A Sneak Peek at Tim's New Leadership Book
This is the first uncorrected draft.
For your preview only. Not to be copied or distributed.
Chapter 1 - Leadership - what is it?
Leadership.
We know the word. The fact that you've started reading this book means you're interested in it. We talk about it. We complain about it. We want to fix it. Some of us aspire to it. Some of us even salivate at the mere mention of the word (okay – that’s me).
Dictionaries don’t help much. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines leadership as:
“the action of leading a group of people or an organisation, or the ability to do this”
Okay. That gets us nowhere. “The action of leading …”
So I looked up “leader” – and I was met with the following challenge:
“the person who leads …”
Great help. Okay – let look up “lead”. Maybe that will get us somewhere.
“to be in charge or command of …”
We could line up ten leadership experts in the world and get ten different definitions of what ‘leadership” is. You’ve probably looked up all the leadership quotes. Here are some of my favourites:
“Leadership is getting someone to do what they don't want to do to achieve what they do want to achieve.
- Tom Landry
"The task of the leader is to get their people from where they are - to where they have never been.”
- Henry Kissinger
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
- John C. Maxwell
These quotes are brilliant – and they are all helpful, but none of them comprehensively defines what leadership is. I have been teaching leadership now for over forty years – and I still don't have a nifty little definition of what the word actually means.
How can so many of us be passionate about something - when we’re not even sure what it really is?
Here’s the intriguing thing about leadership. We may not be able to work what it really is. We may not even notice it when it is happening well. But we sure notice it when it is missing.
Did you ever play on a sporting team where the captain or the coach didn’t show much leadership? Did you ever play in a band or musical group where everyone just did their own thing and nobody worked together? Were you ever involved at a school where nothing ever happened because every idea died a painful death on the principal’s desk? Ever worked at a job where your assigned ‘leader’ had minimal leadership capabilities? Ever gone to a church where the pastor might be great person but doesn't lead well? Are you living in a country where your elected ‘leaders’ are simply letting everything descend into chaos? Do you ever look at your own family and wonder if you are heading anywhere? Do you ever look at your own life and wonder the same thing?
Here is my deep philosophical conclusion about leadership:
Leadership is like cleaning the toilet.
When it’s done well, nobody notices.
But if no one’s doing it – everybody suffers.
If you are in any situation - where the leadership is inadequate – or underdone – or too harsh – or unfair – or deficient in some way – or even non-existent – you notice it straight away. Nothing works well. The whole team underperforms. Very little is achieved. Everyone gets frustrated. Many people give up.
Come on, you’ve probably thought of giving up at some stage. Maybe you're stuck with a boss who frustrates everyone. Or you’re on a team where no one is motivated. You're in a rut in a relationship and nothing is getting better. You see the potential in your family, your friends, your church, your company, your organisation, your nation – and you feel the frustration of knowing that things could be so much better. And you feel the discouragement of being undervalued, under-resourced and under-inspired.
Perhaps you are struggling a bit with your own leadership. Maybe you have an area of responsibility – you have people who depend on you – but sometimes you’re not quite sure what to do. Nothing you try seems to work.
Or it could even be that every example of leadership you have ever experienced is either ruthlessly severe or ineffectually flaccid.
You instinctively know when good leadership has gone AWOL. And most of us desperately want to experience positive and effective leadership. Inspiring leadership. Solid leadership. Caring leadership.
You probably want to be part of the solution. But where do we start? How can you strengthen the essential building blocks of leadership? How can you become the leader that you are meant to be? How can you grow to become a leader who is both faithful and effective?
That is the journey that we’re going on in this book.
We know the word. The fact that you've started reading this book means you're interested in it. We talk about it. We complain about it. We want to fix it. Some of us aspire to it. Some of us even salivate at the mere mention of the word (okay – that’s me).
Dictionaries don’t help much. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines leadership as:
“the action of leading a group of people or an organisation, or the ability to do this”
Okay. That gets us nowhere. “The action of leading …”
So I looked up “leader” – and I was met with the following challenge:
“the person who leads …”
Great help. Okay – let look up “lead”. Maybe that will get us somewhere.
“to be in charge or command of …”
We could line up ten leadership experts in the world and get ten different definitions of what ‘leadership” is. You’ve probably looked up all the leadership quotes. Here are some of my favourites:
“Leadership is getting someone to do what they don't want to do to achieve what they do want to achieve.
- Tom Landry
"The task of the leader is to get their people from where they are - to where they have never been.”
- Henry Kissinger
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
- John C. Maxwell
These quotes are brilliant – and they are all helpful, but none of them comprehensively defines what leadership is. I have been teaching leadership now for over forty years – and I still don't have a nifty little definition of what the word actually means.
