One of the first tasks Jesus’ followers had after Jesus was taken back into heaven was to fill all of the positions of church leadership. When the disciples studied the scriptures, they learned that Psalms 69:25 and Psalms 109:8 revealed that Judas would betray Jesus and that his position of leadership was to be filled by another. Acts 1:12-26 describes this process and can give us some insight into how to choose church leaders today.
Bible Study
The Return to Jerusalem
After Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples were so stunned that it took two angels to get them moving again. Jesus had told them to return to Jerusalem to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that is just what they did:
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. When they had come in, they went up into the upper room where they were staying; that is Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord continued steadfastly in prayer and supplication, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Acts 1:12-14 (WEB)
Upon their return, they could have simply gone their own way, but instead, they likely gathered at the site of the last supper and spent significant amounts of time in prayer.
Discussion Question #1: When you are waiting for something significant, what do you do in the down time? Why do you think the disciples spent so much time in prayer?
When Jesus was with the disciples, he left a solid pattern of prayer for the disciples to follow. It is to their credit that they continued this pattern when they had little to do but wait.
One of Jesus’ first prayer patterns was what we know as the Lord’s Prayer:
Pray like this:
“Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
Matthew 6:9-13 (WEB)
Let your Kingdom come.
Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also forgive our debtors.
Bring us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”
My guess is that while they waited, much of the disciples’ prayer followed the pattern of the Lord’s Prayer and focused on praise and adoration, asking for Jesus’ return, wisdom, provision of basic needs, requests of forgiveness, strength to overcome temptation, and fortification for the days ahead.
Discussion Question #2: Consider the different parts of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. While thinking about the events that occurred from the time of Jesus’ death to the time of Jesus’ resurrection to the time of Jesus’ ascension, name some specific topics that may have been included in the disciples’ prayers?
The disciples had already been given proof that prayers for fortification of faith work, even if the answer isn’t immediate. When Jesus predicted that Simon Peter would fall away, Jesus also gave assurance that Peter was being lifted up in prayer and that this prayer would be answered at some point in the future. Peter would eventually return to the faith with enough strength to be the leader of the first church.
The Lord said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have all of you, that he might sift you as wheat, but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn’t fail. You, when once you have turned again, establish your brothers.”
Luke 22:31-32 (WEB)
Looking at this verse, God could have arranged things so that Peter would have never disowned Jesus (Luke 22:54-62), but this was not God’s will. Sometimes, instead of giving an immediate yes answer, he tells us to wait. In Peter’s case, it caused a lot of emotional pain, but in the end, Peter became a stronger person who was equipped to do the amazing task of leading the first church (John 21:15-19).
This type of model is key to believing in the power of prayer. All of us have had moments of intense failure, but one failure does not dictate our future; in fact, that failure can make us stronger and more capable. When we have someone like Jesus interceding for us, all things are possible. The disciples knew this first hand and when they had the opportunity, they devoted significant amounts of time to prayer.
Discussion Question #3: Think of a time when you had a failure. Did you turn to Jesus in prayer? Did someone else pray for you? What did you learn from the experience? Did you come out a stronger person, or are you still struggling with brokenness from the experience? What could Jesus do to turn your brokenness into strength?
The Need for a Replacement
As the disciples prayed, God revealed to the need for a new apostle to replace Judas:
In these days, Peter stood up in the middle of the disciples (and the number of names was about one hundred twenty), and said, “Brothers, it was necessary that this Scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was guide to those who took Jesus. For he was counted with us, and received his portion in this ministry. Now this man obtained a field with the reward for his wickedness, and falling headlong, his body burst open, and all his intestines gushed out. It became known to everyone who lived in Jerusalem that in their language that field was called ‘Akeldama,’ that is, ‘The field of blood.’ For it is written in the book of Psalms,
‘Let his habitation be made desolate.
Let no one dwell in it;’and,
‘Let another take his office.’
“Of the men therefore who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, to the day that he was received up from us, of these one must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
Acts 1:15-22 (WEB)
When you have been a Christian long enough, sometimes the Holy Spirit will direct you to a specific Bible verse. In this case, something must have pointed the disciples towards this need. Did Jesus tell them this before he ascended into heaven? Or did the Holy Spirit make a mini-revelation before fully descending on them during Pentecost? There is no way to know, but somehow, they came to understand that Psalms 69:25 and Psalms 109:8 were referring to Judas’s betrayal and the need to replace him.
Discussion Question #4: Has the Holy Spirit ever directed you to a Bible verse that has given you wisdom regarding a particular need? How did that verse help you?
Choosing a Replacement
After discerning the need for a replacement, the process of making a selection ensued. Before the Holy Spirit came during Pentecost, a common method of determining God’s will was to cast lots. This was a similar practice to drawing straws, but if done properly, it was believed to have the backing of God behind it. In this case, the disciples made a prayer and then cast lots:
“Of the men therefore who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, to the day that he was received up from us, of these one must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
They put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. They prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two you have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell away, that he might go to his own place.” They drew lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was counted with the eleven apostles.
Acts 1:21-26 (WEB)
Discussion Question #5: How does the disciples’ method of choosing a replacement apostle compare to your church’s method of choosing a new pastor or elder? What do you consider the most important criteria for these roles?
My guess is that at least some of the disciples’ prayer time discussed earlier in this study was devoted to the replacement of Judas. They must have narrowed their choices down to two men, using specific criteria in addition to prayer. The main criteria they named was that the disciple had to have been a follower of Jesus from the time of Jesus’ baptism to the time of Jesus’ ascension. This would eliminate anyone who had not heard the bulk of Jesus’ teaching.
In modern times, particular criteria is very much like the selection of an elder in the church. Most churches choose people who are mature in their Christian faith and have proven it by receiving a lengthy amount of religious training. While a new Christian might have a lot of general wisdom and enthusiasm, there are bound to be religious concepts that have simply not been heard. It is very hard to teach what you do not know. The original disciples were well aware of this and set a standard to make sure that anyone they chose would not be lacking in this area.
When Jesus chose his original 12 disciples, he spent the evening before in prayer. He probably did not cast lots, but then again, he had a direct line to the Father, so there was no need:
In these days, he went out to the mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God. When it was day, he called his disciples, and from them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles:
Luke 6:12-13 (WEB)
The most important takeaway from this is the need for prayer as we select church leaders. Since Pentecost, God has promised that all believers can have access to the Holy Spirit. Any time we make an important decision, we should be consulting God and listening for the Holy Spirit’s answer. There can be few things more important than having top notch leaders. A good leader can build up a particular church, but a bad one can crumble it. Let’s go to God in prayer each time we select a new leader!
Discussion Question #6: Consider the role of prayer in your life. How does it follow the model that the apostles gave us in Acts? What changes can you make to be more in tune with the Holy Spirit?
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Respond
As you consider the theme of selecting church leaders, are there any Bible verses that came to mind? If so, add a comment at the end of this post!
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English Standard Version (ESV): Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.
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