Main Summary: 21 Qualities of Leaders in the Bible by John C. Maxwell examines 21 biblical leadership qualities through case studies of figures like David, Esther, and Paul. It teaches that effective leadership is developed through character, communication, courage, and commitment, offering practical steps to become someone others willingly follow.
Lessons You’ll Learn From This Post
- The Quality of Character
- The Quality of Charisma
- The Quality of Commitment
- The Quality of Communication
- The Quality of Competence
- The Quality of Courage
- The Quality of Discernment
- The Quality of Focus
- The Quality of Generosity
- The Quality of Initiative
Also read A Better Way to Pray by Andrew Wommack [Summary] Pt1
We create our character every time we make choices—to cop out or dig out of a hard situation, to bend the truth or stand under the weight of it, to take the easy money or pay the price.
The Quality of Character
- Leaders cannot rise above the limitations of their character
- Followers will not trust or continue following leaders with flawed character
- Character determines who you are, who you are determines what you see, and what you see determines what you do
- Crisis does not make character—it reveals it
- Adversity forces a choice between character and compromise
- You create your character every time you make a choice
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- David refused to kill King Saul despite having the opportunity
- He recognizes Saul as “the LORD’s anointed” and honors that position
- Chooses character over political advantage
- His restraint earns Saul’s respect and confession
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- Daniel distinguishes himself through exceptional qualities
- Remains neither corrupt nor negligent in his work
- Continues praying to God even after a royal edict forbids it
- God shuts the lions’ mouths because he trusts in Him
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- Herod, on the other hand, becomes disturbed and furious when hearing of a rival king
- Lies about wanting to worship Jesus while planning to kill him
- Orders the massacre of all boys two and under in Bethlehem
- His choices reveal a character driven by fear and power
Leaders who continually think about others and their concerns before thinking of themselves will be attractive to people.
The Quality of Charisma
- Charisma is the ability to draw people to you—and it can be developed
- Charismatic people celebrate life, assume the best of others, and give of themselves
- First impressions matter, but consistency builds lasting influence
- The bottom line of charisma is other-mindedness
- Leaders who think of others before themselves attract followers and build loyalty
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- Josiah calls all people from least to greatest to hear God’s Word
- Renews the covenant and removes detestable idols
- Provides thousands of animals for Passover from his own possessions
- His officials voluntarily contribute additional offerings—evidence of his charisma
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- Peter declares Jesus as the Messiah when others are uncertain
- Stands before thousands and preaches with boldness after Pentecost
- Three thousand respond to his message and are baptized
- Develops greater charisma over time as his motivation shifts from self to serving others
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- Barnabas, nicknamed “son of encouragement” by the apostles
- Sells a field and gives proceeds to help others
- Sent to Antioch, he encourages believers to remain true to the Lord
- People of Lystra mistake him for Zeus because of his presence and character
Also read Making Good Habits Breaking Bad Habits by Joyce Meyer Pt1 [Summary]
If you want your team to fight to win, you need to be willing to lead the charge.
The Quality of Commitment
- True commitment inspires and attracts followers
- Great commitment always precedes great achievement
- Half-hearted attempts rarely succeed—the sequence is commitment, then action, then achievement
- Four types of people exist: Cop Outs, Hold Outs, Drop Outs, and All Outs
- Commitment is measured by action—check your calendar, to-do list, and bank statement
- Publicly stating your commitment gives you motivation to follow through
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- Ruth refused to abandon Naomi after both their husbands died
- Declares, “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”
- Clings to Naomi while her sister-in-law Orpah, returns home
- Her loyalty and devotion become the foundation of her legacy as the great-grandmother of King David
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- Caleb and Joshua stand alone among twelve spies advocating for entering the Promised Land
- Face a mob ready to stone them for their positive report
- God declares Caleb “has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly.”
- At 85 years old, Caleb remains as strong and ready for battle as he was at 40
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- Stephen, on the other hand, performs wonders and signs, but opposition rises against him
- Summarizes Israel’s history to confront the Sanhedrin about rejecting God’s messengers
- Becomes the first Christian martyr, stoned for his testimony
- Prays for his killers even as they throw stones: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
Every time you speak to people, give them something to feel, something to remember, and something to do.
The Quality of Communication
- Without communication, you cannot connect with others—and those who do not connect travel through life alone
- “He who thinks he leads, but has no one following, is only taking a walk.”
- Good leadership communication is clear, credible, and compelling
- Focus on expressing your message with the best words for the job, not impressing with big words
- Effective communicators know their audience and think more about the audience than themselves
- The ultimate goal of communication is action—give people something to feel, something to remember, and something to do.
