Accepting and Applying
Biblical Leadership
Kenneth O. Gangel
St. Louis Area Ministers
Association (SLAMA)
Elder Ferrell L. Roddy
LESSON GOALS
I. Express reasons why biblical
leaders are needed in the church
and society today;
II. Cite at least three problems and
three cultural corruptions affecting
the practice of biblical leadership;
III. Explain key features of New
Testament leadership and contrast
these with features of Old Testament
leadership;
IV. Discover and reflect upon his or her
leadership qualities, style and
“We have different gifts according to
the grace given us....If it is leadership,
let him govern diligently.” (Romans
12:6-8)
The Big Idea:
Christian leadership is a
biblical and theological issue.
Biblical leaders are humble
servants who lead by
restraining themselves, not by
overpowering other people.
A well known Christian
George Barna, comments:
author,
“…the Christian Church in America
is dying to lack of leadership. In this
time of unprecedented opportunity and
plentiful resources, the church is
actually losing influence. The primary
reason is the lack of leadership.”
Barna, 1997, 18
QUESTIONS:
Why has God raised up this church or
ministry, in this place, at this time, and
what does He want from us?
Why has God made me a leader at this
time and in this place, and what does
He want from me?
WHAT IS CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP?
Prominent Traits of the Leader…
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abilities
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personality qualities
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style
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Christian Leadership is influencing a
group to identify and achieve ministry –
related goals in a given situation.
Efficiency – doing things right.
Effectiveness – doing the right thing.
Christian Church
1. a building for public Christian worship
2. religious services held in a church
3. a particular Christian denomination
4. Christians collectively
5. the clergy as distinguished from the
laity
6. Church institutional religion as a
political or social force: conflict between
Church and State [Greek kuriakon
(dōma) the Lord's (house)]
Christian Ministry
1.
a. The act of serving; ministration.
b. One that serves as a means; an
instrumentality.
2.
a. The profession, duties, and services
of a
minister.
b. The Christian clergy.
c. The period of service of a minister.
Pastors
(Ministers) are one of the
most important keys to developing
leaders in the Church.
However
Pastors (Ministers) must
grow in their own leadership gifts,
qualities, and abilities.
Effective
Pastors (Ministers) are
responsible for preparing the next
generation of leaders in the Church.
Church
leaders today increasingly base
their ministries on secular principles rather
than the timeless principles of God’s
Word.
The
strength of the New Testament
church came not from professionally
trained leaders at the top, but from a few
willing church volunteers who were each
strategically placed to use their gifts in
service of their Lord.
Empower
others to lead as you train,
mentor, and mobilize teams for ministry.
James Means:
“Spiritual leadership is the development
of relationship with the people of a
Christian institution or body in such a
way that individuals and the group are
enable to formulate and achieve
biblically compatible goals that meet
real needs…By their ethical influence,
spiritual leaders serve to motivate and
enable others to achieve what
otherwise would never have been
achieved.”
I. PERSONAL LEADERSHIP
QUESTIONS

Why do you think biblical leaders
are needed in church and society
today more than ever before?

