When I Am Weak
Have you ever felt ineffective, insipid, or a weakling trying to fill a strong person’s role? I have been there at times.
In the last number of years, I have repeatedly encountered leaders who have admitted that this is how they feel much of the time. It’s called the ‘imposter syndrome.’
How do we face and overcome these emotions that threaten the effectiveness of our leadership when they spin out of control?
Here are a few suggestions:
Identify and operate in your God-given gifts. Glen Payne, in his seventies, was still singing lead for a very popular southern gospel group. When asked how his voice held up night after night, he replied, “I always sing within my range.” The Holy Spirit gives gifts as He wills. Much of our frustration in leadership is centred around the compulsion to operate in spiritual gifts that we have not been given to sing out of our range.
Thank God for your limitations. The apostle Paul learned to ‘glory in his infirmities.’ Human limitation is actually an asset in Christian service. We are doing spiritual work, which requires spiritual strength. We do not have that strength innately. In the natural, we cannot produce spiritual fruit. Our imitations are really a safeguard that redirects us time and time again to the real source of our strength.
Make ample room for the complimentary gifts of others. We should rejoice in the success of others and let them lead without feeling threatened by them. One pastor I encountered could never lead his church into the revitalization process because he was afraid to let his team members run with their creative ideas. He had been wounded by a leadership betrayal and felt the cost was too great to trust again. The imposter syndrome is intensified in the ‘lone ranger’ leader who refuses to release others into their giftings. The ancient Roman church gap between clergy and laity is artificial, harnessing leaders and forcing them to be all things to all people. The ascension gifts of Ephesians and the spiritual giftings in Corinthians were never meant to find their full expression in one person. That is the format for discouragement and burnout, which depletes a leader.
Draw from the strength of the Holy Spirit daily. Having begun in the Spirit, do not, like the Galatians, attempt to continue in the flesh. The Psalmist gives us great instruction when he says, “Delight in the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will give you the desires of your heart” [Psalm 37:4). Only by prioritizing our personal walk with God, practicing His presence, and revelling in His approval will we meet the challenges of ministry with confidence and contentment. When we recognize that God’s love for us does not depend on our work for Him, we can begin to enjoy the tasks placed before us.
You are not an imposter. You are right where you should be. God has opened the door to the room you now find yourself in. If you were not the right person, He would have placed someone else there. Stand up against the lie that declares you are not enough. You are more than a conqueror through Christ. He is with you and will equip you for whatever role you fill.
Al is an experienced pastor and counselor who works out of our ABNWT District Resource Centre in Edmonton as the Pastoral Care Coordinator. A pastor to the pastors, Al is a friend, mentor, and confidante to all.