Leading with a Limp

Every once in a while, I find myself talking to leaders in terms of if they have or have not learned to lead with a limp. Meeting with a group of young leaders not long ago, I used the term and the question came back from the group, “Leading with a limp? What do you mean?”

The whole idea of leading with a limp starts with a guy named Jacob. Before his birth, God had informed his father, Isaac, that his younger son, later named Jacob, was the chosen one, the one who would be the one to carry the seed of God’s promise to Abraham. A promise that out of Abraham’s seed would become the Redeemer, the Messiah, the Saviour of the world.

The first problem was that Isaac was not happy with God’s choice. The older brother, Esau, was Isaac’s favourite. The second problem was that Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, told him about God’s promise.

Jacob was a very talented guy. If his father was not going to make things go his way, he would do it himself, and so he set out to make things happen his way. He made sure he was favoured by his mother. He set out to get his birthright from his brother, and finding him at a moment of weakness and hunger, was successful. He quite skilfully tricked his father into giving him the blessing his father had intended for his brother.

He was very talented and able to succeed – but at a price. His father soon recognized that he had been betrayed, his brother vowed to kill him on sight, and in desperation he was forced to flee for his life.

Soon Jacob’s cleverness and skills have amassed him wealth, and a family. But it had also strained his relationship with his father-in-law. So, hanging around seemed like a bad idea, and he was once again on the run.

Only this time he has a real problem. One that all his giftedness and skills are not going to be able to fix. He learns that he will soon be meeting up with his brother. This time Jacob was not a situation out of which he was going to be able to finesse his way. His brother is coming with a group of men, and nothing Jacob is going to be able to say or do is going to make a difference.
Suddenly, and maybe for the first time in his life, all his gifts and talents are not going to get him out of this mess.

This is what the scriptures tell us in Genesus 32:7-12, 21, 24-31…

In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape.”
Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two groups. Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’” …
So Jacob's gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp… So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.” Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”1The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.

Jacob is a different man at this point. It isn’t that his gifts and abilities have been diminished. Rather, his gifts and God-given abilities are now under the control and influence of God. Jacob is now a leader who has learned to lead with a limp.

Every once in a while we come across talented leaders who have learned that they can pretty well get by on the strength of their personality or the quality of their skills. They are good leaders, are often seen as highly successful, and are almost always loved by the people around them. But under the surface it soon becomes evident that the successes and the accolades come out of their personal efforts. These leaders tend to have little to no resources to handle the tough times in leadership. And when their own efforts fail or don’t meet their expectations, because they have not learned to lead in the power of Christ in them, they either blame others or become bitter and angry at the unfairness of the world.

Leaders who lead with a limp tend to see all of life’s leadership experiences as God’s hand at work. The successes are as a result of God’s grace, and the failures as God’s teaching them to be better leaders. They tend to understand that their own efforts, apart from God, will never quite be enough. And through it all, there is this ability to see God at work in them, adding to and enhancing their own God-given gifts and skills. And making them great leaders – though, they are leading with a limp.