How can so many of us be passionate about something - when we’re not even sure what it really is?
Here’s the intriguing thing about leadership. We may not be able to work what it really is. We may not even notice it when it is happening well. But we sure notice it when it is missing.
Did you ever play on a sporting team where the captain or the coach didn’t show much leadership? Did you ever play in a band or musical group where everyone just did their own thing and nobody worked together? Were you ever involved at a school where nothing ever happened because every idea died a painful death on the principal’s desk? Ever worked at a job where your assigned ‘leader’ had minimal leadership capabilities? Ever gone to a church where the pastor might be great person but doesn't lead well? Are you living in a country where your elected ‘leaders’ are simply letting everything descend into chaos? Do you ever look at your own family and wonder if you are heading anywhere? Do you ever look at your own life and wonder the same thing?
Here is my deep philosophical conclusion about leadership:
Leadership is like cleaning the toilet.
When it’s done well, nobody notices.
But if no one’s doing it – everybody suffers.
If you are in any situation - where the leadership is inadequate – or underdone – or too harsh – or unfair – or deficient in some way – or even non-existent – you notice it straight away. Nothing works well. The whole team underperforms. Very little is achieved. Everyone gets frustrated. Many people give up.
Come on, you’ve probably thought of giving up at some stage. Maybe you're stuck with a boss who frustrates everyone. Or you’re on a team where no one is motivated. You're in a rut in a relationship and nothing is getting better. You see the potential in your family, your friends, your church, your company, your organisation, your nation – and you feel the frustration of knowing that things could be so much better. And you feel the discouragement of being undervalued, under-resourced and under-inspired.
Perhaps you are struggling a bit with your own leadership. Maybe you have an area of responsibility – you have people who depend on you – but sometimes you’re not quite sure what to do. Nothing you try seems to work.
Or it could even be that every example of leadership you have ever experienced is either ruthlessly severe or ineffectually flaccid.
You instinctively know when good leadership has gone AWOL. And most of us desperately want to experience positive and effective leadership. Inspiring leadership. Solid leadership. Caring leadership.
You probably want to be part of the solution. But where do we start? How can you strengthen the essential building blocks of leadership? How can you become the leader that you are meant to be? How can you grow to become a leader who is both faithful and effective?
That is the journey that we’re going on in this book.
Chapter 2 - Biblical Leadership
If we’re struggling to work out what ‘leadership’ is, how on earth can we work out what ‘biblical leadership’ is? There is no end of books and resources in the world that will advertise they have worked out ‘the biblical model of leadership’. And these books are all helpful. I might have even written one or two of them myself!
Yes - it is great to search the scriptures to see what God says about leadership. God’s word is our ultimate authority on life. The bible is God’s unchanging word to an ever-changing world.
But here is the dilemma. And I have never heard anyone put this more succinctly than from my good friend Craig Hamilton. Listen to this young sage:
“The bible talks about a lot of things. It talks about leadership, but the bible is not a book about leadership. The bible talks about eating and drinking, but it's not a book about eating and drinking. It’s a book about God and his purposes.”
Okay. So even though we can learn great things about leadership from the bible, it's not essentially a textbook about leadership. But it has principles for leadership – and we can learn from these principles.
Back to Craig:
“Leadership is in the category of wisdom. God is an ordered God and he has made an ordered world. Things are basically predictable. They work in a certain way most of the time. Humans have been able to figure out how to exist in the world. We know when to plant crops. We know when to harvest them. We've figured out how the world works. Leadership fits into that category. It sits on that shelf - the wisdom shelf.”
Does that make sense? The bible will give me principles and foundations for my whole life. But there’s a whole stack of stuff in my life that the bible doesn't specifically talk about.
Take social media for example. The bible does not teach me how to use social media. How often should I post? When is it ‘too many’? Would Jesus use Facebook, or Instagram, or Twitter … who knows? How do I increase my rate of ‘likes’? When is the best time to reply to a comment? Which platform is most strategic to advertise my car? How can I change my privacy settings?
So while the bible does not teach me the inner workings of social media, there are biblical principles that show me how to treat other people. And if I am wise, I will use these biblical principles whether am I am talking face to face with a friend – or connecting electronically across the world.
The bible will teach me what sort of person I need to be and how I should treat others. My heart needs to be constantly shaped by The Bible. God’s word will give me principles that I can put into action when I am online. This helps me to be a person who is faithful
But the answers to the specific questions about social media asked above – they are a matter of wisdom. By trial and error – by reading help pages – by advice from friends – I eventually work out the ways that work best. This wisdom helps me to be more effective.
