Several years ago there was a minister who was a very popular speaker at Pentecostal and charismatic conferences. He was known for his unusual supernatural gifting and older leaders were giving him a lot of support in his ministry. He even went on a high-profile speaking tour, and many testified to miracles through his ministry. But after a couple of years, it was revealed that he was having trouble in his marriage since he was pursuing another woman. Apparently, there had been problems in his marriage for years. His ministry practically dissolved. The question is, what principles did they follow when they were deciding to choose a Christian leader?
How did other ministers decide to promote this person to such a high-profile ministry? Why did they think this person was mature enough to be given such influence? Did anyone do personal discipling for him? And why does this keep happening over and over again? How do we choose a Christian leader?
In one of the more shocking pronouncements on Christian maturity I Corinthians 13:1-2 states: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” If we are going to choose a Christian leader, the leader needs to have a history of love and kindness to fellow believers, which includes being willing to receive guidance from others.
In I Cor. 12 Paul emphasized the need for the practice of spiritual gifts as he did in other letters. In fact, it is fair to say that mutual edification through spiritual gifts is a cornerstone of Paul’s teaching on church life. In I Cor. 12:31 Paul directs believers to “earnestly desire the higher gifts. In spite of all this, Paul makes it very clear that spiritual gifting itself is not a sign of maturity, for without love the one who possesses the gifts is “nothing”!
Consider the valuable giftings that Paul considers “noisy”, or worthless to the believer, if exercised without love:
- “Tongues of men”; by which he means human speech, perhaps with an implication of eloquence;
- “Tongues of angels”; which almost certainly refers to the spiritual gift of tongues which Paul mentions in I Cor. 12 and discusses at some length in I Cor. 14, and of which Paul says he practices more than all of the Corinthians (14:18);
- “Prophetic powers”; concerning which Paul says in I Cor. 14:39 to “earnestly desire to prophesy”;
- “Understand all mysteries”; if “mysteries” is synonymous with advanced doctrine then this phrase refers to something that normally only the mature understand (see I Cor 3:1-3; Heb. 5:11- 6:2);
- “[Understand] all knowledge”; knowledge is important in scripture and increasing knowledge is associated with maturity (e.g. Phil. 1:9);
- “Have all faith, so as to remove mountains”; faith is highly valued in scripture and listed by Paul in I Cor. 13:13 as one of three things to abide in.
In spite of the scriptural value of these giftings and supernatural powers they are “noisy” and leave the practitioner as “nothing” without love. I Cor. 13:8 teaches that they will pass away one day while love will remain forever.
“…since love implies relationship, we can also say that discipleship plans and leadership programs should make maturity in relationships the top priority”
A minister with the gift of prophecy and the gift of healing would normally be very popular in a church, but this passage warns us against assuming such a person is mature. Scripture is clear that growth in love is the most important component of spiritual growth and local church plans for discipleship and leadership should focus first on developing love in believers. And since love implies relationship, we can also say that discipleship plans and leadership programs should make maturity in relationships the top priority. usually, they emphasize right doctrine, but not so much right relationships. This should be a requirement when we choose a Christian leader. Some senior pastors are chosen because they are entertaining preachers and people will come to listen to them. But this has not worked out well. We have many senior pastors who can preach, and maybe teach, but they do not know how to love people deeply and bring them to maturity. They don’t really disciple others, which is the primary biblical mission of congregations.
This would be a radical change in discipling strategy for many churches, as some of the most important topics would be: Christlike listening, taming of the tongue, emotional healing, emotional wisdom, deep forgiveness, gracious speech, empathy, self-examination, control of passions, and peacemaking. In God’s mind these traits will always have priority over supernatural ministry, preaching ability, friendliness, intelligence etcetera.
What does your congregation look at when they are ready to choose a Christian leader? What do they prioritize when they think of discipleship? And what do they prioritize in leadership training? What do we prioritize when we consider making someone a minister or elder? Shouldn’t love and Christlikeness be the top priority?
