Leadership
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Based on I Thess. 5:12-13
By necessity, any group of people who hope to attain certain goals has to have leaders. Organization is an essential component in the body of Christ, just as it is in the existence of any living organism. If there is one thing that the universe compels us to believe about its Creator, it is that He is a superb organizer. The harmony of our universe is no accident, for it was planned by God. When God entered history in the person of His Son to build His new creation, He again revealed His desire for harmony by training 12 men to lead and guide His church. Jesus put His whole active ministry into the training of leadership, for it was of prime importance to Him.
As we follow the progress of the church we see that it grew in its organization to meet the needs as they arose. In Acts 6 we read that a need arose for someone to assure that Greek widows received their fair share of charity. So the first official officers of the church were appointed, and they were the deacons. Later deaconesses needed to be added because in oriental lands men did not have access to minister to women in many situations.
Whenever Paul established a new church he appointed elders, as we read in Acts 14:23. Paul later in his letters explains the duties of the elders, and also the presbyters and bishops. We learn that basically they were rulers and teachers, for they guided the church in its business and they taught the people the Word of God. The strength or weakness of the church depended upon the leadership and upon the cooperation of the people with the leadership.
The Jews in their synagogues, and the Greeks in their religious clubs had a democratic form of government, and so it was natural that this form of government would be adopted by the church. We might see in this the providential guidance of God, and also see that this form of government is God’s preference. Paul, however, makes it clear that no form of organization, or method of leadership will be successful unless there is cooperation between the leaders and the led. That is what brings us to our text. Paul is pointing out the duties of each to the other, and only as each fulfills it obligation can the whole church be what God intends it to be. Paul had just comforted them with the doctrine of the second coming. Now he challenges them with the duties that face them until He comes. We will look first at the duties of the leaders, and then the duties of the led.
I. THE DUTIES OF THE LEADERS. v. 12
The duties of the leaders is actually secondary here, for the thrust of Paul’s exhortation is to the followers, and he beseeches them to know their leaders and to esteem them. By his description of the leaders, however, he tells us of their duties. He is not writing of ordained clergy here, for the labors he writes about are obviously those of layman. They have only recently been converted from paganism, and even if there had been Christian schools to go to for training, there was not enough time to have them trained and serving this church. Paul had likely appointed elders to organize the church. All of the early churches had to be led by layman. The early church depended completely upon dedicated layman for its
leadership.
These leaders, Paul says, are those who labor among you. Their primary duty is building up the faith of those in the church, for the church must become strong and mature before it can reach the world. These leaders were to labor, and the word for labor is kopiao, which means to toil, to be wearied, and to be worn out. It is the same word Jesus used in Matt. 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Paul used this word of himself several times as he wrote in I Cor. 15:10, “I labored more abundantly than they all.” In Col. 1:29 he writes, “Whereunto I also labor, striving according to His working which worketh in me mightily.” In his conclusion to Romans in 16:12 he wrote, “Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which labored much in the Lord.”
These and other verses indicate that good hard work is the duty of a leader. Paul indicates that every leader is to take his task seriously, and to work at it until it becomes toil, and until he is tired. It is assumed that any leader will do his best out of gratitude for the grace of God that made him able to be a servant in the first place. This labor is in two primary areas, that of supervision and teaching. Both of them are brought out here. Paul has a high view of the importance of both, but gives added weight to the teacher. In I Tim. 5:17 he writes, “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine.” Paul was glad when church members were learning theology. One of the reasons for the weakness of the church today is because we have left theology to the professional, and we have forgotten that it was meant to be for the layman.
II. THE DUTIES OF THE FOLLOWERS.
The first obligation of a follower is to get to know the leaders.
They are to take an interest in their leadership, and by observation and fellowship come to know and understand them as persons. This implies a close fellowship in which love operates supremely. Why is Paul so concerned about people getting to know their leaders? All of history demonstrates that this is the wisdom of God. The vast majority of petty problems that have hindered the work of the church are due to the fact of people not knowing their leaders. The leader becomes a distant figure who is suppose to take care of things, and the people tend to ignore his role and authority.
If a person does not know his leaders, he does not appreciate them. He does not recognize and acknowledge that they are seeking to do their best under God. As a result they do not have confidence in their leaders. Someone has said, “He who has lost confidence can lose nothing more.” The church begins to fall apart when the group does not fulfill their duty of getting to know and appreciate their leaders as persons.
In verse 13 Paul says to esteem them very highly. This seems to make a double level of Christians which has leaders on a higher level. This is the very thing that led some Christian groups to develop a hierarchy. All of this comes from simply not reading the word of God with accuracy of understanding. Paul makes it clear that he is not advocating any hierarchy. He says the motivating factor for your esteem of leaders is for the work’s sake. In other words, you are not to respect and submit to your leaders because of any special personal qualities they might have. Your cooperation is for the purpose of harmony so that all may go well and the church make progress toward its goals. It is for the work’s sake that we cooperate.
In a church it is the work that means everything. All differences in personality that would slow down the work must be suppressed for this higher interest. We can easily see how problems would arise. What if the leader proves to be incompetent? What if they put power and prestige above the work of attaining Christlikeness for all. It is possible for authority to become extremely dangerous. Butler wrote,
Authority intoxicates,
And makes mere sots of magistrates;
The fumes of it invade the brain,
And make men giddy, proud and vain.
By this the fool commands the wise;
The noble with the base complies,
The sot assumes the role of wit,
And cowards make the brave submit.
The danger here is that people will not respect their authority, and that appears to be the danger in this church. It is easy to see how they might say, “Why should we obey him or her? They were just saved along with us, and they are not anything so great.” This could well be true, but Paul urges them to have high esteem for the sake of the work, for if someone does not have the authority to lead, and if others do not submit and follow, there can be no growth and progress.
In Heb. 13:17 we read, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account...” The great responsibility of a leader demands that he receive the authority that goes with it. He is responsible for the souls of those whom he leads, and it is the duty of all to know their leaders, and to be assured that they are persons committed to Christ and to His church. Paul concludes in verse 13 that they are to be at peace among themselves. Party spirit comes from failure to follow Paul’s advice. If everyone does what is right in his own eyes, the concept of leadership collapses and chaos is the result.
It is true that a tyrant could appeal to this passage, but when rightly understood it cannot apply to such a leader. Scripture can be perverted and misapplied, but all this should not hinder us from applying it in the way it was designed to be applied. The message of these verses to the church universal is simply that leaders should be totally committed to the welfare of the followers, and the followers should be totally cooperative with their leaders. The goal they are all to be working toward is that all might be presented mature in Christ Jesus.
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