If the leaders in your church are following a “status quo” approach to leadership, rather than one based on the Lord’s vision for His people, how can they—or the people they serve—expect anything other from Him than hot displeasure and severe discipline? He loves them too much to let them continue on a course other than that which He has determined for them (Hebrews 12:3-17).

THE LEADERS GOD USES
The potential of local churches to make a Kingdom impact in their communities depends in large part on the faithfulness of their leaders. Zechariah tells us that God will judge those leaders who, by their ineptness, negligence, or outright disobedience, cause the people to languish and wander from His purpose and course. Then He will turn His attention to caring for His flock, delivering them from their wandering and affliction and leading them to fulfill His vision (10:3ff).

The Lord will establish them as strong battle steeds (Zechariah 10:3). Snorting, pawing the ground, straining at the bit, and bristling with strength and might, they will go into battle under their Lord, take their directions straight from Him, and draw on His courage and power against every foe. Surely the leaders of such a flock must be men whose zeal for the battle is intense and whose relationship with the Lord is very close and real. Church leaders whose spiritual disciplines are lackluster—especially daily time in the Word and prayer (Acts 6:4)—or whose time and energies are exhausted in pursuit of the business of the world will not be able to lead their churches to the greatness God intends for them.

Second, the Church shall be built upon a strong foundation—cornerstone, tent peg, and battle bow (v. 4)—by which the prophet means to refer to “every ruler” and “all of them together.” Jesus is the cornerstone of the Church, and the apostles and prophets are her foundation (Ephesians 2:20). The rulers and church leaders God uses must embody the life of Jesus and follow the example of the apostles as a visible demonstration of what the people of God are to become. This is why the Scriptures put such a strong emphasis on the kind of men God approves for leadership in His churches (cf. 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9).

The Church and her leaders will assume the forefront of the battle against every foe (v. 5), as they bring every enemy of the Lord and His Church to heel. Whether that foe is the next lie spun out by the media or pop culture, the peccadillo du jour of the Christian community, or the devil himself, the leaders of the churches must not hesitate to take up the full armor of God, equip the saints for ministry, and confront the enemy head-on. Through example, instruction, church discipline, and activism of various kinds, the leaders must provide hand-to-hand engagement, as well as strategies, equipping, and vehicles through which to lead the people of God to overcome the gates of hell (Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 6:10-20).

The Lord promises to visit His people and establish their greatness in all the earth. And He will raise up a new kind of leadership—leaders like Christ and His apostles—in order to accomplish this lofty vision.

A PLEA TO CHURCH LEADERS
As the New Year begins, let us plead with our church leaders to take up the Lord’s vision for His Church, and to submit themselves to becoming the kind of leaders God expects them to be. If the people of God will demand God’s vision and God’s leaders for their churches, we may begin to realize the promise of that vision for His Church. Then our churches will be better prepared to fulfill the vision of shining beauty, ferocious goodness, uncompromising holiness, and determined mission, that will make her “the joy of the whole earth” (Psalm 48:1-3). Pray that God will raise up leaders who embrace His vision and will lead us to take up our callings in the struggle for the Kingdom.

FOR REFLECTION
Ask the leaders of your church about their vision. Does it sound like God’s vision? Are they the kind of leaders likely to take your church to where God wants it to be? How might you help and encourage them?