I went to a High School that wanted to produce leaders. As we walked into the school assembly hall, we would pass 2 honour boards: 1 was a memorial to former students who had died in combat for our country, while the other was for former students who had succeeded in their chosen field. Picture that, on the one board, there were names and birthdates of young men who had been slain in the prime of life while, next to it, were names of Supreme Court Justices, Rhodes scholars, Australia sportspeople, accomplished musicians and even a Queensland Governor. When we started at the school, we were asked to look at those 2 lists and we were told, “You won’t all be Supreme Court Justices, Governors or represent your country on the sporting field. Neither will most of you be called upon to take up arms. But, you should all strive to do the best you can to contribute to others. “
The founding headmaster of the school was once asked to define a leader, to which he said,
A leader knows when to step forward and when to step back.
A good leader knows when the team needs them to “step forward” and take a lead and when they need to “step back” and empower others to move to the front.
We see this “back and forward” movement in the ministry of the Apostle Paul.
In Acts 15, a dispute arose amongst the disciples about the place of Gentile believers in the Church. Paul and Barnabas showed a willingness to step forward and speak up (Acts 15:1-2). In fact, Paul leads this charge until the matter is brought before the Apostles (Acts 15:6) and then steps back while the Apostles deliberate the matter. Paul had done his job in tackling an issue head-on and he had performed his role of standing up for his followers. However, once others were dealing with the matter, Paul knew how to “step back” and leave it to them.
Paul seems to have been more than willing to submit to the leadership of the other Apostles and, in that respect, was happy to “step back” and follow. However, this did not mean he couldn’t step forward when he was needed. Paul recalls a confrontation with Peter around the same issue as above. Paul writes, “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”” (Galatians 2:11-14)
Paul also knew how to discern when to “step forward” and when to “step back” when it came to raising up other leaders. The order of names in Biblical Greek is important. Normally, when there is a list of names, the order indicates prominence. As Paul and Barnabas travelled on their missionary journeys with their other companions, we sometimes see the order of names as “Paul and Barnabas” (Acts 13:43, Acts 15:2). However, at other times, the order of names is reversed (Acts 14:14, Acts 15:25). It takes enormous humility and a great focus on the mission to be able to step back when the time comes.
We could go on with many more examples, such as his training of Timothy and Titus, but we don’t have the space now as I want to point out one more example of this “back and forward” movement in the ministry of Jesus Christ, Himself. When Jesus sendt out the 72 in Luke 10, we see a number of movements:
- Jesus steps forward to give the instructions (Luke 10:1-16)
- He stepped back for a time as the disciples went out and then celebrated with them on their return (Luke 17-20)
- Jesus steps forward again as he led His team into the next season (Luke 10:25)
For this blog post, rather than give the practical implication of this concept, I’m going to “step back” and let you do the work. Here are some questions for you to consider:
- What might stop people from stepping forward when we need to?
- Of those reasons listed above, which one is most likely the reason you won’t step forward when you need to?
- What might stop people from stepping back when we need to?
- Of those reasons listed above, which one is most likely the reason you won’t step back when you need to?
- What are some times in leadership when you might need to step forward?
- What are some times in leadership when you might need to step back?
- In your area of leadership right now, do you need to step forward or step back?
“Everyone really does win when a leader gets better.” (Bill Hybels)
God said to the Israelites, “Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.” (Jeremiah 3:15) Lord, good leaders know when to step forward and when to step back. Give us the wisdom to know the difference and the courage to do it. Amen.