5 Signs of a Mean-Spirited Leader

I was astounded when a close friend of mine recently forwarded a tweet to me sent out by Dr. Chuck Swindoll a few months back that read, “The problem with mean Christians is that not enough people have confronted them and told them to get lost!”

Go Chuck go! No one can say it any clearer than that. Mean Christians are very dangerous and can kill a person spiritually, and yes, I’ve personally witnessed physical death as a result of Christians being mean toward those who aren’t mature in the Lord. This is serious stuff my friends, and Chuck’s attitude is the right one to have toward these deceived people.

You might ask, “Why is this topic of such importance?” It’s important because now, more than ever, mean Christians are really starting to have a negative effect in the body of Christ and it’s becoming more and more evident and widely discussed globally. Our adversary has been pretty effective at tricking “so-called” Christians into becoming ravenous wolves. On the outside they display compassion, but on the inside they are filled with judgmental attitudes that ultimately hurt, divide and kill.

This sounds awfully close to how Jesus describes the devil in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy.” Now is the time for more genuine-hearted leaders like Dr. Swindoll to stand up and call out those who are living the fake Christian life. These people do nothing but make it their business to go about the body of Christ injecting poison into the genuine work of Christ, and we must do all we can to make it stop!

As a leader, it’s important that you recognize some of the signs that can influence you toward being mean to those God has called you to lead. Jesus was clear as to how our attitude should be always in Matthew 10:16, “Be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”

Here are five (although I could give you 50) signs that you might be a mean-spirited leader:

1. You are quick to “accuse.” This is always found specifically in the leaders of ministries who produce mean Christians. Leaders are quick to point out the failures of others, and then put them in “time out” for a specific period of time. They do this because they are “experts” at pointing out the sin more so than they are at bringing healing and restoration. They have no clue how to deal with sin because they have spent years filling their hearts with spite instead of genuine grace. Don’t be this kind of a leader!