Bullseye: Leadership Criteria

What criteria must a person meet in order to be a leader in God’s church?

“Leadership in one sense is amoral. It can be use to lead people to great achievements, such as those who led thirteen colonies to independence and nationhood. It can also be used to produce great evil, such as Adolph Hitler” (p.57).*

Borden makes this statement but then fails to thoroughly consider its ramifications in the criteria he sets out for church leaders. Because skill in leadership can be used for productive or destructive ends it is essential in choosing leaders for the church to consider their history and the moral standards they have given evidence of adhering to. Borden doesn’t do that. He looks exclusively at whether or not the potential leader is capable of producing the end result he desires, and he doesn’t care how they achieve that result. Basically, Borden believes that ends justify means.

“We also defined leaders as people who actually had other people following them. Leadership ceased to be a position and became a function” (p.38).

“We insisted that leadership has one basic criterion, and that is whether anyone is really following or not” (p.107).

“Good leaders produce effective ministry and lead healthy congregations. Poor leaders are not only ineffective, they assist congregations in creating even greater dysfunction” (p.106).

Even when Borden enlarges on his basic criterion the additional requirements he lists do not take into account any moral, spiritual, or theological aspects.

“After all it is not enough to find good leaders, but we mujst find leaders who have the courage to perform, the wisdom to know what foundational principles need to be adopted, and the insight to implement effective strategies” (p.58).

“Moving from dysfunction to health demands courage, passion, and the willingness to risk, coupled with the understanding of the basic principles required for change and how to lead change. It also requires the wisdom to implement these principles with both skill and courage. Too often I believe we have asked people who are not leaders, or have not been trained to be leaders, to lead such dangerous change” (p.108).

The Bible’s criteria for church leaders are very different.

“Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.

“Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.

“In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

“A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

“Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:1-15).

“The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it” (Titus 1:5-9).

Let’s review that list of biblical criteria. To be a leader in the church one must be:

above reproach
monogamous
temperate
self-controlled
respectable
hospitable
able to teach
not given to drunkenness
not violent, but gentle
not quarrelsome
not a lover of money
a good manager of their own family
not a recent convert
of good reputation among nonbelievers
worthy of respect
sincere
not pursuing dishonest gain
holding the deep truths of the faith
not malicious talkers
trustworthy
not overbearing
holy
capable of refuting false doctrine

We see a cavernous difference between the biblical criteria and the criteria of Paul Borden. The biblical requirements are, admittedly, a tall order, but they revolve around three simple principles. First, a church leader is to exemplify all virtues to the greatest extent humanly possible so that the cause of God is not besmirched by their behavior and others can learn from their example. Second, the church of God is intended to function as a family, therefore individuals who have proven that they manage their families well may be assumed to have the skills necessary to manage the church well. Finally, the church leader must be thoroughly versed on the beliefs of the church so they can teach them to others and refute erroneous beliefs.

“May the Lord impress upon the minds and hearts of all connected with the sacred work of God the importance of ascertaining whether those who are to minister as deacons and elders are suitable men to be entrusted with the flock of God. Jesus calls Himself the ‘Good Shepherd.’ He does this in contrast with those who occupy positions of trust in connection with the church, but who have no right to these places, because they put a wrong mold upon the work. What is natural will appear. Compare the Good Shepherd, who gave His life for His sheep, with those who are filled with self-esteem, puffed up, dictatorial, loving to rule in the church.

“The prophets have specified Christ's attributes. They foretold Him as a gentle Shepherd, who would carry the lambs in His bosom. There are others pointed out by prophecy, who have accepted the position of leaders and religious instructors, whom the Word of God rebukes for their neglect, in their ignorance, to do the work which they should have been doing in their places of responsibility” (Manuscript Releases, Vol. 21, p.3).

One quick detail we should address here is who we are talking about when we speak of church leaders. As we have pointed out in posts prior to this series (see The Lord’s Anointed, Pt. 2), in the biblical model of church leadership there was no such thing as clergy. All administration of local congregations was done by what we would now call lay leaders. Borden, on the other hand, mentions lay leaders in passing from time to time during his discussions on criteria for leaders but focuses his primary energy on pastors. He clearly considers pastoral leadership superior to lay leadership. So long as that is to be his approach we submit that the degree of superiority he implies should also be found in the extent to which they meet the biblical criteria for lay leaders of the church.

*Two of the quotes from Hit the Bullseye that are featured in this post contain spelling or grammar errors. We aren’t having a bad typing day; we are reproducing them exactly as they appear in the book.