The Rules for Spiritual Leaders
1 Corinthians 4:1-2; Romans 15:1-2
The ministers of Christ are spiritual leaders, not carnal leaders. The word “leader” in Chinese characters (指導者) is composed of the characters meaning “finger” (as in pointing with your finger) (指) and “to lead”(導), and means “a person who teaches and leads.” A leader has rules that must be strictly observed. Even if you come in first place when running a race, if you violate the rules,
then you become last place, or not even make it into the rankings. What immense glory lies in spiritual ministry! In the Old Testament, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, his face shone like the sun. The people could not look at him because it was too bright, so he covered his face with a veil. If a ministry that leads to death held such glory, how much greater is the glory of the ministry of Jesus, which is eternal and life-giving? You are leaders entrusted with a spiritual ministry, spiritual leaders. You are to teach and lead others, but in order to teach others, you must first understand for yourself, pray before God, and practice beforehand. If even one word of the Word is spoken incorrectly, everything can begin to go awry. You who have been entrusted with the mysteries of God’s Word as spiritual leaders must always keep your hearts firmly centered and must not follow the customs of the world. As spiritual leaders entrusted with the mysteries of God’s Word, you must remain steadfast in heart and refuse to follow the ways of the world. We are unique, unparalleled spiritual leaders who stand apart from worldly customs.
Church leaders must first train them-selves.
Church leaders must first train themselves. However, those who have been entrusted with church positions do not think about first building up their own character and receiving training. Instead, they think they already know everything about those under them and become arrogant. This pride is the problem. So today, you are being trained yourselves as spiritual workers of Christ, as those entrusted with church positions, and as leaders.
Those holding church positions must remain consistent, whether inside or outside the church.
A person who is lacking nothing as a church officer, both inside and outside the church, will hear people say, “That person is truly a Christian and a genuine believer in Jesus, so they are qualified to be a leader.” However, not everyone becomes an excellent leader simply because they have been given a church position. This is the problem. Every one of you who has come to today’s church officers’ seminar has received a precious office from God in a precious position that is indispensable to the church. Therefore, you must possess spiritual leadership. I would like to briefly discuss some principles of leadership.
Even after becoming a leader, if you do not continue to sharpen and re- fine yourself, you will become rusty.
I have a creed of faith. It is that I must continually sharpen and refine myself, continually pray before God, receive and learn the Word He gives, and, after fully understanding it for myself, then become qualified to be a leader. This is my philosophy of faith. “God, rather than becoming a knife that rusts and becomes unusable, please make me a knife that is used until it has been worn smooth from being used so much, to the point it can no longer be used.” This has been my lifelong prayer.
What good is a fine knife if it sits idle and rusts? What is the point of merely boasting about the knife? To be truly qualified as a leader, one must become a knife so worn down by service, ground all the way from the edge to the spine, that all there is left to do is throw it away. Only then are you qualified to be a leader. In the process of sharpening a knife, there is self-sacrifice, pain, and personal suffering. Its shape gradually becomes distorted, but will others recognize that? In the eyes of others, they will think it looks ridiculous. I believe people are like knives. If a knife is not used, it will rust. You have to keep using it for the knife to shine. You have to keep using it for the knife to become familiar in your hand. Compare a knife that has been used in a kitchen for several years with a brand-new knife you have just purchased. Even the way you hold it feels thick and unfamiliar, like meeting a stranger, and it does not fit naturally in your hand. It is the same with a spiritual worker of Christ and a leader. We ourselves must first know how to be used. We must be used in leading, listening to the Word, evangelizing, loving God’s precious servants, and caring for all those who are poor, struggling, and weak. These are all moments of sharpening the knife and moments of putting the knife to use.
What is the most precious thing that leaders who are responsible for the church must know?
First, you must thoroughly guard your own position.
