Leadership Development Plan
LEAD 510: Biblical Foundations of Leadership
May 1, 2025
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Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................1
Theology..........................................................................................................................................2
Philosophy......................................................................................................................................3
Examination of different Leadership Styles................................................................................4
Creating a Healthy Ministry/Work Environment......................................................................5
My Personal Leadership Plan.......................................................................................................6
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................... 12
Bibliography.................................................................................................................................14
1
Introduction
In order for the church to be a deliberate place for healing in a very broken world, the church
must have the capabilities and resources to be a guiding light in a dark world. Leadership is one
of the most critical aspects in the church, especially now in the present moment. The world’s
leadership model often focuses on a person’s own self interests and their own ascension up the
ladders of power. That is certainly not the leadership that God is interested in. God is interested
in leaders who have a pure and discerning heart, a will to serve others around them, a
compassion for the needs of others, and the most important thing: a leader’s heart who is focused
on God.1 Being a Christian leader does not automatically mean that you will pastor a church
someday, but it does mean that you will be put into a position to advance the kingdom of God
that aligns with whatever spiritual gift(s) you may possess. Throughout human history, many
leaders have sprung up that have used their own philosophies and ideas to obtain power and
influence in the world. Like the wind, these leaders come and go, and often, their ideas and
beliefs tend to fade away with them. As a Christian leader, the perfect role model to emulate for
leadership is Jesus Christ.2 Through the Bible, an aspiring Christian leader can draw wisdom and
knowledge about how Jesus was the true ultimate leader that is still influential in the world
today. Jesus Christ must be at the heart of any Christian leader who seeks to advance the
kingdom of God.
1 Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges, Lead like Jesus Revisited: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role
Model of All Time (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 11.
2 Ibid., 12.
2
Theology
The Bible does not shy away from various leaders throughout the Old and New Testament.
Many of these leaders vary from good to bad, to worse on some occasions. Nonetheless, the
scriptures offer a deep look at several leaders throughout Israel’s history. Some of these leaders,
like David and Solomon, were faithful servants to God and for that reason, He blessed their
kingdoms tremendously. Other leaders, such as Rehoboam, Ahab, Jehoram, and Amon were
wicked rulers in the eyes of God who were not only disobedient, but they also raised up idols and
oppressed their own people.
One of the most influential leaders shown in the Old Testament was Moses. In the book of
Exodus, it is shown that God called Moses to do an important work as the Israelites were
suffering in bondage under the Egyptians. This was a very monumental task that Moses believed
he had no business doing. He asks God in Exodus 3:11, “Who am I that I should go to Pharoah,
and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” Moses did not possess any unique
skills or abilities that the Bible tells us about. Through Moses, we can see that God is not
considered about whether someone is qualified to be a leader. God will qualify whoever He
needs to do the tasks that He has called them to do.
The New Testament starts off with the gospels and gives us four unique aspects of Jesus
Christ and how His ministry unfolded. Jesus often spoke of what it meant to be a leader who is
focused on others and not themselves. He says, “love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your mind” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-
39).3 Jesus understood that humans are generally most interested in self-preservation. It is natural
3 Blanchard, Lead Like Jesus, 13.
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to want your needs taken care of before anyone else’s. Jesus is telling the reader to out the needs
of others before your own, just as He did with His disciples.
Philosophy
One of the most important Biblical principles that we see in the Bible related to leadership is
that absolutely no one knows more than God. In Genesis, Adam and Eve were the first two
Humans on earth and because they thought they knew better than God, they were disobedient to
His commandments.4 In order to be a successful Christian leader, you must recognize that you do
not know more than God. No matter how many degrees or education you possess and no matter
how many accolades you have accumulated, you do not know more than God. While a person
can have a heart that is turned towards God, it can quickly be pulled away from God if cares of
the world start to consume you. As Blanchard notes, “We can too easily fall into worshiping, for
instance, success, power, money, family, education, reputation, and good works, instead of
God.”5
If a person is to become a leader like Jesus, that person must clothe themselves in humility,
just as Jesus did. Humility is a word that people hear often, but it’s not a word that many people
truly comprehend. Blanchard tells us “Humility requires knowing whose you are and who you
are.”6 It requires you to understand that you will not always have the answers in life. You will
not always know the best course of action to take. As a leader like Jesus, that is fine. God wants
you to rely on Him for your problems in life. He does not want you to think that you can solve
everything because the truth is that no one can solve all the problems in life, no matter who they
