Scripture — 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (NRSV)

We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Devotion

As I boy, I loved Superman. I knew him through the medium of the television series, The Adventures of Superman. Every afternoon during my early years I would sit in front of my family’s black and white Motorola television utterly entranced by my favorite superhero. During the commercials I would tie a large towel around my neck as if it were a cape and run around the house, desperately hoping that by some miracle I could actually fly. It never happened, however. But my love for Superman remained rock solid even though I couldn’t join him in his battle for truth, justice, and the American way.

Fast forward thirty years. I’m now the relatively young pastor of a Presbyterian church in Irvine, California. This church, though wonderful in many ways, also had some serious problems. I had diagnosed them. I had a plan for fixing them. And in that plan I was the Superman-like hero. Through my ingenuity and hard work I would fix the problems for the people I was called to serve. For a while, I intended to do this work quietly. I didn’t even share what I had planned with the elders. It was meant to be a solo job.

Guess what! My plan didn’t work. My solo effort failed miserably. If anything, for a season I made the problems worse. Superman I was not, I’m sad to say.

If I had had the chance to read Leadership on the Line by Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky, perhaps I would have seen the folly of my ways before making a mess of things. Of course, this book wasn’t available for ten years after my pastoral debut, so I can’t be too critical of my ignorance. Nevertheless, I wish I would have read something like this: “Managing one’s grandiosity means giving up the idea of being the heroic lone warrior who saves the day. People may beg you to play that role; don’t let them seduce you. It robs them of the opportunity to develop their own strengths and settle their own issues. Don’t begin to believe that the problem is yours to carry and solve. If you carry it at all, make certain you do so only for a limited period of time, while people accustom themselves to their need and ability to take responsibility for the challenge” (p. 171).

The Apostle Paul would agree with Heifetz and Linsky. He was certainly well aware of how hard he worked to advance the cause of the gospel. We see this, for example, in 1 Thessalonians 2:9 where he speaks about working “night and day” so as not to burden any of the Thessalonians as he “proclaimed to you the gospel of God.” Earlier in this letter Paul talks about having “courage in our God to declare . . . the gospel of God in spite of great opposition” (2:2). Paul was surely not beyond pointing to his exemplary efforts as an apostle of Jesus Christ.

But in key places in 1 Thessalonians Paul steps out of the spotlight in order to highlight the efforts of his new converts. In the beginning of his letter, for example, he writes, “We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul focuses on his gratitude for the Thessalonians and what they have accomplished. He does not picture himself as the solo hero who alone is responsible for the thriving of the Thessalonian church. Rather, he thanks God for their work of faith, their labor of love, and their steadfastness of hope.

In the letter of Paul we know as Ephesians, he explains the role of church leaders, not as doing the ministry for people, but rather as equipping them for that ministry (4:11-12). Moreover, he explains that the church will grow to maturity, not when its leaders are superheroes, but rather when “each part is working properly” (4:16).

What’s true of church leaders is also true for those who lead in other contexts, in businesses and schools, in non-profits and athletic teams, in community organizations and families. Though individuals can make a difference through their efforts, that difference is most effective when it involves equipping, encouraging, and supporting others. For this to happen, we who lead need to examine our hearts, to identify and work on any tendencies we might have to want to wear our Superman cape and run around our organization as the exalted hero. Moreover, we need to grow in Christian maturity to the point where we truly delight in the achievements of others. Such growth can happen when we are honest about our own temptations and allow the Lord to form us to be more like Christ.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Working Faith, Finishing Up, and Keeping the Faith (1 Thess. 1:1–4:8; 4:13–5:28; 2 Thess. 1:1-2:17).

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