[stephenkhoo]

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING CHRISTIAN LEADERS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 S 16:1-13; MK 2:23-28
http://www.universalis.com/20140121/mass.htm



How do we select Church leaders, pastoral council members, priests or bishops? Is it by democracy through an election process? Not really. The Church is not strictly democratic because the choice of Church leaders is not guided by mere external criteria of competency alone or by popular consensus but discernment of the Lord’s choice.

Indeed, the nature of Christian leadership is different from worldly leadership. The latter vies for recognition by promoting themselves and how qualified they are in fulfilling the roles or offices they seek to undertake. But such direct aspiration to Christian leadership is taboo because it smacks of pride and ambition. Rather, Christian leaders are appointed, and not the result of thrusting oneself before the people telling them, “Please elect me.” Christian leaders, like the Holy Father, are called not to be masters over others but to be the servant of God and the servant of Christ. As the responsorial psalm says, “I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him, That my hand may be always with him, and that my arm may make him strong.”

So Christian leaders do not call themselves to service but are called. We cannot demand to be appointed although we can offer ourselves for service. The choice of God is sovereign and free. This explains why in choosing candidates for ordination to the priestly order, the decision is ultimately the prerogative of the bishop. After conferring with his advisors and seminary formators, he discerns as to whether the candidate could be ordained. He does not need to give reasons why a person is accepted or not accepted for ordination. This was what happened to Saul as well. A time came when God felt that Saul no longer should be king. So when Samuel was still reluctant to anoint David to be the next King, God reprimanded him, “How long will you go on mourning over Saul when I have rejected him as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen myself a king among his sons.”

How then does the Lord call us? He calls us through His representative. This was the case of David’s appointment which was confirmed by Samuel. A man chosen for ordination must therefore be confirmed by the rightful authorities, namely, the bishop in consultation with the seminary formators. Of course, such a choice is never arbitrary but based on external criteria; consultation guided by prayerful discernment, for man looks at appearances, God sees the heart.

But what criteria are used for discernment of leaders? God told Samuel, “Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and then I myself will tell you what you must do; you must anoint to me the one I point out to you.” His criteria are again different from that of the world. In the corporate world, they look for external criteria such as academic degrees, dressing, presentation, personality, etc.

For the selection of leaders, besides competency, more importantly, we seek to discover whether the leaders have the right motive of wanting to serve God and His people, not for sordid gains or selfish reasons. He must not be seeking for position, popularity and status or wealth. Indeed, the Lord said to Samuel, “Take no notice of his appearance or his height for I have rejected him; God does not see as man sees; man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.” However, when Jesse sent to Samuel a boy of fresh complexion, with fine eyes and pleasant bearing. “The Lord said, ‘Come, anoint him, for this is the one.’”

Secondly, they must possess the necessary virtues. In the appointment of the seven deacons in the early Church, and the elders like Timothy, the criteria they sought for were that they were filled with the Holy Spirit and with wisdom. In concrete terms, Church leaders, lay or religious must have a deep love for the Lord, a solid prayer life, a person of integrity, honesty and justice, tampered with compassion and forgiveness. Equally important as well is that he must be docile to the Word of God and respectful and obedient to legitimate authority.

Hence, whilst the appointment of Church leaders requires certain structures and external forums e.g. external assessment, psychological test, academic qualifications, etc and internal forum through spiritual direction and intuition of discernment by authorities, the structure is only a means to an end. The last word cannot be determined by structures, but by the one who has the authority to appoint given by Christ Himself. Yes, the gospel reminds us that “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is master even of the sabbath.”

Once a person is discerned to be chosen for leadership, then the next step is to anoint him, that is, to consecrate him to the Lord for the service of the people of God. We read that “Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him where he stood with his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord seized on David and stayed with him from that day on.” To be anointed is to mark a person for the service of God and His people in such a way that it is a guarantee of God’s divine assistance to the person, provided that person is seeking to be faithful to God and docile to his will and guidance.

And we can be confident that if a Christian leader is properly chosen, God will guide him. This holds true especially in the appointment of the Holy Father and the bishops. For God, through the anointing, declares His love for His appointed ones and His fidelity towards them. God said of David, “I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him, that my hand may be always with him, and that my arm may make him strong.” The king in the Old Testament was like a son to Yahweh as God said, “He shall say of me, ‘You are my father, my God, the Rock, my savior.’ And I will make him the first-born, highest of the kings of the earth.”

Of course, this entails that he or she who has been chosen must live out this sonship in their relation with God. They must be obedient like Jesus, the Son of the Father, always bearing the image of God in them. Most of all, they must grow in intimacy with the Father, in love, so that sharing His heart and mind, they will be able to exercise their pastoral care after the heart of the Good Shepherd.