Adam, after committing sin, left his appointed place. When God asked, “Adam, where are you?” He is asking about Adam’s position and standing at his appointed place. What good is it to be entrusted with a church office? A knife that does not work and is not used is bound to rust. You are leaders of the laity. What kind of person is a leader of the laity? Simply put, a lay leader in the church is a person who goes ahead of others. You do not become a leader by simply sitting still. You become a leader as the result of praying, striving, working hard, and caring for the church, acting like a spiritual mother who visits and comforts the sick and helps the poor, all while others aren’t even aware of your efforts. This is what it means to go ahead.
What must go ahead? Faith must go ahead. Faith must take the lead. The kingdom of God is not in words but in power (1 Cor 4:20). Whenever you teach the Word, you must pray that the Holy Spirit will come and protect you, and that it will not be your words that go forth, but the power of the gospel Word of God. It is the attitude of a leader to pray that the power of God’s Word will go forth and seize the other person. You must never harbor the thought, “It was I who evangelized.” Paul labored more than any other apostle. He went without food and sleep; he received the “forty lashes minus one” five times; he spent a day and a night adrift in the deep sea; he endured the wilderness, threats and intimidation from his own people, hunger, cold, and nakedness, suffering every conceivable hardship. Yet, beyond all these trials, his deepest concern was for the church. In 1 Corinthians 15:10, he says, “I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” This is the principle for a leader. With the gospel of the Lord, according to God’s command, the Holy Spirit works and moves the other person’s heart, but you must have the faith to think that the Holy Spirit merely borrowed your mouth and to confess that God did it all. Only when you have this humble attitude can you avoid becoming proud and become a leader, a deacon, an evangelist, or eldress who is worthy and edifying in the eyes of the congregation. Without the outflow of spiritual power, one cannot move the hearts of others; instead, they will become bored, think only of other engagements, and look for a way to slip away.
You must lead the way in your life of faith.
First, we must lead by example in our giving. Like King David, we must recognize that everything belongs to God and have the heart to give back to God what He has given us, knowing that nothing is truly ours (1 Chr 29:10–14). Only then can we be an example to others in our giving. A leader must teach and lead others, but you have to be out in front in order to lead. How can someone who is following behind lead others?
A leader must also lead by example in church attendance. After that, you should actively look for more ways to serve the church and work diligently at whatever you can do, within your capacity. You must remain humble and love the weak and vulnerable as deeply as you love yourself (Rom 15:1–2). A leader must be sincere, and the fruit of that sincerity is kindness. True kindness can only come from sincerity. A leader must also be holy in every aspect of life. There are many elders and deacons who deceive others and tell lies. Those who commit fraud and plunge the church into crisis are destined to bring ruin upon themselves and their descendants for generations to come. Therefore, a leader must be an example in every way. The person who is an example to everyone in the church can become a lay leader. In the church, leadership is not attained simply by having power, eloquence, physical stature, impressive academic credentials, or wealth. When the church recognizes someone as a leader and appoints them, they should be even more thankful before God and treat the church members with affection and love, as if they were family, as if they were their own children. Those who entice people with flattering words, borrow money from them, then hide and run away because they cannot repay it cannot be workers of Christ or spiritual leaders.
Before demanding profound teach- ings, you must first discipline, train, and refine yourself.
If a rusty knife smells, no one uses it. We are called to save souls through the powerful Word of God—the Word that has authority, power, and strength, and that leads people from the realm of hell to heaven. Yet there are people who, under the respectable- sounding title of a church officer, take advantage of others, push them into a pit, and then escape by themselves. There are also wicked people who pretend to have the pure intention of forming a mutual-aid association to raise tuition for the children of those who are struggling, but use it to extort money from others. There was someone like that among the evangelists in our church, so we dismissed that person from their position. We absolutely do not forgive such things. Such people only go around visiting wealthy families, and when they make pastoral visits, poor families are treated as an afterthought. So when the time comes, they go to the families where they can at least get lunch. That is why I rebuke the pastors. I teach them that instead of going to such homes, going to a poor family, drinking a glass of cold water, and leaving is a way to receive a true blessing from God, greater than being served a lavish feast. I know when people are deceiving me, but I let it pass without letting them know. I wait, thinking that as they hear the Word, the Holy Spirit will work in them, bringing them to understanding and repentance, and that they will return to their proper place in the Word that pleases God.
