Qualifications for Christian Leadership

Some months ago an officer in a certain company, attempting to explain why his organization had experienced a rather serious slump, said, “We suffered a great deal just before and after the war chiefly because we lacked imaginative and capable leadership in our organization.” Every year the government reports that thousands of small businesses fail: one cause for these failures is the lack of foresight, good judgment, and experience on the part of managers and owners. No company, group, church or club advances faster than, or beyond its leadership. Some of us are occasionally reminded of the story told by Chester Rowell of the man who was running as fast as he could to overtake a crowd of people who were ‘way up ahead of him. When asked why he was hurrying so, he breathlessly replied, “I’ve got to catch up with those people. I’m their leader.” At no time in history has leadership been more in demand than when the early church was brought into existence. Our heavenly Father knew the church would need capable, talented leadership, so the Holy Spirit endowed certain men with unusual abilities. We read in Ephesians 4:11, “And he gave some apostles; and some prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers.” His purpose was the evangelizing of the world and the strengthening of the church.