How do I know which leaders I should follow?

Joshua 3:3-4“When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, move out from your positions and follow them. Since you have never traveled this way before, they will guide you.”

1 Timothy 3:1-7This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be a church leader, he desires an honorable position.” So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? A church leader must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall. Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.

Sometimes we don’t have a choice in the leaders we follow at work or in the community. But with spiritual leaders, we do usually have a choice. Our spiritual leaders have a profound impact on our view of God and our walk with God. We should choose leaders whose words and actions point us to God and challenge us to raise our standards in obeying and serving him. And what they teach should be consistent with the teachings of the Bible, which is God’s inspired Word.