Leadership Development Plan
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Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................2
Biblical Passages for Leadership………………………….......................................................3-4
Biblical Principles Related to Leadership................................................................................4-5
Examination of Different Leadership Styles............................................................................5-7
Creating a Healthy Ministry Environment for Success..........................................................7-8
Personal Missional Plan...........................................................................................................9-13
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................13-14
Bibliography.................................................................................................................................15
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Introduction
A common phrase in the secular world about leadership is, “You either have it or you do
not!” The secular world insinuates that people are born natural leaders, and they cannot change
that fact. The theories “The Great Man” and “The Trait” perpetuate the belief that you have
leadership ability or not, and only certain people hold specific attributes that make them
influential leaders.1 By maintaining the previous mindset, people are doomed to be followers of
leaders who are condescending, lack communication skills, and are self-centered.
Biblical leadership is on the polar opposite of the spectrum when equated to secular
leadership. As mentioned in an online article, an essential characteristic to possess as a biblical
leader is a faithful relationship with God.2 After the death of Moses, Joshua is delegated the
authority to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. Joshua is first introduced as the “servant
of Moses” (Josh. 1:1, New American Standard Bible). However, God changes his title through
his faithfulness to “servant of the Lord” (Josh. 24-29, English Standard Version). The central
point of faithfulness is love, demonstrated by biblical leaders through obedience to God.
This leadership development plan's objective is to provide biblical passages that survey
the meaning behind biblical leadership. Furthermore, the plan will address the philosophical
interpretations of biblical principles. Then, the plan will examine leadership styles at the
individual and organizational levels. The plan will also construct a nourishing ministry
environment that effectively prepares people and leaders to accomplish the mission and new
proposals. Lastly, I will consider how to implement this leadership development plan where God
has planted me.
Biblical Passages for Leadership
1 Simplilearn, “10 Major Leadership Theories Every Manager Should Master In 2023,” Simplilearn.com accessed,
January 18, 2023, https://www.simplilearn.com/top-leadership-theories-every-manager-should-know-article.
2 Crutweets, “What Christian Mentoring Is and How Do I Do It?,” Cru.org, accessed January 24, 2023,
https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/help-others-grow/mentoring.html.
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The biblical principles that will be alluded to in the following section will be derivatives
of the following biblical passages. When Jesus was ministering to the multitudes, the Sadducees
and Pharisees put forth their best effort to ensnare Him in His words. A lawyer questioned Jesus
concerning which commandment is the greatest in the Law, to which Jesus replied, you shall
love God, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself; the Law and the Prophets depend on
these two commandments (Matt. 22:38-40, ESV). As the Son of God, Jesus knows that love
encompasses many principles, which include: obedience, servanthood, humility, sacrifice, grace,
mercy, faithfulness, and accountability.
Included in the principles that encompass love is obedience. Jesus states in John 15:14,
“You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:14, ESV). Just before the
previously mentioned passage, Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”
(John 14:15, ESV). It is unambiguously apparent that Jesus wants His followers to obey His
commands. By doing so, His followers will have a relationship and bond that provide them with
additional biblical leadership characteristics.
The following passages embody the servanthood and humility principles. As Jesus gives
the Sermon on the Mount, He states, “But seek the first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33, ESV). Often people wonder
what the kingdom of God looks like or how to describe it because they are unaware of what the
Scripture says about Him. In Matthew 4:17, Jesus began His ministry by preaching repentance
and that the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matt. 4:17, ESV). Henceforth, Jesus is inextricably
tied to the kingdom of heaven.3 The servanthood of Jesus and His apostles can be seen in
passages such as Mark 10:45, John 13:4-20, 1 Pet. 4:10, 2 Cor. 4:5, Phil. 2:6-7, Col. 3:23-24, and
3 Samuel Tai, “The Embodiment of the Kingdom of God” EkklesiaRenaissantConsulting.com, accessed March 1,
2023, https://samueltai.org/2020/11/18/the-embodiment-of-the-kingdom-of-god/.
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Matt. 20:26. Likewise, the following passages express biblical humility: Prov. 22:4, Isa. 14:12-
15, Ezek. 28:2, James 4:10, 2 Chron. 7:14, Rom. 12:3, 1 Pet. 5:6-7, Matt. 23:8-12, and Phil. 2:3-
4. This is not a comprehensive list of all the passages these principles are disclosed in throughout
the Bible.
