1.1 Key themes⤒🔗

• There are seven things that a true Christian leader does:
  1. He serves God and God’s people.
  2. He tries to obey God in everything.
  3. He speaks God’s Word to the people.
  4. He gives his very best in all of his tasks.
  5. He unites, equips, and inspires God’s people for worship.
  6. He equips and inspires God’s people for works of service.
  7. He prepares people for eternal life.
   
• The desire to be a Christian leader must be:
  1. a powerful desire, and
  2. a pure desire.

1.2 – 1 Samuel 12:1-5←⤒🔗

^12:1 Samuel said to all Israel, 'I have done everything you requested. I have given you a king.

^12:2 Now look! This king walks before you. As for me, I am old and gray, though my sons are here with you. I have walked before you from the time of my youth till the present day.

^12:3 Here I am. Bring a charge against me before the Lord and before his chosen king. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe so that I would overlook something? Tell me, and I will return it to you!'

^12:4 They replied, 'You have not wronged us or oppressed us. You have not taken anything from the hand of anyone.'

^12:5 He said to them, 'The Lord is witness against you, and his chosen king is witness this day, that you have not found any reason to accuse me.' They said, 'He is witness!'

© NET Bible

1.3 What a Christian leader is←⤒🔗

What does it mean to be a Christian leader? Joel Beeke (an American pastor) gives this answer: “Spiritual [Christian] leadership is moving people by biblical means, in dependency upon the Holy Spirit, to do God’s will.”

From this answer it is clear what Christian leadership is. But what does this kind of leadership look like? What does a true Christian leader do, from day to day? We will now look at seven important things that a Christian leader does.

1.4 Seven things that a Christian leader does←⤒🔗

1.4.1 A Christian leader serves God and God’s people.←↰⤒🔗

The heart of a Christian leader is not the heart of a ruler. It is the heart of a servant. A Christian leader sees himself as a servant of God first. Secondly, he sees himself as a servant of God’s people.

1.4.2 A Christian leader tries to obey God in everything.←↰⤒🔗

The prophet Samuel was the leader of Israel for many, many years. In all that time, no one could complain that Samuel took something from them or that he cheated them (verse 4 in our passage).

Like Samuel, a true Christian leader is always trying to obey God. It does not matter if he is alone, or with his family at home, or in a place where many people can see him. He is always the same. If he sins, he is sorry for it and he asks for forgiveness. He does not hide his sins. He keeps on repenting and following Jesus Christ. 

1.4.3 A Christian leader speaks God’s Word to the people.←↰⤒🔗

In Samuel’s time there was no Bible yet. God spoke to Samuel, and then Samuel had to tell the people what God had said. Today we have God’s Word in the Bible. This means that a Christian leader must study the Bible. He must not preach his own ideas to the people. He must speak God’s Word to them. He must do this with wisdom and with love. 

1.4.4 A Christian leader gives his very best in all of his tasks. ←↰⤒🔗

A leader has many things to plan and to manage. For example, he has to plan how he will spend his time. He has to manage his money. He has to plan and manage some activities at the church.

In all of his tasks, a leader should try to be organised and prepared. He should think carefully how to use the time, money and opportunities that God gives him. He should become more and more excellent in all of his tasks. 

1.4.5 A Christian leader unites, equips, and inspires God’s people for worship.←↰⤒🔗

This means that he leads the worship meetings of the church in such a way that God will be glorified.

God’s people cannot just do what they want in a church meeting. Things must happen orderly. The people must realise that they are meeting with God. The Bible and the gospel must be heard and prayed and sung. The Christian leader must help God’s people to worship God with their hearts and with their minds.

1.4.6 A Christian leader equips and inspires God’s people for works of service.←↰⤒🔗

Worship meetings are very important, but a leader should also teach and help the people to serve God in their communities. He should lead them to become better servants of God, the church, and the world around them.

1.4.7 A Christian leader prepares people for eternal life.←↰⤒🔗

A true Christian leader is always thinking about the day when Jesus Christ will come again. On that day, Christ will judge the living and the dead. God’s people will live with him forever. It is the leader’s task to prepare God’s people for that day.

1.5 The desire to be a Christian leader←⤒🔗

Is it wrong to say, “I want to be a Christian leader”? No. Paul says in 1 Timothy 3:1 that if anyone wants to be an overseer (an elder), he desires a good work. It is a good thing if a man wishes to be a pastor or an elder (or if he wants to serve the church in another special way).

But how can you know if your desire to be a Christian leader is really a good desire? There are two things you can look at:

1.5.1 Your desire for leadership should be a powerful desire.←↰⤒🔗

Your desire to be a leader should not come from yourself. Deep in your heart, you should be sure that God has called you to be a leader in his church. True Christian leadership is difficult. There will be times when you want to give up. In those times, only one thing will help you: the knowledge that God has called you to do this work for him.

1.5.2 Your desire for leadership should be a pure desire.←↰⤒🔗

This means that you should have the right reasons for wanting to be a leader. Jeremiah 45:5 says: “And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not.” In 3 John 1:9-10, John speaks about the leader Diotrephes, who loved to feel important. Diotrephes was not a leader for the right reasons. His desire for leadership came from the pride in his own heart.

To test yourself, you can ask yourself this question: Is my desire for leadership about God, or is it about myself?

If your desire for leadership is about God, then you will be able to say things like these:

• I want to glorify God with my life.
• I want to serve God and His people.
• I want to see sinners saved.
• I want to teach people the Bible and lead them in worship.
• I want to prepare people for eternity.

If your desire for leadership is about yourself, then you will have desires like these in your heart:

• I want to be powerful and important.
• I want to be respected and rich.
• I want more time at home.
• I want to feel more fulfilled in my life.
• I want to read and study.
• I want a title (for example, to be called “Pastor”).

So, pray and look carefully into your own heart. Before you become a Christian leader, make sure that your desire for leadership is powerful and pure.