Leadership Development - What Do We Mean by Leadership?

 

    This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters and leaders.

Our topic for 2026 is Leadership Development. Today I want to begin by addressing some fundamental understandings of leadership … what it is – and perhaps more importantly – what it is not.

For the past 33 years, I have adhered to the following leadership definition shared by a Sunday School teacher I had during our years living in Belgium. He brought both a military and a biblical Christian perspective as he taught us about leadership.

Leadership is the ability to influence people through consistent obedience to God’s commands.

​​​- Lt. Colonel Gene Klann, NATO, 1993

I like the directness and simplicity of this definition.

* Leadership is about influence more than power or authority

* Godly leaders must be consistent in our obedience to God. People will choose not to follow those who are hypocritical.

* The foundation of our leadership must be fidelity to the Word of God and the instruction of the Holy Spirit.

Here is a second description that applies very well to Christ-honoring leaders. This comes from Dr. Robert Clinton.

A leader is a person with

1. God-given capacity, and

2. With God-given responsibility to influence

3. A specific group of God’s people

4. Toward God’s purposes for the group ​​​-

I appreciate his clarity.

* A leader’s capacity comes from God (more on this in a moment)

* Leadership is a responsibility entrusted to us from the Lord (again, more on this in a moment)

* Leadership is about influence and not coercion

* Leaders lead groups of people in order to achieve the purposes of God. This aligns with our description last year of a steward leader as “someone who manages resources belonging to another person in order to achieve the owner’s objectives.”

I have two more observations to share today.

1. Leadership is a spiritual gift. In Romans 12:8, Paul wrote about spiritual gifts, and he had this to say. “If [ones gift] is to lead, do it diligently.”

2. Leadership is also a calling. Acts 13:2 shares the experience of Saul and Barnabas.  “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ These two were called to be leaders in the early Church, and God still calls and raises up leaders today.  

May we be open and receptive to God’s calling and gifting in our lives.  May we also be attentive to those around us as we are intentional to identify and equip new leaders.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters and leaders.