Lead the Way, Even When You’re Wrong tagged: , , ,

Lead the Way, Even When You’re Wrong

Posted by in Church & Missions, IMPACT Features

I play in a men’s flag football league. My team consists of some guys from my church and some friends of ours. The faith spectrum on the team runs from life-long believer to proud unbeliever. I play in several leagues throughout the year for two principal reasons. One, it’s an opportunity to get some exercise, and two, it’s also an opportunity to simultaneously compete and represent Christ to a bunch of guys who–let’s just say–don’t spend a lot of time hanging around preachers. (Okay, the third reason is because you never know when an NFL scout will wander by and offer a contract to a guy with average height, build, speed, and skill. There I said it.)

Last night, after an egregious no-call by a referee that ended up being instrumental in us losing the game, I expressed my displeasure to the referee. Now, I didn’t yell and scream or verbally abuse him, but I did point out his error and ask him to correct it, which he promptly refused. And you have to understand, my team has a reputation of being supportive of referees. My team has a policy to not challenge the referees, or get into it with other teams, which is why referees have enjoyed officiating our games for the decade that we have played in this league. But at that moment, I was furious that such a bad, game-changing call was being allowed to stand.

About ten seconds into my discussion with the referee, one of my teammates came over and escorted me away from the referee, reminding me not to “get stuck in the mud.” It was good advice, and two minutes later after the game ended, I apologized to the referee. Judging by his reaction, it seems that my team’s reputation, and more importantly Christ’s reputation, was not damaged by our disagreement.

In our weekly post-game prayer time, this is what I told the team: “Guys, being a Christian is not about being perfect or about trying to look perfect. What you saw tonight was an obvious mistake, pointed out by a brother who was rightfully holding me accountable, and then me seeking repentance for failing my Lord and making every effort to restore the earthly relationships that I damaged. Jesus died on the cross for all my sins, big and small, and his grace and forgiveness are what give me the chance to sit here with you and say, ‘Yup, we screw up, but He stands ready to forgive us and restore us if you ask.’ Being a Christian is about having God look at you and see a clean slate, not all the stuff you do wrong, because Jesus took care of those things. There is tremendous freedom there, and my hope for all of you is that you experience that freedom.”

At least, that’s what I should have said. Instead, another guy led the prayer time sensing that I was still angry at the result and disappointed in myself. And life moved on. I’m sure most of the guys have completely forgotten about the incident by now. But I had a chance to exercise leadership in a moment when I was wrong, and I blew it.

The unbelieving world seems especially ready to pounce on Christians when they make mistakes because it appears that they have exposed our hypocrisy. Perhaps that’s why it’s more important to demonstrate how to biblically handle failure rather than success. The world needs a better understanding of the hope, freedom, and restoration, which comes from Jesus Christ.

So leaders, learn from my mistake. In the moments that you’re tempted to talk about Jesus only when everything is going well, remember that Jesus came to “seek and save that which was lost” (Lk. 19:10). Being open about our failures, our need for repentance, and Christ’s restorative grace, is maybe the best time to talk about Jesus, even if it is the most difficult.