03.30.08
Leadership in the Bible
- Leadership in the Bible
- Leadership Structures in the Bible
- Leaders: Appointment and Accountability
Is there any significant move of God in all of Scripture in which He did not work through a core of spiritual leaders?
I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and the only place I can think of where spiritual leaders were not active was in Judges, where “every man did what was right in his own eyes.” This was not a positive portrait. There was a cycle throughout that book: when God raised up spiritual leaders the nation did well, but between those times they fell into sin and suffered oppression from heathen nations.
The message of the Bible is one of relationship and community from start to finish. Every person is significant. I confess I usually breeze right through the Bible’s long genealogies. There was, however, a Wycliffe Bible Translators missionary in a tribal location–I can’t remember where just now–who saved translating the genealogies in Matthew and Luke for last. When he finished them, the people said, “Why did you save the best for last?” They understood the importance of individuals–people whose contribution might otherwise have been forgotten.
Nevertheless, communities always gather around leaders. Modern business organizations often send potential leaders to “assessment centers,” which include a variety of exercises to test their aptitude. One exercise commonly used is the “leaderless group.” Eight to twelve people, with no one in charge, are given a task to accomplish together. Somebody always emerges as the leader–unless more than one person does, in which there may be conflict over who takes the lead. The point is that every group has a leader.
God has apparently ordained it that way, in view of the witness we have of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the Judges, Saul, David, Solomon, the rest of the kings, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, the prophets, John the Baptist, Peter, Paul, James, and most obviously Jesus Christ. The church is designed to operate under leaders. Paul considered it one of his first duties to appoint shepherds (Timothy and Titus are examples) and elders (as in Ephesus). In 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 he laid out the crucial qualifications for church leaders. These are worth quoting here:
I Timothy 3 (ESV)
[Qualifications for Overseers]
1The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.
[Qualifications for Deacons]
8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
In Titus 1, note how Paul made it a priority to make sure every church body had proper leaders in place:
[Qualifications for Elders]
This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
Acts 6 provides another qualification list, in which men of wisdom, full of the Holy Spirit, are given tasks to help administrate the church. And God calls us to give honor to our spiritual leaders:
Hebrews 13:7: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”
1 Timothy 5:17-19: “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,’ and, ‘The laborer deserves his wages.’ Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.”
Do we follow leaders blindly, then? Obviously not. Among the leaders listed above, not all were worthy–especially among the kings of Judah and Israel. The 1 Timothy 5 passage just cited recognizes that some leaders will face accusations. We can all name pastors–famous and not-so-famous–who have fallen.
The passage also warns us not to be rash about entertaining accusations, and to allow leaders some benefit of the doubt unless evidence of their failure is quite clear. This is not because leaders get special privileges, or because they should be allowed more freedom to err. Quite the opposite, in fact. It seems to me the reason Scripture calls us to be slower to accuse leaders is because they are in a uniquely vulnerable position. By virtue of their position, they are targets–targets for disagreement, for complaints, and for accusations. Scripture calls on God’s people to take some of that pressure off our shepherds. If they do succumb to sin, doctrinal error, or other leadership failures, they have further to fall than those who are not leaders. Most business organizations will not dismiss an employee who commits private sin on his or her time off. Churches certainly will–and rightly so, in many instances. Sin in spiritual leaders is very serious–which is all the more reason to be deliberate about how we handle it.
The sum of all this is that God leads through men and women He has uniquely called and positioned for the purpose. This is for the good of each member of the community and for the building up of all God’s people (Eph. 4). We can all grow in the gifts God has given us–and we can all grow in the leadership roles God has called us to, whatever those may be. God provides leaders to help us all get there.
This is not to say that everything depends on just one person. The Bible provides for church structures with leaders functioning at various levels with differing responsibilities. More on that next time…
