An Authentic Calling: Representing Christ and His Kingdom through the Church

Session 3 A Call to Holiness Understanding an Authentic Call as a Call to Holiness

For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

~ 1 Thessalonians 4.7 (ESV)

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.

~ Ephesians 4.1 (ESV)

We exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own Kingdom and glory. ~ 1 Thessalonians 2.12 (ESV)

Spiritual leadership requires Spirit-filled people. Other qualities are important; to be Spirit-filled is indispensable. The book of Acts is the story of people who established the Church and led the missionary enterprise. It is of more than passing significance that the central qualification of those who were to occupy even subordinate positions of responsibility in the early Church was that they be persons “full of the Holy Spirit.” These officers were to be known for integrity and judgment, but preeminently for their spirituality. A person can have a brilliant mind and possess artful administrative skill. But without spirituality he (sic) is incapable of giving truly spiritual leadership. Behind all the busyness of the apostles was the executive activity of the Spirit. As supreme administrator of the church and chief strategist of the missionary enterprise he is everywhere prominent. . . . Selection of Kingdom leaders must not be influenced by worldly wisdom, wealth, or social status. The prime consideration is spirituality. When a church or missions organization follows a different set of criteria, it essentially removes the Spirit from leadership.

~ J. Oswald Sanders. Spiritual Leadership . 2nd Edition. Chicago: Moody Press, 1994. pp. 79-80.

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