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0-sample themes paper-2022
Biblical Foundation of Christian Leadership (Liberty
University)
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A Sample Paper for the Purpose of Assignment Structure
<Insert Student Name>
LEAD 510: Biblical Foundations of Leadership
<Month Year Submitted>
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Introduction
It is easy for Christians to overlook the Old Testament and focus only on the New
Testament. After all, Jesus came to earth as God incarnate to establish a new covenant (Luke
22:20, NIV), so why would anyone need to read about the old covenant? Jesus provides the
answer to this question: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I
have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth
disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from
the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-18, NIV). One can infer from this that
since Jesus has not come to replace or abolish the Old Testament, it is just as much a part of
God’s word and His story as the New Testament.
The Old Testament also provides a rich history that spans about 1500 years, and over the
course of those years, many leaders emerge from the text as examples of both good and bad
Godly leadership. As David Pettus notes, “leadership in the Old Testament is much more than
just ancient management theory. Even a cursory glance reveals much regarding the necessity,
use, and importance of leadership in the Bible, as mankind is used to lead God’s people.”1 Since
people always were and always will be the vessels through which the church is led, it follows
that human leadership will always be an important concept in Christianity.
Throughout the nineteen essays on Old Testament leadership in Benjamin Forrest and
Chet Roden’s compilation, many themes arise as a common thread across multiple leaders. This
essay will examine three of these themes: God chooses imperfect leaders, leaders must depend
on God, and give God all the glory.
God Chooses Imperfect Leaders
1 David Pettus, “A Concept Study: Leadership in Old Testament Hebrew,” in Biblical Leadership:
Theology for the Everyday Leader, ed. Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel
Academic, 2017), pp. 29-40, 29.
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One theme prevalent in many Old Testament leaders is their imperfection. Later, Paul
would write “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, NIV). Still,
it seems that God goes out of His way to choose not only imperfect leaders, but leaders who
commit sins that many would find unredeemable. An example of this can be found in King
David’s life, when he commits adultery with a married woman, Bathsheba.2 To make matters
worse, David uses his position as king to have Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, killed in battle.3
Samson is another Old Testament leader who is far from perfect. His actions were
motivated by lust and hatred.4 Even his last act was to cry out to God to restore his strength
so that he could get revenge of the Philistines who took him captive and tortured him (Judges
16:28-30, NIV).
Besides choosing sinners, God chooses imperfect leaders in the sense that the leaders that
He chooses are not always the best equipped for the job. When God tells Moses to speak to the
pharaoh, Moses replies, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the
past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue” (Exodus 4:10,
NIV). This shows God’s power, as He does not need to send the best speaker in all the land.
Rather, He has the power to make a poor speaker great.
God using imperfect leaders to accomplish His works is especially important to me
because I have worried about my imperfections and how they will affect my future as a leader in
a church ministry, and I am guessing that I am not alone in having worried about this. Thoughts
about whether I am “good enough” and fears about not knowing what to say or do in various
2 J Michael Thigpen, “Our Representational Reign: Royal Leadership in the United Monarchy,” in Biblical
Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, ed. Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden (Grand Rapids, MI:
Kregel Academic, 2017), pp. 125-140, 132.
3 Ibid., 132.
4 Michael J Smith, “Leaving a Legacy: Leadership in Judges,” in Biblical Leadership: Theology for the
Everyday Leader, ed. Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2017), pp.
92- 114, 109.
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situations are much easier to let go when considering how imperfect God’s chosen leaders in the
bible were.
Leaders Must Depend on God
Throughout the Old Testament, when leaders depend on God, they receive blessings.
Mark Allen and Dickson Ngama conclude that in Daniel, “Leaders must depend on God for
wisdom, understanding, power, and courage in difficult situations.”5 Daniel, as well as his
friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, show faith in God by refusing to obey laws which
would go against God’s law. Daniel broke a law stating that no one could pray to any god or
human besides King Darius, even though Daniel knew this would result in his being thrown into
the lions’ den (Daniel 6:7-10, NIV). Similarly, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to
worship a golden statue of King Nebuchadnezzar, even though they know they will be thrown
into a blazing furnace (Daniel 3:4-6,16-18, NIV).
Another example of a leader who depended on God was David, who was “a man after
God’s Own Heart.”6 From the start of David’s story, he trusts in God and depends on God,
knowing that God will deliver Goliath into his hand.7 As previously discussed, David sins and
trusts in himself instead of turning to God many times; however, even though David was a
sinner, he was responsive to God’s discipline.8
Depending on God and trusting in God are very important themes for Godly leaders in
5 Mark Allen and Dickson Ngama, “Power that Prevails: Leadership in Daniel,” in Biblical Leadership:
Theology for the Everyday Leader, ed. Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel
Academic, 2017), pp. 235-248, 245.
