April 02, 2015
Developing Leaders
As I interview women for a
series of articles on leadership I’m seeing a pattern of leadership that
starts during a child’s middle-school years with sports, band, or youth groups.
Many interviewees point to one person who recognized their characteristics of
dependability and responsibility and put them in positions of leadership. I
find it ironic that now as adults many of us, even in the church, no longer
feel like leaders and we’re looking for mentors, classes and books to help rebuild
our leadership skill set. The writer of Hebrews said, “Remember your leaders,
who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and
imitate their faith” (Heb 13:7 NIV).
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----A leadership skill set is important, but the Lord’s body would operate much more effectively if the church stopped picking its leaders according to skills and started picking them according to their understanding of the Word, knowledge of and belief in its doctrines, wisdom in applying it, discernment of circumstances, events, and situations by it, and the unabashed acknowledgment of its authority. Paul doesn’t allude to this at I Tim 3:2-7, but he does at Titus 1:6-9. Maybe it is that character traits like Jesus had are in some way more important. I certainly would not think skill in handling God‘s Word, no matter how completely they express good behavior, is unimportant. But look at temperance, sensibility, gentleness, peaceability, and especially the ability “to keep his children submissive and respectful in every way” (vs. 4). These characteristics do not grow up in people naturally. They are the result of quality environment and training, especially training. And the proper acceptance of God’s Word is the best and most available training when the Holy Spirit is allowed to be the Whisperer. Titus served amongst a cruder people than Timothy. So the leadership credentials Paul listed for his use included faithfulness to the Word.
-----One might object to addressing doctrine in the credentials, but those who do object are usually the liberal main-stream churches who discount doctrine only slightly more than they discount the Bible’s authority. Over the centuries multitudes of different doctrines have grown up. Some want to see all of them validated. Others want only their own validated. It would seem that addressing doctrine would lead to great argument. But here it sits, “…so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to confute those who contradict it.”
-----I see this as a test for the church the Holy Spirit has administered for centuries, will a church be faithful enough to the Word to both know doctrine properly, teach it, and refute errors gently, peaceably, and certainly? Many churches have failed the test. The few who’ve passed it have been humble and observant enough to recognize and obey one very small, yet very much commanded phrase, “…as taught…” As taught by whom? Paul wrote this before AD67, quite obviously. Many of those who were instructed by Jesus Himself were still teaching and evangelizing. They knew the sure Word. They walked and talked with Him. The Holy Spirit used some of their hands to write it. Using that leadership characteristic of sensibility then, it is clearly apparent that “as taught” refers to “by the apostles.” That dumps a massive amount of church doctrine right into the trash bin. Well, maybe not quite there. We must believe something about the blank spots the Word does not expressly teach. But we can not teach them as if the Word does, “…not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.” (I Cor 4:6) This is key to gentleness, sensibility, and peaceability.
-----We live in a time when knowing the Word as God meant it is becoming urgently important. We now move down a time line leading into greater and greater deception amongst all people. As we can see more and more denominations accepting practicing homosexuals and other Biblically proscribed errors, the deception of the general populace seeps into the church because people have a natural tendency to avoid being ostracized. Deceptions can only be dispelled by teaching truth. As the current path to eternal destruction broadens and smoothes out into an Audubon speedway, it is imperative that church leaders keep the flock trained on that little road leading to the oasis.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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