Affirmation of God’s Calling into Leadership

While we have seen how leadership is a result of a divine call, it is in fact a confluence (i.e., a merging) of God’s choice and human recognition. The latter refers to the idea that the communities, to which God calls individuals, also affirm the calling.

The affirmation of leadership

Consider this scenario.

Scenario

A young pastor applies for a position as church pastor and is eligible for ordination within a specific denomination. As part of the interview or ordination process, he meets with the church’s elders in which they ask him questions about his experiences with God and His Word and other related topics. However, one of the key questions of this ordination process is not directed at the young applicant but at the church congregation when the elders ask: “Do you recognize this young man as being called to your community as a spiritual leader?”

This scenario illustrates how the body of believers affirms the calling that leaders may feel when being appointed to a leadership position within a church or ministry. They essentially concur that they think an individual is being equipped to lead the specific community to which they are being called. We see a biblical example of leadership affirmation in Acts 1:21–26 when Matthias was chosen to replace Judas as one of the twelve apostles.

They therefore see evidence of a leaders’ leadership potential and equipping (e.g., gifts of evangelism, counseling, prophecy, etc.) demonstrated in a similar (or the same) context to which they are being called. Often these gifts look like a natural outflow of what God has given individuals for the leadership task at hand. Potential leaders do not seek to show this enablement off to prove themselves or gain influence, but rather they simply cannot help but use what has been given to them by God. This is often a key distinguishing factor between leadership in ministries versus leadership in secular environments where the concept of being called and affirmation of the calling are absent.

Why is calling and affirmation important?

Being called and affirmed into leadership is important for church and ministry leaders because church and ministry leaders will experience very challenging times, will need to overcome many obstacles, and withstand spiritual warfare. Recognizing and knowing that they were called and affirmed by God and the community (and are not just products of a political decision-making process within an organization) helps leaders to overcome such difficulty. We see this when Paul encourages Timothy in his developing ministry and reminds him of his calling and affirmation in 2 Timothy 1:6.