Every person has shortcomings. We all live with skeletons in the closet, consequences of bad choices, or memories of events we would just as soon forget. Some leaders, because of past hurts, determine never to get burned again so their natural tendency as they lead is to protect themselves. Others, perhaps from dysfunctional pasts, accommodate their personal insecurities through their administrative choices. For example, a leader who lacks confidence may perceive self-assurance in colleagues as threatening rather than beneficial to the organization, and feel threatened by them.
For spiritual leaders, Christ makes all the difference in this regard. The Holy Spirit is available to free you from a bondage to the past that might otherwise haunt you and limit your ability to lead. The past certainly influences the future, but it should not direct it. For Christians, God determines the future as they walk in obedience to Him. Your future is in God’s hands. Past mistakes do not limit the Lord. The Apostle Paul said that with God, all things become new. There is nothing that is hurtful or negative in your life that cannot be turned around so it brings glory to God. Paul’s past was anything but praiseworthy. He persecuted Christians and thus mocked the very God he thought he was championing. But as a repentant, humbled new creation, Paul was determined to leave his guilt and scars in the past. Was Paul still a passionate, zealous leader? Yes But God took his misguided religious fervor and redesigned and refocused it to build up the church instead of tearing it apart. That is the powerful redeeming nature of the God we serve!