Obligations or Not

 

I was exposed to an awesome principle and chart at a John Maxwell conference that I have used excessively throughout the years.  I don't know if it was his work or someone else's but I have always called it the "Rights and Responsibilities Pyramid".

If you look at the chart in this article, his original chart was only the "responsibility" and "rights" triangles.  The principle was easy - as your responsibilities increased, your personal rights decreased.  It was incredibly freeing, as a younger leader, to find out that others wrestled with the surrender of their rights.  How many times had I said, "It just isn't fair.  Why should I have to be everywhere all the time?", or, "Why do they expect so much more of me?", or, "I am free in Christ but if I exercise it, it causes such confusion."  Sometimes I just wanted to be normal again, to live without constant scrutiny, to buy new furniture without feeling looked over by the nit-picky in the church (which by the way are usually the ones who do not give abundantly - they are jealous), or to be able to express my opinion without it becoming a subject of conversation and interpreted as a psuedo-theological statement.

I had heard the mentoring.  I had studied my Bible well.  I had understood the "need to not make others stumble" and therefore had given up some freedoms for the weak.  But this chart really helped me see that it is natural for a leader to have less and less personal rights as he surrenders to public leadership.  This applies even more explicitly in the church as the Christian leader is only a Christian leader if his words are the words of God.  The Christian leader must get lost behind God or otherwise the people will follow man instead of God.  As well, the Christian leader must be modest (no - we are not talking about dress codes!) - that is, he should draw no attention to himself but rather to God and only God.  So out the window go personal opinions in front of those he leads.  "I thinks" are outlawed because a leader should not speak what he thinks to the church but what "he knows".   Sure others can think outloud but they (like kids) don't want a flip-floppy leader but rather one who has depth, stability, and the ability to hear from God.  Sure the people can drink a glass of wine (my priest friend is giggling now) at a restaurant without worrying about "living different than the world" but the leader must consider that freedom to be one that can be surrendered so that all know he is self controlled.

It is simple, as our responsibilities increase due to the call of Our God, our personal rights to freedoms, time, opinions and so much else decrease.  Alike Jesus as described in Philippians, in order to rescue people and to declare the Gospel, we choose them over our rights and privileges.  We lay down that which can be rightfully ours in order to give life to others.  They are more important.  In Christian leadership this should be willingly surrendered.  As we willingly follow Him then we follow His example of personal surrender for the betterment of those we serve.

This is not the usual path.  Many ministers see their work as a job and have long forgotten that they entered into an intimate and highly accountable service for Our Lord.  Many young leaders struggle with the inequity as they are sanctified by Him who called them.  However, as we mature in leadership (if we mature), we stop trying to come up with ways to get back personal freedoms, to hide them or to bemoan the loss of them.  The mature leader has seen the results and beauty of choosing others before himself in the tradition of His Savior.  The mature leader would never say anything that could be used by our mutual enemy to cause division.  The mature leader has decided that maturity brings about the surrender of rights because the mature servant knows that we have no rights.  The mature Christian does only what the Father directs (check Jesus' words on this one).

In the last few years of watching my friends lead, leading myself and studying our churches well, I have noticed that there remains a problem.  Funerals are ill-attended, weddings are viewed as a burden, servanthood among the saints rates a mere 10% or so on average, leaders take much from the church and leaders struggle to get people to engage.  Clearly, even among leadership, willing servanthood and involvement is tough and does not come easy.  The next hurdle, after the willing surrender of rights as responsibilities increase, is the willing acceptance of increasing obligations.  Tomorrow, we will look at the Leadership Inversion Chart which adds this component for the maturing leader.