The Development Of Biblical Leaders

It only takes a few seconds for an athlete to break the world record for the 100m sprint. Those few seconds can cause his name to be remembered and talked about, throughout the world, for years to come. However, behind those few seconds of achievement are years of strict and consistent training. He has had to discipline himself in all aspects of his life: what he eats, how long he sleeps, how late he goes to bed, as well as training daily. Behind his public victory in the stadium, are years of private disciplines that only a few have seen.

If we examine the lives of effective Biblical leaders, we will discover this same principle at work. Before they reached a place of public effectiveness, they were involved in years of private disciplines that developed their character and ability. One of the biblical examples of this principle is Daniel. His training in the schools of the wise men in Babylon (Daniel 1:4) was to fit him for service to the empire. He distinguished himself during this training period by his integrity and his strict observance of the Mosaic law (Daniel 1:8-16), and gained the confidence of those who were over him. The practise of the private disciplines continued throughout his life (Daniel 6:10) and were the key to his effectiveness (Daniel 2:47-48, 6:4).

Another example is that of David who trained while looking after his father's sheep (1Samuel 17:34-35), before defeating Goliath (1 Samuel 17:49). Also, throughout his lifetime he wrote the Psalms that were an expression of his relationship with God. Joshua was another person who invested in his relationship with God (Exodus 33:11) and was absolutely committed to obedience to God (Joshua 24:15). Other examples of the same principle are that of Jesus (who did not begin his three-year public ministry until he was thirty), Moses, Paul and Timothy. All of these were involved in extended periods of preparation and practising private disciplines before they were fully released into their public ministry. If we wish to be effective in our own leadership and ministry, we too need to be actively investing in private disciplines.

Private disciplines can be described as activities that prepare us indirectly for an activity other than itself. For example, an athlete doesn't train so they can train; they train so they can win a prize. In the same way we do not study leadership material so we can study leadership material, we study in order to become a more effective leader. Examples of private disciplines are writing a journal, prayer, study, exercise and spending quality time with people. The reason that Jesus and Paul were able to achieve and maintain a very high level of effectiveness and influence was because they consistently invested time in developing their personal life.