Biblical Principles Related to Leadership
As mentioned previously, the most prevailing principle is the Bible biblical is love. Love,
in the biblical sense, encapsulates countless principles that Jesus embodied. The first principle
that will be considered derived from love is servanthood. In Matthew 20:28, Jesus clarified that
His purpose of being is to serve and give His life for the lost (Matthew 20:28, ESV). Then, in
John 13:12-16, Jesus clarifies that just as He has served the disciples by washing their feet, so
should they go out and serve His people (John 13:12-16, ESV). At times, servanthood lead many
of His apostles to suffer. Nevertheless, the apostles knew that suffering for the name of Christ
meant continued servanthood (Rom. 8:16-17, ESV).
The following biblical principle this plan will consider is obedience. The first step of
obedience many of His followers took was as simple as obeying the command, “Follow me!”
(Mark 1:17, ESV). As new followers understand what the kingdom of God resembles, they are
called into further obedience. Jesus commands obedience through love in John 14:15. However,
He also commands forgiveness (Matt. 6:14), humility (Luke 14:11), and repentance (Mark 1:15).
The last act of obedience the apostles exhibited was to go out to all nations and make disciples;
through baptism and teaching them to obey all of His commands (Matt. 28:19-20, ESV). The
disciples were obedient to the Great Commission and perpetuated the obedience unto new
believers. Because of their obedience, followers know God will bless them (Luke 11:28, ESV).
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The last biblical principle this plan will cover is humility. Both Jesus and James mention
that humble people will be exalted by the Lord (Luke 14:11; James 4:10, ESV). The upside
kingdom Jesus mentioned during His ministry is foreign to many today. Jesus emptied Himself
of His divine privileges, so He could live like men and die in our place (Phil. 2:7-8, ESV). As the
leading example of humility, Jesus knew that through His love for His sheep and His obedience
to the Father, He had to die one of the most gruesome deaths men have conjured. He did so to
allow His disciples to emulate Him as they fulfilled the Great Commission. His disciples are
meant to reflect His delegated authority and the previously mentioned biblical principles.
Examination of Different Leadership Styles
The first leadership style to be examined is Abrahams, the “Father of Faith.” When God
called Abraham, there was no insinuation that Abraham had a discourse with God about why he
would leave his home country or why he was chosen. Even though Abraham had over 300
people in his household, which meant he must have had the means to support all of them, he
relied on his faith and obeyed God (Gen. 14:14, ESV). Moreover, God promised Abraham, at
100 years old, that his wife, who was 90, would bear him a child (Gen. 17:16, ESV). Initially,
Abraham and his wife laughed when they heard it, but they knew God was faithful. They
continued to listen to God's plans, and the following year Sarah bore Isaac (Gen 21:2, ESV).
Even though Isaac was their only son, Abraham maintained his faithfulness to God when tested
and commanded to sacrifice him. Because of his faithfulness, the angel of the Lord promised to
multiply his offspring as the stars of heaven (Gen. 22:16-17, ESV).
King David is an excellent example of a humble leader before the Lord’s eyes. No matter
the position one holds, how many triumphs they have attained, or the amount given to them by
the Lord, all should aspire to be a servant like David. First, God tells Samuel, who was sent out
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to anoint the new king, that He takes no consideration of a man’s outward appearance but the
posture of his heart (1 Sam. 16:7, ESV). This verse is reminiscent of Proverb 4, where the author
indicates that everything flows from the heart (Prov. 4:23, ESV). David’s heart sought the Lord
in all things and was therefore anointed as king.
On multiple occasions, David condescends to himself by choosing words such as servant,
dead dog, and flea to refer to himself (1 Sam. 24:14; 2 Sam. 7:18, ESV). David hardly counted
himself worthy of receiving God’s blessings. Moreover, David was obedient to God. When
David wanted to build a throne for God’s glory, God made a covenant with him, telling of a seed
that shall come from him whose kingdom will be established forever (2 Sam. 7:12-14, ESV).
Although David had the means to build this majestic temple, he faithfully obeyed God.
Obedience is the cornerstone of Jesus’ ministry. Time and time again, throughout the four
gospels, His obedience to God the Father is palpable, but none more than when He and His
disciples were in Gethsemane. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus prays to the Lord and asks twice
for the cup of wrath to be taken from Him, and if it cannot pass, then for God’s will to be done
(Matt. 26: 39-42, ESV). Jesus knew the punishment He would suffer for man would be painful
and gruesome, but He also knew God had sent Him for that purpose. Turning and running away
is not an option for Christ, but He prayed fervently to His Father for a modification in the plot.
