Skip to main content

Can a Psychopath be a good Christian leader?




The rumination of the week.

This question was put to me a few weeks ago by a friend and clinical psychologist. I profess no expertise in this area and have left it till now to blog and ruminate on it.

The immediate thing that comes to my mind, when someone mentions psychopath, is serial killer! All the bad, amoral and violent sins rolled into one individual. However there is a body of academics that feel, that this neurological condition can result in there being good psychopaths walking among us. This neurological condition affects 1% of the adult male population.

A survey conducted by Forbes listed the top ten professions that you will more likely than not find psychopaths. Number 1 was CEO's (who wants to build a tower.) 2, Lawyers (no surprise there and many go into politics which also explains it) 3, Media TV/Radio personalities. 4, Salespeople (Those dreaded double glazing and solar heating people that hunt down and prey on old age pensioners.) 5,Surgeons (This surprised me, but on reflection maybe not) 6, Journalist ( They have just got to get the story.) 7, Police Officers. (never trust the Fuzz) 8, Clergy both traditional and evangelical, (Now this did surprise me.) 9, Chef (one Gordon- you know who). 10, Civil Servants (That explains why we are made to wait in long queues and then told to wait, they enjoy the pain it brings)

Interestingly, as a general rule, you don't find psychopaths among Care workers, charity workers, nurses or Accountants- for some reason, not sure if that includes bankers, I doubt it. Also interestingly enough both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have been identified as psychopaths, one a businessman/CEO and the other a lawyer/ politician.

This brings me to the question in point. Can a Christian Leader be a Psychopath? Clearly if the present scientific thought and the survey done by Forbes are to be believed then the answer is yes!

Psychopathic traits include, being bold and confident, stress tolerant, risk takers, hugely loyal to those who work for them, and charming and charismatic visionaries. All of these things we look for in our Christian leaders. On the down side psychopaths lack empathy; they don't really care about how people feel. This is an essential perhaps in good pastoral leadership.  Having said this though, psychologists have found that psychopaths are really good at knowing how people think, what they want, and what they believe. While they themselves may not have these feelings, they are able to accurately mimic a feeling of empathy with those they serve. Psychopaths are more likely to get themselves into trouble and fall. This is not, in recent times, unusual in Christian leaders.

On this subject, for me the jury is still out. But one thing I do know is, we are all sinners saved by grace and that we all- to some extent or other have psychopathic traits.

You never know maybe we do have psychopaths preaching in our pulpits.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The myth of Ministry Leadership.

The myth that all leaders are leaders. Not everyone who leads in church is a leader. I think it is wrong, for Church leaders to believe that those they train up to take various ministry leadership positions, are in fact leaders in their own right. They are not. At best I would categorise these people- that many churches call 'ministry leaders' as ministry managers.                 "At one level there is nothing wrong with title inflation; it is a cheap way of recognising people who work hard and make serious contributions" Jo Owen. I am of the opinion that this title inflation undervalues both the leader and the ' ministry manager' and can often bring about confusion and mismatched expectations. Many churches have ministry training evenings for their volunteers. Many use the reason for this training is "to make a person a better leader," when in fact the only thing actually happening is that th...
Post a Comment
Read more

The 1970's Christian Coffee Shop

I remember as a new Christian being invited into a Christian Coffee shop in the town where I grew up. It was clean and tidy, the table tops were all brightly painted in different colours,  but mainly yellow and scattered on top were a random selection of Christian tracts. Fish symbols and Christian posters proclaiming that there was but 'One Way' to heaven were everywhere. The music playing out of the stereo was The Bill Gather Trio or Dolly Parton singing Gospel. The crockery, was a mixed assortment of coffee mugs, donated by keen supporters of this outreach to the unsaved sinners and ungodly people living in the city. The coffee was a local brand heavily mixed with chicory. In all the years the Coffee Shop operated, I never saw a non-Christian go in and I never heard of a person coming to faith through having coffee there. I never really understood its purpose. Fast forward to today, when I was asked recently, to advise on helping a local community church open a c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Christmas Holiday or real Commitment to the real Saviour.

Bells and Baubles are so prominent at the moment on our Christmas trees and in our shop windows. The glitter and the tinsel sparkle in the festive lights, seductively drawing us closer, enticing us to buy more to stash more presents under the tree. After all it's the season for giving, or is it. Bells may ring and baubles dangle but Bethlehem is where my thoughts are at the moment. Not on giving but on sacrifice. Remember the sacrifice that Joseph made when he took Mary, already pregnant, to be his wife. Or the sacrifice, Mary made to reveal to her family that she was carrying a child, despite the ridicule and shame that would result from this revelation. The sacrifice that the Shepherds made to leave their flocks in the hills, at the mercy of predators, just to get a glimpse of God. Let us not forget God who made the ultimate sacrifice to give up His son to a sinful and forgetful world. Let us also remember the hundreds, if not thousands of people, who give up their day to serve u...
Post a Comment
Read more