THE MARKS OF CHURCH LEADERS
by David Tucker


Study 1 He Must be a Lover of God

This series began as a set of five talks to a couple of groups of pastors and leaders in Ghana, West Africa. I was asked to speak on the subject, "The Marks of Church Leaders", and appreciated the opportunity to prepare and deliver the messages to enthusiastic congregations. A plea for printed copies of the talks followed, and therefore these notes are now available for wider circulation, with the prayer that they will be of help.

I was given the freedom to choose the five individual titles and I realise that we could have covered many other topics. I emphasised to my hearers that the material is basic, but that I hoped it would be inspirational, stimulating and challenging.

We began by highlighting the following points on church leadership:-
  • a great privilege -- under God
  • great opportunities -- for God
  • great accountability -- to God
  • great responsibilities -- to the Lord, the family and the congregation.
In focusing on the Church and its leadership, we considered the following points by way of introduction:-
  1. Christ gifts His Church. See Ephesians 4:11,12. We notice here that it is His Church, not ours, and He gives gifts to it.
  2. Christ gifts His servants. Notice carefully Ephesians 4:7, "But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it." (emphasis mine). John Stott writes, "'Saving grace', the grace which saves sinners, is given to all who believe; but what may be termed 'service grace' is given in differing degrees according to the measure of Christ's gift." Your gift may not be mine, and my gift may not be yours! Look up John 3:27. God's sovereign rule means that ministers are allocated and gifted by Him as He pleases and for His purposes.
  3. God will complete what He has begun. Turn to Philippians 1:6. The great emphasis of Paul is that God completes what He begins! Undoubtedly this is a word to individual believers like those original members of the Philippian church in Acts 16, Lydia and her family, the demon possessed girl, and the jailer and his family. But equally it's a word to the Church, both local and universal. He will complete what He has begun and present that beautiful, spotless bride to His Son, the bridegroom. Look up Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 21:2.
Our number one priority as believers, and as leaders, should be a daily walk with God, and a close relationship with God. We are to be in love with God, and to remember that the Bible has a lot to say about LOVE.


1. God is LOVE

Look up 1 John 4: 8,16. One of the attributes of God is His love. Right through His whole personality and nature is His love. Carl Henry writes, "Love is not accidental or incidental to God; it is an essential revelation of the divine nature, a fundamental and eternal perfection, it is the shaping principle of His creative and redeeming work."


2. God LOVES

Since God is love, then He must love, and He does love.

  1. He loves His Son. Look up John 3:35; 5:20 and Colossians 1:13.
  2. He loved Israel. See Deuteronomy 7:7, 8. His sovereign choice was not based on numbers, but purely because He loved them.
  3. He loves you and me. Look up John 3:16; Romans 5:8 and Ephesians 2:4. His love for us is deeper than that of a mother for her children. Compare with Isaiah 49:15. In his marvellous hymn, Charles Wesley wrote these words, "Love divine, all loves excelling, joy of heaven to earth come down." His love does exceed all other loves, and has come down here to you and me. D. L. Moody wrote, "I know of no other truth in the whole Bible that ought to come home to us with such power and tenderness as that of the love of God."

3. God Commands us to LOVE Him

Having made us in His image, He has given us the ability to love. And the love He has shown to us He wants returned. It is to be a genuine love from our hearts. Look up Mark 12:29,30. We are to love Him with our whole personality - HEART, SOUL, MIND and STRENGTH. He calls us into a personal relationship with Himself. And this relationship is created and sustained by God working in our hearts! See Deuteronomy 30:6. It is the simple, joyful experience of fellowship with God, Psalm 116:1; worked out in daily obedience to His commandments, Deuteronomy 10:12. The Bible teaches us that the Lord will judge the sincerity of our love. Look up Deuteronomy 13:3. As Christians, as leaders, do we love Him, do we tell Him that we love Him, and why do we love Him? John writes, "We love him, because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19, AV). We love Him because:-

  • A deep-rooted work has been done. In Ephesians 1 Paul reminds us that God has blessed us, verse 3; chosen us, verse 4; redeemed us and forgiven us in accordance with the riches of His grace, verse 7. And this is all because of His love.
  • A continuing work is being done. Our love for Him is to mature in grace as He moulds us, shapes us, prepares us and uses us in His service. In love He disciplines us to be more like Him. Look up Hebrews 12:5,6.
  • A completed work will be done. He will bring us safe home to glory. Look up 1 Peter 1:8,9. The great mark of a pastor/leader, and of a believer is that we are in love with the Lord. Read John 21: 15 - 17. How would you answer the question of Jesus?