Leaders choose their model of leadership wisely

Paraklesis

[‘encouragement’, ‘exhortation’, for life and ministry]

October 2025

Peter Adam

  1. Biblical principles.

The Bible is our text-book for leadership, as it is our text-book for preaching, evangelism, training, pastoral care, and every other aspect of life and ministry!

It is common to take Old Testament models of leadership, and we can learn from them. But their contexts and tasks were very different to ours [not many of us are leading nations – Moses], or leading God’s people to conquer the Holy Land – Joshua], or building walls around a city – Nehemiah!], and we need to view them with New Testament eyes.

What are some key New Testament principles of leadership?

  1. Leaders recognise that Jesus the Christ is the builder, saviour, Lord, judge, head, ruler of this church and of all gospel ministries, and chief shepherd of his flock. ‘I will build my church’ [Matt 16:18]; ‘Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her … to present her to himself as a radiant church… holy and blameless’ [Ephes 5:25,27]; ‘from Christ the whole body, joined and held together every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love’ [Ephes 4:16]; ‘we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ’ [2 Cor 5:10]; ‘the seven lampstands are the seven churches’ [Rev 1:12, 20]; ‘the Chief Shepherd appears’ [1 Pet 5:4].

2. Leaders are stewards of their Lord, and will one day give account to him. ‘The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of’ [Matt 24:50]; ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ [Matt 25:23]; ‘In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge’ [2 Tim 4:1]; ‘But each one should build with care. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames’ [1 Cor 3:10,14,15].

3. Leaders serve others, and do not lord it over them. ‘You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’ [Mark 10:42-45]; ‘Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you’ [John 13:14,15].

4. Leaders love their fellow-workers and love those to whom they minister.  ‘Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity’ [Col 3:12-14]; ‘If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres’ [1 Cor 13:1-7].

5. Leaders are culturally aware, and shape their ministry with that awareness. ‘Paul wanted to take him [Timothy] along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek’ [Acts 16:3]; ‘Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law … so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings [1 Cor 9:19-23].

6. Leaders enable the ministry of others. ‘Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervour and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately’ [Acts 19:24-26]; ‘Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up …’ [Ephes 4:11,12]; ’You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others’ [2 Tim 1:1,2].

7. Leaders lead in teams. ’Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus … Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers and sisters’ [2 Tim 4:9-12,19-21]; ‘I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow … For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building’ [1 Cor 3:6,7,9].

8. Leaders devote themselves to prayer. ‘One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles’ [Luke 6:12,13]; ‘We [the apostles] will devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word’ [Acts 6:3]. Paul wrote: ‘I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers’ … ‘I thank my God every time I remember you’ [Phil 1:3]; ‘We always thank God … when we pray for you’ [Col 1:3]; ‘… constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times’ [Rom 1:9,10].

9. Leaders use the Bible in all situations, [planning, preaching, training, mentoring, evangelising, discipling, leading teams, counselling, etc] as their God-given instrument of ministry.  ‘He [Jesus] said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms”’ Luke 24:44]; 14 ‘He [the Spirit of Truth] will glorify me [Jesus] and because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you’ [John 16:15]; ‘Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth’ [Jn 17:17]; ‘He [Paul] witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus’ [Acts 28:23]; ‘What we [apostles] have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words’ [1 Cor 3:12,13]; ‘Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone’ [Ephes 2:19,20];  ‘And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe’ [1Thess 2: 13].

10. Leaders lead thorough the ministry of the word. ‘The farmer sows the word…’ [Mark 4:14]; ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’ [Matt 28:18-20]; ‘This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem’ Luke 24:46.47]; ‘He [God] gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit … I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ [Rom 15:16,19]; ‘Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction’ [2 Tim 4:2].

11. Leaders lead theologically, commending and promoting the truth, and correcting theological and moral error. ‘Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth’ [2 Tim 2:15]; ‘The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth [2 Tim 3:24-25]; ‘He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it’ [Tit 1:9].

12. Leaders have a strategy, a plan, not only about the kind of ministry they want to do, but also about where and how to do it. ‘Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages -so that I can preach there also. That is why I have come’ [Mark 1:38]; ‘you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’ [Acts 1:8]; ‘It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known …’ [Rom 15:20]; ‘I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some’ [1 Cor 9:22]; ‘we agree that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised [Gal 2:9]; ‘appoint elders in every town’ [Tit 1:5].

What are some negative models of leadership which we might easily adopt from our world, or that others might pressure us to adopt from our world?

