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Leader/Board, Are You Taking the Threat Seriously?
Brian Kreeger • Feb 10, 2022
Christian leaders continue to fall all around us. Many of us have felt the pain, the betrayal, and the disappointment.
I ask you, Christian executive, leader or board member, could a destructive fall happen to you or your organization? Is it something you think about? Is a leadership fall something you guard against? Or do you take the possibility of a fall for granted, thinking it’s impossible?
From money mismanagement to moral misgivings, even the most devout leaders succumb to deviations from the path. Whether a big-time pastor or a Christian leader closer to home, a fall leaves communities devastated and trust shattered.
Most of us, no matter the generation, have found ourselves on the periphery of the big, national scandals. We hear about these issues, are grieved by the effect on the Church as a whole, but probably move on with our lives.
I believe the smaller, local falls are where the real damage is done. Although the big-time, televised mega-church leaders get all the media attention and their falls are publicized more widely, the volume of local fallen leaders affects people more directly and to a deeper level.
The general populace engages with their local organization, has been with the leaders to witness and experience what made them leaders in the first place. Many times there is a deep personal loyalty.
(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.)
I would bet that you know of a local Christian leader who has fallen, even though beforehand they were thought of as solid.
The possibility exists that your organization may not experience a fall by leadership, but without a plan in place or a conscious effort at strengthening the leader and the relationships around them, it is more likely to occur.
We may have an incredible amount of respect for our executive leaders. In fact, maybe it’s admiration because they have so inspired us. This is especially true if they are founders who have seemingly created something from nothing with God’s guidance. It may amaze us what God has done through them to courageously move forward in accomplishing what people thought was impossible. We hold them in high esteem and put them on a pedestal.
Somewhere inside us, we recognize they are human and are not perfect, but our focus remains on the great things they have done. We forget their humanness since they have been able to put on airs that everything is under control, for the benefit of the advancement of the organization.
Again, executives, whether they are 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.
Naturally, we all want our organizations to be successful. The respect and admiration we have for our leader causes us to give them every benefit of the doubt. We put blinders on, assuming or hoping our leader is immune to a fall.
Naiveté and blind hope cloud our ability to pay attention to the warning signs. The leader starts out strong, but somehow finds themself off track, gasping for air. Then, after the fact, when it’s too late to fix the issue, we say, “I knew something was awry and that something was going on.”
When thinking of a leadership fall, we typically think of those that are public, the falls that make headlines and make us cringe. We fear the situation that leads to decreased donations or the disaster that weakens the organization’s credibility and solid standing in the community and impacts families and those we serve.
Whether you are a board member or the leader, these are the situations we are trying to avoid at all costs, right?
One thing is for sure, the disaster ends up in the board's lap.
I ask you again:
Do you take the threat of a fall seriously, or do you take it for granted?
As you have read this blog post you may have seen opportunities in your organization, whether you are the leader, the follower, the board member, the subordinate, or the congregant.
You hopefully have recognized that you, as the leader, are a fallible human being, and that’s okay. Another group of you have hopefully seen that your leader is a fallible human being just like you, and that’s okay too.
So now there is just one question to ask: what are you going to do about it?
It all starts with taking this issue seriously and recognizing a fall could occur in your life or the life of your organization. If you can’t get there, you are taking an enormous risk.
The quest for the solution then moves to conversations, somewhat uncomfortable conversations- conversations most organizations have avoided for years.
Leaders need to look in the mirror and have a tough conversation. They need to turn to those closest to them and ask for honest input. They need to ask for increased accountability, accountability that reaches into their personal life where most leadership falls occur.
Boards of directors need to have difficult conversations within themselves, and with their executive.
Without the courage to have these conversations, leaders and their organizations leave themselves vulnerable to a devastating leadership fall.
Brendan Bridges from Richvale Church in California once said, “The things we neglect lead us to a place of regret.”
Do not neglect to have these conversations, take the possibility of a leadership fall seriously. Otherwise, regret is waiting just around the corner.
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. )
