Leadership Journal

Qualified leaders are hard to find. But the search becomes even more difficult when we look for the wrong qualifications.

Churches invariably seek candidates who are godly and of good reputation. Does the candidate's calling match the position? Is he or she passionate, devoted, gifted? Good questions, good qualities, but we often overlook the most important qualification: wisdom. Passion and vision are important traits, but wisdom points vision in the right direction and keeps passion pushing in the proper places.

How do we find wise leaders? Based on biblical criteria and personal experience, I've created a list of seven questions to discern a candidate's wisdom.

1. Does this person live a life of grace?

Wise spiritual leaders have a vision of God's flow of grace to us and through us. They go with that flow. The decisions they make in the church about programs, people, and budgets are in tune with God's works of grace and compassion. A wise leader, therefore, will reflect a generosity of spirit, a love for mercy, and the ability to forgive.

This is why James warns about people motivated by envy and selfish ambition. Sometimes ambitious people are appointed as leaders because they are willing to step in where others are not. But such self-interest is out of touch with God's grace-work. Wisdom is absent when a leader is looking more to get than to give.

2. Do others seek this person's counsel?

Wise people influence by planting seeds in the hearts and minds of others. Wise people are trusted. Their words are deep and sound.

For many years I have seen people seek out one of our leaders when they needed advice. Win has earned her reputation. She gives counsel to young and old, to singles and marrieds, to missionaries and pastors. I have leaned on her many times. So it's not surprising when an important new committee is formed that Win is invited to those discussions. She is sought out because of a wisdom that comes from a heart singularly focused on honoring God.

3. Does this person live a consistent life?

We need leaders who are consistent, stable, and whose personal lives are congruent with their public personas. There needs to be integrity or wholeness to who they are, what they think, and how they act.

Scott came onto our council of elders with enthusiasm and zeal. In his late thirties, he was a young elder, but the church saw in Scott a crystal-clear consistency between his personal life as a husband and father, his professional life as an executive, and his leadership of a burgeoning home fellowship group. Scott has since become the chairman of the council and has guided them during times of testing and transition. When he speaks to the congregation, there is immediate trust because everyone knows that with Scott, what you see is what you get.

4. Does this person show depth of thought?

Wise leaders want their decisions to be based on biblical principles, and they are willing to make the mental and spiritual effort to discern them. Beyond asking why a decision ...