The Biblical Model of Leadership

Hi again. John Cress here, and I want to talk to you about one of the objectives of the Southern California Conference, which is Rigorous Leadership & Accountability Process.

Many church members don’t see themselves as leaders. Others may have been appointed by a nominating committee to a leadership role, but they aren’t clear on what that means. And that’s not surprising. Contemporary models and images of leadership usually include an appeal to charisma that many of us just don’t feel we have. Or depict some sort of autocratic decision-making leader, who none of us want to be. So how does the Bible define leadership?

I believe the best biblical model for leadership is what author Timothy Keller calls the “steward leader.” The “steward leader” is both a ruler and a servant. In other words, they have authority and yet are accountable to the owner.

Let’s start at the beginning in Genesis. God commissioned Adam and Eve to have dominion. They were told to “rule over” every living creature. That is to rule over the same world God just created. 

So, Adam and Eve had authority over the world’s resources, but not ownership. As the Psalmist informs us: “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” (Psalm 8:6). They were to manage these resources that God created, but only according to God’s will and for his glory, not theirs. 

So, a steward leader is, by definition, accountable leadership. It is the cultivation of resources rather than the exploitation of resources. Selfish leadership is using resources for self rather than others; to harm rather than honoring the purpose of the resource. 

In ancient times, a steward was the household manager of a large estate, but often, like Joseph in Potiphar’s home, they were also a slave. They had authority over the household, but only within the boundaries of the will of the owner of the estate. 

That is the context of stewardship that is later developed in the New Testament. For example, in Jesus’s parable in Luke 12:42-48, we see how stewards operated. Jesus speaks of a steward, or “manager,” who has complete authority over the whole estate. But in these verses, Jesus calls him a “doulos,” which is a Greek word that means not just a domestic servant or hired hand but a slave, someone who belongs to the master.

So, by biblical definition, a steward leader is a slave who is wholly and unconditionally accountable to his master. None of his ruling or oversight is for his own benefit. It is solely for the benefit of the master.

The steward is a ruler with real authority to grow and prosper the resource under him. In fact, he is required to have an energetic and dynamic use of his authority to grow such resources to expand the owner’s property or wealth. 

I’m sure you recall Jesus’s parable found in Matthew 25:26 where the fearful steward goes and buries the entrusted resources instead of managing them. The master identifies this steward as a wicked and lazy servant.

If a steward uses his power selfishly or abusively, or neglects to use them at all, the master will forcefully remove his authority. Jesus will not tolerate exploitive, domineering, or lazy slaves.

To the modern mind, slavery and authority are opposites. But biblically speaking, a steward leader is only a humble slave living wholly for his or her master. 

The apostle Paul uses the “steward leader” as a model for all Christian leaders. First of all, in 1 Corinthians 9:17, Paul identifies himself as “having been entrusted with stewardship.” And then in Titus 1:7, he refers to the elders being “stewards of God.”

And what resources and household are God’s stewards accountable to oversee? According to 1 Corinthians 4:1, we are given God’s truth as “ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” Then the apostle Peter tells us to minister “like good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10).

Ultimately, the definitive steward leader is Jesus himself. He is portrayed by Paul as the ruler who is also a slave, and who therefore can be entrusted with authority. 

Paul writes in Philippians 2:6-10, “Jesus made himself nothing and took the form of a slave; Therefore, he has been highly exalted and has been give the name above every name.” The example of Jesus confirms that the Christian leader can be entrusted with authority only if they are humble slaves of Christ and of others. 

So, the Rigorous Leadership & Accountability Process that is part of the Southern California Conference strategic objectives is rooted in creation, when Adam and Eve were given authority to rule over the earth, yet they were accountable to the creator for their stewardship. And it is rooted in Jesus, who humbled himself and served humanity as a “steward leader.” And we, as the church, which was created and established by Jesus, are given dominion over resources also as Christ’s followers to oversee as “steward leaders.” 

In this “steward leader” model for Christian leadership, a leader is a servant who is in the position of humble accountability, and a ruler who is the cultivator of resources. 

A Christian leader discharges their responsibility to cultivate and grow the resources they have been given—the Word of God, their own spiritual gifts, their talents, the grace of God, the gifts and graces of the people they are leading,­ and even their social location—that is, where they live—to grow and expand the Kingdom of God. 

So may we realize that we are not the owners of any of the resource we have. And may we learn to be merely slaves of God, who are accountable to energetically and enthusiastically cultivate the resources of God’s Kingdom for the good of others in order that God’s Kingdom will come, and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

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