Pilgrimage Ponderings
The Price of Leadership
I have a clergy friend who is troubled by the lack of support we give clergy who find themselves isolated and at risk. He is fond of saying "We shoot our wounded." I have another clergy friend who reflects with me on how things work in our annual conference. She is fond of saying "We shoot our leaders in this conference." My experience has me thinking that sometimes we wound our leaders, then we shoot them.
It takes courage to be a leader in any setting, so I suppose I shouldn't expect things to be different in the church. As I have reflected on the desert saying in the previous post, I was captured by the image of the hidden life. Abba Arsenius was comparing a monk's secluded life to a young woman who is sought after while she is still in her parent's home waiting for a husband. Once she has "gone public," so to speak, there is no longer one perception about who she is. And so it is with a monk who agrees to meet with people.
Persons in leadership of necessity give up their hidden life. In order to lead, you have to "go public" about your convictions. When that happens, people are free to differ in their perceptions and opinions about whether or not your convictions are valid. And people are much more vocal about those opinions when you are perceived to have power and influence than before.
For me, the wounding comes when people make assumptions about who I am without seeking to really understand me. It seems it's easier to put people in categories than to honor the uniqueness of individuals. Perhaps this is one reason people who could be good leaders decide not to engage. The price seems too high.
