 Provide an explanation and example of biblical leadership. How do you define biblical leadership? Biblical leadership is seen and evidenced throughout the Holy Bible. While each person had their own style regarding how and what style they often lead by, there were certain traits about them that defined them as a leader, prophet, great man of God, etc. Our text by Borek, Lovett, and Towns gives us eight laws of leadership that were always evident throughout any leadership style which are, “the law of dreams, rewards, credibility, communication, accountability, motivation, problem solving, and the law of decision making.”[1] How I would define leadership is very similar to how our text also defines leadership. I would say that a true leader has a group of characteristics such as being a motivator, requiring respect, honor, integrity, passion, and charisma. Our text defines leadership in many ways, such as: “It has been said that leaders have two important characteristics: First, they are going some-where; second, they are able to persuade other people to go with them.” [2] This definition is nearly identical to a book I own by John Maxwell, who also states, “All great leaders possess two things: They know where they are going, and they are able to persuade others to follow.” [3] Our text also defines leadership as, “In one sense, leadership is the process of helping people do the worthwhile things they want to do. Good leadership has been described as the art of getting average people to do great work. At its highest, leadership consists of getting people to work for you when they are under no obligation to do so.” [4] My personal favorite definition that the text gave is, “In a military context, it is the process by which one soldier influences others to accomplish the mission.” [5] After all, we are soldiers in the army of the Lord! There is one aspect however that I believe overrides all of these other attributes and even determines if these attributes will be acquired in the first place, that is God’s favor. God often places His hand upon great leaders and molds them into who they are. They are just made, but also crafted. I agree with our text when it states, “Leadership may be one of those things that is easier caught than taught.” [6] Figuratively speaking it may be caught, but we know that leadership doesn't just get caught, but rather appointed unto God’s people. Joseph wasn't just shown favoritism by many high ranked Egyptian members of society, but most likely also gained some leadership qualities along the way that were sourced from both experience and God’s divine hand. This is the reason that I have to agree with the statement that there are nine spiritual gifts and qualities that aid in the development of leadership within a person. The nine spiritual gifts of leadership are, “evangelism, prophecy, teaching, exhortation, shepherding, empathy, serving, giving, and administration.”[7] These gifts help to provide the knowledge and skills needed which are necessary for leadership such as understanding situations, knowing what is coming up ahead, communicating, controlling large groups of people, and leading by example. While leadership has many qualities as well as definitions, how far and large that leadership is attained depends upon the size of the vision of the leader and size of their sacrifice. In the same book that I mentioned by John Maxwell, he goes on to tell of the sacrifices of a leader to accomplish his greatest desires and visions. Maxwell states that, “A great person will lead a great organization, but growth is only possible when the leader is willing to ‘pay the price’ for it.” [8] Leadership is both uplifting and can provide challenges for a leader. What are some of the challenges you face as a Christian leader? Leadership can be very uplifting, which is what drives a leader to do what they do. They wish to see those who look up to them in leadership grow and change. Leaders like to see how they are performing by seeing those who follow them perform. However, many times leadership can also be very challenging. On the journey from today to a better tomorrow, there are going to be some adjustments and growing pains. Many times when the going gets tough and immediate benefits are hard to measure or do not exist, people begin to doubt a leader. Our lecture says, “When an organization is producing strong results, leadership is looked as the driving force behind the organization’s success. On the other hand, the lack of results causes others to question the effectiveness of the leadership.”[1] Respect is earned and measured many times by results, which is why the ability to motivate others is essential in this role. Leadership as I have mentioned before requires much hard work and sacrifice. Sometimes this means being the servant over being served ourselves. Saying what it means and the struggles of being a Christian servant leader, our text mentions, “They are always giving of themselves and rarely have the opportunity to receive from others. They provide the emotional support others need, but may not have the strong support network that will uphold them. They are often the subjects of abuse by those who make extreme and unreasonable demands on them.”[2] Being a servant leader is the most effective as well as the form of leadership we are commanded by Christ to exhibit. While this can often be difficult for the reasons given here, the payoff for the Kingdom of God makes up for it in leaps and bounds. Servants are blessed by the act of serving and valued in the heavens. God places special blessings on us when we serve the people He loves. Among the problems that come with servant style leadership, our text says, “They may also become problem-focused and discouraged because so many people they know and work with seem to be struggling.”[3] I have found myself in the downtrodden position of being discouraged as a result of both ministerial and public service positions. We must open up the Word of God however and read Scripture such as Philippians 4:13, while staying in constant contact through prayer with God. Leadership is often misguided, operating outside the will of God. This is a problem for anyone who has authority as a ministry leader because as our lecture states, “Biblical leadership is not about style or technique as much as it is about character.”[4]We can do whatever we want and how we want to do it, but until we are operating under the will and way of God we are spinning our wheels in the mud. God provides directions through His Word, via conviction in the Spirit, through confirmation of other believers, and even sinners sometimes. This gives us the traction we need to get moving forward on the path that He has already laid out for us. When we operate outside of God’s will as leaders, we are taking those who follow us into a direction of building idols. When God knocks down that idol of progress to those who look to us for direction, that is when the confidence that was once in place for that leader responsible begins to fade. Leaders who intend to be in ministry, but operate outside of the will of God won’t be in position long before they are isolated and ineffective. Thankfully, since God is good He often can get us reset on the right track if we are willing to be molded. As a minister of the Gospel, there have been times when I believed I was outside of the will of God and He was able to redirect me in place. This redirection however, requires much discomfort and sometimes even personal suffering. Let God deal with that hurt and He will mold you back into the beautiful vessel He desires for you to be. [1]John Borek, Danny Lovett, and Elmer Towns, The Good Book on Leadership: Case Studies from the Bible (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2005), 9-10. [2] John Borek, Danny Lovett, and Elmer Towns, The Good Book on Leadership: Case Studies from the Bible (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2005), 8. [3] John C. Maxwell, Developing The Leader Within You (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1993), 140. [4] John Borek, Danny Lovett, and Elmer Towns, The Good Book on Leadership: Case Studies from the Bible (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2005), 8. [5] Grand Canyon University, “What is Biblical Leadership?” (lecture 1, Biblical Foundations of Christian Leadership, Grand Canyon University, 2016). https://lc.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/user/users.html [6] Grand Canyon University, “What is Biblical Leadership?” (lecture 1, Biblical Foundations of Christian Leadership, Grand Canyon University, 2016). https://lc.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/user/users.html [7] John Borek, Danny Lovett, and Elmer Towns, The Good Book on Leadership: Case Studies from the Bible (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2005), 210-211. [8] John Borek, Danny Lovett, and Elmer Towns, The Good Book on Leadership: Case Studies from the Bible (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2005),210.
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