Leaders from the Bible

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Apr 3, 2024

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Carolyn Faines Leaders from the Bible Dr. Joseph Mattox May 3, 2015
Abstract The personal attributes of leadership such as intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity, and sociability, will be discussed in this paper concerning King David. These are attributes that people need to be successful as a leader. Another subject that will be discussed is interpersonal leadership which is one of the viewpoints of authentic leadership. I will be looking at how this viewpoint of authentic leadership is related to leaders and followers. Contingency theory, which is part of contextual leadership, tries to match leaders to situations that they can be most effective in. This paper will cover the leadership styles: task motivated and relationship motivated. Finally, this paper will look at the contemporary leadership. It is linked to transformational leadership which deals with the emotions and values of a person.
Introduction Looking at leaders of today should be similar to leaders in the Bible. There are many to choose from but let’s look at King David. The Bible says that he was a man after God’s own heart. (Acts 13:22, KJV) David was an excellent leader as well as a writer and musician. He wrote many of the books of Psalms which includes the 23 rd Psalms. David made many mistakes but he always admitted or confessed his sins before the Lord. Each time that he fell from grace, David admittedly repented to get back into God’s good Grace. Leadership is not something that people should be comfortable doing. This means people step up and lead because they are needed but it is not a comfortable place. A true leader carries so much responsibility. They are responsible for all those who are under their command. That’s one of the reasons why David was dealt so harshly with by God dealing with the death of Uriah. Uriah was one of his soldiers but because he slept with Uriah’s wife he had him killed. The biblical account for leadership varies in ways but is similar in substance, as it is given in both the Old and New Testament. The biblical leaders prior to Jesus are chosen by God and the circumstances that these leaders face has God’s direct intervention. As mentioned earlier we will be looking mainly at four leadership areas of David’s life. They are personal attributes, interpersonal, contextual and contemporary leadership. Personal Attributes of Leadership In studying the personal attributes of leadership, they are needed in order for people to become effective leader. Attributes such as intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity and sociability are all traits that leaders should follower. Looking at the life a David, his personal attributes showed forth on the first day that someone was sent to bring him before Saul. One, he was not hanging around the house; he was out with the sheep. He was working; doing the will of
his father. This showed forth intelligence on David’s part. You can’t be timid when you are looking after sheep that is hunted by the enemy. David fought lions and bears for his sheep. Leaders in the natural world must come up and fight for the lives of those who are a part of the group. Scientific studies of intelligence in leadership show that intelligence helps a person be a better leader (Riggio, R. E., Murphy, S. E., & Pirozzolo, F. J., 2001). Being an intelligent leader can get you out of some sticky situations. Now, speaking of sticky situation, according to 1 Samuel 17 David went up against Goliath. No one else was stepping up to defeat the Philistine. It wasn’t like David was looking for trouble but when the Philistine spoke against God, David said, “This day will the L ORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.   And all this assembly shall know that the L ORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hands.” (1 Samuel 17:46-47, KJV) It took self-confidence to believe in himself enough to go after a man that was over nine feet tall. This seemed like an impossible task but David was confident of what God told him to do. This confidence came from the fact that God told David what to do and he was intelligent enough to know that it was God speaking. True leaders are not just verbal toward their followers but they listen to them as well. Being a good listener is a requirement for a good leader. There is no other way to know what the followers are thinking or what their opinion of a circumstance or situation is without the ability of listening. Listening is the communication skill that is used more often than any other and good listening is an important part of the communication process (Sayeekumar, M., 2013, May).
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