Leadership Thought: Leaders Need Encouragement for It Can Be Lonely at the Top

Dear Friends.

The other night at bible study I was attending, our discussion centered around how we can encourage and build up our church leaders.

As a pastor for over 50 years, I sat back and listened quietly as I was interested in hearing people's thoughts on this subject, and they were many.

We often assume that those at the top don't need encouragement, but pastors and others in leadership positions need and appreciate it every bit as much as  anyone else. 

Leaders are constantly in the crosshairs of criticism, and by virtue of their position, they can be easy targets for angry people. 

A number of years ago, I was watching a PBS television presentation in which the curator of the Library of Congress revealed the contents found in the wallet of Abraham Lincoln on the night he was assassinated. 

Included among the items found in President Lincoln's wallet were a handkerchief, embroidered with the words A. Lincoln, a pen knife, a spectacle's case, a five dollar Confederate bill, and a torn newspaper clipping of an article of a speech given by John Bright, a historian, in which he had referred to Abraham Lincoln, as "one of the greatest men of all times."

Lincoln must have cherished those affirming words, as he dealt with the hatred and criticism of those who opposed him and his leadership.

If anyone knew loneliness and needed encouragement, it was President Lincoln. If anyone needed someone to come alongside him with a handshake, a hug, or an encouraging word, it was the President. If anyone needed to know that there were people who loved him, cared about him, and deeply appreciated the sacrifice he was making as president amidst such tumultuous times, it was President Lincoln.

Yes, it can be lonely at the top, and Lincoln knew it, and so does every other person who holds a position of leadership. Leaders often pay a price for being at the top, and it's called loneliness. 

The Apostle Paul knew loneliness. He writes to Timothy "Everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me" (Timothy, 1:15).

And who can forget the anguished cry of separation screamed out on the cross by our Savior: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

A. W. Tozer has written, "Most of the world's great souls have been lonely," and a Jewish proverb declares "Loneliness, eats into the soul." Quotations for the Christian World, Edith Draper, p. 390. 

Having said this, what can we do about it? We can encourage those who are our leaders. We can write letters of encouragement in which we tell them that we are praying for them as we are reminded to do in 1Timothy 2:2.

There are a myriad of ways to express our encouragement to those in leadership positions, and if we are intentional about it, the Spirit of God will show us how. 

As our meeting drew to a close, I remembered a message told at a pastor's funeral. 

After many glowing tributes were given by those in the congregation, one pastor stood up and said, "If only your pastor could have heard those encouraging words today, for if he had, he might still be alive, for your pastor died of a broken heart."

And then the pastor concluded by saying, "More pastors die from broken hearts than swelled heads."

Enough said.

Yours in faith and friendship

Tom.