“The Character of a Godly Leader”
Numbers 12:3
Now the man Moses was very humble,
more than all men who were on the face
of the earth.
Introduction
The single most important quality for a godly leader to possess
is humility. Humility has been open to
many people’s personal explanation, but the simplest definition that I have
heard to describe humility is that it is not when you think too little of yourself;
humility is not thinking of yourself at all.
Having humility does not mean that we do not care about our well-being;
it means that, we “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with
humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.”
(Philippians 2:3)
Moses was God’s number one man for one simple reason: he was the most humble man on the face of the
earth. In addition to having humility,
God gave him great authority to lead the nation of Israel. Godly leaders focus on God’s agenda, not
their own. Godly leaders are stewards,
not dictators or monarchs. A pastor has
the authority to determine that a leader in the church cannot serve in
leadership if he is having sex outside of marriage. A pastor can also determine that a leader in
the church cannot serve in leadership while being involved in a homosexual relationship. These are acceptable restrictions because church leaders
do not represent themselves only; they represent the ministry that they are a
part of, and they represent God.
In his book, A Burden Shared, David Roper says this concerning
authority in leadership: “It means
leading by persuasion, reason, and proclamation of the Word of God, rather than
by personal mandate and ultimatum. We
cannot dictate or demand. We can only
declare.”
The moment that anyone in the kingdom of God is forced to do
anything beyond their own volition, God is no longer involved.