Christ could command His disciples to obey Him through His obedience to God the
Father. In John 14:15, Jesus commands everyone who loves Him to keep His commands (John
14:15, ESV). Then, in John 15:14, Jesus states that those who obey Him are His friends (John
15:14, ESV). As Jesus' death and resurrection came to pass, His disciples clearly understood
obedience. They knew then that they must serve and obey His commands unto death. Although
they would suffer, as He did, the promise of eternal life is far greater than any earthly possession.
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The last leadership style to be examined is Paul’s servanthood. Although Paul persecuted
the Church before his conversion, Jesus knew he would suffer for His name’s sake (Acts 9:16,
ESV). On one occasion, Paul and Silas could have used their Roman citizenship to avoid public
condemnation, but they knew that if they used their status, they would have created a two-class
system within the Church.4 Forrest and Roden go on the express that Paul’s suffering is a matter
of service to the gospel and “the eternal good of his fellow human beings.”5 Paul’s actions
reflected Christ’s servanthood, as stated in Philippians 2:6-7. In the cultural context of the Bible,
Paul’s beatings made others consider him servile.6 As mentioned, his service was to Christ and
the gospel, and he sought to please God through his service, not man (1 Thess. 2:4, ESV).
Creating a Healthy Ministry Environment for Success
It is difficult to state that any plan will lead to success confidently. Even king David
committed murder and adultery but was ultimately forgiven by God. A successful ministerial
plan will require an established checks and balances procedure. The previously mentioned
biblical principles will be implanted into this plan to create a healthy and thriving ministry,
which includes faithfulness, humility, obedience, and servanthood.
As previously mentioned, love is at the root of all biblical principles. With that in mind,
faithfulness and humility will be considered first in a healthy ministry environment. Paul’s faith
and gospel spreading reinforce his delegated authority for the faith and life of new churches.7
Through the ministry's faith and imitation of Jesus and Paul, members will know that God is the
center of all things, and through Him, all things prosper (Rom. 10:17; 8:28, ESV). Furthermore,
humility must be at the forefront of all projects, services, and ministry work. Every member of
4 Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden. Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader. (Grand Rapids, MI.:
Kregel Publications, 2017), 415.
5 Ibid. 412.
6 Ibid. 417.
7 Don N. Howell Jr., Servants of the Servant: A Biblical Theology of Leadership (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock
Publishers, 2003), 256.
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the body of Christ has been given specific gifts to benefit the other members (1 Cor. 12:27-30,
ESV). Therefore, every member must respect each other’s position and never claim authority
over another. All members are followers of Christ, and each received the delegated authority that
represents His kingdom in the presence of His absence.8
Next, the plan will reflect upon obedience and servanthood. In Matthew 9:13, Jesus
quotes Hosea 6:6 and tells the Pharisees that He desires mercy and not sacrifice (Matt. 9:13, New
King James Version). Hosea said these words to Israel because of their oppression of the poor,
yet attempting to circumvent their sins through sacrifice. God did not create sacrifice offerings so
that His people could continue to sin and then receive forgiveness later through sacrifice. God
wanted obedience. People often define mercy as not receiving the punishment one deserves, but
Forrest and Roden mention “corporal works of mercy” as exemplary leadership embodied by
leaders, or “saints”, “who often said little, but lead by example.”9 The corporal works of mercy is
what I believe Jesus is alluding to when he quotes Hosea. Through obedience to God and mercy,
leaders can provide a righteous example to members of the ministry.
Servanthood must come from the heart and a true sense of meekness. As mentioned, Paul
and Silas refused to use their Roman citizenship to avoid punishment (Acts 16:19-23, ESV).
Therefore, in the same manner, ministry members should avoid lording over their position to the
ministry members. Moreover, each member must consistently pursue serving the other members
to embody Jesus’ servanthood and fulfill His command of serving one another. With the
abovementioned principles at the forefront of all members' minds, the body of Christ will work
diligently to ensure the ministry's success.
Personal Missional Plan
8 Forrest and Roden. Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, 320.
9 Ibid. 457.
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First, I want to express the church’s mission statement: Know God. Grow in community.
Make a difference. Secondly, I will state my mission statement: To seek His kingdom first and
be an emissary of His love and compassion. With these two mission statements in mind, I will
elucidate my unique missional plan on how I will develop people and leaders who fulfill and
serve the organizational mission where God has currently planted me.