In the same way, the bible is not designed to be an instruction manual for leadership. What sort of personality for ideal for a leader? How do you get everyone on board with your vision? How do you inspire a discouraged team member? How do you run meetings that people love to attend? These questions are answered by wisdom. These are the things that will make me effective as leader.
But the heart of leadership is whether I am allowing my heart to be shaped by the bible. Am I growing my heart to be just like Jesus? Am I being shaped by God’s Spirit? Am I putting biblical principles into action in my life that will make me the sort of leader that people want to follow? These are the biblical truths that will make me faithful as a leader.
So want does the bible teach about leadership?
I really wanted to write a chapter on ‘biblical leadership’. So I thought I should look up every time the bible used the word ‘leadership’. I boldly typed “leadership” into the search box of my trusty online bible, and I was thrilled when I came up with five hits. I dived into these to see what I could learn about biblical leadership.
1st leadership mention
Numbers 27:18 "So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him.”
That’s what my trusty NIV11 says. Yes! The spirit of leadership! That's what I want! That’s what I want to find out about!
Here’s the problem. None of my other versions use the word ‘leadership’ in this verse. Not even the NIV84. It's the Hebrew word ‘ruach’ which simply means ‘spirit’. That’s the simple word that nearly all the other translations use. The NIV translators have slipped in the word ‘leadership’ to help explain this ‘spirit’ that Joshua had. So I probably need to check out the other verses.
2nd leadership mention
Numbers 33:1 "Here are the stages in the journey of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt by divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron."
Nearly all the translators go with the word ‘leadership’. The Message uses the word ‘control”. It’s from the Hebrew word that means ‘allegiance, power, control, courage’. Okay – now we're getting somewhere.
3rd leadership mention
Psalm 109:8 “… may another take his place of leadership.”
Other translations use words like ‘job, position and office’. The Hebrew word means oversight or responsibility.
4th leadership mention.
Acts 1:20 “it is written in the Book of Psalms: …‘May another take his place of leadership’.”
This where the New Testament quotes Psalm 109. A few translations go with the word ‘office’. Others use ‘post, position or place of service’. It’s the Greek word ‘episkope’ - which means ‘overseer or equipper’. The English concept of a ‘bishop’ comes from the same word.
5th leadership mention
Romans 12:8 “… if it is leadership, let him govern diligently …”
Most versions use the word ‘lead’ or ‘leadership. Others go with ‘authority’ or ‘in charge’ The Greek word means ‘to have charge over, to lead, or to manage’.
That’s it. These are the only five times that the bible uses the word ‘leadership’. And if this were our only source of information, the following would be the complete list of everything we could possibly know about leadership:
All these are good things. But can you see clearly – this is not a complete picture of leadership? It does not show you how to do it. It does not show you how to get better as a leader. It does not tell you how to be effective when you lead.
And even if it this were the complete list, nowhere in any of these passages does God tell us that we should act like that! The closest is Romans 12:8 where we should “govern diligently” – but it still doesn’t tell us what that leadership is. Are these descriptions of the way that God wants leadership to be, or are they merely descriptions of what leadership is generally like?
Here are two bit of good news.
Firstly - there are stacks of things in the bible that can help you to be a better leader. We will look at examples – good and bad. You can learn biblical principles that will stand you in good stead. You can discover great stuff about the leadership of Jesus. This is where you learn to be faithful.
Secondly - there are stacks of things that wisdom has taught us are effective ways of leading. Simple strategies that you can put into operation, so that your faithful leadership is also effective.
Faithful AND effective leadership. That’s where we're heading. That’s what we're learning. In a few short chapters you will discover personal action steps that you can take to make you a more faithful and more effective leader.
Do you want to learn with me? Do you want to grow with me?
Let’s go!
Yes - it is great to search the scriptures to see what God says about leadership. God’s word is our ultimate authority on life. The bible is God’s unchanging word to an ever-changing world.
But here is the dilemma. And I have never heard anyone put this more succinctly than from my good friend Craig Hamilton. Listen to this young sage:
“The bible talks about a lot of things. It talks about leadership, but the bible is not a book about leadership. The bible talks about eating and drinking, but it's not a book about eating and drinking. It’s a book about God and his purposes.”
Okay. So even though we can learn great things about leadership from the bible, it's not essentially a textbook about leadership. But it has principles for leadership – and we can learn from these principles.
Back to Craig:
“Leadership is in the category of wisdom. God is an ordered God and he has made an ordered world. Things are basically predictable. They work in a certain way most of the time. Humans have been able to figure out how to exist in the world. We know when to plant crops. We know when to harvest them. We've figured out how the world works. Leadership fits into that category. It sits on that shelf - the wisdom shelf.”
