Most of us who have been in or around the church for a long time have seen leaders fall, fail, burn out, and even leave our faith. A loyal leader who lives steadily and respectfully to the end seems like a rare event. The Bible gives warnings about the many pitfalls and temptations that leaders face. Luke’s Gospels provide a specific model and warning to Christian leaders.
In the early chapters, Luke mentions government and religious leaders by name. (1:5; 2:1-2; 3:1-2) He nominates two Caesars, several governors and a king and a four erch and two high priests. Luke struggles to give a detailed historical explanation, but he also reveals something more destructive. These leaders understand themselves as the centre of historical drama, but Luke refers to the work of redemption that God does, indicating that they exist in the background. Luke also nominates humble people like Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph and John. These are those who participate in the God’s movement to form history. These characters are the true leaders of Luke’s vision. In this early part of the story, Luke shows that God is the protagonist of history, not Caesar, not the governor, not the high priest, but the protagonist of history. Humans are involved in great dramas, so the cast is important and even important to the story of God developing, but always stands for the role.
What happens when you give in to the temptation to believe that your leader is the main character? The outcome of pride, and at least three pitfalls.
Pride is generally difficult to avoid, as it can be abstract, elusive and omnipresent. The world, the body, the devil always puts pressure on us to transform our personality. It is helpful to recognize that temptation is always concrete and concrete. We are not tempted by abstract tastes. Rather, we are attracted to very specific thoughts, attitudes and actions. I consider them as traps that by God’s grace we can learn to recognize and avoid. Below are three specific pride-filled traps I have seen on my journey, as well as some ways to recognize and avoid them.
trap #1: “If I don’t do that, no one will.” – Overresponsive trap
My mother was a very responsible person so that her beloved soul rests in peace. I’m sure the responsibility was in her top five in Clifton’s strengths (3), and I think she identified her as Eneagram 1 (4). Mom’s sense of responsibility often pushed my sister, brother and me to high performance with our efforts. When a need or opportunity arises, she said, “If you don’t, no one will.” For me, those words created a deep sense of responsibility for meeting my needs and achieving opportunities. Once I entered Christian leadership, that sense of responsibility became a heavy burden to endure.
To what extent do you feel this burden of responsibility for global needs? As a mature Christian, I began to replace my sense of responsibility with an attitude of discernment. Identity requires that I stop long enough to recognize what I feel, then pray that God will show me my calling and what I am not. When God is the main leader of history and our world is energized by spiritual movements, my leadership is more stewardship and cooperation than responsibility.
I am Luke, and Mary responds to the “responsibility” of raising and raising the Son of God, not with a sense of pressure and expectation, but with gratitude and worship for what God has done (Luke 1:46-55). Leadership built on responsibility is a trap that often leads to burnout and toxicity.
Trap #2: “I’m Special” – Self-absorbing Trap
Of course you are special. God makes you unique and prepares a good job for you to do. But I can see it is often in the Christian circle and we are obsessed with ourselves. We receive gifts and temperament assessments and spend a lot of energy focused on ourselves. I actually find the evaluation to be effective and useful. It’s an obsession that captures us. Because we have lost sight of God as the leading initiator of our world and overestimate our contributions. When we spend more time thinking about our uniqueness than we think about God, it’s a trap. Also, when we are obsessed with specialness, we sometimes lose sight of our commonality and fail to serve others with humility. After working with the Minister on campus for decades, I have realized the struggle for people who have gained infamy. After speaking or performing at large meetings and gaining impressive affirmations, the minister sometimes (thankfully, not always!) is unwilling to serve the community in a wise way. Sadly, a sense of inappropriate identity can help a leader move from worship towards pride.
What are your status regarding this trap? If you feel self-centered this season, consider doing these two things. First, thank God. Spend at least 30 minutes remembering and writing down what you’re grateful for. Secondly, if you are not particularly recognised, find at least two opportunities per week for others. Pray that the spirit will teach you worship with humility. I once again note Mary, who is given the most honorable and unique role in history. But her response is to remind her of her own low-establishment and give praise to God for using the public in an extraordinary way. Leadership, oriented around individual speciality, moves us from worship to rog arrogance.
trap #3: “I’m the smartest person in the room” – Comparative Trap
This trap is probably more obvious. We don’t see Christians preaching that we should be the smartest person in the room, but I certainly see the same comparison dynamics to myself and others. I work in the university ministry and we absorb aspects of university culture. Both are blessings and sins. Our community is bent towards nuance, complexity and intellectual pride. Complexity is part of God’s beautiful creation, but intellectual pride comes from hell. I feel magnetically attracted to the attitude of analytical critique towards others too often, and when I fall into that trap, I fear critique that comes back to me. We tend to dehumanize others for criticism and fear that others may criticize us. Of course, comparisons can cause us to suffer in many ways. Regardless of subject matter, comparison and critique lead us to anxiety and pride from worship. In fact, true worship frees us from this trap. When our focus is gratitude and praise, we are appropriately humbled and used to God’s love.
How much do you compare yourself to others on Reed’s journey? Take note of your thoughts about the people around you for a few days. And be aware if you are measuring or comparing. Once you notice the comparison, start making a conscious choice to pray for the blessings and success and growth of the person you are measuring.
As Christian leaders, we must be aware of the proud traps around us. When we know them, we can choose to move in the opposite direction through the fields of gratitude, blessing, service and worship. There are many other traps out there. I’ve given these three names because I often fall into myself. By God’s grace, we always have an opportunity to repent when we are particularly attracted to pride. In addition to shifting from seduction, the spirit guides us to cooperate with us and his red work in the world. My book was formed to lead humility, personality, integrity, and discernment (Intervarsity Press, 2025). This book closely looks at the beginning of Luke’s Gospel about the keys to our formation that flourishes with our calling.
Jason Jensen (MA, Fuller) is the vice president of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship/USA’s spiritual foundation. Jason led the Intervarsity staff team in Berkeley, California for 29 years. He and his wife, Susie, are based in Madison, Wisconsin, where Jason oversees the formation of the Intervarsity staff.
Bible, theology, spiritual formation, prayer. He is the author of Formed To Lead: humility, personality, integrity, and identification.
