The Multi-Directional Leader: Responding Wisely to Challenges from Every Side

by Trevin K. Wax

Today's threats come from every direction.

How can we faithfully respond? Many church leaders assume the most dangerous threats to God's people will emerge from one side of the field. But when they scan for attacks in only one direction, they leave Christians vulnerable to different dangers.

The church needs what Trevin Wax calls multi-directional leadership–leaders who combine dexterity and discipline. In short, leaders today must demonstrate faithful versatility. Wax applies multi-directional leadership to the most contentious issues facing churches right now.

Unity and truth can still triumph in a divided age.

Genres: Leadership, Church

88 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

Trevin Wax is the Bible and Reference Publisher for LifeWay Christian Resources. A former missionary to Romania, Trevin hosts a blog at The Gospel Coalition and regularly contributes to The Washington Post, Religion News Service, World, and Christianity Today, which named him one of thirty-three millennials shaping the next generation of evangelicals. His previous books include Counterfeit Gospels, Clear Winter Nights, and Gospel-Centered Teaching. He and his wife Corina have three children.

Reviews

[Brian Pate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good. The exact message we need at this moment. Because our experiences, gifts, and contexts, we all tend to be more alert to specific dangers. Wax calls us to learn from each other, be aware of our natural biases, and seek to please the Lord vs our tribe.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t think of a more timely and urgent book that will serve pastors and church leaders.

[Jon Pentecost · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent delineation of a much needed and much neglected attribute in leaders today: the ability to recognize that dangers and errors come from multiple directions.

Wax gives many good real-life examples of what this looks like. He also acutely diagnoses some of the reasons why in our current moment it is difficult to develop this sort of multi-directional sensibility. I hope many people read this book, if simply to have the paradigm introduced that you need to guard yourself and your church on multiple fronts, not just the culturally cool one.

Rated lower as I think Wax asserts qualities necessary for a multi-directional leader more than he gives a path for how to get there. The principle is good, and worth reading the book for. Wax sets you on a path, but he's only paved the first few steps for you.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Church-leadership teams should read this together. A terrific help for navigating partisan and polarized times.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up in the world of evangelicalism, navigated a mainline seminary, and now pastor an evangelical church. Having navigated both worlds, I am aware of the ideological threats on both sides. I have often found myself in rooms where I was the lone conservative and in other rooms where I was suspected of being a closet liberal. "The Multi-Directional Leader" struck home in the challenges I have dealt with as a leader.

Trevin Wax's "The Multi-Directional Leader" comes in at just under 100 pages. It has a simple thesis, whose importance cannot be understated. Wax's thesis is this: most undershepherds of God's flock are concerned about threats from only one side. The faithful undershepherd, however, is aware of threats to the sheep from all sides.

Wax says that the temptation to be one-dimensional comes from within and without. In writing to Timothy, Paul warned preachers of the temptation to scratch itching ears. There will always be those within our congregations who only want to hear protection from one side.

We must recognize both in ourselves and in our congregation that there are those who are concerned about courage and truth telling. Others are concerned about compassion and service. Still others are concerned about fulfilling the Great Commission. Wax quotes Collin Hansen who reminds us that, "The problem with blind spots is that they tend to hide behind good traits." All three of these areas of focus are good. They just aren't comprehensive. They don't represent Christ fully.

And yet, the faithful undershepherd knows that when we only fight off dangers from one side, we are vulnerable from attacks from the other side. A faithful shepherd knows the need for a plurality of leaders who can help him with his blind spots. Wax says, "The one-directional leader, by contrast, doesn't stand back-to-back with anyone. He fights alone." Wax quotes Screwtape, who reminds his demon apprentice, "All extremes except extreme devotion to the Enemy are to be encouraged."

Wax reminds us that multi-directional leadership is "...not about finding the middle between extremes, but about holding fiercely to both extremes, insofar as we see them in Scripture." How are we letting Scripture conform our commitments, worldview, and political ideology?

