The Power of Inauthenticity

I watched an interview with a famous preacher recently. It was okay, but there were two answers he gave that caused my brain to hemorrhage just a little.

• Asked, “Do you ever have any doubts?” he responded, “No.”
• Asked, “Has your marriage ever gone through difficult times?” the response was … no.

You’re telling me this guy has never had any doubts the existence of God, or God’s care and provision, or the Bible? And he and his wife have never gone through a tough stage in their marriage?

I guess it may be true, and I hope it is true, buy my immediate gut level reaction was: You’re lying. And if you’ll lie about that, what else would you lie about?

I talk a lot about the power of authenticity, but this is the power of inauthenticity. My guess is that this guy comes from the perspective that leaders are supposed to be perfect, and for him to admit a fault would make people question his leadership. But the reality is just the opposite. We all assume that no one is perfect, and so if you act like you are, then we question your leadership.