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- King Darius issued a decree that is clear, credible, and compelling
- Orders the temple rebuilt with expenses paid from the royal treasury
- Threatens severe punishment for anyone who defies the edict
- His communication succeeds—officials carry it out with diligence, and the temple is completed
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- The Sadducees and Pharisees try to trap Jesus with difficult questions about resurrection and the greatest commandment
- Jesus silences these experts with His answers while astonishing the common crowds.
- Summarizes all the Law and Prophets in two commandments: love God and love your neighbor
- Communicates with authority that comes from truth, not position
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- Paul defended himself before King Agrippa, Governor Festus, and Bernice
- Tells his conversion story—from persecutor to apostle
- Speaks with credibility, sharing how he encountered Jesus on the Damascus road
- Festus shouts, “You are out of your mind, Paul!” but Agrippa admits, “This man could have been set free.”
Also read Overcoming Crisis by Myles Munroe [Summary]
Highly competent leaders accomplish more than others expect. They always go the extra mile. For them, good enough is never good enough.
The Quality of Competence
- Competence goes beyond words—it is the ability to say it, plan it, and do it
- Competent leaders show up ready to play every day, no matter how they feel or what circumstances they face
- Highly competent people continually search for ways to keep learning, growing, and improving
- They follow through with excellence—this is always a choice, an act of the will
- Good enough is never good enough for competent leaders
- Effective leaders combine relational skills with high competence to take their organization to new levels
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- God tests Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice his son, Isaac
- Early the next morning, Abraham loads his donkey, cuts wood, and sets out
- Tells his servants, “We will worship, and then we will come back to you”—demonstrating faith and follow-through
- Displays competence under extreme duress, completing every step until God stops him
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- Hezekiah becomes king at 25 and immediately opens and repairs the temple doors in his first month
- Calls priests and Levites to consecrate themselves and remove defilement
- Orders the reestablishment of temple worship with careful planning and organization
- Works wholeheartedly in everything he undertakes and prospers as a result
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- Paul thought that overseers must be above reproach, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, and able to teach
- Deacons must be worthy of respect, sincere, and keep hold of deep truths
- Leaders must manage their own families well before caring for God’s church
- Good character and competence must work together—one without the other is insufficient
Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.” — Billy Graham.
The Quality of Courage
- Courage means taking a risk despite fear, not in the absence of it
- Courageous leaders look fear in the face and decide to act on behalf of others anyway
- Those who lack courage and those who act courageously often experience the same amount of fear, but letting fear win limits a leader
- Courage opens doors and inspires followers
- “Courage is contagious,” said Billy Graham. “When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.”
- Leaders who face their fears and step out of their comfort zone impart courage to their followers
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- Joshua took over the leadership of Israel after Moses died
- God commands him three times to “be strong and courageous.”
- Leads the people across the Jordan River at flood stage
- The priests step into the water first; the moment their feet touch, the river stops flowing)
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- Elijah confronted King Ahab and challenged 450 prophets of Baal to a showdown on Mount Carmel
- Stands alone while outnumbered, taunting the false prophets when Baal does not answer
- Drenches his sacrifice with water three times to make the miracle undeniable
- Fire from heaven consumes the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the soil, and the water
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- Esther learned of Haman’s plot to destroy all the Jews in Persia
- Faces death simply for approaching the king without being summoned
- Mordecai challenges her: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape.”
- She then declares, “I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
Most people have one area—usually in the area of their gifting—where they have the best instincts. By capitalizing on those excellent instincts, they can continue to use and refine them.
The Quality of Discernment
- Discernment is the ability to find the root of the matter and see beneath the surface
- It relies on experience, wisdom, and intuition—not just logical understanding
- Leaders face complex decisions daily and can rarely gather 100% of the information needed
- Discernment enables a leader to see a partial picture, fill in missing pieces intuitively, and make good decisions
- To develop discernment, you must value non-traditional thinking, embrace ambiguity, learn from wise leaders, and evaluate past experiences
- Most people have the best instincts in their area of gifting—capitalize on those
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- Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream about seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine
- Gives God credit for the interpretation, yet Pharaoh still recognizes Joseph’s discernment
- Proposes a plan to store grain during the good years to survive the famine
- Pharaoh appoints him second-in-command over all Egypt, saying, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”.
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- Hiram, king of Tyre, initiates contact with Solomon after David’s death.
- Solomon requests cedars from Lebanon to build the temple, offering fair wages
- Hiram is “greatly pleased” and praises God for giving David a wise son
- The two strike a deal and make a treaty, bringing peaceful relations
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- In Proverbs 2:1–15, the Bible calls us to accept wisdom and store up God’s commands within us.
