Humans aren’t perfect. There’s no such thing as a perfect boss or parent. Yet, as a Christian, God commands me to obey those in authority unless that authority figure directs me to act in opposition to God’s commands. What happens when I find myself under the leadership of an imperfect leader, a fallible authority?
I enter this school year excited for the students coming my way, for the relationships God will give me to develop. I have confidence in my ability to teach my curriculum; for the first time in my teaching career, I get to teach the same thing a third time. I have stepped into some leadership roles and feel excited about the opportunities, especially Youth in Government. Each time I entered my classroom during our week of in-service, a smile covered my face. Book cover posters surround my students on every wall. Three cute little bookshelves sit in the corner of the room full of books for my students to read. Colleagues have come by to fill the shelves of their own classrooms from the book room attached to my classroom.
How do these two paragraphs reconcile? Short answer? They don’t. Long answer? An air of uncertainty hangs over the entire school. For health reasons (surgery and a baby) two of our administrators were not in the building when school started. Although one returns at the end of this week, the other will not return until November. Many of the teachers in our building started their first year teaching when this school year started, most of them certified through alternative, non-degree programs. I had so many questions as a first year teacher with a full year of training. Our shorthanded administration struggled to communicate all necessary information. Other information failed to be communicated because the administration had no idea that teachers needed to know.
With the above, and several other things purposefully left unmentioned, I feel compelled to pick up the slack driven by my almost overwhelming desire to provide the best for these wonderful students. I already have a full plate with my position as ELA department chair, faculty liaison for student government and lead advisor for Youth in Government, not to mention my voluntary addition of an EdS degree in school leadership albeit just one class per semester. I have to look at that full plate when I feel compelled to try to step in and intervene to make sure each student has an optimal outcome when the fallible leadership fails.
More than that though, reflecting on fallible leadership, both my own and the leadership above me, God has convicted me of the fact that He is the epitome of a leader; He is the perfect leader. He does not need me to step in and fix all the problems. He has put just enough on my plate for me to handle. He has not forgotten about any of the people; He has plans for great things for them. I am not the only one He uses to accomplish His will. I know He will take care of all of those situations regardless of whether I step in and meddle or not. Now is the time to rest and depend on God.