Student Study Guide
Lesson 25
The Attributes of a Leader - Pt. 1
Section 1 - A Significant Transition
From Character Transformation to the Standard of Leadership
This lesson marks a significant transition in the discipleship course. Having established the transformation of character through the writing of the Word on the heart, we now turn to the outworking of that character in the life of a leader - what the biblical standard for leadership actually looks like, what it requires, and how far the contemporary church has drifted from it.
Over the next four lessons we will work through sixteen personal attributes that Paul sets before Timothy as the defining qualities of anyone who leads.
A Prophetic Word: "What My leaders do not expose on the altars of repentance, I will expose on the altars of public humiliation." What leaders refuse to deal with privately before God will eventually be dealt with publicly before the world. This is not a threat, but a mercy - the discipline of a God who is determined to have for Himself a pure and holy church.
1. The pattern of public exposure of moral failure in leadership is not going to decrease. It is going to , because God is His house.
2. The word "bishop" means an . These attributes are not the aspirational qualities of an elite spiritual class. They are the standard for anyone who leads - whether a congregation of thousands or a small group of eight. They are not material. They are a mirror.
Your Reflection
Section 2 - Attribute One: Blameless
The First and Foundational Standard
The first and foundational attribute is blameless. The word speaks of a life lived in such a way that it does not attract legitimate accusation or reproach - not merely a life free from specific moral failure, but a life whose whole conduct is so ordered that no valid charge can be brought against it. This is not an ideal to aspire toward eventually. It is a present requirement.
3. The application extends beyond the obvious moral catastrophes. Paul says, "Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as " (Rom. 14:16). A leader must consider not only whether their actions are before God but whether they are above before the watching world.
✍ The Healing Evangelist Account
An elderly secretary of one of the great healing evangelists of the 1950s discovered stacks of pornographic magazines in his private office. When she brought this to the board of the ministry, the response was: "But he has been so mightily used by God. He has a little vice. It is no great matter."
That response represents the precise inversion of biblical values. The presence of spiritual gifts is not a mitigating factor against character failure - it makes the failure more serious, not less. The standard is blameless. Not blameless except for the vice we are choosing to overlook.
4. The presence of spiritual is not a mitigating factor against character failure - it makes the failure serious, not less. The operation of spiritual gifts is not the same thing as the of God.
Personal Practice: Traveling in ministry, when the only available meal was at a bar or tavern, the consistent choice has been to go without rather than to be seen entering such a place. Not because eating food from a bar is sin - but because a leader seen by a young believer walking into a bar cannot control what that believer concludes. The leader's good intention can become evil spoken of. Blamelessness means taking that possibility seriously and ordering life accordingly.
5. Blameless is the first word on Paul's list because without it, everything that follows is built on a foundation. It is what God chose His people for before the of the world, and what the death of Christ was intended to produce.
Your Reflection
Section 3 - Attribute Two: Vigilant
The Military Posture of the Leader
The second attribute is vigilant. The word "circumspect" carries a specific and urgent image: a soldier standing at guard, rotating to scan all sides, in the posture of one who knows that an enemy is nearby and that the attack can come from any direction at any moment. This is the posture Paul prescribes for a leader.
6. When Jesus said "watch and pray" in Gethsemane, He was issuing a direct warning to His disciples. The disciples . Peter . The connection is exact. The failure to watch and pray was not incidental to Peter's denial. It was its .
7. Leadership failure follows a consistent pattern. Rarely does a major moral failure arrive suddenly. It is almost always the culmination of a process - a series of small , a slow drift of watchfulness, a progressive lowering of guard in areas that should have remained fortified.
The Wrong Response to Vulnerability
To trust in the strength of one's spiritual commitment in the moment of pressure. To walk into situations relying on willpower to overcome in the moment.
The Vigilant Response
To remove the opportunity for pressure to build to that point. To build protective structure around known vulnerabilities before the moment of pressure arrives.
