Biblical Leaders

 Joseph

Joseph was bought as a slave, and yet became a high official very quickly. Later, when put in prison, he quickly became the keeper of the prison. His leadership was very evident to those he served. He was content to do the best he could in all situations. As a slave, and even a prisoner, he worked hard and with a good spirit. He was determined to keep his life pure. His greatest test as a leader came as he helped to prepare Egypt for the seven years of famine. During the seven years of plenty, he planned wisely, delegated responsibility, established policies and controls, and organized the work force in such a way that the country could not only survive the famine, but help other countries as well.

Moses

Moses has to be one of the greatest leaders in history. He led a large company of people, who had been slaves for several generations, to leave their slavery and to establish a separate nation. These people had no leaders, no laws – nothing. Spiritually he was a man of faith, vision, integrity, obedience, and responsibility. He had to be able to make decisions; in fact, in the beginning he made them all. He was able to organize the people, select and train leaders, and delegate responsibility to others. The organization he established is a good model with an
excellent span of control at each level.

 David

King David was an outstanding leader. He had an almost unbelievable respect for God’s anointed leader, King Saul. Even when Saul was attempting to kill David, and David had an opportunity to kill Saul, he would not touch God’s anointed leader or allow his followers to harm Saul. That kind of loyalty in a follower can really prepare one to be an exceptional leader. David was a strong spiritual leader. He was not ashamed to be involved in spiritual exercises. He sought God’s blessing, and gave God the credit for his successes.  He was a wise diplomat and won many friends, such as Hiram, King of Tyre.

 Nehemiah

He was one of the greatest men of prayer in the Bible. The book of Nehemiah is filled with actual prayers and with mentions of prayer. He had compassion and concern for his people. He was willing to accept responsibility. He knew how to plan, and how to carry out the plans. He could see through plots and schemes to entrap him. He was able to think far ahead, as in asking for timber permits, and didn’t just run off and start something. He showed evidence of being a real skillful strategy designer as he contrived how to get the walls built, announced his scheme, involved almost all the people, and got the job done. He was a man of sacrifice, giving of himself and his personal wealth, taking care of others, and refusing to accept the salary that was due to him.

 Barnabas

Barnabas sold his property and gave all the proceeds to the church, which was a real sacrifice (Acts 4:36). He showed himself a courageous leader when he believed Saul of Tarsus was really saved and recommended him for membership to the church at Jerusalem (Acts 9:27). He showed unusual ability in selection when he went to Tarsus and had Paul come and be his assistant at Antioch (Acts 11:22–26). However, his greatest moment came when he stepped aside from being the number one man and very unselfishly allowed Paul to take over. The Antioch church had sent out Barnabas and Saul (Acts 13:2), soon it became Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:7), and then it even became Paul and company (Acts 13:13). Throughout this, Barnabas was praising the Lord and serving Him. Very few men can do that. Not many men could start a church, hire an assistant, and see that assistant take over without having real problems.  Later Barnabas stood up to Paul for Mark. Paul and Barnabas broke up over this and Paul went with Silas. Barnabas had given Paul a chance, but he also wanted to give Mark a second chance. He was known as the son of encouragement and this is in fact what his name means.