I know people who shy away from terms such as leadership when talking about church. One comment I hear is they don’t want us to become too business-like. They believe Christ is the leader of the church and we are simply servants under His command.
While I agree with their assessment of our relationship to Christ, I see leadership throughout the Bible. God’s greatest servants were significant leaders with significant examples of leadership challenges I face everyday.
And, as I read their story, I learn great Biblical principles, but also great leadership principles.
Here are 7 tensions of Biblical leaders:
David
Have you ever fought a giant? Did you ever have to recover from a ruined reputation? Do you know what it’s like to feel like the world is against you or that God is slow in doing as He promised in your life?
Joseph
Have you ever prepared for what appeared to be a bleak future? Have you ever been misunderstood by others? Have you ever been betrayed by people who are supposed to love you? Have you ever been accused of something you didn’t do? Have you ever had to reconcile a broken relationship?
Paul
Have you ever been misunderstood? Has your past ever haunted you as a leader? Has a changing culture ever impacted your leadership? Did you ever have problems getting the established leaders to trust you? Do you allow struggles and opposition to fuel your best work?
Gideon
Ever been in over your head? Do you know what it’s like to lead from your weakness? Do you ever feel you are not prepared to fulfill what you know you have to do? Did you land in a position and, honestly, you’re not sure why?
Moses
Is the weight of your responsibility ever overwhelming? Have you been treated with disloyalty? Is someone else getting to complete the work, and enjoy the benefits, of something you started? Did you ever have to finish a leadership role before the work was fully finished?
Abraham
Have you ever led people into an unknown? Do family situations ever distract you from what you feel you must do? Do you ever have to wait? Have people questioned what you believe God has called you to do? Are you ever tempted to take matters into your own hands, rather than depend solely on God?
Noah
Do you ever feel you are standing alone? Does the task in front of you seem impossible? Ever feel you’re on an island where no one understands? Would trusting God in your current context make others think you’re crazy?
Look over the list and see which of these are most representative of your current leadership tension. Then discover things these Biblical leaders did wrong or did right in handling their challenge.
Perhaps some of the best leadership advice is closer than you think.