What is a Bible verse or scriptural
theme that guides you in your own
leadership?
Christian Leadership is both biblical
and theological which can be
considered as a subset of the social
sciences—like psychology and
sociology.
The word "psychology" is the combination of
two terms - study (ology) and soul (psyche), or
mind. The derivation of the word from Latin gives
it this clear and obvious meaning:
"Psyche" is defined as:
1. The spirit or soul.
2. The human mind.
3. In psychoanalysis, the mind functioning as
the center of thought, emotion, and
behavior.
And defining "soul", we have:
1. the spiritual or immortal elements in a person.
2. a person's mental or moral or emotional
nature.
Sociology is:
1: the science of society, social institutions, and
social relationships; specifically : the systematic
study of the development, structure, interaction,
and collective behavior of organized groups of
human beings
2: the scientific analysis of a social institution as
a functioning whole and as it relates to the rest of
society
Biblical Theology is:
“…That branch of theology science which
deals systematically with the historical
conditioned progress of the self-revelation of
God, as deposited in the Bible.” (Ryrie)
Gangel’s Definition: “The exercise of one’s
spiritual gifts under the call of God to serve a
certain group of people in achieving the goals
God has given them toward the end of
glorifying Christ.” (Gangel)
Clinton’s Definition: “Leadership is a dynamic
process in which a man or woman with godgiven capacity influences a specific group of
God’s people toward His purposes for the
group.” (R. Clinton)
A Definition of Biblical Leadership,
revisited…”Biblical leadership takes place when
divinely appointed men and women accept
responsibility for obedience to God’s call. They
recognize the importance of preparation time,
allowing the Holy Spirit to develop tenderness of
heart and skill of hands…They carry out their
leadership roles with deep conviction of God’s will,
clear theological perspective from His Word, and an
acute awareness of the contemporary issues when
they and their followers face…Above all, they
exercise leadership as servants and stewards, sharing
authority with their followers and affirming that
leadership is primarily ministry to others, modeling
for others and mutual membership with others in
Christ’s body.”
A Definition of Biblical Leadership,
revisited…”Biblical leadership takes place when
divinely appointed men and women accept
responsibility for obedience to God’s call. They
recognize the importance of preparation time,
allowing the Holy Spirit to develop tenderness of
heart and skill of hands…They carry out their
leadership roles with deep conviction of God’s will,
clear theological perspective from His Word, and an
acute awareness of the contemporary issues when
they and their followers face…Above all, they
exercise leadership as servants and stewards, sharing
authority with their followers and affirming that
leadership is primarily ministry to others, modeling
for others and mutual membership with others in
Christ’s body.”
II. THREE PROBLEMS IN GRASPING BIBLICAL LEADERSHIP
1.
2.
3.
American success syndrome – The Bible’s
description of leadership is not at all like the
modern world’s understanding of success.
Infatuation with size – Can spiritual
formation be measured quantitatively?
Compulsion to imitate – The is no one
model of leadership.
III. BIBLE LEADER
COMPARISON
David and the apostle Paul
Moses and Jesus
Solomon and Timothy
King Saul and the apostle Peter
New Testament Leadership Is…
 Servanthood
 Nurture
 Example
 Fatherhood
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JESUS LEADERSHIP STYLE
Mark 10:43-44
identifies what often is referred to as
The Master’s Master Principle.”
It demonstrates how Jesus would
describe His philosophy on leadership.
“Whoever wants to become great
among you must be your servants, and
whoever wants to be first, must be
slave of all” (vs. 44).
A critical factor in becoming an effective
leader is the recognition that leadership
behavior is DEVELOPMENTAL
1. Few people are born natural leaders.
2. Leadership is developed through
experience.
3. Many great leaders freely admit that they
were unsure when they started,
4. Many more admit that they have had
times of uncertainty and discouragement
along the way.
5. Great leaders admit that they often had to
learn from their mistakes or the mistakes
of others.
Case Study #1
As a leader of a large scale ministry in her church, Ellen has
been concerned over the past few months about the way things
have been going in the ministry—or rather, the way things have
not been going. Somehow the vision of what the ministry could
be has been blurred by the lack of results, movement, and
excitement.
Ellen doesn’t particularly care for all the administrative
details that seem to take up so much of her time and energy.
The way she is spending her days now does not match the
picture she had of herself when she signed on for the position.
She has some pretty competent people on the ministry team,
and she has let them run things the way they see fit. Quite a
few other ministry volunteers and church members have shown
a willingness to contribute their talents and interest. She has
delegated everything she can—primarily because she really
doesn’t have a great deal of interest in all the facets required to
run the ministry.
When it comes right down to it, she’d rather be doing—or
operating—and involved in her particular specialty. But she
finds herself administering, managing, and directing.
CASE STUDY
ACTIVITY
What do you see as the problem(s) in
this situation?
 What type of leadership style might this
leader have?
 Does this leadership style seem to fit
this situation?
 How well is this leader doing in the
three areas of leadership (i.e., focusing
on the Leader, the group and the
situation)?
 What suggestions would you make to
this leader?

IV. LEADERSHIP
QUIZ
What Is Your Leadership Style?