21 Bible Verses about Leaders, Spiritual

And no one takes this honor upon himself but is called to it by God, as Aaron was.

For every high priest who is taken from men is appointed to officiate on behalf of men in matters relating to God, that is, to offer gifts and sin-offerings.

For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; so this High Priest too must have some sacrifice to offer,

for no prophecy has ever yet originated in man's will, but men who were led by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

So he called together all the high priests and scribes of the people, and anxiously asked them where the Christ was to be born.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees came up, and to test Him asked Him to show them a spectacular sign from heaven.

And when He had come into the temple, the high priests and elders of the people came up to Him while He was teaching, and asked, "What sort of authority have you for doing these things, and who gave you this authority?"

"The scribes and Pharisees have taken Moses' seat as teachers.

Now the high priests and the whole council were trying to get false testimony against Jesus, to have Him put to death;

They tie up heavy burdens and fasten them on men's shoulders, but they refuse to lift a finger to help bear them. They do what they do to attract people's attention. They wear on their coats Scripture texts in big letters, and they wear large tassels, and they like the places of honor at feasts and the front seats in synagogues,read more.
to be greeted with honor in public places, and to have men call them 'Teacher.' But as for you, you must not seek for others to call you 'Teacher,' for you have but one who is 'Teacher,' and you are all brothers. And you must not call anyone on earth 'father,' for the Heavenly One is your Father. And you must not be called 'leaders,' for you have only one Leader, and that is Christ. Whoever is greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. "A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees! For you bolt the doors of the kingdom of heaven in men's faces, for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you let those who are trying to do so go in. Omitted Text. A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees! For you scour land and sea to win a single convert, and when he is won you make him twice as fit for the pit as you are.

Then Jesus called them to Him, and said to them, "You know that those who are supposed to rule the heathen lord it over them, and their great men rule as despots over them; but this is not to be the case among you. Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to hold the first positions among you must be everybody's slave.read more.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom price to set many free."

For none of them was in want, for as many of them as were owners of farms or houses proceeded to sell them, one by one, and continued to bring the money received for the things sold and to put it at the disposal of the apostles; then distribution was continuously made to everyone in proportion to his need.

So the Twelve called together the whole body of the disciples, and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave off preaching the word of God to wait on tables. So, brothers, you must select from your number seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit, and of good practical sense, and we will assign them to this business,

They helped them select elders in each church, and after praying and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

I left you in Crete for this express purpose, to set in order the things that are lacking, and to appoint elders in each town, as I directed you --

This is a saying to be trusted: "Whoever aspires to the office of pastor desires an excellent work." So the pastor must be a man above reproach, must have only one wife, must be temperate, sensible, well-behaved, hospitable, skillful in teaching; not addicted to strong drink, not pugnacious, gentle and not contentious, not avaricious,read more.
managing his own house well, with perfect seriousness keeping his children under control (if a man does not know how to manage his own house, how can he take care of a church of God?). He must not be a new convert, or else becoming conceited he may incur the doom the devil met. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, or else he may incur reproach and fall into the devil's trap. Deacons, too, must be serious, sincere in their talk, not addicted to strong drink or dishonest gain, but they must continue to hold the open secret of faith with a clear conscience.

each elder must be above reproach, have only one wife, and his children must not be liable to the charge of profligacy or disobedience. For as God's trustee a pastor must be above reproach, not stubborn or quick-tempered or addicted to strong drink or pugnacious or addicted to dishonest gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness, sensible, upright, of pure life, self-controlled,read more.
and a man who continues to cling to the trustworthy message as he was taught it, so that he may be competent to encourage others with wholesome teaching and to convict those who oppose him.

Take care of yourselves and of the whole flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, so as to continue to be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood.

So ever be on your guard and always remember that for three years, night and day, I never ceased warning you one by one, and that with tears.

Elders who do their duties well should be considered as deserving twice the salary they get especially those who keep on toiling in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, "You must not muzzle an ox when he is treading out the grain," and, "The workman deserves his pay." Make it a rule not to consider a charge preferred against an elder, unless it is supported by two or three witnesses.read more.
Those who are guilty reprove in public, so that others may be warned.

be shepherds of the flock of God that is among you, not as though you had to but of your own free will, not from the motive of personal profit but freely, and not as domineering over those in your charge but proving yourselves models for the flock to imitate;