Toxic Characteristic #2
Every church or ministry must have a strong leader if it is to meet the challenges of hurting people and help them grow in faith. The stronger the leader, the stronger the ministry, whether the person holds all the power or chooses to delegate everything.
Problems arise when the leader takes his or her leadership role as license to dictate whatever he or she feels is right or wrong. Those who work in such a setting find themselves either agreeing with the direction of the ministry or leaving. There is no room to compromise, since the dictatorial leader believes that everyone should submit to his or her rule without question. Those who feel for their jobs or feel they may not be able to find similar jobs will comply with the leader rather than challenge certain decisions or actions.
Often a strong leader mistakes a position of leadership for a position free from accountability. The leader will set up a toxic-faith system that allows for free reign and no accountability. There may be a board of directors, elders, or deacons, but when the authoritarian leader picks them, he or she picks people who are easily manipulated and easily fooled. What appears to be a board of accountability is in fact a rubber-stamp group that merely gives credibility to the leader's moves. These board members become the co-conspirators of the persecutor and permit the toxic leader to persecute without interruption. Then when a practice is called into question, such as an extremely high salary, the persecuting dictator justifies it by saying the board made the decision or approved it. The illusion of accountability becomes more dangerous than those organizations that blatantly disregard accountability.
In a toxic-faith system, the organization revolves around a dynamic leader whose vision for the ministry launched it. Many solid ministries have been started by the vision of a dynamic leader, and they are able to continue or reorganize when that leader relocates, retires, dies, or is asked to leave the organization. In a toxic -faith system, the organization would sink or discontinue without the authoritarian ruler to tell the people what to do. His or her name is all over the ministry. Without the talent and charismatic personality of that leader, there would be no reason or motivation to continue the mission. The ministry is a short-term project centered on one individual, not God. When that individual chooses to exploit and manipulate the followers, the exploitation goes unabated since there is no accountability. And when for some reason the leader leaves the ministry, it dies.
Individuals who gather around a ministry of true faith use their talents to reach out to people and serve God. They fit in their talents and abilities where God can best use them. In a toxic-faith system, talents and abilities are used to meet the needs of the authoritarian leader. His or her needs come first and must be met for the ministry to continue. The persecuted victims, blind to the manipulation and egotism of the leader, line up to assist in serving the persecutor. When the victims find out they have not served God or other followers, they usually get very angry and often must deal with feelings of betrayal and abuse, similar to recovery from an incestuous relationship.
Underneath the raging ego of the leader is a suffering person who fears being unimportant. The position of leadership may have been the first and only time the minister had any authority. He or she uses the authority to prop up feelings of inadequacy. Anyone eager to advance in the organization must never challenge the authority of the toxic-faith leader. Additionally, followers must give their complete support to the leader -- and to the leader's style of management -- without criticism. Any negative comment or action is perceived as a threat. The threat is eliminated so the ministry can survive and the mission can be accomplished.
The authoritarian leader comes to power through a combination of a driven personality, tremendous talent, and loads of charisma. The individual has no problem establishing spiritual and emotional authority over religious addicts by using persuasion and manipulation. When followers see a dynamic presentation of beliefs and behaviours, they unquestioningly accept the teachings, doctrines, and dogma. The more they accept the teachings of the toxic leader, the more the leader feels the people's dependency, and the more license the leader takes in controlling the thoughts and beliefs of his or her followers. As long as people are willing to follow, that leader will feel supported by God in whatever he or she desires to do. The leader is completely unaware that the entire exercise is being conducted to build ego rather than to serve God.
(Toxic Faith, Chapter 6)
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