Does that make sense? The bible will give me principles and foundations for my whole life. But there’s a whole stack of stuff in my life that the bible doesn't specifically talk about.
Take social media for example. The bible does not teach me how to use social media. How often should I post? When is it ‘too many’? Would Jesus use Facebook, or Instagram, or Twitter … who knows? How do I increase my rate of ‘likes’? When is the best time to reply to a comment? Which platform is most strategic to advertise my car? How can I change my privacy settings?
So while the bible does not teach me the inner workings of social media, there are biblical principles that show me how to treat other people. And if I am wise, I will use these biblical principles whether am I am talking face to face with a friend – or connecting electronically across the world.
The bible will teach me what sort of person I need to be and how I should treat others. My heart needs to be constantly shaped by The Bible. God’s word will give me principles that I can put into action when I am online. This helps me to be a person who is faithful
But the answers to the specific questions about social media asked above – they are a matter of wisdom. By trial and error – by reading help pages – by advice from friends – I eventually work out the ways that work best. This wisdom helps me to be more effective.
In the same way, the bible is not designed to be an instruction manual for leadership. What sort of personality for ideal for a leader? How do you get everyone on board with your vision? How do you inspire a discouraged team member? How do you run meetings that people love to attend? These questions are answered by wisdom. These are the things that will make me effective as leader.
But the heart of leadership is whether I am allowing my heart to be shaped by the bible. Am I growing my heart to be just like Jesus? Am I being shaped by God’s Spirit? Am I putting biblical principles into action in my life that will make me the sort of leader that people want to follow? These are the biblical truths that will make me faithful as a leader.
So want does the bible teach about leadership?
I really wanted to write a chapter on ‘biblical leadership’. So I thought I should look up every time the bible used the word ‘leadership’. I boldly typed “leadership” into the search box of my trusty online bible, and I was thrilled when I came up with five hits. I dived into these to see what I could learn about biblical leadership.
1st leadership mention
Numbers 27:18 "So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him.”
That’s what my trusty NIV11 says. Yes! The spirit of leadership! That's what I want! That’s what I want to find out about!
Here’s the problem. None of my other versions use the word ‘leadership’ in this verse. Not even the NIV84. It's the Hebrew word ‘ruach’ which simply means ‘spirit’. That’s the simple word that nearly all the other translations use. The NIV translators have slipped in the word ‘leadership’ to help explain this ‘spirit’ that Joshua had. So I probably need to check out the other verses.
2nd leadership mention
Numbers 33:1 "Here are the stages in the journey of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt by divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron."
Nearly all the translators go with the word ‘leadership’. The Message uses the word ‘control”. It’s from the Hebrew word that means ‘allegiance, power, control, courage’. Okay – now we're getting somewhere.
3rd leadership mention
Psalm 109:8 “… may another take his place of leadership.”
Other translations use words like ‘job, position and office’. The Hebrew word means oversight or responsibility.
4th leadership mention.
Acts 1:20 “it is written in the Book of Psalms: …‘May another take his place of leadership’.”
This where the New Testament quotes Psalm 109. A few translations go with the word ‘office’. Others use ‘post, position or place of service’. It’s the Greek word ‘episkope’ - which means ‘overseer or equipper’. The English concept of a ‘bishop’ comes from the same word.
5th leadership mention
Romans 12:8 “… if it is leadership, let him govern diligently …”
Most versions use the word ‘lead’ or ‘leadership. Others go with ‘authority’ or ‘in charge’ The Greek word means ‘to have charge over, to lead, or to manage’.
That’s it. These are the only five times that the bible uses the word ‘leadership’. And if this were our only source of information, the following would be the complete list of everything we could possibly know about leadership:
- It’s connected with God’s spirit
- It’s about control, power and courage
- It’s a job, position or an office
- It’s a post, a position, a place of service
- It’s about being an overseer and equipper
- It’s about being in charge with authority – and we should do it thoroughly
All these are good things. But can you see clearly – this is not a complete picture of leadership? It does not show you how to do it. It does not show you how to get better as a leader. It does not tell you how to be effective when you lead.
And even if it this were the complete list, nowhere in any of these passages does God tell us that we should act like that! The closest is Romans 12:8 where we should “govern diligently” – but it still doesn’t tell us what that leadership is. Are these descriptions of the way that God wants leadership to be, or are they merely descriptions of what leadership is generally like?
Here are two bit of good news.
Firstly - there are stacks of things in the bible that can help you to be a better leader. We will look at examples – good and bad. You can learn biblical principles that will stand you in good stead. You can discover great stuff about the leadership of Jesus. This is where you learn to be faithful.
Secondly - there are stacks of things that wisdom has taught us are effective ways of leading. Simple strategies that you can put into operation, so that your faithful leadership is also effective.