Through a combination of the church’s mission statement and my mission statement, I
will consider how “Knowing God” and “seeking His kingdom” combine with sharing the gospel.
But first, I would like to review what most leadership books fail to understand. As Blanchard,
Hodges, and Hendry mention, leadership is predominantly a heart matter and can only be
developed through an inward conversion.10 While my degree emphasizes pastoral counseling,
which I feel is a big part of my calling in ministry, I realized that God has additional plans in my
path. For me, this conversion began at the beginning of this term, Subterm B, Spring of 2023.
The two courses I started the term with are Contemporary Evangelism and this course, Biblical
Foundations of Leadership.
Within the first week of beginning the evangelism course, God placed it in my heart to
worship Him by planting the gospel seed into nonbelievers and ultimately allowing the Holy
Spirit to convert them. Whaley and Wheeler succinctly define worship as this: “Love God.”11
Moreover, I understood that the Holy Spirit would precede me when sharing the gospel and give
me authority and wisdom.12 I now realized that I needed to share the gospel with my patients and
the people who receive provisions at the church, not only pray with them.
10 Ken Blanchard, Phil Hodges and Phyllis Hendry, Lead Like Jesus: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role
Model of All Time (Nashville, TN.: W Publishing Group, 2016), 39.
11 Dave Earley and David Wheeler,KEveryday Evangelism: Sharing the Christian FaithK(Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock
Publishers, 2003), 27.
12 Will McRaney Jr.,KThe Art of Personal Evangelism: Sharing Jesus in a Changing CultureK(Nashville, TN:
Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2003), 28.
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Coincidentally, the senior pastor mentioned there would be evangelism training to come
in the following weeks with Dr. Rice Broocks, the author of God’s Not Dead. I thought, “What
better way to feel more confident and empowered than to go through this evangelism course and
receive face-to-face training from one of the greatest evangelists of our time!” I knew I would
receive the training in the coming weeks, but I needed to practice sharing the gospel. As I read
Share Jesus without Fear, I found my simple five questions I could ask nonbelievers.
Furthermore, the book gave me the exact Scripture I could share with the nonbeliever and allow
the Holy Spirit to move through God’s Word.13
As the weeks pass, I read more books regarding evangelism, and as I regularly share the
gospel with strangers and family, God has invigorated my confidence deeply. Unfortunately, the
church has lost some staff members, including the worship and youth pastors. This loss has
opened opportunities for non-staff members to fill positions as the church attempts to continue to
grow. One of the positions is the evangelism leader within the provision ministry and on the
Rock Your City Events (RYCE) organization, which is a part of the parachurch. The church has
not officially stated if the evangelism leader will be a part of provisions and RYCE or if they will
be separate. Regardless, I have made my interest in the position known.
First, I will discuss how being the evangelism leader in the provision ministry will help
me develop people and leaders to fulfill the church and my mission statements. To know God
and seek His kingdom occurs through obedience and worship. In the Great Commission, Jesus
commands His apostles to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them all of
His commandments (Matt. 28:18-20, ESV). Through my obedience, I will disciple others on how
to share the gospel and what Scripture can be used to confirm the nonbeliever's understanding of
13 William Fay and Linda E. Shepherd. Share Jesus Without Fear. (Nashville, TN.: Broadman & Holman Publishers,
1999), 41.
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sin, salvation, and Jesus, and repeat the process over and over again. Because I love God, which
again is worship, I will connect my conviction to help the church grow in discipleship and
community.
I hope to help the Church grow in discipleship by expanding the Men’s Ministry. The
two-fold development includes growth in numbers and a more structured discipleship path. The
first part is somewhat easy. The first part of growth is to get more people into the group. After
that, the group needs to be able to retain those members. To grow the physical size of the Men’s
Ministry is relatively simple in that it requires telling as many people as possible. Keeping the
members is the more difficult part.
As mentioned, secular leadership tends to rely on training, years of experience, and other
processes extended over a linear period. Many times, the Church imparts similar principles to the
discipleship process. Whaley and Wheeler state that this linear discipleship usually leads to
anemic evangelism practices, which produce biblical knowledge without a willingness to seek
and save the lost.14 Moreover, Whaley and Wheeler mention that evangelism is frequently
optional rather than commanded because the belief “is that new Christians are not capable of
being effective multipliers without first achieving an extremely high level of competency.”15 I
believe that my church currently operates in this fruitless manner.
