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“And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’” Matthew 9:37
We, at Christian Covenant Community, see this scripture as our mandate from God to raise up leaders that are equipped and effective in bringing in God’s harvest. This is our responsibility, not only in obedience to God, but also to a lost world that desperately needs Christian leaders that will impart Jesus, not religion, to the communities in which we live and work. (Ephesians 4:11-16)
We see the need for leaders in all areas of ministry. We need pastors who will lead church planting teams, support staff, youth workers, music ministry teams, men and women ministry leaders, and even construction leaders. Whatever ministry God has called us to, He expects us to do it with excellence because we represent Him in our actions as well as with our words.
Leadership qualifications boil down to two issues:
1. Knowing and following God.
2. Denying one’s self.
Our aim here is to help others know how to practically walk out these principles as they apply to leadership. After much prayer and meditation, we believe that there are three specific areas that need to be addressed: Godly character, proper attitudes and motives, and walking in wisdom. Obviously, one cannot expect to see all of these areas perfectly functioning in one’s life before he or she could expect to be used of God. If that were necessary, there would be very few doing little of anything. Our intention is not to bring others to perfection in these areas before they can be used, but rather to have these as goals to be working towards, thus making all of us more useful servants for our God.
Please note that the qualifications that God has prescribed for those in leadership deal with a person’s willingness and ability to represent God’s nature. God calls us to diligently study His Word to develop a greater understanding of His character, His vision, and His purposes that we might become the image of Him and teach others to do likewise. There is a greater emphasis on moral character, personal integrity, and on a willingness to be faithful and responsible, than there is on academics. It is these areas that we are focusing on here.
It is important that each of us carefully and prayerfully consider the following guidelines listed under each of these areas. Without personal application and prayer for the Holy Spirit’s purifying work in our lives, these guidelines will be simply head knowledge and accomplish little.
1. A leader must have a growing relationship with God. (John 17:3) They must be open to God’s Spirit challenging them in their personal life, and they need to be hearing God’s voice and receiving impressions from Him that are consistent with the guidelines of Scripture. A healthy fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and is necessary for leadership.
2. Leaders must believe that God has called them into leadership and be willing to go through the process of being raised up.
3. A leader must be a team player, be submitted to their church’s leadership, and be actively discipled by other mature brothers or sisters in Christ. (They must be able and willing to flow along in the same vision of their home church. We require those being trained for leadership to participate in our Basic Principles class. This not only teaches basics truths, but also insures an understanding of our church’s vision and beliefs.)
4. A leader must have his household finances in order, and have a working plan to get out of debt. (Romans 13:8)
5. A demonstration of trust in God through honoring Him with a weekly tithe to the local church where they are accountable and are receiving discipleship is expected of those in leadership. (Malachi 3:8-12; Luke 16:11-12)
6. Leaders should have a burden to reach the lost and be witnessing to those God brings across their path. A leader should have followers; are they attracting others to Jesus?
7. Leaders need to be worshipers who freely express their love to God in Biblical worship. (Romans 1:16)
8. There should be obvious success in other areas of the lives of those in leadership, which would demonstrate their ability and willingness to complete commitments with excellence. (I Peter 2:12) Faithful execution of present responsibilities should be evident. If they are not fulfilling the responsibilities they already have been given, they should not be entrusted with more. (Luke 16:10) This becomes very practical, even in areas like being on time for church.
9. Leaders should express a willingness to learn and have a humble, teachable spirit. (James 4:6) Pride keeps one from being teachable.
10. A willingness to serve, even at their own expense, must be demonstrated by those in leadership. (Philippians 2:1-4)
11. Leaders need to be willing to go anywhere and serve in any way needed. (Mark 10:42-45).
12. A leader must give himself to become the type of leader described in I Timothy 3:1-13. Acts 6:3 also gives some Biblical qualifications for leadership: good reputation, being full of the Spirit, full of wisdom.
