19 Bible Verses About Leadership

Mark 10:42-45

“And Jesus called them to him and said to them, ‘You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’”

Reflection: The ten disciples were indignant because James and John had just asked to sit at Jesus’ right and left hand in his glory (Mark 10:35-41). Jesus contrasts the rulers of the Gentiles, who “lord it over” their people, with his followers, among whom the one who would be great must be a servant and the one who would be first must be slave of all. He gives his own mission as the reason: the Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Matthew 23:11-12

“The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Reflection: Jesus says this to the crowds and his disciples about the scribes and Pharisees, who tie heavy burdens on others without moving them with a finger and love the best seats and being called rabbi (Matthew 23:4-7). He tells his followers not to take the titles rabbi, father or instructor, because they have one teacher and are all brothers. These two verses close the warning: the greatest is the servant, and whoever exalts himself will be humbled.

John 13:13-15

“You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.”

Reflection: Jesus speaks after washing the disciples’ feet at supper before the Passover, a task Peter at first refused to let him do. He keeps the titles Teacher and Lord and says the disciples are right to use them, then argues from them: if their Lord washed their feet, they ought to wash one another’s. The next verse adds that “a servant is not greater than his master.”

1 Timothy 3:2-3

“Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.”

Reflection: Paul tells Timothy that anyone who aspires to the office of overseer “desires a noble task” (1 Timothy 3:1), then lists what the overseer must be. Most of the list concerns character and self-control, with “able to teach” among them. The following verses add that he must manage his own household well, must not be a recent convert, and must be well thought of by outsiders.

Titus 1:7-9

“For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”

Reflection: Paul left Titus in Crete to appoint elders in every town (Titus 1:5), and these verses give the standard for them. The overseer is called “God’s steward,” one who manages a household that belongs to another. Alongside a list close to the one in 1 Timothy 3, verse 9 adds a task: he must hold firm to the trustworthy word so that he can teach sound doctrine and rebuke those who contradict it.

Acts 20:28

“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”

Reflection: Paul says this at Miletus to the elders of the church at Ephesus, whom he had called to meet him on his way to Jerusalem. He tells them to watch themselves as well as the flock, and names who made them overseers: the Holy Spirit. The next verses give the reason for the warning: after his departure “fierce wolves will come in among you,” and some men from among the elders themselves will speak twisted things to draw disciples after them.

1 Peter 5:2-3

“Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.”

Reflection: Peter writes “as a fellow elder” (1 Peter 5:1) to the elders among his readers. The instruction comes as three contrasts: willingly rather than under compulsion, eagerly rather than for shameful gain, and as examples rather than domineering. Verse 4 calls Christ “the chief Shepherd,” whose appearing brings the elders “the unfading crown of glory,” and verse 5 tells the younger to be subject to the elders and everyone to be clothed with humility.

Ephesians 4:11-12

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”

Reflection: The gifts Christ gives in this passage are people: apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers. Their work is to equip the saints, and it is the saints who do “the work of ministry.” Verses 13-16 give the aim: a church mature enough not to be “tossed to and fro” by every wind of doctrine, which builds itself up in love as each part works properly.

Romans 12:8

“The one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

Reflection: Leading appears here in a list of gifts that differ “according to the grace given to us” (Romans 12:6), between contributing and showing mercy. The Greek verb is proistemi, to lead, manage or care for; 1 Timothy 3:4 uses it for managing a household and 1 Timothy 5:17 for “the elders who rule well.” The one instruction for the person who leads is to do it with zeal.

Hebrews 13:17

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

Reflection: This verse is addressed to the congregation rather than to its leaders. Earlier in the chapter the readers are told to remember the leaders who spoke the word of God to them and to imitate their faith (Hebrews 13:7). Here the reason given for obedience is that leaders keep watch over souls and will have to give an account, and the verse asks the church to let them do it “with joy and not with groaning,” and adds that their groaning “would be of no advantage to you.”

Exodus 18:21

“Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.”

Reflection: Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, watched Moses judge the people from morning till evening and told him, “You are not able to do it alone” (Exodus 18:18). His advice names the qualities to look for in the men who would share the work: ability, fear of God, trustworthiness and hatred of bribes. They would decide the small cases and bring the hard ones to Moses, and verse 24 records that Moses did all that Jethro said.

Acts 6:4

“But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

Reflection: The twelve apostles said this when the Hellenist widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. Instead of serving tables themselves, they asked the disciples to pick seven men “of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3) and kept prayer and the ministry of the word for themselves. The whole gathering chose the seven, the apostles prayed and laid hands on them, and verse 7 reports that the word of God continued to increase.

Numbers 27:16-17

“Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.”

Reflection: Moses asks the Lord to appoint someone to lead Israel after him, and describes the task as going out and coming in before the people. The Lord names Joshua, “a man in whom is the Spirit,” and tells Moses to lay his hand on him and commission him before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation (Numbers 27:18-19). Moses is also told to give Joshua some of his authority, so that the people will obey him.

2 Timothy 2:2

“And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”

Reflection: Paul writes to Timothy, whom he calls “my child” (2 Timothy 2:1). The verse runs through four generations of teachers: Paul, Timothy, the faithful men Timothy is to choose, and the others those men will teach. The two qualities it names for the men are faithfulness and the ability to teach.

1 Kings 3:9

“Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

Reflection: At Gibeon, in a dream, God tells Solomon, recently made king in place of David, “Ask what I shall give you.” Solomon calls himself “but a little child” who does not know how to go out or come in, and asks for an understanding mind to govern and to discern between good and evil. God answers that it pleased him that Solomon had not asked for long life, riches or the life of his enemies (1 Kings 3:10-11).

Proverbs 11:14

“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”

Reflection: The proverb is about a people rather than one person: without guidance a people falls, and safety lies in an abundance of counselors. Proverbs 24:6 applies the same words to war, “for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory,” and Proverbs 15:22 to plans, which fail without counsel and succeed with many advisers.

Proverbs 16:12

“It is an abomination to kings to do evil, for the throne is established by righteousness.”

Reflection: This saying belongs to a run of proverbs about kings in Proverbs 16:10-15. Doing evil is an abomination to kings, and a throne is established by righteousness. The next verse adds that righteous lips are the delight of a king, and that he loves the one who speaks what is right.

Proverbs 29:18

“Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.”

Reflection: The King James Version reads “Where there is no vision, the people perish,” and the line is often quoted about a leader’s plans. The Hebrew word, chazon, means a prophet’s vision, the same word God uses in Habakkuk 2:2, “Write the vision,” and the ESV translates it “prophetic vision.” The second half pairs it with keeping the law, and the people’s failing is that they “cast off restraint.”

1 Timothy 2:1-2

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”

Reflection: Paul asks the church to pray for all people and names “kings and all who are in high positions” among them. The stated purpose is that believers may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified. The next two verses add that this is pleasing to God, who desires all people to be saved.