leadership

Church Leadership Series: Part 5: A Leader Must Teach

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he must be able to teach

1 Timothy 3: 2 (NLT)

He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong.

Titus 1: 9 (NLT)

I love to teach. I love preparing a lesson and then teaching it to a group of people, small or large. I love to see learners understanding a new idea or learning how to apply a truth they have just understood. To be a leader is to instill new ideas and ways of doing things in others who are coming after you. A church leader must be able to teach. This is one of the main ways to instill new ideas and practices in those whom you are leading. My automatic reaction to this verse is to think of teaching thoughts and ideas, of preaching and teaching scripture and discipling others through teaching in a class or sermon. But we all know that teaching is also about hands-on and practical learning.

Apprentices are always learning, but only part of their training is in the classroom. Much of the teaching they receive is active hands-on learning. Leaders in the church may be good classroom teachers, or they may not, but if they are teaching others in practical ways, then they are still teaching.

I find it interesting that in Titus we are told that the leader must have been taught first and must believe what he was taught. A teacher cannot teach what they do not know.

The key teaching in the church is the “trustworthy message” of the gospel. We have heard and now teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to others. As leaders we continue to encourage others to get to know the Jesus of the gospel, and to receive His life-giving forgiveness of sins as we put our faith in Him.

Church leaders are responsible to teach many things in the church, but it always needs to come back to the gospel message. Whether we are teaching others how to be an usher or how to do run the sound board, all of that is to help others continue to hear the gospel message.

Part of a leader’s responsibility is to “show those who oppose it where they are  wrong.” (Titus 1:9) It is not unusual to come across people that have not understood something correctly. Misunderstanding may be as serious as not understanding the forgiveness that Jesus offers to all who believe in Him, or something as simple as not following through on a certain responsibility they accepted. In either case, the leader’s job is to correct when correcting is necessary, and this is done by teaching and showing what the correct understanding is.

It is pretty much impossible to be a leader and not be able to teach. To lead is to be ahead of people in information or practices that somehow need to be passed on to those following. In the process of doing that, you are teaching. Yes, some are more gifted in teaching than others, but a leader will always be able to teach to some level.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

Church Leadership Series: Part 4: A Leader is Faithful to His Wife

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He must be faithful to his wife

1 Timothy 3: 2 (NLT) and Titus 1: 6 (NLT)

A church leader must be faithful to his wife – or her husband. Paul advises church leaders to remember their priorities. Yes, serving in the church is a good thing – a great thing even – but he warns them not to forget their responsibilities to their spouse as well. Many church leaders work full time jobs outside the church and serve the church with the left-over time they may have. Others work full time in the church as pastoral staff. It is easy to see the church work as being so important that you begin to neglect the person most important to you.

I am serving as a Transition Pastor which means I serve a church for about a year or so in preparation for their next full-time pastor. One of the things I like to do is work with the church to make a plan for the first 90 days of the new pastor’s ministry. I want to help them see the importance for balance in the pastor’s ministry. That same balance needs to be there for any church staff or volunteer. Remember that you need to consider your spouse and make time for them to.

Part of “faithfulness” to your spouse is giving them time too so you do not make them feel they are fighting the church for attention from you. Faithfulness involves giving them priority in your life.

Some versions of 1 Timothy 3: 2 are: “husband of one wife,” or even “man of one woman.” If you want to be a God-honouring church leader, you will protect your marriage. You will be committed to your spouse. You will protect that relationship and not let anyone else into that place that you hold for them.

It is the nature of church work that volunteers work closely with other volunteers. You pour your heart into what you are working on. You are dealing with spiritual issues, which sometimes become emotional issues. In the process, some leaders have begun to transfer feelings and thoughts they had for their spouse to the person they are working so closely with. Guard yourself against sharing too intimate details with someone who is not your spouse, especially if you are working with people from the opposite sex.

You can protect yourself from some of the dangers by doing a few simple things.

