Rebellion: Failure or Fruit?

It's easy for pastors to be irrational about our role. I've often joked with fellow ministers about the seemingly thankless role of the senior pastor. If the church grows, God gets all the credit. If the church fails, it's your fault. Revival? Attributed to God's sovereign grace. Lethargy and rebellion? Poor leadership. Whether stated or implied, this twisted logic undergirds much of how we assess our ministry and effectiveness.

Scripture is full of community conflict—often even "rebellions"—occurring in the face of excellent leadership.

"If people aren't healthy," we think, "It's my fault."

There are many leadership principles rooted in blaming "rebellion" or other internal conflict upon the leadership. One business aphorism (often parroted from conference platforms) is the principle that "church growth is limited by leadership growth." The logic goes something like this: The reason your church isn't growing is that you are not ready for growth. Until you develop more capacity as a leader, you will not be able to handle greater capacity in your congregation. The reason you have limited influence is that you are limited. Increase your strengths as a leader, and your church will increase as well.

I've heard hundreds of variations on this "limited leader" theme. Whole conferences are developed to remove pastors' limitations. Usually, pastors from larger churches educate pastors from smaller churches on how they too can grow if they just change how they lead. The implication is either implied or stated outright: The reason you are not "successful" is because you are not implementing the right leadership technique. If you were a better leader, more people would follow you.

Rebellion in Scripture

I certainly believe there is room for all of us to grow in our leadership. As well, there are definitely good and bad leadership principles. But even so, there is one giant problem with the "blame the leader" model of resourcing pastors: It's not biblical! Scripture is full of community conflict—often even "rebellions"—occurring in the face of excellent leadership.

If he were measured against many modern Christian leadership principles, the Apostle Paul would be considered a failure.

The children of Israel did not rebel against Moses because he was a bad leader. Rather, they rebelled because they were rebellious. The Apostle Paul's disciples didn't abandon him in prison because he was a bad leader. Rather, they rebelled because they were rebellious. The Bible is full of many examples of good leadership, even seemingly perfect leadership, producing the fruit of rebellion and abandonment.

Jesus lived a perfect life, yet much of what he did and said was rejected by most of the people he met. In Matthew 11:21 Jesus laments,

"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes."

Even after the resurrection, after all those miracles, there were very few people actually gathered in the upper room to carry on the cause of Christ. The Apostle Paul visited many churches and invested in many leaders. Even so, he writes in 2 Timothy 4:16 that, "At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them!"

If he were measured against many modern Christian leadership principles, the Apostle Paul would be considered a failure. He should have taken better notes on developing a discipleship pathway. He should have done a better job at facilitating an environment that reproduces the mission, vision, and values of his ministry. Instead of raising up strong followers, Paul seems to have raised up leaders that abandoned him! But notice that Paul does not blame himself for this rebellion. He doesn't question his leadership style or capacity. Instead, he prays that the rebellion of his disciples will "not be charged against them!"

"Rebellion": The Fruit of Good Leadership?

Somehow, much of the material meant to help leaders actually becomes an accusation against the integrity of our labor. The Scripture is crystal clear on God's tremendous grace—we are in the last days, when God rains down his favor on the evil and the good. The Bible's vision is that many of us are called to speak to people who will not listen. We are called to minister alongside individuals who may rebel against leadership and authority. This rebellion is not always a sign of our inability to lead in the proper manner. On the contrary, it's often the simple fruit of proclaiming and living the gospel.

Rebellion is the fruit of preaching and living the cross. Some turn and repent, many others walk away sad.

If Moses, Jesus, Paul, and countless others faced rebellion, why would we somehow expect a different outcome? Rebellion is the fruit of preaching and living the cross. Some turn and repent, many others walk away sad. Every pastor is called to be obedient to God's leading and God's voice. We can never use the indicator of the crowd to determine the worthiness of our message. If we yield the worth of our work to the crowd, we will resist anything that leads us to a cross. Or even worse, we will carry our cross with a feeling that we have failed.

Worthy servants of the Lord, your struggle is not necessarily a sign of your failure. You are being faithful! The fact that many reject your leading is not a sign you have failed. Rather, it may well be a sign that you have been faithful to extend the Good News of Jesus Christ to everyone God has entrusted to your care.

Please hear me clearly. I will continue to grow and learn how to be a better leader. I will cherish any bit of wisdom that helps me lead with more effectiveness. Even so, I will remind my brothers and sisters in ministry that we are worthy of a gospel that will perpetually produce the fruit of rebellion.

So keep on leading.

Doug Bursch is a writer, radio host and co-pastor of Evergreen Foursquare Church in Auburn, Washington. "Live from Seattle with Doug Bursch" can be heard 4-6 p.m. weekdays.