2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10

The lesson from 2 Samuel is fairly straightforward.  Saul is gone, and the Israelites now come before David, recounting his success in war and pledging him their loyalty.  They anoint him their king and, as the Scripture tells us, he rules for several decades, becoming increasingly powerful.  Again, pretty clear.  But there are some significant points in this that make it more than a simple footnote to the history of the people of God.

Specifically, the verses highlight the importance of leadership.  They also stress the essential need of all who would lead in the Church.  Hippolytus, writing in the second century, claimed that the key liturgical act in ordination was what we now might call epiclesis, or prayer for the Holy Spirit to guide the pastor or bishop, demonstrating that though the community chooses the person, the ministry itself is dependent upon the intervention of God.  In fact, little is said in the ordination rites throughout the Early Church about the gifts and graces of the clergy.  Rather, the stress is on the leadership the clergy give, and that leadership is bestowed by the Holy Spirit and then recognized and received by the Church.  This willingness to be led by God, this humility and openness to the work of the Spirit, is what marked effective church leadership.

In verse 2 of our passage, we see that David had reasons to be recognized as the king.  He had gifts.  He was “the one who led Israel out to war and back.”  But that’s not what made him ultimately a man after God’s own heart. 

“The Lord told you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be Israel’s leader,’” verse 2 concludes.  Verse 10 says that “the Lord of heavenly forces was with him.”   It was God’s power in and through David that made him fit for leadership.  It was God’s will, God’s declaration over David, that confirmed within David the calling to lead.  It’s why churches that are inheritors of the Methodist tradition stress more than a good resume when considering women and men for ministry.  We stress a good heart, that is both sensitive to and submissive to the will of God.

We have but to look in the book of Acts to read the story of the earliest followers of Jesus and see that it's told mainly as the story of the church's leaders.  This seems to stress that leadership is not optional for the work of the Spirit through the Church.  But faithfulness to God and God's ways as demonstrated through the Church won't happen without Spirit-filled, Spirit-led leaders.  This was true for King David, and it’s true for us as well.

Spiritual leaders, then, must first discern and then confirm how the Holy Spirit is moving.  Whomever she or he may be, the leader articulates and reiterates the vision that God has given.  They help people move in the same general direction by motivating and inspiring others through their words and their actions.  At his first Conferences, John Wesley had three basic concerns for his leaders: what to teach, how to teach, and what to do.  The Spirit leads all of this.  It’s up to us simply to follow.