There are members of the church who have the gift of providing leadership within the church and of organizing all kinds of things. Such people are not merely symbolic figureheads, but rather truly lead with zeal. The purpose of their leadership also ought not to be to make a profit for themselves, but to devote themselves to the Church of Christ. Although this specific example can also include people who have been appointed as leaders (elders and helpers), the focus here are people who, of their own initiative, actively live out the talents that they have been given. Therefore, for example, there were people who welcomed a portion of the church in their well-appointed houses and thereby gained a more central role in the organization of life in the community. Others were able to use their position to serve as patron of those who were socially disadvantaged. Phoebe was called such a patron of many (including Paul himself) in Romans 16:2 (the word prostatis for Phoebe is related to the word prohistamenos used in Romans 12:8). Since leading is here placed between contribution and doing acts of mercy, that is, the last three examples listed by Paul in Romans 12:6–8, Cranfield1 rightly suggests that the focus here should be more on the people who are active in maintaining spiritual life than on people principally dedicating themselves to either prophecy, service in spreading the gospel, teaching, or exhorting (the first four examples).2
8 et celui qui exhorte à l'exhortation; que celui qui donne le fasse avec libéralité; que celui qui préside le fasse avec zèle; que celui qui pratique la miséricorde le fasse avec joie.