It was July 1, 2019. Everything looked the same. Yet, everything looked different.

The Biblical Graduate School of Theology (BGST) was the same school I had worked in for the last decade. Yet everything looked different because I was no longer a Lecturer in Church History, but its new Principal. I was now supposed to lead the school.

Truth be told, I wasn’t exactly clear what leadership was. My scholarly instincts led me to read books about the subject. They provided the usual descriptions: Leadership is “influencing others”, “leading others”, or “casting a compelling vision”.

While these are valid outcomes, they don’t quite explain how one actually becomes a good leader. I may like to play the cello like Yo-Yo Ma, and I can tell what good cello playing looks like, but these do not help me become a good cellist.

Likewise, the Bible provides many examples of good leadership. Moses, who humbly led the Israelites for 40 years. Nehemiah, who confronted the aristocracy for mistreating the poor (Nehemiah 5:7). Paul, who braved the perils of travelling in Asia Minor and inspired the Ephesians. We can see that they were good leaders, but it is not clear how they achieved their leadership acumen.

We also know of people who went through leadership training, but did not seem to be helped by it. They remain unmotivated, non-strategic, insecure and afraid of others’ criticism. Perhaps what Lee Kuan Yew said is true: “I do not yet know of a man who became a leader as a result of having undergone a leadership course!”

3 Steps to developing Christian leadership

While I find LKY’s remark amusing, as an educator I believe there are 3 steps to developing Christian leadership:

1) Having a burden and love for Christ

I came to faith at 19 years old. Yet, even before that, I had a nagging desire to know why the world is so rich in meaning.

After I became a Christian, the question was reframed as: How does the Bible and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus help us better understand the world?

As I grew as a Christian, this burden evolved into asking: How does the Christian faith guide our culture and knowledge in a way that we can love God and love others?

This dual burden never left me. It is there when I teach – whether about church history, Chinese medicine, or digital disruption. It is there when I strategise for the school. It is also there when I lead as an elder in my church.

Rather than be paralysed by our manifold responsibilities, or be caught up with the unending list of activities at work or ministry, we need to keep asking: What is the purpose of the burden and love that God has given me?

It is a burden born out of our growing love of Christ that compels us to lead others towards what God desires for His people. This is why the Apostle Paul is compelled to preach and cannot find himself doing otherwise (1 Corinthians 9:16). And why the prophet Jeremiah speaks of a fire in his bones if he does not prophesy (Jeremiah 20:9).

2) Making decisions grounded in spiritual formation

Most of us know more biblical teachings than we ever practise. Why do we still make bad decisions that sabotage our work, church or family life?

A key reason is that we are confused about the process of growing as Christians.

The psychologist, Daniel Kahneman, describes our minds as operating in two modes: Systems 1 and 2.

Systems 1 is fast, unconscious, intuitive and habitual thinking or behaviour. System 2, on the other hand, is slow, deliberate and requires conscious thinking.

Systems 1 is the realm of cultivated behaviour. Systems 2 is the realm of deliberate behaviour.

System 1 is the stronger impetus that shapes the beliefs that System 2 assumes.

When we attend bible studies and listen to sermons, it is our System 2 that is mostly engaged. When we make our daily decisions, however, it is System 1 at work 98% of the time!

This means that we make decisions – godly or otherwise – from our habits and virtues, not from what we know cognitively. This explains why, despite all our Christian knowledge, we can still make the wrong decisions when the “crunch” comes. What’s called for then is the conversion of our System 2 knowledge into System 1 habits.

This is where spiritual formation disciplines come in. Our habits and virtues are cultivated only when we engage in prayer to God, bringing our concerns, grievances and anxieties to Him, and reflecting on what He has done in our lives through His grace, love and comfort.

Our habits and virtues are also honed in community when we learn to love, bear, comfort and support each other though grief and struggles.

In short then, to lead well, we need to decide well. To decide well, we need to form our habits and virtues well through deepening our relationship with God and one another.

What undergirds good, or bad, decision-making is our virtues. Poor decision-making, I propose, arises from our lack of cultivating Christ-centred virtues – wisdom, love, justice, humility and courage. A person who loves others for the sake of Christ cannot help but love the poor and suffering. 

3) Developing competencies

This includes both our understanding of biblical leadership and a diverse range of leadership frameworks. 

Apart from self- or personal leadership, we also need to know how to lead others. How do we help a subordinate grow and attain his or her goals? How do we build a high-performance team? How do we resolve conflicts and make decisions as a team? How do we strategise and organise?

This is when leadership frameworks and practices come in, and where leadership training is helpful.

Yet, if we undertake leadership training without spiritual formation, we will find ourselves unable to apply any of the frameworks we learn. For instance, a framework may be good, but we may lack the courage to implement it. We lack the courage because we lack confidence that God will see us through despite our insecurities.

So, nurture our love and burden for Christ, cultivate our virtues and habits for decision making, and empower ourselves through leadership frameworks!

If you are interested to grow your spiritual and practical leadership, find out more about BGST’s Certificate in Christian Leadership here.