Choosing Wise Leaders

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 the most important qualification is often overlooked.

At Elmbrook Church, our council selects new elders when a position is vacated. For years, I have advised the council with one plea. “Please, oh please, find candidates who are wise.” Passion and vision are important traits, but wisdom points vision in the right direction and keeps passion pushing in the proper places.

Consider this scenario: The pastor announces, “It is my belief that we should double our attendance in the next two years and add 100 new small groups in the next 100 days.”

The board sits silent and stunned. No one asks, “Where did you get those numbers? Why 100 in 100?”

The pastor’s discernment isn’t examined. Instead, the pastor is applauded for his passion, and the proposal is accepted.

Later, when the small groups barely reach half the goal number, and when attendance rises by one-fourth his projection, the pastor’s undiscerning zeal is turned against him. Some in the congregation chide him. Others are confused. Trust in his leadership is eroded.

In contrast, I have studied Stuart Briscoe during the 20 years I served as associate pastor at Elmbrook. Many would identify preaching as Stuart’s primary gift, but I think of his wisdom. When Stuart made decisions, the people assented because they recognized the selflessness, fairness, and rightness behind the decisions. Wisdom gives leaders the authority to lead because it gives followers a reason to trust.

Serving with Stuart, and now as his successor, I hope to continue to point to wisdom as one of the chief criteria in our church’s search for leaders.

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 should be made, a wise leader discerns the underlying values that are shaping church life.

I often seek the opinion of my colleague Dick because his wisdom is evident by the depth of thought he brings to every discussion. His opinions are not designed to please people, or to take the safe alternative, but to plunge through the superficial to the depths of underlying principles.

5. Does this person show breadth of thought?

Wise people know how to remain true to their convictions while desiring to understand divergent points of view. They are willing to adapt their thinking because they realize their own fallibility.

Wisdom dictates that we do not selfishly promote our preferences, but distinguish between issues of style and substance. Wisdom prevents us from feeling threatened by new ideas. When we are wise, we can freely admit how often we succumb to foolishness.

6. Does this person make judgments impartially?

A leader’s judgments engender trust only if people see that the judgments don’t waver from one situation to the next. Children aren’t the only ones to say, “That’s not fair!” Sensitivity to justice is true of everyone. The people in our churches are always looking for fairness and justice.

One of our members, Steve, has served in a variety of leadership roles. When he was on the missions committee, he championed the cause of missions. When he became an elder, he had to handle the breadth of the church’s issues. He had to weigh the needs of the missions ministries against the needs of other ministries, and he did so without partiality.

Because Steve has demonstrated fair-mindedness in his judgments, people have learned to trust him.

7. Does this person understand suffering?

Much wisdom is borne out of pain. It strips us down to bare essentials; it puts in perspective the things that matter; it teaches the things that belong to the soul.

As Ecclesiastes puts it: “Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure” (7:3-4).

I knew Ingrid had wisdom before I married her. She grew up fast, in painful circumstances. When she speaks, it’s out of a deep repository of grace, because she’s had to draw on that grace herself. She works as a professional counselor. Her clients and I have both marveled at the way she connects to the most horrendous kinds of personal pain. They thank her for her wisdom. I treasure her for it. I know when my wife gives me her opinion, it is tempered by personal experience and offered with grace.

In the absence of magi

You might say, “I don’t know if I know anybody in my church who would meet all these criteria.” You’re not alone. Any wisdom that we do find in ourselves or in other leaders is a work in progress.

Nonetheless, we should never assign leadership roles to people who would be described by Proverbs as “fools.” If a person is imprudent, self-absorbed, unmerciful, or given to partiality, he or she should not be assigned a leadership role.

It doesn’t matter if that person is the only one willing to chair the committee or if that person has the most passion and zeal. If he or she shows a void of wisdom, then someone else should be assigned.

Wisdom often determines the quality and integrity of a ministry. There may be a season to call a church to begin 100 small groups in 100 days. And there may be a season to patiently serve for 30 years. But neither method, nor vision, nor the passion of the preacher will discern the proper season.

That’s wisdom’s job.

Mel Lawrenz pastors Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin. mlawrenz@elmbrook.org