"Leading With a Limp, Turning Your Struggles Into Strengths," Dan Allender (WaterBrook Press, May 2006)

Since he boasts a Ph.D. and a prolific publishing resume, I hesitate to criticize the founder of the Mars Hill Graduate School. Still, I find Allender’s entire premise about leadership too pessimistic. I couldn’t help but think of A.A. Milne’s gloomy "Eeyore" from Winnie the Pooh as Allender constantly generalizes about the horrors of leadership with phrases such as, "Nothing comes easily, enemies outnumber allies, and the terrain keeps shifting under your feet."

Allender even sees success negatively with this depressing view:

Thus, the author seems to have no use for hard work or faithfulness. Nor does he seem to be able to appreciate success—even with proper credit given to God's grace.

This book may read better for leaders who find themselves in a lonely and misunderstood calling that Allender says others cannot understand. These are the men and women he describes as "broken, foolish, reluctant, hungry, or disillusioned."

However, these definitions are not only troubling because they are negative, but because Allender asserts they are truer than more positive attributes used to describe leaders, such as "hero," "visionary," or "coach."

While I don’t doubt that a leader may be both disillusioned and a visionary, I cannot accept Allender’s premise that the negative aspects of such a person poses the more correct version. He claims that naming his faults as a leader is really naming what is true about himself and thus frees him to accept God’s grace. What Allender fails to see is that truth isn’t only the negative aspects of a person that others don’t discuss openly. Truth has positive aspects as well. We need to adopt a comprehensive view of leaders instead of dwelling on the dark side of the moon. 

His point that a failure to acknowledge faults in people, beginning with leaders, will lead to hypocrisy in a church community is certainly accurate and significant. And kudos to him for pointing out that church leaders, especially, should confess that Christ is their strength, made perfect in their weakness.

Nevertheless, I think his theology breaks down in his assertion that weakness is the only strength. As I said, I hesitate to criticize a noted author, but I simply find his leadership theology too depressing.

Allender relies on Paul’s writings about his struggles, particularly the apostle's assertion that he is chief among sinners, as an example of a biblical leadership posture. While Allender makes a good point, it is incomplete. While God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness, there is more. Do we not also have God’s strength in our talents and gifts? After all, we are made in his image. That is also the truth.