Leadership and the Bible

The Bible is not a leadership textbook. Its overarching message and its primary purpose is to communicate to fallen humanity the unfolding redemptive love of a Creator who would willingly address the sin of rebellious creatures to restore eternal fellowship. This is not to say that we do not see leaders or learn deep leadership principles within the pages of the Bible. It is only to point out that these insights and lessons about leadership are side benefits, if you will, to the primary story of the grand redemption rescue that God is executing. But leaders do have their role in that story too.

One of the first things that should be noticed when you encounter the key figures in the Biblical narrative is how unvarnished and real they are. From the first human family through to the history of the New Testament church, the main characters are presented not as some air-brushed versions of 'larger than life' heroes. People that God uses meaningfully in the Bible -- whether they be kings, prophets, or disciples of Jesus -- are not show as cleaned up examples of humanity without faults or sins. The leaders that we meet in the Bible have in turn resisted God's call, lied, been disloyal, betrayed friends, cheated family members, committed adultery, and murdered others. They never come across as some kind of separate class of people (like the heroes in other ancient narratives often do) . They are just like us.

There is a second aspect of leadership in the pages of the Bible that soon becomes obvious. God does not measure leaders the way human society does. Writing near the end of the Bible, Peter expresses this difference in his counsel to church leaders when he says, "Do not be like {an authoritarian} ruler over people you are responsible for, but be good examples to them." [1 Pet 5:3 NCV] He was probably recalling Jesus words when he said [in Lk 22:25] "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ But it is not this way with you..." Peter then goes on to quote Proverbs 3:34 and point out that God's 'mechanism for leadership' is built on humility and not pride.

It is interesting to note that some of these very Biblical truths are becoming more recognized today. Jim Collins, is one of the business world's most respected authors and speakers and his influential book Good To Great identifies humility as a primary quality in the very best leaders ("a Level 5 leader - an individual who blends extreme personal humility with intense professional will").

So while the Bible may not have been designed as a manual to educate leaders, it is nevertheless a rich source of relevant leadership principles. The MCC leadership development program will turn time and time again to these truths and the examples of leaders in the Bible for shaping our thinking and growing in our capacity to lead as God would have us to lead.

Lee Beachy is a long time member of Manchester Christian Church and has served in a variety of leadership roles including treasurer, elder and part time staff member. He is currently a member of the Strategic Leadership Team and the Leadership Development Team.

This 'Leadership Development' Thing

At a recent leadership community gathering, executive pastor, Eric Lee, revealed the church’s plan to initiate a program for leadership development. Although that news may have been overshadowed by the news concerning our plans for the Bedford campus, a commitment to the leaders serving the mission of Jesus here at MCC is still pretty big news.

Unbeknownst to most of us, a team of nine experienced MCC members have been on a year-long quest involving prayer, research, interviews with current MCC leaders, and still more discussion — all for the purpose of ‘Growing Godly Leaders’ as we respond to and prepare for the growth of the church as a whole. Many movements (be they of the Spirit or otherwise) flounder or fail when wise leaders are not found to play a vital role in leading others. There is a growing recognition that as we grow together and are used of Jesus to make bigger and bigger impacts on our community, we need more leaders and leaders with more capacity. That, in a nutshell, is the aim of the leadership development initiative.

The effort is just at the baby steps stage right now but there will be so much more to benefit from in the near future. The vision is to provide a flexible, learner-paced set of resources for leaders at every stage of discipleship and growth. There is also a clear realization that we learn best from each other as we prayerfully seek to faithfully serve as the Spirit has given us gifts.

In my home library this morning, I happened to pick up a small book that was given to me over 40 years ago as I approached my high school graduation. It was a book of motivation and encouragement titled I Dare You that was given to many thousands of graduating seniors over the decades, written by a successful businessman, and distributed by a foundation to those selected for ‘qualities of leadership.’ I am not completely sure what the faculty members saw in a young man to select me for this award (when, honestly, I might have preferred a monetary scholarship!) but one thing that struck me today is that whatever I thought leadership was four decades ago has most certainly changed and matured a great deal since!

That is the heart of Manchester Christian’s desire—helping, shaping, and maturing the leadership capacities of those disciples in the church who have been called and gifted to lead others in their faithful following of Jesus. No leader is ever satisfied with mediocrity or stagnation. Leaders are inevitably also learners. Beginning in 2014, MCC is making a conscious investment in the lives of those that God will use in the months and years to come to pray for and realize the ‘greater things’ that Jesus pointed his disciples toward.

Are you a leader? There are some first steps you can take: take the leadership assessment here on the website; identify your strengths and areas where you can grow your competencies; attend one of the personal development sessions we will be offering in May; begin learning as the team provides more leader resources month by month. We invite you to stay tuned for even more information and opportunities to grow — because greater things are still to be done!

Lee Beachy is a long time member of Manchester Christian Church and has served in a variety of leadership roles including treasurer, elder and part time staff member. He is currently a member of the Strategic Leadership Team and the Leadership Development Team.