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Domineering leadership does more than wound people. When telling the truth becomes expensive, people begin editing reality, Witnesses for Reality stop testifying, and leaders can become increasingly blind to what their leadership is doing to the people entrusted to them.
Fear is not always the enemy. It can warn a leader that something important is at risk. But when fear moves from adviser to executive, leadership becomes self-protection. Courage does not require fear to disappear. It requires the leader to identify the next faithful action—and take it.
A leader may postpone making a formal decision, but practical decisions are still being made every day. The work continues, the cost keeps rising, and someone else carries the burden. Not deciding is still a decision—usually one made at someone else’s expense.
Strong leadership becomes dangerous when gifting, results, and sound doctrine conceal patterns of harshness, control, and fear. Scripture calls churches—and especially elders—to recognize these patterns early and shepherd both their leaders and their people faithfully.
