by Doy Moyer<\/p>\n
God wants leaders. The Hebrews writer indicates this when he wrote, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you<\/em>” (Hebrews 13:17). Here, we see that leaders keep watch over souls. They are accountable for their actions.<\/p>\n In today’s cultural context, we might hear the word “leader” and get a very different idea from what Scripture teaches. Some leaders are aggressive, willing to trample others to get what they want, exerting power over them to achieve their goals. But is this the kind of leader God wants?<\/p>\n In a local church, God desires for there to be shepherds, elders, or overseers who watch for souls and guide others in the way of Christ. These leaders, we are told, are not to lord it over others (I Peter 5:1-3). They are to shepherd willingly and show themselves to be examples to the flock. This is key to understanding what God wants in leaders.<\/p>\n God’s leaders are to lead by example. They aren’t tyrants, bossing others around. They aren’t doing their own will. Rather, they know the way of Christ, and they do it, showing others how it’s done. They don’t demand what they are unwilling to do. Rather, they lead the way by first doing what needs to be done, and others will follow that same path. They aren’t running a business with modern business practices. They are disciples of Jesus, showing what it means to be disciples indeed, because they show themselves faithful to His word.<\/p>\n Now, we can compile a list of typical qualities that we expect to find in leaders. For example, good leaders listen. They get to know the ones they lead. They communicate openly. They have a clear vision for the future. They have some confidence and make informed decisions with a sense of resolve. They are flexible, adaptable, and able to adjust to the circumstances. All of these and more have merit. We can create such a list and review each component, providing Scripture references. Yet these are qualities that good leaders should show in any context. I want to focus on a critical point that could easily be overlooked when defining leadership by today’s standards.<\/p>\n The foundational point is this: The leaders God wants will know Jesus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n God’s leaders won’t merely adopt methods of Jesus because they find them successful by worldly standards. They are followers of Christ first. They are seeking first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). They know Jesus because they know His truth, trust Him, and have first submitted themselves to Him. They do not become leaders by someone’s vote. They aren’t put into an office by inheritance. They simply do the will of the Lord, let their lights shine, and others will take notice.<\/p>\n These are leaders who speak truth in love. They are bold in faith and courageous to face opposition, yet they are humble and do not seek their own fame. They have picked up their respective crosses and denied themselves (Luke 9:23). They are molded and conformed to the image of the One who has called them out of darkness into His marvelous light (Colossians 1:13-14). They care deeply for souls. They build up others in the faith, keep fervent in prayer, keep themselves in the love of God, show mercy to those who have doubts, and snatch some out of the fire (Jude 20-22).<\/p>\n God’s leaders bear the fruit of the Spirit. When considering those who might be elders or shepherds within a local church, we rightly focus on Paul’s discussions of these roles in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Yet even these do not exhaust all that might be considered. When Paul spoke of the fruit of the Spirit, he outlined what every leader and disciple reaches for: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control<\/em>” (Galatians 5:22-23). What brings disciples to bear such fruit? Paul wrote, “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires<\/em>” (Galatians 5:24).<\/p>\n The Lord’s leaders, then, are first followers. They follow Christ. They follow the examples of others who follow Christ. They submit to His will and show others how that works. They are sacrificial and continually serving. In the Lord’s house, the first are last and the last are first; the humble are exalted and the exalted are humbled. True leaders, by God’s standards, are Christ-like, and, just as Christ, they become servants of all. Until and unless we become servants, we will never be the leaders God intends us to be.<\/p>\n Paul put it this way: “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another<\/em>” (Galatians 5:13-15).<\/p>\n When we demonstrate service through love, we are on the right track for becoming what God truly wants in leaders.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Doy Moyer God wants leaders. The Hebrews writer indicates this when he wrote, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[123,1122],"class_list":["post-90936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-elders","tag-leadership"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31448,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-you-explain-hebrews-1317\/","url_meta":{"origin":90936,"position":0},"title":"Could you explain Hebrews 13:17?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hebrews 13:17 states \"Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.\" There are two schools of thought that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53907,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-i-disagree-with-a-brother-or-a-leader-am-i-being-rebellious\/","url_meta":{"origin":90936,"position":1},"title":"If I disagree with a brother or a leader, am I being rebellious?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If a brother gives me a challenge do I have to take that challenge? If I choose not to, am I being rebellious? Or what if I disagree with a leader? 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