Faithful AND effective leadership. That’s where we're heading. That’s what we're learning. In a few short chapters you will discover personal action steps that you can take to make you a more faithful and more effective leader.
Do you want to learn with me? Do you want to grow with me?
Let’s go!
Chapter 3 - King David's Leadership
I want to show you a leadership model that I have been wrestling with for the last forty years. Not a leadership model that says ‘this is the only way to lead’, but a leadership model that says ‘these are the essential building blocks’.
To help us identify these, I want to focus on a case study of the ultimate leader in the Old Testament – King David.
You know the story of David. He was the youngest of all of Jesse’s sons. He got all the jobs that no one else wanted. While his big brothers went on all the exciting exploits, David would stay at home and look after his father’s sheep. When Samuel came to anoint one of Jesse’s sons to be the new king, David wasn’t even invited. He was too young. He was just the kid. The runt of the litter. When Samuel arrived at Jesse’s house, he carefully inspected all of David’s big brothers to see whom God would identify to be the king. It was only after he had gone through the whole lot that he asked Jesse: “Is this all you've got?” David was the kid who was our looking after the sheep – and yet God anointed him to be the king over all of God’s people. You can read all about this in 1 Samuel 16.
The same thing happened with the confrontation with Goliath. David’s big brothers were off fighting the Philistine enemy. David was left behind minding the sheep. He only went up to the battle to bring lunch for his big brothers. And yet God took him from the sheep pens and made him into the mighty warrior who would go on and defeat every one of Israel’s enemies. He became a king like no other. You can read all about this encounter with Goliath in 1 Samuel 17.
Here’s the bit I want to focus on – his leadership. Look at what God says:
“He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart, with skillful hands he led them.”
- Psalm 78:70-72
It seems there are three key building blocks to David’s leadership
1. Leadership vision
The vision was from God. We don’t quite know what David was thinking as he grew from boyhood. He might have been happy to stay as a shepherd. He was certainly very good at it.
But God had a bigger vision for David. God did not want to leave him as a superb shepherd. God’s vision of David wasn’t for him to control more and more sheep, and perhaps one day to establish a ‘Shepherds’ School’ where he could train many others in the care of our woolly friends. God’s vision was not to develop a worldwide chain of franchises called “David’s Farm Services” which would revolutionise the lamb and wool industries.
God’s vision for David was to use everything that he had learned in caring for sheep, and put him in a position where he cared for God’s sheep - God's people. God’s vision was to take David from being a shepherd of his father’s sheep, and make him THE shepherd for his HEAVENLY Father’s sheep. God’s vision was to take him from guiding sheep to green pastures and fresh water and raise him up to take the nation of Israel to God’s pastures and protection. God’s vision for David was to take him from the sheep pens and make him king over all his people.
That’s God’s vision in the first two verses quoted above:
“He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, Israel his inheritance.”
- Psalm 78: 70-71
Do you understand the concept of leadership vision? It's not just David dreaming “this is my vision for my future”. The vision for leadership starts with God. The vision for your leadership starts with God.
Do you believe that God has a vision for your leadership? I don’t know what responsibility God has given you now. Perhaps you are a hard-working volunteer at your local church. Maybe you’ve just been given your first leadership position. Perhaps you are a pastor of a small church. Maybe you are a seasoned veteran. Or perhaps you are young and simply dreaming of the possibility that one day you might be a leader.
Whoever you are, I want to check with you – do you believe that God has a vision for your leadership? Because if God has a vision for your leadership – then you need to make sure that you also have a vision - and that your vision is aligned with God’s vision.
What is your leadership responsibility now? Setting up the chairs for the youth meeting? Teaching a Sunday School class to eight kids? Pastoring a small church of old ladies? Leading a home-based bible study? Directing traffic in the car park? Learning all you can so that you might become a leader one day?
Here's that key question once again: Do you believe that God has a vision for your leadership? Do you have a vision for your leadership? Is your vision for your leadership as big as God’s vision? Simply believing that God is taking you somewhere is one of the keys to achieving great things now.
So there is the first building block of David’s leadership – his leadership vision. Let’s now check out the second building block:
2. Leadership Character
“And David shepherded them with integrity of heart …”
- Psalm 78:72
David wasn’t just a skilful leader. Psalm 78 describes him as having “integrity of heart”. Other translations call it an “upright heart”. The Message puts it this way: “His good heart made him a good shepherd”
Here’s one of the things that gave David “integrity of heart”.
