Kingfisher Leadership
1st October 2020
Kingfisher Leadership news The shadow side of leadership
For further reflection:
What are the destructive ‘down time’ habits that you are vulnerable to?
What is it that makes pornography such an addictive trap for Christians?
What impact does an addiction to pornography have on a leader?
“Leadership in general - and especially leadership in the church - is a hugely stressful and demanding calling. There is a strong temptation for every leader to succumb to the ‘shadow life’ - to having secret, ‘soulish’ ways of coping with those stresses. The power of the ‘shadow life’ is that shame, guilt and a belief that ‘I’m the only one’ keep us locked into secrecy and living a double life. Here are the three most prevalent aspects of the ‘shadow life’:
If you flirt with sin, sin will suck you in.
Leadership stress and the crutch of alcohol “Noah was the only person on earth who ‘found favour with the LORD’ (Genesis 6:8). He was selected by the LORD to build a boat to preserve life on the planet, with a view to repopulating the planet with his family. The future of the human race was on his shoulders, and yet he made the mistake of thinking that he could do what he liked with his ‘downtime’ - he dealt with the stresses of leadership in ungodly, destructive ways.
“One day he (Noah) became drunk on some wine he had made and lay naked in his tent.” (Genesis 9:21) How should Noah have acted? What should the church be doing to help people be free from this addiction?
Wine isn’t, in itself bad (Psalm 104:15), but dependency upon it and over-indulgence as a form of escapism is. ”Wine produces mockers; liquor leads to brawls. Whoever is led astray by drink cannot be wise.” (Proverbs 20:1) Is this an issuer for you? Remember: If you flirt with sin, sin will suck you in. 1