Leadership is a popular topic. Walk into any bookstore or scroll through any feed and you’ll find books, articles, podcasts, and blogs overflowing with definitions, models, and frameworks. I’ve read many of them, taught some of them, and benefited from most of them. But after more than 30 years in ministry and a career in law enforcement leadership, I keep coming back to one question: What about biblical leadership?
I prefer the term spiritual leadership. Henry and Richard Blackaby define spiritual leadership as “moving people on to God’s agenda.” That’s it. Not our agenda. Not our goals, our platform, or our success. God’s agenda, alone.
Everywhere I look, I see a growing need for leaders who are willing to lead from something deeper than personal ambition, success, or influence. Our homes, churches, agencies, and communities need leaders who understand that leadership is ultimately about more than getting results. So what is spiritual leadership, and how do we know we’re engaged in it?
Spiritual Leadership Starts With Surrender
Here’s where I think spiritual leadership begins: surrender.
Before we ask, “Where am I taking people?” we must ask, “Where is God taking me?” It’s interesting to note that Jesus never called us to come and be a leader, he said, “Come, follow Me.” To truly follow Jesus, you must life a life of surrender.
Spiritual leadership doesn’t start with a strategy. It starts with surrender.
It begins when we allow God to do His work in us—shaping us, refining us, and sanctifying us. He works from the inside out. We often want to work from the outside in, polishing behaviors while the heart remains untouched. But lasting spiritual leadership begins with allowing God to transform the person doing the leading.
And if spiritual leadership is about moving people onto God’s agenda, then we have to be willing to get on God’s agenda ourselves.
The Inside Affects the Outside
Leadership is who you are, and it’s what you do. And the order matters. Who you are eventually shows up in what you do.
Jesus said it plainly:
“A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”
Luke 6:45
Solomon put it this way:
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
Proverbs 4:23
Whatever is inside of us will eventually come out. Under pressure, it often comes out faster.
I learned this the hard way.
Many years ago, as a young Trooper, I was not leading myself well. I was making excuses. I blamed others for the way I felt. I was, honestly, a disgruntled employee, just going through the motions. And I didn’t see it at first, but that attitude was leaking into everything: my work, my relationships, and my influence with the people around me.
At some point I had to face the truth. The problem wasn’t my supervisors, my assignment, or my circumstances. The problem was what was going on inside me.
I made a decision to take ownership of how I carried myself. I realized that because I wasn’t leading myself well, I wasn’t effectively leading anyone else. And we can’t give what we don’t have.
That decision changed the trajectory of my career and my ministry. It was the first time I truly understood that leadership starts on the inside.
Scripture gives us a sobering contrast in Saul and David. Saul looked the part. He was tall, impressive, and exactly what the people wanted in a king. Yet his repeated disobedience and misplaced priorities revealed a heart that was increasingly out of alignment with God.
David was the overlooked shepherd boy, but God told Samuel:
“People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7
David wasn’t perfect—far from it. His life included some profound failures. But Scripture repeatedly portrays David as someone who returned to God, confessed his sin, and sought after God’s heart. This is why we need to be aligned with who we are and whose we are.
Our identity doesn’t come from our title, our rank, or our résumé. It comes from belonging to Christ. When that is settled on the inside, we can lead with greater confidence and humility on the outside.
Why It’s So Hard
Spiritual leadership is easy to understand, but much more difficult to apply. It’s difficult because we live in a fallen world that is opposed to Christ and His ways. The way of Jesus often runs against the values of the world. As Paul reminds us, the message of the cross remains a stumbling block to many.
It’s difficult because Scripture teaches that we have an enemy who opposes God and His people. Spiritual leadership involves a real spiritual battle. Sometimes that battle is obvious. More often, it can show up through discouragement, pride, distraction, temptation, and compromise. It is a battle nonetheless. To be blunt, life is war.
And if we’re honest, it’s difficult because of us. Our own flesh wants control, recognition, and comfort. We want to be noticed. We want to be right. We want things done our way. That’s why the inner work is never finished. Spiritual leadership requires us to continually surrender our agenda to God’s.
The 4D Leader Process
One framework that has helped me, and the leaders I work with, is the 4D Leader process. It looks at leadership in four directions:
- Upward: Our relationship with God. Who am I surrendered to? Everything begins here.
- Inward: Our character, heart, and identity. Who is God shaping me to become?
- Outward: Our relationships and influence with others. How am I serving and influencing the people God has placed around me?
- Forward: Our vision, calling, and legacy. What is God calling me to accomplish through my life?
Notice the order. Upward and Inward provide the foundation for Outward and Forward. When we neglect our relationship with God and the condition of our own hearts, we can still produce results. We can build organizations, lead teams, accomplish goals, and even gain influence. But results alone don’t make something spiritual.
When Upward and Inward become our foundation, they give direction to how we lead Outward and Forward.
And this is where the Blackaby definition becomes so important. Moving people onto God’s agenda isn’t about controlling people or forcing them to do what we want. It’s about faithfully influencing people toward God’s purposes through our character, relationships, example, and obedience.
How to Grow as a Spiritual Leader
Here are five practices that have helped shape me. They are also practices I still need to practice!
1. Spend time with Jesus.
There is no substitute.
Sit with Him in His Word and in prayer. Get to know His character, His priorities, and His ways. Remember, He first calls us to follow Him.
Resources like Jesus on Leadership and Lead Like Jesus can help you study how Jesus led, but they’re tools to draw you closer to Him, not replacements for Him.
Ask yourself: Am I spending more time talking about Jesus than actually being with Jesus?
2. Spend time with spiritual leaders.
Find people who are further down the road and get time with them. Leadership is caught as much as it’s taught.
Find people who will encourage you, challenge you, and tell you the truth when you need to hear it.
Ask yourself: Who has permission to speak truth into my life?
3. Put on your spiritual armor every day.
Ephesians 6 reminds us that the battle is real. We don’t fight it in our own strength.
God has given us what we need to stand firm, but we have to intentionally put it on.
Ask yourself: Am I approaching spiritual battles in God’s strength or my own?
4. Make room for mistakes.
You will fall short. I certainly have. I can write several books on personal failures.
Spiritual leadership doesn’t require perfection. It requires humility, repentance, growth, and perseverance. Show yourself the grace God has shown you. Learn from your failures. Make things right when necessary. Then keep moving forward.
Ask yourself: What is God trying to teach me through my failures?
5. Be humble.
The moment we think we’ve arrived, we’ve stopped leading people toward God’s agenda and started leading them toward ours. Humility keeps us teachable. It reminds us that leadership is a stewardship, not a possession.
Ask yourself: Am I trying to build God’s kingdom or my own?
A Final Word
Our world needs spiritual leaders. Our families need them. Our churches need them. Our organizations need them. Our communities need them. The good news is that God isn’t looking for perfect people. He’s looking for surrendered ones.
So before you ask where you’re taking people, ask whether you’re following God yourself. Let Him work Upward and Inward first. Let Him shape your heart, transform your character, and establish your identity in Him. Then allow what He is doing in you to flow Outward and Forward through your relationships, your leadership, your calling, and your influence.
Because spiritual leadership doesn’t start with a strategy. It starts with surrender. And when we surrender our agenda to His, we become better equipped to help move others onto God’s agenda.
Works Cited
Blackaby, Henry, and Richard Blackaby. Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God’s Agenda. Revised and expanded ed., B&H Publishing Group, 2011.