  • Never spend time alone with a person of the opposite sex

If you need to meet with someone in your office who is of the opposite sex, make sure your office is set up with windows that anyone walking by can see what is going on inside. Keep the door open. If that does not work, ask if you can have another person sit in on the conversation.

Don’t spend time working on projects with a person of the opposite sex. Invite others to work with you, or make sure that the work being done is out in the open where people are coming and going.  Protect yourself from any problems or perceived problems.

Never drive anywhere with only one person of the opposite sex in your car. Either take separate cars or invite another person to join you.

  • Tell your spouse everything.

Tell your spouse about what you are doing. When you are ever in a situation that may cause an issue, let your spouse know as soon as you can. The more open you are with your spouse the less you will be tempted in the wrong direction. Hiding things lets temptation grow, bringing them out in the open takes the power of that temptation away. And the more you share with your spouse, the more they will trust you as well.

  •  Set guidelines and policies.

The more that is made clear at the beginning, the easier it is to stay on track and protect your relationship with your spouse. Develop clear guidelines for your staff and volunteers to make sure you all understand your desire to protect relationships and marriages.

Church leaders, do everything you can to protect your marriage as you serve the church.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

Book Reviews: Andy’s 2023 Reading Experience

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I will be sharing a brief review of every book I read this year. Hope you enjoy and hope it encourages you to keep reading.

THE PASSIONATE CHURCH – by Mike Slaughter

Mike Slaughter draws on his United Methodist heritage and denominational connections to describe what a passionate church looks like. He addresses Four Areas of Focus as highlighted by the United Methodist Church: Developing Principled Christian Leaders, Engaging in Ministry for the Poor, Creating New and Renewed Congregations, and Improving Health. He does a great job of giving good examples for how each of these areas can become a real part of how a church does ministry. He uses examples from his own church in Ginghamsburg as well as from many others. What I love most about this book is the practicality of it. Passionate Church is a few years old now (2008), but the same questions can still be asked of our church and how we are living out our calling in our own communities.

Church Leadership Series: Part 3: The Hospitable Leader

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He must enjoy having guests in his home…

1 Timothy 3: 2 (NLT) and Titus 1: 8 (NLT)

I wonder how many leaders love the idea of leading people as long as it doesn’t intrude on their personal time? We are quite private people as a culture. We want our own space. We want a place to leave all our work behind and unwind after a long day. We want some “me time.” How does that align with today’s leadership lesson?

In both Timothy and Titus, we read that a church leader needs to “enjoy having guests in his home.” Most other translations just use the word “hospitality,” or “given to hospitality” (KJV). The New Living Translation interprets it in a certain way.

In Jewish circles, out of which the church grew, hospitality was a high value. We can understand the benefit when we remember that there were not many hotels or BnB’s available in ancient Israel. Travelers depended on the kindness of others to open their homes to them for the night. But I wonder, how does caring for travelers relate to church leadership today?

In the larger picture, hospitality is about caring for people in need. They may not be travelers passing through, but they could be others in your church or neighbourhood with unmet needs. Since Paul includes this characteristic of leadership in both Timothy and Titus, it is not likely that he slipped it in as an extra. He made sure to highlight it. So how do we apply it to our lives as leaders in the church?

If you are a hospitable leader, you care about people. You care about their needs. I just recently took in the Global Leadership Summit(GLS). It was interesting to see the theme of loving people under your leadership come up again and again. A good leader understands that leadership is not about just getting people to get the job done, but recognizing and caring for the people whom you are leading.

Yes, you might open your home and have them over for a meal or backyard barbecue. It might be a great experience for those you are leading to see a bit more of your life and to spend time together outside of the work setting.

A hospitable leader might be one who has an open-door policy. A closed door closes off relationships, but an open door says, “I invite you in to interrupt me because I want to help.” If there are times you need to block everyone out to focus on something, then make sure that you have certain times where your office is clearly open and accessible to your team or your church.