- Urges people to look for wisdom as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure
- Promises that the Lord gives wisdom and holds success in store for the upright
- Discretion and understanding will guard and protect those who seek wisdom
Because leadership is so complex and filled with urgent decisions, it’s easy to be pulled off course by wrong priorities. So the first task is to determine what is really important, which is not necessarily the same as what is most urgent.
The Quality of Focus
- Many leaders major in minor things or major in nothing at all
- Effective focus targets two types of priorities: big-picture long-term goals (vision) and daily priorities (to-do lists)
- Focus on what has the greatest impact—usually growing your strengths rather than fixing your weaknesses
- Resist the tyranny of the urgent; what is important is not necessarily what is urgent
- Determine focus by asking: What is required of me? What gives the greatest return? What gives the greatest reward?
- Activity is not necessarily accomplishment
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- Nehemiah’s enemies, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, try four times to lure him away from rebuilding Jerusalem’s wall
- Each time Nehemiah replies, “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?”
- They send an unsealed letter accusing him of plotting to become king
- Nehemiah prays, “Now strengthen my hands,” and completes the wall in 52 days
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- After Jesus’ death, Peter returned to fishing—possibly abandoning his calling
- Jesus appears on the shore and fills their empty net with 153 fish
- Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” and each time commands, “Feed my sheep.”
- When Peter asks about another disciple’s future, Jesus replies, “What is that to you? You must follow me.”
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- Paul considered all his former religious credentials as loss compared to knowing Christ
- Calls his past achievements “garbage” for the sake of gaining Christ
- Declares, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.”
- Presses on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling
The best way to become more generous is to be consistent in practicing generosity. Make it a habit.
The Quality of Generosity
- Nothing speaks to followers more loudly or serves them better than generosity from their leader
- Generosity builds loyalty and high morale; followers respond with willingness to give back
- People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care
- Generous leaders are content—they see money as a gift and hold it loosely
- Generous leaders value people more than possessions and see money as a tool for mission
- The amount given matters less than the act of giving; make generosity a daily habit
- “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” — John Bunyan
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- Boaz noticed Ruth gleaning in his fields and asked about her
- Tells her to stay with his women, drink from his water jars, and not work in any other field
- Instructs his men to pull out extra stalks for her and leave them behind
- Goes beyond the Law’s command to leave gleanings for the poor—he actively provides more.
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- Barnabas sells a field and lays the money at the apostles’ feet out of genuine generosity
- Ananias and Sapphira sell property but keep back part of the money while pretending to give it all
- Peter confronts Ananias: “Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
- Ananias and Sapphira both fall dead—their sin was deception, not the amount they gave
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- The Macedonian churches gave out of extreme poverty and severe trial, pleading for the privilege to give
- Paul urges Corinthians to excel in the “grace of giving” as they excel in faith, speech, and knowledge
- Reminds them that Jesus became poor so that through His poverty they might become rich
- Willingness makes the gift acceptable according to what one has, not what one does not have
Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” — Robert F. Kennedy.
The Quality of Initiative
- Leaders initiate. Someone has to go first, and the one who does is usually seen as the leader.
- Successful leaders take action on what they see—often before anyone else does
- Effective leaders are always on the lookout for opportunities and see everything through the filter of opportunity
- They are decisive and refuse to give in to the “paralysis of analysis.”
- To succeed at initiative, leaders must face the fear of failure and overcome it
- The price of not acting is usually higher than imperfect action
- “The way to succeed is to double your failure rate.” — Thomas J. Watson
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- God told Noah to build an ark because a flood would destroy the earth
- Noah has likely never seen rain, built a ship, or corralled animals before
- He does everything just as God commands him—figuring out each step as he goes
- Leads his family into the ark and preserves humanity and animal life through the flood
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- Isaiah saw the Lord seated on a high and exalted throne in a vision
- Realizes his own sinfulness and cries, “Woe to me! I am ruined!”
- A seraph touches his lips with a live coal, declaring his guilt is taken away
- When God asks, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” Isaiah volunteers: “Here am I. Send me!”
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- James declared that faith without deeds is dead and worthless
- Argues that saying “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed” without meeting physical needs does no good
- Points to Abraham offering Isaac and Rahab sheltering the spies as examples of faith made complete by action
- States plainly: “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”
You now have ten leadership tools from Scripture. Don’t just admire them—practice them. Pick one quality this week, study its biblical example, and take one small action. Growth happens when you move from reading to doing.
Finally, here is a question we’d love you to answer.
Which of the first ten qualities—character, charisma, commitment, communication, competence, courage, discernment, focus, generosity, or initiative—do you struggle with most as a leader?
We would love to hear from you. Please leave your answer and comment in the comment box below.
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