Scripture Reference: Acts 6:1-8
Steadfast
The church needs leaders that are steadfast. When the early church selected their leaders, the Bible says, “They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:4). This is God’s way of saying that Stephen was very steadfast in his commitment to Jesus Christ. That must be the sterling characteristic of the church leader. A leader in the church must be a person and example of faith. Jesus told us to be faithful unto death, and He will give to us a crown of life.
Stephen witnessed so faithfully before the Sanhedrin that they could not bear to hear his testimony. They held their hands over their ears. They led him just beyond the walls of the city. Wicked men with cruel hands picked up hard stones and killed Stephen. In his dying moments, he breathed a prayer, calling upon God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). He then knelt down and, following the perfect example of Jesus, prayed that God would forgive the very men that stoned him, saying, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60) Then he died.
The prayer of every sincere Christian worker should be, “Lord, help me to be steadfast. Help me not to be weary in well doing.” Those who are faithful in well doing need not fear those who are spiteful and evildoing, for they have a God to trust who has well doers under the control of His protection and even evildoers under the hand of His restraint.
Spiritual
Finally, above all, the church needs leaders who are spiritual. When the apostles were admonishing the church regarding the kind of men that they ought to select, they said, “Pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty” (Acts 6:3). The supreme qualification of those who were chosen is that they were Spirit-filled. This is a high standard. It is God’s standard. In all the work of our churches we shouldn’t even consider lowering God’s standard. The first qualification required for any man or woman who is to be a worker in the Lord’s vineyard is not popularity, seniority, or even ability, but spirituality!
How can we tell when people are spiritual? Is there a way that we can know whether or not a man or a woman is filled with the Holy Spirit? Absolutely and emphatically there most assuredly is. The Bible tells us, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
When a person is filled with the Holy Spirit, that individual is right within themself. They have within and they demonstrate without “love, joy, and peace.” That individual is also in a right relationship with other people because the fruit of the Spirit is manifested in “patience, kindness, and goodness.” But even more than that, the individual is in a right relation to God, for the fruit of the Spirit is “faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
Organization in the church without the Holy Spirit is like an automobile motor without gasoline. The potential for movement is there, but without the power to move it, it will remain at a standstill. Even a church that is thoroughly orthodox, fundamental, conservative, and accepts biblical standards is as useless as are clouds without rain, until endued with Holy Spirit Power from on high.
In closing, I urge all my readers to resolve to be workers for Christ serving Him through His church, His body. The essence of the New Testament standard in Acts 6 is that you be saved, select, sincere, steadfast, and spiritual. This is the kind of leader God can and will always use for His glory.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
You must be logged in to post a comment.