Why We Can’t Lead Like Pharaoh

Relearning Church Leadership from the Desert, Not the Palace

Moses had the right heart. He wanted to see his people free. He felt called, stirred, pulled toward justice and leadership. And so he tried.

He saw injustice, stepped in, took action—and it blew up.

He had the right calling but the wrong paradigm.
The right desire, but the wrong playbook.

Because Moses had grown up in Pharaoh’s house.
He’d learned leadership in the palace.
And you can’t lead people to freedom using Pharaoh’s tools.

When Moses ran into the wilderness, it probably felt like failure.
But God was doing something deeper.

He wasn’t being rejected—he was being re-formed.
God was preparing a different kind of leader.
Not one who ruled with force, but one who would lead like a shepherd.

Day by day, Moses wandered the desert with sheep.
He watched. Waited. Fought off threats. Learned to live slow.

And here’s the kicker: it worked.
By the time God spoke through a burning bush, Moses was different.

Gone was the self-assured leader.
In his place: a hesitant, humble man who had been reshaped by solitude, slowness, and silence.
And that was exactly who God could use.

What About Us?

Here’s what’s been stirring in me lately:
Most pastors I know have the right heart.
They’re not in this for ego or power. They love people. They want to serve.

But paradigms? That’s a different story.

Many of us have been formed by Pharaoh's playbook without even realising it.
We’ve soaked in CEO models, business strategies, growth tactics.

Not that they’re all bad—some are helpful.
But when they become the dominant imagination of leadership in the Church, we lose something vital.

We become religious entrepreneurs.
Brand managers.
Shopkeepers.

Eugene Peterson didn’t hold back on this. He wrote:

“The pastors of America have metamorphosed into a company of shopkeepers... preoccupied with shopkeepers’ concerns—how to keep the customers happy, how to lure customers away from competitors down the street, how to package the goods so that the customers will lay out more money.”
— The Pastor: A Memoir

That line hits hard.
Not because it’s mean. But because it’s painfully accurate.

We want to be effective.
We want to lead well.
We want to guide people toward the promise God has for them.

But we can’t do it with Pharaoh’s mindset.

Leadership in the Kingdom looks more like shepherding than strategy.
More like presence than performance.
More like faithfulness than flash.

We don’t need more kings.
We need more shepherds.
We need to return.

Want More?

This post is adapted from a chapter in a book I’m working on…Returning Church — a call to rediscover a more beautiful, biblical, and Spirit-led imagination for the Church.

If you're a pastor, leader, or just someone who loves the Church but feels a bit worn out by what it's become — this book is for you.
Stay tuned, or reach out if you want to be part of the early reader group.