Article

3 Categories to Consider Before Appointing a Leader

Jon Kelly

What are the things that we should look for before appointing that small group leader, the leader of men’s ministry, or our first part-time staff hire?

The appointment of leaders is all throughout the Scriptures. Whether it is Moses delegating responsibilities to other leaders at the recommendation of Jethro, Jesus entrusting authority to the Twelve, or Paul giving Timothy counsel on appointing leaders within the church, the topic repeatedly comes up. And a caution comes with installing leaders.

Paul told Timothy to “not be hasty in the laying on of hands” (1 Timothy 5:22, ESV). The NLT translates it a little more directly: “Never be in a hurry about appointing a church leader.” The Bible gives us this wise counsel because it is extremely difficult not to give in to rushing through a leadership appointment. Church planters often feel the pressure of needing more leaders. When a plant has new converts, the church is growing, and needs arise, the temptation is to quickly fill the void. Every planter knows this pain—but you can avoid the pain of installing a leader too soon.

So, what are the things that we should look for before appointing that small group leader, the leader of men’s ministry, or our first part-time staff hire? Through failure, I have narrowed it down to three categories to consider: Character, Competency, and Capacity. I call them the “3 Cs.” I always get in trouble when I appoint a leader who doesn’t check all three Cs. I want to save you some heartache and pain by helping you utilize the three categories as mandatory boxes that must be checked before you appoint someone. I truly believe all three are vital for the success and health of the ministry the Lord is doing in your context. Let’s look at why.

Character

When speaking on the appointment of elders in 1 Timothy 3, Paul gives a list of qualities that should be evident in the life of an elder. He says that they must be, “above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle” (vv. 2-3). Outside of “able to teach,” virtually all the other qualities refer to character. Character is mandatory for any leadership role.

Someone who doesn’t have character shouldn’t be followed or entrusted with the souls of God’s people. You cannot place someone in a leadership role because you like them, or they claim to have experience. Do you know their character? How do they respond to difficult people? What can be seen from their character during relational conflict?

I believe it’s hard to truly know someone’s character without seeing them under pressure or in a relational conflict. The consequence of ignoring character will lead to cultivating an atmosphere that fosters sin, wounds the sheep, hinders spiritual fruit, and operates in the flesh.

Competency

Competency is the ability needed to fulfill a task or a role.

It’s not abnormal for someone in a discipleship process (or even leadership development) to lack the competency/ability to fully step into a role or to perform certain tasks. This isn’t always bad. We all need growth. But to appoint someone to a role who isn’t fully competent, without ongoing coaching or development, will only cause the quality and effectiveness of the ministry to suffer. Let’s use an example from the worship ministry.

Let’s say you have a humble young man who is gifted in leading worship on Sundays. You love his heart. He is faithful, seems submissive to leadership, and he can really play! The temptation you may feel is to put him over the entire worship ministry because you have a void, and you need to delegate the worship ministry to someone so you can focus on discipleship and shepherding. But here’s the competency problem—just because he’s gifted in leading worship doesn’t mean he knows how to lead people. When we place someone in a role because we like their character, knowing they have no real competency for the role, the effectiveness of the ministry drops significantly.

When Jethro described the kind of men that Moses should appoint as leaders, he said that they should be “able men … who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe” (Exodus 18:21). Jethro specifically refers to “able men,” men who are competent to fulfill the role.  If coaching and development will not be available from you or someone else, then it’s not wise to appoint a leader who is unfamiliar with leading people and who has no one to show them the way.

Capacity 

This third category refers to the mental, emotional, and physical capacity to serve in a role or to perform a task.

When planting a church, you will find there are many people with character and competency, but they lack the capacity and availability to be fully engaged. An example would be a college student placed over the entire children’s ministry. They may be able to do the work, but they have very little capacity to give their best. Leaders who serve while lacking capacity almost always burn out. When we appoint someone who does not have the capacity to fully execute, everyone suffers. You find yourself chasing the individual down and always waiting for things to happen. People on their team will grow frustrated. Things move slowly when capacity is limited.

The goal is to get the people on the bus in the right seats so that they can serve the Lord effectively. The 3 Cs help to protect you from placing people in the wrong seats. The pain of removing someone you placed in the wrong seat is always more difficult than the pressure you felt to fill the original void. You won’t get every position right. There will be times you have to remove someone because you realized later that they weren’t the right brother or sister to serve in that role. My hope is that these 3 Cs will save you heartache and pain in ministry and provide you a framework to start from as you prayerfully make decisions.