Leadership Characteristics From a Spiritual Perspective
By Dean Collins
If you have a job position to fill, it's a good idea to start by building a profile for the position. What are the traits the person must have to be successful in their role? What style of manager would do best in your church, business, or organization? If you don’t determine what you are looking for, you are likely to get someone who may be worse for the organization than having no one at all!
Peter wasn’t necessarily looking to fill positions in his letter called 1 Peter, but in chapter 5, he gives a good profile of leadership for the elders in the church. These characteristics are transferable to many roles in the church and in life. If you want a good leader for your organization, here are Peter’s recommendations or instructions:
Find someone who is willing to lead and provide oversight. You don’t want a leader who simply sees the job as an obligation.
Find a leader who isn’t in it for recognition or financial gain. Yes, you should pay them fairly, but if they are in it because they want the title or the big paycheck, you will be disappointed with the results.
Choose a leader who isn’t domineering. Find a leader who leads by example.
Choose a leader who submits to authority. If a leader will not submit, then you are in for big problems.
Choose a leader who understands that leadership begins with humility. Peter is clear that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble – and all of us need grace.
Find a leader who understands that they cannot carry the burdens and the pressures of leadership by themselves. They must be willing to surrender the burdens to the Lord.
Choose a leader who understands that leadership involves a spiritual battle, so they must be sober-minded and always watching for the enemy to attack.
Find a leader who understands that when hardships come, they are not alone, and they are usually not the cause. In a fallen world, hard things and bad things happen. Suffering comes to everyone, but God gives grace to get us through every difficulty.
Finally, choose a leader who understands that they must lead from a spiritual time frame, because if you only consider short-term results, you will be disappointed.
Peter reminded the elders, as he reminds us, that God has called us all to eternal glory in Christ. This means that when we face challenges of various levels of difficulty, we must remember and hold dear this truth: “…Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” By the power of Christ in you, in us, God will deliver us, and he will be glorified through our obedience.
Father, we confess that as we evaluate ourselves and as we consider others, we often expect more than is humanly possible. But as we read 1 Peter 5, we are reminded that in this world, we do have troubles, just as Jesus said we would. Give us the humility to surrender ourselves to you, so that you will grant us the wisdom to surrender our anxieties daily, watching as you bear our burdens. We submit to your daily work of transformation in us and await the victory that is ours as you restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us in Christ. Amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
1 Peter 5:1-11 ESV
Photo by Corinne Kutz on Unsplash
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