  • A ‘Business model’, with a strong governance Board instructing the CEO about every aspect of the ministry, with a strong emphasis on key performance indicators, measurable outcomes, and competition. [Not all Boards know about the nature of gospel ministry, understand the severe limitations and relevance of what can be measured in this life, how all ministry is an act of faith, and why others are fellow-workers, not competitors in God’s economy. They also tend to think that members of churches can be treated as paid employees, who have to do what the CEO tells them to do!]
  • ‘Anti-institutional model’, with no governance or management structures or policies in place. [Informality is attractive, but does not allow for significant growth in ministry, which changes the nature of relationships. It does not see the sinful tendencies which can flourish without clear and public responsibilities in decision-making, accountabilities, finances, and employment. Who can appoint ministers, elders, leaders? For how long are they appointed? Who can review them and terminate their appointment if needed? How will major decisions about the life of the church or ministry be made? ‘What is the doctrine of the church?]
  • ‘Weak model’, in which important issues are avoided, there is no significant forward planning, and leaders fail to take responsibility for their own actions, or for the progress of the ministry. [This is the easiest style of leadership because it does not lead! It avoids difficult decisions, and lets the church or ministry drift along. Its only evaluation becomes: ‘Are people happy?’, not a safe guide to effective ministry and outreach!]
  • ‘Magic solution model’, in which a model of church or ministry life which is publicly acclaimed as successful, is imported and applied with no regard to present patterns of life or ministry, context of ministry, or cultural appropriateness; and is trusted and promised as a certain path to extraordinary growth and success. [This attracts leaders who are hungry for growth, and who think that the right ministry model will achieve it, and who look for a popular international or national model to follow. But the model may be wrong, and may not fit the context or the people. Most importantly, God gives the growth, not the model!]
  • ‘Simplistic model’, in which one Christian ministry or duty is elevated as superior to all others, and made the assessment of success or failure. [‘Teach the Bible’, ‘tend the flock’, ‘do evangelism’, ‘care for the needy’ are all legitimate and right: the Bible tells us to do them all. But if we put all our energy into one, and neglect the others, we end up disobeying God!] [Notice the important distinction between Churches, which should do many different ministries, and Focussed Ministries, and Chaplaincies outlined below.]
  • ‘Liberal model’, in which anything which is not in accord with contemporary ideas is neglected or dropped, in the hope of making Christianity more acceptable, and so gaining more converts. [This follows the liberalising pattern of the 19th Century Liberal Theology movement, which first of all dropped Creation, then Old Testament miracle, then Jesus’ miracles, then the resurrection, then the incarnation, and of course the inspiration of Scripture. Contemporary evangelicalism follows a similar pattern. In the words of Brian Rosner, ‘The test of Biblical Theology is not what you include, it is what you leave out’!]
  • ‘Success model’, in which everything serves the success of the ministry, while ignoring the will, power, plan, and glory of God. [Success, what sacrifices are committed in your name! How many of God’s people are mangled in your name. What false pride or false failure results from choosing you as our idol!]
  • ‘Thug model’, in which the leader, or leader and close allies, think that they are omniscient, infallible, and entirely trustworthy and accountable to no one. [This attracts the machos, and also attracts people who need macho leaders. Unfortunately, though it can work in the short-term, it explodes in the long-term: and, more significantly, it obscures Christ, rather than revealing him.]
  • ‘God came when I came model’, in which the new leader fails to ponder what God is already doing in the congregation or ministry, and immediately creates a new identity and goals, without regard to the previous work of God in that church or ministry. [How arrogant to think that God only arrived when you did, or that you are more in touch with God than the present congregation, or the previous ministry. ‘Three lessons to learn: Humility, humility humility!’]

I am sorry to add yet more material, but we need the following distinctions to make wise decisions.

  1. Churches. These are the models of ministry that are the focus of NT instructions. They are the model of ministry mandated by the NT. They have team leadership; they welcome and serve everyone from their local community. They have all the responsibilities of evangelism, discipling, training people for ministry, encouraging mutual ministry, teaching people the Scriptures, praying, and baptism and the Lord’s Supper, caring for families, single people, children, elderly people, those who suffer from long-term illness, caring for the needy, welcoming people who do not have obvious ministry potential, and doing good in the community.
  2. Focused ministries. This is a model which we have developed. Each of these has a particular focus of ministry, and/or a particular focus group to serve. They include missionary societies, Bible and Theological Colleges, the Bible Society, university student ministry, schools’ ministry, Christian publishing, etc. These rightly have a limited ministry focus, and can rightly not serve in other areas, or with other people. They are selective. They rightly follow what I have described as a ‘Simplistic model’, above. Because they are so focussed so specifically, they need not and do not serve people who do not fit their ministry. Because they are focussed, they can achieve more obvious specialist expertise than a local church, which has to do lots of things, and accept and serve everyone who comes, even if they do not appear to have much to contribute to the church! This is why local church ministry looks so weak compared to a focussed ministry. And this is why local church life and ministry is so rich!
  3. Chaplaincies. This is where ministry is focused on already existing community, and includes chaplains to the armed forces, hospitals, schools, sports, prisons, etc. Here the context of ministry requires specialist skills. And the chaplains also have to work within the constraints of the community in which they work, and serve the values of that community, as well as the gospel of Christ. It takes special gifts to negotiate these dual responsibilities, and of course the structural context of ministry is provided by the body serving the community.

I have included this to help you understand the varied contexts of ministries in which we work, each with its own possibilities, expectations, challenges, and demands. Leadership looks different in each of these contexts, and ministry looks different, as well.

Just to remind you, this Paraklesis continues the theme of this year.

Feb. Leadership or Leader-slip.

Mar. Leaders lead in prayer

April. Leaders lead by preaching the Scriptures.

May. Leaders lead by standing.

June. Leaders lead as created and saved, sinners and saints.

July. Leaders know that God is the real leader.

August. Leaders lead by the quality of their lives.

Sep. Leaders lead in governance, management, and administration.

Oct. Leaders choose their model of leadership wisely.

The final in the series will be November: Leaders learn to balance their varied responsibilities and not burn out or opt out!

To close

Here is an excellent quotation from my dear friend Allan Chapple, who has been a constantly inspiring and encouraging friend since 1965! This is from his new edition of Ministry under the microscope. The Who, What, Why, and How of Christian Ministry, Latimer Trust, 2025.

‘Ministry is foundational: serving is the root and leadership is no more than one of its fruit.’ P. 10.

And another quotation from a friend who remains anonymous: ‘CEO = Chief Encouragement Officer.’

With warmest greetings in Christ,

Yours,

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