Biblical Leadership

Ephesians 4:11-12:  "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

Several things come to mind when I read this passage about leaders in the Church:

1.  First, the calling to leadership is given by God to different people in the Church, not just one.  God calls and equips different individuals with certain gifts.  We should not think that we have or must have it all, and to think in such ways is to treat God's designed plan for leadership with contempt.

2.  Secondly, we are called to prepare God's people for works of service.  The literal translation of "prepare" is "to put right."  It suggests the setting of a broken bone or the mending of a net.  Also, the word for "service" is the same word used of a deacon.  Deacons were first appointed for the purpose of attending to the physical needs of widows who had no means to help themselves.  These too were men who were found to be full of "the Spirit and wisdom" (Acts 6:3).   With the usage of terms suggesting something being broken or torn, the writer is presuming that people who are called to serve may need to be guided from their "brokenness" to service for the Lord.  We know that we all have been enticed to live lives of selfishness, for we know that such thinking is driven by our sinful natures and is not of God but of the world and the Devil (Galatians 5:19-20, James 3:14-15).  Even for the disciple of Jesus Christ, there continues to be a war that wages from the sinful nature, drawing us back into selfish consumption and the "sin living in (us)" [Romans 7:17].  Thus, those leaders called to the responsibilities in Ephesians 4:11 should be focused on helping to mend the hearts of believers who have fallen back into a self-focused mindset and are not thinking about or expressing love to others.

3.  We also see that the purpose of preparing the believers' hearts is so that the body of Christ may be built up and that there would be unity of faith in the Church.  Those who have the mindset of building up the Church are living lives "worthy of the calling [they had] received."    They are expressing the fruits of humility, gentleness, patience, kindness, and love (Eph. 4:1-2).  Leaders called should be centered in their purpose to draw the people, through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit using the Holy Scriptures, into an awareness of these fruits (ultimately given by the Spirit [Galatians 5:22]) and a repentance for failing to administer these gifts to the body.

4.  Leaders too need to be aware of the need for the Church to have the "knowledge of the Son of God."  This is not mere factual awareness but a deep, intimate association with and love for Jesus Christ.   Jesus Himself shares in the gospels that if we love Him, we will keep His commands (John 14:15); and of course, to even know the commands of Christ, one has to be immersed in the Holy Text of God's Word.  Jesus promises that if we obey Christ's commands, God the Father will love him, and the Father and the Son will make their "home with him."   Leaders need to be impassioned to lead their people to such places of rich, intimate association with the Lord!

5.  Leaders thus are to help the members of the body strive for maturity in the faith and the fullest attainment of the fullness of Christ.  None of us live static lives.  We constantly are in motion either towards Christ or away from Him.  Galatians 5:25 tells us to "keep in step" with the Spirit, and the word used here is from the same root as the musical term, "staccato."   The staccato note is a short, repeated note which can been visualized in the rhythmic summoning of a military drummer, calling troops to keep in step with the leader for battle.  We must keep in step with the Lord, for to do so is to mature in our faith and to experience the fullness of Christ.

6.  Lastly, leaders are to evaluate to see if their flock are "no longer infants, tossed back and forth by the waves."  These "waves" are the enticements of the world and the vain philosophies that it deceitfully introduces, through cunning and crafty men.  Leaders do this by speaking the "truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15) so that the body is continuing to grow up in maturity and in intimacy with Christ.  These expressions of love might not be just words of encouragement and support, but they may also be words of rebuke and admonishment toward those who are straying from fellowship with the Lord.

As one can see, those called to such positions of leadership have a tremendous responsibility.  So, if you are called by God for such a task, do it with all your might (though the power of the Holy Spirit within you), so that "we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ" (Eph. 4:15).