On Church Leadership

By church here we mean a group of believers who gather together regularly and by leadership we mean those who for whatever reason are “in charge” of such a group.

So having got that out of the way lets begin by looking at the model of leadership in the Old testament (or Tanakh to give it its Hebraic name).

Appointments

Its important to note that God chose the leaders. A while after Israel was formed as a nation by God and they had entered the promised land, leaders chosen by God called appropriately “Judges” arose to lead the people either to protect them from attacking enemies or to guide them in worshiping God and observing His laws which brought peace to their land. E.g Samson, Deborah and Gideon being the most well known but there were many others. Judges 3:10 implies the Spirit of God operated through them and like Ehud and Deborah they also prophesied.

After the judges we hear the phrase “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” Then we hear that Eli was serving as high priest but God did not speak much in those days (presumably because of the sins of Eli and his sons). Then Eli was given Samuel to serve by his side and Samuel heard from God. So Samuel when he grew up led the people of Israel and God was with Samuel however when he got old he appointed his sons to lead but they were wayward and the people looked at the nations around them and they asked for a king. God said to Samuel “it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king“. Note God was meant to be their king. So God gave them a king – Saul, and it is not a coincidence that Saul recognised his low standing. 1 Samuel 9:21 – A trait we might call humility. funnily enough Moses was known as the most humble man in all the earth. Look at Gideon’s credentials in Judges 6:15. So we see how important humility is to God, especially in a leader. Look at Gideon’s response when after his success in defeating the Midianites the people asked him to rule over them. Judges 8:23 …“I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.”… Now that’s the kind of leader that God chose.

Lets take a step back and note that there had been established by God a priestly line in Israel called the Levites and the priests helped Israel to obey God’s commands and so guided the people and made decisions at times by way of the Urim and Thummin (similar to casting lots but with the understanding that God was guiding the outcome) In the absence of hearing from God these were used to guide decisions but as kings were introduced to Israel the role of the prophets replaced these instruments and God spoke to the people and the kings through the prophets who passed on what God had said to them. Samuel was one of these prophets.

Ok, so we have seen how God chose leaders and empowered them to do His will. Is the new testament any different? No, its not. Look at how Jesus chose His disciples. He called them personally and we know Jesus did not choose the Pharisees or the teachers of the law, and look how the disciples, in turn, chose leaders for the flock when Jesus left them to return to the right hand of the Father. At first before they received the Holy Spirit, the disciples chose a replacement for Judas by drawing lots (a kind of Urim and Thummin event). After they received the Holy Spirit it was a matter of listening to Him. Acts 20:28 makes it clear the Holy Spirit appoints leaders. God usually confirms their appointment with power from the Holy Spirit to guide and teach them the way they should go. In the new testament the apostles selected those who were full of the Holy Spirit amongst other qualifications just to “wait on tables” how much more those who would lead the flock. Paul gives advise that should be followed as he is speaking through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Titus 1:6 An elder must be blameless, the husband of one wife, with faithful children who cannot be charged with dissipation or rebellion. and 1 Timothy 3:12 Deacons must be husbands of one wife and good managers of their children and their own households. And Jesus said in Mark 10:42-45 So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Accountability

So moving on from appointments lets look at how leaders are called to account – accountability. When leaders make mistakes and stop listening to the Holy Spirits promptings to correct them, how should they be corrected, biblically speaking? At this point they can’t correct themselves because they cannot see that they are in error. If you are a leader where is your accountability? are you the one who decides if you are in error?

If a leader was in error in the Old testament God used prophets (people who hear and speak for God) to correct them. e.g. like Nathan the prophet spoke to king David about his adultery. It’s the same in the new testament, God gave some to be prophets, they are the eye of the body of Christ on earth and possibly the ear as well. In terms of correction if a leader is in error then some say that they will be corrected by the congregation or fellowship but if they have stopped listening to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and if they don’t listen to God’s correction then why in the world would they listen to the fellowship or congregation (what makes the fellowship qualified to point out error anyway) – That’s why God gave some to be prophets. Leaders should have access to prophets or vice versa really. God can and does rebuke leaders today through prophets and no one should say that the gift of prophecy has passed. Every Christian has the right to hear from God but not all are called to speak forth for God.

Several denominations such as but not limited to Anglican or Catholic have a hierarchy or leadership structure which allows complaints to be directed to those above the leaders concerned e.g to bishops, archbishop, pope etc., This is better than most man made systems but still falls short of God’s way unless the Archbishop or Pope are prophets and hear from God.

Warnings

A word of warning about errors. The devil goes for leaders to push them into error as they can sway a lot of people. That’s why we have to pray for our leaders and this is another reason why teachers/masters The Greek word implies one who instructs in the things of God – (according to Strongs dictionary of Greek words) will be judged more harshly. In my understanding an erring leader (in fact any Christian) can expect God’s discipline. Which brings me to another point.
The devil can and will use anyone available (including compromised Christians) to bring division in Christ’s body. Jesus prayed for unity in John 17:23. If we don’t teach Christians about the “wiles” of the devil they will not be able to put on the full armour of God. What commander of an army wants to go into battle with some of his troops unprepared and without full armour? Now division is not the same as disagreements. There are disagreements that lead to division and those that don’t and the most influential factor is how the leader handles disagreements. If you want to know the worst way – Its to ignore the problem and dismiss the disagreeing person as well. Some mistakenly think if you give the grievance no air time then it will go away.

One of the most notable areas that leaders are vulnerable to is pride. They’re more vulnerable because of their position of perceived authority. Pride can grow and creep up on one and we are the worst person to see that in ourselves. If you are a leader do you have a close friend who can share what they see in you that needs correcting and its best if that friend hears from God on a regular basis. If you are approachable then that will be easy. If you are not then you won’t know. Here is a clue, when was the last time anyone felt able to question or criticise you to your face? e.g. “Joe, I think you are gifted but you just take too long to make decisions”! or “Fred you are always too busy, have you considered delegating anything”? Chances are if you don’t ever hear criticism then you are not approachable. Jesus heard a lot of criticism “Wine biber”, “glutton”, “friend of sinners”… Jesus is approachable even if the criticism is wrong. Do you dismiss criticism or welcome it as an opportunity?

Another area that the devil likes to exploit is sexual immorality, especially if one is a leader. We should not be deceived into thinking that we are pure and holy because we haven’t “done” anything wrong. It is plainly clear from Jesus’s words not to even look lustfully on another that the thought life must be in check. Job was a “blameless and upright” man who shunned evil and even he had to make a covenant with his eyes not to look lustfully on a young woman. If we are honest, we are far less upright than Job and if we can’t admit that then we may have fallen into the trap of pride and make no mistake, we are NOT the best person to judge if we are in pride.

Another area to watch out for is gossip and back biting and character assassinations, then being economical with the truth and after that the fear of losing control (which if you are a leader should be given to God).

If you are a leader can I ask you a question? Do you continuously evaluate how much you learned from the pulpit or college was “correct” I urge you to give your Bible readings to God to show you new things from His word and correct any error that might have crept in.