Choosing the Right Leaders to Build
Healthy Leaders | Issue 63
Welcome back to Healthy Leaders! In this issue, we introduce the LeaderID model.
Hello friends,
We’ve been addressing an issue of particular importance recently: that of identifying the right leaders to build. Doing this well is incredibly strategic, but the process of identification is not as complicated as you might think.
In fact, it can be broken down into four factors:
Looking for those who think
Looking for those who act
Observing their lives within real community
Depending on God through prayer and spiritual discernment
Here’s Malcolm with more on this.1
As we see in this video, the LeaderID Model is based on the principle that high-potential emerging leaders are already thinking and acting.
So what are some real-life examples of this?
Like all of our models, LeaderID is rooted in Scripture, and the New Testament contains several examples that are helpful here.
The first is that of Timothy, an emerging leader who eventually came to be Paul’s right-hand man. Luke records this in Acts 16:
Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him … (Acts 16:1-3)
Timothy was apparently already functioning well in ministry responsibility in both Lystra and Iconium. He was thinking and acting, and his community recognized his high leadership potential and recommended him to Paul.
Then, there’s the example of the Thessalonian church:
We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work…. (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13)
The Thessalonian church is only months old at this point, so they didn’t have appointed leaders yet (such as in Acts 14:23 or Titus 1:5). Even so, at this early stage there are some members of the church who are informally doing the work. Paul would have seen this beginning when he was there, and Timothy would have seen it in a little more advanced state and told Paul about them.
In 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul points them out to the people, but not by title or even by name. The people know who they are — they are serving the people, equipping the people, protecting the people, guiding the people. They are doing the work, not because they have a pastoral job or title but because they love the people and take responsibility and initiative. It is natural and organic.
Moreover, what qualified these leaders was not a formal degree but their lives in Christ, their character, servanthood and vision, and their initiative in guiding and equipping the people.
See, this is how Paul understands “leaders.” Leaders are those who fulfill the functions of leadership — meaning that they are actually doing the hard daily “labor” of leading the people — rather than people with positions and titles.
The leaders here do not have formal titles, positions or religious jobs, and Paul tells the people to know them, recognize them and respect them. True leaders will do the work of leadership, with or without the recognition, but it’s easier and better for everyone if they are “known” by the people (Hebrews 13:17).
Moreover, this shows us how leaders are established in the Body of Christ. They are the ones who are actually doing the work. They take responsibility and initiative. They think and act in a way that serves and builds the life of the church. They do the work first and are identified and recognized later. This is probably what happened in Acts 14:23 and Titus 1:5. Those whom Paul appointed as the new elders in the churches were the ones who had already been doing the work and were recognized by the people.
We should also notice that these leaders are “among you.” Like Paul, who lived and served “in the middle of” the people (1 Thessalonians 2:7), these leaders did not show up once a week to stand on a stage and give a brief public performance to an “audience.”
They lived among the people, deeply engaged with them in the midst of their daily lives, serving them, working hard to equip them and guide them. They weren’t religious professionals running organizational programs. They equipped the people. It was close work, personal work, intense work. They did not function from an office; they labored in the homes of the people and in the marketplace. They were “among” them. Consequently they were well-known by the people.
The same thing happens in 1 Corinthians 16:
Now I urge you, brothers — you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints — be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer. (1 Corinthians 16:15-16)
In Corinth, as in Thessalonica, Paul tells the people to recognize those who are already doing the work of leadership.
We’ll get deeper into the characteristics of high-potential emerging leaders next time.
What about you?
All of us should be asking, before we get to identifying emerging leaders in our ministries or churches — would this model identify me?
Do you think?
Do you act?
Would your community affirm your potential as a leader?
Would God affirm your potential as a leader?
This isn’t about shame or regret — we’ve all made mistakes as leaders and have room for growth! This is about an honest assessment of your potential.
When you look closely at yourself in light of this model, what do you see? If you’d like, share what you find in the comments.
Until next time, we’re with you!
— Chris
Recommended Resources
Model Brief: LeaderID
Video Course: Shaping a Culture of Generational Succession
Video Course: LeaderID: Identifying High-Potential Emerging Leaders
For more resources, visit our website.
As always, we’re so grateful to our friends at Fifty-Four Collective for helping us create these videos and for providing top-notch leader development online training. Check out what they’re doing!