“They’re a charismatic leader.”
Whose face just popped into your mind?
And is it someone you consider to be a “good” or a “bad” leader?
One of my lifelong hobbies is professional wrestling. I started watching on Saturday mornings as a kid. Started watching it again when I was in college. And then started watching it again about a decade ago.
Yes, I know it’s “fake.” But when the story and spectacle are good, it’s a lot of fun to watch.
Whoever you think of when you think about professional wrestling, they had charisma. They’re able to capture and hold attention, seemingly without trying. They may or may not be very good at the actual wrestling, but their ability to connect with the audience (as either a hero or villain) is what sets them apart from their peers.
The other day, I listened to a former women’s champion talk about this very thing. So when I came across an article in Christianity Today about the role charisma makes in pioneer movement leaders, I was primed to lean in.
I have been around and am friends with some men and women who are charismatic church leaders. I have shared leadership responsibilities with some charismatic bad actors. And I have seen the necessity of charisma to start and grow movements of God inside and between churches.
And that’s the premise of the article: pioneer movements that lead to explosive growth in converts and churches are led by charismatic leaders.
But charisma is volatile, so there are counter-forces that are needed to help a leader thrive and mature: 1) a regulated inner life; 2) a deep love for others; 3) an agreeable personality; and 4) a focus on empowering others.
Taken more simply, healthy charismatic leaders cultivate the ability to listen and respond to God. In doing so, their life is increasingly pervaded by an experience of the love of God that they pass along to others.
Sounds like just the rest of us, yes?
I’m grateful for the men and women that God has gifted with charisma. They are the proverbial tide that lifts all boats. But what I walk away with from the article is that all divine gifts come with the responsibility to cultivate a life of love with God and for God.
Without a life that loves because we have been loved, our gifts spoil. And instead of pointing to the Hero in all of our stories, we become the villain.
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