This is a guest post by Brad Herndon. Interested in contributing to BeDeviant.com? Check out the details here.

Lately when I’ve asked people about growing churches with strong leaders that I want to hear more about, the phrase “cult of personality” seems to be popping up more than it used to (always preceded by “it’s a little bit” as if to cushion the criticism).

Some personality-driven churches I can recognize a mile away (LED billboards with the pastor’s face lit up =  dead giveaway), but less obvious ones make me wonder, is the problem with leaders, or is it in our skepticism of them?

We leave and criticize churches whose leaders don’t lead, but we’re uncomfortable with church leaders (especially those down the street from us) who lead with strength and charisma.

We love and download Andy Stanley, John Piper, Matt Chandler, Mark Driscoll, Bill Hybels, Erwin McManus, Craig Groeschel (insert your favorite pastor-crush here)—all of whom are great lead pastors with big personalities and bigger churches—but when a new church comes on the scene with a dynamic leader, why do we tend to say “it’s a little bit of a cult of personality.”

Just wondering, where’s the balance?