“In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”
Romans 12:6-8 NLT
We all know what qualities we like to see in a leader. We look for integrity, charisma, fairness, enthusiasm, competence, and so on. We also know that some people are born to be leaders, but most are followers. Another fact is that there are many leaders out there who shouldn’t be in such a role, because they lack the necessary abilities and qualities. Paul wrote to his son in the faith, Timothy, and pointed out to him the sort of qualities a church leader should have. We read them in 1 Timothy 3:2, “So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach“.
Paul starts by making a statement that is contentious in mainstream Christian organisations, that a church leader must be male. David Pawson, the controversial Bible teacher, who sadly died recently, wrote a book “Leadership is Male” that reflected a view that was totally based on his understanding of the Scriptures. In his autobiography “Not So Bad As The Truth” he wrote, ”My second ‘reactionary’ belief is of male leadership, in the church and the home. I believe it is a God-given role and responsibility, not a question of superiority at all. God made us male and female, with distinct and complementary functions. The current trend to blur and even obliterate the distinction, both inside and outside the church, owes more to the spirit of the secular age than the Holy Spirit”. Pawson’s belief was founded on a fundamental interpretation of Scripture, not only shared by him, but we won’t dwell on this point – we each have to make up our own minds.
A church leader must have the quality of being “above reproach”. In other words, the person must not live a life that lacks integrity or honesty. He (or she) must behave in a way that is an example to their followers. So it would not do their reputation much good, if they are caught shoplifting or even speeding. Such behaviour would disqualify them from leadership. In the 1990’s, the Assemblies of God evangelist, Jimmy Swaggart, was found to have visited prostitutes. His high profile confession and subsequent events were well reported at the time, and the incident led to his withdrawal from ministry. Such behaviour fails to meet the quality of being “above reproach”. But before we take the moral high ground, we must remember that we are all sinners. It’s just that some people are more vulnerable to media scrutiny.
The next quality of a church leader, as listed by Paul, is that he must be faithful to his wife. Obvious really, because much of a church leader’s ministry is about relationships. How can a leader preach or teach about the family, if his own is in ruins? A pastor who cannot manage his own family must have a question mark hanging over him. Some years ago, I heard of a pastor whose wife left him to form a relationship with another man. As far as I am aware, he did what he could to rescue the situation, but without success. So he left the ministry, traumatised and sad. There was always the possibility that some of the blame for the situation would rest with him regardless of the circumstances.
Dear Father. We pray for our leaders, that You will be with them day by day, guiding them in all truth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 