If politics is a problem and clean-up is needed:

Refuse to engage with petty people and petty matters on a petty level. Good people who have lost perspective, or who are hurting can create political situations that require leadership. Left untended they can transition to situations of malice. This requires a very different approach.

Hit the big issues head on. But don’t be political about politics. Jesus said: “be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16), but He never meant for you to fight people’s personal agenda’s to defend, or in protection of, your own personal agenda.

That’s the end of a very brief summary, let’s press jump back into Part 2.

If things are good, but you want to be proactive:

Never allow yourself to be put up for sale.

Don’t let anyone put a price tag on your leadership no matter how much pressure you are under. Every leader has at least one significant decision to make, usually early on, whether or not to receive a check and thereby sell his or her time and influence. Don’t miss-read this. I‘m not referring to a back-room type of unethical deal. I’m talking about a subjective situation in which anyone might have difficulty making the decision. Far too many good men and women, on a mission for God, have fallen prey to the need to finance their dream.

In the opening story, the pastor did take “Bob’s” check. Ultimately it cost him his job. Too much influence slid into the wrong people’s hands and he lost leadership of the church. The story is a sad one, but it doesn’t have to be for you. Just say “Thanks, but keep the check.”

Develop a culture where character matters.

Kevin Myers, the senior pastor at Crossroads Community Church in Lawrenceville, GA (a suburb of Atlanta) where I serve, has done an outstanding job keeping the church virtually free from politics. I do my best to carry on what he has established as I lead the staff.

I believe the central thing that Kevin did over the years to make this a reality is insist on a culture of no pretense and character that is above reproach. It’s not a culture of perfection. Trust me, we’re a team where I think sarcasm is a spiritual gift! Seriously, we well recognize all our flaws and laugh a lot because we don’t take ourselves too seriously. But because we take God seriously, character matters.