By David Faust
Someone said that a leader “has a compass in his head and a magnet in his heart.” Effective leaders know where they are going, and they draw others to journey with them. John Maxwell said, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
Sailors at sea and explorers on land use compasses to clarify their sense of direction. If you’re lost or groping in the darkness, a compass can help you get your bearings and find your way. Bad things happen, though, when leaders lose their bearings. Leaders who lack a moral compass are “blind guides” who steer their followers into a ditch (Matthew 15:14).
Pitfalls
It’s sad when anyone falls into flagrant sin, but the damage multiplies whenever church leaders fall. Satan laughs. Skeptics scoff. Congregations suffer. Trust is shattered. Ministries dissolve. New believers find their faith shaken and longtime Christ followers feel the pain of disappointment.
Long ago the prophet Ezekiel identified several danger signs of moral failure. How can we tell if our leaders are losing their bearings? Ezekiel 22 identifies five leadership pitfalls—ways the “princes of Israel” were veering off course.
1. Disrespect for family. These corrupt leaders “treated father and mother with contempt” (Ezekiel 22:7). Leadership starts in the home. How do we treat our parents, spouse, children, and grandchildren? Two-faced pretenders look like spiritual giants in public but act like jerks at home. “If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?” (1 Timothy 3:5).
2. Mistreatment of the vulnerable. Israel’s princes lost their bearings when they “oppressed the foreigner and mistreated the fatherless and the widow” (Ezekiel 22:7). Self-centered leaders cozy up to power brokers, abuse their authority, and push people around, but Christlike leaders care for the weak and speak up for the defenseless.
3. Irreverence. The Lord declared that corrupt leaders “have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths” (v. 8). Do we take seriously the Lord’s commands recorded in Holy Scripture, including sacred institutions like baptism and the Lord’s Supper? If we treat “holy things” lightly, it’s a sign we are losing our bearings.
4. Sexual impurity. Israel’s princes committed “lewd acts” and even engaged in incest (vv. 9-11). There’s nothing new about sexual temptation, but today’s technology makes it more accessible, and shifting cultural norms make it seem more acceptable. The great King David’s influence waned and his reputation suffered after he succumbed to sexual impurity.
5. Financial mismanagement. The leaders in Ezekiel’s day took bribes, profited at the expense of the poor, and extorted their neighbors in the pursuit of “unjust gain” (v. 12). Paul warned, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:10).
Safeguards
How can we keep our bearings and stay on course? It starts by recognizing and admitting our vulnerability. It requires ongoing humility, self-awareness, submission, repentance, and staying in touch with God and in close community with others who hold us accountable.
Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” This ancient wisdom will help us of us keep our bearings—including those who are called to lead.
Personal Challenge: Examine your own attitude and lifestyle in light of the five pitfalls listed above. Ask the Lord to help you guard your heart and “keep your bearings” so you can lead others well.
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