Leadership

“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 continue looking at the qualities of a church leader. In a previous blog we looked at the contentious requirement of a leader being male, as we read in the teaching of Paul to Timothy, and listed 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“. We also previously considered the requirement for a leader to be “above reproach”.

The next item on Paul’s list is the need for the leader to “exercise self-control”. This is the ability to manage emotions and impulses so that the person appears stable and reliable. He (or she) won’t react in response to a provocation. There will be no angry outbursts, or floods of tears. No going off in a huff. There may be turmoil internally, but the person externally is always in full control of their emotions. Surely this is a big ask, because we are all human. And a leader is no exception. At times of stress, or tiredness, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to always restrain our outward response to a situation. But Paul was clear – a leadership quality is being able to “exercise self-control”. Furthermore, Romans 8:9, “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all)”. The inclusion of the Holy Spirit in every aspect of our Christian living is essential, because without Him we will respond in a worldly way.

Paul wrote that a leader must be able to “live wisely”. That is a statement that is surely extremely broad in its scope. Paul wrote about living wisely to the Ephesian church. Ephesians 5:15-16, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days“. The implication of this verse is that we should live very carefully because the time in which we live is evil. I don’t think any of us would dispute Paul’s analysis! In Paul’s day he discerned evil. Today every time we watch or read the news, what do we find – evil. We hear evil talk on the bus, or in the workplace or school. We observe behaviour around us that is – evil. Living wisely, then, is to avoid and reject evil. Instead we should seek the opposite of evil, which is goodness. This is a lifestyle choice and one we should look for in what we do and how we do it. We worship a good God, and He has infused our society with goodness. And if we look for it, we will find it.

A good reputation is a necessary quality of a leader. Our reputations are gained by being law-abiding, gracious, kind, merciful, having integrity and honesty, all qualities that combine with others to enable those around us to look up to them. Sadly, the leaders in our societies, our politicians, so often fail to display a good reputation, and are regarded as rogues, to be voted out of office at the earliest possible opportunity. Occasionally, those who lose the “good reputation” badge can regain it, as did the UK politician Jonathan Aitken. But most leaders who fail to live up to the right standards disappear, never to be seen again.

A leader “must enjoy having guests in his home”. Hospitality is a necessary quality of a leader. A guest will see how the leader, and his family live together. Jesus taught about the importance of being hospitable in Matthew 25, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home” (Matthew 25:34-35). Hebrews 13:2, “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realising it“. And there are many others verses in the Bible promoting the importance of being hospitable; such a quality shines in a leader.

Lastly, in Paul’s list, is the importance of a leader being able to teach. This implies the ability of being able to communicate, and communicate well. Sharing a vision or goal, appropriate to the church, with enthusiasm and clarity, and with the authority that comes from a leadership position. Teaching in a Biblical sense didn’t always hit the mark though. Jesus was a good teacher and immediately His audience could discern the difference between His teaching and that of the scribes and teachers in the Jewish society. Mark 1:22, “The people were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike the teachers of religious law“. But we must always remember the responsibility placed upon those who teach. James 3:1, “Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly“. A teacher holds a position of great influence and has to be careful of what he or she teaches.

We pilgrims may or may not officially be leaders. But we may still have the motivational gift of teaching, a quality that will stand us well in the communities where we live and work.

Father God. Again we pray for our leaders, both in our societies and in the church. They have an awesome responsibility and need You to lead and guide them. Thank You. Amen.

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.

Leadership (2)

Leadership (1)