Second, leaders must recognize and bear the weaknesses of the church and its members.
Rather than using the weaknesses of church members and the church to threaten or blackmail them and extort money from them, you must know their weaknesses and be willing to bear them. It is the qualification of a leader for the strong to bear the weaknesses of the weak (Rom 15:1). Those who seek to enslave others by exploiting their weaknesses are unfit for leadership.
A leader must be strong, but that strength must come from the grace of Christ’s Word. Those who are not strengthened in this way are all thieves. The Word constantly watches over us and counsels us. Therefore, beloved servants of Christ and spiritual leaders, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will be blessed to grow stronger each day through the Lord’s grace. Only then can you bring victory after victory into every area of your lives. If you do not receive the grace of the Word, you are a defeated person—the weakest and most insignificant of all. But victory does not come through our efforts alone. We must achieve victory together as a church. Whether weak or strong, we must all join together and win the victory, without separating ourselves into “you” and “me,” so that we can all receive praise together. It feels good and brings joy when we are praised together. To do this, the strong must care for the weak. We must always hold them up, spend time with them, and visit them, so that we can bear the weaknesses of the weak. Whenever they face difficulties, and those difficulties become a weakness for them, we must take that burden upon ourselves and bear it for them.
What defines a “weak” person?
It means being weak in faith. Even if someone lives in a grand house and has great wealth, if their faith is weak, then they are still weak. Because their faith is weak, they do not know how to use their wealth for God’s work. They do not give offerings and instead treat their material possessions as though they were God. When they lose money, their anxiety becomes overwhelming, whereas those with strong faith remain unshaken. When leaders, with the character of Christ, support and strengthen those who are weak, they can witness them grow day by day, like bean sprouts sprouting and growing. Their actions change, their attitudes change, and their hearts change. What a precious calling God has bestowed upon you! When you realize that this is not an earthly office, but a spiritual office that will never disappear, you cannot help but be moved and thankful. If you believe that, despite lacking the credentials of education, family background, or ancestry that would normally qualify one for such a role, this spiritual calling is greater than even the presidency, then please say “Amen.”
In Acts 4:36, we meet a man named Barnabas. He was a layperson who was not even counted among the seven deacons. Yet how much work did Barnabas do? When the Apostle Paul was converted through the powerful work of God, called to be a vessel to the Gentiles and appointed as an apostle to the Gentiles, many people, even the Lord’s disciples, did not believe in him when he went out and proclaimed the gospel. Everyone turned away from Paul. But Barnabas, a layperson who was not even one of the seven deacons, went to the people, believed Paul’s testimony, and shared it with them. When Paul was left all alone, look at how Barnabas worked alongside the Lord’s disciples. He introduced Paul to the church in Antioch and led the way for many others. Wherever help was needed, Barnabas did not hesitate. Day or night, without a moment to spare, he went wherever he was needed and helped. He was not officially a leader, yet look at Barnabas serving as one. Isn’t this a true worker of God? There are many difficult situations in every church. There are people burdened by debt, people who run away, and people going through all kinds of hardships, aren’t there? In the name of the Lord, I pray that all of you will become spiritual Barnabases—believers and church officers who are willing and able to help others in this way. Whenever we read Acts, we see Barnabas stepping forward and testifying that Paul was not the kind of person people thought he was, but truly a holy servant of God. Barnabas became the bridge between the Apostle Paul and the people.
Indescribable difficulties arise when serving the church.
