How do churches identify the leaders God wants them to follow? Practices vary. The most radical method is “the lot,” used by many Anabaptists since their early days in Europe. This method of discernment, taken from the example of the eleven disciples in Acts 1, is still practiced today by most Amish and a few Mennonite groups.
When a church needs a leader, they hear a sermon (Titus 1 or 1 Timothy 3) on the necessary qualifications. Then each member submits the name of one person from the congregation who meets those criteria.
Anyone receiving three or more votes is given the opportunity to decline but otherwise enters the lottery. If, say, five names remain, then five hymn books (or Bibles) are taken outside the room and a slip of paper, on which is written the words of Acts 1:24 or Proverbs 16:33, is placed in one of them.
The books are brought back into the room and placed on a table. Each of the five individuals picks one book. The one whose book contains the paper becomes the leader! The chosen one (and family) often weeps because of the solemn and unsought responsibility, and the dramatic sense of God’s calling.
In 1995 a Mennonite congregation in Costa Rica used the lot to decide whom to send to plant a church in war-ravaged Nicaragua. In his book Angels Over Wasala (Harbor Lights, 1998), Pablo Yoder describes his experience:
“I leaned forward and took my book, the book that held my family’s destiny. God, I don’t know what’s in that book, but You do. Whatever it is, I want.
“A great hush blanketed the assembly…. My children stared wide-eyed as [the presiding elder] gently turned to the pages that separated the Old and New Testaments. My wife and I bowed our heads.
“Tense silence …
“I prayed …
“The book I had chosen contained the paper. His voice choked with emotion as he read the slip: ‘The lot is cast into the lap, but its decision is from the Lord’ (Prov. 16:33, paraphrased from Spanish).
“God was calling us to go!
“A wave of emotion rolled over the church house. As we heard our brothers and sisters weeping, the dam broke: several months of pent-up emotions erupted as we buried our heads in our hands and wept.
“God was at work. It was hard for the church to accept our leaving, but they were willing, and we all accepted that the lot confirmed His will.”
The practice of Pablo’s congregation is an exception. By the early twentieth century, most Anabaptist congregations had abandoned this practice.
The prevailing pattern today is less dramatic. It usually begins with an individual sensing that God is leading him or her into ministry, or at least the person wants to pursue the possibilities of serving in church leadership. Then a time of training follows, and at some point, eventually the church decides whether or not to extend its own invitation for the individual to lead, thus confirming the divine calling that the candidate initially sensed.
In the Bible, God calls out leaders by many means: some by speaking directly to them (Moses ), some by having other human beings place them in authority (Joseph, and later, Timothy and Titus), some by having the church commission them (the team of Barnabas and Paul), and, yes, at least one by lot (Matthias).
By whatever means, whether by lot or by indelible internal impression, it’s important to trace the hand of God in your placement process.
This issue of Leadership focuses on reviewing and renewing your calling. I was challenged and refueled by the stories in this issue from church leaders who have wrestled with their calling and clarified what they’ve been called to.
We also invite you to join us at the 2004 National Pastors Convention, held in San Diego in March and in Nashville in May. You’ll enjoy laughter, learning, and lift as you attune yourself to your calling all over again. For details on speakers, workshops, and registration, visit www.nationalpastorsconvention.com.
Marshall Shelley is editor of Leadership.
Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information onLeadership Journal.
