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5 Early Indicators of a Christian Leadership Fall
Brian Kreeger • Aug 11, 2022
Unfortunately, Christian nonprofit leadership falls are happening with regularity. It could be a local pastor or nonprofit leader where the fall is felt very personally by many, or it could be a national leader with quite a following and scores of observers. We’ve all seen them, or heard about them.
There are temptations inherent in leadership that, if embraced, can outwardly form indicators of an impending fall. I will take a look at 5 such indicators here using excerpts from a full report found
here on my website.
1. Shift in/Reorganization of Priorities.
Typically, a Christian leader on the rise has very clear foundational priorities, most based in relationships. The order of those priorities usually goes something like this: relationships with God, with spouse and family, in ministry, with close friends and fellow believers, then to employers and community
For the leaders themselves, and for those closest to them, this pattern of priorities is ordinarily pretty consistent. But when a leader is starting to consistently re-order their personal pattern of priorities, this could be an indication of an impending fall.
Brendan Bridges from Richvale Church in California says, “The things we neglect lead us to a place of regret.” There are two areas that a falling leader begins to consistently neglect: their spiritual life and their family. In most cases these two areas formed their foundation on their way to leadership.
“When we lead a Christian organization, we tend to substitute that (Christian leadership) for real spiritual sustenance. The work becomes your devotions or time with God because you are working full-time for God,” one Christian nonprofit executive told me.
Too many times Christian leaders sacrifice those practices that built their solid foundation for the practices of building ministry. For instance, they may lose their true church home as they speak at other churches promoting the ministry. The same may happen with their personal study or small groups they may have been part of.
Besides the role of Christ in the life of a Christian leader, in most cases the love, support, understanding, and counsel of their spouse has the biggest influence on who leaders are at the time of taking the helm of an organization. Even most unmarried nonprofit executives find a security and strength in family that has helped propel them into leadership.
(This blog focuses on starting a conversation centered on preventing the fall of nonprofit leaders. I write it from a Christian perspective, but all leaders will benefit. Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at
briankreeger.com as well as taking a look at previous blog articles. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My story) of my book,
The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders.)
Executive leaders regularly take that love, support, understanding, and counsel for granted. Over time, family can become a blur in the peripheral vision of an executive as they focus on the ministry. This ability to take a partner for granted extends to the rest of the family as well, but the spouse takes the brunt.
Non-negotiable family time might now find itself in the flexible negotiable column, leaving a family vulnerable.
When God and family find themselves anywhere other than the number one and number two positions in the life of the Christian nonprofit executive, a fall might be just around the corner.
2. Loss of Personal Identity
Much of what I wrote in the first indicator forms the personal identity of an executive. When foundational priorities-such as spiritual and familial priorities-are jeopardized, personal identity is sure to follow.
A leader, especially a Christian nonprofit executive, who forgets their true identity in favor of the inaccurate portrait they or the community may have painted of them is asking for trouble in their lives and the lives of those closest to them....including the organization.
Instead of taking a deep look at themselves, striving for an accurate self-examination, it is easier and less personal to keep their examination and attention on their identity and role as leader of the organization.
On top of that, many times an executive’s default view of self comes more in light of the organization’s success or failure, and not in light of their own life’s walk.
The new identity may be satisfying as an executive carries out their work, but eventually it catches up with them. When they lay their head on their pillow, or when they truly examine who they are and who they’ve become, the new identity may ring hollow. They may discover they are an empty shell of who they truly are.
This can lead them to loneliness, isolation, and depression, which can lead to the dangerous need to fill the emptiness.
3. Credit Absorption
The Christian executive leader has watched God do tremendous things. They watched Him do things only He could have done. He certainly numbered the leader’s steps, made the plans, and the leader just walked down the path. The leader just feels honored to be used.
The leader is quick to always give the glory to God and they recognize that their part in all of it is minimal.
Or is it?
Sure, they outwardly give God credit for all of it, but there may be this little part inside them that tells them:
They did answer the call of God. They are the vehicle He chose. It is their signature on most of the documents. It is their name on the awards. They raise most of the money. They are the face of the ministry. They do have a part.
All true, but many times to a struggling executive they can become manipulative lies of the enemy.
Too many times, in the leader’s mind, the credit for the success of a ministry can shift to the leader instead of the God who made it all happen. Honestly, it is human nature….a part of human nature that must be fought off like any other sinful practice.
The ownership of the ministry shifts from a ministry that is God’s with the leader working in it, to the leader’s ownership with God helping when called upon.
4. Listening Deficit
In the beginning, most leaders are humble in their approach and absorb everything said. They are eager to hear various perspectives as they recognize the value of those around them.
Many times, after the first few years, the leader’s focus can tip toward advancement, toward bigger and better things, and leaders do not listen as much. As the leader is more comfortable in their position, the value they place on those around them sometimes lessens. They push to drive forward, and when people can’t keep up, or wisely won’t come along, the leader stops listening.