As a boy, when David was looking after his father’s sheep, he took his responsibility seriously. He did anything he could to protect those sheep. So when he arrived at the confrontation with Goliath, and Saul told him he was too young and inexperienced to go out and fight Goliath, listen to his thoughtful answer:
“Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
- 1 Samuel 17:33-37
I suspect that when David risked his life to fight off the lion and the bear, he wasn’t thinking: “I had better do this because one day I might be king”. He was simply being the best shepherd he could be. And he put his life on the line for that. That built his character. That strengthened his character. That strengthened his leadership.
So here's another key question to ask yourself: Are you being faithful with your leadership now?
You might think that your leadership is still rather small. You might feel like you are taken for granted and that you are neither recognised nor appreciated. But if God has a vision for your leadership, then your call is to be the most faithful possible with what God has given you now.
Here is the biblical principle:
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.”
- Luke 16:10
If you want to preach to stadiums, then be faithful with the six kids in your Sunday School class now. If you want to help bring thousands of people to Christ, then be faithful with the two new Christians that you have been asked to follow up now.
We will look more at character later. But just for now, I want to you to see it was central to David’s effective leadership. And we'll see a little later what character really involves.
But can I just make one observation? Having ‘integrity of heart’ doesn’t mean that David never did anything wrong. We know all too well the horrendous sins he committed whilst he was the King of Israel. He committed adultery with the lady next door – and then had her husband killed to cover it up.
Integrity is not so much about ‘what I have done in the past’ – it's more about ‘who I am now and where I am heading.’ All of us have stuff in our past. We cannot change it. We cannot deal with it. That’s why Jesus came. By his death and resurrection he has dealt with our past. He has given us a glorious future. That gives us power to keep going in the present.
But whatever has happened, all of us can make a decision about ‘now’. Each one of us can determine the sort of person we are going to be right now, and each one of us can make decisions that will affect our immediate future. If you want to be a faithful and effective leader, you must be constantly working on your leadership heart. Your leadership character. And we'll get into that much deeper in the coming chapters.
Here are the first two building blocks that I see in the leadership of David.
1. Leadership Vision
2. Leadership Character
And now for Number 3.
3. Leadership Skills
“And David shepherded them with integrity of heart, with skillful hands he led them.”
- Psalm 78:72
If you look at David’s accomplishments, it is a pretty impressive list. He fought and killed lions, bears and giants; he unified the nation of Israel; he conquered Jerusalem and brought genuine worship of the true God to the people; he established a dynasty of rulers, he won battles; he defeated enemies; he was a skilled muso; a major songwriter and an accomplished dancer.
And you might be thinking: “He was so gifted”. True. Every strength that any of us has is a gift from God. But simply note two things about skills.
a) Skills can be learned
When David came out of the womb, did he possess all those skills? Who taught him to fight? How did he learn to strategise? Who taught him to play music? The beauty of skills is that they can be learned. Vision is given by God. Character is developed through consistent choices. Skills can be learned.
If you don’t think you have enough skills to be an effective leader, then I have good news for you. You can learn leadership skills. This book will teach you a whole lot. You can learn from everyone you come across.
b) Skills can be developed
So what if David was “gifted” by God with incredible abilities? His brilliance as a leader is that he no doubt honed and developed those skills by repeated practice. When he took on Goliath - was that the first time he had ever used a slingshot? Probably not.
Let’s check one verse from this account:
“Then David took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.”
- 1 Samuel 17:40
Okay. He picked the stones out of the brook. Then the bible says: “His sling was in his hand”. Why? Where did it come from? Presumably it came from his shepherd’s pouch. Why would he have a sling in his shepherd’s pouch? Because he was a shepherd! It was standard equipment for a shepherd of his time. How else would he protect his sheep from various marauders? It was a vicious instrument.
Here is a biblical insight into the effectiveness of the sling in battle:
“Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred select troops who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.”
- Judges 20:16
“Sling a stone at a hair and not miss!” Pretty accurate. Pretty deadly.
The bible never tells us how David got so good with his sling. But have a wild guess. In his day-in, day-out shepherding duties, he would have many opportunities to hone his skills. Every time an animal came close and threatened his sheep, he would have had a chance to sharpen his abilities. Maybe he set up the 1000BC equivalent of tin cans and did target practice for hours! Whatever happened, I suspect that when he picked up stones to sling against Goliath, it was not the first time he had ever done this.
I don’t know what spiritual gifts God has given to you. Every Christian has at least one spiritual gift from God. Guaranteed. But whatever abilities you already have – you can hone them – you can practice them – you can sharpen them – so that when God calls on you to use them for his glory – you will be ready.
I have a friend who is developing his preaching skills. He doesn’t get much chance to preach at his church, but every week he writes a new sermon, speaks it, and publishes it on his blog. Every week he is sharpening his skills – honing his abilities – so that when God calls him, he is ready. Every week, he is getting ready for leadership.