6 J Michael Thigpen, “Our Representational Reign: Royal Leadership in the United Monarchy,” in Biblical
Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, ed. Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden (Grand Rapids, MI:
Kregel Academic, 2017), pp. 125-140, 129.
7 Ibid., 129-130.
8 J Michael Thigpen, “Our Representational Reign: Royal Leadership in the United Monarchy,” in Biblical
Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, ed. Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden (Grand Rapids, MI:
Kregel Academic, 2017), pp. 125-140, 133.
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our generation. After all, it is written, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your
own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight”
(Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV). This is extremely valuable advice because it goes against what our
culture says. According to our culture, we should be strong and able to handle any challenge that
life throws at us, and if we are lacking anything, there is surely a self-help book on the topic.
Instead, as Christian leaders, we can have faith that we have God on our side – who delivered
Daniel from the lions’ den, who delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the furnace,
and who delivered David from a giant. Surely this same God can deliver us from the trials that
we face.
Give All the Glory to God
The Old Testament is not a human story – it is God’s story. This means that when Old
Testament leaders succeed, they do not take credit for it themselves, but instead, give all of the
glory to God. Esther is an example of this, as she is willing to humbly sacrifice herself for the
preservation of God’s people.9 She knows that she is not the main character of this story – God
is. Therefore, she does what needs to be done to enact His will, regardless of what that means for
her.
Ecclesiastes is another great example of how Solomon understands that life on earth is
meaningless, and the only way to live a successful and meaningful life is to seek God, who is not
“under the sun.” As Tremper Longman III puts it, “Leaders who find meaning in life in God will
not treat leadership like an idol.”10
Elijah also exhibits this understanding when he is confronting the prophets of Baal. After
asking Baal for a sign for hours, Elijah asks God for a sign:
9 Debra Reid, “Leading God’s People Through Difficult Times: Leadership in Esther,” in Biblical
Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, ed. Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden (Grand Rapids, MI:
Kregel Academic, 2017), pp. 277-286, 284.
10 Tremper Longman III, “Leading in a Fallen World: Leadership in Ecclesiastes,” in Biblical
Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, ed. Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden (Grand Rapids, MI:
Kregel Academic, 2017), pp. 172-183, 182.
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At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God
of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I
am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD,
answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are
turning their hearts back again." Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the
sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench (1
Kings 18:36-38, NIV).
Elijah’s words are intentional and telling. He said nothing to give glory to himself and instead
gives glory only to God.
This is an important theme to any Godly leader, as it is easy to fall into the trap of
giving praise and glory to ourselves or to the congregation. For example, if a giving campaign
at a church reaches its goal and accomplishes what it set out to do, it is very tempting to show
slides about what was accomplished with a “look what we were able to do” message. However,
it is important to put the glory in the right place. Just like the Old Testament is God’s story, our
lives are also God’s story, and the message should always be “look what God did” not “look
what we did.”
Conclusion
God chooses imperfect leaders, leaders must depend on God, and give God all the glory –
while these are far from the only Godly leadership themes that can be found in the Old
Testament, they are three themes that are particularly applicable to the current generation of
Godly leaders. These ideas stand together just as well as they stand alone. Since all humans are
imperfect (Romans 3:23, NIV), God must choose imperfect people as His chosen leaders. Since
the chosen leaders are imperfect, they must rely on God and not on their own understanding
(Proverbs 3:5-6). And finally, because all blessings come from God, leaders must keep in mind
that this is God’s story and not their own. Perhaps the best verse to tie all three of these concepts
together was spoken by Jesus:
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I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much
fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch
that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and
burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it
will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing
yourselves to be my disciples (John 15:5-8, NIV).
Therefore, all Godly leaders must ask themselves whether they want to remain in Jesus and bear
much fruit or rely on their own imperfect, human understanding and do nothing.
Bibliography
Allen, Mark and Dickson Ngama. “Power that Prevails: Leadership in Daniel.” Essay. In Biblical
Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, edited by Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet
Roden, 235–248. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2017.
Longman III, Tremper. “Leading in a Fallen World: Leadership in Ecclesiastes.” Essay. In
Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, edited by Benjamin K. Forrest and
Chet Roden, 172–183. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2017.
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Pettus, David. “A Concept Study: Leadership in Old Testament Hebrew.” Essay. In Biblical
Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, edited by Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet
Roden, 29–40. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2017.
Reid, Debra. “Leading God’s People Through Difficult Times: Leadership in Esther.” Essay. In
Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, edited by Benjamin K. Forrest and
Chet Roden, 277–286. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2017.
Smith, Michael J. “Leaving a Legacy: Leadership in Judges.” Essay. In Biblical Leadership:
Theology for the Everyday Leader, edited by Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden, 92–
114. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2017.
Thigpen, J Michael. “Our Representational Reign: Royal Leadership in the United Monarchy.”
Essay. In Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, edited by Benjamin
K. Forrest and Chet Roden, 125–140. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2017.