The people around a leader can become a speed bump.
A speed bump? When a legitimately concerned person approaches a leader (could be personally or organizationally) with constructive criticism or advice and that leader blows them off without genuine consideration, that’s a speed bump. The leader just keeps rolling, not recognizing the damage done on several fronts. This is a special kind of pride and arrogance.
Eventually, those around a leader feel alienated. Loneliness and isolation set in and the leader may become vulnerable to a fall as they attempt to fill the emptiness inside.
5. Adrenaline Addiction
Exciting, Vibrant. Energetic. Inspiring. Miraculous
These are words used in describing the environment of a new ministry or when a ministry changes direction, sometimes by hiring a new executive.
This stuff gets people wound up. It is leadership’s job to keep that energy and excitement going long after a change occurs. The adrenaline rush has to continue for all involved, especially the leadership.
Unfortunately, many leaders find this is best done by always being able to introduce the next big thing for their organization in order to keep people’s attention. That energy of the new becomes addicting.
As a leader, especially as a founder, it’s hard to match the satisfaction you experience when you see the excitement in someone’s eyes as you share with them a new life-impacting program or piece of equipment that signifies the organization’s growth..
The addicting energy that comes from always introducing something new can become sinful because the leader is doing it for the wrong reasons. It becomes about satisfying an addiction that temporarily satisfies their own insecurity.
This is another example of wrong focus that leaves a leader empty inside and trying to find things to fill that emptiness and preserve their inauthentic identity. This is a dangerous path
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This list was not written
to provide ammunition to attack a stumbling leader. It was written to help the leader and those around them open their eyes to what may be going on in and around them.
There are compassionate ways to approach the possibility of a fallen leader that leave everyone whole.
Look, ultimately the blame for a leadership fall is almost always a leader’s own. There is simply no way of getting around it—the decisions they make, the actions they take, and the words they speak.
But the people around a leader, especially a nonprofit executive, have a role to play in helping to prevent a leadership fall.
This article seeks to help you identify possible indicators of a fall, and encourages you to proactively respond when you see a leader falling.
Many fallen leaders can be saved if a proactive approach is taken by those around the leader by listening and acting on the warning signs of a falling leader, or even by taking preventative measures before the leader begins to stumble.
Whether you are a nonprofit executive, someone tasked with leadership, a part of an accountability structure, or part of a leaderships’ constituency, a proactive approach to prevent a fall starts one place- with a
Courageous Ask.
It takes great courage for a leader to honestly analyze their life and ask themselves difficult questions. It takes great courage for the people around a leader to approach that leader and ask difficult questions when they see them falling, or as a preventative measure.
As I’m sure you realize, this list is just the tip of the iceberg and there are many questions left on the table.
Many of those questions are answered in my book,
The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders.
Be Courageous!
Be Proactive!
Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at
briankreeger.com. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My Story) of my book,
The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders.
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Executives -pastors or nonprofit executives in our context- are put on a pedestal. It’s not that the typical person necessarily believes they belong there or desires to put them there. But it is human nature that this happens. The general public often places much higher expectations on leaders than they do on themselves. Sometimes it is appropriate, and the leader has put themselves in that position. In some cases, it is simply scriptural. For instance, James 3 points out that those who teach will be judged more strictly, thereby heightening the expectations of those who lead and teach. But what about when we accept, and enact, those elevated expectations and forget the humanity of our leaders? Often a community heaps on a leader the expectation that they are to perform with the perfection of Jesus and not simply be a Jesus follower and disciple just like them, but with a unique calling and heightened responsibility. Too many times when a leader shows human imperfection, the respect we have for them is damaged. Leaders fall under strict judgment, and we forget they are no less fallible than us. The imperfection they have colors any positive experience we would have had with them otherwise. While most of us acknowledge this strict, hypocritical judgment and recognize it as not being how we want to treat our leaders, it is a difficult battle to fight in our own attitudes and minds. No matter who the leader is, they are not Jesus. But please allow me to reverently make some comparisons. (This blog focuses on starting a conversation centered on preventing the fall of nonprofit leaders. I write it from a Christian perspective, but all leaders will benefit. Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at briankreeger.com as well as taking a look at previous blog articles. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My story) of my book, The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders. )
You are the community, no matter what formal role you play in a particular organization, or if you play any role at all. My blog articles typically focus on the roles the leader and the board have in preventing the fall of Christian nonprofit leaders. But I contend that the community that exists around organizational leaders and boards has a role as well. In fact, a community’s role can many times be much bigger. My next few blog articles will focus on the role of the community in preventing the fall of Christian nonprofit leaders. (This blog focuses on starting a conversation centered on preventing the fall of nonprofit leaders. I write it from a Christian perspective, but all leaders will benefit. Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at briankreeger.com as well as taking a look at previous blog articles. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My story) of my book, The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders. )
