Christian Leadership – Biblical and Spiritual Foundations
Part of the ministry resources on Christian Leadership
The titles in this section discuss the biblical principles and metaphors that are central to Christian leadership, often as expressed in persons God has used most powerfully throughout history.
Each title is listed in suggested order.
- Biblical Foundations for Christian Leadership
- Spiritual Foundations for Christian Leadership
- Related Ministry Resources
Biblical Foundations for Christian Leadership
The following are not all comprehensive theologies of leadership, but are excellent attempts to grapple with the biblical teachings, especially in integrating Scripture with the more accepted leadership theories and approaches.
- Robert Banks and Bernice Ledbetter, Reviewing Leadership: A Christian Evaluation of Current Approaches – This is a fine academic overview of leadership theories with the intent of analyzing each approach biblically.
- R. Scott Rodin, The Steward Leader: Transforming People, Organizations, and Communities – Scott Rodin has articulated a very compelling image of the leader as steward. It is one of the finest books I have read on leadership. I recommend it as a first read, not only because it captures the essence of biblical leadership, but also because it offers a thoughtful biblical evaluation of most of the popular leadership models of the day.
- Scott Cormode, Making Spiritual Sense: Christian Leaders as Spiritual Interpreters — Cormode calls Christian leaders past organizational leadership to an identity of “the interpretive office” through which the leader helps people interpret everything in their lives from a Christian perspective and thus find meaning.
- Don N. Howell, Jr., Servants of the Servant: A Biblical Theology of Leadership — A very substantive survey of both Old and New Testaments on the nature of biblical leadership.
- Efrain Agosto, Servant Leadership: Jesus & Paul — A work of biblical scholarship that looks at how Jesus and Paul demonstrated servant leadership, primarily with the poor and oppressed, through lives of hard work and sacrifice.
Spiritual Foundations for Christian Leadership
- J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer — This is still the classic text on the qualities and practices of spiritual leadership.
- Roger Heuser and Norman Shawchuck, Leading the Congregation: Caring for Yourself While Serving the People, Revised Edition — One of the best integrative approaches to leadership one can find. Focused on church leadership, but the first half of the book, “The Leader as Person,” is appropriate for leaders in any context.
- Mike Bonnem, In Pursuit of Great AND Godly Leadership: Tapping the Wisdom of the World for the Kingdom of God (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series) – An excellent integration of biblical and marketplace leadership principles.
- Henri J. M. Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership — A classic of Christian devotion where Nouwen reflects on his journey to overcome the desire for significance through the narrative of Jesus’ temptations.
- N. Graham Standish, Humble Leadership: Being Radically Open to God’s Guidance and Grace — Reveals the stark contrast between the emphasis on humility in scripture and all the great spiritual classics, over against the glaring absence of it in literature today. Shows that humble leaders who are self-aware and prayerful have a unifying and spirit-led influence on their relationships and environments.
- Dave Kraft, Leaders Who Last — Written by an experienced leader, and comes close to approximating the value of J. Oswald Sanders classic Spiritual Leadership, but in more contemporary language.
- Edward T. Hammett, Spiritual Leadership in a Secular Age: Building Bridges Instead of Barriers — This is especially helpful for those whose leadership is expressed in churches.
- Henry and Richard Blackaby, Spiritual Leadership: Moving God’s People to God’s Agenda — This text, co-written by the author of the popular curriculum, Experiencing God, seeks to represent the principles that are unique to spiritual leadership and are not found in secular literature.
Related Ministry Resources
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