Powerful Leaders and their Enablers

Alan Molineaux:

The recent Mark Driscoll episode in which he has been accused of pastoral bullying by former members and leaders at Mars Hill reminded me somewhat of the storyline of the film. In essence the key leader is the culture maker and often rightly seen as the main protagonist but is supported by a whole cast of ‘enablers’.

I am not unsympathetic towards these people; I too have been part of church cultures where my support for leadership could be seen as enabling. I wonder whether the following categories might be helpful in determining whether we might be part of the problem:

1) The Enabling Leaders

2) The Enabling Staff

3) The Enabling Enthusiast

4) The Enabling Peer Group

5) The Enabling Peace Proclaimers

Now having said all of that I warmly welcome the self reflection and apologies made by the former leaders of Mars Hill. My reason for writing is that the above categories are not confined to the very distinct cases of mega church bullying. This can happen in any community. It can happen anytime good people do nothing when they see bad things happen.

It might be that a few good men can allow for churches to become unhealthy but it only takes a few brave women and men to call people into account for their behaviour.

Can you handle the truth?