LEAD 520 Life of Leaders Literature Review 2026.docx

Life of Leaders Literature Review

Michael Simmons

LEAD 520: Biblical Foundations of Leadership (B02)

June 8, 2025

Contents

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................3

What are the foundations that make a Christian leader?...............................................................4

How Does Theology play a role in Christian leadership?................................................................6

Introduction

As explained in the Bible, a "gift from God" refers to any good thing that originates from

spiritual gifts can be wisdom, knowledge, and prophecy. Other gifts may be more physical like

the ability to build things or play a musical instrument. The gift that will be reviewed and

studied in this assignment is the gift or leadership. Like any other gift, the gift of leadership

comes naturally to some people. But every gift must be refined and homed to perfection. Any

gift granted by God, if not used, will be taken away. God has given Christian leaders the

leadership gift for the sole purpose of advancing His kingdom by leading others to Christ.

In this literary review, the course textbooks and readings, along with outside sources will

be examined to answer three pertinent questions in the life of leaders: What are the

foundations that make a Christian leader? How does Theology play a role in Christian

leadership? And, what are the spiritual disciplines required of a Christian leader?

faith, and return to live with Him in eternity. We are born with sin. By nature, we are sinners.

God has anointed specific people with the gift of Christian leadership for the purpose of

“shepherding” His flock.

Everyone can remember a situation where they have been forced to serve or work under

“bad leadership". It could have been the boss at work that has no clue what he or she is doing.

It may have been the football coach with only one skill: yelling and screaming at everyone. Or,

maybe the pastor at church who got caught stealing money from the congregation. In all of

these examples, the so called “bad” leader must have been missing at least one of the

foundational elements required to be a good leader. At its core, leadership requires skills such as

wisdom, knowledge and integrity. Leadership also requires communication skills, empathy, and

the ability to inspire people. These and more are all foundational gifts given by God to help us

Commission.

One example of a great Christian leader was Martin Luther. Luther originally enrolled in

college to follow his fathers’ footsteps in becoming a lawyer, but God had other plans1. Through

his studies, Luther went on to learn that we are all justified by faith alone, not works. Luther’s

Paradox of the Cross was an example of Luther gaining wisdom and what he believed God’s will

for mankind was.

Luther studied scripture and through the Holy Spirit, he was able to understand that the focus

of God should start with focusing on the cross. This helped him grow his relationship with God

and gain wisdom. His wisdom became what we all know as the reformation of the Christian

church.

he showed immeasurable courage in writing and nailing his Ninety-five Thesis to the Wittenberg

door3. Luther knew that his life was in danger by challenging the authorities but he placed his

faith in God and the Bible.

Another great Christian leader was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer lived a life of faith

that ultimately culminated in his death. God blessed Bonhoeffer with many gifts. He was a

with others in a plot to kill Hitler5.

byeight cell, cut off from the world. He never lost his faith. Like the Apostle Paul, Bonhoeffer

believed that strength was gained through suffering. 6

The answer to this question should be simple. Theology is the very foundation for how

leaders think, act, and make decisions Theology aligns the Christian leader’s actions with biblical

defense when he faced temptation from Satan in the wilderness. (Matthew 4:1-11, NKJV, 2011,

Biblica Inc.) In the book of Hosea, it says “My people are destroyed for lack of Knowledge”.

(Hosea 4:6)

The study of God and His relationship with this world is the bedrock of all Christian

leaders. Bonhoeffer was well educated in theology and used his knowledge to advance the

gospel even from prison. Like Paul the Apostle, Bonhoeffer looked for every opportunity to

advance the word of Jesus. He summarized that the cross was a “stumbling block” for the

Romans in Jesus’ day. The cross will also be a “stumbling block” to the Nazis7. And it was.

Interestingly enough, Bonhoeffer made a lot of his theological discoveries by reading and

studying the writings of Martin Luther. Through his readings of the Apostle Paul in the New

weakness. Bonhoeffer learned like Luther that he had to rely on his knowledge of theology

because human wisdom alone was not enough.

effective leadership. These practices help bring the leader closer to God. Active spiritual

discipline prepares a leader to serve others with wisdom, compassion, and humility. Other

disciplines like journaling, service, and fasting can deepen the leader’s spiritual awareness and

ability to discern God's will.

There have been many great theologians since Jesus but one that exemplifies spiritual

discipline was the great theologian John Calvin. This French scholar spent many hours studying

scripture. He was often referred to as the “man of one book”8. Because of his studies and

theological expositions of scripture, Calvin has been compared to other great theologians like

Luther, Augustine, and Barth.

Calvin believed that in order to achieve true piety, religious belief in Jesus must be lived

out publicly. It must be overall consuming of a person’s life. He lived a Godly life. He was a firm

10 Forrest et.al, 2018, A legacy of preaching: the life, theology, and method of history’s great preachers,459

Edwards preached and stressed the “Importance and advantage of a thorough knowledge of

divine truth”.11 He taught that Christians must not remain as “babes” when it comes to

knowledge of God. Edwards preached on the fight against secularism with an idea of theology

of revival through the word and his experience.12

He would spend hours in libraries and studying. He believed that all effective minsters should

have good library of books and writings that they could refence during their messages to the

church.13

Catherine Booth was an early “female” preacher that began preaching in 1860. Although

she was not ordained, she believed that her right to preach the gospel was a gift by God. She

believed that she had been called by the Holy Spirit to preach.14 Her preaching lasted over 30

years. Her ministry evolved into what is known today as the Salvation Army. Although she was a

good preacher, her spiritual discipline was her administrative abilities. Catherine was married to

William Booth, the actual preacher, but Catherine was responsible for much of his success

especially in the organization of the Salvation Army.15

12 Shaw, 1997, 10 great ideas from church history: a decision-maker’s guide to shaping your church, 114

13 Forrest et.al, 2018, A legacy of preaching: Enlightenment to the Present Day, 110

14 Forrest et.al, 2018, A legacy of preaching: Enlightenment to the Present Day, 88

15 Petersen, 2008, 25 surprising marriages: how great Christians struggled to make their marriages work, 71

parable, the master had to go away. He gave each of his servant’s “talents” The one servant that

did not use his “talent” was called lazy and unfaithful by the master, and his talent was taken

away. This is the same with the talent of leadership. The Christian leader must use it. To use it

the leader must maintain spiritual discipline.

improve our own leadership. We can all learn from such greats as Martin Luther, Dietrich

Bonhoeffer, and John Calvin. But the greatest Christian leader of all is Jesus Christ. Being a

successful leader requires wisdom to learn from others. We must remain disciplined and always

look for improvement.

Bibliography

Forrest, B. K., King, K. L., Curtis, W. J., & Milioni, D. (Eds.). (2018). Vol 2 A legacy of preaching: