Beat the System
The legendary Christian Rock band PETRA recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary. They were formed in 1972 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which is pretty close to when and where I was formed: 1971 in Osceola, Wisconsin. In 1981, at the age of 10, I was introduced to PETRA, with the vinyl of Never Say Die.
NEVER SAY DIE
I cannot think of a band that has had more of an influence upon my Christian formation. I took in, nay, devoured, every riff, verse, chorus, bridge, photo, interview, music video, vinyl, cassette, and compact disc. For long hours I could be found studying the incredible detail on each and every piece of album artwork that PETRA put out. They were notorious for their intricate, guitar-shaped spaceships, battle-ready album art, in the vein of secular rock counterparts BOSTON. It was groundbreaking, and I couldn’t get enough of it. I was a young Christian kid that chose to never say die, because this means war, and it was time to get on our knees and fight like a man. I zealously invited everyone I knew to come and join us in the battle between good and evil, and if you sat idly on the sidelines, well, then, more power to ya.
MORE POWER TO YA
It was during this season (the late 70’s and early 80’s) that much of my theology surrounding spiritual warfare, the demonic, Satan, territorial spirits and dominions, sin, the flesh, and the unseen forces at work in the world was formed. And it was during this season of my life that I witnessed the first FALL of a Christian leader: my youth pastor. Little did I know that it would be the first of many, including a close call by yours truly, me. My first youth pastor, a layperson that looked like he just got off the bus from Haight-Ashbury or Woodstock, did his best. Ultimately, his theology got more and more head-scratching, racially charged, and sexually inappropriate, that he was asked to leave. My next youth pastor was awesome (a true 80’s word) and had a massive impact upon my life. I wish he could see me now, and rejoice in the fruit of his investment, but sadly, he got chewed up and spit out in a hyper-name-it-claim-it church. He lost his marriage, and walked away from the Lord. These are just two examples. Over my 25+ years of ministry, I have seen multiple casualties of “Jekyll and Hyde” Christian leadership. One after another of folks that are great on a stage, but riddled with pride, sexual indiscretions, money siphoning, abuse, and the like. It’s like they say: power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
THIS MEANS WAR!
Growing up in a highly-charged, Pentecostal, spiritual warfare, overly “religious” culture (don’t look now, but there’s a demon under THAT rock!”), the only language I could employ when witnessing leadership failure or abuse was to blame “the devil.”
Our passionate resolve was to “armor up, and go kick the rear-end of the enemy.” That, by the way, was a direct quote from a childhood pastor. Unfortunately, principalities and powers don’t give up that easily, and admittedly, over the years have gotten all the more cunning. I know that this has always been an issue, but yet it seems to be so much more prominent and visible today with the volume of high-profile, celebrity pastors. The elevated platforms that come with the internet and social media have only accentuated and inflated opportunities for domineering leadership. Woodward says, “we are taken by the charismatic personalities that draw the crowds, and the more the crowds flock, the more we deify our leaders. In such scenarios, leaders are viewed as beyond reproach, and domineering leadership often ensues” (Woodward, xxix).
BEAT THE SYSTEM
JR Woodward, thankfully, in The Scandal of Leadership gives us better language and frameworks for understanding domineering leadership, and why leaders fall. Most importantly, he proposes a solution: “the only way to overcome the Powers is through imitation of Christ, in particular his desires, which always leads to how we act” (Woodward, xxxv). In The Scandal of Leadership we are given an “imitation-based framework” – a way of becoming more aware of our desires, the way in which Powers seek to distort our desires, and how to fully imitate Jesus (Woodward, 49). For a comprehensive study on desires, I wholeheartedly recommend the newly released The Gift of Thorns by my friend, author A.J. Swoboda. Swoboda, along with James K.A. Smith, as well as JR Woodward, help the reader understand the WHY behind our desires for power, and how to reshape those desires into the image of Christ. It’s Jesus Christ that challenged the religious order of his day (and our day too) by declaring, “You are of this world, I am not of this world. (John 8:23). The “world” was a term the writers of Scripture used to name a system of domination. Walter Wink, spotlighted throughly by Woodward, asserts that John 8:23 is better interpreted as “You are of this System; I am not of this System” (Woodward, 81). Wink believes that this domination system “penetrates everything, teaching us not only what to believe, but what we can value and even what we can see” (Woodward, 81). He also asserts that the spirit of the Domination System is Satan.
