Broken Leaders

A lot has been written about being a "broken" leader. It's true: in Scripture and in life, you rarely find a leader worth his salt who has not been broken.

However, when people talk about "brokeness," they usually mean "woundedness." I think that definition is incomplete.

Being broken doesn't always hurt. It's rarely comfortable, but isn't always painful.

A horse that is broken doesn't necessarily spend a lot of time in pain. Pain comes when it resists the process by which it's brought under the control of another. When it allows itself to be placed under the control of a master, the process is uncomfortable but not painful.

I think God takes good leaders through a similar process as He teaches us to yield to His control.

The good news is, a broken horse is no less strong, no less useful, no less valuable to its owner. In fact, its strength remains the same while its usefulness and value increases. The more broken the horse, the higher the speeds its owner feels comfortable allowing it to run.

Before God will use a leader, that leader has to be brought under God's control. But that doesn't necessarily mean extraordinary pain; especially the more willing we are to yield.