On Spiritual Leadership
By: Dr. David Packer
Tags: Spiritual Leadership, Bonhoeffer, Evening Devotionals, Leadership

I will sing of your love and justice;

to you, LORD, I will sing praise.

I will be careful to lead a blameless life —

when will you come to me?

Psalm 101:1–2

What are the spiritual qualifications for leadership?

As the world’s societies and cultures have moved to a lower power distance — moving from kings to more of a democratic-based value — leadership has become a topic of great interest. Visit any book store today and we will find numerous volumes dedicated to the art of leading others.

Numerous biblical passages also list important traits of leadership, and, in fact, are way ahead of the rest in giving advice because the believing communities have already been in the area of democratic leadership for millennia. 1 Timothy 3, Acts 6 and 20, Titus 1, Mark 10:35–45, 2 Samuel 23:2–4, Exodus 18:17–26, and the entire books of Nehemiah and Ezra — these are just a few of the passages that teach the consistent biblical emphases necessary for spiritual leadership of justice, fairness, servanthood, holiness, character, spiritual depth, and consistency in life.

Psalm 101 is the psalm of a king, a leader among men. And as such it is another list of the characteristics needed in the life of any leader — whether in church, in business world, in school, in military, in government, or in the home. All Christians who lead are to be spiritual leaders, even if they lead in a secular field. We are to embody the biblical principles of leadership regardless of where we serve or where we lead. A basic outline of the psalm includes:

· Verses 1–2a: The Spiritual Priority: a heart that truly desires the love and justice of God, that sees God from the positive viewpoint of faith, and that walks in a personal commitment to these principles. We may say that leadership demands integrity of heart in the leader.

· Verses 2b-3a: The Home Life: no one can lead effectively outside of the home if he or she is not seeking to lead properly within the home. The spiritual leader must separate from his mind, from his home, and from his family, influences that are unholy, impure, evil, or ungodly. This includes conversations, books, magazines, movies, computer programs, attitudes, and anything else impure. Though stated here in the negative — in terms of what to get rid of — this requires that we incorporate the pure and good things, as Philippians 4:8–9 says.

· Verses 3b-5: Acquaintances to Avoid: After purifying our hearts and our homes, we need to consider who we surround ourselves with, who we fraternize with. It was to David’s own blame that he tolerated some evil men in his company, such as his commander Joab, though he knew him to be an evil man (2 Kings 2:5–6). Four traits are identified here in people to avoid: (1) unbelief; (2) malicious evil; (3) slander, gossip, the habit of false accusation; and (4) pride. The centers of government have always been filled with such people; power tends to attract the worst of society.

· Verse 6: Acquaintances to Attract: the believing and the blameless we should seek after for friendship and encouragement. Every leader needs friends and if we are people of character, seeking to live pure lives, God will lead us to people of similar spirits.

· Verses 7–8: Daily Application: The final two verses focus on the daily application of these principles: to purify his home, to purify his acquaintances — here deceit and lying is emphasized as impurities that cannot be tolerated; destroying and cutting off the wicked in the land of Israel and especially the city of Jerusalem.

Where does grace fit in? Good question. Our society has been swept up in recent years in what Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace.”

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.[1]

This is not to say that forgiveness is not possible, but forgiveness is not cheap. The forgiveness that is offered by God to the repentant is offered on the basis of the merits of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on Calvary.

So how are you as a spiritual leader?

Spiritual Leader Check List:

· My Priorities: Am I committed to Christ and to Christ alone? Are there competing allegiances in my heart?

· My Home Life: Am I compromising my faith by permitting evil to be present in my thoughts, in my home, among my family? Am I establishing a Christian thought life and home and family life? What positive influences am I letting in?

· My Acquaintances: Am I removing from my presence those who are gossips, who are evil, who slander others, who doubt, who lie, who are proud? Am I making friends with people of Christian character and commitment?

· Application: Am I regularly checking out my life to see if I am following Christ?

Prayer:

Lord, lead us, protect us, guide us, cleanse us. Reveal to us the areas in our lives that are impure and lead us to follow You. Make us wise and spiritual leaders for Your sake, not our own.