Will This Leader Last?

The sustainability of your leadership is dependent upon the source of your authority

We live in interesting times. Each week we see leaders around the world propose, do or say some bold or baffling things. Some of these are well thought out, but this doesn’t stop knee-jerk reactions. Some are deeply held beliefs; others are off-the-cuff “I just made this up and it sounds good for the moment” comments. In times such as these one may well ask oneself, Will this leader last? This is not a new question.

There was no question that the religious leaders understood that Jesus had authority. They observed the blind seeing and the lame walking. Because they had a predisposition to be skeptical, they questioned not what Jesus did, but the authority by which he acted.

...while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?” Mark 11:27-28

Clearly, the Pharisees were of the opinion that Jesus’ authority came from the dark side. Rather than dignify their question with a straight answer Jesus asked them a question in return.

Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”

Jesus gave them two options: heaven or human.

In a broader reading of scripture, there are three sources: we could call them heaven, earth and the dark side. Or we could call them the 3^rd heaven where God rules, the 2^nd heaven where the demonic rules, and earth. When we live life we draw authority from these three places and we need to know which is which.

There is talk in some circles about “bringing heaven to earth.” What does that mean? Is it just talking about the blind seeing, the deaf hearing and the lame walking? What about institutions on earth crafting constitutions, policies, and governing documents that draw on universal principles, foundational principles or heaven-sourced truths? Policies, laws, statutes... these can also be sourced from nefarious places in the human make-up or from the pit itself. Ideally governing documents protect everyone equally, but greed and the love of personal gain distort foundational truths. I see some Christians so worried about “Christian nationalism” just because faith is mentioned in halls of power. In their allergic reaction to theism, they would rather create a vacuum susceptible to being filled from the pit than contemplate the possibility that things on earth can draw their authority from heaven.

Sustainable leaders govern based on bedrock beliefs that transcend party politics and personal peeves. So, where a leader leads from grudges, pain, hurt, ego or revenge, they will depart from eternal truths. When they invent their own truth—no matter which party they are from—they will then lack moral authority and the governed will see through it. The way that immoral leaders stay in power longer is to keep things in the dark so that they can feign a righteous position while hiding the dark sources that prop up their indefensible position.

The opposite is also true. If a government enacts laws that are consistent with eternal truths they will have the right source of authority and their leadership will be more sustainable. The same is true in a business or church. When business ethics get fuzzy and practices shady; when church teaching gets wooly, “relevant” and seeker-sensitive—then the days of leadership are numbered. Will this leader last? It depends on how well they align with truth.

“By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”

We have three choices. Technically we can craft company policies, values, founding principles and laws that run counter to heaven: they might give us an advantage in the short term, but they will not last.