Presented to
Dr. Mary Lowe
for
Religion Ministry Praxis Capstone RLGN 489 B01
GREAT TEACHER GREAT LEADER BOOK REVIEW
1
Great Teacher Great Leader Book Review
Bibliographical Entry
Bredfeldt, Gary. Great leader, great teacher: Recovering the biblical vision for leadership.
Moody Publishers, 2006.
Summary
Author Gary Bredfeldt, has penned a much-needed reminder on the importance of leaders
teaching to the Church’s leadership with his book, Great Leader, Great Teacher: Recovering the
Biblical Vision for Leadership. As Bredfeldt states all throughout his book, “the greatest leaders
among us are the great teachers among us.” 1 Biblical teachings of leadership do not perfectly a-
line with the way the world views good leadership. While many see good leadership as success
in growth or gain, leadership in the Church should be based off of biblical teachings instead of
from a corporation or military point of view. This is exactly what Bredfeldt has focused on. The
biblical understanding of leadership is made the most of by those teaching whom they are
leading. This is a solid explanation on why church leaders so desperately need to reclaim the
biblical emphasis on teaching and preaching with in their churches.
Bredfeldt builds his whole book around his thesis which is plainly outlined in chapter
one, “The most powerful means of leading the people of God is by teaching them the Word of
God”. 2 The book covers two sections with the first half of the book examining how and why the
local church has lost its anchor in biblical leadership. Bredfeldt explains that many churches
1
2 Ibid., 18.
Gary Bredfeldt. Great leader, great teacher: Recovering the biblical vision for leadership. Moody Publishers, 2006.
14
2
have begun to model its leadership in more of a worldly fashion instead of sticking to biblical
foundations which Jesus demonstrated during His earthly ministry. In the second half of his book
Bredfeldt builds upon leadership errors and points out what it takes to make a good leader;
virtues and skills. Bredfeldt also discusses the challenges of leadership and the context of the
churches which leaders have been called to, as well as how leaders can preserver in the twenty-
first century.
Critique
I found many strengths in Bredfeldt’s book which I agreed with. The number one being
that the book’s purpose was focusing on leading in a biblical fashion. Bredfeldt makes it clear
that the Bible should be the guide for Christian leaders in leading. Bredfeldt starts off letting his
readers know at what standers leadership should be held to, “the Bible.” 3 Many leaders believe
they are already doing this well, but Bredfeldt goes into detail of how this is truly done, leading
is best accomplished by teaching. “Teachers are great leaders for three basic reasons—they have
great influence, they bring about great change, and they can invoke the highest levels of follower
development.” 4 Christian leaders must be dedicated to teaching God’s Word. Teaching is part of
the Great Commission, and is essential in a life blessed by God. 5 Bredfeldt encourages his
readers to use the Bible as a road map for understanding life and ministering to others by. 6 There
is nothing better to ground Christian leadership on, as noted by Bredfeldt, then the Scriptures.
Bredfeldt illustrates this point perfectly with his use of several people from within the Bible like
3 Ibid.,
14. 4
Ibid., 18.
5 Ibid.,
44. 6
Ibid., 42.
3
Ezra, Paul and Jesus. By doing this Bredfeldt inspires his readers to teach from a biblical
perspective.
Bredfeldt also addresses how some leaders have taken on a job role which demands them
to act as CEO of their church instead of a leader-teacher, which will take away from the biblical
role as the shepherd-teacher. 7 With the high pressure of the world today this could in deed very
easily happen. In another part of the book, Bredfeldt even goes into how to stay clear of falling
too far off the path of being a biblical teacher by staying clear of the “ditches”. 8 As Bredfeldt
states there are many tasks and ministry needs that can pull on a leader’s heart. 9 However, if
leaders allow themselves to be pulled in many directions by the needs of their church or by
trying to be a successful church, based off of the worlds view of success, they could lose their
joy of teaching in the process. 10
Many have formed a habit of measuring the success of a church by its size. “Consistent
with that corporate worldview, we have come to measure churches by their size, their rate of
growth, and the number of square feet in their newly constructed facility.” 11 This goes hand in
hand with another crucial point that Bredfeldt makes, a statement which requires a second look.
“Jesus was not a great leader!” 12 To prove this Bredfeldt states, “What leader wants to end up
crucified by those he seeks to lead?” 13 Bredfeldt goes on in the rest of chapter three to discuss
the leadership of Jesus compared to worldly expectations of leadership. I agreed with Bredfeldt’s
7 Ibid., 38.
8 Ibid., 71.
9 Ibid., 40.
10Ibid.
11 Ibid.,
78. 12
Ibid., 49.
13 Ibid.
4
understanding on why in today’s world view Jesus would be considered a failure. Bredfeldt made
an excellent point that looking at Jesus’ leadership through the lens of biblical teachings He is far
from a leadership failure. This also furthers to help support the theme of the book, leading
through biblical teaching.
In chapter six Bredfeldt focuses on the competencies that leaders truly need to be a good
leader-teacher. Bredfeldt list eight competencies. 14 These competencies are all very important for
a leader to become a good teacher. However, when discussing building a team Bredfeldt put a lot
of emphasis on the leader choosing the team and not giving a lot of room for the Holy Spirit to
guide the leader’s choice. I felt that this was a major weakness in the book.
Evaluation
There are many beneficial lessons in the book, Great Leader, Great Teacher: Recovering
the Biblical Vision for Leadership by Gary Bredfeldt. All of them can have a positive effect on
how ministries are led within the local church. Not to overstate it, but the emphasis that this book
gives to Scripture steering the direction of the Christian leader is absolutely invaluable. It is so
easy to get lost in expectations that people set on completing tasks, meeting goals and measuring
success. This book is a great reminder that Christian leaders have been called to teach, and they
can do so without feeling guilty about spending time in the Word, spreading the word and
delegating other tasks. The Bible records that leaders have been weighted down with other
burdens from the beginning of Christianity. “So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together
and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait
on tables.” (Acts 6:2, NIV)
14 Ibid., 116.
5
Leaders from biblical times knew the importance of focusing on teaching. Making sure
they were leading the way Jesus led, through teaching. “Learning to lead like Jesus is more than
an announcement it is a commitment to lead in a different way” 15 Biblical based leading is about
teaching others. Those starting out in their ministry as well as those who have been leading for a
while can both use this book as a great way to avoid ditches and distractions, stay on track as
well as focusing on leading like Jesus.
15 Ken Blanchard, and Phil Hodges. Lead like Jesus. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2008. 19.
6
Bibliography
Blanchard, Ken, and Phil Hodges. Lead like Jesus. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2008.
Bredfeldt, Gary. Great leader, great teacher: Recovering the biblical vision for leadership.
Moody Publishers, 2006.
