by A.W. Tozer

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. . . . If it is leadership, let him govern diligently. Romans 12:6, 8

The ideal leader is one who hears the voice of God and beckons the people on as the voice calls him and them. But unfortunately not all leaders are ideal ones. Too many lead by following. One of the most comical sights in the whole world of religious activities is to see an uncertain leader trying to discover the direction the people want him to lead them and then scrambling ahead of them trying to look like Moses on his way out of Egypt. Such a leader will send up a trial balloon and then boldly set out in the direction of the wind, doing his best to create the impression that the wind consulted him before it started to blow.

If this sounds harsh, let me insist that it is far short of the fact. Every city has its religious leader who enjoys a wide reputation as a prominent churchman but who never takes a position on anything until he has first read up on public opinion and is reasonably sure that he will be siding with the majority, or at least with the important minority. Such a man is a hireling and will be judged and disposed of as a hireling in the day of Christ.

We should pray that the Lord would send us leaders; and then we should pray for those leaders when they appear.

by A.W. Tozer