4 Blanchard, Lead Like Jesus, 73.
5 Ibid., 74.
6 Ibid., 79.
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are. A person with a humble attitude accepts their limitations and does not try to force something
to happen. It is important to remember that you as a leader are connected to Christ and can do
nothing apart from Him. Jesus said this to His disciples, “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”
(John 15:5).7
Examination of different Leadership Styles
There are several different leadership styles in the world today. The world’s leadership style
primarily consists of people at the very top setting priorities and delegating responsibilities to
those who are underneath them. This is one of the primary modes of leadership that is seen
within the US. Military. A high-ranking officer (two-Star General) gives his guidance to those
beneath him, and everyone scrambles to get their share done to avoid punishment. As an Officer,
your priorities are essentially the priorities of whoever your rater and senior rater are. This form
of leadership is often done for the advancement of one’s career within the military. This style of
leadership does not really focus on those beneath a person but instead focuses on pleasing people
above one’s own position to get farther in their careers.
The leadership shown within the New Testament is completely different from what is shown
in the world today. The leadership that Jesus displayed focused on humility, compassion and
respect for the needs of others. Something in total opposition to what the world sees as
leadership today. Jesus told his disciples “Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus understood from the beginning of his
ministry what He needed to do, and He was obedient to the will of His Father until His death and
resurrection.
7 Blanchard, Lead Like Jesus, 80.
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Creating a Healthy Ministry/Work Environment
Dempsey, Earley and McClendon point out that “leaders do not grow on trees, they are
developed.8 This is especially true for Christian leaders. Just as new Christians accept Jesus
Christ as their savior, they still must learn how to operate as a Christian, and what it means to
live the Christian lifestyle. The same is true for a new Christian leader. There is a term in the
military which is said “figure it out.” This refers to telling a junior soldier how to solve a
problem with that soldier having no prior knowledge about the problem and how to solve it. This
model of leadership where you essentially must guess and hope you make this right decision is
not a model that produces strong Christian leaders in the church. Christian leadership should not
be influenced by the world’s model of leadership because of the numerous problems that it can
create.
One of the easiest and most efficient ways to cultivate effective Christian leaders is to find out
what their spiritual gifts are and pair them with more senior members of the church who share in
some of those gifts. Paul mentions different spiritual gifts in his letter to the Romans. These gifts
can include prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, mercy, leadership and other things
as well (Romans 12:6-8). Pairing more experienced leaders in the church with newer more
inexperienced future leaders cultivates better and more effective followers of Christ which will
benefit the church in the future.
Another method of cultivating strong Christian leaders is to have monthly or bi-weekly
seminars for aspiring leaders within the church. These seminars can be effective in helping new
Christians understand what it takes to be an effective leader within the church. Jesus often taught
the disciples many lessons using parables. In some cases, He would also explain things without
8 Rod Dempsey, Dave Earley, and Adam McClendon, The Three-Dimensional Leader: A Biblical, Spiritual
& Practical Guide to Christian Leadership (Bellingham, WA: Kirkdale Press, 2023), 193.
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the use of parables when they were alone (Mark 4:33-34). The church has to be willing to teach
Christian leaders how to be Christian leaders so that they do not follow the worldly examples of
leadership.
My Personal Leadership Plan
While I am currently not a pastor or chaplain. It is my goal to eventually become a US Army
chaplain within the next two or three years. While I am not currently in a position of leadership, I
can still start to develop a plan to develop leaders within the church in the future. I will first start
off by attempting to understand what their spiritual gifts are. Understanding the gifts they have is
important as it can help them to meet people with similar gifts. Having an aspiring piano player
working with someone who has been playing the piano for several years is a great way for that
younger person to grow not only in their gifts, but also as a Christian.
Another implementation I would make is to introduce something called small groups. These
are common practices at bigger churches, but they can also be extremely important in smaller
churches as well if done correctly. When I went to a church in Columbus, Georgia called
Cascade Hills Church, they often spoke of their small groups and how impactful they were for
many of their members. These groups ranged from married couples, single individuals, military
members, among other groups as well. If you attend the church, there was a small group for you.
It was especially good for newer members of the church who might not have known people who
attended the church. These small groups enabled connections to be made on a more personal
level with people who were like you in some way. These small groups were very important in
making new believers feel welcomed within the church. My goal is to have the ability to also
implement small groups of about 5-10 people per group that can help each other grow as
Christians and as leaders in the church. I will also implement small group leader training for
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those who wish to be the leaders of the small groups. The leaders of these small groups are the
ones who start the group engagements with questions and topics to discuss while also choosing
the venue for the small group meet up. This can be a person’s home if they choose or somewhere
public like a coffee shop, restaurant, or bookstore. The purpose of small groups is to bring
Christians closer together while also helping them to develop as authentic and mindful Christian
leaders.
