In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community. The term is taken from Latin minister “servant, attendant”, which itself was derived from minus “less.”

Ministers may perform some or all of the following duties:

Depending on the denomination the requirements for ministry vary. All denominations require that the minister has a sense of 'calling.' In regards to training, denominations vary in their requirements, from those that emphasize natural gifts to those that also require advanced tertiary education qualifications, for example, from a seminary, theological college or university.

There are a range of references to leadership in the New Testament.

Colossians 1:25 "I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness" (NIV-The Quest Study Bible, copyright 1994, p 1628).

Stephen Joseph Harper, PC MP (born April 30, 1959) is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election. He is the first prime minister from the newly reconstituted Conservative Party, following a merger of the Progressive Conservative and Canadian Alliance parties.

Harper has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Calgary Southwest in Alberta since 2002. Earlier, from 1993 to 1997, he was the MP for Calgary West. He was one of the founding members of the Reform Party, but did not seek re-election, and instead joined, and shortly thereafter led, the National Citizens Coalition. In 2002, he succeeded Stockwell Day as leader of the Canadian Alliance (the successor to the Reform Party) and returned to parliament as Leader of the Opposition. In 2003, he reached an agreement with Progressive Conservative leader Peter MacKay for the merger of their two parties to form the Conservative Party of Canada. He was elected as the party's first non-interim leader in March 2004.

Erna Hennicot-Schoepges (born 24 July 1941 in Dudelange) is a Luxembourgian politician for the Christian Social People's Party. She was until 2009 a Member of the European Parliament, sitting as a CSV member of the European People's Party.

The Hon. Erna Hennicot-Schoepges has an extensive history in cultural affairs. She was educated in Musical studies, for which she was awarded the gold medal as a pianist, as well as philosophy and literature at the Conservatoire Royal de Musique in Bruxelles, Ecole Normale in Paris, the Mozarteum in Salzbourg, and the Centre Universitaire in Luxembourg.

Her political career reflects this deep interest in culture as well as her commitment to civil affairs. The Hon. Hennicot-Schoepges was elected Mayor of Walferdange and then moved on to become the first woman President of Luxembourg’s Parliament followed by her appointment as Luxembourg’s Minister of Culture, Higher Education and Research and Public Works. Throughout this time, she was also highly engaged as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and of the European Parliament.