David is a good example of these three building blocks in operation.
1. Leadership Vision
2. Leadership Character
3. Leadership Skills
The rest of this book is devoted to helping you develop each of these, so that you will grow as a leader and be used mightily by God for his glory.
To help us identify these, I want to focus on a case study of the ultimate leader in the Old Testament – King David.
You know the story of David. He was the youngest of all of Jesse’s sons. He got all the jobs that no one else wanted. While his big brothers went on all the exciting exploits, David would stay at home and look after his father’s sheep. When Samuel came to anoint one of Jesse’s sons to be the new king, David wasn’t even invited. He was too young. He was just the kid. The runt of the litter. When Samuel arrived at Jesse’s house, he carefully inspected all of David’s big brothers to see whom God would identify to be the king. It was only after he had gone through the whole lot that he asked Jesse: “Is this all you've got?” David was the kid who was our looking after the sheep – and yet God anointed him to be the king over all of God’s people. You can read all about this in 1 Samuel 16.
The same thing happened with the confrontation with Goliath. David’s big brothers were off fighting the Philistine enemy. David was left behind minding the sheep. He only went up to the battle to bring lunch for his big brothers. And yet God took him from the sheep pens and made him into the mighty warrior who would go on and defeat every one of Israel’s enemies. He became a king like no other. You can read all about this encounter with Goliath in 1 Samuel 17.
Here’s the bit I want to focus on – his leadership. Look at what God says:
“He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart, with skillful hands he led them.”
- Psalm 78:70-72
It seems there are three key building blocks to David’s leadership
1. Leadership vision
The vision was from God. We don’t quite know what David was thinking as he grew from boyhood. He might have been happy to stay as a shepherd. He was certainly very good at it.
But God had a bigger vision for David. God did not want to leave him as a superb shepherd. God’s vision of David wasn’t for him to control more and more sheep, and perhaps one day to establish a ‘Shepherds’ School’ where he could train many others in the care of our woolly friends. God’s vision was not to develop a worldwide chain of franchises called “David’s Farm Services” which would revolutionise the lamb and wool industries.
God’s vision for David was to use everything that he had learned in caring for sheep, and put him in a position where he cared for God’s sheep - God's people. God’s vision was to take David from being a shepherd of his father’s sheep, and make him THE shepherd for his HEAVENLY Father’s sheep. God’s vision was to take him from guiding sheep to green pastures and fresh water and raise him up to take the nation of Israel to God’s pastures and protection. God’s vision for David was to take him from the sheep pens and make him king over all his people.
That’s God’s vision in the first two verses quoted above:
“He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, Israel his inheritance.”
- Psalm 78: 70-71
Do you understand the concept of leadership vision? It's not just David dreaming “this is my vision for my future”. The vision for leadership starts with God. The vision for your leadership starts with God.
Do you believe that God has a vision for your leadership? I don’t know what responsibility God has given you now. Perhaps you are a hard-working volunteer at your local church. Maybe you’ve just been given your first leadership position. Perhaps you are a pastor of a small church. Maybe you are a seasoned veteran. Or perhaps you are young and simply dreaming of the possibility that one day you might be a leader.
Whoever you are, I want to check with you – do you believe that God has a vision for your leadership? Because if God has a vision for your leadership – then you need to make sure that you also have a vision - and that your vision is aligned with God’s vision.
What is your leadership responsibility now? Setting up the chairs for the youth meeting? Teaching a Sunday School class to eight kids? Pastoring a small church of old ladies? Leading a home-based bible study? Directing traffic in the car park? Learning all you can so that you might become a leader one day?
Here's that key question once again: Do you believe that God has a vision for your leadership? Do you have a vision for your leadership? Is your vision for your leadership as big as God’s vision? Simply believing that God is taking you somewhere is one of the keys to achieving great things now.
So there is the first building block of David’s leadership – his leadership vision. Let’s now check out the second building block:
2. Leadership Character
“And David shepherded them with integrity of heart …”
- Psalm 78:72
David wasn’t just a skilful leader. Psalm 78 describes him as having “integrity of heart”. Other translations call it an “upright heart”. The Message puts it this way: “His good heart made him a good shepherd”
Here’s one of the things that gave David “integrity of heart”.
As a boy, when David was looking after his father’s sheep, he took his responsibility seriously. He did anything he could to protect those sheep. So when he arrived at the confrontation with Goliath, and Saul told him he was too young and inexperienced to go out and fight Goliath, listen to his thoughtful answer:
“Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
- 1 Samuel 17:33-37
I suspect that when David risked his life to fight off the lion and the bear, he wasn’t thinking: “I had better do this because one day I might be king”. He was simply being the best shepherd he could be. And he put his life on the line for that. That built his character. That strengthened his character. That strengthened his leadership.
