lOMoARcPSD|22671317
Biblical Leadership Theme Report OT
LEAD510
Biblical Foundation of Christian Leadership (Liberty
University)
lOMoARcPSD|22671317
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Biblical Leadership Theme Report
Submitted to Dr. Jerry Sutton
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
LEAD 510-D12
Biblical Foundations of Leadership
By
Seth Williams
November 15, 2020
lOMoARcPSD|22671317
Introduction
Leadership is almost always devotional before it is ever practical. We see this in the Old
Testament as well, most of the Old Testament key leaders were placed into positions of
leadership; but had developed their leadership skills and training long before they ever were
placed into a position. How do we define leadership? John Maxwell defines leadership with one
word: Influence. I would agree with this definition of leadership. Specifically, John Maxwell
writes, “Leadership is not about titles, positions or flow charts. It is about one life influencing
another.”1 If leadership is defined or best described as influence, then we must discuss how we
gain influence. It is important to know that influence is gained through time and trust. Influence
can be gained, but it can be lost as well. Every person who is a leader must know that there is a
timeline on their influence. Everyone’s influence/leadership will inevitably end. The two types
of influence that regularly occur in leadership is: relational and positional influence. Relational
influence ends one of three ways. Relational influence either ends in a broken relationship,
broken trust or physical death. Positional leadership usually ends with someone being removed
or elevated from/to a position.
The Old Testament leaders dealt with the same type of leadership that we deal with
today; relational leadership or positional leadership. While leaders don’t have to be in positions
of leadership, to qualify being a leader; all leaders do have to have relational influence in order
to be a good leader. I want to look at three key figures from the Old Testament and
evaluate/analyze their influence in relational and positional leadership roles. The three leaders
we will be analyzing are Joshua, David and Nehemiah.
Leadership of Joshua
1 Maxwell, John. Becoming a Person of Influence: How to Positively Impact the Lives of Others. Nashville,
Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1997.
lOMoARcPSD|22671317
One of the greatest leaders in the Old Testament would have to be Joshua. Joshua was
faithful. He was persistent. He not only was faithful to God; but he was faithful to Moses. Under
the leadership of Moses; or the influence of Moses, Joshua learned how to lead. His leadership
training was devotional long before it was ever practical or given position. Joshua exhibited
relational and positional leadership/influence very well. He incorporated both of them into his
daily life and ministry. Joshua did not lead from a position of pride or ego; but from service.
Service to God’s chosen people. Service to God and to honor his mentor, Moses. This is one of
the keys to relational leadership. I remember hearing a good friend of mine, Brent Crowe, tell me
once that leadership should always be reaching down to help those below you up. It should
always be reaching out to those at your same level to lend a hand, ear or voice when needed.
Lastly, leadership should always be reaching up to help those above you to be of service to them.
Leadership: reach down, reach out and reach up. While Moses may have gotten most of the
recognition during the time in the wilderness for forty-years, it is Joshua who was helping Moses
and serving Moses. He was at his side and helping with logistics, planning, training, organizing
and was the hand of Moses to the people of God.
Joshua’s service was ultimately to God. He eventually received the same title as Moses,
“Servant of the Lord.” A title that was reserved for a select few in the Old Testament and New
Testament. Joshua’s service to God “would end with the people receiving the great promises of
God to Abram and his descendants… in the Joshua model of servant leadership, Joshua served
the people by leading as a warrior, intercessor, delegator of authority, instructor to the priests,
and a teacher of the Law of Moses.”2 Joshua exemplified relational and positional leadership in
his time as leader of the Israelites. He most personified servant leadership. He was always at
2 Forrest Ben and Roden, Chet. Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader. Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Kregel Publications. 2017. Page 87.
lOMoARcPSD|22671317
service to others. He was always reaching down to help those in position below him, reaching
out to help those in positions similar to him and reaching up to serve those above him.
Leadership of David
David if one of my all-time favorite leaders in the Bible. David is a perfect example of
leadership being devotional before it is ever practical or positional. It is believed that David was
roughly 15 years old when he was anointed by Samuel to be King of Israel. He was a shepherd
boy tending his father’s flock, yet it wasn’t for another 15 years that he actually became King of
Israel. From fifteen years old to nineteen years old (roughly) he spent time in the field tending to
his father’s sheep. Then, one of the moments that made him famous and infamous, he killed the
9-foot 9-inch Goliath who defied the armies of Israel. With Goliath’s death, he earned his place
in the palace as Saul’s (the King of Israel) son-in-law. Spent years running from his father-in-
law who was very jealous of David. Then at thirty years old, fifteen years after being anointed
for the position; is finally placed into the position he was promised. Fifteen years he spent
developing his leadership skills. Developing influence. Learning how to serve. Learning how to
lead.