How do we develop a multi-directional sensibility? "Delight in scripture, even when it challenges our systems and assumptions." We all love something about Jesus. But do we love all of Jesus? Wax says that following Jesus fully means not muting the alarms, but seeing cultural alarms in more places. "The problem isn't that one-directional leaders are alarmist, but that they aren't alarmist enough. Like a radio tuned to only one frequency, they may perceive a particular threat clearly but remain deaf to other warning bells."

I love the analogy Wax offers, "If you've been lifting weights with one arm, so only those muscles have developed, the solution isn't to stop lifting altogether and thus lose your strength, but to lift with the other arm to bring both sides to a similar level."

Wax offers a helpful list for self-evaluation. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Which direction will you be drawn toward? Where have you been wounded? Where are you tempted to have self-pity?

Wax weaves several helpful examples throughout: Jesus as he relates to the Pharisees, Saducees, and Romans. Paul as he battles both license and legalism. And John Stott's life navigating liberal and conservative challenges to the gospel in 20th century England.

Wax concludes with three brief chapters on racial injustice, questions of gender, and finally a chapter on Bible interpretation.

Wax's book will be a helpful guide to many church leaders, I have only two critiques. First, I wish it would have been longer. I would have loved to see the final chapters beefed up and additional chapters added. Further, I would have loved to see more information on how to navigate those who are angry with you as a leader for being multi-directional. Thanks, Trevin, for your timely book. I was encouraged by it and I'm sure many others will be.

For more reviews see www.thebeehive.live.

[Mark Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Careful, clear, gracious, biblical, wise. Four stars only because I don’t think he was really trying to break fresh ground. He just did an admirable job summing up in brief a perspective I find very congenial.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wax gives a clear vision for Christian leadership that is aware of dangers on multiple fronts. But he doesn’t call us merely to compromise or inhabit the “squishy middle.” Instead, his call is to affirm biblical truths that seem contradictory on the surface and to wield them with dexterity and flexibility, wisely discerning when each needs to be applied. I particularly liked the application chapters at the end that applied multi-directional leadership to racial injustice, complementarianism, and Bible interpretation.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely worth the reading time for pastors and ministry leaders. The call/corrective is to not miss the opposing errors while defending against the ones we are most prone to fight against. This certainly feels like a timely warning. I personally found the second part of the book a more compelling read than the first part.

[Kyle Pendley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gave this out to all our group leaders at Grace, overall found it very helpful and a short, useful introduction to the complex topics at the intersection of theology and culture. Would prefer it to be slightly less academic so that it could be more accessible to lay leaders, so that’s why it’s more like 3.5 stars.

[Ethan Moehn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and sweet.

Faithful versatility in protecting the flock in a world "of many dangers, toils, and snares" - that is our ambition. God give us grace. (p.88)

[Paul Abdallah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief, but helpful categories!

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short book with a whole lot of wisdom!

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and valuable read, especially for anyone who naturally tends toward a black-and-white outlook on the world. 🙋🏼‍♀️

[Matthew Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t let the slim size fool you - this is a very helpful book calling for the PASTORING of people on all sides of divisive issues with wisdom, discernment, and skill in hearing well, challenging well, and clearly upholding the Gospel above all. I highly recommend taking some time to think this one through

[Sherrill Woodard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read little book for current church leaders and will challenge and train them to be “multi-directional” leaders, no longer “preaching to the choir” about dangers their sheep have long been made aware of, but also courageously teaching Scriptures and addressing cultural issues that they may be blinded to due to partisanship, theological communities, and personal experience (or lack thereof).

From the book…
“One-directional leaders are skillful in spotting and thwarting threats to the sheep that come from a single direction of the field. But because they focus on fighting battles on one front, they leave the flock vulnerable to problems from other sides. Multi-directional leaders, on the other hand, fend off threats from more than one direction. They hold up Scripture and fearlessly proclaim truths that cut to the root of our sins, failures, and dysfunctions, no matter what political or theological categories are crossed.”

Read it. And get one for your pastor while you’re at it. And then PRAY for him or her, because the path of a multi-directional leader is dangerous and lonely, often taking hits from both sides. Support them, pray for them, and offer grace to them.

[Hoa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, quick read that delves into the difference between a one dimensional and multi dimensional leader. Provides excellent examples of where to focus your attention, while also being cautious of overexerting your focus.