One of the most important aspects of the Christian Journey is prayer. Prayer is something that
cannot be ignored in the life of an authentic Christian who seeks to live a life filled with the Holy
Spirit. Prayer is one of our main communication methods with God. Without prayer, we as
Christians can become spiritually weak in many different areas in our lives. Developing
authentic leaders in the image of Christ means teaching them how to pray effectively as Jesus
did. In Luke it says, “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray
and continued all night inGprayer to God” (Luke 6:12). Jesus stayed connected to the father
through prayer and fasting. As Christian leaders, we must also do the same if we are to be
effective in the world today. Not all Christians know how to pray effectively because they
haven’t been taught how to pray. While they can certainly read the scripture to see how Jesus and
other people prayed, the church must be proactive in showing them physically and verbally how
to effectively pray. My goal would be to have a prayer session either in the morning or afternoon
once a week that gives everyone who attends the opportunity to pray if they desire. We would
pray for the church as well as the individuals within the church to ensure that they are being
molded into the leaders that God has called them to be. The church needs to learn to take better
care of newer believers; some of whom will one day become leaders within the church. While
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reading the Bible is important for gaining knowledge and wisdom about the Christian lifestyle, it
is important that they see these things in action.
The next important step I would take is to give them assignments that would help them
develop their spiritual gifts and their leadership abilities. Jesus gave his disciples assignments to
do certain things, and they did what Jesus instructed them to do. Matthew says, “AndGwhen He
had called His twelve disciples toGHim,GHe gave them powerGoverGunclean spirits, to cast them
out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease” (Matthew 10:1)9. Jesus understood
what His disciples could handle and because of that, He sent them out to advance the kingdom of
God. Jesus was a leader who understood that the disciples had to be developed and taught before
they could handle more serious matters. As a developer of leaders, it is also my job to give future
leaders in the church assignments that are suited for their specific skillsets. Imagine that you
receive a brand new job. You are excited and happy to be working this new job. While you are
excited and eager to learn, someone must teach you and then give you tasks to complete to
ensure that you can handle the job. This logic applies to that of the Christian leader as well.
Without giving them assignments to complete, how can a leader develop within the church? The
assignments I would give to my future leaders would not be too difficult for them to complete.
Just as Jesus gave his disciples assignments that they could do, I would also do the same for the
people learning under me.
The next step that I will take is to give them feedback on how they are doing. When you
are tasked with doing something, nothing is more annoying in the world than not receiving
feedback and wondering if you are doing well or not. While you can guess your progress, that is
not how you develop leaders in the church. Future leaders cannot simply guess how they are
9 Rod Dempsey, Dave Earley, and Adam McClendon, The Three-Dimensional Leader: A Biblical, Spiritual
& Practical Guide to Christian Leadership (Bellingham, WA: Kirkdale Press, 2023), 197.
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doing. That is a disservice to them and the church itself. Jesus gave his disciples feedback several
times. He would even go as far as to rebuke them on some occasions. Jesus was certainly not
afraid of correcting those He came across. Luke tells us, “ Now John answered and said, “Master,
we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not
follow with us.,But Jesus said to him,G“Do not forbidGhim,GforGhe who is not againstGus is on our
side” (Luke 9:49-50). Here we see the disciples trying to stop someone from casting out demons
in the name of Jesus, but Jesus forbade them from doing so because that person was clearly with
them in spirit even though he wasn’t one of the twelve. Future leaders who will be active in the
church need feedback on if their actions are in line with God or not. As a member of the military,
I have been told whether my actions meet the standard or not. This is done to help develop
leaders within the military by telling them how they can improve. I find this to be a very
effective way of feedback, especially for aspiring Christian leaders who will oversee God’s
people one day.
How many friends do you have? Like close friends that you can rely on in times of trouble.
Can you count them on one or two hands? True friendship is something that is hard to come by
in the world today. Being a person’s friend is something that a leader should strive to do when
developing someone in the church. Jesus referred to the disciples as His friends towards the end
of His ministry: No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is
doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made
known to you” (John 15:15).10 It is important to remember that bonds form naturally overtime. I
have become friends with several different people at my current church in Leesville, Louisiana
over time. We may not share the same life experiences or even gifts, but through our shared love
10 Rod Dempsey, Dave Earley, and Adam McClendon, The Three-Dimensional Leader: A Biblical,
Spiritual & Practical Guide to Christian Leadership (Bellingham, WA: Kirkdale Press, 2023), 201.
