Snipers

One day I had the privilege of hearing the accounts of a World War II veteran who fought in the European theatre of operations. He was asked what his least favorite part of fighting in the war had been, other than the constant threat of instant death. His answer? “Oh, how I hated snipers”. He described what it felt like to lead a platoon of men through deserted burned-out, bombed-out villages under the constant fear of ending up in the reticle of a german sniper scope. It gave you chills. 

Over the years I have found myself leading, never really wanting to do so. I just want to do my part. Why do I not want to lead, you ask? Reason number one: snipers.  Leadership get-a-clue point number one: There will be snipers. What is a sniper? A sniper is someone who covertly airs their discontent or dissatisfaction with something or someone at the expense of the church and her mission. You know a sniper or snipers are around when you sense tension in the environment but can’t put your finger on what the issue is or who it involves. Let me present the tragedy of sniping. Every day there are people dying without Jesus Christ in their lives. People lost eternally. While these people are losing their eternal souls snipers covertly mobilize to relieve their dissatisfaction. Snipers attack in a number of ways. Insinuations of all sorts from blogs to passive aggressive comments, accusing emails, gossip disguised as private conversations, and even an occassional face-to-face confrontation are all popular kill-zones of snipers. These tactics stir up debate about the ineffectiveness of those who have been called to lead. True, leaders make mistakes and should be held accountable. True, leaders sometimes repeat mistakes until they get it right. But snipers hold people accountable in ways contrary to how Jesus has commanded us. Most snipers don’t even realize they are a sniper because they get sucked into a “sniper cell” through someone who seems to care about the church. The sniper is deadly to a church. And all the while people are dying apart from Jesus.

I wouldn’t want to lead in a sniper-rich environment. What I have found is no matter where you lead there will be snipers. They lurk in the shadows. They slow-bleed the church by sapping the life out of it’s troopers. Oh, they eventually come out of the shadows after they have stirred up enough angst. When enough people with pitch forks and torches start showing up as a result of their efforts they reveal themselves, ready to ”lead” for sure… which leads me to Leadership get-a-clue point number two: The Art of Multi-tasking (How to influence people for Jesus while getting your head bashed in). And we wonder why people don’t want to come to church. Silly us! Tricks are for kids!

For those of you new to Jesus and church life, know this. Sniping isn’t a church thang… it’s a people thang. It is really a satan thing. Sniping is unacceptable to God. Though it is a common human dysfunction existing wherever groups of people gather, it is wrong. It is always the result of self-centeredness and one’s unresolved insecurities. A form of projection, if you will.  Jesus died for the church and the church is the hope of the world… when it’s working right. Jesus dealt with snipers. So did Paul. Let not your heart be troubled. We forge ahead despite sniper-fire. Strong leaders deal lovingly but firmly with snipers. Don’t be a sniper. Read Galatians 5:16-26. Peace out!  

 P.S. If you are a Detroit Lions fans you are probably a sniper. A whole other blog topic.