Without being overly prescriptive, Wax encourages a leader to lean into their gifts and calling, understand the ones you minister to, be aware of culture context, yet also stay alert.

This book can be helpful for any Christian leader, but does focus more heavily on the role of the Pastor. Enjoyed the in-depth examples provided from various pastors and theologians such as DA Carson, Tim Keller and CS Lewis. A quick read.

[Mike E. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A helpful, concise book for church leaders.

==============

In one situation, Paul said circumcision was nothing and refused to have Timothy circumcised (Galatians 2:1–5), while in another he was fine with Timothy being circumcised for missionary purposes because the gospel wasn’t at stake (Acts 16:3). (21)




The truth is not in the middle and not in one extreme, but in both extremes. (Charles Simeon, 30-31)



On the one hand, Christians should be championing most loudly the theological truth behind the slogan “Black lives matter,” especially in a culture that has routinely and regularly _devalued_ black lives and bodies. It’s also why, on the other hand, Christians should lament and oppose the anti-Christian and anti-family views of Black Lives Matter as an organization. It’s possible, even if not popular, to do both. (65)

The aim of thoughtful Christians, after all, is not so much to become masters of Scripture, but to be mastered by it, both for God’s glory and His people’s good. ( D. A. carson, 86)

[Mitchell Traver · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really solid book. No longer than necessary, which I greatly appreciate as it limits fluff and is engaging throughout. Trevin’s voice embodies the humility and multi-directional nature he’s calling for in this book. (Though I do wish he’d said more on certain things and used different kinds of examples in certain spots. But hey, that’s the challenge of multi-directional leadership!)

I’ll admit, I’ll read pretty much anything Trevin writes as I find him especially helpful in a number of ways. So, there’s my bias for you. Heartily recommend, especially to Christians wanting to engage with humility above all else in a time when polarization takes clear pride of place.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short book was a freebie from the Gospel Coalition. The advice is good--don't be one-sided--but a lot of nuance was missing. The common "multi-directional" example was "We need to be passionate about theology and social compassion." Well, sure, but equally? Is one a higher priority? Are the dangers the same in falling off either side of the balance? Wax didn't provide much guidance in those areas.

I recognize the limits of a short book, but his examples could have been better, and his guidance wiser. Nevertheless, important issues worth thinking about.

[Joshua Pegram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theologically sound, pastorally wise.

Conceptually helpful, but not particularly insightful. Bottom line is that every individual or group has multiple strengths/weaknesses (thus multiple opportunities/threats).

May serve best as a quick resource for pastors to share with those who tend toward an extreme. It’s kind of the “anti-hobby-horse” book, which our world certainly needs.

[Cory Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would encourage anyone who reads this to read ,Finding the Right Hills to Die On, first. This book is good on its own, but great as an accompaniment. Showing the need for leaders to recognize where their people are when leading instead of just leading in response to culture.

[Bryan Robledo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little book was rich with wisdom on how to navigate the complexities that leaders (or reallg anyone) faces. This is a must read for anyone in ministry.


There were too many great quotes, so I will create a word doc with all the quotes and post a link soon.

[Billy Glosson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of this book is absolutely stellar. The second half is more a working out the concept of multidirectional leadership in certain ecclesiastical challenges. I could take or leave that part. All in all a solid read.

[El Rhino · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book put words to what I experience. Leaders have to stay focused on Jesus and not drawn completely to one side of the political debate. The sheep need a shepherd pointing out the shortcomings of all political systems.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important theme written with nuance, clarity, and engaging language. The book is written/edited properly. Anyone can take the principle communicated here and apply it to themselves, even if it's for family life or work.

[Tj Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Multi-Directional Leader, Wax has given leaders a compass for navigating the rough and ever-changing terrain of faithful leadership in our culture.

[Adam Kareus · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short book on church leadership about the need not to be lopsided or unbalanced. It is insightful and a challenge to read.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Multi Directionality isn’t just an important mindset for leaders, but for all of us in a culture that is becoming more and more polarized.

[Kelton Zacharias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too brief - wish it had stayed in the oven for a few more months - but what it has is helpful!

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really helpful book for leaders navigating through the polarization of our times with godly wisdom and grace.