My goal will be to develop the group members through love and compassion and provide
them with the skill set to go from “institutional church member” to an “incarnational Christian.”16
By creating a small group of members willing to disciple the new members, the group can
14 David Wheeler and Vernon M. Whaley. The Great Commission to Worship: Biblical Principles for Worship-
Based Evangelism. (Nashville, TN.: B&H Publishing Group, 2011), 136.
15 Wheeler and Whaley. The Great Commission to Worship: Biblical Principles for Worship-Based Evangelism,
137.
16 Ibid. 155.
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deliver an empathetic approach to new Christians that “are motivated by obedience rather than
duty” and will appreciate that evangelism is a reflection of the love one has for Christ.17
The six-week process that Whaley and Wheeler have developed would have to be
extended in my current group due to the format being affected by a time constraint of thirty to
forty-five minutes. The six-week process can be formatted through diligent work to fit into an
eight-to-ten-week process with the time available. Ultimately, new believers are taken through
formational, transformational, relational, missional, and reproducible techniques to become
Great Commission worshippers that help grow the kingdom of God and perpetuate the cyclical
process.
Through the process, as mentioned earlier, new believers will grow in their faith and will
likely continue with the group to support the mission of creating additional disciples.
Furthermore, implementing this process would not take more than one month. With the
assistance of the director and other long-term members, the cyclical process can begin achieving
its goal rather quickly.
Recently, I was made aware of the open position for the Men’s Ministry Pastor/Director
for the entire church. The church is currently comprised of six locations, and the position is to
oversee all campuses’ Men’s Ministry. Unfortunately, even though the position is part-time, I
know it is not the right time to take on such a significant role. My time is stretched thin with my
current profession as a Physical Therapist, a husband, a father to an infant and soon-to-be
teenager, and a student in this Master's program.
I trust God in where He has currently placed me and consider the impact the Evangelism
Leader position and formation of the discipleship process in the Men’s Ministry will have on the
church. Although I am not sure I will be formally offered the Evangelism Leader position, I
17 Ibid. 150, 152.
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know I will be more than delighted to assist in coaching other members to grow in their
evangelism capabilities. Furthermore, the plan to implement a discipleship process in the Men’s
Ministry is novel compared to what the church is accustomed to, that leadership may not want to
go forth with the process. Regardless, my motivation will continue to seek His kingdom, pour
love and compassion onto others, and echo His Word.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the principles guiding this leadership development plan include love,
obedience, and humility. In Matthew 22:38-40, Jesus fulfilled the Law through two simple
commands from God the Father, love God and love your neighbor (Matt. 22:38-40, ESV).
Through that command from Jesus, this leadership development plan will establish its foundation
and provide good fruits to the kingdom of God.
The most prominent biblical principles required to be a part of the plan include
obedience, humility, and servanthood. The most excellent example of obedience in the Bible is
Jesus. Through His willingness to die for the world's sins, we are granted the promise of eternal
life (John 3:16, ESV). Furthermore, God demonstrated His love for us through the covenant
promised to Abraham, another excellent example of obedience. Moreover, David is the model
for humility, evident through God exalting him to the position of king of Israel because of his
humble heart (Luke 14:15, ESV). Lastly, servanthood is the most apparent trait the Apostle Paul
radiated. In the Book of Acts, Paul demonstrates his servanthood attitude when he refuses to use
his Roman citizenship to avoid a punishment usually reserved for enslaved people and people
considered lesser than others (Acts 16:19-23, ESV).
With the principles mentioned above in mind, I will employ this current plan. Although
nothing is currently guaranteed, I hope to provide loving and compassionate evangelism training
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to other church members to impact the community around us. Additionally, with a concerted
effort to grow and develop disciples in and out of the Men’s ministry, I believe there will be a
growth in evangelistic disciples. Lastly, no matter what works or does not work, by seeking His
kingdom first in all things and placing love and compassion at the forefront of those plans, there
will be a production of good fruits.
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Bibliography
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external site.
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& Holman Publishers, 1999.
Howell Jr., Don N., Servants of the Servant: A Biblical Theology of Leadership. Eugene,
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Simplilearn. “10 Major Leadership Theories Every Manager Should Master In 2023.”
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theories-every-manager-should-know-article.
Tai, Samuel. “The Embodiment of the Kingdom of God: Samuel Tai @ Ekklesia
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embodiment-of-the-kingdom-of-god/.K
Wheeler, David and Whaley, Vernon M., The Great Commission to Worship: Biblical
Principles for Worship-Based Evangelism. Nashville, TN.: B&H Publishing Group, 2011.