At the GLS, Craig Groeschel taught that leaders who want to build trust must be transparent. Hospitality might be one way to be transparent and open. If they feel free to pop in for a chat or to discuss some questions, their trust in you will increase. They will see that you care enough about them to stop whatever you are working on to listen and to connect with them.

If hospitality is about meeting needs, a leader may want to go out of his way to talk to volunteers in the church to see what needs they have that the leader could help with. Serving alongside a Sunday School teacher or the youth leader may be a way of sharing a bit of yourself with that volunteer, learning what they need and encouraging them in the role they serve.

A hospitable church leader should also recognize the opportunity to welcome guest to church in a way that makes them feel welcomed and loved. While this is not inviting guests into your home, it is inviting them to the church and its services. If guests are not greeted warmly, they may not connect enough to want to return.

A hospitable church leader may welcome guests into their home but will also go out of their way to meet the needs of the people around them: church members, volunteers, and people you encounter in the community.

To be a hospitable leader is to go out of your way to meet the needs of others and to love them.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

Church Leadership Series: Part 2: A Good Reputation

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So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach… He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation.

Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.

1 Timothy 3: 2, 7 (NLT)

An elder must live a blameless life.

Titus 1: 6 (NLT)

I have spent much of my life in small towns, towns where it seemed everyone knew who you were, especially if you were the new pastor in town. In smaller places, people know more about you than you realize. They see you around town, they hear the gossip about you. It doesn’t take long for a person to get a reputation. The thing about a reputation is that it can be good or bad, and while a reputation may be influence by others, you have a large part to play in the reputation you earn.

And often that is the case: you have earned your reputation. You have said things or done things that people saw or heard about later, which formed their opinion of you. Your reputation is one you should guard carefully. It is hard to reverse a bad reputation because first impressions make a huge impact.

The Bible tells us that church leaders need to have a good reputation. The two verses above tell us some of what that reputation should look like.

Timothy tells us the leader needs to live a life that is “above reproach” while Titus tells us the leader must live a blameless life. 1 Timothy talks about overseers and bishops, Titus addresses elders, but I will combine those to say they should influence all church leaders, whatever your role may be. If you are leading people, you need to have a good reputation. You need to be above reproach and live a blameless life.

Now, I want to be clear, I do not believe that you or I will lead a completely sinless perfect life, but we can live a life that is generally God-honoring. And when we give in to sin, whether privately or something others see, we address it quickly by confessing our sin, asking for forgiveness from all involved and make right what we can.

If you have a reputation for quickly trying to resolve issues, admitting when you have done wrong and looking to correct that, you may not be blameless, but you will have a reputation that says you long to do what is right. Choose that reputation and work towards it.

1 Timothy 3:2 shows us how to gain and maintain a good reputation: “exercise self-control, live wisely.” Self-control means we are in control of our self. That sounds so simple and yet is so difficult. We so easily allow the actions and words of others to affect how we act. When someone accuses us of poor leadership or belittles something we have poured a lot of time and energy and prayer into, it is easy to respond with frustration and anger. We are called to control our selfish response and love them. Further, we need to recognize that our value is not found in the approval of others but in the approval of God. “Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. (1 Thessalonians 2:4) Self-control must be a self controlled by the God we serve, a submitted heart helps self-control to work.

And then we come to the phrase: “live wisely”. If you desire a good reputation, you need to live wisely, and lead wisely. You need to be careful about what you say and do so that you are seen as someone who is living wisely.

It might be good to be silent and listen more often rather than be quick to speak and end up saying something that is not good. All of us probably have memories of saying something we would like to take back. It may have been said in jest or in anger but did not reflect “living wisely”. Take care that your words and actions reflect wise living.