Beloved leaders and church officers, when you serve in the church, you will face difficulties that are hard to put into words. You may work yourself to the point of exhaustion, only to hear people criticize you. You can feel the anger rising inside you. You have to learn to hold it in. Don’t boil over immediately like a thin metal pot; instead, like a cast-iron pot that slowly simmers, hold down that rising anger, then fall on your knees and pray before God. This is the attitude of a leader. Do you think being a leader is easy? When you hear hurtful things, hold in your emotions, and if you treat others with a heart that loves even your enemies, a day will come when they will confess, “Please forgive me.”
Wherever the Apostle Paul went, Barnabas went with him. The church in Samaria continued to grow day by day in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, living in the fear of the Lord and longing to receive His Word. But Paul’s situation was very different. He was heavily persecuted by his former companions and the Jewish leaders (Acts 9:23-30). So he fled to his hometown of Tarsus. When Barnabas realized that Paul had not been seen for several years, he went looking for him. After Paul believed in Jesus and converted, wasn’t it the Jewish leaders who tried to kill him? How severe must the persecution have been for him to flee all the way to his hometown of Tarsus? There are also church members who become discouraged because of something someone said and stop coming to church. They become discouraged for various reasons—because of financial problems, because they think someone dislikes them, and so on. At times like these, spiritual leaders and church officers should pray before God, go and visit them, and tell them not to take such words to heart, but to let them go. Since this is a world full of words, advise them to listen only to God’s Word and receive comfort from it. Let them hear wonderful and blessed words. Such words and actions can bring that person comfort and hope. If Barnabas had not gone looking for Paul, Paul might have remained hidden for several more years. Who was the person who brought him out of hiding? It was Barnabas. So they met, and Barnabas brought Paul to the church in Antioch (Acts 11:25-26).
You, too, must bring those who have become discouraged back to the church, just as Barnabas did. When they went to the church in Antioch and prayed, the Holy Spirit came upon them. Following the direction of the Holy Spirit, they were sent out as missionaries. Sent out from the church in Antioch as a missionary, Paul became one of the great servants of God who would shine throughout church history. Yet the person behind all of this, the unsung hero who made it all possible, was the layperson Barnabas. Of course, God was behind it all, but in the visible world, Barnabas was the person behind Paul.
A true church leader is someone who genuinely helps others—someone capable of bearing the weight of others’ weaknesses. The church is not a gathering of the strong; rather, it is a place where people who recognize their own weaknesses come together. It is a gathering place for those who have suffered injustice, those burdened by sin and despair, and those lacking in education or material possessions. It is a place for people who, perhaps having reached the age of forty or fifty, ask themselves, “Is this how I will live and die? They say there is an eternal kingdom of heaven, a place of hope, free from worry and tears. I want to go there, too.” Everyone who comes to church has their own weaknesses. You, who have come earlier and become spiritual servants of Christ and leaders, must reach out to support and help them.
Third, lay church officers and lead- ers must build others up.
However, there is one pitfall we must avoid while serving in the church. This is very important: the hardest workers face the most criticism, but we must realize that a person who works hard but ends up being criticized is not acting wisely. There are far too many people around us who work hard yet fail to receive praise. To those of you holding positions of service: why do you face criticism despite your hard work? Have you ever given it serious thought? The Bible does not teach that working hard inevitably leads to criticism. Why should one be criticized for laboring day and night for the church, which is the body of Christ? Isn’t that unfair? Scripture tells us that it is because we have failed to build others up, that is, to edify them. It says that although all things may be permissible, not everything is edifying. Then what does it mean to build others up in the church? As today’s passage tells us, it means not pleasing ourselves, but pleasing our neighbors. Yet instead of seeking to please others, some people take advantage of them and are preoccupied with satisfying themselves in the end. They work hard while pursuing their own desires, strive for their own satisfaction, become conceited because they know a little more than others, push others down, and even humiliate them in front of everyone. Therefore, working for ourselves and working for our own satisfaction can never build others up. We must become leaders who rejoice when we see others rejoicing because of us.
