Leadership Failure & Reimagining Church Culture: Moving Beyond the CEO Model

Voxology

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2018

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Examining the dangers of celebrity leadership culture in the American church, Mike Erre gets candid about the recent public downfalls of figures like Bill Hybels and Urban Meyer—both of whom have been celebrated as leadership experts. Unpacking how the church’s obsession with platform, power, and production may be feeding these moral failures, Mike reflects on how the New Testament offers a radically different vision for leadership: one that emphasizes plurality, humility, and shared responsibility.

The episode transitions into a passionate theological dialogue as Mike challenges the “TULIP” doctrines of Reformed theology, particularly the ideas of total depravity, unconditional election, and limited atonement. He reaffirms that salvation is universally available and critiques what he sees as an unbiblical notion of a God who arbitrarily chooses some people for salvation and not others.

Alongside that, Mike addresses listener questions ranging from biblical discipline in Matthew 18 to the evolution of the podcast itself, reaffirming Voxology’s commitment to diversity in leadership and theological integrity.

Key Takeaways:
• Reevaluating Church Leadership Models – Why the CEO-style leadership culture has harmed both church leaders and congregations, and what a biblical alternative might look like.
• The Cost of Celebrity Pastoring – How platform and exposure can feed temptations toward money, sex, and power, especially in high-powered church or coaching roles.
• A Critique of Reformed Theology – Breaking down the TULIP acrostic and offering a biblical counterpoint to doctrines like unconditional election and limited atonement.
• Meaningful Church Discipline – Exploring the real context of Matthew 18:20 and debunking the misuse of “where two or three are gathered” in pop Christian culture.
• The Future of Voxology – Updates on plans to revamp the podcast with new voices, including diverse perspectives and enhanced production.

Notable Quotes:
• “God's power is only made perfect when ours comes to an end.”
• “You can be a faithful follower of Jesus and not be a Calvinist.”
• “Leadership failures often speak more to cultural systems than just personal sin.”

Resources Mentioned:
• Romans 9–11 (Context for election and predestination)
• Matthew 18:15–20 (Misunderstood passage on church discipline)
• Common Grace doctrine in Reformed theology
• Dallas Willard – Teachings on truth and character
• TULIP Acrostic (Reformed theological summary)

Join the conversation and help Voxology reimagine leadership, theology, and community. Subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and follow us on social media to be part of the journey.

As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to [email protected], and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.

We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV

Our Merch Store! ETSY

Learn more about the Voxology Podcast

Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify

Support the Voxology Podcast on Patreon

The Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology Radio

Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre

Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to [email protected], and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.

We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV.

Our Merch Store! ETSY

Learn more about the Voxology Podcast

Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify

Support the Voxology Podcast on Patreon

The Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology Radio

Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre

Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey everybody, Mike here. Hope you're doing well. Summer's wrapping up. In Ohio, anyway,
0:06.7	school starts in mid-August, which I think is unholy, definitely unbiblical and unhelpful.
0:14.3	We just returned from a couple of weeks on vacation and, you know, so grateful to be back,
0:20.6	be back home, but so great to see so many people
0:23.9	in what for us was home for 20 years. So thank you for all of those of you who contribute on
0:32.2	Patreon. And I feel like I always have to say this because this is our livelihood, at least a
0:37.4	significant part of
0:38.2	it. And for those of you who support us that way, it's very meaningful. Absolutely. There'll be
0:43.8	another revelation podcast later this week out. I'm behind because of vacation, but I've got one
0:50.0	cooking that I hope will be helpful. Thank you too for those of you who like, subscribe,
0:55.9	and review us on iTunes. That keeps us kind of whatever algorithm is used. It keeps us sort of
1:05.8	at the forefront of attention by iTunes. And so it means a lot. It's encouraging, but it also helps people find the
1:13.6	podcast. And so we're very, very grateful for all of those things. There have been a couple of
1:18.5	really high profile things that have happened the last week or two involving a couple of men
1:26.2	that I have admired for quite some time.
1:30.4	One of them is named Bill Heibles.
1:33.0	He was the founder of Willow Creek Community Church
1:38.5	and the founder of something called
1:39.5	the Willow Creek Association.
1:42.0	And Willow Creek has been one of the most influential churches, and Bill
1:47.8	Heibles has been one of the most influential leaders in the evangelical movement for years now.
1:55.7	And the last several months, it's been coming out that there have been very courageous women who've
	...

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