The Responsibility of Leadership

The study of leadership is one that is as conflicted as it is popular. There is often more discussion and debate about leadership than there is real demonstration of it. Like every subject, what we believe about the life and influence of a leader should be guided by what God teaches in His Word. Only the Bible provides the theological foundation and the philosophical framework for lessons on leadership.

Leading the Flock

This should not merely be a subject of interest to pastors and those who hold “official” positions of leadership. Real spiritual leadership is not a position or a title — it is influence used for God’s intent. The Lord Jesus Christ designed it so that all who follow Him are to be leading others to do the same. This means that ALL of us must discover and apply these principles in our own context.

Follow the Leader

In a home, at work, with friends, through making disciples – all of God’s children are to be following Christ and leading others closer to Him. In the words of the Apostle Paul, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). One of my doctoral professors in seminary wrote extensively on the fact that every leader is a “follower first.” As we become better followers, we become better leaders.

But, what is the leader’s most sacred work?

Leaders are busy people, and by nature can be distracted people. There is always much to do, many people, and little time. In the hurry of it all it is easy to miss the work that is most important to God.

Biblical Examples of Leadership

I have been reading through the life of Moses again recently and have been struck by how often he prayed for those he led. There were millions of followers and a myriad of problems, but again and again through the Pentateuch we have Moses taking the role of intercessor. At every turn in the wilderness, he is pleading for his people and presenting their needs to the One who alone has the power to meet them. This was Moses’ most sacred work.

This is what Jesus did for His followers…it is what He continues to do for His followers! He worked, He taught, He exemplified, but do not miss the simple fact that He prayed. Our Lord prayed then (John 17), and He prays now (Hebrews 7:25). One Bible commentator observed that in many ways His whole life was an intercession. Isaiah 53:12 says, “…he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” This was Christ’s most sacred work.

Study the life of Paul, a man who led many to the Lord. His letters are full of spiritual instruction and encouragement. But each is seasoned with the intercessory prayers of a man who understood that unless God worked in the lives of others, all of his words and works were in vain. (Spend some time in Paul’s prayers in 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13, 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12, Colossians 1:9-14, Philippians 1:9-11, and Ephesians 1:15-23, 3:14-21.) This was Paul’s most sacred work.

The Leader’s Most Sacred Work

The most sacred work of any leader is not planning direction, making decisions, or delivering messages. His most sacred work is done in private – it is the work of intercessory prayer. As we pray, God works in them, for us, and through all circumstances. Prayer declares that God alone is the Leader and we are all simply following Him.

Who are you called on to lead? Make a list of those God has entrusted to your influence and instruction. Then, by God’s grace, determine to spend more time interceding to God for them. You will find that your prayers accomplish more than all your other efforts and that, as you pray, all of your other work is divinely blessed. This is the leader’s most sacred work.

Leading a Church Meeting

Recognizing that a leader’s true impact begins in the quiet room of intercession completely reshapes how we approach visible, public ministry. When we step out of private prayer and into active responsibility, the sacred duty of lifting others up in prayer to God transforms into the practical duty of guiding them. Nowhere is this shift from private devotion to public execution more critical than when standing before the congregation to lead a church meeting.

Just because we assemble with God’s people does not necessarily mean that God’s Word is given or that God’s glory is a priority. Leading a church meeting is a tremendous responsibility. Everyone involved in the meetings have a responsibility to the Lord (more on that HERE). Leaders have a responsibility both to the Lord and to those in attendance. The goal of those who lead must not simply be to moderate a service but to point everyone to the Lord. 

As an assistant to a pastor for many years, it was my privilege to help lead many meetings. Recently I had the opportunity to lead a series of meetings, and it reminded me of so many things. Leading a meeting can be much more challenging than preaching in one! 

7 Ways Leaders Can Make the Most of a Church Meeting

Here are 7 simple suggestions that God is teaching me through both observation and personal experience:

Plan.

Do not wait until the meeting to think and pray about what will take place and what you want to emphasize. When you create a proposed order for the meeting, you are seeking to remove any obstacle to the Lord’s leadership. The guidance of the Holy Spirit does not begin with the first hymn — it begins in the preparation.

Start on time.

We are stewards of our own time but also of the time of others. People set aside time to come to a church meeting, and that time should never be wasted. When we begin on time, we show the importance of every moment. In the writings of G. Campbell Morgan, he describes how so many churches treated certain services as unimportant. He concluded, “Things treated as of lesser importance come to be looked upon as such, and people treat them accordingly.”

Saturate every part of the meeting with purpose.

We should not have a meeting just to have a meeting, and we should not do anything in the meeting just to fill time. What is the goal? Have a definite emphasis in every meeting and allow every part to connect to it.

Communicate.

Everyone who is involved in leading in the meeting should know what is expected. Teach those who help you so that they too can be prepared.

Avoid unnecessary talk.

Talkers love to talk. Sometimes we can say too much in a meeting and take away from what God is trying to say. Nothing we say or do should take away from a spirit of worship and attention to spiritual things.

Emphasize the Word of God.

When the Lord’s people gather, they should always hear from the Lord! Everything that you want to accomplish in the meeting — praise, worship, confession, intercession — will be enriched and guided by the truth of Scripture. Give people something definite from God’s Word to take with them.

Pray your way through.

It is vital that the leader be led by the Holy Spirit and completely yielded to His promptings. My pastor taught me that Spirit-filled men will always appear a little spontaneous because the Holy Spirit does not always follow our order. “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). We are not seeking to harness the Holy Spirit, but we are to be harnessed by Him!

In the end, Paul’s declaration should be our desire: “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). Decent according to God’s truth. Ordered by God’s Spirit.

*Click HERE To Download A Free PDF Of These 10 Characteristics Of Spiritual Leadership From Nehemiah. 

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About Scott Pauley