UNSEEN POWER
Of course! The problem of domineering leadership is grounded in the work and power of the enemy Satan. We know this instinctively, as well as from SNL’s Church Lady: “The devil made me do it!”
Yet there is so much more to it, seen and unseen. There is a mimetic culture, in which leaders, imitate the models we have in front of us, often exhibiting the same, or similar domineering behaviors. As well, leaders can have misshaped desires, disoriented identity, despair and anxiety, which ultimately lean towards exhibiting behaviors that hurt people (Woodward, 215). Perhaps the greatest unseen power, that which Woodward concludes The Scandal of Leadership with is: humility.
Imitate the humility of Christ…
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:6-11 NIV
About the Author
John Fehlen
John Fehlen is currently the Lead Pastor of West Salem Foursquare Church. Prior to that he served at churches in Washington and California. A graduate of Life Pacific University in San Dimas, CA in Pastoral Ministry, and Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, CA with a Masters in Leadership and Spirituality. He and his wife Denise have four grown children and four grandchildren. John is the author of "Don't Give Up: Encouragement for Weary Souls in Challenging Times," a book for pastoral leaders, a children's book called "The Way I See You," and the forthcoming "Leave A Mark: The Jouney of Intentional Parenting." You can connect with John on Instagram (@johnfehlen) as well as at johnfehlen.substack.com.6 responses to “Beat the System”
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I first encountered Petra at Chuck-E-Cheese’s restaurant when I was a kid, where a local (and apparently “Christian”) radio station was giving away two vinyl albums — at least that’s how I remember — Petra’s “Not of this World” and Servant’s “Light Maneuvers.” I can’t remember why I was there…other than for the pizza…but I do remember going home with both of those records, and that was my introduction to both of those bands AND the Christian music industry. The fact that you walked your post through a history of Petra was brilliant…AND revelatory about your upbringing – ha! Great post, John.
I do wonder if that band would have a thicker understanding of the Powers, were they to launch their band in the culture of domineering leadership Woodward writes about today.
Both of those bands were (and still are) some of my favorites. Light Maneuvers from Servant is legendary. I own every piece of vinyl from both Petra and Servant. Classics.
As I consider then and now, I do believe we are better informed – we have so much knowledge at our fingertips, and yet, it’s come at a cost. Whereas, by and large, then things that were clearly demonic would simply be called such, however, now, we have so many other labels at our disposal to draw from.
There also, in christian music as well as preaching, etc was an overall simplicity. As I listen to it now, it’s all so, well, cheesy by today’s standards, and yet there was an innocence that couldn’t be denied. I long for a blend of the wisdom and knowledge that we have today, with the simplicity and child-likeness of then.
Great post, John. I love that you land on humility. Looking back at the various leaders that you’ve seen experience a fall or failure or leave the church, how do you think a more humble heart might have made a concrete difference for some or all of them?
Kim, I earnestly believe humility would have made ALL the difference! As we know, pride goes before the fall, therefore, humility seems to be an antidote of sorts.
And as I do a cursory glance at many if not all of the most recent (and albeit notable) pastoral leadership failures, there seems to be a consistent theme: they didn’t think their poo stunk any longer. They got too big for their britches. Pick your analogy. They lacked basic humility.
You had me at Petra.
Like you I was a Petra kid (and servant, and Rez Band, and Undercover, and… )
I also agree with Kim and love that you landed at Humility. That’s really key. I’ve known a leaders who are still struggling with their humanity but who have deep humility, and other leaders who seem to have their ‘stuff’ together but who have little or no humility. I’ll follow the first one every time.
I guess the question for us is, are we being humble, honest, and transparent about our “misshaped desires, disoriented identity, despair and anxiety”, or do we subtly assert our position, privilege or power to let ourselves get away with those things?
I think the first is a way to fight against the Powers, the second is how we end up imitating and embracing them.
I love your creativity John. You grab attention and keep it! Humility is such an interesting word. I think about humility a lot as a woman in leadership, because it can come across as self-deprecating or lack of self-esteem or emotional. Worst case scenario is to be an “emotional” leader and be written off. I’m sure men face this too. How do we really model humility and still lead? Just curious about your thoughts..