Learning to lead the armies of Israel. Learning how to be a king. He was an excellent example of
leadership being devotional before it is ever practical.
While David is considered one of the greatest leaders in the Old Testament, he certainly
had his faults. He failed in many aspects of his life but left his legacy intact because of his
humility and ability to place himself into service of Yahweh. He considered himself less than
God and always placed his relationship with God above himself and his position as king; most of
the time. Let’s not forget about Bathsheba. David’s handling of Bathsheba and her husband,
Uriah, was less then honorable. In fact, it was murder. David had Bathsheba’s husband killed for
his gain. He gained her as a wife and thought he would gain a child because of his actions. It
lOMoARcPSD|22671317
took David’s friend, Nathan, to bring the king to his knees and realize the depth, weight and
gravity of his actions. It is from David’s grief and sinfulness that we get Psalms 51, one of the
greatest passages of scripture about God’s grace, mercy, forgiveness and ability to restore what
was broken and lost. While David was successful at positional leadership, he realized that
relational leadership is important to be a good positional leader. You have to care about people.
David became a relational leader after his Bathsheba incident.
Leadership of Nehemiah
Nehemiah embodies one of my favorite quotes of William Shakespeare, “Some are born
great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” Nehemiah had
greatness thrust upon him. Though he had leadership thrust upon him, Nehemiah was a great
leader. Nehemiah was a leader that from the beginning interceded for the people of God; he put
the needs of the people of Israel before himself and cared deeply for God’s people. While David
had 15 years of training, leadership skills, thought, and knowledge that he would eventually be
King of Israel; Nehemiah was thrust into leadership by the King he served as cupbearer. He had
no preparation for this leadership position. However, there are several things that made
Nehemiah a great leader for Israel. Those things are as follows: He was a man of prayer. He was
a man of responsibility. He was a man who was motivated. He was a man of vision. He was a
man of action. He was a man who was moved with compassion. He was a man who triumphed
over opposition.3
One of the things that we learn from Nehemiah is that prayer and petition to God should
be a marker and characteristic of any great leader. Leaders who intercede on behalf of those
that they are leading have the ability to discern the needs/wants and ideals of those that they
have
3 Ibid. Page 267-273.
lOMoARcPSD|22671317
influence over. This is a great way for any leader to help meet needs and goals of those that they
have influence over.
Conclusion
Leadership is almost always devotional before it is practical. However, even in someone
like Nehemiah’s case; there was things that he had instilled in his life that once leadership was
thrust upon him; made him an excellent leader for the time and role he was placed into.
Throughout the Old Testament we learn that the qualities of a good leader is intercession,
humility, preparation, relationships and various other qualities. The types of leadership are
relational and positional influence. We learn that to be a good leader you don’t have to have a
position, but to be a good leader you have to have good relational influence and put people
first. One of the most written about topics in the world is leadership; however, all of our
leadership skills, training and abilities could be found in the Word of God. “There are very few
‘born leaders’, people who are genetically gifted with leadership ability. Most leaders are made,
not born—and that’s good news for you and me. This means leadership can be learned.”4 It is
important to know that leadership is learned and not bred into the life of a person; because it
means no matter where you have come from, no matter the deeds you have done or failed to do,
no matter your past or misgivings—you have the ability to be a leader in this world.
4 Williams, Pat. 21 Great Leaders: Learn Their Lessons, Improve Your Influence. Uhrichsville, Ohio: Shiloh Run
Press. 2015. Page 10.
lOMoARcPSD|22671317
Bibliography
Forrest Ben and Roden, Chet. Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader. Grand
Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications. 2017.
Maxwell, John. Becoming a Person of Influence: How to Positively Impact the Lives of Others.
Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1997.
Williams, Pat. 21 Great Leaders: Learn Their Lessons, Improve Your Influence. Uhrichsville,
Ohio: Shiloh Run Press. 2015.