If you desire to be a church leader, as a volunteer leading a program or as a pastor, guard your reputation. It’s quite okay if people talk about me when they are saying good things, it’s another when they are passing along negative gossip. And unfortunately, the hurtful gossip spreads quickly. Do your part to squash the negative gossip by living in such a way that it has no element of truth in it.

A church leader needs to have a good reputation.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

Church Leadership Series – Part 1: An Honourable Position

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Introduction To Series:

There are many leaders in the church, from volunteers to paid staff to elders and pastors. While the Bible seems to speak most directly to elders and pastors in Timothy and Titus, Paul speaks to anyone who is in leadership in the church and in Christian ministry as a whole. I believe it is valuable to explore what the Bibl3 says about church leadership and these various roles, and want to give good time and space to do so. As such, this is the first post of a series on this subject.

An Honourable Position

You may have heard the perspective that no one should be too quick to jump into a leadership position at church. They say things like: “If you were reluctant to become a pastor, that is better than someone who has desired it for a long time.” They seem to think that it is a good display of humility to drag our feet a little in becoming a pastor. Yet when we look at 1 Timothy 3: 1 we read, “If someone aspires to be a church leader, he desires an honourable position.” Not only is it an honourable or noble role in the church, it is honourable to desire to fulfill that role.

Church leadership is a position of great responsibility and great privilege.

Some translations of scripture describe the position referred to above as “overseer” or “bishop.” This person takes on a role of leading people in a certain direction. Paul is an example of this when he writes  “And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11: 1). While a church leader might teach a class or lead a program, a large part of their leadership is leading by example. People who spend time with a church leader will likely become a little like the leader they follow.

There are many different aspects of the leader’s role, but I specifically want to remind us that it is a role that is an honourable position because it helps point others to Christ and a relationship with Him. The honourable part is that the leader has chosen to move past being a disciple to being a disciple-maker. They are now pouring into others in the same way that others have given to their spiritual growth.

In the Old Testament, prophets spoke God’s words to the people and priests went before God on behalf of the people. While church leaders today do not fulfill those specific roles, leaders do have the honourable position of speaking God’s words to those they lead and to bring those who follow before God in prayer. In a small way, a church leader acts like a bridge between God and His people, introducing them to Jesus Christ, the one “true bridge” who made it possible to have a relationship with God in the first place. This is the great privilege of leadership, that we get to help others grow in their relationship with God through a growing faith in Jesus Christ!

How is it an honourable pursuit?

To desire to be a leader, specifically a church leader, is to desire to help others to grow. What better pursuit is there than to help people grow in their faith in God and their relationship with Jesus Christ? We should long for many more individuals to step into church leadership, as both volunteers and paid full-time servants. We should pray for others in our own churches and Christian circles to recognize God’s call on their lives and step up to what that call may be. It is important to recognize that not every leader is called to lead in the church – godly leaders are needed in the business or political world as well, but it is an honourable position to pursue in the church.

As leaders who are already serving and leading, we need to look for ways to continually invite others into this honourable position. Let’s give others opportunities to try to learn and grow as leaders. And let’s thank God for how He chooses to use church leaders to impact so many others for Christ.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

Allowing The Bible To Guide Our Leadership

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Many issues arise in our world today because of our search for the answer to the question: What is the truth? Theological issues may come about when we search for answers in teachings we have not heard before. Political issues can begin when we as Christians question what our place is in politics or responding to decisions our governments make. Moral and lifestyle issues are often found when the church is unsure how to respond to what is becoming acceptable in the world around us and even in the church that has historically not been accepted. What is the truth?

While there are many today who pretend we can have different truths to guide us, truth doesn’t work that way. If I am driving down the highway and decide that my truth is that I am in England so I will drive on the left-hand side of the yellow line, my truth will be quickly confronted by another truth when the traffic in that lane comes hurtling towards me. That is a silly simple example, but the fact is, what we believe about things makes a difference, and impacts our relationship with others. Truth, as God has laid it out, affects all of us.

