The journey to be a great Kingdom Leaders is not much different than the journey the kings of the Bible had to go on. As with everything the Bible teaches, the journey actually starts with us and our heart. That’s why the first few characteristics are all about your heart. If you truly want to be a kingdom leader and lead in a mission driven way, then you have to start there. It’s the foundation of everything. In fact, another way to say it is, “He’s the foundation of everything.” If you’re wanting to truly be a leader in the kingdom then you’ll want to be intentional about learning what it takes to create a dynasty. Let’s look at the 10 Characteristics of A Kingdom Leader.
1. 100% Submitted to Christ
At the end of your life, your mission will be a raging success if you do this one thing. It’s the beginning of everything great. However, most of us are not 100% submitted and that’s why we fail at times. It’s that constant struggle. That battle is the one I’m writing about in my post “Sometimes I forget who I am.“
100% submission to Christ usually means you’re also submitted to some form of Earthly authority. This could be a Pastor or small group leader. It usually will require a great deal of humility to accept this. I can only speak from personal experience that while it might be one of the most difficult challenges I’ve faced, whenever I honor God, I’ve been rewarded.
2. Hears From God
With your heart submitted you’ll need to be able to hear from the King Himself in order to move your mission forward. I wrote about how I hear from God here. Your ability to listen is directly related to your level of submission.
3. Speaks To God
I’m confident that if you listen you’ll hear God, but no mission is capable without prayer. If Jesus prayed, then we need to as well. From David to Jesus we see Biblical kings rely on this 2 way relationship in order to achieve life’s missions.
4. Integrity
Integrity is that attitude in action. Integrity builds trust and sets the stage for a kingdom driven leader to press forward. Integrity is doing what you say. C.S. Lewis puts it this way, “Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking.”
5. Humility
The quintessential essence of a leader. The Bible proclaims it, Jesus exudes it, and research proves it, the one trait every leader must possess to be a true kingdom leader. Humility doesn’t mean putting yourself down or letting people walk all over you. Humility is power under control, power restrained for the purpose of helping someone.
6. Has A Spirit of Excellence
What king did God anoint after Solomon’s decline? Not his son Rehoboam but rather a man that served his father well as superintendent of building Solomon’s fortress. He was found to be excellent at what he worked on and rose through the ranks until he was anointed as king. Colossians says, “work unto the Lord.”
7. Serves The People
Inside the kingdom, resources multiply, provisions are distributed and finances are stewarded. To be a leader means you have followers. To truly be a kingdom leader you need to serve the people. Like humility, this isn’t being subservient. This using your power and influence to help. You’ve read a lot about servant leadership for a reason, it’s a game-changer for the kingdom.
8. Holy Discontentment
God uses your journey to prepare you for your mission. Within you is the desire to accomplish this mission already. While we could debate this particular characteristic, I can’t imagine that God has you placed as a leader, a true kingdom leader, without some burning desire to actually see His will done on earth as it is in heaven. I wrote about holy discontentment here.
9. Seeks Wise Counsel
When we think of great contemporary leaders, we might miss this particular characteristic. However, when you look at the kings the Bible calls good, many of them sought wise counsel. David often sought counsel from Samuel, Nathan, his friend Jonathan and even business advice from Hiram, king of Tyre. Seeking wisdom shows humility and it’s the one thing God gives abundantly if requested. Practically this might look like a small group or a good friend. Most often this will be another Christian leader. It’s one characteristic I often see missing from leaders in the community today.
1o. Gives
I know I’m messing with some of you reading. Let’s pause your theological and new testament arguments for a second. The kings in the old testament that the Bible calls good were tithers and givers. In fact, they were extravagant givers. The new testament church in Acts gave everything away to those who had need. Giving is an act that shows you’re under submission to Christ. I’m going to suggest you tithe (10% of your income) to your local church and then create a plan to give even more to the cause God’s put on your heart. This can be in conjunction with your church but doesn’t have to be.
We are not endeavoring to simply learn about Godly principles, but rather to put them into action. We aim to build a life that impacts generations. Every Biblically good king had some measure of these characteristics. A great king is also never satisfied with the quality of these characteristics. The greatest kings to appear in the Word were characterized by humility and wisdom. This is especially true with how they stewarded resources. They listened to wise counsel of their inner circle and they pursued excellence in all things. They were savvy in business and extravagant givers. All the “good” kings served their people well and while not perfect were men of integrity and humility (at times).
What do you think? Are there characteristics missing?
Thanks Joshua for the wonderful insights