As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. | 2 Timothy 4:5
Leadership requires sacrifice. I have written about the specific stress of being a pastor before. I have heard many conversations and read many articles about how to fix this, but in the end, leading people is always going to be a heavy burden. This is because the very nature of leading is taking on responsibility. To lead is to take the cares of others upon yourself and to take the blame when things go wrong.
Good leaders are those who understand the cost and choose to take it on anyway. In this world, decisions need to be made. You may have heard before that the word decide literally means: to cut off. If you are the person who makes decisions, you are both the person who chooses a direction, but also the person who cuts off all others. When you do, you will be cutting off a path some people prefer. You will face the wrath of those who believe that your decision was wrong.
If you are not a leader, it is possible to always take a middle ground that keeps everyone happy and prevents you from ever having to contradict anyone. You can affirm and avoid conflict. Leading means being the person (or persons) who represent disagreement. This is the initial burden of leading: conflict and relational tension. This is often what we think of as the difficulty of leading.
There is a much larger burden of leading: making decisions knowing that they will have consequences that are your ‘fault.’ Every time a leader makes a decision, they are carefully weighing the known variables; every leader is aware that they can not control many of the results of the path they choose. When a leader gives you counsel and direction, they feel responsible for where it leads. Since we live in a sinful world, where solutions are not simple, these decisions will not always turn out well. In these instances, a leader must acknowledge that the responsibility is on them.
One of the phenomena that I have experienced with leaders is that they either don’t want to acknowledge that they have ever made a mistake OR they want to dismiss the responsibility that comes with leadership. I have even heard people in positions of authority whining and complaining about how difficult and unfair it all is. The truth is: leadership is going to mean taking blame and shouldering both complaints and the pain of others. If you don’t want this burden, don’t be a leader (especially in the church). If you want to be everyone’s best friend, sell ice cream. Leading is always going to be costly, but it is also very good.
I want to end with an encouragement for those who lead. If you acknowledge the burdens above and willingly step up, you will experience God’s grace in a profound way. As long as you only ever do what you can manage, you can continue to believe that you are orchestrating your life. When you place a burden on your shoulders that you know is bigger than you, it will force you to your knees in prayer. To lead is to be desperate for God’s help. When you enter into this space, you will see Him show up again and again. Leadership will force you into dependence. While this does not take away the responsibility or the burden, it adds an element that strengthens for the task ahead: gratitude.
It is gratitude, for God allowing us to be stewards of His creation, that lightens the load; not by making things easy, but by reminding us of God’s grace. He knows our limits and our failures and He entrusts this world to us anyway. We should strive to bring it back into alignment with Him, even though it means a lot of hard work and plenty of struggle. In the end, every burden will be lifted. The only thing that will matter then is hearing Him say: well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master.