Liberty University SOM Online
Biblical Leadership Evaluation
Submitted to Dr. Matthew Vander Wiele
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
CLED 365 – D01
Personal Development of the Leader
By
Madilyn Dowell
May 6, 2022
Introduction
The apostle Paul is arguably one of the most well-known and prolific figures in all of
Scripture. He is regarded today as a builder of faith communities. The Biblical account of his life
and ministry describes radical conversion that led to a life of devotion and service to the Lord. As
the author of nearly half of the New Testament, it is no secret that Paul is a leader of great
spiritual authority and influence. This paper aims to evaluate the life and leadership of the
apostle Paul against the criteria of lasting leadership as defined by Kraft, and discern whether he
can be characterized as a “Leader who Lasts”.
Defining a Lasting Leader
A lasting leader is defined by Kraft as being “a humble, God-dependent, team-playing
servant of God who is called by God to shepherd, develop, equip, and empower a specific group
of believers to accomplish an agreed-upon vision from God”. These kinds of leaders possess an
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inextinguishable fire burning in their souls for the Lord and for Kingdom work that permeates
every facet of their lives. The key ingredients of leadership are an attitude of servanthood, the
characteristics of humility, dependence on God, team playing, a calling from God, the gifts of
shepherding, developing, equipping, and empowering, a sense of direction, and the ability to cast
vision.
Lasting leadership qualities can fit into 3 categories: foundational, formational, and
fruitful.2 Within the foundational category, lasting leaders live “1) With Jesus Christ in the center
as their power, 2) With Jesus Christ as they develop a purpose, 3) With Jesus Christ as they
develop a passion, 4) With Jesus Christ as they set priorities, 5) With Jesus Christ as they
1 Dave Kraft, “Leaders Who Last” (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010) Introduction.
2 “Leaders Who Last”, Introduction.
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develop pacing”. Within the formation category, lasting leaders must possess “1) Calling, 2)
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Gifts, 3) Character, and 4) Growth”. Within the fruitfulness category, lasting leaders must
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possess “1) Vision, 2) Influence, and 3) Legacy”. With these clarifications in mind, the question
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of whether or not the apostle Paul can be characterized as a “Leader Who Lasts” can now be
explored and answered.
Evaluation of the Apostle Paul
Howell describes that Paul was “Authoritative, Exhortative, Accountable, Affirmatory,
Sacrificial, and Missional”. It is evident that Paul anchored his power in the person of Jesus
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Christ, as he declared “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ
who lives within me”. Paul also derived his purpose to glorify God and expand the Church from
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his service of Jesus, as he wrote in his letter to the church at Colossae, “He is the one we
proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone
fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully
works in me”.8
The centrality of Jesus in the life of Paul prompted his passion. Paul was so passionate
about the lost and broken world coming to know Christ that he experienced anguish. In his letter
to the Romans, he actually expressed his willingness to be cut off from Christ if it meant his
brothers and sisters could come to know Him. Even when the consequences of his ministry
threatened his life, he persisted in sharing the gospel. What a fervent display of passion! Being
rooted in Christ, Paul was able to establish clear priorities. The priority he placed on Christ as the
3 Kraft, “Leaders Who Last”, Introduction.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Howell, “Servants of the Servant: A Biblical Theology of LEadership” (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers,
2003), 256-282.
7 Gal. 2:20, ESV.
8 Col. 1:28-29, NIV.
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most important thing in his life prompted his priorities to share the gospel, to raise up disciples,
to practice thankfulness, to cultivate the spiritual discipline of prayer, and to pour into church
communities.
Finally, Paul protected his purpose, passion, and priorities by pacing himself throughout
his ministry. He understood true Sabbath rest, practiced it in his own life, and encouraged it in
the lives of the believers he invested in. Paul wrote, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the
people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did
from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by
following their example of disobedience”. In these ways, Paul met the foundational criteria of a
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lasting leader.
The apostle Paul received his calling from the Lord as he was traveling to Damascus.
God blinded Paul – who was called Saul at the time – and told him what he must do to regain his
sight. Of Saul, God said, “This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the
Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel”. When Saul’s sight was restored, he
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immediately began to preach that Jesus was the Son of God (Acts 9:20) and later in Acts 13, his
name was changed to Paul, representing the transformation that had transpired in his life. Paul
himself contended, “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of
human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by
revelation from Jesus Christ”.11
Paul was uniquely multi-gifted for his God-ordained role as a ministry leader. Chief
among these gifts were the gifts of teaching, exhorting, encouraging, serving, mentoring,
evangelizing, and discipling. Paul possessed an unparalleled ability to exhort and admonish in
9 Heb. 4:9-11, ESV.
10 Acts 9:15, NIV.
11 Galatians 1:11, NIV.
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love, and he exercised his authority to instill Biblical truth into the recipients of his letters.
