Biblical Qualifications of Church Leaders: part 1

Biblical Qualifications of Church Leaders:(part 1)

With Bishop Ronald K. Powell

Leaders Are Held to a Higher Standard

We help churches wrestle with several common core issues, but leadership development always seems to be near the top of the list.

The pressing need for leaders really isn’t a surprise for me. It was actually Jesus who first said,

“The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” (Matthew 9:37-38, NLT)

If the workers are few, it stands to reason that the leaders who mentor and coach the workers will also be few.

So the first step for increasing the number of leaders in any church should certainly be to pray.

But what are we praying for? How do we know if someone has the potential to lead in a church?

We are asking this question because we were wrestling with this key question 30 years ago:

Who is qualified to lead in our church?

Knowing this answer would help us determine who was ready to lead now. It would also help us know who had the potential to lead in the future. In those cases, we’d also have a framework for coaching these potential leaders.

To frame up our conversation, I did some study to see what Scripture had to say on this topic. Here’s a summary of the qualifications I discovered. As you’ll notice, there are seven of them and they all begin with “C,” so it must be Biblical.

1. Is the person committed to Jesus?

(1 Timothy 3:6, 1 Timothy 5:22, 1 Samuel 13:14)

• Is the individual a fully-devoted follower of Christ?
• Do they pursue Jesus passionately?
• Are they recent converts and have they had time to prove their faith is true?

2. Does the person’s Character honor Christ?

(1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9)

• Does the individual have a solid character?
• For example, do they possess self-control?  Are they gentle, hospitable, upright, holy, and disciplined?

3. Does their Conduct reflect full devotion to Jesus?

(1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9)

• Are his or her actions reflective of someone who is fully-devoted to Christ?
• For example, is their marriage solid?  Are they a good parent to their children?  Are they quarrelsome and overbearing?  Do they have a quick temper?

Next week:Biblical Qualifications of Church Leaders:(part 2)