As people of God, and as leaders of churches, we need to recognize that our answers need to be found in God’s Word. His Truth must be upheld in our churches. I do understand that sometimes we need to do some work to determine how God’s truth impacts the questions we face. But our answers should be informed by God’s Word – the Bible.

How might we find answers in the Bible?

Read the Bible.

The first priority to actually read the Bible. Read it regularly and search it for answers to your questions.

As you read, ask God, through the Holy Spirit, to give you correct understanding of what you are reading. We recognize that the Bible is more than a story book, though it contains many stories. Whether we are reading biblical stories, or a teaching section, or even some of the poetic books like Psalms and Proverbs, we want God to help us understand what the truth is and how it applies to my life and to the church where I serve as a leader.

Consult with others on difficult passages or topics.

We are blessed to have the results of many experts at our fingertips. We can find commentaries where others have worked through scripture and give their expert opinions. We can make use of tools that help with word studies and guide us through some of the definitions of the original language. We can read books by people who are struggling through some of the same questions we are. We cannot interpret scripture completely on our own, there is importance in reading scripture in community. Whether we agree or disagree, there is benefit in seeing how others have processed biblical truth in light of this topic. I’m presently reading a great book on how to respond biblically to those living a gay lifestyle. There are many other topics that others have been able to work through in more detail than we have so we can learn from them. Just make sure their teaching is arrived at by careful study of scripture.

And one of the simplest ways to consult others is to have conversations with others in your church as you work through scripture to find the answers you need. Find some other believers and read the Bible together. Work through scripture as a leadership team and ask God to guide you to the correct understanding and application.

Do what it says.

The hardest part of allowing the Bible to guide our leadership, is to then do something about what it says. If it means leadership needs to confront false teachers or people living contrary to truth in your church, then do it. If it means changing policies on how volunteers are screened, then change the policies. If it means teaching the church what it means to live out truth and love in light of Gods Word, then teach your church that.

If we are going to allow the Bible a prominent role in church leadership, then we need to make sure we read it regularly. We need to do the work of understanding it clearly, and then we need to follow through on what God is asking us to do as a result.

If we are Christian leaders, whether in the church or elsewhere, our leadership must be informed by the truth of God’s Word.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

The Benefits of Scheduling Events on Your Calendar Regularly

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How do you remember meetings and appointments you have scheduled? As church leaders, we are often busy enough with our own families and work lives that we can easily forget some of our responsibilities at church. We have many options available to us if we want to keep track of our schedules. We can go old-school with a day timer or paper calendar. We can use calendars on our phones and computers. We can set alarms that remind us of an upcoming event. The problem is, these are no good unless you actually use them.

I recently talked with a church board who had just about missed planning a tradition in their church. Every Father’s Day, people would bring pies to share after church. This was tradition. Someone always reminded people and made sure it happened.  

This year, personnel had changed and no one remembered until the Friday before the special day. As a result, a few people were scrambling the day before to make sure everything was in place. If this event had gotten on the right calendar, it may have caused a lot less stress.

So what can we do? And what needs scheduling? Here are a few thoughts on scheduling and setting reminders ahead of time.

  • Choose a system of scheduling that works for you.

It doesn’t matter which system you use, the important thing is to choose one that you will continually use. Don’t use more than one system because then something is likely to fall through the cracks. 

  • Chart everything.

For me, I put everything on my calendar in my phone. When I say everything, I mean everything. All meetings are written there, whether board meetings, or board responsibilities. For bigger events, you may want to break down deadlines for parts of it to be done by earlier dates.

  •  Set reminder alarms

Often, I not only put the event at the correct date and time, I also put an alarm to remind me ahead of time so I can make sure I will be prepared and on time.

  •  Scheduling helps planning

Marking everything on your calendar allows you to also plan ahead for preparation time. Because I know of events far in advance, I know when to delegate certain aspects to other volunteers on my team. And of course, scheduling helps reduce conflicts because you know not to plan another event at the same time.