According to Kraft, “A true leader is gifted and skilled at using words to shepherd, develop,
equip, and empower followers and potential leaders”. Paul spent a great deal of time
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communicating and using his gift with words to accomplish this end.
Paul was an accountable leader meaning that he held the highest standards of personal
integrity. This speaks to the character that Kraft described as being a mark of lasting leadership.
Paul wrote in his letter to the Coritnhian church, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of
Christ”.13 Paul possessed such unwavering faith and unblemished character that he actually told
believers to follow his example. This may seem like a drastically bold statement, but Paul was
justified in making it. He possessed the cachet to be able to encourage believers to follow his
example because the fruit of his life spoke for itself.
Finally, Paul’s life demonstrated incredible growth. He went from being a persecutor of
Christians to being persecuted for the sake of Christ himself. Where once he disregarded
Christians’ claims of Christ being the Son of God, his inner transformation prompted him to
passionately preach the gospel. In his writings, he shared his struggles with utmost transparency,
and through those struggles, modeled how to overcome them with Christ as his rock. In the end,
his commitment to Christ and sharing the gospel cost him his life, but his death did not stop his
ministry. For these reasons, Paul met the formational criteria of lasting leadership.
Paul was not only a missional leader, but also a visionary leader. According to Kraft, a
visionary leader is someone who “is on a mission. They are gifted in motivating others, setting a
direction, and creating excitement and a sense of adventure. They have a destination in mind and
possess the ability to take others along on the journey”. Paul was able to “appeal to the minds
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12 Kraft, “Leaders Who Last”, Chapter 7.
13 1 Cor. 11:1, NIV.
14 Kraft, “Leaders Who Last”, Chapter 10.
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and wills of believers to respond with a voluntary obedience to the lordship of Christ”. This
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means that he was able to cast his vision to the believers and motivate them in that direction. The
vision being to help others live a life that is pleasing and honoring to God and the direction being
obedience.
In addition to being visionary, Paul was also a leader of influence. Kraft defines a leader
as “a person who is on a journey and has the ability to attract others to join him on that
journey”.16 Paul certainly attracted others to his cause, as he partnered at different times with
Peter, Barnabas, and Silas for the sake of advancing the gospel, and as he mentored Timothy to
preach the gospel. Paul defended this authority by declaring “But even before I was born, God
chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so
that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles”. According to Howell,
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“When the integrity of the gospel is at stake, Paul is the most unbending of leaders”. Because of
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this, the churches of Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae, and Thessalonica took
his exhortations seriously and responded to his leadership.
Finally, Paul lived in such a way that his legacy survived him even to present-day, and he
is still regarded as a pillar of faith within Christendom. He didn’t just accumulate more
followers. Rather, he developed more leaders. He discipled Timothy into a major church leader,
encouraged believers to teach one another, admonish one another, and help one another walk in
accordance with the Truth of Scripture. “Paul’s unbending allegiance to the corpus of revealed
truth and his bold confrontation of those who depart from it serve as a model for authentic
leadership for all the ages”. For these reasons, Paul met the criteria for fruitfulness that are
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15 Kraft, “Leaders Who Last”, Chapter 10.
16 Kraft, “Leaders Who Last”, Chapter 11.
17 Gal. 1:15-16, NLT.
18 Howell, “Servants of the Servant”, 260.
19 Howell, “Servants of the Servant”, 257.
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characteristic of lasting leadership.
Conclusion
Paul’s life and ministry is a testament to the life changing power of God. He took a man
who persecuted followers of Christ and turned him into a man who ultimately gave his life for
the cause of Christ. Paul is regarded even today as one of the greatest examples of Biblical
leadership in the Bible, as his post-Damascus life was dedicated to the building of the Church
and the advancing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote 13 of the 27 New Testament books of
the Bible, and his Divinely inspired teachings and exhortations are still shaping and molding
disciples and Christian leaders today. For all of these reasons, the apostle Paul can undoubtedly
be described as “Leader Who Lasts”.
Bibliogrpahy
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Howell, Don N. Jr. “Servants of the Servant: A Biblical Theology of Leadership”. Eugene, OR:
Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2003. Accessed May 2, 2022.
https://app.logos.com/books/LLS%3ASRVNTSOFSRVNT/references/page.iii.
Kraft, Dave. “Leaders Who Last”. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010. Accessed May 2, 2022.
https://app.logos.com/books/LLS%3A5973FA9ABC4890B60CE3BAC9D589CF9D/offs
ets/4398.
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