Considering Mistakes Leaders Make

I’ve been doing a series of posts on the various Mistakes Leaders Make. They are me thinking out loud about the mistakes Dave Kraft addresses. I’ll finish with those posts, but I’ve finished with the book. Since I didn’t really review the chapters so much as process them, here is a review.

Dave has been in ministry for many decades. He previous book, Leaders Who Last, addressed the character traits that leaders need to have and cultivate. This book addresses the common mistakes that he’s seen leaders make. In the Afterward, he mentions 10 more he thought of which may comprise a follow up to this book.

“As leaders we all make mistakes- it’s part of being human. Some mistakes are innocent and are no big deal. Others are serious and are a big deal.”

Jesus is the only leader who never made a mistake. All others have made them. If you learn from them you will become a better leader. If you ignore them or don’t change you will stagnate and become a bad leader. This book wants to help leaders turn the corner and learn.

He works all of these mistakes through the leadership team of Covenant Community Church, a composite of different churches he has worked with in the past. One leader will be used to understand how that mistake can affect ministry and one’s personal life. Sometimes the person changes. Sometimes they don’t. So, it is realistic in that regard.

He compares some of these mistakes to termites. They slowly do their work to rob a ministry of its vitality. And a leader. Eventually everything falls apart unless they are detected in time. The mistakes he addresses are not the obvious one that cause men to crash and burn- adultery, drug addiction, embezzlement etc. These are more common mistakes, and harder to spot.

“None of them need permanently trip us up if we recognize them, confess them, and repent of them by calling them what they are: sin, derailers, and booby traps that keep us from being the people and the servants God created us to be.”

As you might guess this is not a hard book to understand. The chapters are relatively short, and the book is too. Chapters can be read in a short period of time. But if you think about them, using the questions after each chapter you will see this can quickly turn into a book that isn’t easy to read. God can use this book to identify some of your weaknesses, tendencies and faults. I can see some mistakes that I’ve made in the past. There are some I still struggle with, but I know that.

This is not a very theological book. That doesn’t mean there isn’t theology operating behind the scenes. There is a theology implicit in the book. It is just more practical in terms of ministry. Overall, it is very helpful.

He hits the issues of the idolatry of ministry, envy, pride, busyness, frugality, people pleasing, conflict avoidance, control issues and choosing the hurting over those you need to train. As I said, these are common problems.

But there are some things I didn’t appreciate. He’ll often quote from The Message. Bible translations can always be a sore spot. I’m not a negative on The Message as some people I know. It is just strange that you’d pick a translation that could turn off potential readers. Books that utilize a variety of translations are often accused of picking translations that make their point instead of actually studying the passage. I know that was a common criticism of Rick Warren with The Purpose Driven Life (and the other PD books). It would have been wiser of Kraft to avoid that mistake.

One weakness of the book in my context is that the churches are all independent. Many of us, like me, serve in connected churches. How these mistakes are addressed can be different in those settings (hiring and firing can be more complex). The lowest common denominator ecclesiology limits its usefulness at times. I understand, the book would get clumsy if it tried to apply it in a variety of ecclesiatical contexts. Or if it picked a Presbyterian context, for instance, all of the independent churches would struggle at times. Perhaps a little ado about nothing.

“But if at all possible, you want to pastor a person through the issue in such a way that it helps him see and understand the problem, repent, and experience the power of the gospel in his situation.”

When these mistakes happen, sometimes churches over react. In Dangerous Calling Paul Tripp notes a time in his early ministry when many of his faults become glaringly obvious. He was tempted to quit. A wise older man stopped him. He noted that if he quit, he would not longer be in the place where God can address those flaws. Churches need to help young leaders develop and mature or there will be no wise, old leader. We would have run them all off.

“The more that leaders have their identity and worth in Jesus- who he is and what he did through his cross and resurrection- the less chance there will be to fall into any fatal mistakes.”

When we finish as a Session with Paul Tripp’s video based on the book, we may look at this book to continue our growth as leaders of God’s people. It will challenge us. And that is not a bad thing. The point, just as with Paul Tripp’s book, is not to point the finger and condemn but to help us see more clearly so we can change and grow.