What does the Bible say about leadership?

Leadership shows up all through the Bible, from Moses and Gideon to Jesus washing feet. The question is what it teaches leaders to do.

The five people here give the same core answer: leadership is service, and the influence that comes with it is held in trust. Tim Pratt Jr., Jason Carson Wilson, and Randy Garn all point to Jesus's teaching that whoever wants to be great must become a servant.

They differ in emphasis. Justin R. Lester and Jason Carson Wilson focus on accountability. Os Hillman focuses on how God prepares unlikely people before giving them influence.

Who you should listen to

Five people who lead in churches and in business: two pastors, an ordained minister, an author on faith at work, and a serial entrepreneur now serving as a mission president. Tim Pratt Jr. is also an agile coach. Listen for the setting closest to yours.

• 

  Tim Pratt Jr. · Associate pastor, agile coach, and podcast host

  Listen for: Why authority starts with being under Christ's authority.

• 

  Os Hillman · Author and speaker on faith at work, president of Marketplace Leaders

  Listen for: How God prepares unlikely people before giving them influence.

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  Justin R. Lester · Pastor of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, professor

  Listen for: What happens to a church when its leaders drift.

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  Rev. Dr. Jason Carson Wilson · Ordained minister, author, and founder of Liberating Strategies

  Listen for: Leadership as accountability to the people it serves.

• 

  Randy Garn · Mission president, Texas Houston South Mission, and NYT bestselling author

  Listen for: What makes people want to follow a leader.

What do pastors say the Bible teaches about leadership?

Tim Pratt Jr.

Associate pastor, agile coach, and podcast host

Associate pastor

Why themAssociate pastor and senior agile coach who hosts the Student of Life Podcast.

Tim’s advice: Leaders serve rather than lord over others (Mark 10:42-45).

“The Bible consistently ties leadership to servanthood, not status. Jesus in Mark 10:42-45 flips the script: leaders are to serve, not lord over others. Paul adds to that in 1 Corinthians 11:1 when he says, Follow me as I follow Christ, showing that real authority comes from being under Christ's authority first.”

Go deeper with Tim

Os Hillman

Author and speaker on faith at work, president of Marketplace Leaders

Author

Why themPresident of Marketplace Leaders, and a speaker, author, and consultant on faith at work.

Os’s advice: Leadership is a trust to carry, not a title to grab.

“The Bible doesn't paint leadership as a title to grab but as a trust to carry. God repeatedly chose unlikely people—Gideon threshing wheat, Moses in exile, Saul on the road to Damascus—and set them aside before He set them up. Real leadership is stewardship, not ownership. We are servants first, entrusted with influence for the good of others and the purposes of God.”

Go deeper with Os

Justin R. Lester

Pastor of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, professor

Pastor

Why themLeads Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Vallejo and helps people work through faith, technology, and real life.

Justin’s advice: Stewardship, not ownership; God holds leaders accountable for their character.

“The Bible says leadership is stewardship, not ownership. In Malachi 2, God holds leaders accountable for how their character shapes the people they serve. I've preached that passage and watched it cut through church hurt: when leaders drift, people stumble. When leaders serve, the church flourishes.”

Go deeper with Justin

Rev. Dr. Jason Carson Wilson

Ordained minister, author, and founder of Liberating Strategies

Ordained minister

Why themLeads Liberating Strategies and helped found the Bayard Rustin Liberation Initiative.

Jason’s advice: The Bible warns about leadership: it's accountability to the people you serve.

“The Bible doesn't flatter leadership; it warns about it. Jesus calls the rulers of the nations lords, then tells his followers: not so with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. I take that seriously in every organization I shape, including through the REVISE work at Liberating Strategies: leadership is accountability to the people it claims to serve, not a title to be guarded.”

Go deeper with Jason

Randy Garn

Mission president, Texas Houston South Mission, and NYT bestselling author

NYT bestselling author

Why themSerial entrepreneur and investor, now serving as mission president for the Texas Houston South Mission.

Randy’s advice: The leaders people follow love first, listen longest, and lift others.

“The Bible paints leadership as service, not status. Jesus washed feet and said the greatest leader must be the servant of all. I’ve seen that the leaders people actually follow are the ones who love first, listen longest, and lift others toward Christ.”

Go deeper with Randy

Everyone’s advice at a glance

What the Bible says about leadership, point by point

1. 1

   Lead by serving. Tim Pratt Jr. points to Mark 10:42-45, where Jesus tells leaders to serve rather than lord over others. Randy Garn points to Jesus washing feet.

2. 2

   Hold influence as a trust. Os Hillman and Justin R. Lester both describe leadership as stewardship of something entrusted to you.

3. 3

   Follow before you lead. Tim Pratt Jr. points to Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:1, Follow me as I follow Christ, as a sign that authority comes from being under Christ's authority first.

4. 4

   Expect to answer for it. Justin R. Lester points to Malachi 2, where God holds leaders accountable for how their character shapes the people they serve. Jason Carson Wilson says leadership is accountability to the people it claims to serve.

5. 5

   Expect preparation first. Os Hillman notes that God chose unlikely people, like Gideon and Moses, and set them aside before He set them up.

6. 6

   Love and listen. Randy Garn says the leaders people follow love first, listen longest, and lift others toward Christ.