Kingdom Patterns of Leadership—Qualifications and functions of leaders

In the Kingdom of God, leadership is not about titles, power, or popularity—it is about service, character, and alignment with God's purpose. Kingdom leadership is rooted in humility, obedience, and spiritual maturity. True leaders are those who lead by example, steward God's people faithfully, and reflect Christ in both word and deed. In this teaching, we will explore the biblical qualification of leaders and the leadership functions which are essential for people to be lead with integrity and for leaders to represent the Kingdom accurately.

The prevailing system culture

In the prevailing system, leaders are chosen and rewarded for hitting financial goals, not necessarily for how well they lead or support their teams. Because so much pressure is placed on delivering results, some leaders end up using fear, manipulation, or control to get what is needed. Tasks like handling staff issues or communication often get passed to others, especially when leaders are not equipped to handle those situations with care or clarity.

Companies sometimes overlook these behaviours as long as the leader is bringing in money. But the moment performance drops, or those leadership flaws become too visible, things can change quickly. The truth is that leadership should be more about people than just operations. When leaders avoid building real, authentic relationships with their teams, it shows a gap in their ability to truly lead.

In these cases, leadership can start to feel heavy-handed and toxic. People do not follow because they are inspired—they follow out of pressure. The work culture can end up feeling unfair, with favouritism, poor communication, and little regard for team wellbeing.

What is the Kingdom standard?

 The Bible teaches us that leadership qualification is based on character, not skill. 

1 Timothy chapter 13 verse 2 to 3 says, in the Amplified version of the Bible, that leaders must be “blameless and beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine, not a bully, not quick-tempered and hot-headed, but gentle and considerate, free from the love of money [not greedy for wealth and its inherent power—financially ethical].”

Skill can be taught, in fact, the leader is often supported by people who are more skilled operationally, than he is. Leadership entails specific functions which, when performed, ensures long term productivity, and stronger, healthier, more mature teams. Leading is not about the leader achieving the vision – it is about the greater, serving the lesser, the more mature person serving the less mature person, by modelling good character and values and by developing, empowering, and pouring into them, so that together, in unity, everyone moves as one, toward the achievement of the vision.

The leader is the model, the standard that the people look to and therefore has to model God’s character. Accurate representation is critical.

What are the functions of leaders in the Kingdom?

1)    To awaken and communicate vision

Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 2 says “Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.” The leader must awaken the vision in the hearts of the people, by defining it clearly, and by continuing to communicate God’s unfolding vision for the community or corporation to them.

Proverbs 29 verse 18 says “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.” Casting off restraint implies a lack of government. Vision, therefore, brings a sense of restraint and order to a team. Without a clear vision, people have no sense of journey or process. They do not know the destination, so are unable to determine when they have arrived at the point of achievement. Vision provides direction and destination. In the absence of a clearly defined vision people forsake the journey because they do not know what they are working towards, or when it will be accomplished.

2)    To express servanthood

In Luke chapter 22 verses 24 to 27 Jesus lays down the Kingdom pattern of servanthood for leaders. “Now a dispute also arose among them as to which of them was regarded to be the greatest. Jesus said to them “The kings of the Gentiles have absolute power and lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called ‘Benefactors. But it is not to be this way with you; on the contrary, the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest [and least privileged], and the [one who is the] leader, like the servant.” Servanthood is the pattern by which the greater serves the lesser.

In contrast to the pattern of the world, in which the greater exercise authority and wield that authority over their subordinates from a position of dominance, the Kingdom pattern is one of serving from a position of humility. God, the Creator of the universe, humbled Himself by taking on human form and became obedient to the point of death. The One who was the greatest, served those who were so much less than He was. Leaders have a responsibility to serve people, not to dominate and wield their authority over those in their care.

3)    To shepherd the people

Leaders must take responsibility for the welfare of those whom they lead. The Bible uses the shepherd metaphor to describe God’s relationship with His people. Jesus says in John chapter 10 verse 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” In Psalm 23 verse 1 to 4 David says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

Sheep are by nature, prey animals. They are unable to defend themselves against predators. A sheep will therefore only place itself in a position of vulnerability when certain conditions are met. The animal needs to perceive that it is safe and secure and its needs to be free from fear, tension, and hunger before it will lie down. When a sheep lies down it is because it is content and feels completely secure and safe. The role of the shepherd is therefore, to provide the sheep with what it needs to feel safe and secure, and to take complete care of its welfare with all that it entails.

