A man of experience

Deuteronomy 1:13 (ESV)
Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.

Experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads. The third criteria that Moses required from his judges is a man of experience. The word Experienced here is translated also as "Known" or "Respected". They were those who were well known and thought of by people for their wisdom, godly conduct, for their noble achievements.

How others view us is important. We may say, 'All that matters is how God thinks of me. It doesn't matter what man thinks of me!' That is indeed true, that we should not seek glory from men. However, when we do live a life that glorifies God, without seeking our own glory, we produce the fruits that other people will naturally begin to notice. Jesus Christ, while He was growing up, had favour from God and men (Luke 2:52) though He had not yet revealed who He was, nor was seeking His own glory at all. Joseph was only a prisoner, but because everyday he lived a Spirit-filled and Spirit-led life, people around him naturally began to notice him. Eventually even the Pharaoh noticed him, and gave this report about Joseph:
Genesis 41:38-39 (ESV)
And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?" [39] Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are.

How others view us is a truer assessment of our character than how we would like to judge our own selves. Our heart is wicked and deceitful above all things, and we always want to think highly of ourselves. Thus what we think of our own selves is not usually a true image of who we are. It is distorted and puffed up with self-love and self-worship. Only what God and other people bear witness of ourselves is the true evaluation of who we are. This it is why Christ said:
John 5:31 (ESV)
If I alone bear withness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true.
Not that Christ's testimony of Himself was not true (John 8:14) because Jesus was God and He was always truthful and there was nothing of self-glory in Him. Jesus did not need any witness from men to testify of Him (John 5:34), only the Father and the Holy Spirit. But we are not Jesus, and we do need other people to testify of us. If we say things such as 'God knows my heart, He knows I'm a Christian', yet the world cannot confess likewise, how can we prove that God thinks such a thing about us? If God knows if a person is a Christian, then the world must also know, naturally. If we have no spiritual 'references' who can testify of us, we must ask ourselves, are we really right with God? Are we really living a life as light of the world, as a city that is set of a hill? Or are we living in disobedience and covering it up with the excuse: 'Well, God knows my heart'. Yet we do not realize that God is greater than our heart, and He knows all things. His standard of judgment is far greater and harsher than our heart or our neighbours'. If we cannot fool our neighbours with our sins, what makes us to think that we can fool God?

Importance of spiritual references are stressed all over the New Testament. When Paul was saved, and desired to join the brethren, they were all afraid of him, and did not believe him. But it was Barnabas that gave the reference of Paul's brave works for Christ and the Gospel:
Acts 9:27 (ESV)
But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

Without Barnabas there could have been no Paul. It was not Paul himself who went to the apostles and testified of himself that he had seen the Lord, that he had boldly preached Christ. But it was Barnabas, a man himself approved, who gave the witness of Paul. Therefore was Paul the more credible, than if he had ascribed greatness to himself and boasted of his experiences. Because of another's reference, Paul was welcomed to the congregation, and was able to serve God as an apostle. Paul does indeed later boast of himself in his epistles, but not without great shame and feeling foolish in speaking such a way (2 Corinthians 11:1). It is because Paul knew Solomon's advice in Proverbs:
Proverbs 27:2 (ESV)
Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.

Paul himself also gives good references of others in Romans 16. Read the passage here and see how important it is to be well known or thought of by other people:
Romans 16:3-13 (ESV)
Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, [4] who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. [5] Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. [6] Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. [7] Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. [8] Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. [9] Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. [10] Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. [11] Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. [12] Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. [13] Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well.

After reading the above, we can't say anymore such foolish things as, 'I don't care what people think, I'm right with God'. For if we are right with God, as we can read above, we are naturally well thought of and respected by other people who are right with God. It can't be avoided. No one lights a lamp to be hidden underneath the bed, but it is lifted for all men to see. We are to declare our good works to the world so that all men might see and glorify God the Father.

