What is Biblical Leadership? It’s an important question for anyone who desires to lead well.
A great place to start is to look at the examples of great Biblical leaders.
If I had to rank the best leaders in the Bible, the top one would obviously be Jesus. He offered the defining example of servant leadership, was perfect in every way, changed the lives of billions of people in 3 years of ministry, and even rose from the dead.
The second best leader in the Bible is going to place way behind Jesus, but I think there are several people who could qualify: Joseph, Moses, David, Paul, Peter, and so on.
But my personal favorite is undoubtedly Nehemiah.
The Story of Nehemiah
Who is Nehemiah, you might ask?
If you’re like me, you never learned much about him. Sunday school felt boards were covered with pictures of Noah and Daniel, but probably not Nehemiah.
The story of Nehemiah takes place about 160 years after the destruction of Jerusalem and 445 years before Christ. When the Israelites finally had the chance to return to their homeland, they discovered their city still remained in ruin.
After a few decades, Nehemiah learned that his people who had returned home were still without a city. He was stricken with grief and knew he had to change things.
Nehemiah wasn’t a prophet, priest, or king. He was a Jewish exile working for a foreign government. He did his “secular” job so well that he became one of the King of Persia’s most trusted servants. He then took an extended leave of absence to help rebuild a city he had never seen before: Jerusalem.
We are often tempted to believe that we must be in full-time ministry in order to do God’s work or be Christian leaders. Nehemiah proves the opposite.
His faithfulness to God and his leadership abilities enabled him to accomplish a task that many tried to stop, and some believed would be impossible. He united the people and restored the walls of Jerusalem. He brought glory to God and set an incredible example for us today by leading a construction crew.
Why you should download this free study on Nehemiah and Biblical Leadership
I initially set out to write a single blog post about biblical leadership according to Nehemiah, but the more I studied, the more I discovered that Nehemiah had to say.
There were so many excellent examples and rich themes in Nehemiah that I ended up writing the equivalent of 15 different posts and bringing them together in a single eBook and Bible Study.
Here are a few reasons you should download this book today:
- It’s completely free for subscribers.
- It identifies the different biblical leadership principles that enabled Nehemiah to change the course of history for his people.
- Each principle is applied to modern living with examples of how you can make a positive difference by leading in your community, workplace, or family.
- As part of the study, you will read 95% of Nehemiah.
- Each study topic contains three questions you can reflect upon yourself or ask others in your small group.
- This study provides you with 15 days of personal devotion with God and His Word.
I’ve spent a lot of time writing over the last decade. In all honesty, I’m probably more proud of this book than anything else I’ve ever done. I hope you’ll download it. I believe you will enjoy it and grow as a leader.
If you’re ready to learn more about Nehemiah and become a better leader, then subscribe to Leaders Go Last now and gain access today!
Outline of the Biblical Leadership Principles from Nehemiah
If you still want more details on this study check out the outline below! Each study is listed along with the corresponding verses from Nehemiah.
- Identify Your Calling (Nehemiah 1:1-11)
- Pray for Everything (Nehemiah 2:1-8)
- Maintain Brutal Honesty (Nehemiah 2:9-20)
- Delegate and Motivate (Nehemiah 3:1-32, 12:44-47, 13:13)
- Couple Prayer with Action (Nehemiah 4:1-23)
- Demonstrate Integrity (Nehemiah 5:1-13)
- Serve your Followers (Nehemiah 5:14-19)
- Maintain Focus (Nehemiah 6:1-14)
- Depend on the Lord (Nehemiah 6:15-7:4)
- Teach (Nehemiah 8:1-8)
- Celebrate Well (Nehemiah 8:9-18, 12:27-43)
- Take Ownership of Problems and Mistakes (Nehemiah 9:1-10:27)
- Give Generously (Nehemiah 10:28-39)
- Take the First Step (Nehemiah 11:1-36)
- Repeat Vision. Repeat Vision (Nehemiah 13:1-30)
Want to learn more and dig deeper? Then make sure you Sign-Up for Leaders Go Last today to receive your exclusive free copy of the 15 Biblical Leadership Principles of Nehemiah.
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We are studying the book of Nehemiah now on leadership in the ministry.
Hi Carolyn, That’s great to hear! I hope you find our resources useful and please feel free to share if you find other helpful content about leadership!
There is no mention of the cost of subscribing, please let me know
Hi Barbara!
There is no cost to subscribing – it’s free!
An excellent book on leadership principles based on the giver of life and peace.
Thank you for the kind words Godfrey! God bless!
Evan, This is an excellent resource. Scripturally sound and application orientated. I am developing a leadership course for a Bible college and would like use this book as a resource within the course. If this would be permissible, could you please contact me to arrange specifics?
Thanks Chris!
Yes you are welcome to use this for your leadership course! Thanks for checking and happy to connect.
Is this an actual small group study or could be? I’m very interested!
Hi Kelly!
Yes you can absolutely use this as a small group study. It has 15 different devotion style readings that go along with the book of Nehemiah. Depending on how much work you want the study group to be, you could do 5 principles per week over 3 weeks, 3 principles per week over 5 weeks, or simply 1 per week. I think 3-5 would be pretty manageable though.
It’s free to download so have a look and do what you think would be best for your group!