All leadership is built on two things—character and competence. Those are the twin values of leadership. Charisma is optional. Some of the most charismatic people of the twentieth century were also the worst. Hitler, Mao, and Marx and Mussolini were all charismatic. Charisma has absolutely nothing to do with leadership. If you possess it, it’s merely a bonus and, if you allow it, it can actually get you into a lot of trouble. Real leadership is built on character and competence.
The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3:8-10, “Church leaders must be of good character and sincere. They should be tested first and then if they pass the test they should serve” (GNT).
One of the realities that has burdened me is the number of young leaders I see starting or moving into established churches who have tremendous talent and charisma, but who often lack the grounding of character. So in the last few years, I’ve been mentoring and teaching young leaders and addressing the need to put down roots and grow deep in the soil of God’s Word and in the history of the church. And for thirty plus years now, we’ve been addressing the issue of competence by repeatedly teaching pastors and church leaders how to plant and lead healthy churches that have a great commitment to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.
You really need both character and skills to be a good leader. If you have character without competence what you have is sincere ineffectiveness. But far worse is when you have competence without character. If you have competence without character you become a menace—a menace to a church, a menace to a small group, and a menace to society.
To gain greater competence, read. Then read some more. I often tell Pastors that 25% of their reading should be among contemporary authors. Another 25% should be among authors from the immediate past generation of great leaders who are now in heaven—men like D. Martin Lloyd-Jones, Adrian Rogers, and W. A. Criswell. Another 25% should be among authors from the Reformation period up until the modern missionary age—from Luther, Calvin, and Wesley up to D. L. Moody’s age. And a final 25% should be from the early church fathers up to the Reformation—from Athanasius who penned the Nicene Creed to Balthasar Hubmaier, the great Anabaptist contemporary of Zwingli.
If all you ever read is books written by your contemporaries, you’re no smarter than anyone else around you. But if you see how history repeats itself and how you can learn from it, you’ll be a huge step ahead. You also gain competence by getting trained and there are plenty of great conferences to choose from such as our All-Africa Purpose Driven Leadership Conference coming next year, or the Nuts & Bolts Church Planting and Leadership Conference at Lake Pointe Church later this year.
But remember, the maturity you need for ministry is not about skills alone. It’s also about character. And the maturity of your character is not about age, it’s not about your appearance, it’s not about your achievements, and it’s not about mere academics. It’s about your attitude. That is the determining factor of spiritual maturity. Character is the habitual ways you respond to the situations of life.
Character is not your reputation. Reputation is what other people think you are, but character is what you really are. D. L. Moody said, “Character is who you are in the dark.” Character is who you are when nobody’s looking. Character is who you are when you’re not on stage. Character is the real you. And God knows your character.
Charisma doesn’t impress me, and it doesn’t impress God. And if charisma impresses you, be careful. Re-train your heart to long for deeper character and greater competence. Those are the two rails on which great leadership runs.
Am impressed, eager to learn more of such kind of teachings. This is the diet we lack as spiritual leaders.
Great advice. As a younger pastor, I am always challenged by the words in Psalm 78:72. Taking about king David, “so He shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart and guided them with his skillful hands.” I strive for that, integrity first, and skill second. Thanks Rick!
Beautiful! Thanks so much….
Shouldn’t we be more concerned w/ being servants then leaders? Also, shouldn’t the focus be on Christ? I don’t see any mention of dependence on Christ and His resources in this message either… we need less of us and more of HIM. Ultimately, if we are humbling ourselves and filling ourselves with HIM we will be more affective at accomplishing HIS will for our lives. And His will for our lives should be our only focus.
JT, overall, yes. But that doesn’t mean we don’t ever need to address these secondary subjects either.
Thanks for responding Brandon. I agree- character and competence are very important points to touch on. But we can’t forget to mention the Source of these good qualities who is Christ… Ultimately if we draw closer to Him by submitting to His authority and taking up our cross daily these qualities will come naturally. No matter how hard we try we will not be able to produce fruitful results on our own or a part from Him. With Love in Christ. JT
I absolutely love this article. I am so grateful I go to a church that believes this and ensure that young leaders are more focused on the growth of their character than their platform. Thanks for being intentional about teaching young leaders, including myself, this Rick. It matters.
Hi there, thanks for the above, I will be looking into a key book from each of the author’s. thanks again Terry
Pastor Rick Warren, thank you for the great article regarding Character and competency in Leadership.
I am questioning myself why people do not care about their integrity and character in serving others. There is no difference between believers and nonbelievers. The cause is that some of the leaders do not have good attitude on how they approach others. In another words, No character.
Patsor Warren, could you search more why today’s generation face the issue of lack of Character? Or simply my view may be correct!!!!!!Lack of Character lessons in education. Look around in different places around the World, no universities has educational system that support Character. Or most of Jobs requirements forgot this element by just focusing on the competency Only? no idea.But great note, servant of GOD.
This brings to mind a model proposed by Stephen M.R. Covey in “The Speed of Trust”. Trust, Covey asserts, is built on character and competence. Character is composed of intentions and integrity. Both are necessary. For example, it’s possible that one can have unsavory or immoral intentions and be perfectly honest and transparent about it. Competence is composed of capabilities and results. Both are necessary. We can put a degree of trust in somebody based on what we think they can do. But when they produce results, and have a track record, our trust deepens.
I needed to read that today. Thank you.
When you charisma – do you mean people who are gifted with spiritual gifts and are filled with the Holy Spirit continually?
No, to clarify, charisma in rick’s thinking has to do with having a personality and speaking ability that is attractive.