1 Corinthians 10:24 and 33 tells leaders not to seek their own benefit, but the benefit of others. However, taking advantage of another person’s joy and claiming that joy yourself cannot be considered a good thing. For example, suppose a church officer teaches the Word, by God’s grace, to someone whom another person brought to church through evangelism. Even so, the honor should be given to the person who originally evangelized that person, but instead, the church officer takes the credit and says that they themselves evangelized that person. Of course, you were the one who taught them. But there is someone who brought that person before you, isn’t there? After you have finished teaching them, give all the joy and credit back to that person.
You should say, “Deacon, you’ve really worked hard. If it weren’t for you, how could we have shared the Word with this person? First, let us give all the glory to God, and then I want to thank you. I believe God’s glory will continue to rest upon you.” Then step back and let the other person receive the credit. When you do this, they won’t just stand there—they will turn around and give all the credit back to the church leader and thank them. A single thoughtful word like this can melt away their weariness like ice melting in the sun and give them new strength. That one word of encouragement can fill them with renewed enthusiasm, making them think, “Who else can I share the Gospel with?”
However, if I try to claim all the joy for myself simply because I was the one who taught the Word, I will hurt the person who brought that new believer to the church. Therefore, seeking to take all the credit for oneself is neither good nor edifying. I believe that a church that knows how to bear the weaknesses of the weak will become a joyful and flourishing church. There are many people who have left the church because of a single careless word.
Fourth, church officers must show restraint.
We must always consider whether our words bring joy to others, ensuring they do not cause harm to our small groups or the church and instead imparting grace. Words that wound one’s heart tend to remain there. Just as red beans are boiled and strained through a sieve when making red bean porridge, we must also filter our words before we speak. Words spoken this way do not take anything away; instead, they add something, like putting money into a savings account. They bring comfort and joy, and they give hope. These are the four ways a leader must build others up in order to be qualified as a leader. The one conviction of faith that I especially want to leave with you today is this: rather than becoming a knife that rusts and becomes useless because it is never used, I want to become a knife that is used so much that it is completely worn down and can no longer be used, and in this way do God’s work. In the name of the Lord, I pray that all of you will have that same determination and resolve.
Even when you know something, I urge you to remain humble—act as if you do not know and keep your voice gentle. Do not voice every thought in your heart; instead, be sparing with your words. Treat your words with the same tenderness one might show while cradling and adoring a one-year-old baby, and speak softly to those around you. Doing so will bring joy to others. When those in positions of service bring joy and grace to everyone and speak with restraint, people will naturally look up to you with respect, even without you seeking recognition. You are office-bearers in the church, servants of Christ and spiritual leaders. Please remember the example of Barnabas. Help the saints with their weaknesses and hardships; when someone is sighing in deep despair, visit them to offer comfort and prayer, and share the Word of God clearly and encouragingly. I pray in the name of the Lord that all of you gathered here will bear the weaknesses of your neighbors and become spiritual medicine from God, bringing comfort, joy, and hope to your true neighbors and thereby giving glory to God.
Let us lift up a prayer.
God, we thank You. By Your grace, please bless Your people who have attended the 2002 Women’s Group Church Officers’ Seminar, so that they may deeply understand Your Word, read it again and again until it becomes completely ingrained in them, and become spiritually gifted, beautiful, precious, virtuous, and spiritually mature church officers who have no contradictions in their lives.
If there are any among us who, up to this day, have spoken too much and failed to build others up, please grant that while they are here, they may thoroughly give thanks before God and repent. May they find joy and purpose in their repentance and make a firm resolution, so that when they return home after this seminar, they may serve the church with a humble heart, determined to be faithful according to the words of Romans 15:1–2 and 1 Corinthians 4:1–2. Through this, please bless each individual and let Your blessing remain upon every family. We offer this prayer of thanksgiving in the holy name of Jesus, praying and asking for all these things. Amen.
February 25, 2002 2002
Women’s Group Church Officers’
Seminar (Hansan Retreat Center)
Rev. Abraham Park
The Sojourners Returning Home While Singing Praises
