Someone Must Lead: Part 1

In our day words like "leadership" and "authority" are dirty words. We are individuals. No one tells us what to do. We have no authority, and we do not like to be lead. From the cradle we made demands and attempt to chart our own course, and we expect others to see it the same way.

To make matters worse, we witness abuses of authority that makes us resist all leadership. The banker who abuses connections, the politician who abuses power, and countless other examples leave us less than enthusiastic about the idea of leadership.


This is certainly true in the church, especially congregationally governed churches. Each individual has both an opinion and a vote, which often makes the will of the masses the guiding light of the church.

But God has ordained that churches have leadership--that leaders lead as others follow. He appoints leaders to push God's people toward God's mission. Thus he gives leaders as a gift to equip the saints for the work of ministry (Eph. 4). In short, leadership is God's idea for the advancement of his glory and the good of his saints.


So what is a spiritual leader? A spiritual leader is one who sees God's direction and uses God's means to influence others to accomplish God's mission in reliance on God's power. They are a tool in God's hand, a tool that is both necessary and good for the church.

They are necessary, in part, because nature abhors a vacuum. In the absence of godly leadership, leadership by consensus often leads to disaster. Consider, for example, the children of Israel in Ex. 32. Moses was, at this point, their leader. He was God's agent to lead the Exodus through the Red Sea. Now God calls him up to receive the law, which took some time. Hence, Exodus 32 opens by saying, "When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down the mountain." Here is the beginning of trouble. With Moses gone, the people want to fill the void themselves. They persuade Aaron to build a golden calf for worship, making this event one of the lowest in the nation's history.

The point I strike under is this: a short time without leadership proves disastrous for the people. Without leadership to point the way, the people naturally find the path of sin. Once off mission, they find disaster. The same can be true in our day. Leaders must constantly keep the mission of God before the people of God. Without this people drift from God's plan. It is true that people will often resist and resent leadership in the church, but they will hate the consequences of its absence much worse.