Biblical Leadership Principles

By Dr. Lee Miller

This book will teach you about the principles of Biblical leadership. It also examines different leadership styles and methods. It will help you find who God has created you to be as a leader, as well as, how you can become the very best leader you can be. In all of these ways it will assist you in fulfilling the call of God on your life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lee Miller Ministries, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781635357332

Book preview

Biblical Leadership Principles

Biblical Leadership Principles

by Dr. Lee Miller

Copyright

Copyright @Lee Miller Ministries, Inc.

All rights reserved.  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

ISBN

Lee Miller Ministries, Inc.

277 West Lincoln Road

Alcoa, TN 37701

Chapter One

Even Children Know What It Means To Lead

We will look at definitions of leadership later.  However, let’s begin by thinking about Jesus and His method of teaching.  He often looked around the immediate area and took natural examples that people would recognize and understand from their daily experiences (fishermen fishing, drawing from a well, farmer sewing seed, etc.) to convey spiritual truths and realities.  So, I will use this same method to explain what it means to lead the Body of Christ.

I will use a very simple illustration. But it is a perfect example from our shared childhoods.  Do you remember playing Follow the Leader?  In this game, the leader would do whatever he wanted the others to do.  He would go wherever he wanted others to go.  He would lead the way. He had to do everything first.

When we look at it this way, it is difficult to misunderstand.  The leader leads the way in everything.  He did not merely tell others what to do or where to go.  He had to go there . . . first. He had to do it . . . first.  Then the others would all imitate exactly what the leader had done. This is exactly what leadership in the Body of Christ should be.

The leader should lead by being out in front and going there first.  All the others follow exactly where and what the leader does. There is always, only one leader, and he is out front and is leading.  There are no committees, or boards.  There are no votes or discussions.  The leader is out front leading.  The rest of the group follows.

If you have been called to lead, you must be out in front leading, going where God leads you to go, doing what God leads you to do.  Only as you go, and do, will others then hear what you are saying, see what you are doing, and see where you are going.  Only as you go and do, will they will be able to follow and imitate you.  They will begin to say what you say, do what you do, and go where you go.

You cannot lead from the rear.  You also cannot stand by and point in some direction.  Neither of these constitutes leadership.  If you are in the rear, then someone else is leading.  If you are the leader and you are standing and pointing; then everyone who is trying to follow you, will do exactly that same thing.  The result is that no one will go anywhere.  Everyone will stand still and each one will point, in their own direction.  There will be no agreement, no direction, and no purpose. Everyone will be in a state of confusion and frustration. People will be in conflict with one another. If this is the case, then there is no leader !

Leading At All Times, In All Ways

Having said this, let me remind you that you are not merely called to lead services, or just to be a spiritual leader.  You must be a leader of the people of God, all the time, and in all things, and in all ways. You must lead spiritually, morally, ethically, and in all the things encountered in the natural areas of life as well.

Your call to leadership is vast and far reaching. It inherent in this call is the responsibility to be a leader in every area of life. You must lead in your honesty, truthfulness, and responsibility,  You must lead in your love of and daily time spent with God, in time spent in reading and studying the Word of God.  You must always be the first to love and the first to forgive.  You must be the first to live a pure and Godly life in all ways and in all manners.  You must be the first to lead in the way you love, care for, and provide for your spouse and children.

You are called to lead.  So you must be out in front in all things.  You must lead the way in all things.  You must go there first.  We are all playing follow the leader, and Jesus said you’re it . . . so go !

Religion vs. Relationship

To be a Christian means that you are a disciple, or a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.  To be the follower of Jesus means that you know Him and that you have a relationship with Him.  Thus, to be a Christian means that you have a real, living, and daily relationship with Him.  Jesus did not come to give us a new religion.  He came to give us a relationship with God.

Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

To have a religion means that you have a certain belief system or doctrine. In religion, a person tries to achieve righteousness, or acceptability in the eyes of their supreme being, by binding and constraining the outer man, in order to purify and cleanse the inner man.  Thus religions demand adherence to a set of prescribed rules and regulations.  In a religion, it is your adherence to, or failure to adhere to these rules and regulations, and your doing of good works, or your outward appearance of goodness, that determine your acceptability to your supreme being.

But, the Word of God teaches us that the truth is exactly opposite.  It is what’s in a man’s heart that God looks at.

1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

Matthew 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 10 And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: 11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. 12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? 15 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. 16 And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? 17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.  19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

Having a religion is totally different from having a living relationship with God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Religions are based on man and how he performs. Our relationship with God is based on Jesus’ obedience, His shedding of His blood, and His sacrifice of His life, in our place. Religion is based on man’s attempts to be made right with God, through his own efforts.  our  is based on man’s attempts to be made right with Him, through death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, through His shed blood.

God's plan for man's salvation and reconciliation is taught throughout the Bible, in the Old and New Testaments. God's plan is not based on man's efforts and good works. His plan is based on His amazing Love and amazing Grace for us; His plan involved His precious Son Jesus paying the price and cost for our sins on the cross. You need to put all of your trust and faith in Jesus and in what He did for us on the cross, and not in any religion or in your own efforts. Simply put all of your trust and faith in Jesus, and accept His gift of salvation and eternal life, and experience the joy of having a right relationship, of love, with God.

Religion is based totally upon man’s works.  But our relationship with God is based upon the works of Jesus.

Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2  wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5  even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, 6  and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7  that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness toward us, through Christ Jesus. 8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9  not of works, lest any man should boast.

The goal of religion is to try to work ones way into acceptability with some supreme being.  This means that in religion, one is justified or condemned by and according to their works.

But, in our relationship with God we are justified by the mercy and grace of God through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is Jesus who justifies us, not our good deeds.

Yes, Christians do good deeds.  But our good deeds do not make us acceptable to God, or earn our salvation. We do good things because our heart has been changed, by the Holy Spirit coming to live in us when we are born again.  God changes our inner nature, and therefore, our deeds change as a result of this. 

Hebrews 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

Christians do good works, as the fruit, or natural overflow of a changed life, because God has accepted us (in Christ Jesus) and not in order to try to become acceptable to God.

Our salvation and our relationship with God both come only Through Faith in Jesus Christ and in accepting what He has done for us. Our goal is not to do works that we hope will make us acceptable to God.  Our goal is to fully, completely, and totally trust in Jesus.

To be a Christian, to have a relationship with God, through Jesus means that we confess our sin, repent, and yield ourselves and our lives to Jesus.  This change on the inside of us will then produce a change on the outside of us.

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

John 14:6 Jesus am the way, the truth, and the life. No one may come to the Father except through me.

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Some people ask, What is the difference between Christianity and all the other religions of the world?  The answer is simple.  Jesus died for us, in our place.

First, Christianity is not a religion.  It is a relationship. Thanks to Jesus, we have a relationship with God.  Our relationship with God is not because of us or our good works. It is solely because of Jesus and His works.  It is not because of what we do for Him, but because of what He has done for us.

Secondly, He died for us, in our place.  He was buried.  But, unlike anyone else in all history, He rose from the dead and He lives today.  All other religions have gods, founders, or primary figures who are all dead.  But Jesus is alive!  His tomb is empty !  He ascended to the father, where He ever lives to make intercession for us.

Relationship Based Leadership

So, why have I said all this in a book written to Christian leaders?  Because salvation is not the end of relationship in the Kingdom of God, it is just the beginning. We are saved by coming into a relationship with God.  We lead by coming into a relationship with one another. It is not just salvation, it is all things in the kingdom of God that work by