Leaders have to make decisions that those not in leadership may not always appreciate or understand. Why? As a leader, you are responsible for the people you are leading. If you are a good leader, you serve your followers by supporting their growth and development, you protect them, go to bat for them (have their back), and you make sure you have the right people on your team. If someone isn’t the right fit, they may have to leave. If someone comes in threatening the well-being of your people or your organization, you make it known and shut it down so that no one (else) has to be negatively affected.
It isn’t any different in ministry although the enemy has deceived some into thinking that we need to coddle people who won’t get with the program and do right by God’s people. If as a leader you knowingly allow someone to abuse the people God trusted you with, you are in error. This means some people may get mad, feelings will be hurt, someone will throw a fit because they got corrected or demoted, and they may even leave. However, at the end of the day, who are you answering to? God or man?
I’m part of a leadership team that recently had to expose someone who infiltrated our organization, used whomever she could deceive, and launched attacks against anyone who would no longer cooperate with her nonsense. Not everyone understands the measures we took to protect the ministry that God has trusted us with and a few people chose not to continue with us. However, the numbers of those who choose to stay are greater. In fact, I believe that those who are still with us appreciate our leadership even more because they know we will not willingly allow anyone to use or abuse them.
As a leader, I will unapologetically do what I need to do to care for the people God has trusted me to minister to. This means calling a wolf a wolf and a snake a snake and going to war (spiritually and naturally if necessary) against those who mean harm. A good shepherd protects the sheep. Selah.
