Leaders/Servants – The Stuff

Every church needs leaders/servants; the quality of any organization is proportional to the quality of its leaders. The 4 S's define our approach to leaders/servants: spiritual, sacrificial, submitted, strong.

Spiritual – A church is a spiritual entity that must be led by men and women filled with the Spirit and able to hear the voice of God; mature people who know the word of God and the ways of God; friends of God who love what God loves and who are devoted to the cause of Christ; imitators of Paul who are able to say “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Indeed, I count all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:7-8)

Sacrificial – anyone who is going to do exploits with God will have to make sacrifices; sacrifices of time, money, life choices, reputation… Paul is the example par excellence, of a Pharisee with a high standing in society, he became the apostle to the Gentiles hated by his own people, and from the moment of his conversion, the Lord showed him how much he must 'suffer' for the gospel, and he did not renegotiate his contract. He accepted everything, life, suffering, celibacy, persecution, prison, whatever, as long as Christ is preached.

Submitted – Authority is recognized at work, but often abused at church. A leader/servant must be submissive to authority, able to function in agreement and harmony with others. They are willing to give up the right to be right, to be seen and recognized, secret servants who accompany and embrace the vision and are willing to do anything that will further the cause of Christ. They do not need to be celebrated or given first place, but serve in humility.

Strong – Traction is one of the major assets of a leader in our generation. Those who lead must be strong, powerful, and possess great spiritual and mental capacity. Susceptibility and hypersensitivity are prohibitive. Too many people are easily offended; it is a sign of inner weakness and emotional instability; they will not be able to lead, they will not hold on. In our post-Christian society, Christian leaders are subjected to enormous pressure; they must be able to hold on without breaking down and without losing faith.

May God mold us into people He can trust; may God grant that His church will be led by a type of leaders who are upright and blameless.

Shalom!