✍ Two Accounts of Vigilance
"Just Call Me Joseph": A young man in youth ministry, genuinely battling lust, saw an attractive young woman in a mall. His response was immediate: he turned around and walked quickly the other way, shouting, "Just call me Joseph." It was not dignified. But it was vigilant and it was effective. Sometimes the most spiritually mature response available is to run.
The Wedding Account: Two weeks before the wedding, God spoke: "The enemy has a plan and is looking for an opportunity." That warning was immediately shared with trusted leaders. The next two weeks were lived in active watchfulness - never alone, never in situations that would give the enemy an opening. The temptation never came. Not because it was not attempted, but because there was no opening. That is what vigilance produces.
8. Every person has . This is not a cause for shame but a cause for honest and appropriate protective . A person who knows their vulnerable points should be the most aggressive in protecting those specific areas.
Warning to young leaders: Be on guard of those "Christians" who place you in compromising positions and guilt-trip you by saying, "Don't be religious." They are being used by the enemy to get you to let down your guard - to stop being vigilant. I have seen so many potential great young leaders taken out by spending time with respected but compromised ministers.
9. The watching made the warning , and the warning made the possible. If you are not watching and not praying, you will be .
Blameless defines the standard. Vigilant describes the posture that maintains it. These are placed first because without them the other fourteen attributes cannot be sustained.
Your Reflection
Lesson 25 - Practice Test
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Part A: Multiple Choice (5 questions · 2 pts each)
1. According to this lesson, what does the prophetic word at the opening reveal about how God deals with leaders who refuse to expose moral failure privately?
2. What does the lesson say the word "bishop" in 1 Timothy 3 actually means, and who does it apply to?
3. What was the board's response when the secretary reported the healing evangelist's pornography, and what does the lesson call that response?
4. What does the lesson say vigilance produces, as illustrated by the wedding account?
5. What is the relationship between blameless and vigilant in Paul's list, and why are they placed first?
Part B: True or False (6 statements · 1 pt each)
1. The sixteen attributes of 1 Timothy 3 are aspirational ideals for an elite spiritual class - most ordinary believers are not expected to meet this standard.
2. A leader who continues to operate in spiritual gifts with evident results has demonstrated that God approves of their personal conduct and character.
3. Blamelessness is violated only by specific moral transgressions; lawful actions that create a perception of reproach do not affect a leader's blamelessness.
4. Major leadership moral failure almost always arrives suddenly and without warning, making it nearly impossible to prevent through preparation.
5. The "Just Call Me Joseph" account illustrates that running from temptation is sometimes the most spiritually mature response available.
6. The proper response to personal vulnerability is to trust in the strength of one's spiritual commitment to overcome in the moment of pressure, because greater is He who is in us.
Part C: Fill in the Blank (5 items · 1 pt each)
1. These attributes are not the aspirational qualities of an elite spiritual class. They are the standard for anyone who leads.
2. The operation of spiritual gifts is not the same thing as the of God, and it is not a qualification for leadership.
3. The failure to watch and pray was not incidental to Peter's denial. It was its .
4. Blameless defines the . Vigilant describes the that maintains it.
5. If you are not watching and not praying, you will be .
Part D: Short Answer (completion credit)
1. Explain what blamelessness means beyond the avoidance of specific moral failure. Use the "good spoken of as evil" principle and the bar account to illustrate.
2. Describe the typical pattern by which major leadership moral failure arrives, according to this lesson. Why does this pattern make vigilance - not spiritual strength in the moment - the essential defense?
3. What does the lesson say about the "Christians" who use "Don't be religious" to pressure leaders? What does true vigilance look like in the face of that pressure?
Part E - Before You Leave
Is there any area of your life right now where your conduct - though lawful in itself - could be creating a perception of reproach in the eyes of the watching world or a young believer? What does blamelessness specifically require of you in that area?
Name one specific vulnerability you carry as a leader. What is the specific protective structure you will build around it - not to trust your willpower in the moment, but to prevent pressure from ever reaching that point?