level conversation or an interview. You can’t tell if someone is a person of integrity by listening to an engaging speech they gave at a fundraiser. You can tell someone’s character by either spending a significant amount of time with them and getting to know them or asking the people they’ve led or worked with in the past. Seriously, call up someone who served under their leadership. See what they have to say. Nobody is better at pointing out the good and the bad of someone’s character, integrity, or leadership skills than those who were under that person’s authority.
Especially in ministries, why don’t we try another way? And, I’ve got good news for you, we don’t even have to invent one. Jesus showed us how to wield power. Did you know that when he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness to turn a stone into bread, he could have done it? Have you heard the one about when he cursed a fig tree and it just withered up, all at once? What about when he turned water into wine and DIDN’T alert the local media? Jesus wielded his power with humility. He used it where and when it was appropriate. He didn’t assume that his divine appointment as the Messiah gave him the right to just do whatever he wanted all of the time. And if anyone had the right to use their God-given appointment to do whatever they wanted, it was him! He was GOD, not just a MAN. He says, many times, that he doesn’t do what he wants to, but rather, what the Father wants him to do. Jesus showed us how to wield power: humbly, in the right place and at the right time.
The hardest part of this, for me, would have been when he was hanging on the cross. Not only had he been maliciously arrested, unjustly tried and convicted, and beaten to within an inch of his life, which was slowly ebbing away, but also those who unjustly convicted him were walking by and insulting him. “If you’re the Son of God, get down off that cross!” “He saved others, but he can’t save himself!” (These are my loose paraphrases, don’t get your panties in a wad if they aren’t exact.) Again, and this is really important to understand about Jesus, He. Totally. Could. Have. Jesus could have gotten down off the cross and sent those MFers PACKING (straight to hell), but he didn’t. He kept his power in check. He waited as an act of mercy and grace. Wrong place. Wrong time.
Until Sunday morning when he shook the earth and split the stone and stunned the guards and ROSE FROM THE DEAD. Right place. Right time. Also, no one was watching. Because Jesus will never use his power to coerce you into doing something that you don’t want to do. Jesus will never use his power to gain the praise and adoration of people. Jesus will never use his power to prove himself to you. Jesus will never use his power to do you harm- he took all the harm on himself at the cross.
And that’s why, if you ask me who Jesus is, I’ll tell you, “The King, of course”. I mentioned two scenarios in which people used their power, in spiritual communities, to directly harm me. I could tell you more, if you had about six hours. The story of my life is one bad or, at best, failed authority after another. I have a hard time trusting people who are in leadership positions over me because I think that they are either inept, out to get me, don’t care about me, or all three. That’s why Jesus is the King. He’s the perfect authority. He uses his power to bless and to heal, never to curse. He uses his power to enforce justice and uphold the weak. He uses his power to truly do what’s best. I can trust him because he has never, ever let me down.
If you’re part of a church or ministry, I’ve got a little experiment for you. Why don’t you start hiring and promoting people who are humble? Not those who look good or have the most degrees or can captivate a crowd. Give power to the humble ones who are considerate, kind, and speak up for the outcast. See what happens. You might not have a megachurch, but your community will look a whole lot more like the one Jesus built: rag-tag outcasts and sinners. And, if you’re not interested in that kind of community. Please get the hell out of ministry. For the sake of the Kingdom. And before I find you and take you out.