  •  Your calendar helps you say no

One value of charting everything on the same calendar is that you can see when you are getting overwhelmed and need to say no to something. If you don’t have everything – your work schedule and personal life – on your personal calendar, you may not realize how busy you are with both parts of your life at the same time. You do not need to feel guilty because you know you do not have time to take on anything else.

  • Watching your activities helps you see where you spend your time

We are not always aware of how we are spending our time. We get caught up in doing what needs to be done. When you look at your calendar and see that you are spending a large portion of your time doing things that have nothing to do with your vision, you need to adjust your activities. If you notice that an overwhelming amount of time is spent on work, and you are missing out on family time, you need to adjust your schedule.

Setting reminders of appointments and meetings and events can help you be more prepared for them, as well as help you see where you need to adjust your priorities.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

The Protecting Role of the Leader

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Few leadership books address the protecting role of a leader. Yet, if you are a leader, you a responsibility to protect those who are following you from distractions that will stop them from following you or moving toward your vision. Business leaders, too, must ensure that they are aware of outside forces that might derail those under their leadership from pursuing their purpose and vision. This might happen in various ways, such as someone speaking negatively about you and the goal you are pursuing or the distractions of life that keep your team from being fully focused on the task at hand.

Church leaders – pastors and elders – need to understand their protective role too. Even as they are looking to help people grow in their knowledge of and love for God, they need to be aware of the influences that can undermine their leadership. Let’s consider a few influences that a church leader may need to protect their congregation from.

False teaching

Much of the church leader’s role teaching. The church needs to be taught about who God is, how to love and obey Him, and how to communicate with Him in prayer. Leaders use the Bible as their main teaching tool and the basis for all they believe.

False teaching is ideas and teachings that conflict with scripture. If a church is begins to follow false teachings, church leadership should steer them back to the truth of scripture. Church leaders need to recognize when someone within the church is misleading people and needs to be corrected or even removed.

False teaching can also creep in from the world. Our culture influences us all as we live in it. In the same way the early church lived within a culture that often opposed Jesus’ teachings, there are some things being taught and accepted in our culture that are in direct opposition to God and His Word. For example, it is not okay to end a pregnancy just because it is seen as an inconvenience. God is clear that all life is precious and He is the only one who can determine the end of someone’s life. Similarly, euthanasia is becoming common in Canada, where you can choose to end your life medically, for a number of reasons. Again, life is precious and only God can determine the end of someone’s life. Church leaders need to remind their church of what God teaches in the Bible so they can recognize when what they hear or see does not match up to God’s Word.

Attempts to derail the vision

The church exists to help people love God and love others. To do this, many churches have an agreed-upon vision that guides them. They have spent time praying and talking together and gaining an understanding of the needs of their community. As a result, they have come up with a vision that is their response to the needs around them. It is important for churches to adhere to this vision. For example, if you are a church that believes your main role is to reach out to the poor in your community, then protect your church from those who are pushing for you to do more to reach the professionals in your town. No matter what your vision is, there will be some who do not agree or fully buy in. There may also be some who deliberately try to derail that vision and cause confusion in your midst. You need to protect your congregation from that confusing voice. Questions and debate have their place, but you want to make sure that people have a clear understanding where you are going and why.

Busy people

Churches often fall into the habit of making people busy in the church with all kinds of activities. Church leadership needs to recognize when some of the good things going on need to be removed. Leadership needs to protect people from busyness that prevents them from being able to participate in pursuing the church’s vision.

There are times church leaders need to make some very difficult decisions about what ministries need to be cut so people have time to do what is more important.

Satan

Of course, the one who truly wants to mess with the church, with the followers of Jesus who make up that church, is the evil one – Satan. He has messed with people right from the time of Adam and Eve until now, trying to confuse us and doing all he can to make us wander away and deny God. Church leaders need to protect their people from Satan’s attacks. They need to regularly pray a covering over their church. They need to remind people that we do not fight against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers of the unsee world. Even when people are doing wrong and causing disruption in the church, it is Satan who is behind their actions.