1. Leadership is not to be used as a tool for bolstering a poor self-image. A godly leader does not live for the applause of men. Leadership is to be an opportunity to serve others, not to meet our own needs. It is not to be used to gain attention for ourselves.
2. Leaders see needs that others do not see, and they are willing to fill those needs, no matter how humble the task may be. A good leader will not ask someone else to do something that they themselves would not be willing to do if they were able.
3. To be a leader requires that a price be paid. It often requires more guts than what glory is given in return.
4. A leader should be interested in the perspectives of those who follow him, but their opinions should not control his decisions. A leader is to lead. (Mark 1: 35-39)
5. A leader needs to understand the significance of times and seasons. (Mark 1:9-15; I Chronicles 12:32)
6. A leader must also be a follower. If he cannot walk in submission to those in authority over him, he is not prepared to lead others. If he does not have other brothers in his life that he is accountable to, then he will likely lead others astray.
7. Leadership in the local church is to be built upon confidence in relationships; therefore, it will take time in order for trust in those relationships to be built.
8. It is said that if you want others to bleed, you have to hemorrhage. To be a leader requires passion and commitment that excels others.
9. Leaders are willing to do the work of preparation in their own lives before thinking that they are ready to be leading others. Proverbs 18:16 tells us that a man’s gift makes room for him. One does not have to force his way into leadership, but rather wait for God to put him into that position.
10. Leadership should not be the basis for church attendance, but regular attendance should precede assuming positions of leadership.
11. Leadership requires you to be genuine, not simply religious.
12. Leadership requires you to learn to balance accepting people where they are at, while urging them on to raise their standard of Christ-likeness in their own lives.
1. Taking offense is one of Satan’s greatest tools for destroying relationships. God said offenses will come (Luke 17:1), but unless we learn to deal with them in a godly way and get past them, we will never be good leadership material. The reason we hold on to an offense is also the main reason we become disqualified for leadership – our un-relinquished pride.
2. Your marriage and the way you raise your children will be the greatest reflection of your leadership ability. God’s Word says that a man’s wife is the man’s glory. How a man gives himself to raise up his wife demonstrates his leadership potential. Strong marriages make strong families, and strong families make strong churches. A leader’s mate must be behind them in their ministry and not be going in a different direction.
3. We must guard our hearts against falling in love with the ministry. We are to fall in love with God, and the ministry is to be merely an outworking of our continual love affair with God.
4. In addition to being a good seeker and follower, we must learn to be a good listener. Most people talk way too much, always wanting to be heard. You can both learn more and help more by being a good listener. (Is. 50:4, Hab. 2:1, Ecc. 5:1-2)
5. Philippians 2:19-21 holds an important key for leadership to function together. If you cannot flow in the same direction as that of your present local church leadership, it would be best for you to find a church where you can and commit yourself there.
6. It is very important for a leader to be above reproach in all of his relationships. This includes preserving confidences, not indulging in gossip, and maintaining self-control in conversations. He or she must never find themselves in a compromising or questionable situation with people of the opposite sex. No counseling, prayer, or other ministry should be done privately with a person of the opposite sex.
7. A leader is committed to the life of their local church and will be involved in planned activities and nourishing relationships. Involvement should not be limited to Sunday morning and Wednesday evening.
8. There is great spiritual attack against those in leadership. If Satan can pull down leaders in the church, much damage can be done to countless other Christians. This is why accountability, humbleness, and Godly character, attitudes, and motives are most vital. (Zech. 13:7)
If you feel that God is calling you to be raised up for a leadership position, it is important that you share your desires with someone on the leadership team. Together we can join in prayer and discipleship in order to best reach this goal and to equip you to be an effective witness for our Lord Jesus Christ, bringing in His harvest. This will require you to lay down your life for the Kingdom of God. Jesus did this for us that He might set an example for us to follow.
“Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Matthew 20:26-28