![MPj03900800000[1]](module1_files/image001.jpg)
Learning
Objectives: What is
the LORD’s criterion in selecting and appointing leaders of his people? After
successfully completing this module, you will know the LORD’s criteria in
selecting and appointing leaders of his people.
Reading
Assignments:
Read 1
Samuel 13:14
Read 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Read Jeremiah
3:15
Read Acts
13:22
Assessment:
Lecture:
Leadership
is a matter of the heart
After spending years studying organizational leadership, I
started wondering if there is a difference between Worldly Leadership and Christian
Leadership? This question set off an interest within my heart to investigate
the possible differences between these two types of leadership styles. If there
are differences between these two types of leadership styles, what are they?
As an organizational leadership expert, I’m too familiar
with the definition of leadership among leadership scholars. For instance, some
leadership scholars argue that leaders are born and therefore leadership is a
component of their natural make-up[1]. These scholars are of the opinion
that leaders can be identified through personal characteristics such as
physical attributes, personality, and natural abilities[2]. In that, leaders are thought to
posses such natural abilities as intelligence[3] and strong masculine traits[4].
A simple search in an online job posting website for the
term of leadership will reveal that most organizations share a similar view of
leadership with these scholars. In that, most organizations in their search for
leaders are seeking for individuals with high levels of formal education. It is
with absolute certainty that most of us share the opinion that most individuals
with high levels of formal education are intelligent.
A report, published by Cornell and the Women's Executive
Circle of New York,[5] revealed the “facts that more than
half of the sample group of companies do not have any women executive officers
at all, and that women hold a mere 15.6 percent of the 1,129 board seats.”[6] The findings of this report may seem indicative that
most organizations prefer their leaders to be males, which is in accordance to
the opinion expressed by some scholars.
It is self-evident that most organizations have established
criteria for selecting their leaders. In that, most of them seem to prefer male
leaders with high levels of intelligence. Knowing that organizations have
established criteria for selecting their leaders, leads me to ask if the LORD
has his own criteria for selecting his leaders? If he does, is it similar to
the criteria established by most organizations? In that, does the LORD look for
specific physical attributes, personalities, and natural abilities in his
leaders? If he does, what are these specific physical attributes, personalities
and natural abilities in his leaders?
The truth of the matter is that the LORD does have a
specific criterion for selecting his leaders. The specific criterion of the
LORD is made evident in the Holy Scriptures. In that, when the LORD sought a leader
to replace King Saul, he “sought out a man after his own heart and appointed
him leader of his people.[7]” Unlike most organizations that
seek for specific physical attributes, personalities and natural abilities in
their leaders, the LORD cuts through the heart. The LORD seeks to select
leaders after his own heart and appoint them to be leaders of his people. This
is the LORD’s only criterion in selecting and appointing leaders of his people.
The LORD seems to care less whether a leader is a female,[8] or if a
leader has natural abilities, [9]or if the leader has an impressive
physical stature.[10] As a matter of fact, the LORD makes it clear that
the only thing that matters in selecting and appointing leaders of his people
is the heart[11]. Whether a leader has the right
physical attributes, personality, and natural abilities is irrelevant to the
LORD. The LORD will select and appoint a person to be a leader of his people
regardless if such a person is intelligent or not. It is not the level of
intelligence that qualifies a person to be a leader in the LORD’s eyes; it is
the heart of the person. A person may be the most intelligent person in the
entire world, but if he doesn’t have the heart of the LORD, then he is not
qualified to be a leader of the LORD’s people. The same principle applies to a
person who is not the most intelligent in the entire world. Intelligence or any
other physical attribute, personality and natural abilities are not determining
factors that qualify anyone to be a leader of the LORD’s people; it is the
heart.
Now, someone might ask, how do I know I have the heart of
the LORD? The answer to this question lies in the behavioral patterns
established by the LORD himself. In that, the LORD revealed to us his heart
through his behavior. The behavior of the LORD is the manifestation of his
heart. In that, the LORD made it clear to us that the only way to determine
what’s inside people’s hearts is by their fruit[12].
For instance, a good person can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad person
can’t produce good fruit. In other words, a good person can’t behave contrary
to his heart, and the same principle applied to a bad person. With this thought
in mind, let’s analyze the LORD’s behavior to determine his heart.
Discussion
Questions:
After reading the reading
assignments and the lecture, answer the following discussion questions:
1. How does the LORD select leaders of
his people?
2. Does the LORD in selecting leaders
of his people seek for specific physical attributes, personalities and natural
abilities in their leaders? Why and why not?
3. How does the LORD’s method in
selecting leaders of his people differ from the method used by the world?
Footnotes: