Unity is Prohibited by Defensiveness

Imagine the impact of people seeing unity out of diversity modeled among leaders with varying gifts, styles, and perspectives. But, what so often happens when another leader steps into the picture? How quickly we can find ourselves getting defensive and sometimes even engaging in a power struggle.

Defensiveness stems from:

  • insecurities
  • pride
Whether you feel too low or too high of yourself, the result is the same. You will tend to get defensive or engage in power struggles with other leaders who step into the picture.

Defensiveness prohibits unity because it shows itself in:

  • comparisons
  • competition
When you feel the need to compare or compete with someone, it is an indication that you are not accepting that God has made and gifted people differently. You are measuring yourself against another person rather than God's design and the grace given you to do what you are called to do and the grace He has given them to do their part.
 

The Steering the Church Toward Body Life Leadership Guide includes the content on this page and also considers what's needed to get beyond our defensiveness to being non-defensive leaders able to model God's design for unity out of diversity.


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