So here's another key question to ask yourself: Are you being faithful with your leadership now?
You might think that your leadership is still rather small. You might feel like you are taken for granted and that you are neither recognised nor appreciated. But if God has a vision for your leadership, then your call is to be the most faithful possible with what God has given you now.
Here is the biblical principle:
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.”
- Luke 16:10
If you want to preach to stadiums, then be faithful with the six kids in your Sunday School class now. If you want to help bring thousands of people to Christ, then be faithful with the two new Christians that you have been asked to follow up now.
We will look more at character later. But just for now, I want to you to see it was central to David’s effective leadership. And we'll see a little later what character really involves.
But can I just make one observation? Having ‘integrity of heart’ doesn’t mean that David never did anything wrong. We know all too well the horrendous sins he committed whilst he was the King of Israel. He committed adultery with the lady next door – and then had her husband killed to cover it up.
Integrity is not so much about ‘what I have done in the past’ – it's more about ‘who I am now and where I am heading.’ All of us have stuff in our past. We cannot change it. We cannot deal with it. That’s why Jesus came. By his death and resurrection he has dealt with our past. He has given us a glorious future. That gives us power to keep going in the present.
But whatever has happened, all of us can make a decision about ‘now’. Each one of us can determine the sort of person we are going to be right now, and each one of us can make decisions that will affect our immediate future. If you want to be a faithful and effective leader, you must be constantly working on your leadership heart. Your leadership character. And we'll get into that much deeper in the coming chapters.
Here are the first two building blocks that I see in the leadership of David.
1. Leadership Vision
2. Leadership Character
And now for Number 3.
3. Leadership Skills
“And David shepherded them with integrity of heart, with skillful hands he led them.”
- Psalm 78:72
If you look at David’s accomplishments, it is a pretty impressive list. He fought and killed lions, bears and giants; he unified the nation of Israel; he conquered Jerusalem and brought genuine worship of the true God to the people; he established a dynasty of rulers, he won battles; he defeated enemies; he was a skilled muso; a major songwriter and an accomplished dancer.
And you might be thinking: “He was so gifted”. True. Every strength that any of us has is a gift from God. But simply note two things about skills.
a) Skills can be learned
When David came out of the womb, did he possess all those skills? Who taught him to fight? How did he learn to strategise? Who taught him to play music? The beauty of skills is that they can be learned. Vision is given by God. Character is developed through consistent choices. Skills can be learned.
If you don’t think you have enough skills to be an effective leader, then I have good news for you. You can learn leadership skills. This book will teach you a whole lot. You can learn from everyone you come across.
b) Skills can be developed
So what if David was “gifted” by God with incredible abilities? His brilliance as a leader is that he no doubt honed and developed those skills by repeated practice. When he took on Goliath - was that the first time he had ever used a slingshot? Probably not.
Let’s check one verse from this account:
“Then David took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.”
- 1 Samuel 17:40
Okay. He picked the stones out of the brook. Then the bible says: “His sling was in his hand”. Why? Where did it come from? Presumably it came from his shepherd’s pouch. Why would he have a sling in his shepherd’s pouch? Because he was a shepherd! It was standard equipment for a shepherd of his time. How else would he protect his sheep from various marauders? It was a vicious instrument.
Here is a biblical insight into the effectiveness of the sling in battle:
“Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred select troops who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.”
- Judges 20:16
“Sling a stone at a hair and not miss!” Pretty accurate. Pretty deadly.
The bible never tells us how David got so good with his sling. But have a wild guess. In his day-in, day-out shepherding duties, he would have many opportunities to hone his skills. Every time an animal came close and threatened his sheep, he would have had a chance to sharpen his abilities. Maybe he set up the 1000BC equivalent of tin cans and did target practice for hours! Whatever happened, I suspect that when he picked up stones to sling against Goliath, it was not the first time he had ever done this.
I don’t know what spiritual gifts God has given to you. Every Christian has at least one spiritual gift from God. Guaranteed. But whatever abilities you already have – you can hone them – you can practice them – you can sharpen them – so that when God calls on you to use them for his glory – you will be ready.
I have a friend who is developing his preaching skills. He doesn’t get much chance to preach at his church, but every week he writes a new sermon, speaks it, and publishes it on his blog. Every week he is sharpening his skills – honing his abilities – so that when God calls him, he is ready. Every week, he is getting ready for leadership.
David is a good example of these three building blocks in operation.
1. Leadership Vision
2. Leadership Character
3. Leadership Skills
The rest of this book is devoted to helping you develop each of these, so that you will grow as a leader and be used mightily by God for his glory.