Church leaders, you have a role of protecting your people, even as you lead them. Be aware of what is going on and when you need to confront or speak up about where people are being misled. Ask God for wisdom and discernment in the process so you can recognize when danger arises and how to combat it.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

Am I Qualified for Church Leadership?

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Leadership within the church is similar to leadership anywhere, because it is leading people. Yet it is quite unique in that you are asked to lead people on a lifelong journey toward Christ. This is not about building a business, though some business ideas can work in a church as it grows. This is not about pushing your personal brand or a personal vision that your employees all work toward. Instead, church leadership is first about God, and secondly, about people. It is about God’s vision for the world and His specific vision for your church in the part of the world where you are located. God’s vision is about drawing all people to Himself. It is about helping others to come to know God and pursue holy living.

When you are first elected to your position on a leadership board at your church, you may wonder if you really belong there. 1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus 1:6–9 are two examples of scripture that identify the qualifications of an elder. Basically, these say that an elder must show evidence of a relationship with God through faith in Jesus and filling of the Holy Spirit, as well as evidence of being a leader already, specifically in your own home.

None of us is perfectly Holy. None of us is exactly like God or as good as God. We are humans, saved by grace, and pursuing a relationship with Jesus that helps us become more like Him every day. But none of us can say to those following us, those in the rest of the church: “If you do exactly what I do, or live exactly like me, then you will be good.” All of us have faults. All of us are attacked or influenced by Satan and his various means of tempting us. It is important that we realize we are not perfect. This will help us have more patience when working with others who are also not perfect.

There is a big difference between those who are walking toward Christ and those who are walking away from Christ. There are some people who will declare they are Christians and may have prayed a prayer at some point in their life, but who are regularly and continually walking away from Jesus. These are people who are living with a certain sin and have found a way to live with it and be okay with it. And they want others to agree that it isn’t really that bad. There are most likely some in your church, but hopefully not on your leadership board.

There are some Christians who are clearly walking toward Christ. They are trying to become more like Jesus every day. They spend time with him in prayer and talk with him and listen to him regularly. These are people who recognize how sinful they still are, but who keep getting back up after each stumble in sin, ready to pursue Christ again. These are the people who love Jesus and want others to come to love Him as well. Does this sound like you? Then I would think you may very well be a candidate for leadership in the church.

We must recognize we are not perfect, and yet we are pursuing Christ. What else might make someone a good candidate for leadership? This might sound wrong, but often good leaders are ones who have not sought it out. They haven’t been campaigning the nominating committee or tried to show they knew better than the existing leaders. These are the ones who recognize how far they come short from the holiness of God. These are the Christians who recognize they have so much to learn. But these humble and gracious individuals are great for the board because they will never lord it over anyone. Some boards love the power and take advantage of people because of their position. A leader who is hesitant and not clamoring for attention will probably be a much kinder leader.

A leader in the church should also believe that God has asked them to serve in this position. While not a personal attribute that qualifies a person, there should be no doubt in a church leader’s mind that they are there because God wants them there. This may be affirmed by God speaking in whatever way He speaks to that person: highlighting a verse in Scripture, or a voice, or an impression, or even just the belief that God is guiding the membership as they elected that person to this position.

Sure, it might be nice to have some leaders who have Bible education, or who have experience, or who have natural charisma that draws people to them, those are not necessarily what makes a leader in the church. First, Love God with your whole heart and serve him, second, love people with a humble heart, and third, trust that God has placed you where you are. While there could be many other qualities we may look for in a church leader, these are key.

Are you a church leader? Lead with humble service before God, with the best in mind for the rest of the church, and with a deep faith that God will enable you to do your best where He has placed you.

Serve well, and keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe