21 Leadership Issues in the Bible: Life-Changing Lessons from Leaders in Scripture

By John C. Maxwell

What’s challenging your leadership? The Bible has an answer!

If you're trying to influence even one person, you are a leader. And that means you’re facing challenges. The more you lead, the greater the number of challenges you face. How do you solve them?

Dr. John C. Maxwell has been exploring these issues and helping leaders with them for decades. Where did Maxwell, recently named the #1 leadership and management expert in the world by Inc. magazine, gain such insight into leadership? From the Bible! John asserts that the Bible is the greatest leadership book that has ever been written.

In this study, John addresses twenty-one of the most common issues leaders face.  Starting with internal issues such as identity, purpose, pride, and self-leadership, and moving on to others such as criticism, change, diversity, teamwork and recruiting, John shows how leaders in the Bible addressed these issues with boldness and clarity, or, conversely, how they failed to lead. Either way, the lessons are clear. You can improve your leadership for not only your own sake, but also for that of your team and those you serve.

In this twenty-one lesson study, John guides you through Scriptures that reveal the challenges leaders face and the solutions available to them. Each lesson includes:

• THE ISSUE DEFINED: a brief description and introduction to the Issue 
• CASE STUDIES: THREE BIBLICAL STUDIES: including leaders such as Joseph, Moses, Ruth, David, Nehemiah, Peter, Titus, and Jesus—that reveal and illustrate the Issue
• STUDY QUESTIONS: reflection and application questions to help you dig into the stories of the men and women in Scripture and learn from them
• LEADERSHIP INSIGHT AND REFLECTION: questions to help you assess and improve your own leadership skills
• TAKING ACTION: practical takeaways and direction to help you incorporate each lesson into your daily life
• GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: questions to help you learn and process the Bible study material with other like-minded people who want to grow in leadership

Start with the issues where you most need help, complete the entire study as a course in problem solving, or meet with your team, using it as their next training in leadership development. 21 Leadership Issues in the Bible can help you become a better leader in any area of your life as you seek to influence others for Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Jul 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9780310086253

John C. Maxwell

John C. Maxwell is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, coach, and speaker who has sold more than 33 million books in fifty languages. He has been identified as the #1 leader in business and the most influential leadership expert in the world. His organizations - the John Maxwell Company, The John Maxwell Team, EQUIP, and the John Maxwell Leadership Foundation - have translated his teachings into seventy languages and used them to  train millions of leaders from every country of the world. A recipient of the Horatio Alger Award, as well as the Mother Teresa Prize for Global Peace and Leadership from the Luminary Leadership Network, Dr. Maxwell influences Fortune 500 CEOs, the presidents of nations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. For more information about him visit JohnMaxwell.com.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to say thank you to Charlie Wetzel and the rest of the team who assisted me with the formation and publication of this book. And to the people in my organizations who support it. You all add incredible value to me, which allows me to add value to others. Together, we’re making a difference!

INTRODUCTION

Early in my career when I first began teaching people in church about leadership, they were often surprised. I was young and inexperienced, and the ideas I was able to convey seemed to be beyond what I should know. Later when I started writing about leadership, people gravitated to the message. And when I started writing and speaking to a more general audience, people used to ask, Where in the world did you learn all this?

I was happy to let them in on a secret: everything I know about leadership I learned from the Bible.

Not only is the Bible the greatest book ever written, it is the greatest leadership book ever written. Everything you could ever want to learn about leadership—vision, purpose, thinking strategy, communication, attitude, encouragement, mentoring, follow-through—is all there. You just need to be open to what God wants to teach you. As it says in Isaiah 55:11,

My word that goes out from my mouth:

It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

God’s word always fulfills his purpose. If you have felt a stirring to become a better leader or if someone has tapped your shoulder and asked you to lead, God will help you.

I am excited for you as you begin this journey of leadership development through the Word of God. I’ve chosen 21 leadership issues that I believe every leader faces. I have included a brief excerpt from one of my books explaining the issue, and followed it with three carefully selected biblical case studies—some positive, some negative—that offer insight into the issue. After you read each of these passages from the Bible, you will answer study questions prompting you to really dig into the Scripture and learn about leadership from it.

This study guide is designed to be more than just a theoretical exercise. It’s meant to help you become a better leader able to practice better leadership with others. To help facilitate that, you will be directed to reflect on how you can apply the leadership lessons to your own life. You will also develop a specific action item to help you follow through and improve your leadership.

You can easily go through this study guide on your own and improve your leadership ability. But I encourage you to do this with a group. There’s nothing like learning with other like-minded people who desire to grow and develop their leadership skills. To help you with this process, I’ve included group discussion questions at the end of each lesson.

My recommendation is that you gather a group of people to engage in the process together. Before every meeting, each of you should complete the study questions, reflection, and action item on your own for that lesson. Then gather together as a group and answer the discussion questions and share what you’ve learned. I believe you’ll find that you learn better and enjoy this process more in a group.

May God bless you as enjoy this journey.

LESSON 1

IDENTITY

You Have Great Value Because God Values You

THE ISSUE DEFINED

You’ve probably heard people say, You had to see it to believe it! That’s true in many situations. But when it comes to a person’s potential, the opposite is actually true: they have to believe it in order to see it. Unfortunately, many of us don’t see or cultivate the possibilities God put in us. Our low opinion of ourselves keeps us from believing we could ever blossom into something wonderful. That’s unfortunate, because low self-esteem puts a ceiling on potential. If you want to achieve your leadership potential, you must value yourself as God values you.

You are valuable to God because of who you are: you were made in God’s image, according to his likeness. You are valuable to him because of what you cost: even before you were born, Jesus gave everything to redeem you. You are valuable because of what you can become: before you took your first breath, God had a plan for you.

Accepting just how much God values us begins when we understand just how well he knows us. He knows everything about us, from before we were born until now. He sees all of our weaknesses, mistakes, and wrong motives. And he places the highest value on us anyway. In fact, he chooses to use us not in spite of our weaknesses, but because of them. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:9, his power is made perfect in weakness. God is glorified when we allow him to work through us.

Nothing can make someone more unlikely—even unwilling—to lead than feelings of inadequacy. But God doesn’t choose leaders based only on their natural talent or ability. Neither does he choose them based on their age or experience. God chooses leaders based on their availability, not their ability; on their willingness to walk in obedience to him, not their own strength.

Leaders who see themselves through God’s eyes are able to find their identity in him. This gives them confidence and courage. They become intentional about living a life that matches who they are by virtue of their relationship with Christ. As they discover and embrace their unique gifts, they are able to use those gifts to influence others and add value to their lives. Finally, as they accept and surrender their shortcomings, they begin a never-ending growth journey. They keep growing, keep making a difference in this world, and keep adding value to others’ lives. You matter. You have value. Start living like it today and never stop.

CASE STUDIES

Read these case studies from the Bible and answer the study questions that follow.

1 Gideon Is a Mighty Warrior—Because God Says So

Judges 6:11–40

¹¹ The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. ¹² When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.

¹³ Pardon me, my lord, Gideon replied, but if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.

¹⁴ The LORD turned to him and said, Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?

¹⁵ Pardon me, my lord, Gideon replied, but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.

¹⁶ The LORD answered, I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.

¹⁷ Gideon replied, If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. ¹⁸ Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.

And the LORD said, I will wait until you return.

¹⁹ Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.

²⁰ The angel of God said to him, Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth. And Gideon did so. ²¹ Then the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared. ²² When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, Alas, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!

²³ But the LORD said to him, Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.

²⁴ So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

²⁵ That same night the LORD said to him, Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. ²⁶ Then build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.

²⁷ So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.

²⁸ In the morning when the people of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!

²⁹ They asked each other, Who did this?

When they carefully investigated, they were told, Gideon son of Joash did it.

³⁰ The people of the town demanded of Joash, Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.

³¹ But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar. ³² So because Gideon broke down Baal’s altar, they gave him the name Jerub-Baal that day, saying, Let Baal contend with him.

³³ Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. ³⁴ Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. ³⁵ He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.

³⁶ Gideon said to God, If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised— ³⁷ look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said. ³⁸ And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

³⁹ Then Gideon said to God, Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew. ⁴⁰ That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.

Study Questions

1. Gideon’s account opens with him threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. What does that say about his leadership at that time?

[Your Response Here]

2. The angel of the Lord addresses Gideon as mighty warrior. What does his response to the angel say about Gideon’s view of himself? How does he describe himself?

[Your Response Here]

3. When Gideon saw the angel cause the meat and bread to be consumed by fire, he came to the realization that he had seen the angel of the Lord face to face. Why, then, did he ask God to verify his calling twice with the fleece?

[Your Response Here]

4. Why do you think Gideon’s doubt was so strong?

[Your Response Here]

2 God Knows Us Completely

Psalm 139:1–24

¹ You have searched me, LORD,

and you know me.

² You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

³ You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

⁴ Before a word is on my tongue

you, LORD, know it completely.

⁵ You hem me in behind and before,

and you lay your hand upon me.

⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

¹¹ If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me,"

¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God!

How vast is the sum of them!

¹⁸ Were I to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand—

when I awake, I am still with you.

¹⁹ If only you, God, would slay the wicked!

Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!

²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent;

your adversaries misuse your name.

²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,

and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?

²² I have nothing but hatred for them;

I count them my enemies.

²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

Study Questions

1. How many different ways in this Psalm does David express the idea that God knows him? List them.

[Your Response Here]

2. How would you describe David’s response to this knowledge? How does it impact him?

[Your Response Here]

3. How does David’s view differ from the way most people see God?

[Your Response Here]

3 Peter’s Sense of Identity Gives Him Confidence

Acts 4:1–20

¹ The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. ² They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. ³ They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. ⁴ But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

⁵ The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. ⁶ Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. ⁷ They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: By what power or what name did you do this?

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ Jesus is

‘the stone you builders rejected,

which has become the cornerstone.’

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved."

¹³ When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. ¹⁵ So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. ¹⁶ What are we going to do with these men? they asked. Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷ But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.

¹⁸ Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John replied, Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! ²⁰ As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.

Study Questions

1. What is the significance of the description of Peter and John as being unschooled, ordinary men?

[Your Response Here]

2. What role do you think identity played in Peter and