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of Christ and His death on the cross, we have become friends. Dempsey notes that, “When we
work together with blood, sweat, and tears, we form a bond of friendship that is powerful and
fulfilling.”11 It is much easier to help someone to grow in their faith when you are friends with
them and not just an acquaintance. My goal is to become genuine friends with the people I am
developing because that is the right thing to do. When you know that someone is genuinely
interested in helping you succeed, that makes it more important for you to develop. It is
important to have genuine connections with those in the church with you. Real friends are hard
to come by, but in the church, you should be able to develop long-lasting friendships with many
different people because of who we all belong to in Christ Jesus.
Another step I will implement is one aimed at reducing the stress that some of these aspiring
leaders may face in their personal lives. We all have stress in our lives in some way, shape or
form. Some of have stress at work, at home, in the car, or in some cases, everywhere. Stress is a
part of the Christian life especially. I don’t want people in my church to feel as though we don’t
care about the stress factors affecting them in their personal life. This means checking on them to
see how they are doing in their lives. Are they facing a stressful event that might not be known
publicly? I want to create a safe place where people can feel that they can share their struggles
with someone without feeling judged about it. Many people in the church tend to hide what they
are going through because they don’t feel comfortable because they feel as though they will be
judged for whatever situation they may find themselves in. I plan to implement free counseling
to whoever would like it in the church. This would be 100% confidential counseling similar to
the counseling that US Army chaplains provide in the military. I believe that free counseling for
11 Ibid.
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married couples or single individuals would help tremendously for those struggling with life
stressors.
One last step I would implement is that of self-assessments. This would be done to see how
these future leaders view their own progress while also determining if we can both see the areas
that they need improvement in. These self-assessments will require honesty, and I plan to make
that known before the assessment is taken. I will let them know that to successfully get eh most
out of them as an authentic leader, they will need to be honest with themselves to correctly
determine how they can get better in certain key areas as a leader. Being a true Christian means
having the humility to be honest with your struggles and this assessment will help them to do
that.
All of these will be put in place for the betterment of future Christian leaders in the church. I
feel as though many churches don’t take a very active role in developing future leaders. They
may tell them to read the Bible and pray, which is certainly a good thing, but that does not
replace the need for real and authentic mentoring and teaching. If we inside of the church don’t
take an active role in developing young leaders, the world will certainly do it for us, and that is
not something we want. We have already discussed the world’s model of leadership which is in
opposition to the leadership style of Jesus Christ. That is why I will be proactive in my approach
and not reactive. As a Christian leader who wants to develop even better leaders than myself, a
slow, deliberate and proactive approach is the way I would like to go to develop true and
authentic Christian leaders for the church.
Conclusion
Just as a baby is developed inside of the womb for nine months, a Christ-centered leader also
must be developed for a period. Leaders do not just grow on trees overnight. Instead, they must
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be cultivated and matured before they are ready to prosper. The Scriptures give us a very deep
look into what good and bad leadership looks like. From Moses to some of the good and wicked
kings of Israel all the way to Jesus Christ, we see some of the worst leadership, and then some of
the best all throughout the scriptures. It is not good enough to simply read the scriptures. We
must also emulate what Jesus did as he led by example. He presented himself as a humble
servant, He had compassion on the multitudes, He did not disregard the poor and afflicted, He
did not give in to sin and temptation, and he taught his disciples how to operate in the world once
He departed from them physically. Jesus Christ was, and still is, the ultimate leader that
humanity has produced. Many different styles of leadership have come and gone throughout
human history. Some might have lasted longer than others, but in the end, the world’s style of
leadership is only focused on a person’s own interests and ascension up the ladders of power.
The leadership that Jesus of Nazareth showed was focused on the needs of others. A true
Christian leader must have a heart and mind focused on God and what He desires. A heart
focused on fleeting pleasures or admiration from others will not get a person far with God. Apart
from Jesus, we as Christians can do nothing at all. Jesus said so himself in the gospel of John, “I
am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.G2,Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit
He takes away; and everyGbranchGthat bears fruit He prunes, that it may bearGmore fruit.G3,You are
already clean because of the words which I have spoken to you.G4,Abide in Me, and I in you. As
the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you
abide in Me” (John 15: 1-4).
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Bibliography
Blanchard, Kenneth H, Phil Hodges, and Phyllis Hennecy Hendry. Lead like Jesus Revisited:
Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time. Nashville, Tennessee: W
Dempsey, Rod, Dave Earley, and Adam McClendon. The Three-Dimensional Leader: A
Biblical, Spiritual & Practical Guide to Christian Leadership. Bellingham, Washington:
Kirkdale Press, 2023.Publishing Group, an imprint of Thomas Nelson, 2016.
