Leadership Matters And Character Counts

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, Lord let Your will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Lord, You said, "Do nothing from rivalry and conceit" (Philippians 2:3). Help us maintain a servant attitude committed to one faith, one body, and serving one Lord. Please help us open our hearts and carry out the Great Commission as leaders of your gospel. Please help us humble ourselves and present ourselves before you as workers approved. May the words of my mouth bear witness to my transformation as a new creation and to my belief that you are omnipotent and omnipresent. Please guide me to speak words pleasing to your ears and food for your people. In Jesus' name, I pray Amen.

In this season of change, the Lord is doing His job. The question is, are we doing our job to the best of our abilities as He commands? The Lord opens ears to hear and voices to speak His word. It is time for those called by His name to step up and set the church in order and teach the unadulterated Word of God. In doing this, we set the church in order and the world as well. I may be naïve, but I think it is our job to train leaders in the church to go out and lead the world in a decent and orderly manner.

We start by being serious about the character of leaders. I remind you that everyone who claims Christ is Ministers of Reconciliation. Scripture says: "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:18, NKJV).

Keep this in the forefront of your mind; the people we elect or appoint to leadership positions determine the future for the church and the world. Leaders of a Christian nation should follow the guidance of the ultimate Christian authority, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Believe me, when I say leadership matters, and character counts.

We need servant leaders with integrity who are well-trained in the art of leadership. Jesus said: "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all" (Mark 9:35, NKJV). God desires order, and leaders should adhere to God's standards as written in His Word. We say we are a Christian nation; then it is time to be who we say we are, children of God and Ministers of Reconciliation.

Be An Example

Leaders should be worthy of emulation. We cannot afford to continue to elect or appoint people to positions of authority who are foolish, disobedient, and morally bankrupt. Continuing down this path where qualification does not matter, we enlarge our spiritual battles and contribute to the moral decay spreading across this land and the world. We must stop making excuses for immorality and incompetence.

Hold to God's Word and be "an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity" (1 Tim. 4:12, ESV). Leaders, religious and public, should be respectable, qualified, and capable. Scripture says you do not appoint a novice as an overseer. Before you say, this applies to religious leaders only, remember most public leaders claim Christ. So, do not miss the opportunity to rebuke them, especially when they claim Christ but deny Him with their works. Those who claim Christ should not be one person on Sunday Morning and another person Monday through Saturday. We call this being a hypocrite and double-minded.

Do not be misled. Leadership matters, and character counts. It is beneficial to the church and the world for leaders to imitate the nature of the King of kings. We must be like the Lord of lords who came into this world to serve, not to be served. Too many leaders live to be served. We should not turn a blind eye to leaders who pervert justice, show partiality and accept bribes. They must be held accountable, "for where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work" (James 3:16, KJB). A leader's heart must be zealous for good works as they go into the world and carry out the Great Commission to unite nations, not build unholy unions and line their pockets with silver and gold.

Leaders must live what they teach. We must be careful to appoint and elect leaders that focus on heavenly things, not earthly possessions. It is in the church's best interest and the world to apply these instructions to public officials. Scripture says a good name is better than great riches, silver, or gold (Prov. 22:1). A leader's conduct must be honorable even among evil people because leaders become targets for corrupt influences.

It causes great harm to the church, the community, the nation, and the world when leaders are dishonest and corrupt. Without honest and wise leaders, chaos will rule sooner than later. As we follow Titus' journey into Crete, we find appointing leaders is one of the primary reasons Titus was in Crete. Paul puts it this way: "The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you" (Titus 1:5, NIV). It is beneficial for leaders to trust in the Lord and show a predisposition to not lean to their understanding.