Leadership is Simple

What is God looking for in a leader? Great oration skills? Exegetical prowess? Influential magnetism? Visionary foresight? While a case could be made for each of these, God bypassed all of them when he chose David. What possibly could a shepherd boy, "...who followed the ewes..." bring to the table of leadership? Everything.

God overlooked the educated, trained, and motivated intellectuals of the city to choose a boy tending sheep in the pastures. Why? Because leadership is more than the sum total of the peripherals in our life. Leaders are often seen as people possessing skill-sets obtained from reading the latest books or attending the hottest seminars. They quote the leadership giants in the business arena, and hold a death-grip on their teaching--until something new comes along. In a quest for principle-based leadership they forget that ministry is still about people, not principles. Does leadership have to be that difficult? Not according to Psalm 78:72.

So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,

                                  And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

David's leadership style was utterly simple: To shepherd and guide. That is what a leader does. The word shepherd, ra'ah, is a frequent Old Testament word. To anyone growing up in the rural pastures of the ancient near-East the word was loaded with connotative meaning. It was the word used for tending a flock of sheep or herd of cattle. It meant the complete process of leading them to feed and caring for their needs. It implied the act of spending time and knowing the animals individually. God prepared David to be a shepherd of people by teaching him to be a shepherd of sheep. The application to ministry is clear.

His second activity, guiding, is the word nachah. The word literally means to lead. Leading requires knowing where one is going, and knowing the way to get there. It is a combination of both orientation and orienteering. A leader is responsible for directing the paths of his congregations by living correctly (orientation) and moving forward (orienteering). Again, we see David was well schooled for this activity. His perceptions of danger effected his movement of the flocks. His skills to unite the flock for protection and comfort would prove beneficial in leading Israel.

If David's leadership style was based on shepherding and leading, then his philosophy of ministry was based on two simple components: the internal and the external. His shepherding of the flock rose from, "...the integrity of his heart". The Hebrew for integrity is tom, and means "simplicity of mind". It is a mind free from evil intentions--a mind uncluttered by fleshly desires and love for the world system. How this is needed in leadership today! No agenda-seeking, self-aggrandizing narcissists need apply!

David's leadership may have sprung from the heart, but it was manifest in his hands. His internal beliefs became external actions. I won't dive too deep on this, but "skillfulness" is a word more commonly translated "understanding"...a mental process. It is highly likely that David's philosophy of ministry compelled him to live out his beliefs in practical ways. I hope that's true in your life as well.

All of this points to one encouraging aspect for me: leadership is simple. Though the tasks we accomplish and the situations we face may be complex and perilous, the principles of biblical leadership are basic--leading and feeding. Shepherd your flock with integrity and lead them with skill.