According to the Bible, Jesus trains his disciples and other potential leaders through three stages. First of all, he chooses the twelve disciples and then he invests a lot of time to cultivate them. He cultivates them with teachings and training, pointing out their faults as well as inspiring them. After several months, the time is ripe. The Lord hands over the mission to them and trains them to work effectively.
Jesus' plan is quite successful, worthy of imitation. We can learn from him that it takes all-out commitment and time to cultivate leaders. But before this, find would-be leaders.
A speaker introduces five common traits a church or ministry leader should have in a training session "Courageous Leadership" held in a house church of Shanghai:
Influence
A future leader always has the innate capability to influence others. Even though they don't intend to guide others, they naturally have an impact.
Character
Many influential people don't have good characters so that they are not able to use influence in a constructive way or under a Christian principle. Once you find someone influential, identify if he or she has characters like integrity, loyalty, humility, modesty and obedience.
You must see evidences which prove that they walk with God sincerely, obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit and honor God's word.
Interpersonal skills
The definition of "interpersonal skills" is the acuity to sense others' feelings and thoughts and the ability to hear others' opinions. Potential leaders can get along well with different kinds of people, regardless of perverse person or people lacking in self-esteem.
1 Cor 15:58 "Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord." Enterprise makes leaders move, innovate and willing to take initiative.
Intelligence
Intelligence doesn't mean that you get a high SAT score or get a college diploma. Intelligent people can be resourceful, widely seen and comprehend things. They are able to handle much information, evaluate possibilities and always make right decisions. Meanwhile, this kind of people who keep learning and growing can find fervent and curious people.
The above five traits may be not perfect while providing a good framework for preliminary assessments of would-be leaders.
Translated by: Karen Luo
