By Jeff Faull
What makes a good leader? Shouldn’t we who are followers of Jesus and leaders for Jesus want to know? A simple internet search brings up thousands of articles on leadership. Titles like “Five Qualities of a Good Leader,” “The Top Ten Characteristics of a Good Leader,” “Twenty Requirements for an Effective Leader,” and a myriad of similar options appear. Many of those articles lay out the essential components of great leadership. The suggestions are endless. Characteristics like vision, strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, creativity, communication skills, decisiveness, empathy, charisma, and others top the lists. All these are good and often necessary for effective leadership. But the quality of faithfulness is often conspicuously absent.
Indispensable for Leadership
From a biblical perspective, faithfulness is indispensable for great spiritual leaders.
Faithfulness is included as fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5). It is inherent to Christian maturity. It is displayed in living out the beatitudes. It is required of a steward. It is displayed in the heroes of the faith (Hebrews 11). It is a characteristic of God himself. It is one of the important matters Jesus accused the Pharisees of neglecting.
Faithfulness is a way of life for the people of God (Psalm 119:30). It is to be written on our hearts (Proverbs 3:3). Faithfulness leads to a crown of life.
Faithfulness—or the faithfulness factor—without question, could fill a “top ten list” of its own. That is why faithfulness is unmistakably embedded in the profile of a qualified church leader. You know the familiar description:
Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap (1 Timothy 3:2-7).
Which of these descriptors is possible without faithfulness? Faithfulness is the foundation for lasting, effective leading, shepherding, and example.
The Need of Our Times
Faithfulness in leadership is the need of the hour in our current culture and in our fellowship of churches. The siren cry of progressivism, the parade of leadership scandals, and the increased scrutiny from every side reveal the great need for simple faithfulness. Unfortunately, faithfulness sometimes seems like a rare commodity. Solomon, a leader who struggled with his own lack of faithfulness, knew this well. He asked, “Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find?” (Proverbs 20:6).
The drift from faithfulness is not unique to celebrity leaders with large platforms and massive influence. No, the slide into unfaithfulness usually is somewhat gradual and cumulative for leaders at every level. It can be spurred on by our subconscious desire for approval, relevance, and our pursuit of pragmatism, even when our initial motivations are healthy.
The late Antonin Scalia, a brilliant jurist and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, said,
God assumed from the beginning that the wise of the world would view Christians as fools . . . and he has not been disappointed. . . . If I have brought any message today it is this: Have the courage to have your wisdom regarded as stupidity. Be fools for Christ. And have the courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world (from his 2012 speech at the Living the Catholic Faith Conference).
Faithfulness may not garner the approval of the elite, accolades from marquee leaders, or the admiration of the masses, but faithfulness is what God requires and rewards.
A Beautiful Reflection of God
Several years ago, I read a devotional article highlighting the stories of some of the Apostle Paul’s dearest friends and most valuable kingdom coworkers. They were people Paul gratefully mentioned by name in his letters. Onesiphorus, the man who showed up when everyone else deserted. Timothy, the only one with a kindred spirit who was genuinely concerned about the welfare of others. Epaphroditus, the one who persevered through illness and was worthy of high honor. Stephanas, who along with his family was devoted to the church and its ministry from the early days in Greece. Aquila and Priscilla, who “risked their necks” for Paul. The common denominator with all these people was faithfulness. Paul knew he could count on them because of the integrity of their character and the consistency of their track record.
In our relationships, our families, our theology, our practice, and our interactions with the world and with the people of God, simple faithfulness is one of the most beautiful reflections of our faithful God.
“My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; the one whose walk is blameless will minister to me” (Psalm 101:6).
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