Welcome to Biblical Leadership

In this lesson, we explore God’s perspectives on successful leadership, His expectations of ministry leaders, and how ministry leadership differs from secular leadership. We also consider how Jesus exemplified servant-hearted leadership through His life and teachings.

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Deduce Bible-based principles of leadership from biblical teaching and examples of servant-hearted leadership.
2. Reflect on the differentiation between the requirements of biblical leaders versus a secular understanding of leadership.
3. Clarify your motivations for wanting to lead a ministry.

During Lesson 1, we learned about biblical principles of leadership that are evident throughout the Old and New Testaments—Jesus being the perfect role model of an effective ministry leader! At this point in the class, you might be thinking: “So how can I apply the biblical principles evident throughout the Bible to my ministry leadership?” Fortunately, many Bible scholars and theologians have formulated biblical models of leadership that capture biblical leadership principles succinctly, making it easier for us to apply these principles in our lives. In this lesson, we will explore some of these biblical models of leadership development so that we can see how God uses transformational processes to mature leaders effectively.

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Identify common themes and principles from various biblical models of leadership development.
2. Describe the principles of a redemptive model of leadership.
3. Consider whether you have developed or are developing a mindset of “being” rather than “doing” so that your character matches your competence.

At the end of Lesson 2, we were introduced to the redemptive leadership model. Now we will focus on this model to evaluate our development as ministry leaders. We will therefore examine the leadership development journeys and their key milestones of New Testament leaders such as Barnabas and Peter. Additionally, we will consider some of the roadblocks leaders may face on their leadership journeys and how to overcome them. You will also have the opportunity to create and reflect on a personal and/or ministry timeline that plots key moments which you feel God used to transform you along your redemptive leadership journey.

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Identify key moments in the lives of leaders from the Bible that helped to transform them into effective leaders.
2. Determine the developmental stage of redemptive leadership you are in to recognize how God is transforming you.
3. Appraise how you measure your success as a church/ministry leader.

We have learned how God uses key moments in people’s lives to transform them and to shape them into the types of redemptive leaders who can achieve His purposes. However, common traps often hinder leaders’ development. Leaders therefore have to be intentional about their own growth while helping others in their care to develop and while determining the direction and activities of organizations. All of this also takes place within dynamic contexts in a rapidly changing world. How do leaders therefore balance their leadership development while meeting the needs of the communities they serve? In this lesson, we seek to answer this question and consider how to be a redemptive leader effectively in the twenty-first-century church.

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Reflect on how you can prioritize your personal and leadership development while facilitating others’ spiritual growth.
2. Determine your mission and values as a redemptive leader in your specific ministry context.
3. Identify the needs of those whom you are leading in your current ministry and twenty-first-century context.

This activity offers a brief introduction to the lesson and informs you of the lesson’s objectives.

This activity provides the main teaching content for the lesson. You may choose to watch the video or read the transcript. Closed captioning is also provided for any video segments. In each case the content is the same.

This quiz activity checks your understanding of the concepts learned so far. It is not a timed activity, and the quiz can be attempted as many times as needed.

Earning a quiz score of 70% or better is required for course completion.

These activities provide text-based teaching on a particular topic along with interactive graphics that will help you to apply the concepts you are learning.

This discussion activity is designed to help you articulate what you have learned in each lesson. It may also help you collect ideas from other course participants about their understanding of prayer. Since this course is asynchronous (i.e., other learners complete the course at different times), you may not see many discussion submissions or receive replies to your posts. Therefore, consider your submissions to this discussion forum as a way to share your insights about what you have learned to inspire or challenge others in their learning journey, and to enable others to do the same for you.

While other learners may not see or respond to your comments in the short term, encouraging others and engaging with others enhances your learning experience.

This activity is required for course completion.

These practical activities are designed to help you consider how to put your learning to use in your own context. When you finish this course you will have an action plan that will help you deepen and improve your prayer life!

Complete these activities digitally in the downloadable workbook, or write them by hand in your own journal. Find the link to download the digital workbook in lesson one.

This activity sums up the concepts learned in each lesson and looks ahead to what comes next.

This activity appears in the course wrap-up section at the end of the course. It asks you to think back on the course and decide what new knowledge or perspectives you will take with you moving forward.

This activity is required for course completion.