Leaders In The Church. How Shall We Appoint?

Real quick. Something set me off today...

The sad truth is a church is only as good as its leaders. It's just the structure of the universe. Don't be naive about this. You have Jim Jones leading the masses into suicide. Were they all stupid? You have Hitler leading an entire nation to murder. Were all Nazis boneheads? It's the reason leaders have a far greater burden than followers. Do you think the majority of the military is republican because of independent research? Do you think the majority of college educated people are humanists because their professors had no part? The more you know, the more gifts you're given, the more responsibility you have. The Bible says that if a teacher teaches something crazy, and you listen to it, the teacher will get far more flack from the good Lord than you would for following. See, because the teacher is the one that should have known better. You could say accurately that this world is made up of two types of people: followers and leaders. So how should they be appointed if it's so important?

Moses was overwhelmed with leadership duties and God told him:

Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.

This is one of MANY passages that offer criteria for leadership. It's an excellent starting point though. Heck, I doubt you'll have an easy time finding a handful of people you know that would fulfill those three things.

WISE: NOT booksmart. There is a difference. You can't teach this. Some would say it only comes with experience.

UNDERSTANDING: Is this a "people person"? Can he connect emotionally with everyone around him? Or can you not approach this person because "he never understands." You can't teach this either.

KNOWN AMONG YOUR TRIBES or RESPECTED: Can't teach this especially. You earn respect. You could also look at this as "popular." Don't think of it in a shallow high school sense. But really evaluate this characteristic within this person. If this person was introduced as the new leader would some in the congregation say "who's that guy?" Or would they instead, say "this man, I've heard of. He has an excellent reputation."

Now think of all the youth pastors, assistant pastors, or even pastors that were recently appointed in your church. If you took a poll, would it be UNANIMOUS that that person fulfills these requirements for leadership? I'd like to end with saying "you'll be surprised" but that wouldn't be accurate. You're probably thinking, "Why is this person a leader here?"