In Ezekiel chapter 34, God sternly rebukes leaders who neglect their responsibilities towards their people. These leaders prioritize their own needs, and, in the process, neglect the needs of the people, while oppressing them and treating them harshly. God says in verse 10 that He is against these types of leaders, and will hold them accountable for their treatment of the people they are responsible for leading.

4)    To instil discipline and order

Proverbs 13 verse 24 says, “Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.” In verse 24, the failure to bring corrective action is likened to hatred. In other words, discipline (not punishment) is actually love in action.

In Hebrews chapter 12 verses 7 to 11, the writer says, “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” 

God’s discipline is not intended to punish. Rather, it focuses on future outcomes of behaviour, that of righteousness and the peace that flows from it. The intention of godly discipline is to correct behaviour and to bring people back into alignment with principles of righteousness.

Leaders must have the capacity to adjust the lives of people. They have to be willing to bring correction, which is not punitive in nature, but transformative – which protects, guides, educates, cautions, disciplines, and corrects behaviour.

1 Corinthians chapter 7 and verses 8 to 12 highlights the difference in outcome, between punishment and correction. “Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while—yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. So even though I wrote to you, it was neither on account of the one who did the wrong nor on account of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are.” 

Godly correction, while unpleasant, does not harm the person being corrected. It produces godly sorrow, leading to repentance which, in turn, leads to transformed patterns of behaviour.

5)    To represent God’s character

The leader has a responsibility to represent the nature and character of God before the people. In John chapter 17 verse 6 Jesus says to the Father, “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.” He says to Phillip in John 14 verse 9 “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 

About Jesus, Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3 says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” 

Jesus represented the Father accurately, on earth, as should we. We must love what God loves - justice, mercy, and righteousness – and hate what He hates. Our goal must be to uphold standards of Kingdom ethics, values, and holiness by the power of His Spirit living inside of us, and to model them to the people that we serve.

6)    To engage in their own personal process

There is a requirement for transparency regarding the leader’s own process of transformation and maturity, as an example to the people. The leader has the responsibility to engage with the process of transformation and maturity in his own life. As much as the leader is monitoring the growth and development of the staff or community, the people are looking at the leader’s development over time. The growth of the people should never outpace the growth and development of the leader. Everyone is required to engage in their own processes, and the leader is no exception.

 It is the leaders process, the standard or pattern of transformation to which he adheres, which triggers personal transformation in the people being led. We see this evidenced in David’s life. 1 Samuel chapter 22 verses 1 to 2 tells us that “David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.” David, during the years that he was fleeing for his life and hiding from Saul, became captain of a band of four hundred of society’s misfits.

In 1 Chronicles chapter 12 verse 22, we see a completely different description of the company of men after David is made King over all of Israel. “Day after day men came to help David, until he had a great army, like the army of God”. During the years of hiding and moving about , David had successfully avoided Saul, and his company of men had grown with him.

David’s men went from being a group of distressed, indebted, discontented men, to a group of men, who were likened to an army of God. The change in their lives was triggered by David’s process. David’s engagement in his own process of transformation from shepherd to king, gave him the capacity to take his men into a different expression of completeness and strength. This leads directly to the final functional requirement of leadership, which is the ability to activate transformation in the lives of the people being led.

7)    To activate transformation and maturity in the lives of others.

In Ephesians chapter 4 verses 11 to 15 Paul says, “ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,  to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up  until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there

by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”

There is a Biblical mandate for leaders to activate maturity in people by equipping them and building into their lives.

The writer of the book of Hebrews admonishes the reader in chapter 5 verses 12 to 14 saying, “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

Then again in Hebrews chapter 6 verses 1 to 3 he says, “Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.”

The Bible distinguishes between spiritual infancy and spiritual maturity, which implies a process of transformation between the two states. Spiritual infants never move beyond that which is elementary. They are not able to handle the responsibility and accountability that comes with maturity and are unable to bear fruit in their spiritual process.

An immature leader will not be able to activate maturity in those he or she serves. The process needs to take place in his or her life first before it can flow down to the people. The leader must engage in an accurate personal process first, and bear fruit abundantly, so that he can bring the people he is leading to a state of corporate productivity and abundant fruit bearing.

We will continue the topic of the requirement for maturity in leaders in our next post. Stay blessed!

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