Lead like Deborah

What does it mean to lead? When I think of leadership I think of businesses, nations, cities, and states. I think of men and women who are constantly vying for the control of what sort of power that they have and working towards the acquisition of even more power.

Leadership, when I look at these examples, seems to be a hungry ghost: always eating and never satisfied.

That is why the story of Deborah is such a helpful and encouraging tale. I encourage you to to read Judges 4 & 5 in the bible to hear about Deborah, Barak, and Jael. Once Jael shows up, it may not be the best time to include the kids in the reading… very Bronze Age!

But the story of Deborah is the sort of aspirational and encouraging leadership I think the world has had less of and needs so much more of. Basically, Deborah sees that her nation is being persecuted and instead of trying to get the glory for herself, she finds someone else who is perfectly gifted and encourages them to get to work.

In preparation for this writing and for my sermon this coming Sunday, I interviewed my friend Gretchen who is a retired Major from the US Marine Corps. She talked about how leadership meant making difficult decisions but it also meant making sure the Marines under her leadership needed to know that she cared for them. She knew that if they knew she cared for them the mission would get accomplished.

Deborah cares for Barak, I think. And he gets to work.

I wonder what the world might look like if the church was filled with leaders like Deborah?

Now, when I preach about leadership, I know I am going to be preaching to a few people who do not lead nations, businesses, or cities (maybe a few! You never know who will show up on a Sunday morning!) but I know I will be preaching and writing to leaders.

We all lead. At school, at our jobs, in our families… it doesn’t matter what position you find yourself in, you are a leader.

The question then becomes, what sort of leader will you be? Modern leaders absorb praise and they deflect responsibility. I think that if we are going to be Christians who lead like Christ, it will require us to lead with the sort of care, empathy, and view towards greatness that Deborah and my friend Gretchen have.

What the world doesn’t need is for the church to lead people in a way that lets them stay stuck in old patterns that lead towards death. Instead, the world needs a church devoted towards growth, born of love for the person growing.

Look at what happens in Deborah’s story:

Barak replied to her, “If you’ll go with me, I’ll go; but if not, I won’t go.”

Deborah answered, “I’ll definitely go with you. However, the path you’re taking won’t bring honor to you, because the Lord will hand over Sisera to a woman.” Then Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.

-Judges 4: 8-9 CEB

Deborah doesn’t say, “I know this is hard Barak. You know what? Let me handle it.” No, she says “let’s go. We can do this together. It’s not for me, it’s not for you… it is for God’s glory.”

And listen, I know that it might feel a bit silly for me, a Methodist pastor, to rely on a story about a literal war to describe leading people in serving teams, bible studies, events, etc. but I think that the battle Barak and Deborah fought are the battles that we fight now. When the people of Israel were around, they were fighting for the presence of God in the world-- isn’t that what we are doing when we train someone else on how we set up the coffee before church?

Don’t we fight the kingdoms of darkness every time we teach someone how to be a small group leader for elementary school aged kids?

Well I think we do.

So when you lead (and you do!) I want you to remember Deborah. She led with care, empathy, and expectation that Barak could do more than he even believed he could do. You can do the same. If you make the coffee at your church, who else have you taught? If you greet, who is friendly enough to take over for you? Who needs to be told “you can do this,” by a leader such as you?

The best outcomes are on the other side of collaboration. Let us lead like Deborah.