Charisma in Leadership: A Blessing or Curse?

You know the kind. There are some people who just seem to ooze giftedness.

They have a certain gravitas about them. When they walk into a room the temperature seems to change. Whether they mean to or not, whether they like it or not, people are attracted to them.

These are the kind of people who tend to draw a crowd. They are often great in front of an audience, natural even. In fact, it can be hard to not be jealous of their seeming endless quiver of upfront gifts.

Those with charisma tend to be celebrated…a lot. They regularly garner the attention and praise of others. Whether it's on stage or around the table, the spotlight always seems to find them.

They are the kind that often have platforms, speak at conferences, write books, get featured in local publications, and get promoted faster and more often than the average person.

Of course, none of these things are negative. One could argue that the potential for positive impact in the world is inordinately great in these highly talented people. And I wouldn't disagree.

But here’s the thing. The older I get and the longer I serve in ministry, the more convinced I am that while charisma can be a gift, it can also be both a liability and a limitation to those who seek to walk and lead in the way of Jesus.

The Curse of Charisma?

For one, those with the gift of charisma are put at a disadvantage spiritually.

There is something profoundly broken in all of us that aches to sit on God's throne. The very first sin was an attempt "to become like God," a sin that has repeated countless times since. In our most vulnerable moments I think most of us would admit we often long to be praised and adored.

The problem with receiving the kind of constant praise and attention that charisma affords is that in time we can actually start to believe our own press. This in and itself can become an addiction - a need inside us to continually be validated and reassured of our importance.

And when these gifts are being utilized in the service of God and the praise being received in the name of God, the idolatry can go completely unnoticed for a very long time. The tragedy is that this has become so normal in the American Church that we are hardly surprised anymore when another celebrity pastor or mega ministry leader falls.

Perhaps the human heart wasn't made to carry such a burden. Maybe our soul wasn't created to flourish under the praise and expectations of the masses. What if celebrity and spiritual health actually work against one another?

It’s also interesting to note that the most multiplicative leaders I've ever known tend to be rather low on the charisma meter.

That's not to say they are without talent or can't hold their own on stage, but they just aren't often the most compelling personalities in the room. If they do happen to be invited to a large platform, it's typically because of what they've built, not because of their entertainment value.

They simply aren't all that terribly captivating on their own. And yet, it is through these men and women that multiplying and sustaining movement tends to happen.

Of course, highly charismatic leaders have the ability to build big and successful things as well. In fact, they often do. The problem is that those things can center too much around the gifting of that leader. And when they go away? The work often sputters.

Less charismatic leaders don’t have the luxury of building around their persona, so they are forced to build in other ways, namely through others. The best of them raise up others, empower others, and celebrate others.

The Charisma-tic Jesus

Of course, Jesus himself certainly had a certain gravitas about him.

The way vastly diverse kinds of people desired to be in his presence - from religious leaders and the wealthy elite, to notorious sinners and socially unmentionables - suggests he had a powerful charisma to his person.

The man could have been wildly popular or commanded a massive audience during his lifetime if he wanted to. Yet Jesus didn't seem very interested in either.

It's interesting to note that Jesus did in fact draw large crowds at various times in his ministry. But what is perhaps even more interesting is what Jesus did with those crowds.

He rarely gave them what they wanted. And he almost never seemed interested in growing those crowds bigger. More often than not, we find Jesus withdrawing from crowds, hiding from crowds, or dispersing crowds with controversial teaching.

Suffice to say that crowds were not a focus of Jesus' ministry.  Rather than amassing a large audience, Jesus seemed to be far more interested in personal connections, rich conversation, divine interruptions and deep investment in a few.

His movement would begin on the margins. And two thousand years later I think we can confidently say that to this day his movement remains most potent, most powerful and most pure when it operates on the fringes of society.

To The Charismatic & The Charisma-Challenged

All said, I think there is something here for us.

For those who don't fall on the charisma-tic side of the spectrum, this should be really encouraging.

You don't need to be a "rockstar" to be an impact player in the kingdom of God. In fact, if Jesus meant what He said in the beatitudes and modeled throughout his life and ministry, it is through the non-rockstars that the power of the kingdom most freely flows.

So lean in. Be faithful. And resist the urge to compare yourself to those who are gifted differently than you.

What you perceive as a limitation may be one of your greatest gifts and opportunities.

For those who have been gifted (or cursed) with charisma, you get to choose what you do with it.

People are going to be naturally drawn to you. You probably already know this. They are going to pay attention to the things you say and do. You can either build a platform for yourself with that gift, or you can choose to platform Jesus and others instead.

Both your flesh and those in your sphere of influence are going to try to compel you to do the former. And both will use all kinds of justifications, spiritual and otherwise, to get you to capitalize on your influence in ways that will make your name great.

Resist.

There is only One that is worthy to be called great and stand atop of every platform. There is only One who is worthy to receive all glory and honor and praise.

And friend, it isn’t you.

Every great leader in the kingdom of God eventually discovers what John the Baptist affirmed on the precipice of Jesus’ earthly ministry: “He must increase and I must decrease.”

And while that may be bad for the ego, it’s pretty darn good for the soul.