Christian leadership isn’t always flashy. In fact, the leaders who leave the deepest mark are often the least impressive on paper. They don’t rely on charisma, personality, or a big platform. And yet, when they speak, people listen. When they move, others follow.
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of serving under several exceptional Christian leaders. What set them apart wasn’t style or visibility. It was something harder to define but impossible to miss. Their leadership carried weight. It shaped people. And it endured.
After years of watching, listening, and reflecting, a pattern became clear. Great Christian leadership isn’t mysterious. It’s marked by a handful of specific traits that consistently show up in leaders who make a lasting impact.
Here are five marks of great Christian leadership.
5 Marks of Great Christian Leadership
1. Great Leaders Actually Lead (Not Just Talk About Vision)
Implicit in the word “leader” is the idea of moving with intentionality toward a clear and compelling objective and inspiring others to move with you. A leader has a mission to accomplish and rallies others to work with him/her to accomplish it.
There is no better example of this in ancient history than Jesus. How could a modest carpenter out of nowhere lead a handful of overlooked, underestimated blue collar followers to “make disciples of all nations”? Answer: Leadership!
Jesus inspired his disciples and moved them toward accomplishing a clear objective. Before he ascended into heaven he reminded them of what this mission was (“you will be my witnesses”), where this mission would be carried out (across the street, across the tracks and across the world) and how this mission would be effectively accomplished (“you will receive power after the Holy Spirit comes on you…” Acts 1:8).
The test of christian leadership effectiveness is what happens to his followers when that leader is gone. The amazing thing about Jesus’ ability to lead is that his followers are still carrying out his mission 2,000 years later!
Jesus was a leader who led. And, if you think about it, he is still leading, but now from heaven. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus told Peter, “I will build my church…” The ultimate leader in human history is still leading the charge from the right hand of the Father.
In my lifetime of studying living legend leaders I can’t help but think of former Senator Bill Armstrong. After serving in the Senate he eventually became the President of Colorado Christian University (my alma mater.) When he took over the helm at CCU it had fallen on dark times theologically. The school that I loved was sliding toward a very squishy, doctrinally liberal viewpoint.
But all that changed when President Armstrong took over. He was a leader who led. He didn’t just talk about it. He exemplified it.
Within a few short years he jerked the steering wheel right and got the school back on the path biblically. Not only that, he put the mission of Jesus in the center of the school. He launched “The Year of Evangelism” at CCU and made sure both students and teachers were fully equipped to share their faith.
He turned the ship in a powerful and spectacular way. Colorado Christian University is the school it is today because of the great christian leadership of President Bill Armstrong.
In the last few years before he went to be with the Lord I met with him as much as I could to learn from his christian leadership excellence. I have known several good leaders over my lifetime but Bill Armstrong was a great leader…because he led CCU to follow Jesus!
Great leaders lead.
2. Great Leaders Model What They Expect
In Luke 6:40 Jesus said, “The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.”
Great leaders live out what they are seeking to teach their followers. They don’t hand out pamphlets to places they’ve never been.
This is especially true of getting teenagers to evangelize. The youth leaders must model it first. As I often tell youth leaders, if your teenagers are not actively share their faith you may need a mirror and not a bullhorn.
One of my best friends on the planet is Dave Gibson. He is a missions pastor at Grace Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. But he is more than a missions pastor, he is a legendary leader of the missions movement across the nation and around the globe. He has great favor with the top missions and church-planting organizations. He has more influence in these arenas than anyone else I know of.
