God is looking for leaders in His church. He is looking for people who want to lead and make a difference.
In many churches, the church has leaders but not according to God’s plan. Many of these leaders are interested in power and prestige rather than pleasing God. How are you leading?
What does it mean to be a Godly leader in your church?
First, you lead by example. Paul and other of the apostles led exactly in this way. In fact, Paul specifically told the churches to mimic him. It was as if Paul said, “I will show you how to be a Christian. Do as I do.” The New Living Translation depicts one of those passages in this way: “Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me–everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9, NLT).
Second, you lead by your attitude. I think churches often miss the importance of attitude in the life of the church. Good attitudes make the church a place of peace and harmony. Bad attitudes make the church seem anything but the place where God’s Spirit is at work.
Paul told the church at Philippi to put on the mind and attitude of Christ. He told these people that an attitude like that of Christ would solve their problem of disunity in the church (Philippians 2:1-11).
Third, you lead by your actions. This is very similar to leading by example. People do what they see others doing. If you pray, give, seek God’s presence, and seek to live the Scripture, you will soon see other people doing the same. Your actions will put you in a place of significant leadership in the church. Right actions will bless the church immensely.
Finally, (and this is the very best way) you can lead by your deep devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes churches miss the point of leadership. They often choose as leaders those with the most money or the biggest business or the best job. In the world, those would be genuine criteria for selecting a leader.
In the kingdom of God. The gifts that count are spiritual gifts and the relationship that matters is the one with God Himself.
You become a great leader as you grow in your relationship with the Lord. Ask Him to fill you with His presence as you seek to lead the church in ways that please the Lord God.
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3 Responses
I love serving God and he has made a new path for me in studying theology and apologetics after my career as a corporate lawyer. However, my new church in northeast Ohio has barred me from becoming a decon and serving in leadership roles because I was divorced before I was saved.
Scott,
I have seen this many times and my advice is that if God told you to go there, stay and share what God has shown you whenever the opportunity arises.
If you are not sure about the church, pray about finding a place where you can share and teach. Many Baptist churches have that rule about deacons but they will allow you to teach and lead Bible studies.
Dr. Robert Lyster
Thank you for your words of encouragement. I truly believe the Lord has called me to teach and preach especially in the field of Apologetics. My legal training and extensive litigation experience have prepared me for effectively spreading the Word through apologetic training. I should be graduating from BIOLA University next year in its Masters program in apologetics. Scott