During a recent sermon, I talked about false messiahs and false prophets—figures Jesus said would come along, claiming to represent him and even offering miraculous evidence, but who should not be believed (Mark 13:5-6, 21-23). For some, this all rang like a thinly veiled reference to one specific living person. But one man scratched his head and simply said, “I dunno. I believe false prophets are a problem. But sometimes it’s hard to tell which the false one is.”
Here lies the beginning of wisdom.
The problem of false prophets and messiahs is a whole lot bigger than just a single megavillain on the opposite side of the aisle from wherever we are sitting. After all, who among us has not been devastated by revelations of corruption, abuse, or betrayal by a leader that we trusted? If all that was false worn horns, identification would be much easier. But even a leader who starts off well-intended can be corrupted by power and pressure. And we as people also have an unfortunate habit of being dazzled by the superficial.
I once heard Pauline scholar Douglas Campbell speak about Paul’s conflicted relationship with a church that he planted in Corinth. Another leader named Apollos had come along. He was educated and impressive. He had dazzling mystical experiences to claim. He was apparently a much better speaker than Paul. More than likely he even looked more the part of a charismatic leader—after all, Paul had by now been beaten almost to death on several occasions and was no doubt showing wear and tear. And it appears that the Christians in Corinth decided to trade Paul in for an upgrade.
I find myself thinking about this description a lot because there’s something so familiar about it. Best I can tell, there two key things we often look for in leaders. One is somebody whose body, voice, or presence make us feel secure in the world. The other is a great communicator whose speech lifts and inspires us.
There is nothing inherently bad about a compelling physical presence or good speaking skills. However, neither of these qualities cut to the core of Christian leadership. In a pain-filled letter to the church at Corinth, Paul makes one key argument in defense of his own ministry: it’s one thing to be able to land a great line for Jesus; it’s another thing to be willing to suffer for him (2 Corin. 11:16-33).
This argument strikes me as both extremely consistent with teachings of Jesus and as offering a radically different metric for whom to follow. Don’t let the razzle-dazzle of appearance or rhetoric distract you. Who has done the hard things? Who has stood before the mob and spoke up when it was costly? Who has been shipwrecked multiple times and got back on the boat? Who bears the scars and yet still shows compassion? Who has paid more so that others can pay less?
All of this, of course, can be difficult to measure. Not all sacrifice or suffering is visible. Not all suffering is noble—some is even self-imposed. Nor should suffering be treated like some twisted competition, where the first to the bottom wins.
But I do think most of us could probably benefit from some level of reorientation. We could seek out a different kind of person to marvel at and learn from. We could give extra weight to the voices of those who’ve dared to speak against the zeitgeist. We could follow the downward path of those who we’ve seen die a bit to pride or greed or selfish ambition.
Those of us who serve as leaders in some sphere of life, from the home to the workplace to the church, could likewise assess our leadership by a different standard. We could ask, “What am I willing to sacrifice or endure for the sake of others? Have I boarded a boat again after shipwreck or decided to stop sailing? Have I spoken truth before the mob or only cheering stadiums? To what extent does my body “bear the marks of Christ Jesus” (Gal. 6:17)?” Spiritual authority is much more closely related to the answers to these questions than to our rhetorical skills or anything printed on our resumes.
There is only one true messiah. Only Jesus is Jesus. And true prophets? They bear the cross marks. Not just from their enemies, but for their enemies, for love of them. That is the best test of Christian leadership I know.
