The Psalmist David writes in the twenty-fifth Psalm saying, “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”[1] David appeals to the Lord to teach him, so that he will act according to the will and agenda of God. What better way to lead then follow the greatest leader of all, Jesus Christ. The sincere manner, in which David presents his heart to the Lord, is an amazing example of a heart that God can mold and shape for the leading and guiding of the kingdom. In this paper, the examination of biblical leadership will be measured against non-biblical leadership and their elements will be scrutinized as they are put up side by side. There are two major categories under which all other differences between these two methods fall. Biblical leadership starts with the heart, as seen by David’s comment above, and these two methods of leadership will sit juxtaposed to each other as their qualities are examined.
The first way in which these two methods of leadership will be observed is by is the fact that biblical leadership submits directly to the authority of Christ as the supreme chancellor, while non-biblical leadership places a human person as the final authority. Paul writes to the Colossian people that “he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”[2] Paul reminds the people in Colossae that Jesus is the “senior pastor” of the church. He is the end-all be-all, so to speak. The “main man.” No human authority will override the authority that Christ has in the church. The people of God must submit and listen to the call and mission that God gives to the church, and willingly obey despite the consequences. The main idea surrounding biblical leadership is the God is the head, the final authority over his people. The human leaders of the church must be quick to listen and heed the will of the Lord. Strauch points this out when he says that, “Most important, biblical eldership guards and promotes the preeminence and position of Christ over the local church.”[3] Keeping Christ as the ultimate authority figure over the church is all important when desiring to function in righteousness. One must be reminded that personal struggle and inner conflict, regarding who is in control, must never overtake the authority of Christ. Ironically enough, Jesus is desperately needed in the lives of those who lead, to help keep Him first. As one author put it, “We must realize that no amount of success or achievement will ever fill the holes created by our own unmet needs. Ultimately those needs can only be fully satisfied by a correct understanding and personal ownership of all that God has provided for us in his son, Jesus Christ.”[4]
Unlike biblical leadership, non-biblical leadership places human authority as the final judgment call and the vision and passions of the organizations stem from human derived agendas and not God’s plan. This is where people lead and burn bridges, hurt others, and pave the way for disaster. Now this is not always the case, but what wisdom the Psalmist David had when he beckoned for the Lord to teach him his truth. Humans have an amazing capacity for leadership without God, and there can be a lot of good that comes out of a leader whose vision is sincere and upright. Yet, there is nothing like submitting and listening to the leadership of the one who holds the world in his hands. The greatest problem with this method of non-biblical leadership is that a human, whose flesh is corrupt, is replacing the voice of God, for his or her own. This is where following a biblical model of leadership is paramount for kingdom work.
Secondly, biblical leadership ironically mimics Christ and his attitude and lifestyle which displayed servant leadership, while non-biblical leadership seeks to massage and inflame one’s own ego and sense of self-worth. Biblical leadership is about service, and there was no other person in all of humanity that displayed this like Christ. Jesus exemplifies this attitude and lifestyle of leading by serving when he washes his disciples’ feet. After he had performed an act of the lowliest person in a household, Jesus tells them, “For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you…a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.”[5] Jesus performs an act of service that boggles the minds of his disciples. They are stunned at his act, and what an act indeed. Jesus transforms the way that his followers thought about leadership, and the attitudes and actions they should live out as leaders of the coming kingdom. Paul reminds the people in Philippi of Jesus’ servant leadership saying, “Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”[6] Biblical leadership demands the character of Christ, a servant’s attitude, reiterating the likeness of Christ, which is steeped in contrast with non-biblical models.
Non-biblical leadership screams the exact opposite of servant leadership. Finding an opportunity to advance one’s own self and ideas becomes the goal of those who are in charge and not living according to the example of Christ. This is seen by Allender’s statement that hits the proverbial nail-on-the-head when he says, “No one is humble by nature…Humility comes from humiliation, not from the choice to be self-effacing or a strong urge to give others the credit.”[7] Servant leadership is the last form by which people would choose to lead, because it goes against who we are inside. No one is automatically humble and wants to lead by serving. Hence Jesus’ demonstration of servant leadership to his disciples that night he washed their feet. Non-biblical leadership is without a doubt a circumstance of self-proclamation, an egocentric phenomenon that propels one forward by an innate desire to be the “top dog.” In a striking paradox, Blackaby points out that “leaders who are unable to love their people and who are unwilling to consider their needs, are insecure in their own identity.”[8] Even though they are in leadership, loving others above one’s own self is critical for effective biblical leadership; an element that is not found in non-biblical leaders. Jesus turned this model of leadership upside down when he proved that real leadership was surrendering one’s self to the call of God, and putting others in front of one’s own desires.
[1] Psalm 25: 4 – 5
[2] Colossians 1:18
[3] Alexander Strauch, Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership, (Littleton, CO: Lewis and Roth Publishers, 1995), p. 115.
[4] Gary McIntosh and Samuel Rima Sr., Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1997), p. 148.
[5] John 13:15 – 16
[6] Philippians 2:6 – 7
[7] Dan Allender, Leading with a Limp, (Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook Press, 2006), p. 69.
[8] Henry and Richard Blackaby, Spiritual Leadership, (Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman, 2001), p. 166.
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