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July 16 - July 22, 2024
His views on leadership are conspicuously out of step with the conventional wisdom of our age: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25–28).
According to Christ, then, the truest kind of leadership demands service, sacrifice, and selflessness.
Leadership for the Christian always has a spiritual dimension. The duty of leading people carries with it certain spiritual obligations.
All Christians in every kind of leadership are called to be spiritual leaders.
A true leader inspires followers. Someone who has no followers can hardly be called a leader.
Real leadership seeks to motivate people from the inside, by an appeal to the heart, not by external pressure and coercion.
There’s much more to Christlike leadership than modus operandi. Again, true spiritual leadership is all about character, not style.
Doesn’t it seem obvious that the apostle Paul would have more to teach Christians about how to lead than we could ever learn from Donald Trump?
For that very reason, this book is based largely on biographical material from the life of the apostle Paul from the New Testament.
I’m strongly motivated by men and women who have served Christ well. Their stories have been a powerful catalyst for me to move ahead in my own spiritual walk.
But it’s actually about what we ought to be. Paul himself said, “I urge you, imitate me” (1 Corinthians 4:16). “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (11:1). He was a true example of the Christlike leader.
Entrepreneurship is wonderful, but the most skilled entrepreneur in the world without character is no true leader.
Therefore Scripture, not the corporate world or the political arena, is the authoritative source we need to turn to in order to learn the truth about spiritual leadership. That approach, I hope, is what will stand out as the chief distinctive of this book.
not principles for the church only. In fact, Christians ought to be the trend-setters for all secular, corporate, and political leadership, rather than thoughtlessly borrowing from the world whatever seems to “work.”
But every Christian is called to be a leader of sorts, at some level, because all of us are given a mandate to teach and to influence others. Christ’s Great Commission is a command to “make disciples of all the nations . . . teaching them to observe all things that [Christ has] commanded” (Matthew 28:19–20).
Clearly, then, all Christians are called to influence others and teach them the truth about Christ. Therefore, no matter what your status, position, giftedness, or occupation, you are called to be a leader at some level.
No wonder principled, uncompromising personal integrity is hard to find.
Hostile times and adverse circumstances are no impediment to a true leader. In fact, great adversity can be turned to great advantage by the power of an influential leader.
His leadership abilities had nothing to do with titles. He wasn’t governor of any territory; he wasn’t the commander of any troops; he wasn’t a nobleman of any kind. God had conferred on him the title of apostle, but that was his only title, and it had no relevance outside the church.
They ministered to his physical needs, and Paul no doubt ministered to their spiritual needs.
Here is the first principle of leadership: A leader is trustworthy.
Even the governors under whom he was imprisoned knew he was a man of integrity. And somehow that trust was communicated to Julius.
But they did it because of their love for the apostle. They were clearly committed to him.
How does a leader build trust? When people are convinced you will do everything in your power for their good and nothing for their harm, they’ll trust you.
Paul, the prisoner, was in effect “leading” Julius, his captor.
A true leader is someone who demonstrates to everyone around him that their interests are what most occupy his heart. A real leader will work hard to make everyone around him successful. His passion is to help make the people under his leadership flourish. That is why a true leader must have the heart of a servant.
If you can show people you truly have their best interests at heart, they’ll follow you.
This is a second foundational principle of true leadership: A leader takes the initiative.
He remained committed to the project and intimately involved in every phase of it until it was brought to completion.
He appointed trustworthy men to oversee sections of the labor, dividing their responsibilities in accord with their abilities.
They don’t ask others to do what they are unwilling to do themselves. Nehemiah rolled up his sleeves and worked as diligently as anyone else.
He was practical and wise and determined. He was a man of action, but thoughtful, too. All those qualities are essential to effective leadership. Combined, they made Nehemiah the kind of man— like the apostle Paul—who was not afraid to take initiative. And therein lay the secret of both men’s success.
Here is a third vital principle of leadership: A leader uses good judgment.
It was exactly what Paul had predicted would happen. The wisdom of his counsel was now obvious to all.
But Paul saw it as an opportunity to preach the gospel in Rome, in the court of Nero himself. This was what he had sought and prayed for, and even if it cost him his life, that was a price Paul was willing to pay to glorify Christ. Paul longed to “know [Christ] and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Philippians 3:10). For him, to live was Christ, and to die was gain (Philippians 1:21).
His only desire was to glorify Christ in his death and take the gospel to Rome, to the very heart of his opposition, and proclaim the truth to Nero himself. Now he had an authoritative promise that he would be given that opportunity.
A leader speaks with authority.
Scripture is the very voice of God, alive and powerful—and for the believer, illuminated by the
indwelling Holy Spirit. Scripture, said Paul, is “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). It reveals what He thinks—and He thinks in perfect accord with the will of God, as does the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26).
The voice of authority must convey strength and power. Unless you really know what you’re talking about, you can’t speak clearly or with authority.
If you know the truth, speak it with authority! That’s what true leadership does.
“The people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes”
Jesus came on the scene and, by contrast, He quoted no one’s opinion. He said things like, “You have heard that it was said . . . But I say to you . . .”
He spoke with divine authority. He had the truth of God. And He said so plainly: “I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him” (John 8:26).
A leader strengthens others.
We who know the truth of God and have the promises of God should of all people be optimistic and enthusiastic.
They had someone who had demonstrated good judgment, who could speak with authority, who knew how to strengthen others, and who gave them encouragement and enthusiasm. All Christians should be leaders like that.
They were in precisely the kind of crisis situation that calls for a strong, clearheaded, courageous leader.
True leadership is tested and proved in crises. The real leader is the one who can handle the stress. He is the one who can solve the problems, bear the burdens, find the solutions, and win the victories when everyone else is merely flustered, confounded, and perplexed.
This underscores the truth that leadership is not something automatically conferred by title or by rank. Again, leadership is influence. It is a matter of ability, not position. And as we read Luke’s account of this shipwreck, it is quite an amazing picture to see all these powerful men, accustomed to giving orders and outranking others, suddenly looking to Paul, the prisoner, who had earned the right to lead.
