Christian leadership is a vast subject and one on which many books have been written. Alex Montonya says, ‘all the definitions of leading have one thing in common: the leader is one who leads others to the accomplishment of a common goal. If no one follows, he is obviously not a leader, regardless of what titles and degrees may precede or follow his name.’ (‘Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry’, John F. MacArthur Jr. and The Masters Seminary Faculty, Word: Dallas, 1995, p. 283) Chuck Swindoll gives an even pithier definition: ‘At the risk of oversimplifying . . . it’s the word influence.’ (‘Leadership’, Chuck Swindoll, Word: Waco, 1985, p. 19)
At this stage of history, no one quite knew what church leadership would look like; as the people waited for the Holy Spirit to fall, there was no real understanding of what the church would look like, let alone its leadership. At the same time, the eleven apostles (named in Acts 1:13) knew they had been called by Jesus (see Luke 6:13-16) and Peter was adamant that they needed to choose a new apostle to replace Judas. (Acts 1:16-21) Whether this was because the number twelve was symbolic of the twelve tribes of Israel or because his understanding of prophecy had been honed in this waiting period (he quotes Ps 65:29 and Ps 109:8 in giving his reasons for saying another apostle must be chosen) is not clear, but this appointment of Matthias gives us important insights into leadership choices. An apostle, Peter said, must be someone who had been with Christ throughout His earthly ministry and who had witnessed the resurrection. (Acts 1:21-22) In other words, the apostle had to have had a personal relationship with Christ, and had to have witnessed the resurrection to be an effective witness to others. (Acts 1:8)
The rest of the New Testament gives further insights into Christian leadership, but it is interesting to note that this starting point of a personal walk with God and a personal testimony remain crucial. What is interesting in all the guidance about choosing leaders and the characteristics of godly leaders is that character matters enormously. 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-8 have more to say about the character of a leader than what the leader actually does. Holiness of life, soundness of doctrine and a lifestyle compatible with Christian truth are crucial. Moreover, these first believers were content to leave the decisions to the Lord (Acts 1:24-25) once they had done all they could. We can be confident that God knows what He is doing and will both call and equip those to whom He calls to leadership.
