Thru this series I have illustrated by example the character and characteristics of those who were qualified to be in leadership of Churches and Ministries in the Book of Acts and the new Testament Churches of the day.
What were the main things qualifying all the Men and Women listed in the prior postings? What universal imputation did they possess? What were the common denominators that qualified people for leadership in the first century church.
I will not tell you. It will become real to you as we explore the scripture surrounding this. Then I will ask you to be very personally insightful. Are those who are in leadership in many churches in America, Europe and Canada qualified in a first century new testament sense? If not why? What can we do about it.
Then, we have to ask how in the world did we drift so very far from the qualifications established in those foundational days to what exists in most of the churches of the western world? How can we get back?
Let's see if we can unwrap the commonalities:
There were new testament leaders who were most likely present in the upper room at the Pentecostal outpouring:
Barnabas, Stephen, John Mark, Phillip.
How do we know? They are all men selected early in the Church and were noted for being men of Faith, Wisdom and full of the Holy Spirit. They were probably followers of Jesus before the ascension. They would have likely been at the Mount of Olives and obeyed the command of Jesus to go and wait for the outpouring. The evidence is that there were as many as 500 people at the ascension. Only 120 were there at the day of Pentecost in the upper room. So, these four were people faithful and wise and full of the Holy Spirit.
A second group were those who were saved and received the Holy Spirit after the day of Pentecost:
Paul at the laying on of hands by Annanias, Timothy when Paul laid hands on him, Crispus and Titius Judas, (Paul Baptized at least one of them and it may be well assumed probably both) and according to the admonitions to the Corinthian Church in 1 Corinthians it must be assumed they received the Holy Spirit. Apollos received the Holy Spirit at the hands of Pricilla and Aquilla who received the same from Paul so that they were able to minister it. Then the 12 Disciples who it can be argued became a core leadership group for the Church in Ephesus who received the Holy Spirit at the Hands of Paul.
Each of these leaders were first and foremost people who were full of faith and the Holy Spirit. That seemed to be the main issue in selecting early leaders. You couldn't be lukewarm about selecting leaders. It takes greater fire to start dead wood.
One conclusion in all this is the transference of the impartation of the Holy Spirit and Power by the laying on of hands for the most part.
Second, Leaders were called out by the Prophetic voice among them. Paul first called out by Jesus, then by the Prophets at Antioch. Barnabas received his commissioning the same way. The prophets spoke and commissioned them.
Phillip and Stephen were selected by the Apostles were appointed by Jesus who carried the gift of the Prophetic after Pentecost. Crispus and Titius Judas were put in place by Paul operating under the wisdom of the Holy Ghost. Priscilla and Aquilla were called out from and into the marketplace by the anointing of the Holy Ghost thru Paul and eventually became a way to encourage others to go deeper.
Without trying to push the envelope it is apparent that the first decades after Pentecost when the Church was born it was normative that if a leader was installed at any level, even as an elder, he or she had to be one who manifested faith, wisdom, good character and the Holy Spirit.
Next: Examples
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