And Paul goes even further, saying that a leader in the Church must be a man who is well thought of even by the unbelievers:
1 Timothy 3:6-7 (ESV)
He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. [7] Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.
If our actions do not match up even to the low moral standards of the outsiders, how can that person be right with God, who judges the heart? How can such a man be a leader? It is not possible.

Just as we will receive good reports about us from people when we do good, when we do evil we are naturally bound to receive evil report. For example, see how Paul gives this bad reference of Demas:
2 Timothy 4:10 (ESV)
For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia,Titus to Dalmatia.
Demas was once a faithful worker of the Lord, fellow worker of Paul, counted among great men such as:
Philemon 1:24 (ESV)
and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
But Demas turned his back on Paul, the Gospel work, and perhaps on the Lord as well, as he went to Thessalonica. And Paul testifies that it was because of his love for the world, for the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life, as John says. Now forever is his name shamefully spoken in all nations as the 'One who forsook the Lord for the world'. What people think of us DOES matter. Let us fear, and be a worker approved, both by God, and by men:
Romans 14:17-18 (ESV)
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. [18] Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.
2 Timothy 2:15 (ESV)
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Getting back to the translation of the word as "Experienced": Experience is an essential ingredient for a leader. First reason is, an experienced leader can take sympathize with those who are going through the same things that he has gone through in the past. When we have a role model who has gone through the exact same thing that we are going through now, and when we see how they have handled the challenges and the difficulties and how they prevailed in the end or solved the problems, it is surely a comfort for us. They give us hope, that there is a way out. Their advice is sweet to our ears, for they have gone through the same tunnel. Their words and advice have authority, for they truly understand our situation. And we respect such leaders, for they have special knowledge that we could never attain by learning, but only by experience.

Who is the experienced leader that God has set as Head over us? It is Jesus Christ. The experience of Jesus Christ is great comfort to us. Knowing that our Lord has gone through it all before us, gives us so much encouragement. We know that though we die, because we are in Him, we will rise again from the dead like He did. We know that we will go to Heaven, because Christ went before us there to prepare a place for us. We know that when we are hated and rejected by the world, it has hated and rejected Him first. As Christ held His peace to His offenders, we also hold our peace to those who offend us. Just as Christ followed the Father and did those things pleasing to Him, we also follow Christ and do those things pleasing to Him. Just as Christ was tempted in all points, yet was without sin, we also know that though we are tempted, God will provide a way for us to escape every sin.

And we respect and honour Jesus Christ our captain of salvation because He has also experienced something we can never experience: the wrath of God. We may do greater miracles than Christ did, and have the entire world to turn against us and kill us with the most horrifying death, worse than the cross. But we will never go through that special experience that Christ went through for us on the cross. We will never know what that is like, to undergo eternities worth of spiritual torment for the sins of mankind. But we admire Christ because of His experience, and can only wonder what Christ felt as the sin of the world was laid on Him.

Christ alone is therefore fit to be our Head, for He is fully sufficient in all these three areas: of wisdom, understanding and experience. As it is written:
Ephesians 1:22-23 (ESV)
And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, [23] which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Only Christ is worthy to be called our Head, our Judge, our Leader, our Teacher:
Matthew 23:8-10 (ESV)
But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. [9] And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. [10] Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.

Let us worship Jesus Christ who alone is wise, who alone has the Spirit of understanding, who alone has all the experience and knowledge, for He is God, the Ancient of Days, who has been from everlasting to everlasting. Only He is worthy to be called our Leader. Leaders in the church are only slaves of Jesus Christ, who in the palm of His hand holds all lords, kings and princes of the world. We must worship Christ our King, Bowing down to Him, knowing our wisdom, understanding and experience is like dirt compared to the glory of His Majesty. Let us fall down and worship Him who is the Beginning and the Ending, Alpha and the Omega. Let all the nations bow and kiss the hand of Christ in allegiance to Him. Praise be to Christ our only Potentate:
1 Timothy 6:15-16 (ESV)
He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, [16] who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.