We need godly leadership in the body of Christ. But what’s the greatest character trait that a leader needs? Here’s one that I think is high on the list.
So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
I Corinthians 4:1-2
The Apostle Paul wrote this section of Scripture to encourage spiritual leaders to be faithful to their calling. He’s talking to those who work in the ministry.
The word regard means, to account or to take inventory. In essence, we’re told that when other people take inventory of our lives as leaders, it should be obvious to them that we are servants of Christ. It should be just as obvious that we’ve been entrusted with the secret things of God.
Unfortunately, what should be is not always what happens in reality. There’s some uncertainty in Paul’s writing because he uses the phrase men ought to. This means that he faced the same problem in his generation that we have today. There are many leaders who don’t live up to their high calling in Christ.
The issue should be as clear to those around us as it was to the members of the Sanhedrin in the book of Acts. It says that when meeting with the apostles they took note that these men had been with Jesus. The apostles talked, ministered, and acted like Jesus.
That should be our testimony as well. It’s sad that in many parts of the church, ministry has fallen short of from this ideal.
But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
1 Corinthians 11:31-32
In context Paul is teaching on the subject of the Lord’s Supper. He makes it clear, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that if we would only take the time to judge ourselves we would not come under judgment.
When will we learn this simple lesson? We wait for condemnation to come on us from the outside before we’ll take a long, hard, and honest look at ourselves. Then, when we’re criticized for our failure to follow in the footsteps of Christ, it seems to be easier to get defensive than to take stock of our own lives.
We should be constantly comparing ourselves to the ministry of the Lord. Only in that way can we be assured that we’re adequately portraying the role of a leader.
In the verse, from I Corinthians 4 above, Paul uses the word servant. It actually refers to an under-oarsman. Like those responsible for propelling the ship forward, we have a shared ministry with Christ.
Leaders need to be supplying vision to the people. The church should have a forward momentum because of our commitment as those who lead. In most cases, if a rowboat isn’t moving, the problem lies with the oarsman.
It’s up to us, as those in ministry, to set the speed and direction as ordered by Christ.
Questions: What are your areas of ministry? How do you submit those areas to Christ?
© Nick Zaccardi 2014
The Spirit and the Word 